In the Hook's Shadow, Part 3 (Wednesday, Neth 27th-Sunday, Kuthona 1st, 4707 AR)
The heroes continued their journey, encountering a band of goblins and a group of Varisian wanderers, before finally reaching Turtleback Ferry.
Turtleback Ferry
There wasn't much to do in Turtleback Ferry except ask around for news. Turtleback Ferry is a small township perched on the rain-drenched north shore of Claybottom Lake. Three distinctive ferries crafted from the shells of giant turtles make Turtleback Ferry the central trading town for the region. Nearly 80 miles form Ilsurian, the next town of similar size, Turtleback Ferry has nominally been under Magnimarian rule for 45 years, an arrangement the settlement agreed to in return for protection from the region's ogres and ogrekin.
Turtleback Ferry remains independent in many ways, for its remote location ensures that official visits form Magnimar are few and far between. Turtleback Ferry's current mayor is an aged cleric of Erastil named Maelin Shreed, who manages the village church as both a safe haven for travelers and a hospital wherein he tends the village's sick. Turtleback Ferry also boasts a trading post (the Turtleback General Store), an inn (the Turtle's Parlor), a tavern (Bottoms Up), and a smith (Irontooth's Metal Goods). Most of the village's other buildings are the homes of farmers, hunters, fishers, and trappers - and very few of them ever travel further south than Ilsurian. To the people of Turtleback Ferry, the arrival of the heroes in the region would be big news, even during a time when the weather hadn't been so ominous...or when word from Fort Rannick hadn't been so sparse.
Arriving at Turtleback Ferry
The heroes found the locals friendly enough, although many of them seemed nervous and skittish, often overreacting to the sounds of dogs barking or other unexpected noises. This feeling was only partially due to the early arrival of the winter rains, and it didn't take long for the heroes to figure out that Magnimar's worries about Fort Rannick were anything but idle.
Questioning any of the villagers about the fort verified that there's been no contact from the Black Arrows for several weeks now. Normally, one or two of the rangers visited Turtleback Ferry every few days for supplies, news, or entertainment, but since the rains began in earnest several weeks ago, no one's heard from the rangers at all. In addition, the wilds nearby (particularly Kreegwood) have grown more dangerous. Wild animals like bears, firepelt cougars, and boars are becoming increasingly common along the edges of these woodlands, and several of Turtleback's hunters and trappers believed these predators were being forced from the depths of the woodlands by the increased activity of local monsters like ogres, trolls, and worse. Earlier in the week, a patrol headed north to try to make contact with Fort Rannick, but it never returned.
Life in Turtleback Ferry
The village of Turtleback Ferry wasn't at its best when the heroes arrived. The rains had come early, dampening the settlement's already gloomy spirits - for something was off in the region. Livestock's being going missing for months, and more recently the number of hunters and trappers who've gone missing has increased as well. In a village of only a few hundred people, every loss was felt keenly - none more so than the tragic sinking of the pleasure barge Paradise and the loss of nearly two dozen lives. That only half of those who were on board at the time were locals did little to ease the sting of the controversial barge's loss.
Rumor has it that Black Magga, the monster of the Storval Deep, doesn't stay in that lake. Underwater tunnels connect it to Claybottom Lake, and she comes down here to eat fishermen now and then! Some of the locals are sure that's what happened to Paradise - Black Magga came down and gobbled up all those filthy sinners!
But despite the driving rains, strange disappearances, and the loss of the Paradise, what has really set the people of Turtleback Ferry on edge is the unsettling silence from Fort Rannick. The Black Arrows did an excellent job at keeping the roads and forest edges relatively safe for hunters and travelers, but for the past weeks there's been no sign of the rangers in the hinterlands or in town. Normally, an official delegation of rangers from Fort Rannick would visit Turtleback Ferry on every Fireday - in addition to their individual off-duty visits - so when two weeks passed without any sign of them, messengers were sent to the fort to investigate. None returned. Fearing the worst, Mayor Shreed sent word to Magnimar to ask for aid in the investigation. The heroes were the first reply to that request for aid.
The church of Erastil was the largest building in town - it served as both Turtleback Ferry's religious center and its town hall, and its pastor was both its spiritual and its political leader. Maelin Shreed was the one who sent for help from Magnimar, and was the man most of the village locals pointed to when the heroes arrived. Maelin offered free spellcasting services as long as they were in town (although he'd still appreciate tithes in Erastil's name). Despite his zeal, Maelin is relatively clueless as to the dangers that face Turtleback Ferry, and unfortunately has very little information to give the heroes other than to recommend they head north to investigate Fort Rannick.
The Road to Fort Rannick
Eventually, because they were eager to solve the mystery the lord-mayor of Magnimar had placed before them, the heroes headed north form Turtleback Ferry toward Fort Rannick to investigate the Black Arrows' silence for themselves. The simplest route to the fort was to follow an old road leading up along the banks of the Skull River. The road crossed an old wooden bridge to the western shore about 3 miles north of Turtleback Ferry.
The Strange Firepelt
Kreegwood is named for the ogres of Hook Mountain, although those who dwell here are mostly the half-human results of ogre lusts. The ogrekin that dwell in the Kreegwood bicker among themselves, and rarely cause problems for outsiders. Anyone who ventures too far into these woods is fair game for dinner (or worse), however, so local villagers and hunters avoid this region entirely.
As the heroes crossed over the old wooden bridge, Shalelu heard a yowl of pain in the woods nearby, as if a large cat were wounded. The wounded animal noise came from a firepelt mountain lion.
The poor mountain lion had fallen prey to a trap. His foot stuck in a bear trap, the firepelt grew excited when he saw the heroes approaching, enough so that he advanced, only to tug painfully at the iron bear trap around his back leg. The heroes realized that the firepelt was well trained and likely a druid or ranger's animal companion. The firepelt did not attack Fen and Shalelu who drew near. Fen sprang the trap and freed the firepelt.
The ogrekin sicced his dogs on the heroes and watched the fight from the edge of the clearing. He tried to flee when all his dogs were slain, crying and blubbering loudly, before the heroes managed to knock his unconscious.
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