Board the Kelpies wraith (the boneship)
Mabon has a bone crown to wear when piloting. But ship has a bit of an issue with control.
Besmira interjects that the title of first mate should go to Karsa. Seldion would be navigator, and Mabon is pilot. As for pilot he who is captain is captain and that may be prone to change. Either way the ship should come back to her once they are dropped off on the island. Party protests and she is ambivelent about whether the ship stays or goes. The party has paid for safe passage either way.
Karsa given appearance more suited to being a consort. (Armor and shield covered with fishhooks or harpoon heads making him looks like he is impaled with a dozen harpoons, given harpoon proficiency)
Sailing out of Besmira’s territory. Accompanied by Hergen and a kraken for first several day.
The weather gets worse water is turning cloudy when the Kraken signal Hergen it is time to go. Hergen says farewell to Seldion. Sad he can’t go but Besmira needs him and says the tempest is not safe for him. The waters are toxic.
Seldion no longer sleeps can see things that are not quite there. Things flicker and move around the boat and in particular he has the impression of malevolent eyes on him anytime he is alone on the ship. After a few days someone notices the ship is growing more teeth and Mabon says it is getting more willful.
Eventually the group realizes that something other is beginning to possess the ship which is soaking up all th enegative energy in the storms and waters. The ship has a bit of outsider nature to it now and seems to want to make war and seems to resent the implication that it obeys Besmira. It promises to go back and bring war to Besmira and here the screaming of her children after it finishes taking them to the island. (The helm or Besmira's promise works at least that much) Mabon gets nervous about the ship but covers it well. Ship makes no promise to wait for party on island wanting to instead tear and rend.
One evening when Seldion is on watch he encounters a Ghosts of port still present visit at night. It wants to collect tole for landing in port of Kestel. Ship is unable to see ghost though all party can see it. Some more than others. Qimae sees the spiritual presence, Seldion sees it from farther. But ship gets angry and scared at fact that something is there it can not see at all. A payment of 5 solver per person on the boat )30 pieces of silver) is paid. The silver falls through the ghosts hand into the water and the ghostbids teh party to enjoy their stay.
The land is half a day further though occasional ruins are seen beneath the water. The kelpies wraith can not bear the idea of land. It is like the land is repelling it. It does get close enough to drop people off though and tries to eat one person disembarking on the way but fails.
The boat comes upon a sand swept beach with a charred remain of a boat sunken in the harbor. Boat is not the same one that sailed forth with cultists on board initially.
Karsa gets sense that a fort lies under the sand long since lost to time.
Signs of recent camp. Camp was a matter of days ago. It appears the cultists must have cut corners to get here faster but have lost half their number. Stacks of sharpened wooden spars are still present. Outside camp are two cairns.
Corpses of dead animals twisted and tugescent swollen and oozing a black ichor from many many wounds. The bodies are dragged by shadows that have form and presence but also a wrongness to them that is palable. The party frives back the beasts with no problem but The sence of "other" and wrongness is profound.
Signs of fight - 2 cairns
Bodies are dragged by their shadows towards group. Seldion can see the things behind the shadow. They are Outside and using the tumor filled husks as the glove to shape the shadows which they use to effect this world. They are not shadows. They are like ghouls but able to shape the world like Besmira did but to a much lesser effect.
After trailing the cultists for half a day the group notices that someone else was trailing them. Humanoid but the cultists eventual notice and attack. There is a fight and the tracks lead several cultists into the swaps where it loses them.
In the swamp the party decide to track the humanoid some more and call out attracting several more of the shadow things but these are large brutish things and the sacks of suppurating flesh they drag around are shriveled to the size of rabbits or foxes from what may have been much larger. The impression are that these are more mature versions of the larva forms encountered earlier. These forms are regenerating and more resistant to damage taking a significant beating and dishing out damage as well. There are several close calls that only the speed of Arcas's haste and Ariel's prayer avoid the rending of the party's flesh.
After the party finishes with the shadow beasts they meet the creature they were tracking a Madman named Durkin who was shipwrecked on the island a decade ago but survived via a number of grotesque means. And who has become unhinged in the meanwhile.
The madman insists on seeing in people's mouths and their blood then rambled incoherently at the group. Seldion recovers a filth stained journal from the man though and pieces together a lot of his backstory including how long he has been on the island and how he got here.
Has lived by hiding inside trees and covering self with algae to blunt effect of negative energy. On bad weather he will not leave tree.
Wants to leave island. He does say that he saw the masks heading to the place of nothing. Will show group masks and then they take him away. Yes?
Lead to his lair. Gather his stuff which is mainly food then heads across swamp with the group.