As Tōhaku and Bramble readied the heavy chest filled with pirate treasure for transport, Apparently coughed a few times and acquired the vacant gaze of someone afflicted with Brain Fever! The pair sighed and told her to follow them and stay out of their way. Tōhaku and Bramble each took a handle of the chest and carried it together up the rough hewn steps of the subterranean passage.
They made their way out of the twisting serpentine tunnels of Snake's Head Cavern. They took a few wrong turns but quickly reoriented themselves. One of the wrong turns led into a passage with an unstable floor. The floor crumbled and fell away beneath Tōhaku's feet and threatened to send both into the darkness of a seemingly bottomless pit. Luckily the pair were able to catch their fall and back out of the dangerous passage.
DM Comment- Dexterity Save vs. 15 or fall 100 feet!
They made their way around using a different passage, following the arrows left by Captain Al-Saryak to verify the path to the exit. Down one side passage Bramble heard the sound of heavy frustrated panting - the kind a lost and frightened animal might make. They had just decided to take a different path when they heard Zeynap cry out, "Ah! Oh Shit!"
CHAPTER 13, "ESCAPE FROM JAHAKA BAY"
- Bramble Wolf - a theran barbarian wise-man (Wildhunt Shifter Druid) searching for the legendary origin of his tribe.
- Apparently Jones - a blue-skinned demijin caravan guide and animal trainer (Air Genasi Ranger) from Akasa, the land of sky mountains. Having failed to find work in Port Nyanzaru as an animal handler, she has joined the expedition to the interior as a scout.
- Chak'sa - Apparently's parasaurolophus companion.
- Xoc-Wik - a b'alam warrior (Tabaxi Fighter) from the jungles of Bres, searching for those responsible for the destruction of his tribe.
- Zeynap Shiravadakar - a Eusebean smuggler (Human Warlock) bearing the spirit of a celestial unicorn.
- Hasegawa Tōhaku - a Horaian kamenin monk (Tortle Kensei Monk), a traveler, explorer, and artist. He was a friend of Nova Scotia Blackman in Akwa-Obio, the city of scholars.
A COMPANION FALLS
They put down the heavy chest and rushed towards the the sound. They encountered a three-way intersection where the passage widens. They saw the large vulture-like creature they encountered earlier in the chamber of the nagina wizard. It was a shang demon and it was released!
The shang demon looked injured and lost, perhaps desperately seeking the exit. No doubt it was accidentally freed by the naginas and fought its way here. Across the way they saw Zeynap and Xoc-Wik back-lit by a glowing blue-white spell of illumination. Xoc-Wik was already drawing his bow and Zeynap was preparing his celestial hexes. They instructed Apparently to stay behind and hold the torch.
Xoc-Wik loosed a magically-charged arrow at the shang-demon. It struck with an explosion of magic, leaving the shang covered in vines that held fast to the ground. The shang forced its way through the weeds and vines that held him down and made his way towards Xoc-Wik and Zeynap! The pair quickly found themselves in close quarters with the shang and were forced to relocate.
Tōhaku charged the creature and fought it hand-to-hand though his attacks had little effect on the extra-dimensional horror. Bramble channeled the spirits of nature into his staff creating a magical shillelagh.
The shang demon took a deep breath and held it. Suddenly a disgusting plume of noxious gas emerged from its posterior and enveloped everyone within fifteen feet, catching Zeynap, Bramble, and Tōhaku. Zeynap and Tōhaku coughed but were otherwise unaffected. Bramble, however, began retching and staggered a step. The shang laughed a raspy wheezing guffaw and proceeded to perform the same disgusting maneuver.
Tōhaku took a defensive stance, hoping to draw the creature's attacks away from his unarmored companions.
The stratagem worked and the vulture-like shang turned its attention towards Tōhaku. The creature roared in rage, grabbed Tōhaku's shell with both hands, and ripped with all its might, tearing the shell apart! The foul demon then plunged its toothed beak and head fully inside Tōhaku's shell and mutilated the tortoise-man's fleshy interior! Tōhaku died instantly and gruesomely!
DM Commentary - Tōhaku paid ki for a defensive stance which made all attacks against him at Disadvantage. This, plus a high Armor Class, was a safe bet for the player and should have worked well for him. Unfortunately, I rolled two natural twenties for the claw attack! 4d10+2 damage! That put him below zero hit points. Being a demon, I followed up with the bite attack. Since Tōhaku was "dying" and had the helpless condition, that gave the demon Advantage on the attack and a hit meant automatic critical. I obviously hit. This meant 4d6+2 damage. Tōhaku was reduced to -27 hit points, which was more than his positive hit points. He was killed instantly!
I described the death as gruesomely as possible, with the Vrock ripping the shell apart like a crab shell and plunging his head into the meaty insides.
Bramble transformed himself into a giant octopus and grappled the vulture shang, restraining the demon. Zeynap and Xoc-Wik released attack after attack against the bound target until it began to disintegrate into ash!
They had defeated the foul demon but at a great cost.
DM Comment - The demon was a vrock. A full-powered vrock is way to high a challenge rating and would have likely wiped the floor with the party. The vrock instead had half-hit points and had already expended its daily screech power. Even still, it was a dangerous opponent and killed Tōhaku!
They put down the heavy chest and rushed towards the the sound. They encountered a three-way intersection where the passage widens. They saw the large vulture-like creature they encountered earlier in the chamber of the nagina wizard. It was a shang demon and it was released!
The shang demon looked injured and lost, perhaps desperately seeking the exit. No doubt it was accidentally freed by the naginas and fought its way here. Across the way they saw Zeynap and Xoc-Wik back-lit by a glowing blue-white spell of illumination. Xoc-Wik was already drawing his bow and Zeynap was preparing his celestial hexes. They instructed Apparently to stay behind and hold the torch.
Xoc-Wik loosed a magically-charged arrow at the shang-demon. It struck with an explosion of magic, leaving the shang covered in vines that held fast to the ground. The shang forced its way through the weeds and vines that held him down and made his way towards Xoc-Wik and Zeynap! The pair quickly found themselves in close quarters with the shang and were forced to relocate.
Tōhaku charged the creature and fought it hand-to-hand though his attacks had little effect on the extra-dimensional horror. Bramble channeled the spirits of nature into his staff creating a magical shillelagh.
The shang demon took a deep breath and held it. Suddenly a disgusting plume of noxious gas emerged from its posterior and enveloped everyone within fifteen feet, catching Zeynap, Bramble, and Tōhaku. Zeynap and Tōhaku coughed but were otherwise unaffected. Bramble, however, began retching and staggered a step. The shang laughed a raspy wheezing guffaw and proceeded to perform the same disgusting maneuver.
Tōhaku took a defensive stance, hoping to draw the creature's attacks away from his unarmored companions.
The stratagem worked and the vulture-like shang turned its attention towards Tōhaku. The creature roared in rage, grabbed Tōhaku's shell with both hands, and ripped with all its might, tearing the shell apart! The foul demon then plunged its toothed beak and head fully inside Tōhaku's shell and mutilated the tortoise-man's fleshy interior! Tōhaku died instantly and gruesomely!
DM Commentary - Tōhaku paid ki for a defensive stance which made all attacks against him at Disadvantage. This, plus a high Armor Class, was a safe bet for the player and should have worked well for him. Unfortunately, I rolled two natural twenties for the claw attack! 4d10+2 damage! That put him below zero hit points. Being a demon, I followed up with the bite attack. Since Tōhaku was "dying" and had the helpless condition, that gave the demon Advantage on the attack and a hit meant automatic critical. I obviously hit. This meant 4d6+2 damage. Tōhaku was reduced to -27 hit points, which was more than his positive hit points. He was killed instantly!
I described the death as gruesomely as possible, with the Vrock ripping the shell apart like a crab shell and plunging his head into the meaty insides.
Bramble transformed himself into a giant octopus and grappled the vulture shang, restraining the demon. Zeynap and Xoc-Wik released attack after attack against the bound target until it began to disintegrate into ash!
They had defeated the foul demon but at a great cost.
DM Comment - The demon was a vrock. A full-powered vrock is way to high a challenge rating and would have likely wiped the floor with the party. The vrock instead had half-hit points and had already expended its daily screech power. Even still, it was a dangerous opponent and killed Tōhaku!
RETURN TO EMERALD EYE
It was in somber silence that the surviving members of the party dragged Tōhaku's remains down to a nearby chamber and tossed them into the seemingly bottomless pit. They exited the caverns into the grey haze of day in the valley overlooking Jahaka Bay. They returned to the camp they used the previous night and rested. Xoc-Wik took Zeynap's watch and allowed him to recuperate.
The next day they hiked down the slope to return to the Emerald Eye. They took the rowboat and the newly crafted home-made canoe back to the waiting ship.
DM Comment - Okay, long story.
Before I reunited them with the vrock fight, I asked Zeynap and Xoc-Wik's players, "Okay, the only rowboat was on shore. How did you get from the Emerald Eye to shore?"
They said, "We made a canoe out of the ribs and hide of the spinosaurus we killed!"
Okay, longer story. Last week, I used the Random Encounter tables in "Jungles of Chult Factbook" to generate some encounters. The two encounters I rolled were:
1. Kraken
2. Spinosaurus
We joked about the Kraken. It's a CR 23 encounter! At the time I said they saw a kraken heave out of the water near the horizon followed by storms and squalls.
We also joked about finding the spinosaurus swimming fifteen miles from shore, exhausted.
So when I asked them where they got the extra boat, they said they had coaxed the tired spinosaurus to the side of the boat, harpooned it, and used its hide and ribs to make a canoe.
I said, "Sure, okay, why not." So they wrote that shit down.
It was in somber silence that the surviving members of the party dragged Tōhaku's remains down to a nearby chamber and tossed them into the seemingly bottomless pit. They exited the caverns into the grey haze of day in the valley overlooking Jahaka Bay. They returned to the camp they used the previous night and rested. Xoc-Wik took Zeynap's watch and allowed him to recuperate.
The next day they hiked down the slope to return to the Emerald Eye. They took the rowboat and the newly crafted home-made canoe back to the waiting ship.
DM Comment - Okay, long story.
Before I reunited them with the vrock fight, I asked Zeynap and Xoc-Wik's players, "Okay, the only rowboat was on shore. How did you get from the Emerald Eye to shore?"
They said, "We made a canoe out of the ribs and hide of the spinosaurus we killed!"
Okay, longer story. Last week, I used the Random Encounter tables in "Jungles of Chult Factbook" to generate some encounters. The two encounters I rolled were:
1. Kraken
2. Spinosaurus
We joked about the Kraken. It's a CR 23 encounter! At the time I said they saw a kraken heave out of the water near the horizon followed by storms and squalls.
We also joked about finding the spinosaurus swimming fifteen miles from shore, exhausted.
So when I asked them where they got the extra boat, they said they had coaxed the tired spinosaurus to the side of the boat, harpooned it, and used its hide and ribs to make a canoe.
I said, "Sure, okay, why not." So they wrote that shit down.
At the time we thought spinosauruses were strictly land dinosaurs. But just now while looking them up I just learned that they were aquatic like crocodiles, living in rivers and estuaries and maybe some coastal areas. I guess that random encounter was legit!
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| From National Geographic |
Once the winds died down the ship resumed its journey. On the morning of their fifth day under sail, a dolphin swam around the ship playing and vocalizing. The dolphin looked like it was trying to communicate something but no one could figure out what it was trying to say.
DM Comment - As it happened, Tohaku spoke Aquan but alas.
The following morning, the ship sailed past a giant seahorse floating sideways in the water as if dead. The poor creature was exhausted and starving but alive. Bramble jumped overboard and swam to the dying creature. Captain Moleman shouted curses and invective at having to lower the sails and stop the ship. Bramble healed the giant seahorse and fed it a magic berry. The seahorse was rejuvenated. It stuck out its long tongue and licked Bramble's face before it swam away.
DM Comment - I assume, based on no information, that since the snout of a sea-horse resembles the snout of an aardvark, that the two disparate animals share a similar tongue anatomy. Assuming sea-horses even HAVE tongues.
On the tenth day of their journey home Captain Moleman was able to take advantage of storms to the west and get better speed out of the sails, reducing the length of their voyage by a day.
GHOST SHARKS
On the 14th night of their return journey, Zeynap was on night watch while the ship traveled slowly at half-sail in the dark. The only light came from the three dim lanterns on the deck. Ahead of the ship he thought he saw a dim glow. As they approached the dim glow resolved itself into another ship - a ghost ship!
The ship looked like it had been sunk and resided at the bottom of the sea. It was covered in coral and trailing seaweed. Then, to Zeynap's shock and amazement, he saw five ghostly reef-sharks swimming through the air around the ship! As they drew near, the ghostly reef sharks turned their attention to the Emerald Eye, swimming right at Zeynap!
The ship looked like it had been sunk and resided at the bottom of the sea. It was covered in coral and trailing seaweed. Then, to Zeynap's shock and amazement, he saw five ghostly reef-sharks swimming through the air around the ship! As they drew near, the ghostly reef sharks turned their attention to the Emerald Eye, swimming right at Zeynap!
Zeynap rang the alarm bell. The skeleton crew took cover in the hold while Bramble and Xoc-Wik came on deck and took positions on the stern to prepare for the attack.
"What are those?" asked Xoc-Wik.
"Ghost sharks!" answered Zeynap.
"What??" yelled Xoc-Wik incredulously.
"How are they above the water?" wondered Zeynap dubiously.
"THAT'S what confuses you??" replied Xoc-Wik.
Zeynap directed celestial hexes at the phantom sharks as two surrounded and bit at him.
Xoc-Wik loosed a magically charged arrow at one of the ghost sharks and it exploded into ectoplasm and slime. One also swam through the air towards Bramble. Bramble took the form of a large bear and engaged the ghost sharks in close combat.
Zeynap maneuvered in and around the two sharks until Xoc-Wik could destroy another one with a charged arrow. Zeynap then destroyed the other shark at the bow.
Soon afterwards, Bramble, with Xoc-Wik and Zeynap's help, was able to render the remaining two ghost sharks into incorporeal slime.
AREMAG'S DUE
20 days after the party left Snake's Head Cave, the Emerald Eye arrived in the Bay of Chult. The gargantuan dragon turtle Aremag rose before the ship and demanded tribute. Xoc-Wik put all the 1600 silver coins from the pirate treasure into a sack and threw it overboard.
Aremag considered the offering and demanded, "MORE!"
Once the waves had subsided, Xoc-Wik added 40 gold coins to the offering. Aremag considered this a long time and reluctantly accepted.
The Emerald Eye sailed into the harbor of Port Nyanzaru. Zindar the dragon harbormaster flew out to intercept but was delighted to see not pirates but friendly faces. He welcomed the party home and congratulated them on their mission. Once they had docked and made their way to the harbormaster's office, Zindar wrote them a payment voucher for two thousand gold coins which they could exchange at the Golden Temple of Trapezitam.
They received their payment and paid Captain Moleman one thousand, as agreed. They bade farewell and retreated to Kaya's House of Repose to rest.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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| RIP Hasegawa Tohaku |
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