onsdag den 29. oktober 2014

Session 42

Day 214 (1st cycle of autumn, 26th day)
While Arath continued to run with haste, putting more and more space between himself and the orcs, Nevron was using magic to follow him. Urnyx made it to the three line and tried to hide from the flying orc. The orc found Urnyx, and Urnyx managed to grab him to prevent him from flying away. Unfortunately for Urnyx, the flying orc turned out to be a Glabrezu, a demon from Hell, which grabbed him right back with it's giant pincers and proceeded to beat the hell out of him while dropping magical darkness on him. Things looked as if they were going to end there for Urnyx, when suddenly the darkness disappeared and a cyclops tackled the Glabrezu away from Urnyx. Ruby was there as well, and told him to run. Which he did. Meanwhile, Nevron had found Arath and using magic, they arranged to meet up with Urnyx back at the boat.

Deciding there was nothing more to do here, they set sail towards Ironville.

Day 226 (2nd cycle of autumn, 2nd day)
The Sons return to Ironville and immediately go see Sophie Ran. They told her of what had happened with Faytown, but instead of thanking them, she said..
I have just gotten irrefutable proof that you are allied with the demons and have participated in the execution of all good men and women of Faytown. Not only that, but you stalled on killing the hag, so that almost every single child of Ironville has died. Your betrayal is imaginable. Not only have you betrayed your adopted city, you have betrayed your own races. Normally I would give you a trial, but you are simply too dangerous to let live.
And then all the guards started to shoot. The Sons tried the best they could to survive, but they couldn't get out of the room and they couldn't deal with all the bolts raining down on them. While struggling to survive, they found out that Sophie was possessed by Ter-Zoth, but little good did it do them. They still died, remembering what Elias said once, a long time ago...
Four things will define your greatness.
The army in the shadows that wants to rule mankind.
The deadly trio that will cover the world in plague and ruin.
The forgotten one that wants to destroy the world.
And your death at the hands of an ally.
As the Sons died, they passed on through the veil to the Underworld. As they drifted through the misty haze, they suddenly felt a godly presence and saw a giant grey face with white eyes. The face spoke.
Welcome to my domain, Sons of the Phoenix. Under normal circumstances, it would be my pleasure to collect your souls and perhaps even keep them here for eternity. Alas, you are not done quite yet on Gemnos.

You see, my brother Bane is plotting and scheming to throw the world into chaos in order to reap more souls. That would throw off the balance there is between the three of us and while it would bother me a great deal, you mortals would be in much greater trouble. So that plan must not succeed. Since I am bound by divine mandate not to interfere directly, it is up to you and your allies to stop my brother’s plans. Luckily for us all, you are dead now, and I am thus able to circumvent certain rules. I also have an… ally who is very adept at bending that mandate.
Everything happening lately is connected, even though most of the players might not know nor realize it. The wars that have plagued the region over the last months have been meant to destabilize the it, while the Dark Trio and Ter-Zoth each in their own way work on a way to cause a great many deaths. The Dark Trio is working on using an ancient alien artifact called the Orb of Void to create an undead plague of some sort, that they can unleash on the whole nation, perhaps on the whole continent. Since it by all accounts isn’t ready yet, I can not tell you what form it will take, but I gather it will remind in one or more ways of the two plagues you have already encountered. Meanwhile, Ter-Zoth works on opening a portal large enough to let thousands of demons back onto Gemnos, this time to conquer and keep it in their demonic grasp. I do not know either how he will do this, but this sort of endeavor usually requires a lot of deaths during a ritual, both located at a place of demonic power.

So, unless you wish for Gemnos to be covered by demons or undead plagues, I suggest that you get on with your business and do not die again.
If you want to talk to the person who is the mastermind behind all the wars, I recently had a chat with a Prince Erak of the Shadar-Kai. He is the ruler of the city that attacked Ironville. He was reluctant to tell who was behind the attacks, but I reminded him that he lives in my world and even though he belongs to the Raven Bitch, I could still make life and death extremely complicated for him. The wars were masterminded by the drow. Specifically by a high priestess of Lolth named Illira Vronn called the Shadowspider. She resides in the city of Ulafarad in the Underdark.
Day 231 (2nd cycle of autumn, 7th day)
The Sons were raised by Hagron down in the sewers below Ironville. He told them that their death had been foreseen and thus unavoidable, but he had positioned himself near Sophie, so that he could help them. He had copied their weapons and such, so that they still had all their magical items.

He sailed them out of Ironville, to a cabin hidden far in the woods, so that they could rest.

Day 235 (2nd cycle of autumn, 11th day)
After some days of resting and planning, the Sons decided to leave for Starkhold and find Metrova.

Day 239 (2nd cycle of autumn, 15th day)
The Sons arrive in Starkhold, intent to find Metrova. They take up temporary residence in a Mask safehouse, courtesy of Hagron. From there, they find out (talking to the elven advisor of House Ragor called Lelos) that all the Metrovas died 65 years ago, when they tried to coup the Starks but lost. All 17 of the family, including the children, were executed publicly. But no one but the Starks know where they are buried.

Day 241 (2nd cycle of autumn, 17th day)
After contacting the Short Brothers, they find out that the wooden mini from the Death Knight's table does indeed bear resemblance to someone in Starkhold. Someone whom a rival guild, called the Scarred Souls, have protected for a while now. Their guildhouse is near the docks, under three red warehouses.

lørdag den 25. oktober 2014

The Quaran Empire

Yes, the Saldanas founded not one, but two empires... Not bad huh? While the Saldanas of Quaran certain do things differently than those from Ortygal, there is no way to get around the fact that they are family.. What a family!

In 2475, Matthew "Matty" Saldana left Ortygal agaisnt the wishes of his father in search of the unknown. He sailed across the Great Sea and found the isles that would become the Quarran Empire. Both he and his son, Jack Saldana spent their life fighting the pirates, taking one island after the other. And after more than 40 years, the Quaran Empire was a reality.

In order to never have any doubt as to whom gives the orders, the public only ever know of one Saldana at a time. When the current ruler dies, another Saldana is presented to the public and the Congress, the advisory body of the Quaran Empire. In fact, most of the time, the Saldanas spend most of their time far away from the public eye, most communication goes through their chief advisor, a silver dragon. The current silver dragon is called Argos and is the fifth to serve the Saldanas. Ever since Matty Saldana found a silver dragon egg and helped hatch it, has it been this way.  Argos is more than 1600 years old, and many think he will soon retire and pass on the torch to his son or daughter.

Obviously, the Quaran Empire has an immense navy and a merchant fleet to match the Federation, but what is little less known is that their warriors are considered more or less without peers as well. Despite being far away from all enemies, the Quaran Empire keeps are large standing armies and employ the very best generals and mercenaries to drill them constantly. They also frequent rent out their armies to other nations in need.

Federation of the Inner Sea

See Freeport and you can die. It is hard to explain just how impressive the capital of the Federation of the Inner Sea is, but let me try. More than one million people live there, it spans three continents and 47 islands. The inner walls are more than 150 feet tall and 40 feet thick, while the outer walls are a paltry 100 feet tall and 30 feet thick. There is more gold there than in any other nation on Gemnos. Freeport is truly the greatest city of them all.

When would later become the Federation left the Empire of Ortygal in 2999, there was much discussion on how this new nation should be run. No one wanted to have a kingdom or an empire, no one wanted something similar to the Saldanas. But they wanted the best possible person or persons to make the decisions. In the end, they opted to create a council called the Conclave.

The members of the conclave were: A great warrior, an arch-mage, a high-priest, a powerful merchant and the leading noble. To advise them, there is another council, comprised of senior members of every single guild in the Federation. This is how it was, and still is. Whenever a member of the Conclave dies, the other members choose another similar person to fill the vacant seat. A member of the Conclave forfeits all personal assets except for a few items and work for the remainder of his life to improve the Federation.

To some, this might seem like an odd way of running a nation, but it has worked well for the Federation. Ever since it's inception, it has just gotten more and more powerful. It's capital and dwarfs all other cities on Gemnos in size and importance. Freeport is by and large the greatest city in the world. The merchant fleet of the Federation sail to all ports of Gemnos and it's navy is matched by none.

In fact, the Federation has managed to stay out of every single war since it was founded. Sure, there has been a lot of skirmishes, both with Ortygal and the Kingdom of Erathis. The Federation seems more than satisfied with the land it has, only seeking to gain power through wealth and diplomacy.

Timeline of Cursed Lands


Uruak

Hard men and women inhabit Uruak. That much is certain. And they will never admit so, but they live in fear. Long ago, they sold their souls to the wizards and now there is no going back. The Black Robes are the law, yet they exist outside the law. I tell you, those rumors of children with magical aptitude disappearing from their homes are just the tip of the iceberg. 
Gaellar Ytran, moments before he died when four fireballs obliterated the inn he was staying at. 

Located in eastern Anglar, south of the 100 kingdoms, north of Pyrrak and east of the Inner Sea, Uruak is to many a very inhospitable place. Half of the country are plains where the ground is hard and things only grow there with great difficulty. The other half are hills. That is probably why the original inhabitants of Anglar avoided the are for so long.

But around 1100, roaming tribesmen were no longer the only inhabitants of Uruak. Villages began to spring up near the Inner Sea, gradually moving further and further inland.

But it was a hard land, difficult to live there and even more difficult to prosper there. For another millennia, the people of Uruak struggled. Then the people turned to magic to solve their problems. Even the lowliest village soon had a spell-caster or two to help them make things just a bit easier.

As things became better, the inhabitants of Uruak became more and more dependent on magic in order to survive and evolve. Naturally, the spell-casters got more and more influence and soon, most villages were run by those spell-casters, if not in name, then in reality.

For a long time, things stayed pretty much the same in Uruak. No one but those living there were interested in the land, so the other nations let them be.

Then in 4666, the Black Council was formed. The most powerful spell-casters of the land donned black robes and masks and named themselves the Black Robes, and decided they needed to take an active hand in leading, not just the individual city-states, but the nation as a whole. Ever since, the spell-casters have run Uruak.

The Republic

For the people, by the people, of the people.
 Republican motto

For thousands of years, after the fall of the Dragon Empire, the plains of what is now the Republic were populated by flesh-eating barbarians. It was, by and large, regarded by the other nations of Kounark as a waste of time. While there were plenty of natural resources to gain by invading the area, it would simply require way too much time and men to take control off.

Then around 3700 something happened down south. The tribe called the Headhunters began winning many wars, and began assimilating the tribes they had beaten, something which had never happened previously. In less than 20 years, the Headhunters' control of what would become the Republic was absolute.

For some years, the area had no official name. It remained behind the Wall of Gemnos, and there was no trade in nor out. Outsiders were put to the sword as soon as they set foot on the ground.

Then, in 4359, the Republic was founded an everything changed. Towns and cities had been built, and the old tribal flesh-eating ways had disappeared. The Republic was based on an idea that no one was worth more than others, that people should work for the common good. The State owned everything and shared everything with it's inhabitants.

A complicated system of votes had also been created, so that every two years, 13 people (one from each region) would be chosen by all adults of that region to represent them at the Senate, the ruling body of the Republic.

The first decision of the first Senate was to outlaw all magic. Also called the First Law, it condemns anyone using magic to the death. The logic behind this decision was that magic sets people above others, that magic cheats people, and that such behavior was to be avoided.

The First Law is extremely popular in the Republic, as even though they have cast aside their ancient ways, the people of the land still descend from tribes that were very vary of magic. But naturally, a law like that was thought of as a provocation by the nation of warlocks to the north, Bael Turath.

From 4694 to 4853 Bael Turath and the Republic fought a number of wars. Mostly Bael Turath was the aggressor, but not every time. After a 150 years of wars, the warlocks had managed to capture the north-westernmost part of the Republic.

And the Republic seemed happy enough to just keep the rest of their land. While the situation was and still is tense along the border, and that there are frequent skirmishes, it seems they do not plan on taking the land back. In general, they had not expanded at all. At least until 5484, when they launched an attack across the sea and captured two significant areas of Pyrrak, one to the northwest of Drakolyz, one to the northeast. After about 10 years of war, a peace was reached, and the land now belonged to the Republic. All spellcasters promptly left or were executed.

Evercold

There is absolutely no reason to travel to Evercold. Unless you plan to wage war on the clans. But why would anyone want to do that? Normal people can't live off their lands, and each barbarian is easily worth 4 or 5 normal soldiers. Subduing them would require a huge army. Larger than many nations could comfortably muster.
Vice-roy Hyperton of Ortygal 

Far to the north-east of Gemnos lies Evercold, arguably the most inhospitable area you can set foot on in the mortal world. Deep fjords, jagged hills, an abundance of large, wild animals and a constant cold that will freeze the marrow of your bones. No, Evercold is definitely not for the faint of heart. And if that wasn't enough, it is inhabited by thousands of clans of aggressive raiders.

Deep from within their fjords, they launch their dragonships and send them out to raid and pillage. The Empire of Zun, the Empire of Ortygal, the Ebon Empire, Varnor. Few places are out of reach of these dragonships who almost supernaturally glide through the water at incredible speeds. Even the Quaran Empire has had their coasts assailed by these northerners. Only the dwarves of the Iron Kingdoms have managed to establish a lasting peace and some trade with them.

Evercold has no central leader, nor a government or any king. Each clan is ruled by a jarl or baron or king, each making his own decisions based on personal beliefs, superstition or the advice of whoever has his ear. Only thing in common all these barbarians have are three things. They love to fight, women are little more than slaves in their eyes and they all worship To, an ancient burtal no-nonesence version of Torax, and believe white dragons are his divine messengers and thus worthy of their worship.

The 100 Kingdoms

The 100 Kingdoms is insanity on the grandest scales. 100 nations locked in an endless cycle of war, betrayal and alliances that would even make most drow matron mothers think twice before they join the game. Waiting for one king to become strong enough to recreate the glories of the Arborean Empire.
Sage Willian Archibald Grookwald 


Founded in the year 4000, the Arborean Empire was a young aggressive empire comprised of many nations won by the sword over the previous 120 years. Not being able to match the might of Ortygal and not really interested in the goldness of Uruak, the Arborean Empire stopped their expansion at their borders. For years, they plotted and built up their armies, because in their mind, expansion was a  must. Then in 4670, they unleashed their armies on the elves of Quel'Terath.

At first, it looked as if the Arborean Empire, along with their many orc mercenaries, would manage what everyone at the time considered an impossibility: To enter the domain of the elves and destroy their forest cities.

But the elves were not about to capitulate so easily. Their arch-mages, called spell-weavers, found a way to even the odds. Using captured orcs, they created a new race, the half-orc, that could fight for them and even the odds against the overwhelming numbers of the Arboreans. The rest, as they say, is history. The elves won the war, and the Arborean Empire collapsed when the elven-half-orcen army marched into their capital and executed the imperial family.

That was the beginning of the 100 Kingdoms. Ever since, the 100 kingdoms have fought each other trying to get the upper hand, and every one of the 100 kings dream of returning to Phelgrane, the imperial capital sacked by the elves and reclaiming the throne and restoring the metropolis to it's former glory.

Having been locked in constant wars for almost 1000 years on and off, the 100 Kingdoms produce some of the finest soldiers in all of Gemnos. And if some day one king manages to unite them all, their army will be feared by everyone else. Everyone.

onsdag den 22. oktober 2014

Session 41

Day 199 (1st cycle of autumn, 11th day)
After killing Agatha, the Sons, although badly wounded, began to explore her lair. They quickly found a bunch of secret doors she had used to maneuver around unseen. One of those doors let to an area of natural tunnels. The Sons then remembered how bad in shape they were, and decided to take a short break in order to regain their breath. Unfortunately for them, the minotaur wandered around and  their break was interrupted after 20 minutes, when it wandered past their camp. Before anyone else could react, Nevron cast suggestion and convinced it to leave and not come back for an hour. The spell succeeded and they got the time to finish their break. 

As soon as they were ready to go, they tracked down the psycho-cow and killed it. They then found Agathas spellbooks, some gems and a Faerie Dragon named Viola, which had been the prisoner of Agatha's. They liberated Viola, who was grateful (she confirmed Agatha had had meetings with the death knight) and promptly left to return to the mortal world of Gemnos.

Day 200 (1st cycle of autumn, 12th day)
After a good night's rest, they traveled back to the portal, and once they were through, back to Ironville.

The plan was to head to Starkhold and find Metrova, whom they had now realized was a noble down there.

Day 201 (1st cycle of autumn, 13th day)
They went to see Sophie Ran and were told that a rumors were coming in from the east, from Weeping Hills that a demonic figure was assembling an army of cyclops, ogres and orcs. She asked the Sons to head east and find out what was happening. The Sons insisted on heading to Starkhold, but then Sophie told them that finding Metrova might be a problem, as the last Metrova died more than 50 years ago. With that information in hand, the Sons decided to postpone Starkhold and head east to find out if what was happening. They got a boat and a captain to sail them down the river.

Day 214 (1st cycle of autumn, 26th day)
After sailing for 12 days, the Sons were almost upon Faytown. They were hailed by a young woman who turned out to be named Ruby. She warned them against continuing because Faytown had already been occupied. She led the Sons through the woods to a spot overlooking Faytown. There they could see that an army of cyclops, ogres and orcs had taken spot outside, that the town had already fallen and that at least half of the inhabitants were imprisoned in large areas outside town.

While testing several theories, the Sons accidentally realized that Ruby was a fiend. They confronted her, using magic to ascertain whether she was lying, but while she did dance some around the truth, she did seem honest when saying that she was on their side and had no intention on betraying them to Ter-Zoth.

Nevron cast an Arcane Eye spell to investigate, and found that most of the town was empty, except for a few places. A town square with the town leaders in cages, guarded by some ogres. An inn with a orc-leader and an orc shaman. A harbor with lots of orcs guarding some fearsome battleships and finally a town hall with an elf and two cyclops guards. 

The Sons figured the elf had to be a demon, perhaps Ter-Zoth, and decided to have some fun. They sent him a sending, to test him. His answer was that he was not Ter-Zoth but would still enjoy ripping them apart, something which he said while looking right at Nevron's invisible arcane eye before dispelling it.

The Sons then discussed whether they should attack now or wait. While debating, 3 cyclops arrived to kill or capture them, but Nevron managed to suggest to two of them to go find a unicorn, so the Sons could easily deal with the third. Immediately after the fight, the Sons all became invisible, courtesy of Nevron, then headed into town in order to find the elf and kill him.

Unfortunately for the Sons, the elf had been scrying them while they had the discussion, so just as they had entered the gates, they were jumped by a lot of orcs, ogres and cyclops. The Sons made a tactical withdrawal, and made a narrow escape. Or rather, Arath barely made it to the woods with dimension door and haste and has about 80 orcs trailing him, Nevron is running behind those orcs and the rest of the army invisible, while Urnyx is even further away on his own, being hunted by a flying orc.

fredag den 17. oktober 2014

The Empire of Ortygal

For almost 4500 years, the Saldanas have ruled Ortygal. They are not just the imperial family. They are living, breathing gods of Ortygal and worshipped and regarded as such. That means they can get away with just about anything without fearing losing the support of their subjects. Which makes them very dangerous. Extremely dangerous.
-King Anturak of Pyrrak 


When King Geoff Saldana I was crowned King of Ortygal in Keyport in 1368, little did anyone suspect how much the Saldanas would accomplish and how far they would take Ortygal.

In just 300 years, Ortygal had expanded south and east, becoming a large and powerful kingdom. After annexing several other small kingdoms and dominating the continent of Anglar from north to south, King Michael Saldana II was crowned Emperor Saldana of the Empire of Ortygal. But the expansion did not stop there.

Within another 400 years the Empire of Ortygal was encompassing what is today the Federation of the Inner Sea and most of the Empire of Pyrrak and it's merchant fleet dominated harbors all over Gemnos.

From around the year 2000-2500, Ortygal was the de facto power on Gemnos. No one could come close rivaling their economic or military power.

Then in 2745, explorer Jack Moulineux found his way to Torabor and Ortygal immediately launched a project of exploration, subjugation and colonization that stretched even it's considerable resources. Money was pouring into Ortygal, but not all were happy. And in the south, trouble was brewing.

In 2999, with a large part of Ortygal's armies waging war 3500 miles away, southern separatists lead the charge for the south-western part of Ortygal to leave the Empire and form a new nation, one which wasn't ruled by one man, one family. James Saldana III, arguably one of the weakest Saldanas to ever take the golden throne in Keyport, allowed them to leave without a fight, and the Federation of the Inner Sea was formed.

By 3115, most of Torabor was colonized under Ortygalian control, although Varnor had taken a good chunk down south. Just 16 years later, in 3131 came the second revolution. This time in the south-eastern part of the Empire of Ortygal. Tired of all the money staying in the north, the southerns rebelled. This time however, the Saldanas refused to stand by and watch their empire shrink again. 27 years of bloody civil war followed before  Ortygal lost the war and the Kingdom of Pyrrak was founded.

In 3686 the Kyzian Empire started to spread out from the desert and soon became neighbor with Ortygal on Torabor.

Meanwhile, in 3987, the Empire of Ortygal is once again embroiled in a war with the Kingdom of  Pyrrak. This time it about the north tip of Anglar, just south of Evercold. The race and war ends in a stall-mate, with the two nations dividing the area between them. But this was not by far the last time the two giants would fight over territory. At least 6 wars (4369, 4682, 4823, 4992, 5289 and 5545) have since been fought between the two, each war resulting in land changing hands and people changing nationality. Especially the baronies of Terram, Kortt and Zungal have been affected by these changes due to their location.

After some centuries of status quo, the decline of Ortygal continued again in 4292 when the Kyzian Empire began to be aggressive and take huge swats of land from Ortygal in northern Torabor. Seizing the opportunity with a weakened Ortygal, Varnor started attacking it's lands in southern Torabor. By 4486, the Kyzian Empire held more than 2/3's of the northern part of the continent, while Varnor held most of the south. Ortygal's holdings on Torabor had been diminished to less than 1/20 of their original size.

In 5123, the last of the great losses happened. The Ebon Empire was formed and The Empire of Ortygal lost a huge chunk of land in the north.


The Ebon Empire

The Ebon Empire? Yeah, I wouldn't go there even if you paid me ten thousand gold pieces. They have more rules than a man could learn in a lifetime. I guess that is what happens when you have an emperor who is immortal.
Tomaz Radiff, explorer extraordinaire of ruins and dungeons all over Gemnos 

Northern Ortygal, even though a part of the Empire of Ortygal, was still very much influenced by it's proximity to Quel'Terath and the Iron Kingdoms. Elves and dwarves were common in all bigger cities, and the two races dominated many aspects of society.

Over the 500 years following the appearance of the New Gods, Bane became fairly popular in northern Ortygal. As the Banites grew in power and controlled more and more villages and towns, the friction with the many elves and dwarves increased rapidly.

Then, in 5123, Xerachotol, self-proclaimed Son of Bane appeared. More than 20 feet tall and extremely powerful, Xerachotol appeared before Karim Darkheart, a lowly priest of Bane in a remote village in northern Ortygal. From there, things went quickly. In just a few short months, several villages, towns and a couple of cities left the Empire of Ortygal, killing or banishing those still loyal to the Empire of Ortygal. Together they formed the Black Federation. The following years, the Black Federation expanded south, swallowing up a good chunk of northern Ortygal.

By 5134, the Ebon Empire was formed, with Xerachotol the Son of Bane as emperor. All demi-humans were given the choice to leave or to subject to the new laws, effectively making them slaves. The borders to the Iron Kingdom and to Quel'Terath closed soon after, stopping trade and passage.

For the next 100 years, Ortygal and the Ebon Empire waged several smaller wars over dominion of the area. Both won some, but all in all, the Ebon Empire gained more than they lost.

Nowadays, even though Xerachotol still rules the Ebon Empire, there is and has been peace for a long time between the two Empires. There is a lot of trade between the Ebon Empire and both Ortygal, the Federation and the Quaran Empire

Instead the Ebon Empire is looking north towards Evercold and east towards the 100 kingdoms.

East of Ironville (map)

1 hex = 100 miles, red line = national borders

onsdag den 15. oktober 2014

Session 40

Day 198 (1st cycle of autumn, 10th day)
On the next morning, the Sons bid farewell to Gandolfo the Magnificent and proceeded towards Agatha's hut. 

Late afternoon, they exited the fey forest and found themselves at the lake. They soon realized that this was the Dragon Lake near Lochhurst, or rather the equivalent. There was a much quicker way back to the portal.

As they pondered on how to cross the lake, they were attacked by two wyverns, which they dispatched without too much trouble.

Day 199 (1st cycle of autumn, 11th day)
At night, six werewolves surprised the Sons. While the fight was short, it was brutal. 

In the morning, Nevron realized that it is always a full moon in the Faerie, and that he better get the cursed removed, just in case the many bites he had sustained had infected him.

The Sons made a raft and sailed out on the lake. They had only been sailing for about 15 minutes, when another wyvern caught up with them. Nevron jumped in the water to hide from it, but the other two decided to stay on the raft. They both went in when the wyvern crash-landed on the wooden raft. While Aran was drowning and Nevron trying to save him, Urgyx managed to finish off the foul beast.

Towards evening, they got to the island.

They explored a bit, and found the hut. It turned out to be empty, but the doorframe was portal to another place. They ended up in some connected corridors filled with webbing, magical suggestions and fog they couldn't see through. There Agatha ambushed them. The fight was long and hard, and for a long time, it looked as if things were going to go against the Sons. Only through luck and tenacity did the Sons turn the tide when Nevron managed to pin her down via a wall of force, so that the two others could take her down. It was still a very close thing, but in the end, she died. As she did so, the magical fog and web disappeared. All they were left with was her parting words (when she thought she was winning) and the fact that Nevron seems to find the name Metrova familiar.
You Sons of the Phoenix are persistent. Although this is as far as you go. You will die in a few moments, and you will die knowing that you were too late. The Orb is now with my masters and they have all necessary information on our tests. Do not worry. The plague will not spread from Ironville, so only the children there will die. Once they are dead, just one more test remains, before the full force of the Dark Trio is unleashed on these realms. And while Metrova conducts his experiment, you will be watching from the Underworld.