The Emerald Eye sailed into Port Nyanzaru forty days after the Brazen Pegasus left to go pirate hunting. Zindar the dragon harbormaster flew out to intercept. He did a reconnaissance flyby at range and saw Zeynap and the others waving hello. He landed on the deck and greeted them.
“Well if it isn’t the heroes of the mutiny of the Karanja! Welcome back!” He looks askance at Captain Moleman, “Moleman, I see you’re coming back with a different ship and crew than what you left with - a known PIRATE ship no less. What happened to the Brazen Pegasus?”
Upon telling the tale, Zindar slapped everyone on the back, “Well done! Well done! I’ll have a payment voucher drawn up for you in my office! As well as paperwork for salvage. Welcome back to Port Nyanzaru. I wish I could welcome you under better circumstances but these are dark days, I fear! Clouds of death are almost a daily occurrence! They spontaneously manifest, seemingly at random, and through them pour horrid animated corpses with a taste for human flesh! Anyone caught within the cloud is sapped of vitality! The people are beginning to panic! It is grim, indeed!”
“But I heard that you were working on a solution! Have you any news to report? Any progress?”
CHAPTER 14, "THE CLOUDS OF DEATH"
- 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 honker (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.
INTRODUCING!
- Argent Truth-Sayer - a golden azi knight errant of Bahamut (Dragonborn Paladin) in the service of Bahamut, sent on a holy mission to join the expedition to destroy the Soul Monger.
ARRIVAL
Xoc-Wik told Zindar that they had followed up on some promising leads and had discovered some new information. They learned that the Ophidians of the ancient Nagina Samrajya empire, thought extinct for thousands of years, had returned and had assembled the device known as the Soulmonger. They had brought the components into Chult via the pirate hideout known as Jahaka Anchorage and moved them up the river Tath and into the interior somewhere in Southern Chult. He also revealed that the Ophidians could assume human form and that a cult of human followers served their serpentine overlords. Zindar said he would keep a close eye for any suspicious activity that might be related to the Ophidians and their degenerate cult.
The ship was towed into its berth by macetail behemoths and was the expedition disembarked. It was late afternoon. The party went to the temple of Trapezitam to cash out their payment voucher but there was a line. Dozens of merchants and traders were cashing in their payment vouchers and each transaction took at least an hour. Unsurprisingly, although the priests and acolytes of the temple of Trapezitam were swift in welcoming donations to the god of wealth and trade, they proved inefficient at processing withdrawals. The temple closed with the setting sun and the party left empty-handed.
ARGENT TRUTH-SAYER
The party spent the night, as they normally do, at Kaya's House of Repose and woke feeling rested and refreshed. They entered the common room to find a golden-scaled azi, a member of the draconic warrior-caste. He wore the raiment and armor of the holy order of Bahamut of Plaksha.
The dragon-man introduced himself as Argent Truth-Sayer, holy knight of Bahamut. He said he had sought out the party for he had heard of their quest to find the Soulmonger. He asked permission to join their mission. After introductions they agreed.
The party spent the day preparing for an extended expedition into the interior.
APPARENTLY'S DAY
Argent accompanied Apparently to the blacksmith to have the ten ingots of adamantine they obtained appraised. They learned from the stocky pale-skinned blacksmith, a member of the race known as ochahuma, that it bore the mark of the mine of Hrakhamar in the Kavrita mountains.
The adamantine was unfortunately insufficient to craft into weaponry. The blacksmith would need five times that amount. The diminutive ochahuman smith looked to the south and began to wistfully recount the story of how his people had once left tons of adamantine in the mine when they were forced to abandon it many decades ago.
"Let me stop you right there!" interrupted Apparently, "We already got too many side quests and distractions. Sorry, we don't need another one. How much can we get for this metal?"
The smith sighed, "100 gold coins."
"Deal!" said Apparently. She completed the transaction and left.
She and Argent then visited Ekene-Afa and purchased a number of enchanted arrows and two enchanted gladii.
While they walked down the street, Apparently heard someone shout "Look out!" She barely escaped being crushed as a large stone block fell off an overhead arch cracked the pavement in front of her with a thud. She looked up but could see no cause for the block to have fallen on its own.
Apparently and Argent split up so that Apparently could visit the edge of town. There she was reunited with Chak'sa, her devoted honker, who had been waiting patiently for her in the surrounding jungle. She then stopped by the stables and took on the services of two loyal apprentices who had heard of her skill at handling animals and wished to learn from her.
Meanwhile Argent visited Jobal and arranged for a guide. He selected Eku and paid her advance.
MISCELLANEA
The rest of the team tended to various other duties.
Xok-Wik visited Syndra Silvane to report on what they learned from their trip along the western coast. Afterwards he sold the final paintings of Hasegawa Tōhaku for two hundred gold coins.
DM Note - I had Tohaku's player make a craft roll and used the rules for criminal activity from Xanathar's Guide as a guideline to determine the amount.
Zeynap took the bag of magic stones to Wakanga Otomu to be identified. He head each stone identified and learned that all but one was a glyph of warding which exploded if used. Three, however, were stones of sending. Only the owner of the stone would know which stone was the correct one. The pirates used the stones to communicate with each other while at sea and coordinate their attacks. Two stones would communicate with the two other ships. The third was a mystery. He also learned that the all of the stones were created by an serpentine wizard from the ancient Chultan city of Hisarii, the City of the Ophidians.
Zeynap delivered the sending stones to harbormaster Zindar so that he could capture the remaining pirate or learn more about how they operated. Zeynap spent the rest of the day purchasing tons of supplies for the expedition - canvas, rope, insect repellent, tents, cooking equipment, etc.
With his leftover personal funds, Zeynap arranged to have payment sent to Eusebea to erase the debt held by his parents. Zeynap's unicorn patron was pleased at this gesture.
Bramble spent five hours in line at the temple of Trapezitam but eventually obtained coinage for the payment voucher. While in line he learned of the random nature of the clouds of death that had begun to strike the city. The run on the temple, in fact, was because everyone was withdrawing their money from the vault and evacuating the city on any ship on which they could book passage.
Zeynap spent the night before their journey celebrating his good deed. He made two new friends among the merchant class of Port Nyanzaru and learned from them two bits of previously unknown information about the jungles of Chult.
DM Note - Used the carousing rules from Xanathar's but with a compressed timeframe.
THE CLOUD OF DEATH
The party gathered the next morning outside the west gate in the Old City. It was gently raining and mist clung to the muddy ground. The macetail, whom despite Apparently's efforts Bramble refused to name, and the honker Chak'sa bore heavy loads of supplies and equipment. There they met the Chultan guide Eku. A few locals were going about their morning rituals preparing for the day.
Suddenly a black cloud shot through the crackling bolts of purplish energy formed out of mid-air a mere thirty feet away! Eku prepared herself and shouted a warning to the others, "Be aware! It is the cloud of death!"
Several locals were caught within the cloud. They screamed as if they had caught fire then abruptly fell silent as what sounded like animals ripped apart their flesh.
With blinding speed, Xoc-Wik climbed to the roof of a nearby building and prepared to loose an arrow at anything that emerged from the cloud.
Argent Truth-Sayer stepped forward to the edge of the cloud and held his holy symbol high, ready to call upon the blessings of the god of dragons. Suddenly clawed hands with gaunt grey skin appeared from the cloud and grabbed Argent by the shoulder, sinking its claws into the dragon-man's flesh. Argent inhaled sharply and was pulled into the cloud!
DM Note- I had just killed Hasegawa Tōhaku last session. I had previously killed Nova Scotia Blackman. The player was starting to wonder if I had it in for his characters. Now, on the debut of his third character, I paralyze him and drag him into a cloud of death! Everyone thought he was going to die on his VERY FIRST TURN. The irony was commented upon and not lost on me.
A line of animated corpses and skeletons emerged from the cloud and rushed the party. Bramble turned into a bear and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the skeletons while Eku called on the spirits of the forest to protect Aregent before she transformed into a large winged serpent and took on some zombies. Zeynap and Apparently held their own with hex and sword while Xoc-Wik took aim from his sniper's nest. Chak'sa joined the fight and helped protect Eku while the two animal handlers moved the macetail to the rear. One of the skeletons climbed the building to get to Xoc-Wik. The b'alam archer was forced to abandon his post and climb down. He continued placing arrows into the heads of zombies from range behind the line of combat.
Zeynap managed to find an opening in the line of zombies and skeletons and deftly made his way into the cloud where he was able to find Argent. Zeynap momentarily lost his breath as the cloud of death sapped his very strength and vitality. He could only imagine how Argent might be feeling. He channeled the heavenly powers of his unicorn patron to heal the dragon-man and helped him escape from the cloud.
DM Note - The cloud was 40 feet by 40 feet. Anyone who ended their turn in the cloud lost 1 maximum hit point and had to make a Constitution Saving Throw vs. 13. On the first failure you went Prone. On the second failure you were Restrained. A success ended the Restrained condition but you had to stand up from being Prone.
Upon defeating the first wave of undead monsters, a second wave appeared from the cloud. A sound of alarm rose up from the city behind them and the gates were closed and barred. By the time a militia of volunteers from the Old City arrived, the incursion had been stopped and the cloud dissipated.
The party was thanked for their contribution to the defense of the city and were rewarded with several gallons of tej - a distilled spirit made from honey - and a potion of healing.
When asked about her shape-changing ability, Eku simply replied that she was a guardian of the forest like Bramble and, similar to his abilities, could change her shape into the creatures of the jungles of Chult.
After an hour of rest and recuperation, Eku stood and inquired, "Excellent. Are we ready to begin? Where would you like to go first?"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Xoc-Wik told Zindar that they had followed up on some promising leads and had discovered some new information. They learned that the Ophidians of the ancient Nagina Samrajya empire, thought extinct for thousands of years, had returned and had assembled the device known as the Soulmonger. They had brought the components into Chult via the pirate hideout known as Jahaka Anchorage and moved them up the river Tath and into the interior somewhere in Southern Chult. He also revealed that the Ophidians could assume human form and that a cult of human followers served their serpentine overlords. Zindar said he would keep a close eye for any suspicious activity that might be related to the Ophidians and their degenerate cult.
The ship was towed into its berth by macetail behemoths and was the expedition disembarked. It was late afternoon. The party went to the temple of Trapezitam to cash out their payment voucher but there was a line. Dozens of merchants and traders were cashing in their payment vouchers and each transaction took at least an hour. Unsurprisingly, although the priests and acolytes of the temple of Trapezitam were swift in welcoming donations to the god of wealth and trade, they proved inefficient at processing withdrawals. The temple closed with the setting sun and the party left empty-handed.
ARGENT TRUTH-SAYER
The party spent the night, as they normally do, at Kaya's House of Repose and woke feeling rested and refreshed. They entered the common room to find a golden-scaled azi, a member of the draconic warrior-caste. He wore the raiment and armor of the holy order of Bahamut of Plaksha.
The dragon-man introduced himself as Argent Truth-Sayer, holy knight of Bahamut. He said he had sought out the party for he had heard of their quest to find the Soulmonger. He asked permission to join their mission. After introductions they agreed.
The party spent the day preparing for an extended expedition into the interior.
APPARENTLY'S DAY
Argent accompanied Apparently to the blacksmith to have the ten ingots of adamantine they obtained appraised. They learned from the stocky pale-skinned blacksmith, a member of the race known as ochahuma, that it bore the mark of the mine of Hrakhamar in the Kavrita mountains.
The adamantine was unfortunately insufficient to craft into weaponry. The blacksmith would need five times that amount. The diminutive ochahuman smith looked to the south and began to wistfully recount the story of how his people had once left tons of adamantine in the mine when they were forced to abandon it many decades ago.
"Let me stop you right there!" interrupted Apparently, "We already got too many side quests and distractions. Sorry, we don't need another one. How much can we get for this metal?"
The smith sighed, "100 gold coins."
"Deal!" said Apparently. She completed the transaction and left.
She and Argent then visited Ekene-Afa and purchased a number of enchanted arrows and two enchanted gladii.
While they walked down the street, Apparently heard someone shout "Look out!" She barely escaped being crushed as a large stone block fell off an overhead arch cracked the pavement in front of her with a thud. She looked up but could see no cause for the block to have fallen on its own.
Apparently and Argent split up so that Apparently could visit the edge of town. There she was reunited with Chak'sa, her devoted honker, who had been waiting patiently for her in the surrounding jungle. She then stopped by the stables and took on the services of two loyal apprentices who had heard of her skill at handling animals and wished to learn from her.
Meanwhile Argent visited Jobal and arranged for a guide. He selected Eku and paid her advance.
MISCELLANEA
The rest of the team tended to various other duties.
Xok-Wik visited Syndra Silvane to report on what they learned from their trip along the western coast. Afterwards he sold the final paintings of Hasegawa Tōhaku for two hundred gold coins.
DM Note - I had Tohaku's player make a craft roll and used the rules for criminal activity from Xanathar's Guide as a guideline to determine the amount.
Zeynap took the bag of magic stones to Wakanga Otomu to be identified. He head each stone identified and learned that all but one was a glyph of warding which exploded if used. Three, however, were stones of sending. Only the owner of the stone would know which stone was the correct one. The pirates used the stones to communicate with each other while at sea and coordinate their attacks. Two stones would communicate with the two other ships. The third was a mystery. He also learned that the all of the stones were created by an serpentine wizard from the ancient Chultan city of Hisarii, the City of the Ophidians.
Zeynap delivered the sending stones to harbormaster Zindar so that he could capture the remaining pirate or learn more about how they operated. Zeynap spent the rest of the day purchasing tons of supplies for the expedition - canvas, rope, insect repellent, tents, cooking equipment, etc.
With his leftover personal funds, Zeynap arranged to have payment sent to Eusebea to erase the debt held by his parents. Zeynap's unicorn patron was pleased at this gesture.
Bramble spent five hours in line at the temple of Trapezitam but eventually obtained coinage for the payment voucher. While in line he learned of the random nature of the clouds of death that had begun to strike the city. The run on the temple, in fact, was because everyone was withdrawing their money from the vault and evacuating the city on any ship on which they could book passage.
Zeynap spent the night before their journey celebrating his good deed. He made two new friends among the merchant class of Port Nyanzaru and learned from them two bits of previously unknown information about the jungles of Chult.
DM Note - Used the carousing rules from Xanathar's but with a compressed timeframe.
THE CLOUD OF DEATH
The party gathered the next morning outside the west gate in the Old City. It was gently raining and mist clung to the muddy ground. The macetail, whom despite Apparently's efforts Bramble refused to name, and the honker Chak'sa bore heavy loads of supplies and equipment. There they met the Chultan guide Eku. A few locals were going about their morning rituals preparing for the day.
Suddenly a black cloud shot through the crackling bolts of purplish energy formed out of mid-air a mere thirty feet away! Eku prepared herself and shouted a warning to the others, "Be aware! It is the cloud of death!"
Several locals were caught within the cloud. They screamed as if they had caught fire then abruptly fell silent as what sounded like animals ripped apart their flesh.
With blinding speed, Xoc-Wik climbed to the roof of a nearby building and prepared to loose an arrow at anything that emerged from the cloud.
Argent Truth-Sayer stepped forward to the edge of the cloud and held his holy symbol high, ready to call upon the blessings of the god of dragons. Suddenly clawed hands with gaunt grey skin appeared from the cloud and grabbed Argent by the shoulder, sinking its claws into the dragon-man's flesh. Argent inhaled sharply and was pulled into the cloud!
DM Note- I had just killed Hasegawa Tōhaku last session. I had previously killed Nova Scotia Blackman. The player was starting to wonder if I had it in for his characters. Now, on the debut of his third character, I paralyze him and drag him into a cloud of death! Everyone thought he was going to die on his VERY FIRST TURN. The irony was commented upon and not lost on me.
A line of animated corpses and skeletons emerged from the cloud and rushed the party. Bramble turned into a bear and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the skeletons while Eku called on the spirits of the forest to protect Aregent before she transformed into a large winged serpent and took on some zombies. Zeynap and Apparently held their own with hex and sword while Xoc-Wik took aim from his sniper's nest. Chak'sa joined the fight and helped protect Eku while the two animal handlers moved the macetail to the rear. One of the skeletons climbed the building to get to Xoc-Wik. The b'alam archer was forced to abandon his post and climb down. He continued placing arrows into the heads of zombies from range behind the line of combat.
Zeynap managed to find an opening in the line of zombies and skeletons and deftly made his way into the cloud where he was able to find Argent. Zeynap momentarily lost his breath as the cloud of death sapped his very strength and vitality. He could only imagine how Argent might be feeling. He channeled the heavenly powers of his unicorn patron to heal the dragon-man and helped him escape from the cloud.
DM Note - The cloud was 40 feet by 40 feet. Anyone who ended their turn in the cloud lost 1 maximum hit point and had to make a Constitution Saving Throw vs. 13. On the first failure you went Prone. On the second failure you were Restrained. A success ended the Restrained condition but you had to stand up from being Prone.
Upon defeating the first wave of undead monsters, a second wave appeared from the cloud. A sound of alarm rose up from the city behind them and the gates were closed and barred. By the time a militia of volunteers from the Old City arrived, the incursion had been stopped and the cloud dissipated.
The party was thanked for their contribution to the defense of the city and were rewarded with several gallons of tej - a distilled spirit made from honey - and a potion of healing.
When asked about her shape-changing ability, Eku simply replied that she was a guardian of the forest like Bramble and, similar to his abilities, could change her shape into the creatures of the jungles of Chult.
After an hour of rest and recuperation, Eku stood and inquired, "Excellent. Are we ready to begin? Where would you like to go first?"
TO BE CONTINUED...
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