Tomb of Annihilation - Session 19
General Summary
The party takes a short rest to recover from their sojourn to the spirit world. Afterwards, Ixtli makes a brief stop in the altar room, and performs the ritual to speak with the dead.
Before taking the cliff path down to lower Mbala, Chibuzo and Dunch scan the area from above with a spyglass and the lenses of Nyemba's Might respectively. The wreckage of the expedition's camp, and the burnt hut of Nanny Pu'pu, look the same as a few weeks ago.
An hour and a half later, they arrive at the base of the plateau. Most of them go to investigate the mound of earth at the centre of the four villages of lower Mbala that they passed by in their pursuit of Sayid al-Qaar, but Chibuzo decides to check on the remnants of Nanny Pu'pu's hut.
Dolan and the others find heaps of human skulls, bleached white by the sun, surrounding a low hill topped by the remnants of wooden posts that once supported a structure of some kind. Atop another post is a skull with a triangle carved into its forehead—what they now recognize as the symbol of Ras Nsi. With a single blow of his fist, Ixtli shatters the skull into fragments.
Searching the rubble atop the mound, they find that the gleaming metal object they saw previously was a gong lying in the dirt: made of brass five feet across, inscribed with the maze-like symbol of Ubtao. Underneath it is a stone mallet. They surmise that the mound was once a gathering place for the villagers, who would be summoned by the ringing gong. Curious, Dunch and Mokomoko set about trying to raise up the instrument.
As for Chibuzo, he finds Nanny Pu'pu's hut still burnt and collapsed, apparently undisturbed. But at the base of the nearby stone gorilla statue on its plinth, he finds a cylinder of bark, sealed at its edges. Carved on its exterior is Chibuzo's name. He opens the cylinder to find another piece of bark, rolled-up, with a letter written on it in charcoal ink. Perusing the note, after a moment's thought he writes a note of his own, places it in the container, and leaves it at the base of the statue.
The ranger joins the others at the centre of the villages. When Chibuzo arrives, seeing Mokomoko and Dunch holding up the large metal disc, he wordlessly marches forward, picks up the mallet, and bangs the gong. A dull noise rings out across lower Mbala, and a flock of birds rises into the sky from a tree out in the fields. Dunch and Mokomoko let the gong fall back into the dirt.
Chibuzo relates to the others what he found: a letter from Akachi! She apologized for leaving the expedition for so long, writing that she went to scout back along their path for Rashaad's men, but travelled all the way back to where they stored the canoes without finding any trace of their foes. On her way back, she encountered a group of Aldani from the village of Tal'mayu who needed her help after being betrayed by their witch doctor, Nayarak. Claiming that she was honour-bound to aid them, Akachi wrote that after returning to Mbala to find the expedition gone, she intended to travel to the Heart of Ubtao to seek the help of the exiled Aldani priest who dwells there, then hunt down Nayarak in the sunken temple where he hides.
Chibuzo's mention of the Aldani and the traitorous witch doctor prompts Ixtli to speak of the spiritual war in which they find themselves entangled, and specifically of the source of the whispers that brought him to Marakuru. Those whispers, he has learned, came from Glyh'rul, also called "the Elsecaller" and "Grand Architect of the Crown of Teotenocht"—the very crown the party came to find. Glyh'rul is an aboleth, a primordial, eldritch creature whose kind came to this world from the space between the stars. Speaking to Ixtli, it claimed that the outcome it sought would benefit them both, and that destroying the Crown would be a "folly". It wanted Ixtli to retrieve the Crown from Saja N'baza by any means necessary, then combine his powers with those of the Crown to destroy the "Soulmonger" and end the Death Curse. After Ixtli's failure to retrieve the Crown by now, Glyh'rul dismissed him and said they would not speak again.
Ixtli further relates that before his final words, Glyh'rul spoke of an "Other" approaching Omu. It seemed to hope that this Other could succeed where Ixtli had failed, but that the chances of success would be greatly reduced without the Crown. Could this "Other" be Nayarak? The Aldani once served a being from the Outside named Pachakutek, to their detriment if Saja N'baza and the tales of Grandfather Zitembe are to be believed. Does Nayarak walk the same path with Glyh'rul? Or is this betrayal unrelated?
The party leaves the mound behind and travels through the jungle to Nanny Pu'pu's rune-covered tree. They find the tree itself much as before, with its carved runes glowing faintly blue; but the sticks that Chibuzo had arranged around it have been brushed aside. Under some nearby foliage, Ixtli finds a quiver of arrows, apparently having fallen there unnoticed: the arrows are fletched in blue, suggesting Ras Nsi's people. Looking for recent tracks, Chibuzo finds a few that are not human, as if one or more large snakes had passed through the area.
Having come here to burn the tree, the adventurers start to douse the trunk with flasks of oil. Suddenly they hear the disembodied voice of Nanny Pu'pu: "Ah ah ah! What do you think you're doing?"
Ignoring the voice, they pour on more oil, then step back. Dolan casts a Fire Bolt at the tree, and it bursts into flame.
A low moaning sound emerges from the tree, followed by an angry buzzing. Then half a dozen swarms of wasps burst out of a cleft in its trunk, and the tree's limbs reach menacingly towards them.
Ixtli, Dunch, and Mokomoko attack the nearest swarms, but inflict little damage, while Elmar's crossbow bolt goes wide. Dolan fires a lightning bolt through two swarms of wasps to strike at the treant, which is still wreathed in flames. Bark explodes from its trunk and it groans in response. Chibuzo casts Searing Smite on Atsu's Lance as he strikes a swarm, causing it to burst into flames, then hurls the weapon at the animated tree. The yklwa strikes with a sonic boom before flying back to his hand.
The wasps teem about Ixtli, Chibuzo, and Dolan, attacking with their stings and venom, but Mokomoko uses his shield to intercept the swarm attacking Dunch. A burst of light flashes from the treant and one of the wasps grows to giant size; Chibuzo avoids its attack. A root erupts out of the ground, bludgeoning Dolan heavily, while another root snakes to a nearby tree. That plant animates in turn, striking Dunch with its limbs.
Chibuzo stabs the giant wasp in the thorax with Atsu's Lance, electrocuting it, then disperses a swarm with another blow. Ixtli and Dunch each also scatter a horde of the wasps, and Dolan sears two more into oblivion with a Word of Radiance, also singeing the treant. Elmar's next bolt ricochets off the creature's burning bark. The tree enlarges another wasp, but Mokomoko blocks its sting with his shield, then dodges an attacking tree root. A second root staggers Dolan with a heavy blow; Dunch retaliates with his greatsword, then dodges a rock ripped from the earth and hurled at him by the other animated tree.
The treant wails constantly now, its canopy engulfed in flames. Chibuzo and Dunch stab and slash the thing. Then Dolan casts another Fire Bolt at its trunk. Its limbs stop moving and its keening subsides; the second tree also falls motionless.
The wasps remain. The remaining giant finally succeeds in stinging Mokomoko before Ixtli spears it to death, then scatters the last swarm with a whirlwind kick. The jungle falls quiet except for the crackling of the flames.
As the blaze dies down, Chibuzo makes a point of defacing any glyphs that have not yet been reduced to ash. Using the Sceptre of the Honored Voice, Dolan detects magic in the treant's corpse, and spots something glittering inside the cleft in its trunk. Summoning his mage hand, he reaches inside the tree and draws forth a staff of mottled reddish-brown wood, inlaid with dozens of amber beads carved in the shape of wasps. This proves to be a Staff of Swarming Insects, capable of enlarging insects or summoning swarms of them for attack or concealment. As for the blue-fletched arrows, Chibuzo simply kicks them into the woods.
In the remaining hours of daylight, they start their journey back to the expedition's canoes. Dunch guides the group, empowered by the elk spirit to lead them at a much faster pace than in their last jungle trek. In a couple of hours, they break free of the dense jungle, threading their way northeast between the edge of the forest and the marshland of the Aldani Basin.
As the sun starts to descend, they seek out a camping spot. Chibuzo finds shelter under a rock overhang, with a small creek nearby to provide running water.
Ixtli and Mokomoko take the first watch of the night. At Ixtli's invitation, Mokomoko teaches him the rules of anuli, and they converse as they play on a variety of topics. The Marakuran asks Ixtli of his homeland, and is taken aback at the Anasazi's description of the deserts, canyons, and hoodoos of the Crimson Lowlands. Mokomoko also confesses that he was confused that Chibuzo and Dolan chose to swear themselves so readily to Saja Nbaza's service.
Dunch and Chibuzo take the second watch, and their discussion turns to future plans. Dunch speaks of returning to the sea, while Chibuzo would like to see more of the world—once Marakuru is back in order.
Dolan and Elmar have the last watch. Elmar takes the moment to awkwardly express his regrets at what he did all those years ago: "I wish I had talked to you first. Might have saved myself from losing this eye." He expresses pride in how well Dolan has done for himself, but asks the sorcerer to tell him more of the symbol of the Kimbala that adorns his forehead: "Never picked you to go native." Dolan explains that he finds a directness in serving Saja N'baza that he didn't experience with The Maker. Elmar only wishes that the Kimbala won't fall prey to the same zealotry as some who serve the Gazel Ministry.
As for future plans, the archaeologist expresses interest in checking out the House of Man and the Crocodile once the matter of the Death Curse is resolved, while Dolan speaks of more travels once the Kimbala are fully restored—perhaps, to bring the wisdom of Saja N'baza to other lands?
Morning dawns with clear skies and calm winds, and they make steady progress towards the waters of the Soshenstar. They reach the undisturbed canoes near the end of the day, and make camp for the night.
The next day the wind has picked up. Taking two canoes, they head southwest towards the nearest of the three lakes, hoping to find the Aldani village referenced by Akachi. They are forced to portage a few times, swatting at the insects that become more plentiful as they head deeper into the Basin. As night falls, Ixtli finds a dry patch of land, somewhat concealed by the surrounding trees, where they make camp.
On the third day after their departure from Mbala, they enter a less swampy area with the occasional large tree, and are forced to portage much more frequently. That afternoon, while portaging, Dunch and Ixtli hear voices from the vicinity of a tall tree up ahead, speaking a language they don't understand. Dunch motions the group to stop. After they lay down their canoes, Dolan and Ixtli sneak forward to observe.
Through a gap in the foliage, they spy an open area of drier ground. Forty or fifty feet away, at the base of a tall tree, are three lizardfolk. Two of them gather flowers from the base of tree, while a third stands guard, carrying a hide shield and an obsidian-toothed wooden club. One of those gathering flowers is an elderly male with dull red-brown scales, missing an eye and wearing a bandolier where he stores the gathered flowers; the other is a younger, black-scaled female bearing a dinosaur skull atop her head decorated with feathers. The elder answers questions asked by the younger, and Ixtli concludes she is a student of some kind. The language they speak has some similarities to Anasazi but he can't fully understand it.
The two of them return to the group and share their findings. It's decided that Ixtli will approach them alone. He leaves his weapons behind and makes enough noise that the Aldani will hear him coming. When he steps out from the foliage, the guard looks surprised and confused, readying his weapon and speaking a command. Ixtli responds in Anasazi, naming himself and his people; after a word from the elder, the guard asks a question—Ixtli thinks about his tribe. But although the monk's mention of Kurat draws a response, they struggle to communicate further.
Watching from the trees, Chibuzo impulsively steps forward with his hands raised, drawing angry shouts from the guard. "Friend of Akachi!" Chibuzo proclaims in Anasazi. After a few words from the young female, the elder steps forward and asks a few more incomprehensible questions. "Kimbala?" Chibuzo offers, pointing to the symbol on his forehead. The elder puts down the guard's arm and says a few more words.
Ixtli calls for Dolan, but when the sorcerer emerges, the guard clearly becomes agitated, yelling angrily at the elder until the latter raises himself up and speaks a few commanding words. The guard falls silent. Looking between Dolan and Chibuzo, the elder asks what Chibuzo thinks is a question about how they got the markings on their foreheads. "Saja N'baza," he answers, pointing in the direction of Orolunga.
After a moment's consideration, the elder speaks more words, in a language none of them understand. But within Ixtli, Yollotl speaks: "He just asked if we spoke the old tongue."
With Yollotl interpreting, and Ixtli carefully repeating the draconic words that Yollotl sounds out to him, it proves possible to communicate, albeit slowly and haltingly. In response to the elder's questions, they tell him they have come to the Basin to seek Kurat and gain his wisdom, and learned of him from Saja N'baza. He nods at this: "The liberator of the Aldani once more comes to our aid. You should meet our matriarch."
The adventurers collect their canoes and are preparing to follow the Aldani when, from the trees around them, dozens of birds rise into the sky in startlement. In the pools of water on the jungle floor, Chibuzo and Ixtli notice the surface vibrating, as if something massive is approaching. A few moments later, they all feel the ground shaking, and through the jungle ahead, the massive, rotting form of an undead tyrannosaur comes into view. The guard speaks in fear: "Iskawari!"