Episode 21 - The abolith and Kua Toa gods

General Summary

After defeating the Bullywugs, Davwyn realizes he is unable to rouse Klork or Akroah and begins fashioning the turtle man into a sled. Meanwhile, Moxt and Booty wake up and find themselves lashed to a rock, exposed to the elements. Moxt and Booty note the island is moving across the sea at a swift pace and the shoreline appears to be littered with broken and discarded ships. The edge of the island seems to have expanded outward from the wooden scraps littering the shoreline, creating a pseudo patio around the edge of the turtle's shell. With some quick thinking and awkward bending, the pair free themselves from their bindings. They note their strange surroundings and lack of supplies, and begin following several sets of tracks deep into the heart of the island. As they begin walking closer to the first mountain mesa, the pair watches as Davwyn chucks a large frog tied to a stone off the mountaintop. The sickening experiment slings the limp creature down the hill, slapping every rock and stone on the way down until it is eventually crushed the poor beast into amphibious goo at the bottom of the mountain.
Confident in his choice to follow in the now liquified footsteps of his frog test dummy, Davwyn effortlessly glides down the mountain astride Klork, with Akorah's limp body strapped down like a dead deer across the hood of a pickup truck. Seeing his friend in obvious dangerous, Moxt quickly casts entanglement at the base of the mountain which gently cradles the living sled, leading to Davwyn's triumphal reentry onto the jungle floor. Akorah and Klork are set against a sturdy tree in the shade while the owling, the hairy halfling, and the now emboldened warrior saunter off to the next mountain village.
Eventually the heroes reach the next mountain side and determine to enter this village in a less subtle manner than they had with the Bullywugs. Booty flies up the mountain side with Davwyn held aloft in her arms while Moxt keeps himself invisible, providing special affects. The Kuo Toa villagers immediately recognize the floating, glowing beings as gods and immediately fall to their scaly knees in supplication, except for one old fish woman who refuses to bend the knee. Continuing their extremely effective charade, Booty instructs the village elder to provide them with food, lodging, and any medicine they may have. Davwyn demands the blood of the old fish woman which he is rudely denied. The fish people eagerly throw the demi gods and their henchman a feast and offer them any medicine they can and heal the party's exhaustion. Booty identifies her deity persona as "Lady Rump" while Davwyn states he was the "Brewchmeister."
The next morning the village elder requests the party's help to find their second "golden child," a gold colored egg that has been stolen by fallen kuo-toa or "dark scales" who serve an unknown master in the pit. In return for their service, they will be provided with several small baubles and the "Blessing of the Deep." The party ventures into the pit, narrowly avoiding the lightening fields, when Moxt begins to completely obliterate the dark scales with his supercharged lightening spells. Eventually the party locates a large rune doorway that leads into a secret underground beach.
Inside the domed underground beach the party sees the glowing egg in the middle of the lagoon and swims out to retrieve it. They are immediately ambushed by an aboleth that drags the party underwater and slowly begins to poison them, taking them within an inch of their lives. The beast eventually falls and the golden egg is retrieved. On the way out of the pit, Davwyn learns that he suddenly suffers from an infection that poisons him every so often. His wounds will not heal regardless of whether it was from potions or from magic. Panic sets in as he realizes his eventual death looms ever closer.
Returning to the village, the party returns the golden egg to the pedestal outside the elders home, next to the first golden egg. During the return celebration, both golden eggs begin to hum and vibrate. The Kuo Toa fall prostrate and in tandem sing a deafening aquan hymn. The vibrating eggs then levitate off the pedestal and begin to peel outwards, much like a budding flower. Out of the eggs emerged two small, golden replicas of Lady Bum and the Brewchmeister. The party realizes their initial god-like impressions implanted on the minds of the fish people which was made concrete with the return of the village's "golden child." This affirmation of the fish peoples faith caused them to manifest actual golden gods in the likeness of Lady Rump and the Brewmeister.
Leaving the party with the "Blessing of the Deep," the elder led the entire village of Kuo Toa down the mountain, with their golden gods lighting the way, and disappear into the waters, never to be seen again. Davwyn lays in the soothing waters beneath the elder's home, drifting into a restless slumber, while Moxt and Booty curl up for some much needed sleep on tattered pillows. What will become of the party now that no sentient life remains on the island? How will the party get to the mainland and escape the moving island? Will Davwyn recover from his illness or will he succumb to his injuries and meet Darla in the afterlife?

Report Date

21 Apr 2023