Heading to Sylaire

As the victory celebration for defeating the Colossus was winding down, Gerard approached the party and suggested they plan to leave early the following morning. While the council and populous were happy the Colossus was defeated, they were not happy with the blatant use of magic. The party agreed with Gerard and he arranged transportation for them on a ship, early the next morning, heading down river, passing close to Sylaire.
The party, except Alexander, chose to use the 3 day journey as an opportunity to try to remove the cursed sword from Alexander. Their initial attempt, using Mage Hand, caused Alexander to stir, so they aborted that attempt. After a brief discussion with Gerard, Rudy found out a brewer of love potions was on board the boat. He was able to fabricate a sleeping potion and Rudy slipped it into a mug of ale that he gave to Alexander.
Alexander, not suspecting the drugging, gladly accepted the ale and after drinking much of it, he passed out. The party quickly went back to work. Kuppies once again used Mage Hand to remove the weapon, while Ekeraath prepared to restrain Alexander. As the sword was slowly levitated away, it began to glow red hot and emit a high pitched screech. Alexander was awakened by it, but Ekeraath was able to restrain him while Kuppies ran through the ship and threw the sword into the water. Alexander was bordering on insane desperation once he realized the sword had been taken from him. Ekeraath continued to restrain him while Rudy tied him to the bed and eventually drugged him with the remaining spiked ale.
The following morning, the party was awakened by the sound of Alexander sharpening his sword. After a fair amount of disagreement, he let the attempted theft drop.
Arriving at the coast near Sylaire, the party disembarked and heading into the wild.
Several hours later, the party found themselves in front of an archway that led into a beautiful, garden like, setting with a small tower. Sephora was waiting for them at the arch and immediately recognized the cursed sword as the Sword of Acerak and told them the tale of its creation.