Session 5: Star Goddess

After speaking with Eku about what we might find at the abandoned village of Mbala, we set out the next day with our new guide, Musharib.
 
The journey down the Soshenstar River to Camp Vengeance, is uneventful. The paladin heals a few soldiers with fever and we leave our canoe in their care. The next day, the jungle is alive with sounds of colorful birds and screeching mammals as we follow an overgrown path towards Mbala. Ehu had told us that a terrible hag, named Nanny Pu'pu had descended on the village not only making it her lair, but dining on the flesh of the residents.
 
"Well," I tell the others. "We defeated no less than three hags before. I don't see any reason one hag will be much of a tousle."
 
A couple of days later rising up from the jungle floor is the plateau on which Mbala sits. As we draw near, we see a winding walkway carved into the cliffs reaching all the way to the top. Below there are footprints of monkeys and a heavily booted bloke. We begin our ascent to the gates of the city. About halfway up as we rise above the jungle canopy, we can make out various features of the surrounding land. Far to the east, floating in the sky about 200 feet off the ground, is the Heart of Ubtao, slowly rotating. Back to the west we spot our next destination, the ziggurat of Orolunga. Home to a guardian oracle that Eku informed us can give us the location of the lost city of Omu. Rumored to be the home of the Soulmonger.
 
But stranger still than both these structures, we see something caught in the trees between Mbala and Orolunga. There appears to be a ship hanging in the trees. It's broken in three sections and trapped in the tree tops.
 
"Now how do you suppose a ship found its way up there?" I wondered aloud.
 
"Perhaps if we survive this place, we will stop and investigate the wreckage on the way to see the guardian." Halveer suggests.
 
I clap the ranger folk on the back. "No worries, mate. We'll handle this old witch and be on our way in no time."
 
We find the gates to Mbala deteriorated and open, but the path is blocked by a massive pile of bones and skulls stacked high. An ominous greeting to be sure. We debated about wading into the pile, but decided that the bone crunching and the clacking of rolling skulls would be too much of an announcement of our arrival. We found climbing over the side walls, was a much more stealthy approach. We made our way around some piles of rock and bamboo that was once a hut and across the village we could make out one remaining hut that was intact. Indeed we spotted the old hag making circles around her hut. Utter madness. We quietly conferred how we should handle her.
 
"Way I see it." I commented. "We either walk right up and give her what for. Or we try and get as close as possible without being seen, to get the drop on her."
 
"Shouldn't we try and talk to her?" Halveer suggests.
 
Kasimir and I looked at the ranger and then each other. Even the Echo knight that was keeping watch on the hag, looked over his shoulder.
 
"To what end?" I says to Halveer. "I mean did you see them stacked bones at the gate? Me guess is she ain't had a proper meal in a few moons and you want to sit down and have a chat?"
 
"I think she has said more than enough with her actions here." Kasimir agrees. Halveer shrugs and nods. "The issue is," the paladin continues, "despite not being the one spotted at Yellyark, I nonetheless am still not very stealthy."
 
"Perhaps I can be of assistance." Musharib says. We all turn and look at the shirtless dwarf. "I can cast an enchantment that would mask your approach by distorting sound and blurring your movement as to increase your chances of not being spotted ." We all agree this is a good plan. The druid guide places the enchantment on himself and we move with him through the ruined village making it undetected to the pile of rubble not far from the hag's hut. The hut appears to be constructed from the rib cage of a great beast or dinosaur.
 
Halveer strikes her first with his bow and Nihle projects his echo next to her and attacks. She screeches in anger. Kasamir blesses us and the witch disappears. The rest of us break cover, and Halveer announces he can't find her. Suddenly the earth before us erupts sending soil flying as a large construct of flesh and bone rises up from the ground. The golem lunges at us, swinging it's huge arms. Halveer's arrows and Nihle's blade have no effect on the creature's rubbery skin. My blades, covered in radiant energy do some damage thankfully. The hag reappears and Nihle swaps places with his echo. Eventually we beat the witch and her golem of flesh apart. In her lair we find 10 Adamantine ingots and 6 onyx gems (50gp).
 
The next day we journey west to investigate the ship hanging in the trees. It's broken in three sections and each part is at a different height. The underbrush beneath the trees is thick, but we spot 8 ghouls scurrying around the bases of the trees. These are no ordinary ghouls however. They bear the mark of the inverted blue triangle on their foreheads and they seem to silently communicate with one another. They notice us on the edge of the brush, but do not charge out to attack. See if you can goad them out, Kasamir asks the ranger. Halveer pings one with an arrow an it snarls at us. Two others start to approach and then retreat.
 
"Alright then." I say drawing my glowing swords. "I'm going in after em." I start hacking my way through the under brush trying to catch up to the undead. But it is slow going. We hear a weak female voice call down to us from the wreckage of the ship for our help.
"There are people trapped up there that need our help!" Kasimir calls to me.
I look over my shoulder at him. "You remember what happened last time someone called to us for help?" I asked reminding him of the hags on the river bank.
 
I reach the base of a tree and sigh. The ghouls have moved beyond my reach. I look up into the trees at the ship parts and start to climb. Halveer moves in to cover me and the others follow.
 
I don't get far before there is some deep "hooting" and grunting. Looking up we see three massive apes with multiple arms swinging into the tree tops. They rummage through the section of a ship and find some human survivors. They toss them violently to the ground.
The rest of us begin climbing up the trees to help them. I see one moving for the next section of the ship. If only I could magically teleport myself to block him! Suddenly, I feel something stir within me. I remember my wife's funeral. Several of the wood elves have come to pay their respects. As I morn with my head down over her grave the elves gather around me. They reach their hands out to me and touch me on the back and shoulders. They murmur their prayers and blessings of Arvandor to me. I feel a warm golden power wash over me and I feel that same power within me now. I reach out with my mind and envision myself standing on the branch before the approaching beast and in a flash I am there. Blades out, I attack the beast!
 
Unfortunately the apes get to a few more of the ship's survivors and toss them to the ground. One grapples with Kasimir trying to do the same. Nilhe appears next to him and strikes the ape. It's enough to help Kasimir prevent the ape from tossing him. Halveer supports us from below with arrows and Taban takes my place as I am attacked fiercely by one of the quad armed gorillas.
 
Thankfully we manage to dispatch them and see who has survived. We find three people. They tell us their names are Ra-dus, Faix Haranis, and their ship's captain Thasselandra Bravewing. They travelled here from a land called Halruaa in a skyship named the Star Goddess. While flying over the Chult peninsula on a mapping expedition, it was assailed by a flock of pterafolk. They tore open the vessel's air balloon and sent it crashing to the tree canopy of the jungle.
 
The Captain and crew were dehydrated and starving, but we gave them plenty to eat and drink and after a couple of days they were feeling better. We told them the nearest settlement was several days away to the northeast, but they were welcome to journey with us to Orolunga which was only a day or so away.
They agreed to come along for safety and better odds of survival.