22 - An Arm for an Arm

General Summary

The fight versus the Kandze gets risky - Mender tries to quell one with food, to no avail. Dhumkk’d is surrounded by four of the beasts and quickly bloodied at the start. He calls forth his echo, which strangely enough, isn’t Jal. A tall and bulky panda-like warrior arrives in his place, holding the Anchor Spear to mirror Dhumkk’d. Their combined attacks quickly drop the surrounding attackers as the rest of the party handily defeat the rest, with Rhasi and Isgrid suffering injuries. The new warrior introduces himself as Lai’Ko, hailing from the Arangi Highlands. They take a moment to rest, harvesting the meat and bones of the Kandze. As they progress, they recognize the desert is largely empty, with most settlements quickly and suddenly buried by massive sandstorms. As they take turns to watch for threats, a lapse in Mender’s surveillance leads to an ambush of the party by a squad of firenewt raiders, six warriors atop bird-like strider mounts. The firenewts demand in Ignan and broken Common a payment of food and water in exchange for their safe passage. Kalani makes the barter of three of their backup supply barrels, hiding their fourth under the kandze bones.
Mender notices mechanical armaments upon the firenewts - boots of propulsion, and gauntlets of flame. He makes the offer to trade his ordinary gauntlet for their flaming one, deceiving the firenewt with magical embellishments. One particularly rude firenewt tells the party he stole his from a number of ‘people like Mender’ farther south. The newt leaps onto Puff’s cart and releases a spray of flames into the air, to display the gauntlet’s capabilities. Mender successfully trades his old gauntlet for the firenewt’s, who departs after the barrels tumble from the cart.
Even though the party escapes the scenario safely, Kalani lashes out at Mender for being reckless and endangering the safety of their caravan. He sets up a Tiny Hut and purposefully excludes Mender from its protection as the night falls on their first day of travel through the Cauldron.

Rewards Granted

• Kandze bones and meat (Great Kandze x3, Kandze x5)
• Right Arm: Scorcher (Mender, traded for default gauntlet)
• Lost - Three barrels of food and water.

Character(s) interacted with

New Characters: Lai'Ko, Firenewt Raiders

Report Date

18 May 2021

Primary Location

Ruou's Cauldron

Lai'Ko, a manifest echo of Dhumkk'd.

Firenewt warriors atop a Strider.

Firenewt warlock.

Right Arm: Scorcher.