The Jungle's Claw #036

General Summary

Game date: 1st to 3rd of the Bull, Year 13944
The vermilion skies of dawn bathed the Rustleech in ghostly light as Captain Malista Tinmaw bade farewell to her passengers and cargo. Four adventurers—Fouk Shadim the Vorcian, Thronn the once-Bloodclaw warrior, BöötMóöntch the Aasimar Bloodhunter, and Sherman the towering Goliath—disembarked alongside Kurgan and six red-shirted goblin crewmen. Their burden: fourteen experimental flamethrowers and three enigmatic chests of unmarked provenance.
The disembarkation occurred during the darkest hours before dawn, under Kurgan's whispered instructions. House Ironwake, Captain Tinmaw's river house, maintained an uneasy truce with the eight other houses controlling commerce along the River Vo. Yet none did Tinmaw despise more than House Greenglade, who presently commanded the inspection post at Vo-Len, the halfway marker betwixt Jungle's Claw and Grizburg. The contraband they carried would draw unwelcome scrutiny, thus necessitating their clandestine overland journey.
Their path led first to a nameless settlement that Sherman christened "the Flop House," a collection of derelict shacks nestled away from the main waterway up a small tributary. Kurgan navigated the approach with practiced ease, suggesting intimate familiarity with this haven for those seeking to vanish from the world's attention. The party beheld a squalid outpost where filth and decay held dominion, where outhouses were mere trenches and the stench of mold, jungle rot, and strange chemicals permeated everything.
As the party settled into the decrepit settlement, Sherman revealed an unexpected side quest: he wished to improve the village's nearly non-existent sanitation system. Having recently completed plumbing work beneath his own dwelling—crawling through pitch-black spaces with black widows and septic water—Sherman felt compelled to install proper plumbing wherever he traveled. The Goliath surveyed the primitive sanitation of the Flop House, where outhouses were merely shallow trenches dug into the ground and waste disposal consisted of letting everything "hang out." Despite Kurgan's focus on their mission, Sherman insisted on examining the settlement's sewage situation, his expertise a strange contrast to his brutish appearance. The locals, initially baffled by the towering figure digging through their waste trenches, eventually found his efforts both amusing and potentially beneficial. Granny Goodness observed with mild curiosity as Sherman proposed filtering water through charcoal and wool to create rudimentary purification systems, though the toxic nature of the jungle's water would require more than conventional filtration. His earnest desire to improve sanitation throughout Nolavor's frontier settlements added an unexpectedly civilized dimension to the otherwise savage warrior.
The proprietor of the establishment—a morbidly obese figure of indeterminate gender known locally as "Granny Goodness" but addressed by Kurgan as "Mother"—greeted them with alternating civility and crassness. Most unsettling was their preternatural ability to divine secrets, an aptitude that mirrored Kurgan's own uncanny talent for reading people. Sherman attempted to court the massive innkeeper with flowers, while Fouk found himself strangely at ease among such familiar squalor, reminiscent of his desert upbringing in Vorcia.

What are you looking for?

— Granny Goodness

Fouk sought information regarding local alchemical resources, his addiction to magical substances ever-present in his thoughts. Granny Goodness promised the arrival of someone who might aid his quest—a human ranger named Lasha. As foretold, two human rangers entered the establishment that same eve: Lasha, a red-haired woman visibly wracked by dream petal addiction, and her companion Dorn, a mute man bearing a grotesque scar encircling his neck as though he had been beheaded and reassembled.
Recognizing a kindred spirit, Fouk displayed his own dream petals before Lasha, instantly earning her rapt attention. The Vorcian alchemist leveraged this connection to secure her guidance through the toxic jungle landscape, where she proved knowledgeable about medicinal plants, hallucinogens, and poisons. Meanwhile, Thronn communicated with Kurgan regarding the newcomers, confirming they were not associated with the Mistwatch, the militant druids they had previously battled.
The expedition required additional porters for their overland journey, and Lasha and Dorn secured six local hirelings to supplement the six goblin crewmen from the Rustleech. As they departed at dawn on the first day of the month of the Bull—the New Year—a hooded figure pursued them from the ramshackle settlement. The creature revealed itself as Scout Nok, a mangled crocodilian humanoid bearing terrible scars, a peg leg, and an eyepatch. Despite prior conflicts with the party, Scout Nok displayed remarkable joviality, even sharing ribald humor with Sherman.

All right, so we were just at that flophouse, right? So I went up to Mother at the bar. Two signs behind her on the wall. The first one said: Cheese Sandwich 3 copper. The next and said hand-jobs 4 copper. I said to her: Are you the one that gives the hand jobs? She said "Why, yes". I said "Wash your hands, bitch. I want to cheese sandwich".

— Sherman, to Scout Nok

Scout Nok's appearance harbored ominous tidings. He warned Thronn that the Eastern Kurnok, to whom the slain Quinty had been sacred, now hunted the ranger with relentless determination. The crocodilian urged Thronn to conceal his trophies from the white crocodile, lest they draw unwanted attention. Scout Nok proclaimed Thronn likely the most wanted mortal in all Nolavor, with both the Bloodclaw Orcs and Kurnok tribes seeking vengeance against him.
The jungle proved merciless as they hacked through dense vegetation. The terrain grew steadily more elevated as they traveled northeast, eventually turning directly east to avoid the river's sharp eastward bend. Kurgan stressed the paramount importance of the three mysterious chests—featureless blocks without visible seams or hinges that appeared like solid objects with handholds. When Fouk attempted to use clairvoyance to peer inside, he encountered only impenetrable darkness, as though gazing upon solid lead. His bone dagger, Peake, vibrated strangely whenever near these containers.
By the second day, four porters had been lost—two disappearing without trace, while two others perished horribly. One suffered a toxic bite that spawned a horrific abscess that crawled up his arm into his brain until it burst in explosive fashion. The second met his demise when Sherman's troublesome meat puppet, the elf Vorrin Shadowleaf, provoked a passing stegosaurus during a moment when Kurgan had ordered absolute silence. The creature's tail spike impaled the unfortunate porter through the face.
The treacherous rainwaters of Nolavor presented another challenge, toxic to the touch and capable of inflicting jungle rot—a malady Sherman had previously contracted. Fortunately, Fouk's ability to purify food and drink proved invaluable, though he leveraged this talent to ensure his own protection within the group. Despite this capability, Sherman still suffered from recurring jungle rot, the disease manifesting as painful, suppurating lesions across his massive frame.

Best hide dem pointy trophies, cher. Eastern Kurnok know you slew Quinty, who was sacred to dem. Your father and dem Bloodclaw, dem Eastern Kurnok, even dem Mistwatch tree-folk—all huntin' you now. You de most wanted mortal in all Nolavor.

— Scout Nok

As dawn broke on the third day, Thronn and Lasha simultaneously detected signs of Eastern Kurnok presence in the surrounding jungle. The ranger deduced from the tracks that the crocodile folk had been both ahead of and behind their party, apparently attempting to herd them in a specific direction—precisely the direction they had been traveling. Alarmed by this revelation, Thronn proposed using the red shirts as bait while the main party circled behind to ambush their stalkers.
Kurgan intervened with crucial information: while the flamethrowers might be considered expendable, the three chests must reach their destination at all costs. Each chest required four people to carry, presenting a logistical challenge with their diminished numbers. At this critical juncture, Fouk revealed his telekinetic abilities using his bone dagger Peake, which reacted unusually to the proximity of the chests, allowing him to levitate one for up to six miles before requiring rest.
Sherman demonstrated prodigious strength by carrying a second chest on his shoulder, leaving the third for four red shirts to transport. The remaining crew members, Lasha, Dorn, and the adventurers managed the flamethrowers as best they could. By the third day, they had progressed to within four miles of their rendezvous point with the Rustleech, where they established camp for the night.
As dusk descended, the party prepared for the possibility of a Kurnok ambush, knowing their pursuers could strike at any moment. The jungle's oppressive humidity enveloped them, the toxic rainwater dripping from leaves overhead, and the distant silhouettes of an eastern mountain range loomed against the darkening sky. The mysterious chests remained intact, their contents still unknown to all save Kurgan, who maintained his stoic silence regarding their nature and purpose.
BöötMóöntch kept vigil through the night, his blood hunter instincts alert to the slightest disturbance in the primal energies surrounding them. His unnerving appearance—transformed by his blood magic practices—made him an object of suspicion among the locals and the hired porters, yet his combat prowess remained unquestioned among his companions.
The waning light glinted off Sherman's ever-present meat puppets—particularly the troublesome elf Vorrin Shadowleaf, whose propensity for mischief had already caused one death. These macabre appendages, a bizarre tradition among Sherman's Goliath people, disturbed even the hardened goblin crewmen, though Scout Nok found them fascinating, having grown up among the voodoo practices of the Kurnok.
Thronn reluctantly stowed away his white crocodile trophies from Quinty at Kurgan's insistence, though he knew that concealment alone would not shield him from the vengeance of the Eastern Kurnok. His reputation as Quinty's slayer had spread far and wide, marking him for death among both the Bloodclaw Orcs and the crocodilian tribes. Yet despite this peril, a fierce pride burned within him, for few could claim to have felled such a legendary beast.
As the adventurers rested, the jungle's nocturnal chorus rose around them—the cries of predators, the rustle of unseen creatures moving through the undergrowth, and the distant rumble of thunder heralding the nightly rainfall. Four miles remained before they would reach the rendezvous point, where Captain Tinmaw's Rustleech would await them, assuming she had successfully navigated the inspections at Vo-Len. Until then, they remained vulnerable, pursued by vengeful Kurnok and burdened with mysterious cargo whose true nature remained hidden even from those who risked their lives to transport it.

Rewards Granted

Treasures and Items Found:

Various medicinal plants, hallucinogens, and poisons gathered by Fouk with Lasha's guidance (detailed inventory to be prepared)

Consumed Items: • Two days of rations for the entire party
• Water purified by Fouk's magic
• Sherman suffered one D12 (undetermined value) of poison damage from jungle rot
• One spell slot used by Fouk for Pass Without Trace
• Multiple spell slots used by Fouk for Purify Food and Drink (cast as rituals)
• One spell slot used by Fouk for Clairvoyance (attempting to view chest contents)

XP Awards: • Thronn: 350 XP for successful tracking of Kurnok movements and tactical planning
• Fouk: 350 XP for creative use of telekinesis to transport a chest and for purifying water for the party
• BöötMóöntch: 350 XP for vigilant watch and adapting to the jungle environment
• Sherman: 350 XP for carrying a chest single-handedly and humorous roleplay with meat puppets
• Group award: 400 XP each for successful navigation of the jungle and preservation of the cargo despite hazards
XP TRACKER
Notes to Transcript: • Prepare detailed inventory of medicinal plants, hallucinogens, and poisons found by Fouk with Lasha's guidance • Clarify Scout Nok's background and reconcile how he and the party didn't cross paths during their month at the Jungle's Claw
• Consider rules for toxicity of rainwater and jungle rot mechanics
• Develop the properties and purpose of the mysterious chests

Time Passed: Three days have passed since the party left the Rustleech and made landfall at the settlement that Sherman dubbed "the Flop House."

Campaign

Dead Gods

Protagonists

Fouk Shadim

Neutral Evil Variant Human (Criminal / Spy)
Rogue 5
Artificer 4

66 / 66 HP

STR
9

DEX
20

CON
15

INT
15

WIS
8

CHA
8

Thronn Zamda

Gherman

Lawfull Evil Goliath (Outlander)
Barbarian 4

45 / 45 HP

STR
19

DEX
14

CON
17

INT
9

WIS
13

CHA
7

Report Date

18 May 2025

Primary Location

The Sko-Vo Waterways

Secondary Location

Nolavor

Related Plots

• The Jungle's Claw
• Voyage of the Rustleech

Related Characters

• BootMoontch
• Fouk Shadim
• Kurgan
• Meat Beak
• Sherman
• Thronn Zamda