The party is still in the bandits’ hideout below the Grey Asp bar from the previous session. They have decided to rummage through some of the stolen goods they found to see if there are any clues leading to the whereabouts of Mathistos, the missing merchant.
DM: Roll investigation. (Surina 1, Draggy 11, Lysithea 14) You don’t find anything fancy, but Lysithea, comes across a map. It looks like a map of an ancient ruin site, about a day outside of town.
Lysithea: Hey look, I found a map. It looks like it leads to ancient ruins.
Uncle Ian was unable to join us for this session, so the DM deemed that “The Professor” decided to stay behind and catalog all of the stolen goods found in the hideout.
Enter K’un-Lun, played by Uncle Shannon (aka Uncle Shan). K’un-Lun is a folk hero of legend, a hero amongst the lands. A thousand years ago he was trapped in time by a bad guy (still not determined which one), and suddenly, for no reason, he reappeared in the modern world, most people having forgotten him. The desert existed in K’un-Lun’s time, but it was still connected to the hills. But now there is a giant chasm separating the hills and desert.
DM: You arrive in town at the main front gate. Solid gold griffin statues are in the front, along with 2 guards.
Guard: What’s your purpose here?
K’un-Lun: What’s my purpose here? To save all you people here! Don’t you know who I am? I’m the great K’un-Lun!
Guard: Great! We need protectors and adventurers. (They don’t look like they believe that you’re great.) Make your way towards the Golden Griffin *hands pamphlet with map*.
K’un-Lun: I guess I don’t have anything better to do, so I’ll do that.
Guard: Yes, do that. Great. *not at all concerned with what K’un-Lun said, just fixated on the evil fighting*
DM: The town is much bigger than it used to be. So many more people, the bazaar is lining the streets as you go, massive market place, and everything looks new to you.
K’un-Lun: *struck with awe* This used to be a pig sty back in the day, it was a joke. Now look at it!
DM: There’s a commotion from dead bodies being brought out in to the square, being posted with “THIEVES” written above them. Lots of people are carrying supplies, and there’s 3 adventurers looking like they were in a scuffle. Stealing = bad.
K’un-Lun: Huh, they look like maybe they had something to do with this. Hello fellow adventurers!
Cordelia only needed a little prompting for this interaction. She was still unsure of herself and ran her responses by Mom and Dad before actually speaking to her uncle.
Surina: Hi, my name is Surina.
K’un-Lun: Hello Surina, I am K’un-Lun! Perhaps you heard of me before, I vanquished the great Ranthar, and the Evil Dave.
Surina: (Rolls 17 history, she has heard name before) Can you please come with us?
K’un-Lun: I don’t have much else to do, considering everyone else I’ve known and loved is dead now. I will go with you because I have an inkling to do justice upon evil doers!
Surina: That’s my goal, too!
K’un-Lun: We’re not that different you and I, even considering you are a dragon person and I am very clearly a man.
Surina: *leads to Golden Griffin*
DM to K’un-Lun: This building looks brand new.
Akron: Ah, I’ve already heard of the great thing you’ve done, breaking up the bandit guild, but that wasn’t your goal. So take a good rest, eat up, and go to your goal. *runs out* Lots of things to do!
K’un-Lun: Busy man, that guy.
DM: The party eats and takes a long rest.
K’un-Lun: I’ve already rested too long, I’m going to stay up and eat this banana.
After the long rest Cordelia needed some refreshing on the current mission – to go to the Succulent Snake to get information about Mathistos, the missing merchant. She is the current leader of the party, so we prompted her to make the decisions.
Surina: Let’s go to the restaurant to get more information.
DM: The Succulent Snake is a nice, upscale place. Sitting front and center is a female Half-Elf. She has intricately braided blue hair, and is playing a lute while singing. There’s a nice, little crowd around her. Behind the bar is a grey bun of hair just moving back-and-forth. You can’t see anything else besides the grandma-style hair.
K’un-Lun: Hello fair maiden? *peeks over bar to see*
DM: Looking up at you is an older Halfling.
Halfling: What do you want?
K’un-Lun: I’ll have a tall glass of water please.
Halfling: We ain’t got no water! Well, I guess we do…
K’un-Lun: Do you have any bread? I’ll eat some bread.
Halfling: Yeah, we have some bread.
K’un-Lun: I’ll have some bread, please. I’m quite famished having not eaten anything besides a banana in 1000 years.
Halfling:*reaches down, throws up plate and a piece of bread falls on top of it*
K’un-Lun: (Rolls arcana 15, the bread appeared out of nowhere)
Halfling: *shuffles off*
K’un-Lun: *doesn’t care where the bread came from, eats it anyway* Huh, this must be some magic bread, because this just popped in to our realm. *stuffing his face*
DM: People in the restaurant are looking at you strangely.
Halfling: *snaps fingers, another piece of bread falls from nowhere*
Mom and Dad prompted Cordelia to make a perception check.
Surina: (Rolls perception 10)
DM: There’s 3 people that look like they might have information: the bard, a big guy off in the back listening intently, and the Halfling barkeep. A lot of people are drinking cactus juice and fish stew, the specialties of Dalvok.
K’un-Lun: I say we talk to the big guy.
DM: He is taller than Surina. He looks human, but is very tall and has a green Mohawk. He looks at party, then looks away back to the musician. Roll perception (K’un-Lun 22). You see a lot of empty bowls (Uncle Shan exclaimed, “He be eating like Goku!”), but he also has jars out on the side. It looks like he has different seasonings with him.
K’un-Lun: Hello, I am K’un-Lun, and this is my intrepid crew. Are you some sort of spice enthusiast, or perhaps a cook of some kind?
Guy: Well, I’m not a cook, per say, I don’t have a job yet. I’m an enthusiast. I want to be a cook, that’s my goal. My name’s Mateen. When I have some down time I come in here and Agatha *points to Halfling* lets me try out different spices in the food.
K’un-Lun: Say Mateen, have you heard of that dude Mathistos who’s gone missing recently? (Rolls insight 16)
Mateen: No, no, haven’t heard anything. I’ve been listening to Sable *points to bard* for a while.
DM: You rolled insight 16? He is definitely lying.
K’un-Lun: *squints really hard and turns to Surina* Yo, Surina, this guy knows something that he’s not relaying to us. Maybe you can lean in to him and get him to spill the beans for us.
Surina: (Rolls persuasion 23)
Cordelia rolled a great persuasion check, but she did not know what to say to convince Mateen tell the truth. Dad asked her some guiding questions, reminding her about her character traits, particularly about how she believes everyone deserves kindness and respect.
Surina: I think you know something. We are good guys just like you.
Mateen: Fine, fine, fine. We were supposed to take him, but we got attacked, see. I may look big and strong, but I’m not really strong. I ran away, I ran away fast. I was just doing that so I could make some money and start my own restaurant. We got attacked and I don’t know what happened to him.
K’un-Lun: What attacked you?
Mateen: Bandits, the same type that’s been everywhere. I think they had this big red mark on their supplies.
K’un-Lun: Do you remember what it looked like exactly?
Mateen: *draws red mark, looks like a curved V/upside down mountain* We were sent to investigate the ruins but we never got there.
K’un-Lun: What directions are these ruins in my man?
Mateen: Southwest, towards the ocean. Shouldn’t take more than a day. We were attacked about half a day out, and I ran back here.
Lysithea: (Rolls investigation, 16)
DM: The map was sealed with wax, but it was broken, but pieced together it’s the same seal.
Lysithea: Hey everyone, the same symbol is on the map we found in the bandits’ hideout.
K’un-Lun: Good job, Lysithea! We should follow this map.
DM: You know that there are a few different ways to travel. It will be a day no matter how you travel, but you can walk or rent some camels.
Surina: (Rolls persuasion 17) *to someone from the guild* Take us to the camels.
Stable Master: I assume guild business? Guild business?
Surina: Yes.
Stable Master: These are the best camels we have available.
K’un-Lun: Can I get one with 2 humps?
Stable Master: Yes.
K’un-Lun: *pumps fists*
Stable Master: *notices Surina’s knight armor* Oh, Lady Surina, we have a special camel for you.
DM: The Stable Master provides Surina a camel adorned in cloth, and a nice supply pack with food in it. This is a special camel with enough food to last the party a day. (The party begins their ride out of town.)
DM: Cordelia, roll a d20 (6). As you ride along you notice a bunch of cacti, and lizard creatures cutting them up.
K’un-Lun: My word, why are they doing that? Perhaps they are cactus farmers, perhaps not.
DM: They look over at party and hiss, “Thievesssss.”
K’un-Lun: *Yelling loudly* Me? Do you know who I am? I am K’un-Lun! I would not steal a thing in my entire life! (Rolls persuasion, 4)
DM: They do not seem persuaded.
K’un-Lun: Well, I tried.
Lysithea: *speaking timidly* We are not thieves, we just destroyed a whole bandit den. (Rolls persuasion Nat. 20, plus 4)
DM: Even though your speech doesn’t seem to have them understanding whatsoever, they start standing down seeing you may not be a threat at all. They whisper to each other in a language you don’t understand. Surina can kind of understand, but not completely. It kind of sounds Draconic, but it isn’t. They motion for you to continue on.
Lysithea: *quietly* Thank you.
Surina: Have you been having trouble with thieves?
DM: They just motion you on.
K’un-Lun: Let us ride on.
DM: You move on with no issues whatsoever, leaving them to harvest their cacti. You make it to the ancient ruins that seem recently dug up. K’un-Lun, roll a perception check with advantage (Rolls 16). They weren’t ruins back in your day, but then again they feel odd. These ruins feel odd to you. Something feels odd right here, but you don’t know what.
K’un-Lun: I’ve got a bad feeling about this guys.
DM: There’s a clear dug out path going down. (Draggy enters first, then Lysithea, K’un-Lun, and Surina last. K’un-Lun is using a torch.) There is a large, ornate door with all these markings and etchings on it. Lots of stories being told through the drawings.
Lysithea: (Rolls arcana 6, then history 21)
DM: The stories all look similar, with a central theme being snakes. You can tell through knowledge of history that these are mythological stories, told for the creation of different things, these stories about these snakes.
Lysithea: *relays all of that information to the party*
K’un-Lun: *attempts to push the door open*
DM: It opens perfectly fine.
K’un-Lun: *pushes the door open and backs away quickly*
DM: The door is 10 feet wide. Lysithea has dark vision and can see entire room. You see 5 great tall pillars standing straight up, another giant door at the back, and 4 pools of different looking water. They look like recessed pools. There’s no movement, and torch holders around. *Party lights torches* The first pool of water is blue, the second is green, the third is perfectly clear, and the fourth is this brownish, cloudy liquid. The pillars also have etchings. The door at the back is stuck tight. It cannot be pushed, and there is no key hole. *Party inspects the pools and pillar etchings* The pillar by pool #1 shows snakes, but the main thing is someone speaking to a large crowd. Lower on the pillar you see the same crowd covered in snakes, and below that someone dripping wet with dead snakes. The pillar by pool #2 looks like a party scene with people drinking, and further down all the bodies are on the ground covered in snakes. The middle pillar shows someone bathed in a glowing light and a snake dead at their feet. The pillar by pool #3 shows at the top someone reading a book, like they are studying, with their head down covered in snakes. At the bottom of the pillar someone looks like they are dripping wet with dead snakes at their feet. The last pillar by pool #4 shows someone teaching a class. Below them are students are covered in snakes, and at the bottom of the pillar someone is dripping wet pointing at their temple with snakes dead at their feet.
K’un-Lun: *dunks his head in the first pool* (Makes charisma saving throw, 17)
DM: You get visions of terrible calamities, crumbling buildings, political speeches, and snakes everywhere, but even though you are on edge you feel ready for it. You feel this light around you, and you now get advantage on initiative rolls. You feel ready, pumped, like a light is shining on you a bit.
K’un-Lun: Guys, y’all should try this water out. It made me feel really good, and I got this crazy vision of a calamity and I feel great.
Lysithea: *dunks head in green pool*
DM: You feel poison coursing through veins, but you actually feel stronger, like it’s going to help and you feel bathed in light. You now have resistance to poison until you have a long rest.
Surina: *dunks head in clear pool* (Makes an intelligence saving throw, rolls Nat. 20)
DM: You see a realm of infinite possibilities, everything that could and will happen for multiple universes. You gain complete clarity of mind, and gain advantage on any intelligence, wisdom, charisma check, and saving throws. You feel a glowing light on you.
Lysithea: *dunks her head in the brownish pool* (Makes a wisdom saving throw, 11)
DM: You feel a snake bite and feel acid pouring through your veins, but it does not seem to hurt you. In fact, it makes you stronger. Gain resistance to acid damage. You also feel a glowing light. By the middle pillar you hear a clink on the ground and see a key shaped like snake. *Lysithea picks up key and approaches the door* As you approach the door with key, a snakes mouth opens to reveal a key hole. *Lysithea inserts the key* The door opens. Roll perception. You hear scratching sounds to the right. You see a door in front of you, and a split hallway. Party rolls initiative (K’un-Lun 22, Lysithea 19, Draggy 16, and Surina 9). The area is lit up *K’un-Lun throws torch away*. This feels different than the other area.
K’un-Lun: I feel we are not alone. *Goes to door and puts ear to door, but doesn’t hear anything* I’m going in *tries to push door open, but it does not move.* (Makes dexterity roll to open the door, Nat 20)
DM: The door feel like it’s completely stuck at first, but eventually you push it open, shoving all these rocks out of the way that were blocking the door. As you look in you see a completely empty room, a door to the left and a door straight ahead.
Begin Temple Encounters
K’un-Lun moves in to the room, with Lysithea entering next to him. Draggy moves behind K’un-Lun, and Surina moves behind Lysithea. K’un-Lun moves towards the door straight ahead. DM calls for him to makes a dexterity saving throw. He passes and jumps out of the way of a pit that opened up below him. K’un-Lun opens the door, which leads to a hallway with a turn to the right. Down the hallway he sees a rather large snake. Lysithea moves in to the room, but falls in to a pool of acid. She only takes 1 damage because of her acid resistance. She climbs out of pit and moves behind K’un-Lun. Draggy moves to other door and opens it to find a completely empty room. The snake moves towards K’un-Lun and attempts to bite him. It hits with a 22, doing 6 damage. K’un-Lun has to make a constitution saving throw (rolls 16). He takes an additional 1 point poison damage and is close to dying already. K’un-Lun rolls a 19 to punch the snake and does 5 damage. Using his bonus action he rolls a 14 to punch the snake with his other hand, hits, and does 5 more damage. The snake is barely hanging on to life. Lysithea rolls 25 to attack with Fire Bolt, hits and kills the snake, which dissolves. Draggy moves to open the door on the left of his room where he finds another snake. He rolls a Nat. 20 to attack with his battle ax and does 10 damage. The snake has 1 health left. The snake tries to bite Draggy, hits him for 3 damage, plus 2 more poison damage. Surina moves to K’un-Lun and heals him with Lay on Hands to heal him for 3 HP. K’un-Lun starts moving the rocks at the end of the hallway, trying to hit them all at once. He makes a dexterity check (18) and kicks the rocks. This causes some of the rocks to fall, creating holes where darkness can be seen from the other side. Lysithea, with her dark vision, sees through the holes a room that looks undisturbed, but sees treasure. Lysithea uses Mage Hand to assist K’un-Lun, moving all the rocks and revealing the room. The room looks completely undisturbed. This room does not look odd like the others, like it belongs with the pool room. There are statues, no gold, but treasures, things that would be well received in town. Lysithea sends her Mage Hand in to room to feel for traps. There are no traps, so she enters the room. It looks like a storage area. If they had time they could search through and find important artifacts. Lysithea begins rummaging through the piles and finds artifacts with the same snake theme. It feels like no one has been here for a long, long, long time. Other places in the ruins look like there has been recent movement, but this room does not. A quick return to Draggy, who defeats the snake in front of him with his battle ax. Back to K’un-Lun, who enters the artifact room, and notices the very snake-themed things feel familiar, but he cannot place his finger on it just yet. This is old, but it does not feel odd to him, it feels familiar. K’un-Lun rolls investigation (11) and feels this temple was built for something, and that these are offerings to something. He relays this information to Lysithea. Lysithea moves to open door, which responds to the snake key and a hole appears. Lysithea unlocks the door and sees 3 giant rats. (At this point Victor is uninterested because he defeated his snake, so Draggy is momentarily out.) Surina uses her fire breath weapon, doing 3 damage to each rat. Each rat looks fried and crispy, but not dead. One rat attacks Surina and misses. The second rat attacks Surina, and hits for 3 damage. The third rat also attacks Surina, but misses. K’un-Lun punches the first rat, hits with a 19 and kills it. Lysithea hits the second rat with Fire Bolt for 3 damage, defeating the rat. Surina hits the third rat with her long sword, doing 7 damage and killing it.
There is still much left to explore and Mathistos has yet to be found…
End Session
Analysis: Cordelia is still getting the hang of the game. She already knows how to handle combat, but she’s not very confident with anything open-ended, like what to say and making decisions. She wants to remain true to her character, who is lawful good, believes everyone should be treated with kindness, and wants to hunt monsters. We don’t want to provide her with straight answers, so we ask her guiding questions to help her decide what her character would do. For example, when trying to persuade Mateen to tell the truth we asked her what her character’s personality trait is (be kind to everyone) and then how would Surina kindly get Mateen to tell the truth. As her parents we are trying to build confidence in her critical thinking skills, and we hope to see her growth carry over from the game to real life.