3/24/24 - Circling Back to the Library

General Summary

It was after the battle with the trolls that Melkor felt a surge of arcane power within him. Sigils within circles and the ability to pull himself as well as others to those circles became crystal clear in the tiefling’s mind. The party felt that it was in their best interest to teleport to the nearest circle Melkor knew, which fortunately was that of the one atop the small mesa at Temple Helm. With that, all eight members of Welcome Tasks were transported back to the town of Gnoll Bane. Happy that they were able to save a day of travel, the party used the remainder of the day to prepare for their journey to the library. Malikae performed his Adept duties, Melkor and Milam spoke with the apothecary, and lastly Aglizzy and Slayer caught up with the locals to catch up on the scuttlebutt of the town. While our adventures do their best to stop wrongdoing, they cannot be everyone all at once and unfortunately there is no rest for the wicked.
After completing his prayers, Malikae checked in with his congregation to make sure Helm was ever present in their lives. He got into a discussion with one of the two Lizardfolk he had rescued from Vorua Pleaura and asked why their compatriot was not present at the service. The Lizardfolk, who’s named Duoi, explained that their clutch mate was so grateful to Malikae , and to a greater extent Helm, that they went to their home village of An Loi as a missionary. While that was all well and good, Tails also mentioned they had not heard from their counterpart for close to a month and was beginning to get concerned. Malikae  agreed that there should be some concern as The Magrocain have not taken kindly to the introduction of a new god into their midst.
This conflict is well known, even to those not part of the Temple Helm. Aglizzy had ventured into the village and the Lizardfolk he spoke to also had great apprehension for this old world god. Our Druidic friend is somewhat familiar with The Magrocain, being a Lizardfolk himself. He knows that these chameleonfolk are ever present in each lounge of Lizardfolk life, regardless of the groups’ dimorphism. In addition, any god other than their omnipresent Bo Sat is met with harsh scrutiny. Aglizzy made a note of this looming issue, but was happy to speak with someone of his kin and show off his craftsmanship of armor made from the Glow wyrm hide.
Slayer also had his fair share of ill omens. When speaking with the many Tabaxi of Gnoll Bane, they all shared a concern for the sister town of Black Glade. This marshy settlement was re-established after the gnolls’ blood crusade and both before and after that event has served as a first line of defense against raiders. The Tabaxi explained that they had heard very little from that settlement and those who do return from there are acting odd. This was confirmed by Slayer who remembered Welcome Tasks’ bout with the corrupted Tabaxi Flayer at Wolf's Moot. While not shared with the townsfolk, Slayer was also reminded of the conversation where he spied on the coven of The Tabaxi Sisters.
Listening in on the conversation of the three sisters, they had communed with a fire that took on a vaguely humanoid shape. Part of this discussion alluded to the fact that this creature was not only involved in the happenings with Black Glade, but also was well aware of capabilities of Welcome Tasks. The fire was addressed as Quymeo and it is unclear whether the fire is its true form or it was merely projecting its consciousness through it. For now, all the pieces Slayer has to this puzzle show yet another problem that may need to be addressed.
On to more positive news, Melkor was able to identify one of the magic items he had procured/stolen from the hags. While he and Milam spoke to the herbalist, she was able to deduce the canopic was a “thunder cloud in a bottle”. Feeling its potential, Melkor kept the jar on its person which allows him to channel magic more efficiently. With shopping done, gossiping completed by ourTabaxi and Lizardfolk, and Malikae completing his prayer, the party enjoyed a quiet rest in the safety of Gnoll Bane.
Welcome Tasks awoke at dawn, eager to keep their time table for arriving at the library. They headed Westward towards the Upper Cascade River and easily acquired canoes to head North towards the Cascade Trading Post. The current was in their favor and it was easy enough for them to row down stream, however a commotion along western bank slowed Welcome Tasks’ progress.
A clay structure that had previously been buried under river silt had recently emerged from the shifting topography. What drew the action of the party though was a group of grung with a variety of colored skin clearing away the mud. Somewhat suspicious, Slayer and Aglizzy approach the excavation site on foot, using the ring of water walking and casting water walk respectively. Meanwhile the other members landed the canoes upstream and approached the grung along the shore line.
Those walking on the river were met with some apprehensive creatures, especially the alpha grung who stood almost five feet and sported a deep blue skin tone. What was frustrating to our hero’s was that grung only spoke their own language and made parlaying nearly impossible. Simultaneously, the landing party approached and ran into the same communication issues as the others. The key difference though was that the alpha grung was distracted by Slayer and Aglizzy.
Milam deduced that the grung were trying to clear out this structure and was quick to jump in and start digging. The smaller grung were happy for the help and pitched in where Milan began to dig. Malikae and Melkor though were more skeptical of the poison dart frog people’s intent. Most notably, they could hear the alpha and another grung yelling at Slayer and they comprehended that the pair were not speaking the same language as one another. Optimistic, Malikae attempted to introduce himself in Celestial but not only did that alert the alpha of his presence but also seemed to infuriate him. With that weapons were drawn and combat was initiated.
Malikae was surprisingly sure-footed and charged the alpha. The pair clashed with strong blows, each landing successful strikes. Melkor also focused on the alpha grung, following up with arcane spells that were amplified by his newly identified magic item. This however resulted with the grung directing its claws at the tiefling as well.
Meanwhile, Slayer and Aglizzy took the first volley of arrows from the grung, but the Tabaxi returned the favor striking three grung with one arrow from HidePiercer. Aglizzy then raced over the water’s surface and used his teeth to strike at his foes. This at first appeared as a poor choice as the Lizardfolk’s stomach was tested by the grunge’s toxic skin. However, the fact that Aglizzy has eaten everything he has come into contact with, he merely found the toxin to be a minor flavor deterrent.
Milam, somewhat unsurprisingly, chose diplomacy over combat at first. Not only was he able to befriend the nearest grung to him that was helping him dig, the knight also managed to be unnoticed by the blue grung alpha that was causing the most trouble. His strategy did eventually fall short after failing to impress a higher ranking grung and thus Milam was forced to draw his sword.
Back to the alpha who was entangled with Melkor and Malikae . The creature was quite vicious and led a series of powerful strikes against the pair of heroes. Melkor’s shadow hound was summoned to aid the caster and the cleric attempted to heal the wounds already inflicted. The divine magic however had no effect on anyone the grung alpha struck with his claws. This added an extra element of urgency as Melkor was getting close to falling unconscious from blood loss.
However, Welcome Tasks has a habit of getting out of trouble. Melkor ensured that the alpha was struck true by a series of magic missles, causing the foul creature to be defeated. Slayer continued to pepper the grung who resisted with his arrows and Aglizzy performed an excellent amount of crowd control thunderwaving three grung. When the dust settled, two grung surrendered peacefully and another pair fled along the riverbank. Now it was onto the matter of what these creatures were doing and why these creatures were so hostile.
Aglizzy and Melkor took some time to investigate the alpha of the clan. Its large toad-like body seemed to just be an unusually large grung during the battle, but upon closer inspection a more sinister truth was discovered. Melkor pieced together that this was not of this plane and was in fact an aberration known as a slaad. These beings are of pure chaos and often their machinations make no sense, even to themselves. According to the surviving grungs, who could now be understood thanks to Malikae ’s divine magic, the slaad strong armed its way into their group and were clearing this out to acquire something of value.
Before moving on this “finding this thing of value” in the dig site, Melkor knew that often slaad have a gemstone embedded in their forehead under the skin. Aglizzy was more than happy to assist via eating the slaad’s head around gemstone, which yielded a massive sapphire. Satisfied with this loot, Melkor lent a mage hand and began slowly helping comb the sight.
Milam, who was already covered in mud from before, and Malikae were working hard by the time Melkor pitched in. As luck would have it, when Malikae hit the cobblestone foundation under the silt, he loosened a hidden compartment. Underneath the stone, the dwarf discovered a turquoise cloak of elvish make. Disappointed by the make of the cloak, Malikae passed it along to Milam who added the cloak as a second layer to his traditional one. With that, Welcome Tasks felt that they had dottled about long enough and wanted to keep heading downstream.
Their arrival back at the Cascade Trading Post was unceremonious. It has been a little over a week since they were last here and not too much has changed. Welcome Tasks did take the time to ask around if anyone knew much about the Gif, and were reminded of a few things. Most importantly, the Gif are exceptionally militant and highly territorial. The fact that there is a trading post built on their land is quite a feat and probably why Gif parties often pass through for their expected tribute. The Gif do not linger when acquiring their levy and none were around for questions when Welcome Tasks arrived. As night fell, the party was again happy to sleep in a bed along with walls to keep them out of harm's way.
The morning brought great anticipation as our heroes began the trek into hostile territory. The southern gate has a trail leading west where the Gif convoys travel from. Welcome Tasks followed the path for a brief time before Slayer spotted a structure standing in their way. With a little arcane help from Aglizzy, Slayer stealthed up to the structure completely unnoticed. It became clear that this was a checkpoint for Gif territory to ensure colonists or other curious persons from the trading post did not wander. Made up of a watch tower gate, palisades, and several tents, Slayer figured this place should be avoided. Those stationed here, that Slayer noticed, were what Welcome Tasks had come to expect. The pair of hippo people on watch brandished sturdy firearms that could easily double as clubs, and while on the lookout they lamented how they were stuck on border patrol rather than being on the esteemed “knowledge run”. This was good to know, as that meant that those traveling to the library had already been selected and more than likely on their way.
Slinking back, Slayer poked around the tents beyond the watchtower. The first tent of interest was a supply tent, filled with rations, weapons, and of course a barrel of sulfurous gunpowder. Not wanting to alert his presence but foil the Gif, he soaked the gunpowder in water before making his way to what he determined was the ranking officer’s tent. Fortunately no one was inside when he poked his head in and the Tabaxi was fixated on finding a map of the territory. On the center table of the tent lay just such a map which included not only where the Knowlwdge Run would take place but also of a major Gif Settlement simply named “Mud Hole”. Feeling that he may be pushing his luck, Slayer returned to his companions, map in hand.
Passing along what he had learned, Welcome Tasks traveled in a West by South West direction. Extra precautions were taken during the journey, including no campfires at night, Malikae carrying his armor rather than wearing it, and Aglizzy shapeshifting into a bird to scout ahead. This was all very neasarary. Since the Gif are steadfast in their antimagic ways, the party would often hear different patrols communicating through war horns throughout the territory. If one patrol found them, who knows how many reinforcements would arrive.
Fortunately for our heroes, this was not a situation they encountered. On the morning of their second day though, they crept up on a larger than expected patrol of Gif. Rough estimates put the pod of Gif at 50 men strong and all armed exceptionally well. This collective had just just broken camp and was starting to march in a West by Southwest direction. It would appear that the adventures had finally caught up with the Knowledge Run.

Report Date

24 Mar 2024

Primary Location

Gnoll Bane

Secondary Location

Cascade Trading Post

Time Table
Days remaining until Malikae must return to Temple Helm: 29
Days remaining until the fog lifts from the library : 1
Days remaining until Gentle Repose ends: 6