Episode - 20 Statues and Sea Monsters

General Summary

The party awakens from their dream battle with the nightmare hag to find that Darla's body turned to ash where she lay on Master Benobi or "Benjamin the Wanderer"'s floor. Attempting to resuscitate the female halfling, Davwyn watches as her body turns to ash in his arms. He gathers a small portion of her remains in a vial and places it inside his modron companion. The heroes begins to divide her belongings amongst their party when they note that the strange seed Darla had been carrying begins to sprout from her ashes.
The party takes the Hag's Heartstone and gives it to master Benobi who mounts it onto a bronze staff.  The staff is magically catapulted over the retaining wall into Cheap Side.  Balls of light begin to erupt into the night sky like small fireworks, leading the adventurers to believe that Arnon's Madness was being individually lifted as the undead began touching the bronze staff. 
The leaders of Raiford's Keep, including Anlan Maros, throw a city wide party for the adventurers for defeating Arnon's forces on the island. In addition to several large rewards offered by the Adventurer's Guild, the city's unclaimed statue space is awarded to Arnon's Bane.  The statue depicts Davwyn holding Darla in his arms as we weeps bitterly on his knees. His supportive teammates surround him in somber reflection with their hands on his shoulder. It is further revealed that the statue was donated by Bleating Cortana. 
Akorah notes the governor's interest in her and states she would be interested in sharing a private drink with him.  Davwyn, overhearing this conversation, makes himself invisible and spies on the pair inside the governor's mansion. Akorah desperately refuses the gangly governor's advances while ascertaining that his campaign is largely funded by Walton Enterprises and the Viscount. Due to the governor's awkward advances, Davwyn secretly intervenes by causing the butler to slip and fall. This loss of balance causes the drinks the butler was carrying to fly onto Anland Maros and douse him in expensive liquor, which is further set on fire somehow.... The butler is immediately fired on the spot and vows vengeance on the governor and storms out of the manor.  Akorah uses the misstep to also excuse herself from the awkward encounter. 
The party is provided a charter aboard the Gruton's "Bete Noire" sea vessel and ships out to the mainland. Joining their charter to the mainland is a strange turtle creature named "Klork" who somberly admits he is the last of the priests of Pelor who was out helping local villages during the destruction of the temple at Raiford's Keep. He advises the party he seeks the counsel of the clerics of Pelor on the mainland and seeks the destruction of Arnon to avenge his fallen brethren. While sharing dinner with the boats captain, the party notes the rapid change in the weather which begins to violently rock the boat. Each member is given a specific role to assist the crew with controlling the boat. The party begins to see large giant tentacles erupt out of the water and begin to slap the water around their boat, causing massive waves. These unpredictable waves cause the party to lose their footing, fall unconscious, or be flung about the deck. Sadly, nothing is able to stop the destruction of the boat as a second massive creature jettisons out of the water, smashing the boat to pieces. The party falls into the water and nearly drowns. Along with losing several of their valuables, the party notes Chief never surfaces and is presumed lost at sea. 
Akorah, Klork and Davwyn drag their remaining party members ashore, trying them upright to a large rock for safe keeping. Exhausted and tired, the three conscious members catch their breath on a sandy beach which they now realize is the shell of a giant lion turtle which had apparently been fighting a giant kraken. While taking in their surroundings, Klork notes several strange looking foot prints leading from the beach towards one of two giant mesa style mountains off in the distance. Realizing their things had been stolen by these mysterious creatures, the three conscious members follow the tracks, scale the mountain and scan what appears to be a marsh like village atop the mountain. 
Klork notes several frog like humanoids, the Bullywugs, which he notes from his studies are traditionally creatures with evil intentions and immediately begins to open fire with a blast of sunbeam.  The tall grasses and marshes are immediately scorched as a line is burned straight into the heart of the village, causing the bullywugs to take defensive action. A large scale, gorilla style warfare to take place which eventually ended up with Klork unconscious, Davwyn swallowed by a Froghemoth, and Akorah passing out from exhaustion. Davwyn catches his breath before he begins to resuscitate his party members. Davwyn notes the fiery sunset as it breaks over the ocean sky, highlighting the circumference of the dragon turtle's shell, the jungle of trees beneath him, a strange black pit in the center of the island with an affixed lightening storm over it, and a second mountain across with the way with a second village atop it. What wonders awake the party as the attempt to survive an incredible hostile environment.  Who were the bullwugs and what were their intentions before they were brutally murdered by outsiders? And what is the strange pit in the middle of the island?

Report Date

20 Apr 2023