The Rocky Shoals

The party spent an uneventful night following the nightmare ordeal with Captain Sylus.  The next morning they went out into Egertus to search for magic items to purchase.  Everyone came back to the Clinic with some new fancy items.  When everyone returned, they were summoned to Dr. Illhousen's office.

Sylus and Dr. Illhousen were in the doctor's office as the heroes entered.  Again Gregorian thanked them for volunteering to undertake the mission to the nightmare lands, an island in the Nocturnal Sea.  Sylus had agreed to take the heroes into the Nightmare Lands.  He wished to help his good friend Dr. Illhousen and he felt a debt to the heroes he needed to repay.  Sylus had assembled a crew and would be ready to sail in the morning. 
Gregorian on the other hand said, "I wish I could accompany you, but I fear I'd be more of a liability than an asset at this point.  On your way to the City of Nod, seek out the Abber shaman called Walks Alone.  He can be found in the Forest of Everchange.  The shaman helped me once, and he might help you as well.  Ask him for a dreamcatcher, for you might need such a device to escape from the Nightmare Lands."
"What does a dreamcatcher do?" queried Arvien.
Gregorian replied, "A dreamcatcher is a magical device that can help direct the currents of the nether portals.  If you have no other means available for returning, enter a dreamscape and find a nether portal."
Dr. Illhousen also suggested that the heroes reread his journal to familiarize themselves with the shifting layout of the Nightmare Lands.  Mullonga's ghetto just appears at random times in the City of Nod.  Beware the Forest Everchanging.  "Remember you are looking for the Rose of Midnight in an empty lot in Mullonga's ghetto!" he passed on as he ushered the heroes to rooms he had prepared for them.
In the morning the party met Captain Sylus and crew at the docks.  After checking the sails and supplies the ship lifted anchor and pushed off.  The trip down the Dnar passed with out incident.  Then the lookout cried "Fog ahead!"  The party turned to look at a place where the river seemed to end and a mysterious wall of mist began.
"Are you ready, lads?" Sylus asked.  He adjusted the wheel not expecting a response.  "These mists are eerie, but they won't last more than a week.  Besides, what waits on the other side of the mist is a lot worse than the mist itself."
Once the Wayfarer entered the mist, time seemed to stand still.  No wind filled the sails.  No current pushed against the ship.  All that could be heard was the gently lapping waves and the hollow sounds of the crew talking in various parts of the ship. 
Arvien, fearing the worst asked,  "Is this normal?"
"Of course," was the reply.  "We encountered the same mist on our last journey to the Nightmare Lands.  The ship doesn't seem to move but we will soon reach our destination."
On the second day, the heroes began to hear strange sounds from far off in the mist.  The sounds were unidentifiable but persistent.  On the third day different party members began to hear phrases, including:  "Go back," "join us," and "you're all going to die."
After seven days, suddenly the sensation of movement returned as the Wayfarer's bow sliced the mist.  The vessel emerged from the mist and entered a stormy, wave tossed sea.  "Rocks ahead!" the lookout called.  "And beyond the rocks, land!"
The scene was eerily familiar, the Wayfarer navigated through the rocky shoals.  Rain and lightning exploded from the sky.  Salty spray splashed over the deck.  Great jagged rocks rose out of the water. Then a rocky precipice blocked the path.  It looked like the sharp tooth of some giant sea creature.  A wrecked ship clung to the rock, pierced through the middle like a speared fish.  "We're not going to clear it, lads," Sylus shouted above the smashing waves.  "Brace yourselves and prepare to lower the life boats!"
Wayfarer hit the rock head on.  The hull broke open and the deck splintered upon impact.  The ship immediately began to take on water and sink.  The heroes helped prepare the lifeboats.  As they started to clamber aboard, Sea Zombies appeared in the water and began boarding the boats and the ship.  Now the group and the sailors would have to fight for their lives from two sources, the sinking ship and the Zombies.
The battle was fierce and a putrid stench soon filled the air, sickening some of the crew and heroes.  The heroes were eliminating the Zombies but the crew had a tougher time.  Several of the crew fell while fighting.  Ralom raised one crew member from the dead in the midst of battle.  When the heroes began to eliminated the Zombies at close quarter, Ralom yelled for the crew to back away from the monsters.  Just as the ship gave its final gasp and sank, the heroes eliminated the final Zombies and clambered to the lifeboats with the remaining crew and Captain Sylus.  They rowed to shore which was a stark, bare ground filled with rocky canyons, and jutting cliffs.  The sky was gray and dark, with occasional lightning and thunder, though no rain fell.

DM's Notes: The heroes earned 1,486 XP for the Sea Zombies and now have 66,983 XP.