Session 34: New Beginnings

General Summary

The party emerged from the old Tharizdun ruin pit, took a breath of fresh air and immediately set on back down the mountain to Tussoa.
Brother Les, Eglantina and Atreena had something to be concerned about though. They were already wary of the Lash of Shadows that Pooka carried, but after he essentially murdered an unarmed prisoner (Gillando), they had become even more wary and worried for their big, hairy companion.
Along the way back, they struck up a discussion over how much it controlled him and how much he had control of himself. They were concerned that it was causing him to be more violent than necessary. After Eglantina and Atreena had both been warned by their god and patron that it was a weapon of the champion of Zehir, so maybe it shouldn't be wielded by Pooka anymore if it was going to sway him.
Pooka defended himself. He joked it was a just a bit of rope. All the while, Sizlifith egged him on. It begged him to not give it up and made promises.
In the end, the rest of the party appeared to feel confident in Pooka by the time they arrived in Tussoa. They spent little time there, merely checking in with the local Marquis to ensure things were OK, and discovered that the giants had stopped being spotted in the last couple days.
The party then arranged for transport on a logging vessel to head down the Tyodan River to Port Damali. They boarded a log barge, found cramped but acceptable compartments and headed down the river.
Along the way, one of the days, the four companions suddenly found their vision swimming in fog and then viewed the humanoid snake figure that they once met over a year ago, up in the frozen north of the Crystalsands Tundra near Palebank Village when he emerged from a stone and emerald egg and immediately flew off.
He spoke to them off his frustration with them. How he knew they were somewhere on the coast, but not an exact location. He told of his need for the Lash of Shadows and the Beacon, both of which he knew they had. He said that he wanted those items or the coast would suffer chaos and destruction, starting with Port Damali. And he told them that it took a great many lives to send such a message to them. Also, they would be hearing from him again.
Nobody else on the barge saw the message, so they discussed what they should do.
A couple days later, they found themselves leaving the river to the open waters and around a bend to the huge city of Port Damali. The city rested around a large hill, from the coast to inland. From the distance, they could see the quality of life got better the higher up the hill, with the more shining and well made buildings at the top. Many boats could be seen in the harbor, some coming or going.
The barge reached the docks and they entered the city proper. More than any other place they have visited, and even to Eglantina and Brother Les who were originally from Rexxentrum, the people on the docks were a cacophony of culture and color. Clothing styles and mannerisms of the type none of the party had seen before could be found.
It was late afternoon, so the party felt they should immediately visit Immal Haqwen at the Opulent Crab before finding lodging. So, asking around carefully, they made their way up to the Gilded Esplanade district (a fine district of well made stores and apartments) and found the restaurant of the Opulent Crab. A white building with large windows that sat on the edge of a sharper cliff overlooking the harbor district below. The view from the restaurant faced southwest out to sea and the soon to be setting sun was quite the sight.
They saw a crowd outside of people waiting to enter, all much better dressed than them in their well used armor and weaponry and baggage. Nevertheless, they entered and asked the hostess to speak to Immal. They were asked to step aside and wait while someone went to get her. Meanwhile, the stares they got spoke to how out of place they were.
Soon enough, Immal appeared in fine robes and whisked them away to nice private dining area. She welcomed them warmly and immediately get her servers to bring food and drink. Once that arrived, the party, although at first apprehensively, got to enjoying a nice and well-made warm meal.
Immal questioned them easily about what had happened after she left with Zanthros and they told her everything about Gillando and the illithid. She was enthralled then remembered that she had a letter from Zanthros. She said that he was brought here, taken care of and rewarded before he left.
The letter essentially said that he needed to leave to deal with his own problems, and that if they ever returned to Rexxentrum that they should seek him out as he may still live.
After a bit, someone mentioned the Yuan-Ti and this got a reaction from Immal. She then revealed that she knew about them. She then grabbed the attention of a server who left quickly after being told something. She told the party that she wanted them to meet someone and to please be patient.
15 minutes later, a burly dwarf appeared and entered into the room. An older dwarf with a large braided beard, tussled brown hair and a mean scar running from his right eye to his chin, he sat at the table and introduced himself as Thunda Largegut. He questioned Immal about them, if they were the ones, and when she answered in the affirmative, he explained why he was there.
He helps run an organization called the Claret Order, a group of individuals who find and destroy monsters and fiends that endanger the good people of Exandria. They originated out of the area where the Dwendalion Empire now stands but despite wiping out the evil they did, they were branded as evil themselves so they took to more secret means to accomplish their goals.
Thunda wore the same necklace pendant that the party found on a body in the Tharizdun Ruins. The party returned the pendant to him. He was saddened about the loss but glad they returned it.
Thunda told them that they knew of the Yuan-Ti causing problems in the area and have been trying to root them out but have been having difficulty. But with the party, he felt they would have a better chance. He offered to have the party join the organization, or at least be aligned. The party tentatively agreed for now to align. He gladly accepted this. And when Immal said that she had a large reward for the party for saving her, he said he would reach out to them soon. And they all got up and left the Opulent Crab, bidding goodbye for now to Thunda.
Immal took the party up higher into the hills of Port Damali into The Crescents, the more wealthier part of the city. She led them to a three story house near the southeast edge of the district. It was a decent sized house of two stories, where the third story was half the width. It had a well tended lawn. She pointed to it and told them that it was their reward. She had gained it but had no use for it and was going to sell it but felt giving to the party was a better use. She took them inside.
The first floor had a living space and kitchen. The second floor had 3 bedrooms, a workspace, bathroom and resting area. The third floor had one more bedroom and another living space. There was also a large basement that weirdly had some prisoner cells.
The house was theirs to do as they wished. It was also fully stocked with food and other standard general items, as well as plenty of alcohol.
Atreena took the top bedroom as hers. Brother Les and Eglantina each took a room on the second floor. And Pooka decided to take over the basement.
At first, the party was very wary. This was the second time they were in a city that wasn't actively hunting for them in a long time, and it was the first that actually welcomed them. At first they felt like taking watches to ensure nobody sprung a trap on them, but ultimately some wine and relaxation took them all.
The next day, Brother Les and Eglantina took off to visit their respective organizations, while Pooka took to making the basement his space and Atreena relaxed.
Brother Les met with his church at the Sunfall Sanctuary, a large temple to Pelor that had 3 huge stained glass windows that directed the morning, noon and evening sun directly into the main hall of the building. He met with the Light Father, Terrowin Ashglade, the leader of the Pelor temple. Brother Les discussed the issues of the Yuan-Ti and even the Lash of Shadows. He asked to see if it was possible to maybe bury the Lash under the temple to keep it hidden by everyone but the Light Father and the party. He also asked to see if was possible to send some acolytes to retrieve Lunch and Dinner from Tussoa as they may still yet serve a purpose. Light Father Ashglade, an older human male, agreed to send for the beasts as well as tentatively agreeing to the solution for the Lash, but that they should talk more.
Eglantina went off to meet with the local Cobalt Soul library. It was much smaller than what she was used to in Rexxentrum, but the familiar sights of the symbology of Ioun, as well as the quiet shuffling of paper, set her at ease once again for the first time in a long time. She found the head librarian, Archivist Podon Uricorin Calser Ianxim, an older gnome male, and asked to see if she could find out information on the Lash of Shadows.
They went to the section about the betrayer gods and started running through the books. They found details about how it was Zehir's champions weapon. That Zehir himself had an epic battle against Melora (the goddess of nature) but was defeated where the Lushgut Forest now stands to the north on the coast. The Lushgut Forest itself was poisoned but Zehir's downfall. As for how any significant details on the weapon itself and maybe how to destroy it, the local library had nothing. That said, Archivist Podon said he would reach out to the central library in Rexxentrum to find out if they had more information, and to return in a day or two.
They both returned and started to discuss what they would do with the house. They concluded that in order to help facilitate Pooka's crafting, they would dig two holes on the outside into the basement area. One would be a material chute, the other a hidden backdoor.
As they settled in for the evening, there was a knock at the door. Opening it up, Thunda stood there and quickly entered the house. He looked at everyone and said, "We have a lead."
What lead does Thunda have? What machinations does the evil Yuan-Ti have in store for Port Damali? Is it possible to destroy the Lash?

Report Date

27 Sep 2021