Chapter 8: Crabs and Questions Report
General Summary
Working with the troops on The Weeping Grotto, Nuasiak saught to develop a magical healing vineyard with the hopes it would help her potions last longer.
At The Tower of the Sun, Bathin and Omis looked for survivors from the order of monks. Finding none and no corpses, they used the fountain to lay Bathin's body to rest.
Returning to Deyda Harbor, The Masks of the Gods asked Ninris about the new prophecy. After telling them about the temple of a dead demigod, the adventures decided to seek their own entrance rather than fighting through the main gate.
Unsure of how to accomplish entering the Temple of Karkinos, Marzena took a dingy out to sea. Calling out for the intervention of Thassa, she was granted a flight of hippocamp to take the party into the depths of the sea. The aquatic creatures dropped the heroes into a massive cave opening guarded by a fog giant. Speaking the language of the large ones, Roark convinced the treasure hungered man to let them pass with the promise of "shiny".
Leaving the cavern, the collective found fought a Triton prophet and her divination crabs, before breaking into the main chamber. Omis stepped out and attracted a hulking crab and a malicious spirit from the main chamber. After the specter sent Roroak flying backward, the Satyr Omis sent a flaming arrow that exploded with the magic for of Nylea. It surrounded the spirit and burnt its soul out of existence. The barn-sized crab charged at the Satyr and crashed down with its pincers, fracturing Omis' collar bone.
With a crusing blow, they felled the beast and moved into dark waters. A possessed water spirit wrapped itself around Marzena and Roroak, grappling Marzena. It forced water into her lungs, trying to crush her from within. Nausika reached in using her magic to steam the water out.
After tricking some nightmare-possessed crab folk, they walked down to the tomb of Karkinos. Phantom warriors turned as Crab priests continued their dark work. Working swiftly the cut through their opposition, Marzena became unstuck in time, filled with mysterious energy. A strand of hair turned white and her left arm aged fifty years, but as time-warped around her the demigod Karkinos came back to life. Forming a psychic link with the crab, they made a new home aboard the ship fused into the crustacean's shell.
These new domains were formed to the needs of the adventurers, and after a week aboard they headed to land. Using the telepathy of her enchanted book, Nausika showed the fog giant they formerly dealt with images of gold and silver, sending him on a rampage through the rest of the unexplored temple.
In celebration of Karametra, they adopted cats in a small port town of Altrisos off the coast of Melitis. Aletha and Roroak also took some time to extort two groups of plagiarizing playwrights, under the name of a famous minotaur poet, Retnues.
Rewards Granted
-Ring of Jumping
-Potion of Animal Friendship
-Potion of Giant Strenght
-Karkinos
