Pulyana 28, 1423.
While on morning watch, there are sounds of a struggle nearby. Aldren and Nebol'shoy find the recent corpse of a local floating near the shore, and then notice a figure swimming near The Slack Mallard. It appears to be a shirtless elf carrying a knife of some sort, and climbs up onto the ship to avoid them. They pursue with Bjork and a rowboat, while Rucia has Silvermane, his bonded warhorse, and Mock'leg watch by the shore. The elf evades them, swims back to shore and then heads out of Zolovny towards the West. Aldren quietly heads belowdecks and hears some snoring, apparently that of Captain Condor, but they do not wake him up. He gets a good look about the ship, keeping in mind the offer he had from the local Trawlers' Union.
After finishing his morning prayers and preparations, Rucia goes to grab the Captain, and the group is not far behind. They tell him of the dead body, and Condor identifies it as a local who was helping him out for the promise of a berth on his voyage to the Isle of Skorbi. They decide it's probably not safe for the drunk to remain onboard, and he agrees, so he gathers a few things and heads off to the Soverat Stockage where the PCs manage to convince the lazy local guards to keep him locked away, lest he be assassinated by the figure that was stalking the ship. Once he's secured, the PCs make preparations to journey to Smite-Eye's tower and investigate, including a stop for Aldren to find some arrows. They spend a few hours traveling and eventually, as they make their way into the woods near the tower, they find some massive elk tracks, which themselves seem to divert around the very structure that they are headed towards...
Once they arrive, they find a strange site, a tower covered in swirling ivy and thorny vines, and a strange stormy cloud visible only overhead when once is within a close proximity to the tower. A sigil of an eye floats on a banner far above, just projected out far enough from the plant layers. There are also a pair of semi-circular gardens next to it, one with unusual violets and the other unusual indigo flowers. They can barely make out the location of a door, and Rucia decides to open it, only to be entangled onto the outer walls of the tower, which then begins to pierce him with thorns as it swirls and carries him higher up. He manages to misty step to safety. Aldren, standing on one of the gardens, notes that it begins to rumble, the earth churns and the garden itself is moving. He leaps to safety and they prod the other garden to note something similar.
After a few spells and some discussion, the group decides it might be best to later make another approach, perhaps with the key they might find where the map marked it near 'Old Bloodwalls'. They march back towards Zolovny, but come upon a scene of two massive bears in a conflict near the waters of the Skorbi. Aldren and a few other party members want to jump in, but cooler heads prevail, and the half-elf instead charts them a course where they can stay at a safe distance. Night has fallen once they return to Zolovny, and they decide to split up, some headed to the Flapping Salmon after checking in on Captain Condor, who accompanies them. Nebol'shoy and Bjork instead go to the Fairgrounds again, and they see a strange figure watching from the shadows, wearing a black cloak and a white mask with only a cross-shape to see out through. Whoever it is, they soon dissolve away from the PCs' sight, but they are nervous and decide to join their companions at the tavern.
Meanwhile, Aldren attempts to bargain with Captain Condor, to get his ship repaired and the deed for himself if he allows the old drunk to remain its captain (with Ekaterina Belov as first mate). They reach an agreement, that the Captain will PRETEND to have sold it (he steadfastly refuses to do so for real), thus getting the cheaper deal on repairs from the Trawlers' Union since Aldren will have the deed. He also begrudgingly agrees to the latter request. Rucia then casts zone of truth to try and determine if the Captain is telling the truth about the 'Isle of Skorbi' urban legend, and it turns out that the man at least believes he is telling so, and that he has the only map. As the minotaur and gnome rejoin their friends, they are suddenly all within the zone, and trying hard to stay true without revealing anything extra. As the spell dwindles down, and the PCs are warned of the strange figure at the Fairgrounds, the mask is spotted again the darkness outside the Salmon!
Rucia orders Silvermane to canter around and check it out, and what the warhorse finds horrifies it!
PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebol'shoy, Rucia
