6/25/23 - Inside the Lair of the Tabaxi Sisters

General Summary

Our heroes ventured into the cave system where Aglizzy had told them The Tabaxi Sisters were hiding. Not wanting to be ambushed by anything returning to the cave, Malikae, Saepe, Reed, and Milam stayed guard while the rest of the party advanced inside. Those who ventured in came upon a large chamber with a recently deceased Lizardfolk at the center. Slayer and Aglizzy could clearly see that this unfortunate individual had been ambushed out in the wild by the chimera and had been brought back here to be consumed. Gimble, ever curious, inspected the body further and found a few pieces of gold to add to the party’s meager funds as well as a note written in Draconic. Translated by Melkor, they pieces together that the corpse was once a courier and one that was rallying others of his kin to muster under the command of an individual named “Rang”. It was made clear that the tribes of the Lizardfolk had not taken kindly to Malikae’s evangelizing Helm in their territory and are planning to remove him. This was noted but was pushed to the back burner as iron mines, library burning, and dealing with corrupt Tabaxi was higher on the todo list.
Once the main chamber was picked through, the party separated to cover more ground. Slayer, hearing rushing water headed east while Gimble, Melkor, and Aglizzy followed the sound of strange whispering to the north. Cautiously, Melkor lead the group to a smaller section of the cave with three beds(each with a nightstand and chest), a woven tapestry, and an alchemy table. Melkor used his mage hand to knock over a skull with a lit candle melted to its head to see if he could lure out the individual he had heard early. To his dismay, no creature revealed themselves and it was onto plan b.
Gimble was beside Melkor and figured some more powerful magic than mage hand may be required. Wanting to keep the element of surprise, the warlock transformed his body into a fog bank and slowly rolled into the room. He did notice the skull that Melkor had knocked over muttering to itself but figured it was no threat. What did catch his eye was the three chests and the potential treasure they could hold. He seeped his gaseous form into the first check to ding alchemy supplies but nothing of real interest. As Gimble surrounded the second chest to get a look, he was ambushed. The chest itself sprouts several eyes and a lashing tongue. It was at this point a fight broke out as in addition the the mimic, the knocked over skull wreathed itself in flames and attached with searing rays to defend the hag’s possessions.
Slayer, unaware of the danger his friends were about to walk into, found the source of water that had intrigued him. A quick moving underground stream had carved its way through the ground and across its bank another hallway led deeper into the cave. The Tabaxi nimbly leaped a cross the stream and followed the tunnel. Venturing further, he passed a different woven tapestry, shelves of even more spell components and some purple firewood. Slayer would have lingered to inspect the shelves, but the sound the Tabaxi Sisters chanting drew his attention.
In the next chamber The Tabaxi Sisters stood chanting around a large campfire, and while keeping his distance, Slayer observed intently. The fire soon took the form of a humanoid and exchanged banter with the three hags before their conversation turned to business. The Tabaxi Sisters explained that they had crossed Welcome Tasks, their visions were becoming reality, and wished to inform the fire of their discoveries. The fire, who the sisters referred to as Quymeo, scolded the sisters for being so careless with Welcome Tasks and seemed to already know a great deal about the party. The last bit of information the hags passed on was that a “dragon” was traveling with Welcome Tasks.
Quymeo at first seemed annoyed, thinking that the sisters were referring to Magnus. They corrected the fire, stated that they had attempted to create a simulacrum using Melkor’s hair and instead formed a draconic chimera. When they realized what had happened, they were eager to see what else could be created. They sent the chimera to collect Melkor and thus creating the current predicament. Quymeo was grateful that they had passed on this information and thanked them for all their services. The fire receded to its natural form just as Slayer could hear the sound of battle coming from where he had left his friends.
Meanwhile, the flame skull and the mimic were putting up a decent fight. Gimble unfortunately had taken up the role of front-liner and took a few hits from both enemies. Melkor and Aglizzy were quick to defend the gnome and Slayer quickly caught up with the group thanks to his nimbleness. The flame skull was more formidable than one might have expected and dropped a fireball on three party members just as Slayer turned the corner. Once the party was all in one place though, combat turned in their favor and the two creatures were defeated.
Welcome Tasks turned their attention back to the chests in the bedroom and found of interest two sealed clay jars with magical properties. The first one had no markings but a natural rumbling sound can be heard inside it. The second jar is silent but has what appears to be some kind of nursery rhyme written in sylvan. The party did not have the time to identify them properly however, as the sisters approached the bedroom.
Melkor was quick to hide(clearly did not want anything else stolen off his person) but the sister did not take a combative approach. The three of them spoke with a weird speech pattern, often completing each other's sentences and occasionally speaking in unison. They apologized for trying to kidnap Melkor and confessed they had taken the wrong approach with Welcome Tasks. The sisters told the party that they would be more than happy to let Welcome Tasks leave and perhaps even court a partnership. Most of the party was reasonably skeptical, but Aglizzy was open to the idea(also maybe courting more than a partnership). In the end, they tentatively agreed; partly because they were promised magical goods and partly because they were not at their best strength.
As Welcome Tasks were leaving the cave the Tabaxi Sisters made one final request. Without being informed, they knew the party was heading to the great library and planned to burn it down. The sisters simply asked before they burned the library down, if they could grab a few books for them. As a “down payment”, they each gifted Slayer a magical arrow entwined with Fey magic and promised even more if their request was fulfilled.
With those who ventured into the cave now reconvening with those who stood watch, Welcome Tasks is whole and ready to carry on their adventure

Report Date

25 Jun 2023

Related Characters

• Quymeo
• The Tabaxi Sisters

Time Table
Days remaining until Malikae must return to Temple Helm: 29
Days remaining until the fog lifts from the library : 9