Session 8 - The Jungle Foothills - Deborah's Notes
There's a group of people coming into town with a bruised and starved female giant behind them. This can't go well. Her name is Maetica and she'll assist us around Beacon. Some of our fellow adventurers rescued her from a series of gnolls.
Shiv and Mafaldine are with this procession. There's most of a large dead tall yellow animal in one of the carts? Apparently it's called a camelsnake? It must be for Mafaldine's restaurant.
Rakki thinks the town is cursed, haunted, or both. It's a fair assumption.
I'm going to help repair the bridge, and I'm also seeking some interested people to teach some classes at the trade school in the future. Tradespeople teaching tradespeople will certainly assist with the prosperity of the city.
Ilalai, Hettie, Shiv, Mafaldine, Rakki, and I met up at the Glass Anchor to discuss the drow threat and our proposed expeditions out towards their territory. The local drow tribes currently harbour animosity towards us, so it's best to perhaps avoid the heavily drow-occupied areas for now. The gnolls to the north are about 300 strong and encroaching, so Mafaldine has proposed working towards an alliance with the drow in order to try and fend off the gnoll threat. We still don't know whether the drow are responsible for the annihilation of the town about six months ago, and as a result Mafaldine's idea may need some tinkering with. The drow in this area are nocturnal and mostly nomadic, with a long alleged history of despising giants, elves, dragons, sea devils, and pretty much any other non-drow race.
The only constant 'positive influence' is their god Vulkoor. Perhaps a temporary truce is the best option.
There is a sealed door at the bottom of the large statue in the harbour. Some of our number believe that a crystal to the west may assist with opening the sealed door, so we are to head out in that direction and see if we can procure an opening crystal.
Maetica says that the giant word for her race is 'Rusheme.' She does not like the forest, for obvious reasons. She would like us to find her family and reunite her with them. Too many giants leads to the 'crowd of madness' effect, but her family unit will be enough.
Baenor's Spear is the name of the straight mountain range. South of it is jungle until the coast. We have marched along this ridge and into the forest.
Shiv and Rakki are leading our expedition. Hettie and Deborah, being a shopkeeper and an academic, are tired and struggling to keep up at the back of the group. We're sharing sips of water from my alchemy jug to keep hydrated in the sweltering heat.
Rakki sees a large bird of prey with grey and white feathers in the undergrowth. He is immediately enthralled by it, casts 'Animal Friendship' on it, and befriends it for 24 hours. It lands on his arm and almost topples him due to its weight. The bird is a Harpy Eagle and we'll have to see how friendly it remains once Rakki's spell wears off. Shiv notes that there is a large proliferation of fruit trees in this area, and turns to Mafaldine to point them out. Mafaldine has already run off to procure some fresh fruit. Shiv suspects that the fruit trees have been cultivated, and asks Mafaldine politely not to pick them all. Mafaldine picks five.
About twenty minutes later Shiv and Rakki spot a large wooden sign in the road that has 'Lavrin's Barter and Supply' written on it in both Giant and Elven. We decide to attend upon the shop.
Lavrin is a somewhat anxious drow. Deborah critically fails her insight and immediately finds Lavrin to be trustworthy. Lavrin does not own the fruit grove and was not aware of it, but we pointed it out to him on Mafaldine's map and he provided us with some water in thanks. The group acquired a goat in exchange for candles and fireworks courtesy of Hettie, and Deborah inadvertently named the goat 'Pecorino.' The Lavrin that the party has met may or may not have murdered the actual Lavrin, but the party are all seemingly unaware of this (having collectively failed most of their insight rolls).
Rakki spots a man with a bow almost aimed at the party and immediately throws his hands in the air and surrenders, but 'Lavrin' and his buddies yell out 'Oh, just kill them if they're not going to leave' and combat begins. It becomes apparent that 'Lavrin' is not Lavrin, who Mafaldine remembers precisely out of time was actually a non-Vulkoori drow lady and not a Vulkoori man.
As 'Lavrin' leaps forwards, Mafaldine wields his staff of Magic Missile and almost obliterates him. Lavrin is still alive, albeit barely. Shiv smacks him with the flat of her sword, and 'Lavrin' is promptly knocked unconscious. Deborah attempts to protect Pecorino, who is an innocent goat that should not be involved in this mess. Ilalai sends an arrow backwards at an archer thanks to the Catapult spell, which shatters into his chest in a rather cool move.
After Deborah shoots a flaming bolt at one of the drow through a windhow, she is grabbed by the throat with a vine whip and dragged her through a window. It is unpleasant.
Thanks to some chaotic Tides of Magic, Hettie manages to accidentally permanently dye her skin blue. It can only be reverted to normal by way of a 'remove curse' spell or similar. While this occurs, she shoots off a blue firebolt and disposes of an archer.
The final drow attempts to flee. Rakki yells 'SKY WARRIOR, FEAST ON YOUR PREY!' and the Harpy Eagle divebombs the drow and kills it. The Harpy Eagle has decided its name is now 'Sky Warrior.'
Hettie recovers her candles and fireworks from the unconscious body of the drow, because it's rude to attack people you've just traded with.
Deborah locates the dead body of an elderly drow woman under a rug. It's Lavrin, and she is clearly dead. Shiv says that drow are traditionally given sky burials. Hettie suggests putting Lavrin's body on the roof for Sky Warrior to eat, because Shiv cannot remember the rest of the burial details.
Mafaldine finds a sack of loot, and loots the sack.
Pecorino is a lady goat, and she is soft. Deborah has a little panic attack after Mafaldine calls her out on some insensitivity and Pecorino helps to comfort her. Deborah has decided that Pecorino is not to be slaughtered for meat, and she is to be used in Beacon for her milk and as a communal lawnmower.
Shiv roughhouses the unconscious drow awake. Mafaldine interrogates him and asks if he is acquainted with Talrentath, a figure from his past. He is not acquainted with 'The Wraith of the North.' Apparently, the Wraith will try to murder all of us because we're all associated with the 'firebinders' (their name for the former town that is where Beacon is).
Directions were given to the location where the Claw of Vulkor will rise. It's a holy site where somebody will be blessed.
The drow's name is Adenal, and the party decides to release him. He's been traumatised enough. Adenal leaves in a rush. Rakki and Ilalai are unhappy with the decision to release Adenal, but go along with it.
Mafaldine identifies a weapon he found as a magical one called either 'Vandal' or 'Rebel.' When attuned to a person, the large club with elven lettering is invisible to all except the person wielding it and counts as a magical weapon. Rakki gets the magical club.
Pecorino happily eats some grass.
Deborah paints over the signs leading to Lavrin's shop so they now say 'CLOSED FOREVER.'
Mafaldine asks Hettie why she has turned blue.
Deborah takes first watch, and spots a line of carpet sitting in the entrance of the pathway leading away from the house. She peers up the carpet and hears piano and string music coming up from the distance. She returns to the house to see if anybody else is awake, but as she looks over her shoulder the carpet has vanished. The rest of her watch passes without incident.
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