Return to Chult, New Friends and Fame Report

General Summary

After parting ways with Connor, our party chooses to return the mysteries of Chult, hoping to follow up on leads discovered, and continue their quest of conquering the unknown. A new companion waits in Port Nyanzaru, and the party discovers that their fame has begun to spread with the locals in their absence.   Stepping through the portal provided by the Righteous Hand of Velen, our party returns to Port Nyanzaru on the afternoon of December the 2cd. Arryn eagerly heads to Joo-Tee-Fan’s to let him know that he has returned, and would once again have the company of his faithful companions Cheddar and Crackers. Joo-Tee-Fan is surprised at the rapid return of our heroes, but is quite pleased and assures Arryn that he is welcome to bring his mighty scale beasts back to him anytime he needs them cared for.   Three days prior to the party's return, Gabriel Toll had arrived at Port Nyanzaru and had been staying at the Thundering Lizard. Gabriel had saved for the long trip to Chult, following up on a lead to find and track down a man who had caused nothing but heartache and pain in his life. The man he was looking for was named Benton Cray, a horrible slaver who regularly gathered people from the lands of Chult as one would harvest apples from a tree. Gabriel, not being a fool, and hearing the tales of how dangerous the jungles of Chult could be, had wisely decided to seek brave traveling companions who might be interested in bringing the evil Benton Cray to justice. During his stay at the Thundering Lizard, a man had come in every afternoon around lunch time and had been regaling the locals with stories of himself as the mighty Morgrim Calturne. This man claimed that his other fellow heroes were away on a mission to the north and that for personal reasons he had stayed behind at Port Nyanzaru. Gabriel had been listening to the man's stories for the last three days, and had decided to wait until this “Morgrim’s” companions had returned from their mission to the north before approaching them. So it was much to Gabriel's surprise when he saw another gentleman who looked quite similar to "Morgrim", walk into the tavern accompanied by a group of fellow adventurers that closely matched the description of Morgrim's companions.   Morgan, Lord Rhogar, and Arryn walked into the Thundering Lizard and seated themselves at their favorite table, quite close to the imposter spinning tales of the party's exploits in Chult. The locals hung off of every word, and the empty mugs scattered around him bore witness that he had been storytelling for quite some time. The actual Morgrim quickly realized what this man was doing and playfully shifted tables, staring intently until finally being noticed by the drunken pretender. The drunken liar panicked and tried to excuse himself from the table, attempting to rise from his seat. Morgan firmly placed a hand upon the man’s shoulder and planted him back down, insisting that he continue his fantastical stories, while the rest of Morgrim’s companions shifted over to the now panicked man's table. As the locals realized that “Morgrim’s" traveling companions had returned from their fictional journey north, an absolute frenzy of drink buying and food purchasing ensued. The real Morgrim let this continue for a bit, and then finally let the drunken liar off the hook. He immediately fled the bar with Lord Rhogar following directly behind him. A quick interrogation by the dragonborn warrior revealed that the drunken man was merely taking advantage of his passing resemblance to Morgrim to obtain free food and drink from the locals. Lord Rhogar let the man off with a stern warning to never impersonate any of his noble companions for any reason. As soon as he was released, the drunken storyteller ran straight towards the impoverished area of town, most likely returning to his home.   Back in the tavern of the Thundering Lizard, the gathering and celebration that had been kicked off by the return of the heroes of Chult continued on well into the evening. The drinks and food finally slowed, and the grateful locals bid a fond farewell to our travelers, Arryn took note of Gabriel sitting at the bar. The astute halfling quickly assessed that this person was no local, and most likely was an adventurer like himself. He approached Gabriel and after some quick introductions, Gabriel ended up joining the table with the remaining party members and striking up a conversation which led to a mutual agreement of him joining their party. Their talks stretched on into the night about what the group might do next, with the plans of picking up their discussion and resolving what actions they might take next in the morning.   Lord Rhogar was the first to rise the next day, and found a well-dressed boy waiting down below at the bar. He introduced himself as a messenger on behalf of the merchant princess Ekene-Afa. The messenger informed Rhogar that the princess had a job offer she wished to present to the party, and that they were invited to come to her estate for lunch that afternoon to hear her proposal. When the rest of the party woke up and were informed of the invitation, they decided to accept to see what might be offered. The messenger thanked them, bowed and departed to inform his princess.   The party arrived at the Ekene-Afa’s estate, and we're given the royal carpet treatment. Excellent beverages ranging from chilled fruit juices, a delightfully spicy local tea, various types of liquors, ales, and meads were made available. The food offered was no less impressive, a combination of both the finest meats available mixed in with various delicious bounties from the sea. After our traveling adventure’s appetites had been sated, Ekene-Afa made her offer to the group. Ekene-Afa was a former gladiator in Port Nyanzaru’s arena, and in addition to running the arena as one of the merchant princesses, she was also the primary provider of weapons, shields, traveling gear, rain catchers, saddles, wagons, and canoes for all of Port Nyanzaru. She proposed to the party that a special combat event could be hosted at the arena that would guarantee all parties involved massive gains in wealth. The party hesitated, unwilling to trade violence and lives for material gain. Ekene-Afa went on to explain that the creatures the party would be going against were in fact already dead! Specifically, these creatures were undead, and the party using their substantial might could end the existence of such unnatural beings, while making a substantial profit for all. The group discussed it at length, and came to an agreement to accept Ekene-Afa’s proposal provided they were allowed to see these undead beasts they would be fighting. If the group accepted they would receive a substantial portion of the ticket sales for the fight, plus a generous purse for accepting the job. The arrangements were made and the party was told they would be brought to see the beasts they would be facing the following morning. The princess would have them picked up from the Thundering Lizard and brought to the arena so that they could inspect their opponents of the upcoming fight.   Bright and early on Sunday December 4th, our group found a train of palanquins with plenty of men to carry them to the grand coliseum in total luxury. The group arrived at the arena, and Ekene-Afa barked some orders in her native tongue to have the adventurers brought to the cages where the undead beasts were kept. The beastmaster of the coliseum led the party underneath the massive arena floor, revealing various obstacles, cages, walls, and other devices cleverly designed to be raised up or down during the matches held. As their guide led the group further into the dark areas hidden underneath the floor, the party could soon see by the torch light of the beastmaster, two cages containing massive undead ankylosauruses! As soon as the party got within visual range of these beasts they began to mindlessly slam their armored bodies against the cages containing them, with some of the steel bars flexing and bending alarmingly. Their guide asked them to quickly make their needed observations so that the enraged creatures could be left back in the darkness and out of view of the group in the hopes that they would not break out of the cages. The heroes wisely decided to follow the beastmaster’s advice, and exited from the labyrinthine mechanisms hidden underneath the coliseum floor. While the party had originally been expecting the undead beasts to be more humanoid, they accepted Ekene-Afa’s terms and inquired when the fight would occur. Ekene-Afa explained her plan to hold the fight on the 8th of December, because that was the day that many gathered at Port Nyanzaru to listen to the weekly performance of Solaine the bard. The deal was struck and hands shaken, Ekene-Afa recommended the party continue their presence at the Thundering Lizard while she promoted the upcoming bout.   The group took the time to explore while waiting for the day of the battle, and discovered and talked to quite a few of the residents that lived outside the walls of the safety of Port Nyanzaru. Morgrim hired a local boy as their guide, who seemed both awestruck by the party, and the generosity given for his service. During the tour the group was made aware of a local named Chiwa, who had obtained celebrity status in The Old City by surviving The Executioner's Run four individual times! Their guide brought the group to Chiwa's home in The Old City, curious to meet someone who would risk their life voluntarily on four separate occasions. Chiwa turned out to be a young and very wiry man with a great deal many scars (some still healing) who had made The Executioner's Run simply for the money it provided him to purchase the hovel he now lived in. In an act of kindness the heroes gave this brave soul a handsome sum of money, and informed him that they hoped he would never have to risk his life in such a fashion again. Chiwa was overwhelmed by the generosity shown, and could not thank them enough.   The party waited out the remaining time, until the morning of the 8th of December. The day of their battle had come! Once again Ekene-Afa provided our heroes with transportation fit for royalty to the Grand Coliseum. They were brought to a comfortable waiting area out of sight of the public as the warm-up matches and battles could be heard raging overhead. A member of the coliseum staff finally arrived to tell the party that their battle was next and that they were to proceed into the arena. The announcer spoke to the packed coliseum, but our heroes did not seem to need the introduction. As soon as they became visible by the massive crowd's cheering reached a deafening crescendo. The announcer went on to describe the parties many accomplishments and titles. The Heroes of the Host Tower, The Chosen of Obtao, The Heroes of Chult, The Destroyers of the Evil Witch of Mbala! The gathered mass was in a total frenzy as the announcer then introduced the party's opponents. He gruesomely described how these massive undead beasts had brought death and destruction prior to their capture and how the brave heroes of Chult had volunteered to dispatch these foul creatures while all of Port Nyanzaru bore witness! With the deafening roar of the crowd, the cages containing the two massive undead ankylosaurus were raised, and the battle began! Our heroes had wisely chosen to distance themselves so that the foul beasts had to close the distance to do battle with them. They let fly an assortment of ranged weaponry to take advantage, but soon the fearsome creatures were upon them, and a desperate fray began! Our champions bravely stood toe-to-toe with these massive monstrosities, and while both sides struck mighty blows against each other, in the end our heroes stood victorious to the massive cheering of the crowd! Their injuries were attended to by the colosseum's clerical staff, and other than exhaustion, the Heroes of Chult seemed no worse for wear. Ekene-Afa personally congratulated them on their victory, and mentioned that perhaps in the not too distant future that a profitable arrangement like this could be made once again. The princess went on to elaborate that the party should rest and that another job might be of interest to them. Well paid for their efforts, and demonstrating to all watching their combat prowess, our party returns back to the Thundering Lizard for some well-deserved rest.

Rewards Granted

625 XP Each   2000gp in small 25gp gems   1000gp in diamonds (5 stones worth 200gp each)