Session II: The Journey to Waterdeep

General Summary

The party finds itself in their encampment near the jungle of Makai, early in the morning after a good nights rest. They are still stuck on Makai, failing to have bartered for a trip to Waterdeep. Irven and Xiaobo perform their morning prayers and meditation and the party heads out to The Dapper Dolphin for a good morning meal. On their way to the tavern they run into Captain Aurelia again, now accompanied by part of her crew. She offers again to trade the Tiger's Eye for a trip to Waterdeep, but the party stays firm and refuses. Perrin Quickfoot, the ships navigator, quickly introduces himself by asking if these are the guys that refused to sell his captain the gemstone. Aurelia explains that she and her crew are headed to the jungle to search for their own Tiger's Eye. The party responds that they actually have similar plans. After a little more conversation, both parties head their own ways, wishing each other luck on their endeavors.   The party has a nice meal at The Dapper Dolphin, stocks up on supplies, and make their way into the jungle. They navigate themselves back to the ruins they found the previous day and set out to search for other ruins or signs of an old civilization. After looking around for about half and hour they see what looks like an old village in distance. They approach stealthily and notice some movement in the bushes behind the village. The movement eventually stops and they figure it's safe to approach the village further to investigate. The village seems abondoned, and the handful of buildings it containts are overgrown with plantlife and in a bad state, with collapsed roofs, missing doors, and smashed windows. They split up to search the houses for any loot, some leaving them in even worse shape than they found them. Despite their thourough search, they find that all the buildings are barren, dusty and abandoned, leaving them with a measly 5 silver pieces and a bowl of animal teeth.   Shortly after the party gets back together, they hear sounds of what sounds like a fight further in the jungle. They rush to the noise and find Aurelia and Perrin in full combat with 3 giant bees and a giant spider. They jump into the battle to help them, during wich both Kairon and Perrin experience the nasty effect that the poison of some of these exotic animals can have. They finally manage to cut down all the insects, and the party asks Aurelia and Perrin if they're okay. Aurelia responds that they are fine, and explains that they got cut off from their party when they went ahead to explore a little bit. Aurelia and Perrin thank the party for their help, and head back to their crew to see if they aren't in any trouble.   After their run-in with Aurelia and Perrin, the party heads further into the jungle, deciding that they want to explore the other end of the island. They arrive there by evening, and find that its mostly a small shore before the island ends at the ocean. They decide to set up camp here and Kairon, Irven and Holtz head into the jungle again to find some fruits to eat while Xiaobo sets up the camp. Helping each other identify fruits that are edible, the party is able to find some delicious orange and purple fruits and vegetables, which they consume for dinner.  

Birds eat the peel of the Mokonko vegetable to feed themselves on its nutritious fibres. They then poop out the indigestible parts of the peel, which turns into a new Mokonko tree. And thus the cycle of life completes itself.

— Holtz Fennebrau

  The following morning the party heads back to Taha'i, taking a slightly different to possibly stumble on some more curiosities. They make their way to Taha'i without any trouble, but also without any new sightings. After arriving in the village, they head back to the docks to see if Aurelia and her crew got safely out of the jungle. At the docks they find the Umbra, but The Valiant seems to have already taken to the ocean again. They get aboard and the ship, where they are immediately greeted by Aurelia, who thanks them again for helping her. She offers a free trip to Waterdeep as appreciation, while also making an offer of 40 gold pieces for the Tiger's Eye. The party tells her they'll think about her offer for the Eye, but happily accept the free trip to Waterdeep.   After resting in the ships sleeping quarters for the night, the party leaves for Waterdeep on The Umbra. During their trip, each member makes itself busy with their own tasks. Holtz follows around Perrin during the day, learning different navigation techniques which he notes in his book. Kairon has a good chat with Perrin over a bottle of ale and whiskey, discussing the particularities of what The Umbra actually does to make money. Irven helps the crew of the ship during the day, while playing cards with them during the evening. Xiaobo also hangs out with the crew in the evening, but eventually scares them away when he keep criticizing how bad their ale is.  

A man who offers me liquor is a man who I call a friend!

— Perrin Quickstep

  During their first night on the ship, the party is awakened by a loud alarm bell on the top deck. They rush upstairs to see multiple small ships packed with goblins approaching The Umbra. After multiple volleys of arrows get exchanged between the goblins and the crew of The Umbra, the goblin ships finally reach The Umbra, safe for one, which got halted on sea because Holtz managed to burn down their sail. The goblins board the ship and a hectic battle breaks out, during which Holtz gets heavily wounded and Xiaobo gets knocked unconscious. However, the crew, with the help of the party, eventually manages to get the better hand of the goblins, having experience with pirates trying to get a quick score. The goblin bodies get looted for the little possessions they have and then get thrown overboard, leaving a cluster of dead goblins floating on the water.   Travel goes smooth during the following day, and by the late afternoon Perrin spots a contingent of Griphon Cavalry in the sky, meaning they are close to Waterdeep. Half an hour later they spot Deepwater Isle, with its high stone walls and 6 statues of Helm standing protective in front of the two harbours of Waterdeep. The Umbra sails into the Great Harbor and docks itself. Aurelia thanks the party again and tells them she'll gladly buy them a drink if they find themselves in the Yawning Portal in the next two days. The party answers they'll keep it in mind and head out to the city, ready for their next adventure - at least after they run in with a magister who's not too happy with seeing Holtz alone in the Dock Ward and who sends hims straight back to the Academy.

Rewards Granted

Total of 25 silver pieces
Bowl of animal teeth
A trip to Waterdeep

Character(s) interacted with

Aurelia
Perrin Quickstep
Hiapo
Tahu