Yesterday was quite thought provoking. Toward the middle of the day, we could see a mountain rising up ahead of us. As we got nearer, we were sure that we had located the island Otter had referred to. We had located the bay, beached the boat, and proceeded up the trail we found. Once we reached the top, we surveyed our surroundings.

We could see that a fire had swept the area in the past. No settlements were clearly visible, but the path led into a forest. With few alternatives, we proceeded into the forest. Shortly thereafter, we began to hear giggling from around us. It seemed to be moving around us and was following us. Finally, we heard something in a group of bushes ahead of us. We stopped and peered ahead to discern what could be causing the disturbance. Just as we were prepared to continue, we heard the rush of galloping hooves behind us. We all managed to avoid being trambled by a girl on a horse that rushed passed us without looking back. Blackhawk and gotten nervous about the boats and went back to check that they were alright. I would have been most interested to hear his thoughts on what could be making the noises in the bushes.

Feeling that she must be heading for the sought after settlement, we hurried up the path. Unfortunately, we could not find any further sign of the girl, or the horse. Soon afterwards, we began to hear the giggling again. I suddenly realized that this situation sounded familiar. Though, I was not sure if my hunch was correct. But, figuring that the next best alternative was that we were dealing with the Fae folk, I pulled out my pipes and played a small tune that is reminiscent of twittering birds. I did not get an immediate reaction.

However, a few minutes later, I felt a slight tug on the sleeve of my "toga". I turned to see what it was. Beside me stood a form that appeared to be a girl, of about 12 years of age. Before I could say anything, she stood on her tiptoes and gave me a kiss. She then turned and disappeared into the woods. Looking around, I realized that nobody else in the Company had observed what had happened. I halted the group and explained what had happened. I'm not sure that anyone believed me.

We continued up the path and eventually broke through the final trees. Before us, we could see the side of the mountain. Off to one side, we could make out a structure. Further up the mountain, we could see a large cave. There was nothing else to be seen except for a path meandering through the grass in the general direction of the cavern. We quickly consulted and decided to follow the path. Perhaps this trail was made by the inhabitants of the settlement.

We followed the path and ended up at the bottom of a run of skree, below the cave enterance. We couldn't discern any further trail leadinq upwards, but another trail intersected and appeared to be leading toward the structure. Lacking any other solid choices, we decided to follow this second path. About halfway to the structure, Raven and MacGyver paused to look at a particularly unusual stone in the path. It only took a moment before they realized that this was actually a small skull. We searched the area and found the bones of several more people. What a macabre find. It appeared that something had been chewing on the bones. Given that they looked to have been dead for several years, we did not feel any immediate danger. We did, however, make more of an effort to search the skies occasionally.

Eventually, we reached the structure. It was quite unexpected. It appeared to be made of gold flecked marble with a tracery of roses inscribed on it's sides. It was situated above the head of a spring leading down a gully. As we circled it, we noticed a small obelisk surrounded by rose bushes. The structure was somewhat short. We proceeded to examine the obelisk. It took just a moment before Raven and I realized that the engraven harp, with the roses entertwining the strings, was the symbol of Carlotta De Gray. It appeared that we had found her tomb.

I was taken aback for a few moments. We had arrived at the Isle of Turlough. While I wanted to visit her resting place, I was certainly in a less than savory condition. What a way to pay your respects. Nevertheless, I felt that I needed to make the best of the circumstances. Raven was reminded of something in Uncle Max's letter and was meditating on it. I sat down to play for a while. It was eerie, sitting in front of her tomb, playing in her memory. For a brief moment, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Perhaps a female form. I gave a brief cry and looked, but the form had disappeared. Jaden and Jotork thought they may have seen something as well, but weren't sure.

Raven finally recalled that Uncle Max had told her about a dream he had on the night that her father had died. In his dream, he was in a ship off the coast of Turlough. We are all curious as to what this means. As we gathered ourselves together we thought we heard music come drifting up the gully. We proceeded down the gully and soon came across small buildings. Though laying in ruins, we were able to determine that they were built for a shorter folk. From what we knew of Carlotta's death, in Uncle Max's books, we knew that this would be the Halfling village of Turlough.

Ever suspicious, we made every effort to determine that this was, in fact, where Carlotta died. Investigating one of the ramshackle buildings, we discovered a tree that had grown up in the ruins. Raven determined that the age of the tree would be consistent with the fall of Carlotta. We continued to proceed through the town, searching for any sign of life, when we came into the town square. As we stood there the sky darkened and we heard sounds of roaring. What then passed was profoundly moving, and amazing. Before our very eyes, we witnessed the passing of Carlotta De Grey. Mere words fail to describe it and I shall have to contemplate the appropriate means for relating the tale.

Once the scene had played itself out, we stood there, astonished. Slowly, it occured to us that we could still hear music. Real music, not phantasmal music. We began to trace the path to the notes and Jotork soon spotted a pipe half buried in the dirt. He picked it up and it was immediately apparent that this was the source of the music. The pipe was made of mithril, and the enamel was mostly worn off, but it was still clear that this was one of Carlotta's five treasures, as recorded by Brimbar of the Companions.

I immediately suspected that Carlotta still around and trying to communicate with us. Raven, however, disagreed. She thought that perhaps the pipe was enchanted to play itself. However, I was sure that I had seen a woman near Carlotta's tomb, and we had witnessed an event that could best be described as a haunting. As I had had no success addressing the pipe, Raven finally humored me and spoke with it.

Thereafter, we spent quite a bit of time trying to ascertain whether the pipe was truly cognizant or not. It seemed to react to our questions. Though, providing answers was tricky. We had to listen to the emotion behind the notes being played. After many questions, we were pretty well satisfied that Carlotta seemed to be with us, in some form.

At this point, we decided that we should try to talk Blackhawk into joining us. His skills looked as if they would be very useful in helping us determine if there was anything living on the island that would be useful to us. He was comfortable that our boats were safe and came up to the plateau. Almost immediately, he noticed smoke rising nearby. With a little investigation, we determined that the smoke was actually coming from the neighboring island. It appeared that there may be a settlement on that island.

Blackhawk continued his investigations around the isle. The rest of us continue to question the pipe. Carlotta appeared to want us to go to the neighboring island. This caused quite a debate. How much leeway do we have with Otter's Advice? Truth be told, I am inclined to assist Carlotta however we can. If Raven's dreams and interpretations are correct, it has been Carlotta's influence that is keeping us safe from something. As we debated, Blackhawk returned with distressing news. He has determined that there are definitely dragons on Turlough.

Overall, I thought we took the news well. Jaden sent Jeck over to the other island and got the distinct impression that there really is a settlement there. We decided to camp here for the night and cross to the other island in the morning. Carlotta does not appear to be real happy about this decision. The whistle has been playing all night, making us mostly miserable.