Session 40: Second Infiltration

General Summary

As the party finally could rest for a bit, discussions broke out on what to do next. Jeanne expressed her wish to cave in the temple with an explosion to trap the Yuan-ti inside. Nakor on the other hand wished to simply leave. In the end, they agreed to venture back the next day to see if there was anything they had missed. To be sure that the Swift Mermaid would not be discovered, they sailed north for a bit from where they would take a lifeboat back to shore.   When they had made it some way up the coast, Nakor noticed a figure floating on the surface above them. Conn climbed up the main mast, grabbed the figure's leg, and pulled it down onto the ship.    Rochpir had been floating on his own upon the wreckage of the ship that had taken him to the middle of the eastern seas in his quest for knowledge and artefacts. Hunger and thirst had a firm hold of his being and his surroundings were a blur, when he suddenly felt a tug on his leg. It didn't feel like a shark or like the giant sea snake that had sunk his ship. In any case, he refused to be taken without a fight. But he soon found himself helpless compared to the amazing strength of his attacker. He closed his eyes and accepted his fate.    The creature bounced down on the planks of the crow's nest in front of Conn. It was a tortle, a turtle-like being with a massive shell that covered most of its body. It introduced itself as Rochpir and Conn welcomed him to the ship. The two descended onto the deck of the ship to meet the rest of the crew. It turned out that Rochpir was a frankonian alchemist and explorer who had sailed with pirates in search of underwater temples in the eastern seas. After a quick check with the captain, Rochpir became the latest addition to the crew.   When the discussion of the Yuan-ti temple resumed, Rochpir became interested and agreed to join the expedition. The next day they woke up to a three-year-old Um, with all that entailed. As a jest, Nakor told Morrileth that he could taste him this time. A short fight ensued and Um managed to blast their alchemist with fire. Rochpir got updated on this phenomenon by Jeanne. It was then revealed that Nakor had grabbed a scroll written on snake skin in the temple. It was written in abyssal, which Jeanne understood. In it they found instructions to the yuan-ti, and it said that they would vacate the temple in the event of their activities being compromised.    They then left, leaving the ship some way north of their original location. They reached the beach, also a bit north of their original location. There they set up a camp, which Rochpir helped them hide amongst the bushes of the jungle. Leaving Conn and Um at the camp, Rochpir, Jeanne, and Nakor headed into the jungle towards the temple. Once they reached it, they all turned invisible and snuck inside to scout. inside they were met by a lot of giant snake monsters like the one that chased them out last time. Narrowly sneaking deeper and deeper inside they found that the yuan-ti were destroying and moving pots of blood-like substance.    In the end, a monster managed to catch their scent. Nakor and Jeanne ran for it through a dimension door, as Rochpir turned into mist. The duo managed to end up in the tree by the temple's entrance as the monsters exited the temple in search of the intruders. As one of them found the prince and the diplomat in the tree, Jeanne sunk down and whipped out the statuette they had found in the temple. This entranced the monster. Together Nakor and Jeanne used this figure to keep the monster at a distance. Nakor ran ahead to fetch the others. At the same time, Rochpir caught up to Jeanne. So did a second monster. As such Jeanne couldn't keep them both at bay.   She set the statue down and ran for it. When she caught up to Nakor and the rest they turned to fight. Together they managed to overpower the creature. But as it looked like they could slay it. A third monster found them. Not seeing any other way out, Nakor took a chance to polymorph one of the creatures into a little boy. With a little manipulation, he managed to overcome the creature's magical resistance. Thus, they turned the tide and as the first monster ran for it, Conn landed an axe in the back of the head of the creature, killing it.    Jeanne then ran back to get the statue but found that both it and the monster was gone. She ran back to the rest of the party and together they ran back to the camp to rest and decide what to do next.