GM: EvilTables
Players:
oldhawkeyes as Roald, fighter 2
idraluna-archives as Porpherea, elf 1
roguewithwhimsy as Jorcal, cleric 2
boreal as Tordek, fighter 1
vivvywivvy as Tacita, fighter 2
Region: Northern Strata
Debates at Fort Ray
We began at Fort Ray, having been joined by the elf Porpherea, whose mentor studied the communications of plants, and the fighter Tordek, who fights to translate the violence of crustaceans into new forms. At the fort, a group of halflings had arrived selling magic stones and the soldiers were once again debating governance.
When Tordek interjected in their debate to promote the chaos of crustaceans (lobsters in particular), he was directed to the nearby gargoyle-adorned chapel… the CHAPEL OF EVIL. Therein, a bald priest discussed his beliefs with some humans and halflings, identifying himself as a disciple of chaos, a discipline about which he claimed “It’s all about inherent forces in the cosmos, chaotic energies, and better understanding how they work and where they come from.”
The Evil of Birds
He heard Tordek’s words on the nature of lobsters, but claimed that birds, as creatures of pure evil, have lobsters beat in terms of chaos, describing two principally evil birds in the region, the penguin and the black ptarmigan. After some discussion, the priest advocated Tordek start his own chapel to the evil of lobsters, and stated that he considers good a bit passe, though it has its place. Jorcal’s advocacy for a humanist approach shocked the priest with his belief in ideological actualization. The priest walked out of the chapel with gardening tools, claiming to be tending to the potatoes, but was obviously lying. Porphereana followed and asked for one, suspecting the priest and voicing her interest in horticulture and the beauteous forms of plants (of which she believes trees most superior). She received a purple potato, and was told the church hands them out on Sundays.
Return to the Caves
From there we proceeded to the caves of intensity without incident. Once there, we saw that Apple was not outside the caves, but two gnolls with a familial resemblance (possibly Bath and Ladder) were dead and decomposing outside the entrance. We also that the ship had begun to tilt towards a more upright position, and the glint of a cannon sticking out of the ship was now visible. After climbing to the top, we were attacked by two pirate zombies, who Jorcal successfully turned, chasing them into the water.
Inside the ship, Jorcal and Tacita went to the library to investigate Lord Obtuse’s readings. Tacita found a smaller section on geometry containing a book with the name Lobachevsky on it, titled “Operation: Chaos”, which she pocketed for future reading.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party went to the cannon room, where they found three zombies harassing four large and nervous crabs. After dispatching the zombies, the party lowered the crabs to the surface below and heard a booming voice from outside the ship which called “Find me, Lord Obtuse”, claiming to be “Beneath, far beneath”. While three crabs returned to the ocean, the largest began scuttling towards the Caves of Intensity, and the party followed through a northern entrance, left at a fork, and over a large pit covered by vines. To our right, we saw a small alcove to our right, from which we could hear heavy panting breaths.
The Crab Rave
Eventually, the crab took us into a room with a small pool filled with many rocks and starfish. Surrounding the room were twenty more large crabs which danced together in duet pairs, conducted by the largest, the crab we’d followed. Roald and an ecstatic Tordek joined the dance, tracing out circular patterns around the room. The crab leader then donned a large silver chain pulled from a chest in the room. To the west, we saw a chamber with a metallic door labelled “fish room”, with a similar design to a UFO the party had previously explored. To the north, we saw a wooden door labelled “science room.”
The science room door led to a corridor with another door labelled “tubers only”, past which we found a large room filled with dirt and arrayed with horizontal rows of hedges. There were nine large vegetoid beings with misshapen heads, each around five feet tall, holding 4-foot high staves. They looked at us, making a rustling noise and producing the strong smell of wildflowers. With her background in floral languages, Porphereana gleaned a solar association to their message. She offered up her potato, which was quickly taken by two golden potato-like beings When asked about Lord Obtuse, the plants produce another, rain-like scent, associated with food.
With their talk of the sun and habit of sticking close to the torches, we concluded we ought to lead our new plant friends out of the caverns to photosynthesize. We led them past the crab rave, which had taken a more meditative turn, and over the pit trap, past which we found four dour-looking halflings in red cloaks at the cave entrance, one of whom pulled a slingshot to attack a photosynthesizing plant.
Encounter with the Halflings
The party interfered in defense of the plants, successfully sleep-ing and tying up several of the halflings. We found a hawk symbol on one, and when they roused they claimed they’d just wanted to practice their sling aim. They claimed their robes to be the uniforms of a bird-watching club, and when asked where they came from, they pointed to a cave about 150 high up on the Northwest of the cave; their bird-watching post. Further, they claimed that they would never hurt humans or elves, and that they were humble bird-watchers of ducks, geese, hawks, and ptarmigans. When asked about Lord obtuse, they lied, claiming to have never seen any giant slugs.
Roald Fires the Cannon
With the interrogation going poorly, the halflings tried to wriggle out of their bonds. One escaped, running up the cliffs, two more were detained, and the fourth was taken by Roald to be launched out of the cannon. The halfling cracked under pressure, revealing that Lord Obtuse is in the shrine, deep within their lair. Roald then launched this halfling up towards the rocks, where he thudded into the wall. He then shot two more cannonballs towards their lair entrance, the first of which bucked wildly, revealing the cannon’s instability, while the second hit true, seemingly killing another halfling who cried out and fell from the wall.
We returned to Fort Ray with our newfound information and two halfling prisoners in tow, aiming to return to the Caves of Intensity with renewed vigor and reinforcements.
Rumors:
Penguins and ptarmigans are the most evil of birds
Lord Obtuse is in the shrine in the bird-watchers’ lair.
Gold & XP:
52 GP/260 XP for the party
- 17 GP
- 4 daggers and 4 slings (10 GP)
- Hawk holy symbol (25 GP)
Special or Magic Items:
Operation Chaos, by Lord Lobachevsky
Written by: vivvywivvy