S1 E12: Into the Temple of the Fang
General Summary
In which we find answers, but also the promise of more trouble…
We rejoined the gang after a week or so of recuperation and relaxation in their new home at 11 Fountain Avenue in the Keep. During this time each adventurer got up to something, either singly or together with others.
Mae busied herself furnishing and further decorating the townhouse during the day, spending some evenings at the temple in worship of Nylea and many nights at the Silver Spade Tavern where Zeffirelli readily adds her to the chorus in the final wedding scene of Pretty Pretty Peacock. She fills in for a few other small parts and finds that she takes to the stage almost as comfortably as she takes to the woods (and will get a +1 increase to performance checks in the future, as long as she continues to find opportunities to stay in practice.)
Keebler found a wealth of opportunities to perfect his culinary arts, discovering to his surprise that the psychic blades he can manifest in combat can also be used more delicately when cutting see-through-thin slices of fish and vegetables. Not only did the rest of the gang benefit from his delicious cooking and attention to detail, but Keebler himself will also receive a +1 increase to any non-combat DEX check involving his psychic blades.
Blizzard spent a great deal of time carousing at the bar, generally good natured though certainly at times making himself a pest. He recalls seeing a blue Dragonborn and getting in an argument with some bystanders over which of the two of them were more impressive, causing consternation as evidently the other Dragonborn is a person of some military status in the upper Bailey portion of the Keep. Nevertheless Blizzard’s size and obvious martial prowess kept anyone from being bold enough to toss him out of the bar, and in the future he will receive a +1 increase on any future intimidation checks against noncombatant commoners.
Lorfel took an interest in the Soup Goblin’s business, working with her to improve her menu (from a Tortle’s perspective anyway) with a few different varieties of her famous Flies-n-Cheese soup - Spicy Flies N Cheese and Ranch Flies N Cheese. However his hopes to build her business up into a flourishing franchise seem to have fallen through, as she is but a simple goblin with no ambitions to grow the business, just wanting to make an honest living while meeting people and making them soup. So he turns to an ambitious plan to help the nearby farms, aware more than most of the cascade effect that occurred when farm supplies were choked out during the weeks of the long winter. Others can pray to their gods for bounty, he has no problems with that, but the real issue? Logistics. Due to his week of studying the problem from every angle, henceforth Lorfel will receive a +1 increase to any INT-based ability check involving logistics.
Xi Shi spent some time palling around with her friend Confidence Carlisle, getting into interesting discussions on numerology, patterns in sacred geometry and the intersection of linear symbols - all as it relates to gambling with cards and dice. She also spent her evenings at the tavern toying with Zeffirelli’s heart, though she gets the feeling he’s in on the game as well, and after all, he is a pretty good actor. Despite choking him at one point, the two retain a good-natured relationship where his false chivalry plays well with her cruel interest. She makes a few trips to the Chapel Library discreetly as well, looking over what documents and ritual materials there are about Yuan-Ti religious beliefs and rituals, and has become something of an expert on the themes and mythology, to the point that she gets advantage on Religion or Arcana checks related to Yuan Ti Mythology. The mythic trials of Dendar, the night serpent, are especially interesting. Her victory over elemental gods represents Yuan-ti mastery over the world in ages past, but it’s also evocative of a principle close to Xi Shi’s cool heart: Rule yourself, and you can rule any situation.
Rongo also spent time in study, but reviewing classical combat forms rather than dry and dusty texts about half-dead religions. He spent his days in study and practice at the chapel with the acolytes there - tricky monks, most of them, but a few brawlers as well - and learned a great deal about melee tactics. A principle of the highest order of combat is the principle of patient observation in the heat of battle, taking a small risk in the short term for benefits long term. When Rongo uses his action in combat to Dodge, he watches his opponent carefully and will receive advantage on attacks against any creature that uses a melee attack against his dodge action. Advantage against this creature or creatures lasts until they have been eliminated or combat ends. This does not affect the conditions or duration of his Samurai trait ‘Fighting Spirit’.
At long last, recuperated and energized, the heroes regrouped, dragged Blizzard out of the tavern one last time and headed back to the Caves of Chaos. They met a party of timber cutters heading towards the Keep, but passed by without incident. Upon reaching the familiar contours of the cavern they came upon a pair of Kobolds discussing something that turned out to be a differential gear for a windmill, which they wanted to test from the top of the nearby tree. After some discussion and translation from Draconic, all their ‘Yeeha yeeha yeeha’ was because they worried a giant spider was living in the tree and would pose a problem. Rongo agreed to climb up to the top of the tree to check for giant spiders, but found himself covered in hundreds of tiny, normal-sized spiders instead once he made it into the canopy. He came down after assuring them the spiders were dead, and as the gang headed towards Cave K, they heard the Kobolds yelling YEEHA with some vigor after climbing the tree to find the harmless but creepy spiders still very much alive.
Mae took on the form of a rat and gingerly made her way inside, finding the place large, dark, oppressive, and a near-perfect echo chamber; her Druidic magic would help them stay hidden, and without it, she knew surprise would be impossible. She spotted a clump of blue loaf-shaped humanoids, which she knew now were Xvarts, as well as a giant rat - and she discovered to her dismay that xvarts had the ability to communicate telepathically with rats, and seemed inclined to do so with her in rat form as well. She played along, though they seemed confused as to where she came from. She learned very little from them, just that they were waiting on additional orders, but she couldn’t pursue the question without giving away her real nature.
She quietly slipped away back to the rest of the group waiting outside, casting pass without trace, and they returned stealthily, sizing up the group of xvarts and the other potential threats and planning their attacks carefully before anyone revealed their presence. With the aid of surprise, they rapidly overwhelmed their foes, but a Thunderwave spell booming through the halls is certain to have alerted everyone nearby, if not everyone in the entire cave complex, though it ended the threat from the xvarts and the giant rat quickly enough. But a door at the end of the hall opened to reveal more purple and black-robed acolytes armed with ceremonial daggers and wing-bladed cudgels, though none of them used these to attack, instead opting for streaks of firebolt. One of these ignited the bat-demon-themed tapestries on the far wall, revealing far older, and perhaps far darker scenes that Xi Shi immediately recognized as recounting the tale of Dendar’s victory over the Earth God Danu.
The party handled the cultists with a minimum of fuss, killing off all but one that they kept for questioning. Though he started with a lot of bluster and threats, he was quickly reduced to begging and recanting his poor decision to join this stupid cult in the first place. He delivered a number of useful bits of information: That Willow, the missing magic user, was evidently of sufficient power to keep the cult at bay, and sought to hasten the invocation of Camazotl in order to destroy it; that she needed the staff of the Bat Swarm to do it; that a giant bat is to be found in one of the rooms to the south; and that Willow evidently moved the stones aside and left through the passage to the Southwest, perhaps a week or more ago - suggesting that she had been here in cave K while the rest of the party had been in the collapsed tribes of the Orcs in caves B and C. She hasn’t turned up back in town again, at last not that anyone is aware of. her house, incidentally, is quite near theirs.
In addition, the group learned that the cult is keeping a herd of pigs, evidently the preferred food of the bats and giant bats in the temple, in addition to some prisoners which the last cultist referred to as ‘vessels’. Naphan is somewhere here at the temple as well, quite possibly its high priest. Finally, and evidently of some importance to the acolyte, the temple complex is also training an elite fighting force of bat-cultist monks, combining speed and shadow tactics and empowered by the blessings of their dark patron, Camazotl.
The Acolyte has agreed to take the party to the priest, but it seems unlikely that the meeting will end in a friendly discussion over ham and ale. The cultist seems more likely to bolt and run out of the place at his first opportunity, but with Willow’s map - that they learned was actually Quindarin’s map - they have a good idea where the choke points may be, how to block the escape of their enemies, and which of the several rooms in the complex is most likely to be the one where Parson Naphan awaits.
Rewards Granted
- Mae’s payment from Zefferelli for her singing and understudy activities for the week: 8g 6s
- Xi Shi’s gambling take playing at Confidence Carlysle’s table: 14g 8s
- Money Blizzard found stuffed in a sock when he woke up under a table at the Silver Spade: 12g 3s
Missions/Quests Completed
- “Into the Temple of the Fang”
- “Downtime Quests”
- “Windmill Differential”
Report Date
21 Jun 2022
Primary Location
Secondary Location
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