The pirate known as Bloody Bennet spent his dying breath to tell the tale of his journey to Krabnos’ lair, the fabled Hall of Drowned Gold. Such was his spite that his words burned themselves into the world around him, branded and scorched across a table, plate, goblet and cutlass blade. Scattered and cryptic, his riddle has brought only suffering, but the lure of the treasure still calls out like a siren’s song. That is his final act of revenge, on Krabnos, on Mutiny’s End and on all the realm.
It is generally agreed that the table contains the beginning and end of the riddle, and reads:
“I, William Banette Rys, make here my final words.
Upon my own immortal soul, I found the hidden lair of Urak-Nal,
And the sunken gold of all the realms, and though it cost my life,
I leave these clues that you who are braver and stronger than I might find it again.
Your voyage starts from many’s final shore,
…
[Here there is a large gap where the other riddle items might have once sat]
…
Until the shore, then follow hand against hand the sheltered course,
And there the entrance rests.”
Upon the plate is written;
“Fill your sails and let Vulturnus carry you on, till in sinister Eye of Ignax past,
And set your back on gilded palaces and Azyr’s Vaults,
Chasing tragedy after tragedy, then follow on in sightless sight,”
Upon the rim of the goblet is written;
“To where sea meets sea, then / Two more for the ferryman’s fee, then outward / As if shot from Kurnos’ bow,”
Upon the cutlass is written;
“From hence make twixt Cheshire gap past Hob’s garden and again,
Yet dare yet not test Stromfels’ ire, but turn your head to old Jack Ketch,
Then let her run ‘till the Blind King rises,
Around three points in ordinal cast, as by the hours go, and go,”
These were the riddles left behind by Bloody Bennet. Decode the directions. Arrange the pieces in their correct order. Be wary, for they will try to deceive you. With the map and this riddle, you can find the location of the Halls of Drowned Gold.
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