Check In Question: What is your favorite board game?
- Cordelia: King Domino, Pyramid of the Pengqueen, and Stratego. Surina’s favorite is Dragon Stratego.
- Liz: I was never a board game player much, but my favorite of all was Candyland. Octavia’s is an Elvish version of Go. She’s not good at it, but she likes it.
- Miranda: I used to really like Clue, but right now I think my favorite is either Pyramid of the Pengqueen or Ticket to Ride. Lysithea loves chess and Corde Risk.
- Kevin: I think it’s Stratego. Gobbles loves Candyland because it’s candy, but he just eats the board and pieces.
- Justice: Risk. Or Diplomacy. Samuel of the Otterace’s favorite is Dominoes but played with stones.
When we last left the party they were just about to defeat the jackal when a beautiful Fey appeared and stopped time. She explained that if they were to defeat the jackal his spirit would then be free to find a new, more powerful host to control. Reluctantly, the party agreed that they would have to find a different way to defeat the jackal and left through the magical gate the Fey provided.
Octavia had remained behind, choosing to stay in the twisted hallway full of undead to protect the party while they investigated the sarcophagus. When the party fell through to the sandpit to face the jackal, Octavia was left in the hallway, defending them from the hoard of zombies. Unsure of the fate of the party, Octavia remained determined to keep anything else from getting through. She began to worry as the walls began to pulse black, negative energy and the hoard of zombies continued to rise. Suddenly, time freezes and a portal opens up in front of her. A beautiful song encourages Octavia to step in…
… and she finds herself inside a bathhouse. A voice encourages her to relax. She looks around and sees the rest of the party, some of them very injured, relaxing in the waters.
Lysithea: Heeeyyyy!
Octavia: What’s up?
Lysithea: Well…. we were fighting…
Surina: The jackal who turned out to be the scout.
Lysithea: … the jackal who turned out to be the scout, and we were wailing into him pretty hard. And then time froze and this Fey dropped down and told us that if we were to defeat him, his spirit would be freed from that physical form and he would be free to find an even stronger form. So our options were to either let him go and be trapped in his current physical form, or release his spirit into the world. We chose to NOT let his spirit roam free, and we ended up here.
Surina: He hit me a bunch.
Lysithea: It was an epic fight! I threw out Jeffrey and made him giant, and then Professor cast Enlarge on him and made him even bigger! Gobbles jumped on and rode him like a steed. It was a glorious battle.
Octavia: Well do you mind if I join you? This looks pretty nice.
Lysithea: Come on in.
Octavia: By the way, I noticed this time-warpish thing when this door opened up and led me here.
Lysithea: Yeah, that’s kind of what happened.
Octavia: I didn’t get beat up as much as some of you, but I would like to relax.
The party spends a long time in the bathhouse, recovering from their injuries and still slightly wounded pride. Refreshed and recovered, the party decides they need to figure out where they are and what they need to do next. They head to exit the bathhouse to find an eldery Elf woman with wispy grey hair waiting for them at the front.
Elf: Ah, enjoy the bath?
Lysithea: Yes.
Octavia: It was a treat.
Elf: *stumbling for words* The one that brought you here is waiting for you at the inn.
Octavia: Can you tell me which inn?
Elf: The only inn in town. We’re not one of those big cities.
Lysithea: Where are we?
Elf: Ucun.
Ucun is a small village on the northeastern edge of the Tahnatl Forest, not too far from the Plishpy River.
Octavia: Well darn, we traveled a bit.
Lysithea: Oh, I bet Rouge has no idea where we are!
Elf: It happens all the time.
Lysithea: Does it?
Elf: Just make your way to the inn.
The elderly Elf picks up some yarn from behind the desk and begins to knit. The party exits the bathhouse and takes in the scenery. Ucun is a quaint little town, quiet and peaceful. They can still hear the birds from the edge of the forest, and animals, like rabbits and deer, are roaming freely and unafraid. The party has been in the harsh desert for so long that the lush greenery is a welcome sight. All of the buildings are made of nice wood. The village is one with nature.
Lysithea: Oh no… Everything is flammable.
This is the first time Lysithea has ever seen green like this. She was raised in a volcano region and then traveled to the Rooja Desert, so grass is a new experience for her. Overwhelmed by the sight Lysithea drops to her knees and begins crawling through and feeling the grass. The grass is incredibly soft as she continuously runs her fingers and tail through it, inhaling the fresh scents. She does not care how much of a weirdo she is coming off as, she is in the moment.
Octavia has not been to Ucun since she was a small child, but nothing has changed since her last visit. She recalls that this peaceful village also acts as a trading post, mostly used by the Elves of the Tahnatl Forest. She takes a deep breath, taking in the refreshing air.
Octavia: It’s nice to be back. It’s been a long time.
Lysithea is still rolling around in the grass.
Lysithea: You got to live with this stuff?! This is amazing!
Gobbles notices that Thistle is still missing; however, he feels that his Warlock powers are heightened in a way. Realising this, Gobbles stands heroically and lets out a small laugh.
Gobbles: That’s interesting. Do you guys have super powers?
Any spell that Gobbles would let out in this village would be advantageous to him. Gobbles, showing self-control very uncharacteristic of him, holds back and decides to not test out his new power. He looks around and sees the peaceful Elves and small children and decides that it would be best not to disturb the peace. A Goblin suddenly shooting out confetti spells would cause quite the commotion.
The party begins to feel eyes on them and look around to see children staring at them. Octavia isn’t getting too many looks, except for her desert armor. Gobbles, Lysithea, and Surina are getting many excited stares (insight Lysithea 22, Surina 17, Octavia 16, Gobbles 16). This quiet, peaceful town probably hasn’t seen adventurers outside of the Elves. The children are whispering excitement over seeing the Dragonborn Surina and her sword. Some of the children see Lysithea rolling in the grass and go to join her, trying to figure out what she’s doing, wanting to imitate the strange Tiefling. Gobbles and Lysithea notice that even the adults are staring at them, very curious about the green and lavender creatures. Lysithea, feeling the stares, lets out an *Ahem*, stands up, and brushes herself off.
Lysithea: Uh… nice grass…
Blushing, Lysithea resumes heading towards the inn and the rest of the party follow. As they get closer to the inn they begin to hear music, playing from inside. Octavia begins to tap along to the lively music as they approach the entrance. Opening the doors they find merry dancing and tons of people having fun. Thistle is flying around the ceiling. On stage is the beautiful Fey that brought the party here, playing the fiddle with a band behind her. Wanting to join in, Gobbles busts out his kazoo and joins in (performance 17). Seeing Thistle flying around freely without anyone caring, Gobbles starts having confetti pop out of the kazoo as he plays. Octavia and Surina jump in with the dancers, while Lysithea taps her hoof and wags her tail to the beat. After a while the band stops and the patrons erupt into cheers. With the party over the people go grab a drink, then sit down to relax.
The hypnotically beautiful Fey spots the party and bows to them, flowers blooming from her hand as her arm stretches out. She rises, then motions the party to follow her to the back. She leads them to a room with a rounded table. The Fey waves her hand as she sits and honey, bread, and flowery desserts form on the table.
Fey: You must be exhausted. Sit and eat.
The party is very appreciative of their host, but they are very cautious to accept anything from a Fey. Octavia pulls and apple from her bag and leans on the wall.
Gobbles: I’m Gobbles the Goblin. Nice to meet you.
Fey: We have met, Gobbles. And I’m very proud of how you are spreading my magical aura to the places you go.
Gobbles: *confused* Kay…
Fey: You haven’t met me, but I’ve met you. You may call me Alenia Silversong.
(Arcana/Nature Gobbles 22, Lysithea 24, Octavia 17, Surina 14) Surina knows that she’s run into this type of power before and that she sees it all the time with Gobbles, but she’s not sure of much more. Everyone else recognizes that Alenia is a Fey. Octavia doesn’t know much of the Fey, but she knows that you’re not supposed to be welcomed to a table with one. There’s always some trick behind their motives. Lysithea and Gobbles also know that the name she gave is not her full name. Fey names usually have at least 20 names within them, but they only give the name they want to be called because there is power in names. The fact that Gobbles goes around and gives his name freely confuses Alenia, which is one of the reasons she’s been so fascinated with Gobbles. However, knowing everything they do about Fey, the party understands that this is okay. There is no trick behind Alenia’s current offering and it is safe to sit and eat. Alenia summons Thistle, who perches on her shoulder. Alenia’s clothing is reflective of Thistle’s colors.
Alenia: Did you really think that Thistle was your patron?
Gobbles: Yep.
Alenia: *fascinated* Duly noted. No tricks for now. You may partake.
Alenia grabs a tiny teacup and delicately sips from it.
Gobbles: Yay! Thank you!
Gobbles begins stuffing his face with whatever food is closest to him. The food tastes like nature. The floral taste doesn’t interest Gobbles, as he prefers the flavors of Hydra Meat burgers; however, once he sees the honey he immediately begins drinking it. Alenia nods in approval. Lysithea is very curious about what the food tastes like. She is used to a diet of heat, spice, and cheese, so the floral desserts both fascinate and intimidate her. She picks up a small cake, which looks like a water lily, and takes a bite. The sweet, floral flavors are foreign to Lysithea’s palette, but she is shocked at how much she likes it. She begins taking notes of everything she eats and what it tastes like. Surina is disheartened that there is no meat at the table, but enjoys the bread and honey. Octavia is flooded with memories of her youth as she nibbles on fruit with honey. She lets out a big sigh, happy in her nostalgia.
Gobbles: Can I take some of these oranges? I need to keep my armor fresh.
Alenia: *giggles* I like you. You would fit in well in my court.
Gobbles: That’s how I keep my armor a shiny orange! I add orange juice to it occasionally.
Alenia: Now, let us have a discussion.
Octavia: Oh, here we go.
Alenia: There has been evil unleashed.
Lysithea: Yes…
Alenia: But it’s not your fault.
Gobbles: Yay!
Surina: We know it’s the jackal’s fault.
Lysithea: And that scout.
Surina: The scout was the jackal.
Lysithea: Well, no. The jackal used the scout’s body.
Alenia: Kidd, that is the scout’s name, his body is possessed by the jackal. There’s a way to get him back.
Lysithea: Oh good…
Gobbles: If there’s time.
Alenia: Exactly. Good news is that he is weakened right now. He is not at full strength. Bad news is, there’s some talking and some rumors of his churches and priests noticing. The people who worship him have noticed his return. Ruh and the Fey go way back.
Lysithea: Do tell.
Alenia: Well, he took our power and made it darker. We like playing tricks and doing our thing. Well, Ruh likes playing tricks as well and we were like, “Oh! He would be fun to have around.” This was thousands and thousands of years ago. But he was stronger than we realized. And… *shrugs* oops?
Lysithea: Oh.
Alenia: The Fey world, if you’ve ever been, is magical in a good way, like this food in front of you. Ruh’s world…
She claps her hands and all of the food on the table turns rancid and blackens. Tentacles sprout from the food and bugs begin crawling through it.
Gobbles: I don’t know about this…
Gobbles takes a bite of the decaying food, but the food still tastes fresh and clean. Alenia motions to the decaying food.
Alenia: This is Ruh’s world.
Lysithea: Yes, we’ve gotten small glimpses of it.
Alenia claps her hands and the food returns to its beautiful, fresh, natural image.
Alenia: We need this taken care of.
Lysithea: Agreed.
Alenia: And since you have seen him and he’s taken a liking to you…
Lysithea: A whAT?!
Alenia: I mean, he gave you all those gifts.
Lysithea: I’m pretty sure these came off of other peoples’ dead bodies.
Alenia: Well, yes.
Gobbles: Other than the murder and armageddeon plot, he seems like a pretty friendly guy.
Alenia: But the good news is that he is hurt.
She takes out a crystal ball and tosses it forward. The ball hovers over the center of the table. Inside the ball the party can see a very injured Ruh surrounded by the dark temple energy, and tentacles lashing everywhere. Ruh then rescinds the energy, looks up, and the sand transports him to the entrance of his temple. He steps outside, using his staff as a walking stick, and spots 2 camels, which surprisingly aren’t the ones that belong to the party. He sighs a bit as he looks around, then spots the scout’s belongings. He rummages through his stuff and pulls out a map. He points to a spot on the map, then climbs onto one of the camels, staff on his back, and rides off.
Alenia: So, as you can see, since you didn’t let his spirit go he’s trapped in that body.
Gobbles: Yeah, otherwise he’d need a much more powerful camel.
Alenia: We still have some worries, but yay! You all are here. Now, you might have some questions. Your stuff is in rooms upstairs. We had a messenger go to your ship and Rouge Hareng knows. He gave us a message…
A piece of paper magically appears in her hand.
Alenia: …and this is signed to you all.He doesn’t know how to write well. I read it.
She hands the paper to Lysithea, who reads it. Lysithea blinks hard at the chicken scratch letter, but she is able to read it:
I understand that you are off on adventure. I have been hired to take 2 knights to the jungle. As per what we talked about, that’s where you were going anyway, so I’ll meet y’all there.
Alenia: Your other companions are sleeping.
Lysithea: Of course they are.
Alenia: Your camels are here.
Gobbles: Sir Eagle!
Alenia: Camels don’t fit here, though. So you might want me to take them off your hands and take them somewhere else. They’ll be safe.
Gobbles: Can we have them returned back to the guild?
Lysithea: That is where they are supposed to go.
Alenia: I guess so… I could do that… eventually, sure! All of your supplies that you need are in your room.
Gobbles: Well I know we need the cheese chest.
Alenia: That is definitely here. Where did you get such a fascinating object?
Gobbles: Oh, let me tell you the tale!
Gobbles proceeds to tell the Fey the entire story of Herman and the island of the Shadow Cow (see Session 20). (Insight Gobbles 9, Lysithea 10 – Perception Surina 13, Octavia 8) Everyone notices Alenia’s eyes flash a brilliant green at the mention of Herman. She slowly nods as Gobbles tells the tale.
Alenia: Oh! Okay…
She brushes her hair back a bit. Her demeanor changes for just a second, but returns to normal.
Lysithea: Do you know Herman?
Alenia: Do I know…? Of course I know. I know everything. And I had heard a bit about that story.
For just a moment, she glares at Thistle, as if maybe Thistle didn’t tell her about Herman. Lysithea thinks to herself that Alenia and Herman probably have a history. Alenia’s demeanor quickly returns to normal.
Alenia: Well, it’s all here. Enjoy the village. But, we would like this taken care of.
Lysithea: And how would we do that?
Alenia: Find things before he does. Ruh still has magical items everywhere. You’ve run into them. Some of them are still active. And that purple comet? Ruh is going to want to get his hands on that, too. That’s part of how he made his magic items – with that material. The recent rise of the undead is also the work of Ruh and his followers. Do watch the knights, as well.
Lysithea: The knights or the Lord Commander?
Alenia: I don’t know, but there’s a lot of his stuff there, too, and Ruh likes his stuff. Just treat Ruh like a Fey, but an evil one. Not like us.
Lysithea: Yeah, evil chaos god. Check. Is there a way to find out what stuff he has and where it is located besides in Dalvok and Barlsod?
Alenia waves her hand and a map appears. She then casts a spell on the map (Arcana Gobbles 16, Lysithea 24). Lysithea eyes grow very wide as the spell Alenia just cast is an insanely high level of magic.
Alenia: When something of his activates it will show up on this map.
Lysithea: Clarification. Does activating mean he has found it or is heading towards it?
Alenia: Either he has found it, or some other person has found it and started using it. Like when that Lamia used it to heighten her power, or when those amulets were worn.
Lysithea: So this is a reactionary, not a cautionary, map?
Alenia: Everything we do is reactionary. We’re not a cautionary group of people.
Lysithea: In other words there’s no way to predict where he’s going until something has been activated.
Alenia: Not always. You do have some knowledge. The jungle supposedly has one of those objects.
Lysithea: Yes, that’s actually where we are heading before.
Alenia: Have fun!
Lysithea: That’s what we do best.
Butterflies begin to fly off of Alenia as she prepares to depart.
Gobbles: I’m glad you liked that story, and I will do that favor for you.
Alenia whispers to Gobbles, “Head to our temple” as she erupts into butterflies with silver wings and flies off. Thistle resumes his perch on top of Gobbles’s head.
Gobbles: Hi, Thistle.
Thistle: Hi, new friend. We’re going on more adventures!
Lysithea: Pretty sure we were just contracted by a Fey to take out an evil chaos god.
Octavia: That’s sure what it sounds like to me, Lysithea.
Gobbles: It’s a tale as old as time.
Lysithea: At least we’re going to a place with more green things!
The food also turned to butterflies when Alenia departed, except for one orange. Gobbles packs the orange away, planning on using it to juice his armor later. The party leaves the room and heads upstairs to their rooms to check on their belongings. All of their items, including their things that were on Rouge’s ship, are waiting for them in their rooms. After a brief discussion the party decides it would be best to stick to their plan and head to the jungle.
Lysithea: Yes, we still need to head to the jungle, because now we know that The Vigilance is headed there, the knights are headed there, and one of Ruh’s items is there, which is probably what they’re all going for. Also, Horgus is there and I’m sure Professor would love to punch him.
The party decides that, since they have been gifted a head start on The Vigilance and the knights, they will take some time to relax and enjoy the town of Ucun. The adventures in the tomb and the battle with Ruh was taxing on the party, and now that they’ve recovered physically they need to recover mentally. Professor and K’un-Lun choose to remain in their rooms and sleep. Surina, Lysithea, Gobbles, and Octavia decide to head out and explore the village. Downstairs, the innkeeper stops Lysithea. The eldery Elven innkeep calls her over.
Innkeep: Dearie, dearie!
Lysithea: Yes, ma’am?
Innkeep: Would your name happen to be “That Scary Horned Girl with Magic?”
Lysithea: There’s a very good possibility that that is me.
Innkeep: This beautiful lady left this note, saying someone gave her this to give to you.
She hands Lysithea a note addressed to “That Scary Horned Girl with Magic”.
Lysithea: Thank you very much.
The note is sealed with wax, with the face of a Goblin stamped into it. The paper smells like cheap cologne.
Lysithea: Great… this day couldn’t get any better…
She reads the note to herself:
“Hey, Scary One. Just checking in. We got word from someone that I may be of help. Right now we’re sailing on The Vigilance and we’re a bit far away, still. Making slow time, wink wink. See you in the jungle. Slogoth”
Lysithea: Yup, this was for me.
The party and innkeep see Lysithea’s face turn to an annoyed scowl as she reads. They then see Lysithea hold the note in her hand and light it. The note goes up in purple flame and turns to ash.
Lysithea: Slogoth’s kind of helping.
Gobbles: Good. I’m glad we have someone so trustworthy on our side.
Lysithea pats Gobbles on the head, aiming in-between Thistle’s feet, then turns around and walks out.
Exploring Ucun
Gobbles heads over to the temple, which is just a wooden structure with stars on it. Although the temple’s appearance is meager, Gobbles feels energy building within him as he approaches. Gobbles proceeds inside to find a spring surrounded by a beautiful darkness. He gets the feeling that he should drink from the spring.
Gobbles: What could go wrong?
Gobbles steps forward and dunks his head into the spring. It feels almost as if he has new power as he devotes himself to this strange but beautiful darkness. As he begins to chug the water he feels a change in his DNA, as if his powers are rearranging themselves. For a second Gobbles gets the feeling that this will come with a price, but he shrugs it off.
Gobbles: It’ll be fine.
Lysithea drags her tail on the soft grass as she walks around in search of trees, flowers, and gardens. She begins to sketch and take notes on everything she sees. As she sits and sketches, small, Elven children come up behind her and look over her shoulder. Lysithea also goes from garden to garden, asking people if she can pick certain flowers. The village folk are more than happy to oblige, and Lysithea picks many flowers to later press and turn into bookmarks.
Lysithea finds some particularly beautiful flowers and knocks on the door of the owner. Yet another eldery Elf woman opens the door. It’s quite apparent that this is a seamstress. There is cloth made of the finest materials all along the walls, and baskets filled with spools of thread everywhere.
Elf: Oh, dearie.
The elderly woman reaches out and grabs Lysithea’s Cloak of Displacement, feeling the material in her hands.
Elf: Ah, displacer magic.
Lysithea: Yes…
Elf: Finely made, finely made.
Lysithea: Oh, that’s good to know. It’s impressive that you recognized the material so quickly.
Elf: I am a seamstress. I make things, I sew. There’s magic in the way you can sew things.
Lysithea: That is fascinating. *pulls out a notebook* Please tell me more.
Elf: Well, you can sew things and sew magic into them. People come to me for work. They want things and I can do it, sometimes. My finest creations…
The seamstress welcomes Lysithea into her home and leads her to an armoire. She opens it and the inside is filled with patches. Lysithea realizes that the patches are very similar to the ones on Gobbles’s Robe of Useful Items.
Lysithea: I have a friend with a robe with patches just like these.
Elf: Ah, so what I do is I imbue these patches with magic. I keep most common items in stock, but sometimes I get requests for rarer items. If given the material and time I can make more special ones, for compensation.
Lysithea: This is fascinating.
Surina is walking around and runs into several Elf children playing. They are so excited to see what they think is a dragon, and refer to her as such.
Kid 1: Do you know any cool dragon games?
Surina: I could teach you Tail Tag.
Kid 2: But we don’t have tails! How can we play that?
Another kid comes running up.
Kid 3: I have a tail! I have a tail!
This child is like nothing Surina has ever seen before. He is a creature with fur, standing on hind legs, and grinning sharp teeth. This child is of the Otterace. Walking behind him is an older Otterace carrying a sack and a spear. The adult is about the same height as a Goblin, and the child even smaller.
Otterace Adult: Well, looky here, we have a draygon! Don’tcha know, it’s really a draygon! Haven’t seen one of you about here. Now, Finneus, you go and play while I work.
Surina looks in amazement at the Otterace.
Finneus: Let’s play! Let’s play! You said a game of tails?
All of the other Elf children are seen fastening chords or braids of flowers to their pants so that they can have tails, too.
Kid 1: Tell us how to play Tail Tag!
Surina explains the rules to the dozens of children that have gathered around her, and continues to play with them for several hours.
Octavia and Onza, her panther, take a walk to the outskirts of town. They take some time to study the trees, getting a feel for the forest and the terrain (nature adjusted 20). Octavia feels one with nature here. Even though she’s been away for a long time, she feels at home around the forest. They take some time to meditate with nature, relaxing and centering themselves.
Near the edge of the forest is a small market and trading post. While meditating Octavia here’s someone speaking in a strange accent (nature 12). Although she doesn’t completely recognize it, the voice has a familiarity to it.
Voice: Well looky here. I brought some seafood!
Octavia opens her eyes and turns towards the source of the voice. She immediately recognizes the Otterace, and recalls that these are river folk. They are known to bring food and supplies in exchange for other supplies. The Elves bring their supplies from deep within the forest and trade with the Otterace, who bring their wares from the river.
Otterace: I have food for trade!
Elf: Oh, oh Samuel, good to see you.
Samuel Otter: Don’tcha know, I have the best seafood.
Curious, Octavia stops meditating and wanders over to the trading post. Samuel rests his stone spear and empties out a huge bag into a stand. Out pour mollusks, clams, oysters, scallops, and other various river fish. Samuel begins to haggle prices in broken Elvish. He’s getting half of the words wrong, as if he learned the language second-hand. Samuel is currently haggling prices with an uncooperative Elf when Octavia interjects with a passive-aggressive comment about his Elvish.
Samuel: Well thank you, dear!
The Otterace doesn’t pick up on the passive-aggressive comment at all. He thinks Octavia is being a sincere, sweet Elf.
Octavia: What do you have for trade today?
Samuel: Well, we have some mussels and clams. The finest the river has given us! You can’t find this in the forest, because they won’t let me into the lake…
Octavia patiently listens to him ramble (insight adjusted 20). She does pick up on his passive-aggressive comment about not being allowed to enter the lake in Tahnatl Forest. Octavia smiles knowingly at his comment, and thinks to herself, “This guy’s cool.” One of the haggling Elves notices Octavia’s armor is that of the desert, not of the forest.
Elf: I notice you’re not from around here. Samuel has the finest seafood. Those Otterace from Ortunia bring these delicacies. They only come around once or so a month.
Octavia: I hope I get to see one break a clam on its tummy.
Elf: Oh! You want to see the trick! Samuel! Samuel! Break one of the clams!
With deft skill, Samuel grabs the sturdiest armored clam and breaks it open with one slam on his stomach. (Athletics 21) With this skill he used to break open the clam, and the fact that he’s only carrying a stone spear, Octavia notices that Samuel has quite a bit of strength. She gets the notion that wearing heavy armor around him would put one at a major disadvantage.
Gobbles decides that now is the time to test his new super powers. He pops out Word of Radiance, and colorful, strobed radiance erupts from him. Satisfied, he starts making his way to meet up with the party. Surina spent hours playing with the children of Ucun. Even some of the young adults joined in on the fun. Surina has made all of the common folk of the town feel special and they love her. Octavia has successfully scouted out where to acquire food and supplies. Lysithea now has a notebook full of pressed flowers and sketches with notes. Upon meeting up with Gobbles she tells him about the patchwork seamstress.
Reunited, the party finds some benches to rest on (Lysithea sits in the grass) and they begin to discuss the best way to get to the jungle from their current location. They agree that the river will be the fastest way; however, the river flows in the opposite direction they need to go, and the place to acquire river boats is far to the south. Octavia informs the party of her encounter with the Otterace, thinking they might be able to help. Surina nods in approval, but Lyisthea and Gobbles have no idea what she’s talking about.
Samuel: Well!
Samuel is walking up with his child, Finneus, behind him.
Samuel: Young Finn told me that this draygon here played with him all day. Thank you, young lady.
Surina: You’re welcome!
Samuel: That was mighty nice of you. *pops open a jug* Can I interest y’all in some rut beer?
Gobbles: Yes! I’m Gobbles the Goblin.
He pours the drink into little thimble caps, which is a nice size cup for Gobbles. The drink has a ginger taste, made with the finest sea roots available.
Lysithea: So many new experiences I’m having today!
Samuel: Y’all aren’t from around here.
Lysithea: What gave it away?
Samuel: What brings y’all to these parts?
Lysithea: *coughMAGICcough* We are on our way north.
Samuel: North? How far north?
Lysithea: Very.
Samuel: To where? Where are y’all going?
Gobbles: To that place we probably shouldn’t.
Lysithea: To the northern end of the continent.
Samuel: How do y’all plan on traveling?
Lysithea: That’s what we’re trying to figure out.
Samuel: Might I suggest river raft?
Lysithea: Doesn’t the river flow south?
Samuel: It does. But, you can row and travel north by river.
Lysithea: Well, we do have an expert rower *gestures to Surina*.
Samuel: Now, I can’t promise you as safe passage as the riverboats to the south, but us Otterace, we know our way around the river.
Lysithea: How long will it take to travel this way? Let’s say, all the way to the opposite end of the continent?
Samuel: That depends on the river spirits. If they grace us like they usually do, you see they grace us because we offer them things, we can get you there rather quickly.
Lysithea: That’s very unspecific (insight 22).
Gobbles: We typically have good luck.
It seems that Samuel knows about river travel, but he’s not the expert on it. He’s mainly a fisherman.
Lysithea: What do you guys think?
Gobbles: That could work.
Surina: Let’s do it.
Octavia: I’m good with getting on a raft.
Lysithea: I believe this will also be my first experience with freshwater.
Gobbles: So the difference between freshwater and saltwater is that fresh water is tastier.
Lysithea: I can imagine…
Gobbles: The stuff you find in an ocean gets a little weird after your second or third glass.
Lysithea: I want to do an autopsy on Gobbles when he dies.
Samuel: We can find you a great fishing vessel. Sometimes we run into problems…
Lysithea: What kind of problems?
Gobbles: The ones that we will encounter.
Samuel: There’s bandits. There’s this bandit tribe up there, and they sometimes come out. There’s Gnolls.
Lysithea: We can deal with these things.
Samuel: Then there’s the Giff.
Lysithea: The what?
Samuel: The Giff.
(Intelligence Lysithea 10, Gobbles 6 – Nature Octavia 10) The party doesn’t really know anything about the Giff except that they are similar to hippopotami river people. They make their home on the other side of the river in the plains.
Surina: By the way, I’m Surina. That’s Lysithea, and this is Octavia.
Samuel: Pleasure to meet you all. I’m Samuel, and this is my son, Finn. We’re going to start heading out now.
Lysithea: I think we should gather our things…
Samuel: Oh, I’ll head out in the morning, then. I’ll get a room at the inn.
Lysithea: We also have sleeping party members.
The party decides to take some time to gather supplies, and Lysithea takes Gobbles to meet the seamstress. Gobbles puts on his Robe of Useful Items before knocking on the door.
Seamstress: Ah, this is finely made. The other weird one came and talked about this. Yes, yes, I can do this. Oh *points to potion patches* you have some special ones here. That’s a floor patch! *points to scroll* Oh, I don’t know what that one is. Let me know what it is when you use it.
She lets out a whistle, and a bird flies in. She casts a spell on the bird.
Seamstress: If you ever need a patch just give a little whistle.
Gobbles has no idea how to whistle like a bird, but Lysithea informs him that she has a Staff of Bird Calls and can help. The seamstress, realizing the “other weird one” is there, gives Lysithea a nod.
Surina: Her name is Lysithea.
Seamstress: Oh, Lysithea. Wonderful name. Lysoothia…Lasythia.. Lester…
Lysithea: “The weird one” will do just fine. I’ve been called worse.
Seamstress: *points to Gobbles* He’s weird, too.
Gobbles: Yep!
Lysithea: That he is.
Seamstress: If you ever have need, let me know. It will cost, and sometimes I will need the item, but I can transform the items into patches. That’s my specialty.
Gobbles now has a mail-order patch creator that Lysithea can order from using her Staff of Bird Calls. The party spends the rest of the day enjoying the peaceful town of Ucun.
After a good night’s rest the party packs up, gears up, and heads out. Professor and K’un-Lun are still sleeping, so they put them in the back of a wagon with their supplies. They meet up with Samuel and Finn, who start leading them east. The travel is slow because Samuel and Finn cannot walk very fast, but he knows exactly where he is going. As they get closer to Ortunia, the home of the Otterace, several Otterace pop up from the grass and start running towards Samuel, all shouting at the same time.
Otterace: They’re attacking! They’re attacking! They’ve come! They’re coming close! We saw them! They’re not at the town yet.
Samuel: Well, gotta go do some work.
Lysithea: What just happened?
Samuel: Well, you know, there’s beasts and bandits that attack sometimes.
Lysithea: So what’s attacking right now?
Samuel: We’ll find out when we go!
Gobbles: Do you want our help?
Samuel: That would be much appreciated. We will reciprocate the help!
Lysithea: Will our stuff be safe here?
Samuel: Yes. Maybe.
Samuel’s step picks up speed as he heads in the direction of the trouble. The party follows him over a hill and spots a caravan that has already been attacked.
Samuel: Ah, they’ve got someone already.
Lysithea immediately casts her Mage Armor. They see a pack of Gnolls and duck down into the grass (stealth Gobbles Nat 20, Octavia 25, Lysithea 18, Surina Nat 20). They crawl forward in the grass over a hill to get a better view. (Initiative Surina 17, Octavia 18, Lysithea 8, Gobbles 4) Samuel almost slithers on the ground as he moves. As they rise over the hill they see a pack of 4 Gnolls standing in a circle. 2 of the Gnolls, Fangs of Yeenoghu, look much deadlier than the others. Hunched down, back to the party, is a gruesome Flind with matted white fur. (Nature Octavia 25) A Flind is a stronger, more vicious Gnoll that acts as a leader.
Gobbles: Surina, we need to convert this guy to Bahamut. That seems like a reasonable goal, here.
At the far end of the circle is another creature that is definitely not a Gnoll. Bigger, badder, snout pointing forward, armed with a gun that looks like a small cannon stands a Giff. Off to the side is a burning caravan, crates and barrels thrown about. In the middle of the circle of beasts is a pile of loot, and they are discussing who gets what. Gobbles, who understands Abyssal, translates what they are saying to the party.
Flind: The Gnolls did most of the work. You just led us here.
Gobbles: They’re talking about lettuce.
Lysithea gives him an annoyed side stare.
Gobbles: They’re arguing over the stuff.
Samuel: That is a Giff.
Gobbles: The Giff that keeps on giving.
Samuel: They wander and attack caravans. And us Otters, they don’t find us most of the time. We put up a fight. They know not to mess with us. This isn’t our caravan, but we put a stop to it when we find it. So if I could have your help…
Begin Gnoll Fight
Samuel begins to slither through the grass, making a hard right to sneak up behind one of the Gnolls. Hidden in the grass, Octavia pulls out Whisper, her new bow, and aims at the Giff (attack 18). The arrow flies and strikes the Giff, dealing 11 psychic damage. She fires again, this time at the Flind (attack 19), and hits for 12 psychic damage. Both the Giff and the Flind are confused by the strike of psychic energy and are now burdened with disadvantage. Knowing they are under attack the beasts begin looking for the attackers; however, they do not yet spot the party. Surina sneaks up behind the Flind then shouts…
Surina: GOODBYE FOREVER!
… and ignites her Flametongue sword. She swings her sword at the Flind (attack 17) and it pierces it for 5 piercing and 4 fire damage. She strikes the flind again (attack 23) for an additional 8 piercing and 5 fire damage. All of the beasts now notice Surina. The Giff begins to huff and “ahem” as he moves to hide behind some of the Gnolls. He aims his musket at Surina and fires. There’s a loud “boom”, and smoke rises like dragon’s breath from the musket as it fires, but the bullet plinks off of Surina’s armor. Lysithea does some quick calculations to make sure she won’t injure her comrades, then blasts out Fireball.
Lysithea: SURPRISE!
The purple ball of fire hits every beast, but misses Surina. The Giff, Fang 1, and the Flind are able to dodge some of the flames and take only 13 damage, but the two Gnolls and Fang 2 take 27 damage. There is now a burning smell of hair and hide. The Giff, who was aiming at Surina, begins to stare daggers at Lysithea. Giffs are known to be anti-magic, believing there is no honor in using magic. Gobbles pops out of the grass and casts Guiding Bolt at the Giff (attack 22). The bolt hits for 12 radiant damage, and the Giff begins to glow like a disco ball, giving the next attack against him advantage.
Samuel takes his spear made of stone and prods it, then goes in for a stab. The swift jab of the stone spear pierces the already softened Gnoll and takes him down. As the Gnoll falls it slashes wildly, hitting Samuel. Octavia casts Hunter’s Mark on the Giff, then shoots an arrow at him (attack 23). The arrow pierces him for 8 damage. She fires again (attack 10) but the arrow goes wide and misses. The remaining Gnoll runs for Samuel, slashing, clawing, and biting at him. Surina casts Branding Smite as she swings her sword at the Flind. Her already flaming sword begins to glow with astral radiance as it slams down on the Flind’s head (attack 23) for 5 piercing, 9 fire, and 8 radiant damage. She swings at the Flind again (attack 17) for an additional 7 piercing and 8 fire damage. The Giff drops his musket and charges forward, roaring. He reaches into his vest pocket and pulls out this strange object they’ve never seen before. He pulls out a pin and throws it at Lysithea (dexterity saving throw Lysithea 10, Octavia 19). Lysithea is hit with burning shrapnel as the grenade explodes with a loud BOOM and takes 18 damage (constitution save 19). Octavia is able to jump out of the way and only takes 9 damage. Lysithea points to the Giff and shouts,
Lysithea: THAT ONE’S MINE!
The Fangs and remaining Gnoll begin to encircle Surina. One of the Fangs begins snarling at her and bites her for 6 damage (constitution saving throw 6), plus an additional 3. The Gnoll takes its nasty claws and tries to scratch at Surina. She is able to dodge one of the swipes, but the second swipe hits her for 5 damage. The Flind turns around, angry, injured, and glowing with a dim light from Surina’s Branding Smite. He takes his flail, which has three swinging, spiked balls on it. The first swing hits Surina for 9 damage (wisdom saving throw 13). The flail hits Cordelia across the head, driving her to madness and fury. The next time she attacks her target will be random. The Flind swings at Surina again and again, but Surina is able to dodge the attacks. Lysithea blasts Scoring Ray at the Giff (attack 22, 14, 18). 2 of the purple rays hit the Giff for 13 damage total. Lysithea then summons her Hound of Ill Omen to flank one of the Fangs attacking Surina. It tries to bite it, but the Fang dodges the attack. Fang 2 runs up to Gobbles, snarling, and bites at him. Gobbles takes 9 damage (constitution save 13), then reacts with Hellish Rebuke. The confetti fire blast hits at 2nd level for 18 damage. The beasts are starting to get very tired of being hit by fire. The scorched Fang tries to attack Gobbles again, but Gobbles is tiny and easily dodges. Gobbles utters a divine word and burning radiance erupts from him, but all of the beasts are able to avoid the attack.
Samuel stabs at the remaining Gnoll and takes it down. He then slithers up behind the Flind and strikes it. Octavia shoots at the Flind (attack 26), hitting for 9 damage. She shoots her second shot at the Fang attacking Gobbles (attack 25), hitting for 11 damage. Surina, in her madness, hits Gobbles (attack 22), but Gobbles reacts with Shield to avoid the attack. Surina collects herself, then repositions around her attackers.
Surina: Gobbles, would it be okay if you took some fire damage from me?
Gobbles: That’s fine!
Surina unleashes her Dragon Breath, hitting the Fangs and Gobbles for 8 fire damage, and the Flind for 4. The Giff pulls out 2 pistols from side holsters and shoots at Lysithea. Thanks to Lysithea’s Cloak of Displacement she phases out and both shots miss. The Giff instantly pops and reloads both pistols.
Lysithea: I’m going to light him on FIRE!
Gobbles is now in the center of everything. One of the Fangs bites and claws at Gobbles, but they cannot penetrate Gobbles’s shield. The Flind swings his flail at Gobbles, hitting only one with the flail of pain for 6 bludgeoning and 17 psychic damage.
Gobbles: I need an adult! That flail of pain hurt!
The Hound bites at one of the Fangs, but the Fang darts out of the way. Lysithea does a few more quick calculations…
Lysithea: Octavia, hold your face!
Lysithea blasts another Fireball! The flames stop right in front of Lysithea and Octavia’s faces. The purple blast hits the Giff and a Fang with full force, but the Flind is able to resist some of the flames. The Flind only takes 17 damage, but the Fang and Giff take 34 fire damage. They are furious at being hit with more fire. The Flind is singed and breathing heavily as it attacks Gobbles, but misses its attack.
Gobbles: You’re going to hit me with weird things? I’ll hit you back!
Gobbles swings his warhammer at the Flind (attack 18), and activates Divine Smite at 2nd level.
Lysithea: Look, Surina! Gobbles is learning from you!
His attack hits for 3 bludgeoning damage, 9 radiant damage, 4 sneak attack damage, and 1 cream cheese damage from Thistle. The Flind rampages as it dies, and takes a swipe at Gobbles. Gobbles gets hit for 7 damage (constitution saving throw 5) and 5 poison damage, causing him to fall unconscious (fails first death saving throw). The Flind laughs maniacally as he falls down next to Gobbles body. Samuel runs next to Gobbles and tries to stab at one of the Fangs, but misses both attacks. Octavia fires 2 arrows at one of the Fangs (attack 15, 15) for 16 total damage. The Fang rampages as it dies, swinging wildly at Surina, but drops dead before it can reach her.
Surina: I’m coming!
Surina heals Gobbles for 35 health using Lay on Hands.
Gobbles: Thank you, Surina!
The Giff fires another shot at Lysithea, hitting her for 12 damage. Lysithea reacts with Hellish Rebuke…
Lysithea: How dare you! More fire!
Her blast of fire goes straight into the Giff’s gun, which explodes right in his face. The explosion causes his other pistol to ignite and explode, which then lights all of the gunpowder he was carrying to light. The Giff goes down in a massive explosion of purple fire. Lysithea dusts herself off, then fires Scorching Ray at the remaining Fang (attack 27, 23, 11). 2 of her rays hit the Fang for 11 damage. Actively on fire, the Fang begins flailing widely at Samuel, but goes down in flames.
Everything is on Fire
Samuel looks around at all of the burning grass and corpses.
Samuel: Well, don’tcha know, um… Y’all said you came from the desert?
Lysithea: I’m from a volcano…
Samuel: You don’t say? Are you sure you’re not the volcano?
Lysithea uses her power and puts all of the fires out. She then walks over to the Giff’s dropped musket and grabs it to bring to Professor.
What other trouble will the party encounter by the river?
Be prepared as next week Cordelia takes over as DM.
End Session.
Check Out
Spotlight on Another Player:
- Miranda: Cordelia for teaching the kids Tail Tag.
- Kevin: Liz for making the Otterace crack the clam.
- Liz: Our Dungeon Master for a challenging yet fun battle.
- Cordelia: Mom for lighting everything on fire.
- Justice: Miranda for lighting everything on fire.
Challenge/Something Learned:
- Miranda: I learned that grenades are a thing in this world.
- Kevin: Three Gnolls near the hand can beat me down into a bush.
- Liz: I learned that we are going to be facing creatures with guns and grenades.
- Cordelia: My challenge was defeating everything in this area.
- Justice: I learn through these battles what I need to do to make a challenge for you all.
Hope or Prediction for Next Session:
- Miranda: I am looking forward to Cordelia DMing our next session!
- Kevin: I will be looking forward to that.
- Liz: I am looking forward to seeing what Cordelia will be like as a dungeon master.
- Cordelia: I hope we get to my dungeon!
- Justice: I’m going to enjoy taking a step back and just helping her DM it.
Analysis: Cordelia’s hot streak continues! She wasn’t too sure what to do around the Fey, but once she was free to explore Ucun she had a lot of fun. When Surina began teaching Tail Tag to the children Cordelia grabbed pencil and paper and began writing down the instructions. She’s really getting into playing and we are having the best time! Next week she will take over as the DM and lead us through a dungeon of her own creation!