The Isle of Siptah

This is my new Conan Exiles story. You know the drill, click in screenshots to enlarge. The links are hidden screenshots that require my password to be viewed. If you don't have it, send me a PM.
Let us begin...




Hrongar, the Nordheimer had survived the shipwreck. He was being transported to the Exiled Lands on a prisoner galley out of Argos. Now it seemed only he had survived. He looked around at his new surroundings and began to explore...



While salvaging on the beach, Hrongar stumbled upon a scroll. It appeared to be a journal...



Day 5 of the month of Tobi, Year of the Gazelle
The journey from Khemi has been uneventful, which was to be expected. Our small fleet is probably more than enough to deter any pirates or raiders.
There is excitement among the group. As the sun was sinking, our captain informed us that when the sun rose tomorrow, we would arrive at the island. The high priest put together an impromptu ceremony in thanks to Set for our safe arrival and the Prince and his family were obliged to join him. I believe the sailors are still mopping the blood from the deck.  
I took the opportunity to slip below decks to my cabin and pen this missive. My wife Threa is asleep in the room, but otherwise I am alone.
I must confess, I still do not understand why I was chosen for this honor. My position as a minor scholar and scribe at the court of does not justify this elevation to Royal Scribe and Advisor to a Prince.
Or perhaps this is a form of Exile. It was not a popular decision to marry a Shemite noble. Threa is an outsider and Stygians do not like outsiders.
I feel... uneasy. There is a tension in the air, a building pressure like that which rides before a storm front. In my heart, thunder rumbles.

Hrongar was alive, but he bore the scars of the ordeal of surviving the shipwreck.



There was no lack of salvage on the beach. Countless ships had met their end here. And there were dangers... Crocodiles and feral dogs roamed the area. The Nordheimer should continue inland, but that would most likely be even more dangerous. He had to prepare first...



He continued to salvage everything useful and widened his search area.



These pelicans were a good source of food and the iron deposits he found would help him improve his life as soon as he found and set up the right tools and equipment.



Hrongar found that he was definitely not alone on the island. There were other survivors from the many shipwrecks all around. He had approached one of their camps, but as soon as he was seen he was attacked. The Nordheimer killed one of his attackers before he had to flee from the rest.
At least his salvaging forays had given him plenty of tools. Hrongar had set up some basic equipment around his campfire...

https://ibb.co/k3LYs7C

Then, Hrongar's luck improved even more. The Nordheimer had not been the only prisoner on that slave galley. In the cell opposite of him was a young Aesir woman named Valeria. They had spent the voyage talking to each other whenever they could. He had thought she had drowned, but here she was. Hrongar was very happy to see her. She was glad to see him, too. Together they would double their chances of survival. And it was nice to no longer be alone. Hrongar had longed after company since he was washed ashore. When the other survivors attacked him he was distraught, but he had made plans to get even and also solve his loneliness. Now, with Valeria by his side, it would be even easier. She also had a bone to pick with the survivors. She told Hrongar about how one of them had tried to rape her. The guy never got that far though, even though Valeria was unconscious when he neared her. The enemy had stripped of his trousers and was about to pentrate the Aesir woman when she suddenly came to her senses. Valeria's superior strength made the enemy to no match for her as she defended her honour. Valeria easily got loose, but instead of running, she stayed and fought. The guy fried to subdue her with a branch, but Valeria dodged and kneed him in the groin. He groaned from pain. Valeria took the guy's belt and garotted him with it. Hrongar smiled. He was a big man, but Valeria was even taller than he, and she was definitely a match for his strength.

It was time to show the Accursed their place. Hongar and Valeria were ready to take vengeance upon their enemies...



Satisfied with their raid the couple started searching for a suitable location to build...



... somewhere along the river.



There were many boars along the river to hunt, there were iron and coal deposits narby. And aloe grew along the river banks. This was a good spot to settle.

Their building in flotsam and sandstone was taking shape. It was time to move the equipment back from the beach to the homestead...



Good. Now it was time wreck the life of the enemy occupying the Grave of the Leviathan...



Hrongar and Valeria left many corpses. One of the men, likely their leader, had a key...

Though there were no prisoners in the cages, the team brought a captured prisoner back with them. They had subdued an entertainer now now Hrongar was dragging her back to their settlement...



The woman finally woke up and faced with the alternative of the wheel of pain or join of her free will, she wisely chose the latter.



It was time to expand the settlement and make room for thralls...



The bunkbeds will serve as sleeping quarters for the thralls. Now it was time to find some workers, willing or not...



That looked menacing - whatever it was that was happening at the center of the island.



Hrongar and Valeria freed two thralls at the Graveyard of the Leviathan. They also brought back a cook and a blacksmith as captives. Once the pair had been brought through the wheel of pain, the cook and the blacksmith joined the workforce. 
Hrongar had also found some maps. There seemed to be a port on the north-eastern part of the island. He and Valeria should go and investigate...

Alligators were common along the river...



It seemed in the past that ships sailed on the river. Today, though, the river was mostly just ankle deep.



From what the map told them, there shoould be a partially dried out river on the other side of the hill...

In the dark, Hrongar and Valeria ran into some batlike creatures and discovered an elder vault. They decided to end their exploring for the day and return home without entering.



The days went on...



This day they reached the remains of the old river...



... and discovered brimstone. Finally they were able to make steelfire.



They continued north to the shore...

"Look. We got a settlement up there," Hrongar said and pointed at the structure in the distance. "Be hard to get up there," Valeria said.
They kept to their path along the shore... until nightfall ehen they made camp.



Early moring they continued their journey. Some hours later, they could see their destination - Blacksail Harbour...

"Undead... So much for civilization," Hrongar muttered. "Could still be treasure," Valeria said. "Better be."



Valeria proved to be a very powerful warrior, far better than Hrongar who himself was a terrifying fighter. But when faced with the most powerful undead the Blacksail Harbour had to offer, Valeria was fearless and could stand up to them where Hrongar clearly struggled. He was very happy to have her on his side.



Swarmed by lesser undead, Hrongar had to retreat. He could dispatch the few ones who followed him and then dress his wounds. Valeria was still fighting one of the powerful undead bosses. She joined him once she had defeated her enemy.



From the beach, Hrongar and Valeria could make out another camp.

Hrongar and Valeria returned to Blacksail Harbour after dark. There he found the second part of the journal...



Day 6 of the Month of Tobi, Year of the Gazelle
Today we arrive.
Before we land, I will summarize the information I have gathered about the island from sailor's tales, scouting expeditions, and reports from the early colonists.
Geographically, the island lies just a few days southwest of the port at Khemi. From what I could glean, it has been used as a stopover by sailors for centuries as a place to gather fresh water and supplies.
The sailors I have spoken to describe it as a vibrant place - with good timber forests on the eastern shore and high peaks on the western shore. Wildlife is abundant, though particularly fierce if the stories I am being told are true.
And this is the real crux of things - the sailors also spin fanciful tales of dark shapes and ruins. Of an ancient city haunted by undead and mysterious structures that glow with unearthly light. And at the heart of the island, a tower built of material that no man has ever before seen.
Our scouts have confirmed the existence of the tower and the ruins, though if I were to speculate from the descriptions, they are Archeronian in origin. If Acheron once had a presence on this island, then the stories from the sailors are more believable. Men have long memories of haunted Acheron.
Threa has come to tell me to join them on deck. We are closing in on our new home and the Prince requires my presence.

Their store of coal was running low...



Exploring the area near their settlement, they encountered Rocknoses and discovered ancient ruins...



Of course the ruins had to be filled with undead and wights. but there was something else about this place...



"Is it just me or has it gotten colder?" Hrongar said. "The temperature has definitely dropped quite a bit. You'd expect there to be snow covering the ground. 'Tis strange..." Valeria said. "Magic..." he muttered. 

Oh wow do I miss Conan!  Especially now we're playing a He-Man derived game now.  I think of the land so much these days!  How are the mods doing?  Did a lot of the old mods stop working or did they have updates for them?

Hrongar and Valeria returned home...



Hrongar was happy with how their settlement was developing. It was time for more raids, more thralls...



From this raid they returned with a tiger cub...



Another raid, another captive for the wheel of pain...

The days continued to pass...



More successful raids meant more thralls...



Hrongar was pleased with how the settlement was developing, but his mind was set on a much larger base - in a much sturdier building material. 
"All in due time," he thought. 

During their exploration, Hrongar and Valeria encountered a terrible scorpion. Once the great beast had been defeated the valuable brimstone could be mined...



Back at the settlement, the brimstone was combined with tar from the tanner in an alchemists firebowl, making steelfire. Then it was smelted with iron bars in a furnace to make steel bars.



Hrongar and Valeria decided to explore more of the south of the island. In the center of the island another storm was brewing...

Hrongar and Valeria were exploring on the Isle of Threa...



They camped for the night at Witcheye Lake...



... They discovered some ruins beset by enemies. The surrounding area was rich in black ice...



Back at base, all was proceeding well.

While exploring, Hrongar and Valeria found an ancient obelisk...



I will proclaim this land the coming of the great and mighty Xanarus!
He was gifted with the cunning of the serpent by the Serpent-god.
He was gifted with the beauty of the bird by the serpent-consort.
His might is unmatched in the empire.
He comes, he comes!

... and another...



I speak in the voice of Xanarus, lord of lords, Sorcerer of Acheron.
He claims this land, from the western shore to the eastern shore and all that lies in between.
He claims the trees, the stones, the flowing water.
He claims the heart tower, and the vaults.
He claims the maelstrom.
None shall deny Xanarus.




... and another...

Behold Xchotl, City of Xanarus!
See the men, strong and virile.
See the women, voluptious and beautiful.
All among his people are contented.
They offer him their daughters. They offer him their sons.
Set's temple echoes with screams and he is sated.
Derketo's temple echoes wih pleasure and she is sated.
He is the chosen of the gods, Xanarus the Devoted!

Hrongar and Valeria decided to explore the south of the island...



Their exploration eventually let them encounter the spawn of Dagon and discover a vault - the Vault of the Twice Drowned...

On the beach, not far from the vault, they encountered a giant crocodile...



After sunset, Hrongar and Valeria entered the wharf. It was in the hands of the Black Corsairs...



Having caused some havoc to the corsairs, the pair continued. They found another camp...

Hrongar and Valeria left the camp and continued their exploration...



The wind was picking up, it was another one of those island storms centered on the tower in the middle of the island...



The Maelstrom, as they had taken to call these storms, finally waned and they continued on their way. Climbing the steep cliffaces was no problem if you were strong enough...

It seemed they were near a location of importance...



... Yes, another vault.



It was getting dark...



The tower in the center of the island loomed in the distance...

The exploration continued...



Bison were a good find, they meant a good supply of food and hides...



Better yet... they found another source of brimstone and iron...



... But when found, it was the leyshrine that was the most interesting...



It became clear this place was used for some kind of ritual... summoning...?

When they returned, they immediately got the news of an imminent enemy force approaching...



The enemy outnumbered them and they were well-equipped. Hrongar, Valeria and their few defenders fought bravely but the enemy overwhelmed them. Wounded, Hrongar was forced to flee. He did not know the fate of his mates nor their thralls...



When they returned, Hrongar and Valeria were the only fighters. Of their thralls only the cook, the alchemist and the carpenter had escaped and returned. The damage was a great blow as they lost many resources and their workers. But with determination, the lost workstations and the thralls were soon replaced. New fighters were recruited and the settlement was repaired. The next time they would be better prepared...



The rhinos provided much needed thick hide for their armoury.

Together they continued to explore...



Hrongar was confused by the vision.
"Do you see it too?" he asked. "Yes," his companions answered.



They returned to the ruins and encountered a giant lacerta guarding a treasure...



They searched more of the ruins...



... and found an obelisk they had previously missed...



Behold that which Xanarus has created!
Not even the masons of Python could create such work.
See the stone, perfectly fitted.
See the temple, where Set comes to dwell.
Regard the foundations - they will stand forever.
What other builder could claim to stand beside him?
Xanarus the Wise!

Hrongar and the women, Valeria and Calandra, left the ruins...



They ventured inland and were caught in a maelstrom...



Strange creatures appeared wherever lighning struck...



In the end the maelstom waned and the storm ended - for this time, there would always be the next one. 
Hrongar, Valeria and Calandra set out exploring the south of the island. They discovered a shipwreck, and diving down they found some treasure...

Their exploration continued...



They encountered new creatures and found a source for volatile glands...



The expedition continued...



... what lay over there...?