Harmony Session 4: Petrified Evolution
General Summary
Having defeated the ambushing water scorpions that blocked their entrance to the cove cave, our heroes took stock of their surroundings. Not only did humanoid footprints lead inside, but also some curiously unidentifiable three-toed tracks, some quite small. The group (minus an aquaphobic goliath) marched forward into the dark, Enoch with torch at hand. Immediately, they came upon a four-way crossroads marked by the broken-armed statue of a dwarf. Azarki grokked that this was no statue but a petrified person! Malachai, distinctly noticing the dwarf's petrified clothes, realized that he looked to be from the First Expedition 30 years ago. Determined, they marched forward down the southward tunnel.
Cockatrustworthy
The darkvisioned druid led the way down the narrow tunnel, but stopped short when he noticed a tiny creature scrounging around in the dirt. Thinking peaceful thoughts, Gorr tossed one of his homegrown goodberries at the creature, which it greedily devoured. Gorr signaled for his friends to follow, but Zoran, fresh from his roundabout, but dry route to the cave, still managed to trigger the creature and cause it to screech in alarm. A chorus of similar cries, now identifiable as a flock of baby cockatrice, sounded from deeper in the cave, signaling some trouble for our heroes.Petrifought, petriwon
Two dozen cockatrice hatchlings rushed our heroes, meeting them for combat in a wide room dominated by an upright circle of magic-wrought stone, broken at its peak. Our heroes had no time to study the thing though, as these tiny creatures and their hidden parents attempted to turn them all into stone. They nearly succeeded too, with Gorr and Pilgrim coming dangerously close to total petrification and share the same fate as many of the stone statues in this cave. Thankfully, our heroes cockatriumphed over the stoning menaces and were able to take in their surroundings. Notably, they found two survivors among the petrified: an unkempt man with soot all over his singed robes who stayed frustratingly unconscious and Folio Barzaggle, the primary target of their quest. The impolite gnome wasn't exactly the most grateful for his rescue, but was glad that The Windblown's adventurers were finally getting to work. He immediately got "back to work" and went straight to the Gate. Our heroes were reminded of Olga Featherstream's warning before they left that Folio "really was a good guy!" Hopefully this rudeness would not make the return trip any more unpleasant than it had to be. Until then, they would make the most of the safeish cave and enjoy a long rest before their journey.Rewards Granted
- Echwink Expeditions functionary, Folio Barzaggle
- A water skin a third full of the fabled "spooky" water
- An unconscious survivor from the First Expedition, likely a member of the strange group called "The Ashen"
Missions/Quests Completed
Character(s) interacted with
- Enoch and Folio had a spirited discussion about the broken Gate at the heart of the cockatrice cave. A partial engraving in Varduran read "... works may be witnessed" leading the gnome to believe this may have been some ancient-old Varduran transportation technology.
Notes
- Enoch thunderwaved quite a few of the hatchlings clear across the room. Twice.
- Gorr was a veritable gornado of blades as he expertly wielded Crescent's Blades
- Malachai was caught "popping corn" shortly after the discovery of the spooky water
- The trip back to camp was quick with few dangerous encounters. Even the Singing Bay seemed unnaturally quiet.
- One of the unexplored tunnels in the Cockatrice Cave had a distinctly "bad" vibe to it so our heroes left it unexplored... for now.
Report Date
30 May 2024
Primary Location
