Liberate the KittyHawk
General Summary
They traveled about two miles outside of Crispin Bay and deeper in the island interior led by Mayor Dane Boto. There, in a gully between two big hills is the KittyHawk Distillery's huge smoke stack. It's seen poking through the dense canopy of trees and tangled vines that seem to rarely see a drop of sunlight due to the surrounding hills beside the property. A small stone path leads from the main road and into the shadowy strangle below. They make their way there and see the massive brick facade belonging to the KittyHawk but find it long abandoned. Figwit pokes his head in the building and finds it filled with giant rats. He then turns into a giant rat and heads in to explore and finds dozens of rats all under the sway of a single humanoid sized rat that appears able to control them all. This rat seethes and hisses and demands they leave the place to him. They go about breaching the building from the side kitchen and through a prolonged battle they are eventually able to carve their way through the swarm and defeat the king rat. He loses his control and several of the giant rats turn on him. He begs for mercy and for their aid but John and Coryn are content enough to let the miserable creature be eaten alive. Then they search the building to get an idea of what the place is all about. Inside they find a number of interesting magical items and a spellbook that suggest the old owner, Gaylen Cuthbert, might have been a minor magician of some sort. His spellbook also contains his business ledger, notes on the property, and recipes for rum. Dodd pours over the notes contained inside and does find some mention of old ruins on the property that might have belonged to what locals like Figwit called "Those that Came Before". What legends refer to as the Scaly Folk. The others explore outside and find the small orchard of Banana Trees, Coconut Trees, and Minga Melon Trees that Cuthbert planted for the distillery. Sugarcane seemed to be missing but Dodd confirmed in the notes that Cuthbert used an alternative sweetener, the sugary nectar of Mawflowers. These large, carnivorous, plants use the nectar to lure in prey and the notes say the distillery lost employees to harvest them. Meanwhile Coryn finds a strange effigy, like a clumsily built scarecrow just to the northeast of the building. Figwit sees movement nearby and the two chase after it only for Coryn to catch a dart in the neck and immediately become drugged and nearly unconscious (two levels of exhaustion).Figwit calls the others and the disturbance in the brush scampers further away up the trees and away. The crew comes out to help their downed friend and to examine the effigy. Dodd and patches are both well traveled and they recognize the symbols and language as Frostmerite, though clumsily written, and immediately this rings as strange to them. They return to the safety of the distillery where Patches devotes her attention to the furnace and adjoining system that control the four boilers. She recognizes the tech as old gnomish and probably having been repurposed from one of their older steam machines. However impressive the system is, it won't operate. It's missing several of the gears and pistons needed which all appear to have been recently removed and with the king rat dead there's no one to answer questions. After taking a rest they decide to head out in the direction of the disturbance in the brush that led to Coryn being darted. Figwit turns into a Gorilla and takes to the trees following the recent tracks. Whatever attacked them also moved through the trees but he sees telltale signs of climbing gear, not claws. He's able to follow as far as a large section of mangrove trees where a pair of Flail Snails are bashing up trees and eating everything inside. Figwit can see the tracks go on beyond the snails but based on what he's heard about these creatures he chooses to turn back to his friends rather than continue. The group chooses to take a wind path around the snail feeding grounds rather than chance the encounter. On this longer diversion they do come across one of the ruins mentioned in Cuthbert's notes. And inside the ruin Patches immediately spots two of the huge pistons that belong to the furnace controls. She fails to spot the giant constrictor coiled above that swallows her whole. The others rush in to help her as she's trying to shoot her way out. They quickly kill the snake and escape with the pieces before the incoming Flail Snails can reach them. Patches examines the pieces to make sure they're in working order and notices some very strange scarpe marks and dents but otherwise they seem salvageable. They quickly return to the distillery with the pieces they have so far only to hear commotion coming from inside. Figwit heads in to investigate and see the cause. A trio of large, worm-like creatures slithering and squishing around the area where the parts were taken. The front of their heads split open into four long tendrils and reveal a sharp bony-beak hidden inside. The creatures pull one of the pieces out of the engine and begin out when they notice Figwit and chase after him. He runs out to the safety of his friends followed by these horrid things. Coryn recognizes these creatures from his studies in Melanthris. Grick. One of the many subterranean horrors described by the warriors who led the traitor elves into their permanent exile to the Bitter Depths. They prove to be very difficult to fight between their razor beaks and their ability to tangle up their prey in their tendrils but eventually the crew manages to defeat them without losing the furnace pieces. Listening to their screeches and chitters they're able to piece together that these things have a very rudimentary language and seem mildly intelligent. This is evident when one of the wounded creatures make a gesture of deference and surrender to Coryn but knowing they're even slightly associated with the fallen elves forces him to slay it on the spot. Patches can tell their sharp beaks are what made the marks on the gears, meaning they're the ones that have the remaining pieces. They gather back inside the distillery and bunk down to recover from their wounds and prepare to head out looking for the remaining machinery. After taking some time to recover from the day, eat, and crew was joined once again by Kazim. He had to first deal with a personal matter in his quarters and then settle business with Mayor Dane Boto. After all discussions were done the KittyHawk will have a one gold piece tax upon each barrel should the distillery leave the island they must pay a 1,000GP fee. In exchange the property will belong to Kazim free of charge and Crispin Bay will construct a special dock just for the Paradise Lost/KittyHawk Distillery usage. Kazim and the crew began searching for the remaining missing pieces to the distillery's furnace so that business can begin again. Figwit took the lead, knowing the lay of the land well enough and what to expect. He was able to pick up the tracks of the Grick thieves and follow them through the jungle to their lair. That lair turned out to be a giant hole in the ground. The crew also spotted the remaining missing pieces there as well. They took the opportunity to sneak into the area and jump the few Grick on scene, however, the tremor-sense innate to the creatures made the ambush futile. The Grick were ready. Combat quickly unfolded and the noise it generated seemed to awaken the remaining Grick in the hole. All through the battle more and more of the dangerous beasts began to emerge culminating in the arrival of their brood-mother. This Alpha Grick was incredibly dangerous and almost swallowed Patches whole (again). Finally, the beast was laid as it tried to flee into the hole and escape. Kazim leapt in to follow it and finish the beast, saving Patches in the process. Once they gathered themselves and tended to their many wounds the gathered the pieces and prepared to head back to the distillery but very quickly realized one piece was missing, one that was here just moments ago. Recent drag marks in the ground suggest that it was stolen only moments ago while they were battling in the hole. Figwit begins chasing after whatever or whomever took the final piece, using his wildshape form to keep pack. His efforts lead him to the extreme edge of the property where he finds a small, ramshackle, series of walls made of toppled logs and inside this simple defense a camp. Just a single tent, boxes, debris, a camp fire, and a poorly built archery target. He also finds another of the Frostmerite effigies guarding the entrance. He carefully sneaks inside and can see a pile of gold and gems haphazardly shoved near the tent. Also a pile of weather-worn dolls and two simple headstones denoting a pair of old graves. Once the others catch up to Figwit they approach together except for Figwit who takes the form of a gorilla and leaps into the opposite end of the small camp. Once inside they're quickly assailed by sleeping darts once again as well as deadly arrows, both of which come from a small child who's darting about the campsite and viciously defending her territory. This young girl looks no older than ten or eleven, clothed in old furs and animal hides, and armed to the teeth with simple yet deadly weapons. The crew takes cover and does their best to calm her down. Eventually she agrees to speak to them, introducing herself as "potato". She speaks with a heavy Frostmerite accent and explains that her and her family were part of an expedition to this area that met with disaster years early though she does not speak of what that disaster is. She says she's the only one to survive and that she buried mama and papa here. This all happened before her naming ceremony, before she could even read or write well (explaining the Frostmerite gibberish they found on the effigies). So when she felt strong enough to deserve a name she chose the strongest word she could find in book her mother was using to help her learn to read. She picked "potato" because it sounded like the strongest word in there and she's the strongest person she knows because she hunts Grick (and has a spear whose point is made of Grick beak). She stole the part they're after to be the bait in a trap for Grick hunting but gives it back to the crew. She then accepts their invitation to return to the distillery with them, but not before grabbing two dolls, which she calls Mama and Papa.
Rewards Granted
b]Magical items from the Gaylen Cuthbert's chamber- Cuthbert's recipe book (the book is also a spellbook that includes Mage Hand, Magic Stone, Prestidigitation, Shape Water, Grease, Unseen Servant), a few pieces of manacite (seven charges), Cuthbert's All Purpose Tool, two amulets of the drunkard, Bracers of Defense, Cauldron of Plenty, Goggles of Night, Pot of Awakening, Ring of Spell Storing (made from Flail Snail Shell)
The King Rat's Daggers - Dagger of Venom x2
Missions/Quests Completed
The distillery has all the pieces it needs to begin operation again
Character(s) interacted with
Dane Boto Potato
Created Content
Notes
While searching the property the crew also discovered a dormant gate. They also discovered that hole the Grick lived in was actually a tunnel they'd dug up from and that chains and collars were found down there. This suggests that they were escaping someone or something beneath the earth. Figwit was able to identify the writing on the chains as being part of the old elven dialect adopted by the fallen elves
