Azimuth 2 - Session 48 - Battle at Barduumus's Anchor
General Summary
Aktrout
Barduumus’s Anchor
Demitri, Romsca, Arwin, Mortimr, and Gertrude rushed to Barduumus’s Anchor in the northeast of Aktrout. At the metal-coated anchor platform, fish like kuo-toan were attacking the Scows at the Scow’s Tower, and a giant metallic blue crab was being driven through the water by a shaman kuo-toan that was chanting and dancing. Arwin shot the shaman, forcing him to hide behind the crab as it reached the anchor and the metal chains. Demitri surged forward to engage the shaman as it continued to chant and dance. At the same time, Mortimr cast a darkness spell around the base of the Scow's Tower, making the kuo-toans there scramble to steal supplies and flee. Romsca cast a protection spell on Mortimr, then rushed forward towards them. The blue crab attacked the anchor, but the reinforced metal was too strong to be damaged. Mortimr called on stronger magic and banished the blue crab, leaving the shaman alone against Demitri. As Demitri attacked and parried, he broke the shaman’s concentration and saw the kuo-toan hesitate, though it was seemingly super focused on the religious offerings surrounding Barduumus’s Anchor. Gertrude chose to reach for her own magic and cast a Scorching Ray, but half of the projectiles fizzled out like dying sparklers. As she wondered what that could mean, another giant crab, this one colored red with a rider holding an electrically charged trident came up from the water behind them. With a whirring pulse, it created a magnetic aura. The party resisted the pull, but the metal offerings around the anchor became stuck to the crab’s shell. The kuo-toan fighter saw the religious symbol on Gertrude’s neck and started attacking her. Backing away from the crab, Mortimr reached for even more magic and cast a Fireball spell to kill the shaman and some of the lesser kuo-toans. As he did, he felt a strange pulling on the source of his magic towards the south, but he couldn’t tell what it meant. Arwin shot the trident out of the kuo-toan fighter’s hands, but he stll pulsed with electric energy. He attacked Gertrude and as the energy shocked and stunned her, it stole her holy symbol. Arwin’s next shot ripped it from the creature’s grasp and pinned it onto Gertrude’s shield, and Mortimr killed the kuo-toan with lashing pink magic. Romsca felled the last two kuo-toans, and the party quickly descended on the leaderless giant crabs. Romsca cast her dripping gold to heal Gertrude as Arwin’s arrows killed the red one, and Demitri, Arwin, and Romsca’s summoned weapon killed the blue crab as it returned from banishment. After the battle, Deputy Oknar Dhnen reached the anchor with a number of queensguard soldiers. He was surprised they had already killed the attacking creatures. He kicked one of the kuo-toan bodies and said they were “I thought these things were just stories” and seemed surprised they were real. Mortimr asked about the stories, but Dhnen didn’t know much more than they were in children’s tales. He told them nothing like this had happened in Aktrout, though he said Inkathu would know more about older history. He said there was news of a similar attack on the Sehakora Anchor, too. Dhnen needed to check on the town and said to meet him at the Mikog'nen Infirmary after they recovered and regrouped.Sifting Through Metal
Romsca investigated the giant crab. Parts of its carapace had fused with metal as a result of its magnetic nature. Much of the added scrap metal was easy to remove with Demitri’s aid. She found lots of scrap metal, including remnants of orcish chain. She also found a metal chalice with a silver design of the Zenethian symbol. Demitri wondered about the importance of the chalice. They wondered if it was an offering at the Zenethia anchor and if these were the same creatures that attacked there days ago. Meanwhile, Mortimr went to Gertrude and asked if she was alright. “Just do me a favor,” and he leaned in to say, “Just be a little more careful, will ya?” Gertrude noticed the more sincere way he made the comment, and she curtly nodded back. Arwin recovered his arrow from Gertrude’s shield. She joked, “I won’t charge ya for fixing my shield.” Arwin replied he wouldn’t charge for the arrow either. Mortimr saw Cinis circling above the town to the south in the direction of the other anchor. They departed in that direction to find the rest of the Lightbringers.Sehakora’s Anchor
At this same time, at Thalassian Anchor at the southern end of the town, Chaka, Ilmendwyth, and Romulus just saw pink petals manifest for Ruslan as his spear flew across the plaza and into his hand. Ruslan stepped back onto the docks, surprised and shocked. He stuttered, “Was that… that was the same color as Mortimr’s magic, right?” Romulus didn’t have a response. Chaka went to the burned crab, recovered his helmet, and put it on. With Romulus’s help, he recovered some of the group’s missing items and found more scrap metal falling off the crab’s body. He also found a locket with an embedded emerald. Meanwhile, Ilmendwyth wanted to follow the figures he saw who had spoken thieves cant. Unluckily, he was still missing his belt when he lost his sword and dagger, and as he went towards the alley, his pants fell down right as Deputy Oknar Dhnen arrived. Dhnen asked about the attack and saw the bodies of the slain monsters. After he confirmed they were also members of the Lightbringers, he gave them the same invitation to meet at the Mikog’nen Infirmary. Romulus arranged for the kuo-toan and giant crab bodies to be brought there, too. Chaka went up to Ruslan. Both were hurt, and Chaka told Ruslan to try harder to not die, and he would do the same. As Romulus healed Chaka, he commented on their new rock roach armor and how it likely saved Ruslan’s life. As they rested and recovered, Romulus was unhurt. He cast a water breathing spell and went beneath the water, following the anchor chain. He found the shaman kuo-toan body and brought it back to the surface, reaching the docks at the same time as the northern group did.Regrouping
The two groups met and Romsca quickly started to heal Chaka and Ruslan. Chaka commented that Rosmca looked rough, too. Ruslan said the deputy oknar had just passed them, and he asked how their meeting had gone. They filled each other in about the events at the Aktrout Ark and Buoy's Bagels and shared the details of their combats at the anchors. Demitri said the kuo-toans seemed focused on the holy symbol offerings left for Barduumus and the symbols carried by their clerics. Along with the Zenethian symbol on the chalice Romsca found, Gertrude noted that emeralds, like the one from the locket, were associated with Zenthai, The Dragon King. They wondered if these were signs that these creatures had also attacked the Zenethian Anchor earlier.Rose-Colored Questions
Romulus asked Mortimr if he’d somehow helped out Ruslan with his magic. Ilmendwyth and Romulus mentioned the rose petals and magic effects. Mortimr didn’t know what Romulus was referring to, and Romulus said, “I think you and he should have a chat later.” Mortimr looked to Ruslan and asked Gallicas in his head, “What did he do?” Gallicas simply replied that Ruslan had been in danger, and he was important to Mortimr. Ruslan quietly said to Mortimr, “I don’t what’s happening here, but we should have a conversation.” Mortimr said now wasn’t the time. As they continued, Ruslan kept a distance to the rest of the group. Arwin kept an eye on him, seeing Ruslan appear suddenly worried about accidentally hurting someone.The Rusted Reach Bridge
They discussed what to do next and what was important to attend to first. Ilmendwyth brought up the thieves cant he’d heard and the figures he’d seen. He knew they’d seen Chaka without his helmet before they went east. From what they could see, the nearest crossing from this section of the town to the east was the Rusted Reach Bridge. With Romulus’s aid, Chaka cast a divination spell to scry the bridge from a distance. Magically, Chaka saw two figures matching Ilmendwyth’s given description enter the bridge building. After a short discussion, the group felt this was a time-sensitive issue and headed to the east to follow them. The Rusted Reach Bridge was a building spanning across a water accessway to connect the two districts. It was mostly coated in flaking, rusted metal, but despite the visual damage, it appeared well supported and sturdy. It was two taverns connected by an enclosed, prism-shaped bridge, forming a part tavern, part bro. Ilmendwyth investigated the building’s exterior and found more thieves cant symbols. The message noted this place was a safehouse and that it had some protection of some kind. The party entered, and Ilmendwyth approached the bar and ordered a drink. Holding a gold coin, he tapped out a thieves cant message to relay he was trying to make contact. The bartender replied and asked if Ilmendwyth wanted “the special”. Ilmendwyth confirmed and was served a basic ale. The bartender said it was seven copper and motioned towards the bridge connecting the two halves of the bar. Ilmendwyth gave the drink to Gertrude and they moved to the enclosed bridge. There were rooms along the side of it fitted with copper door knockers, and they went to the seventh door, the last in the line.A Bird out of its Cage
There was a riddle carved in thieves cant on the locked door. Ilmendwyth read it as “What couldn’t fly before, but can fly now?” Ilmendwyth didn’t know the answer, and the others suggested several answers. The riddle was simple, with any number of possible answers, but they didn’t have a way to know what the right answer could be. While they debated what to do as they investigated the door, Romulus left to investigate the water outside. He couldn’t find any entrances, but did locate some strangely placed lake boats beneath the span of the bridge. Inside, Chaka could tell the door was enchanted, and Mortimr discast the abjuration spell on the door, but it remained locked. Ilmendwyth was hesitant about lockpicking the door, as he felt breaking into a potential thieves guild hideout wouldn’t make them any friends. Ruslan asked if Ilmendwyth had a contact he could ask for the password and brought up the “Birdkeeper” Ilmendwyth had previously mentioned. Ilmendwyth pulled out his Sending Stone and reached out to his contact, saying he needed access to the “birdhouse” in Aktrout. The reply came back, “Aktrout? You’ve travelled quite a distance. Ah, what was that one… I think it’s ‘a bird out of its cage’. Good luck.” Ilmendwyth whispered the phrase to the door and it unlocked, and they stepped inside. Inside was a tended inn room with a bed and a metal etching on the wall. They easily found a hidden accessway leading to a section of the building underneath the eastern tavern. The rest of the party stayed back as Ilmendwyth went down the stairs alone, followed by an invisible Mortimr. It led to a partially submerged room sealed with wax or pitch to make it waterproof. In the darkness of the hidden chamber, Ilmendwyth saw a number of dark-clothed figures with daggers and crossbows at the ready. On the far side, in a plush chair of purple fabric, was a young orc with a dark leather jacket and long rattail and a smug look on his face. This orc held a glowing Sending Stone, and as Ilmendwyth entered the room, he smirked, looked up, and said into the stone, “Yeah, he just arrived.”
Report Date
07 May 2025
Primary Location
Related Characters
26 Adroth 5A 352