The Ascent to Mbala Report
General Summary
After two weeks of travel and adventure from Port Nyanzaru, our brave adventurers have finally made it to the base of the plateau containing the ruins of the town Mbala. The group readies themselves for the long climb up, and the showdown to come with the evil that resides within the town's ruins. The sheer cliff wall has a narrow path that winds back and forth and seems to go all the way up to the top of the plateau. The group wisely chooses to use the path, rather than the daunting task of climbing up the cliff walls directly. The path is littered with occasional large rocks and stray roots that slow their progress some, but is a small price to pay compared to a straight climb up. Slow steady progress soon places them well above the treeline of the dense jungle below. As the group climbs ever higher, they are treated to stunning views of the surrounding wilderness. Across the Aldani Basin to the southeast, they can see a strange massive chunk of earth and rock floating over the swampy forest, about a hundred feet above the ground. A petrified tree towers above the stone, with its stone roots protruding from the bottom. Between the shape of the rock and the branching of the tree's limbs, it creates the impression of a gigantic heart hanging in the sky. After about an hour of slow but steady progress, Conner's vigilance of his surroundings allows him to spot a hint of blue fabric caught in the treeline far to the South. Close examination reveals that somehow a ship of considerable size has managed to become wrecked perhaps 100 feet off the ground into a tree! Morgim and the others take their best guess at the range and directions of these strange objects, and mark them on his map. Slow but steady progress was made by the party, and after climbing up the narrow path for the last 90 minutes, they had reached the halfway point of their ascent. As they pushed onward, our brave band noticed a group of flying pterafolk flying straight towards them from a great distance away. Their guide Eku asked the group to place their trust in her and play along for what was about to happen, and they agreed. All stood amazed as Eku's form twisted and shifted into one of the most feared evil beings in Chult, the form of a Yuan-ti Pureblood! As they readied themselves for possible conflict, the large group of pterafolk split and landed both in front and behind the party. There were seven of these tall and lean creatures in total, four in front of the party and three in the back. The largest of them stepped forward and spoke aloud in the common tongue. It's high pitched and hissing voice inquired what business the party had with the witch that lived in the ruins of Mbala. Eku's new assumed form hissed out a reply filled with arrogance and hostility, "We have personal issues with the witch of Mbala, and you are blocking the route of both myself and my thralls who serve me!" The exchange with the pterafolk's leader revealed that they were enemies of the witch, and that if it was the parties intention to face her in combat, they would not interfere. The leader of the pterafolk warned Eku that the witch had a mighty creature that helped safeguard her, and the Eku's "thralls" were not properly equipped to fight this creature. Five savage looking paddle shaped weapons were gifted to the party, their edges covered with black fearsome looking teeth from some unknown monstrosity. The pterafolk departed peacefully, and once they were no longer in sight, Eku shifted back into the form everyone was accustomed to, and promised to fully explain after reaching the top of the plateau. The remainder of the climb took another 90 minutes or so, and the narrow winding path they had been following finally veered directly into a natural cleft in the stone face. Steps were cut into the 15-foot-wide crevice, and scenes of jungle predators, flying lizards, and erupting volcanoes were carved in shallow relief onto the walls in ways that made creative use of the natural shape of the rock. The stone steps emerged onto the top of the plateau beneath a once grand, but now decrepit wooden gateway. The gates that sealed this entrance were rotted away; only their rusted iron hinges and reinforcing bands remained. In their place were heaps of human skulls. Picked clean of all flesh and bleached white by the sun, they grinned up at our brave party from the roadway and down from atop towering mounds. The grim thought of wading through the remains of these poor souls filled the group with disgust, and so they used their shields or whatever makeshift equipment they could to carve a path past the macabre entryway. With that grim task completed, they finally stood atop the plateau and saw what remained of the town of Mbala. Most of the structures were now just crumbling compost heaps demolished by rain, wind, and time. A few stone foundations and overgrown ramps poked up through the debris, indicating this was more than just a simple village before being brought to ruin. Eku stopped the party and stared directly into the eyes of Arryan for a long moment, as if some silent exchange was occurring between them. The moment passed, and Eku turned to face the brave party she had lead to this place of death and reveals her secret at last. Eku's form shifts yet again, and flying in the place where a moment ago she stood is a creature of legend, a Couatl! A winged serpentine creature known as benevolent beings of great intellect and insight. Her brilliantly colored wings keep her radiant form off the ground, and everyone hears her speak directly in their head. The voice is definitely Eku, but all traces of her accent are gone, replaced with crystal clarity that matches the purity of her being. She apologizes for the deception, and asks for all to keep her secret. She reveals that she is far older than her human form would suggest, and she holds the memories of when the people of Mbala were a thriving community. She has waited for a very long time for brave souls to accompany her to avenge the people slaughtered here, and thanks everyone for doing so. The only structure still intact is a lone hut about a thousand yards southwest of the gate, at the edge of a boulder field. The hut is made from thatch and animal hides stretched over the rib cage of an immense reptile. Animal skulls, wind chimes, and totems of feathers and shells rattle in the breeze, and smoke drifts from hut. Standing in front of the hut is the reason the party has risked so much, the witch doctor of Mbala! She appears as human woman, hunched over and impossibly old, with a milky white film covering both of her eyes. Despite her seeming blindness, she looks directly at the approaching party. Our heroes decide to face this ancient foe together and advance in formation. As the party gets about 1000 feet away, the old woman lets out a piercing whistle. Five flying monkeys come out from behind the hut and fly straight for the party. From somewhere behind the hut the sounds of wood smashing and breaking can be heard. The vile witch doctor Nanny Poo'Poo's form ripples, her illusion of an old human cast aside. Revealed is her hideous true form, a vile creature of the dark fae, a green hag! The party holds its formation as the flying monkeys hurtle towards them at top speed. Bursting out from the side of Nanny Poo'Poo's hut, the foul abomination of a flesh golem sprints forward to attack the party. Our heroes unleash a hail of death and destruction upon the monkeys as they come into range of javelins, spears, and hatchets, making short work of them. The vile hag gestures and mumbles words of magic and vanishes from sight! Eku fearing the results of the mighty flesh golem's rage pleads to go ahead and confront the beast before the rest of the party will reach it. The group consents, and Eku flies straight as an arrow towards the creature and manages to coil her powerful body around it, stopping it's charge. The remaining members of the party get within melee range of the golem and hew at it with their weapons while being mindful of Eku wrapped around the beast. Arryn looks desperately in the direction that the hag disappeared and is struck with inspiration. He orders his two loyal scale beasts to run to her last seen location and gives the command to seek and hunt. The two beasts bolt off, eager to obey their master's commands. The rest of the group frantically stab and slice at the constrained golem, and can see they are wearing the monster down. As it begins to rage, it momentarily breaks free of Eku's grasp, and lands a mighty blow on Lord Rhogar before Eku can get the beast restrained once more. A commotion erupts about 60 feet away from the scene of their battle, Arryn's scale beasts have picked up the scent of the cowering hag and savagely attack her! Nanny Poo'Poo's invisibility spell is ruined as she desperately claws at the two beasts trying to rip her limb from limb. The group's concentrated efforts against the golem prevail, and its massive form finally slumps to the ground dead. The desperate hag has managed to rake her massive claws down the side of Cheddar, and despite the scalebeast's hiss of pain, the two continue to savage the foul monster. The Hag desperately offers to reveal her treasures to the group if they will accept her surrender, but her empty words are ignored. Freed from dealing with the golem, Eku flies straight at her hated foe, and wraps her powerful body around the disgusting hag. The party closes in on this doomed monstrosity, and bear witnesses as Eku sinks her fanged mouth into the wretched hag's neck and savagely rips out her throat! The lifeless form of the evil hag falls to the floor, never again to bring harm to another soul. The party tends their wounds, and after a long and careful search discover the cache of valuables the hag had hidden away in the fetid waters of the remains of the town's cistern. The pterafolk are spotted returning towards the party early in the evening, and Eku once again assumes the guise of a Yuan-ti Pureblood. She informs them of the hated witch doctor's demise, and the satisfied pterafolk give their thanks and fly off. The party gets some well deserved rest and heads down the plateau the next morning. During the two day trek back to the parties hidden canoes, they get caught out in the open by a pair of hunting allosauruses. The party hunkers down and hopes for the pair of 3000 pound killing machines to pick a different direction to look for food. Unfortunately, as Lord Rhogar moved up to protect Eku from these fearsome hunters, they are spotted by the fearsome pair, and came running in. The leftmost allosaurus missed with it's charge, but the one on the right smashed into Lord Rhogar like an avalanche. Mighty Rhogar was clawed deeply as the beast slammed into him, and then savagely bitten by the hulking beast hovering over him. The gruesome attack caused Lord Rhogar to slip into unconsciousness, his body barely clinging to life. The party was not going to loose one of its members after the successful triumph in Mbala! Eku released her most powerful healing magics, and the massive wounds caused by the terrible attack all but disappeared from Rhogar's body. The full strength of our heroes was brought to bear upon these massive predators, and the might of the party quickly prevailed. Only the damage of Rhogar's armor showed any sign of how seriously he had been injured just minutes before. The party rested and made it back to their safely hidden canoes the next morning. Our heroes discussed the ramifications of removing the evil that had held control of the ruins of Mbala, and after some thought decided to share the information with the Order of the Gauntlet back at Camp Vengeance. While the Order had not seemed quite ready for the challenges Chult, they did seem to be quick learners. The campsite was in far better shape upon our parties return, and their morale was high. Commander Niles welcomed back our brave explorers, and the Heroes of the Host Tower generously donated the massive bounty of fresh meat provided by the defeated allosauruses. A great banquet and celebration was held, and Conner was able to deliver the letters he had been writing to Undril Silvertusk, along with a skillfully carved allosaurus tooth marked with the symbol of her god Torm. Conner also shyly presented her with one of the onyx gemstones they had recovered from Mbala. Undril was overwhelmed with Conner's affections and care, and ended the night's celebrations with Conner spending a very pleasant evening in her tent. Commander Niles was quick to act on the information shared with him about the potential strategic value of establishing a stronghold atop the now cleared plateau. He had also noticed the connection between Undril and Conner, and selected her to bring this important news to his superiors. The camp helped the party consolidate their supplies into just three canoes, and our heroes generously donated the extra food and canoes for the Order of the Gauntlet's use. Once again the brave group traveled Northward, passing the ruins of the wrecked Camp Righteous, with it's mysterious 80 foot high statue of a man with an alligator laying upon his back. Resisting the call to explore the unknown, the group wisely decided to continue on and make haste to Port Nyanzaru. The party traveled without issue for seven days up the River Soshenstar, the longest time yet without the jungle trying to kill them! Alas, the seventh night was not quite as peaceful, during the midnight hour a large flight of bloodthirsty stirges attempted to make a meal out of the party. The stirges were a minor nuisance after all the party had dealt with so far, and they were quickly and efficiently dealt with. The minor wounds they had caused were quickly healed, and the party traveled on. They triumphantly returned to Port Nyanzaru on November 17th, and Morgrim was greeted by a somewhat miffed Myrril at the docks. She teasingly scolded him for making her wait for the party's return, and then gave them their payment from the good she had sold for them. Myrril informed Morgim how horrible he was for making her wait in this miserable heat, but quickly revealed how glad she was for his safe return. The party divided up the spoils from their successful adventure to Mbala, and Eku once again thanked them for the great service they had performed for the people of Chult. Everyone checked back into the Thundering Lizard for some well deserved rest, with Conner and Undril now sharing a room together. Morgrim and Myrril found a private bath to wash away the dirt and grime of Chult, and enjoyed their reunion with each other. The Heroes of the Host Tower wake refreshed and ready to seek their fortune and glory!
Rewards Granted
3852 XP (963 XP each) Total money after selling treasure and assets: 462gp 5sp each Six onyx gemstones (50 gp each). (one kept by Conner) Scroll of Comprehend Languages. (kept) Ten adamantine ingots (10 gp each) Stamped with Dwarven runes. (bought by Conner) Pay from the sale of goods from Jax by Myrril.
