Prairie Fire Expedition

General Summary

A wizard in a nondescript basement within Wildcross requested a group of adventurers willing to do an... unsavory task. Gain access to the Collared Jackal Territory, slay a dire hippopotamus, a truly rare and magnificent beast, and return its heart to the wizard for study.
Thedan, Ophiocordyceps Fungoid, Myriad, and Kree answered the wizard's summons. They entered Tyrigg's Trips where they met Tyrigg, a jolly dwarf with graying hair, a peg leg, and a red fox on his shoulder, telling the story of how he lost his leg to one of his elven employees. The party paid for a guided safari, as Tyrigg stated that such is how it would be, guided tour or no tour, and stepped through a portal in the back of the shop, taking them to an expansive savanna.
They traveled for a few days on the backs of axebeaks. Tyrigg mentioned they were getting closer to one of his favorite exhibits, so his scouts said. Greattooth, a hippopotamus of elephantine proportions, had gone to the Northern Watering Hole, claiming it as its temporary refuge.
That night, when the party found themselves unmonitored, they began to flee. One of the penned up axebeaks squawked out its disproval; it wanted to go, too! This roused a sleeping safari hand; the adventurer's quickly silenced the unfortunate fool, cutting off his life and reanimating his body as a zombie. They took the axebeak with them and found Greattooth not an hour later, lurking in the waters of the watering hole.
Myriad and the Fungoid had a troop of mindless followers keep a sufficient distance from the safari tour for the length of the trip. They met up with them at this time, bolstering their forces for this heartless battle.
Kree, the Fungoid, and Thedan took to the air. The Fungoid's minions grouped up beneath the spore-thing. Myriad and their cohort wound north and east, placing a thick copse of trees, shrub, and grass between them and Greattooth.
The battle with the magnificent beast was nothing but petty. Just before they killed the creature, however, the air began to fill with a rhythmic pounding. Eight giant eagles were flying towards them in formation. The skeletal mage, Thedan, erupted a fire ball in their midst, and Kree quickly shot a few of them. After the first few strikes, a few of them popped in a grey cloud, a safari hand appearing in the place a giant eagle had previously occupied, and plummeted to the ground.
The leading eagle, the one with a peg leg, soared directly towards Thedan, breaking the concentration that maintained his magical flight. The wizard was quickly overwhelmed by the safari hands and was reduced to a pile of bones.
Kree's deadly barrage made short work of the giant eagles, leaving only the one with the peg leg remaining. The safari hands fled into the copse of trees for concealment; the peg-legged eagle dove in after them and all was still...
And then fire fell from the sky.
It destroyed the Fungoid's minions, affecting the spore creature and aarakocra, but, oddly enough, left the tall savanna grass unaffected.
Thedan reassembled himself, no longer reduced to a pile of bones, and hurled a ball of fire at the copse of trees. This fire, however, did not leave the grass unaffected. A prairie fire roared into existence and quickly spread. The spore creature vanished into a puff of stuff and entered Greattooth's corpse. Eventually, it emerged in the air above, obscured by smoke, with a massive 40 pound heart.
Kree sniped two safari hands who were trying to outrun the fire. Though they saw no sign of the peg-legged Tyrigg...
The group let fire consume the fuel in the area about them before huddling together and activating the magical stone the wizard had given. They appeared in his basement in Wildcross, had a brief exchange in which he complained about the condition of the heart and commented on their smell and gave them their rewards.

Resulting Historical Event

The Great Unnatural Burn

Rewards Granted

• 13,064gp = 3,266gp each
  
• 12,300 XP = 3,075 XP each
  
• Parcel in Draconic (Potion of Gaseous Form) - Thedan
• Parcel in Draconic (Decanter of Endless Water) - Kree
  

Missions/Quests Completed

• Deliver a Dire Hippopotamus Heart to the wizard

Character(s) interacted with

• The Wizard
• Tyrigg Dalmun

Report Date

21 Dec 2020

Primary Location

Collared Jackal Territory

Secondary Location

Wildcross Harbor