20-21: The Waters of Heidranulta

General Summary

20: Ice, Fog, Fagitue

After having lost the earth gem to the mysterious other adventuring group, and returning from their difficulties in Galdraskole, the party needed to decide where to go next. First Mate Gar Grimfang called for a meeting to gather up any information the party had regarding loose ends and ideas of how to proceed. Together, following Vash's leadership, they decided to proceed onward towards other locations of treasure with the idea that the best thing they could do now is get stronger to face whatever comes next.
Lead by the marked treasure on their map, the party decided to head East, through the icy Sea of Heidrunalta. The fiery enchantment on Efreeti's Fortune kept the party and crew warm, and protected the ship as nearby ice melted away before it could do any damage. This would not be enough for large glaciers, but the crew did not initially worry, as they are excellent sailors.
Fear shortly set in, however, when a thick fog settled around the ship, reducing visibility to near-blindness. The ship slowed almost to a stop for fear of crashing. Meanwhile, strange lights flicker in the waters below the ship, and a strange unrest has settled upon the crew.
As the ship sat in the fog, they were attacked by an old, familiar foe from early on in their journey together. Lord Marcus Bathoris, the Vampire who had first summoned them together for their very first mission at the Darklight Estate. Rowan recognized the ancient noble and tried to speak with him, but was unable to get the man to talk. In the end, the vampire was defeated once again and he turned to ash.
The party tried to find rest, but awoke feeling tired and irritable. Once again they found themselves under attack, this time by another old nemesis, Nightshade, a bounty hunter whom they had fought two times before at the start of their adventure together. The bounty hunter from the Isle of Esker had somehow found them, as she had promised to do so long ago. Last they had seen the dark elf, she was fleeing their onslaught after they had defeated her crew. Once again she was defeated, this time completely, as her head was removed from her body. The head fell into the sea.

In these battles, the fancy bard-druid of the party had summoned a plethora of plant-life across the entire deck as a means to slow down the enemy, with the side-effect of also being very annoying to the party and crew. He, however, enjoyed them and did not remove them, opting to cheer everyone up with his music instead.
Desperate and exhausted, and finding no rest, the party gathered to discuss a plan of action to figure out why they were under attack and in a perpetual fog. Jin-e and Vash came up with a plan and quickly set it in motion, tying rope around Jin-e and letting him into the sea, where he swam out as far as he could in hopes of seeing.. something. Very quickly, however, he found something unfortunate. Glowing sharks surrounded him and savagely set about making him their meal. He fought back with lightning, only to find it did nothing to disuade them from biting him again and again. He rushed back towards the ship, trying to escape, but could not make it in time. Luckly, just as a shark's teeth snapped at him, he was hoisted out of the air by Vash's telekinesis.
Frustrated, tired, and cranky, Aralia lost her temper and grew to distrust the other druid in the party. She climbed up to the Crow's Nest and sliced apart the runes he had carved into the wood their, claiming they were for teleportation. This act of destruction did nothing to remove the excess plantlife or the fog. She then spoke with the plants, and urged them into war with one another, giving the pumpkins a druidic boost towards victory
Late into the night Vash, in a frenzy, used his Arcane Cannon to shoot behind the ship, where Jin-e had seen some glowing, flashing lights while out in the water. Something, perhaps, was hit and angered, and it surged forward causing a big wave which knocked Rowan right overboard. He was quickly rescued and nothing else came of this attempt of Vash's.
The next they they awoke again, still tired and now more desperate than ever. The plant war had come to an end, with the pumpkins (having grown to an enormous size) and the plants from Dao's sanctuary spell remaining, while all others had been snuffed out.

21: Unexpected Enemies

Exhausted, delirious, and irritated beyond words at their situation, the group faced yet another day in the fog. As they tried to figure out a plan for survival, a voice rang out across the ship, beckoning them to battle. There stood Olara, the High Priestess from the Golden Cathedral. The group was surprised, unsure of how to react, for they had clear memories of having ended her life already in their adventure.
They engaged her in combat, now thoroughly suspicious of everything that was happening. The battle was tough, and partway through the group was joined by an owl that came swooping down to Rowan's aid. The owl transformed into Kedar, who immediately aided their friends with heals while beseeching Olara, who had now transformed into her dragon form, to stop her attack. "Mother!" Kedar cried out, "Stop!"
The battle carried on and Kedar gave up hope of convince Olara to stop the fight. It was then that the shapeshifter noticed an extra member in the group. "Who is that?" Kedar asked, gesturing to the bard, whom the group was sure had been with them since the start of their journey. It was then that it all clicked -- the bard was an imposter and their memories of him were false. The battle shifted, now including the bard as an enemy, and he proved to be a vicious foe. He was cunning and possessed many skills that made it nearly impossible to land a hit on him.
With their friends in danger, Rowan's life hanging in the brink, and frustration over the battle mounting to an unbearable level, something shifted inside of Kedar. With a rumbling growl, Kedar's eyes alighted with gold and their bones began to snap, skin stretching... scales growing across their skin. Kedar shifted from elf to a powerful looking dragon with black scales and golden spikes. Kedar attacked passionately, determined to bring down their foes, and helped to turn the tide of the battle.
Olara was defeated and the Sea Serpent had risen from the sea to join in the attack. It hypotized the group, attempting to lure them to their doom. Most snapped out of the hyposis quickly, but Ember, transformed by Aralia into a green false-dragon, could not break free from the charm. Luckily, in their dragon form, they were not made into a snack despite desperately trying to get closer and closer to the sea serpent.

The bard melted into a pile of wet seaweed with a final blow dealt against him, and shortly after the Sea Serpent gagged and spit up another satyr, an exact duplicate for the one they had just destroyed. "Sir Truebottom," he called himself, the true version whose image was taken to construct the one they had been tricked into believing was a part of their group.
Finally, the sea serpent was destroyed, and it sank into the depths of the sea. Ember was free from its hypnotising control. Most had survived the battle with minor injuries, but Rowan had been direly injured, losing a hand and taking serious burns across half of his face, scarring his image. The true bard gifted each of them a magical item from his Bag of Holding before teleporting away. With the battle over, Kedar collapsed, shifting back into their elven form and falling into a deep slumber. Rowan carried them gently to his room to rest on his bed, opting to sleep elsewhere instead.
Exhausted, the group finally found rest in their beds, sleeping soundly, as the fog finally faded across the sea.

Report Date

28 Apr 2023