Far Isles Session #58 - Death Among the Fishes

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Rodrigo (Swashbuckler 4), with henchman Corvus (Fighter 2)

Kwinsea (Aquamancer 5), with familiar Hermes and henchman Jaz (Elf 1)

Chaff (Vivimancer 5), with familiar Pretty Bird
Abdul el Abdul (Fighter 5)

Awg Wahmn (Calmonari 3)

Once inside the room with their paralyzed comrades, (plus the bodies of the slain chief and witch-doctor), Jaz, Rodrigo and Abdul el Abdul spiked the door shut to better keep out unwanted visitors. And while waiting for the paralysis to pass, they gave the room a good going over. There was no furniture, just piles of mangy sleeping furs on the floor. Scattered about a fire pit were also numerous bowls and gourds, while on the walls was a wooded rack full of skulls, some newer furs, and dangling charms of bone. Jaz rooted around in the furs and then checked out the skulls, finding a handful of gems hidden inside one of the decorative craniums. Abdul el Abdul searched the two bodies, and was disappointed to find nothing of interest. The trio then looked about for another exit. The smoky and soot-stained room suggested there wasn't even  smoke hole of any consequence, and a search for secret doors confirmed the only way they were getting out was the same way they came in.

And speaking of the door, there was now noticeable activity outside. Feet moving past, sounds of low voices and some other uncertain activity. They soon found out what was going on: the sound of flames crackling and smoke creeping under the door told them someone was trying to smoke them out. The three wet some of the furs and stuffed them under the door to block the smoke, while Abdul el Abdul smashed some skulls to make bone caltrops to spread in front of the entrance just in case. The room was soon filling rapidly with smoke, and there was only a foot or two of fresh air left at floor level when the paralyzed party members finally stirred. With everyone back in fighting form, fighting is the form they chose. Abdul el Abdul hammered the spikes out of the door, and threw it wide open. Outside on the balcony they could faintly see human forms through the haze, fanning the flames and driving the smoke into the room. Abdul el Abdul stabbed blindly into the smoke, and cut down one of the forms, while Corvus shot and paralyzed another with a poisoned arrow. Finally, Kwinsea fired off another fear blast, and the rest of their foes starting running for the exit.

The party let them go, deciding to focus on what they could find deeper in the temple instead of tangling once more with the blasted natives. After quickly breezing through the three rooms off the north balcony (all of which were similar to the chiefs room in terms of contents), the party them formed up and marched into the tunnel below the great carved face. They did not get far before running into a crudely built wall of stone, which had a great stone slab laid upright against it. With some rope, grappling hooks and muscle power, Abdul el Abdul and Corvus hauled it down with a BANG! It was covering a crude opening, through which the party now passed. As the corridor twisted back and forth, they examined the floor, noting signs in the dust ages of the recent passage of human feet. In particular, Corvus noted at one point that the footprints moved to the side of the corridor, avoid the centre altogether. The party wisely decided to do the same, assuming there was some foul trap waiting in the middle. They came to an old wooden door. They first listened, then Awg searched it for traps. The calmonari noted nothing, so Abdul el Abdul added another door to his 'battered down' list, and the party moved on in.

In the centre of this room stood a 4' tall pedestal, on top of which sat a stone box with two hinged doors. The box itself was nondescript, except it was carved with some sort of alien or inhuman abstract geometric patterns. On the floor next to it was a scatting of sticks made of human femurs, a trio of gem inlaid bowls and bits of other old debris. Another door stood on the far wall. Chaff scooped up the bowls (and a few of the bones) as he looked around the floor. The little vivimancer observed that the dust was very disturbed in front of the pedestal, but barely so in front of the other door. A check beyond that door revealed a collapsed corridor; which, after a short time shifting rubble, the party decided to ignore. So it was back to the box on the pedestal. Based on the tales told by Oltau and other hints in the room, the party figured the mind-controlling god-statue was hidden inside the box. Realizing that looking at the statue would be bad news, the party hatched a plan. They all stood behind the pillar, on the opposite side from the box' doors.  Kwinsea held up her mirror so they could see, and Abdul el Abdul opened up the box. Inside was a small statue of gold and coral, depicting a humanoid with a smooth head, large eyes, a tentacled sphinctered mouth, and a body that ended in three long tentacles with flukes. Abdul poked it with a gantlet-ed hand, and the statue wobbled a bit. Well, at least it wasn't nailed down. So Awg hauled out a sack, held it below the statue, which Abdul then proceeded to topple into the bag before wrapping it tightly and placing it in his backpack.

With no where else obvious to go, they party backtracked to the stone slab. There, curious about the 'trap' in the hallway, they grabbed a few heavy stones and tossed them at the floor. After a few hits the floor gave way with a crash, quickly followed by a splash. Looking down into the resulting hole in the floor, the party could see water below. This looked like a job for aquatic Awg and his levitating sword. Tied off with a rope just in case, Awg floated down into the hole, finding him/herself in a water filled room. Looking up, he could see that some rotted beams had given causing the ceiling/floor to collapse. The calmonari poked around the room  a bit, noting that the water was about 4' deep and that a small school of albino fish swarm about below. Awg used the calmonari charm on them, but learned little other than the fish were hungry. A passage led north, and Awg headed that way to explore, passing a half dozen small cells with rusty bars before coming to an east-west corridor. With no obvious danger, Awg called for the rest of the party to climb down the rope, and they were soon all chest deep in water (except Chaff, who floated along on a door Corvus had been using as a mantlet.)

The party now decided to split up, with Abdul el Abdul and Awg Wahman headeing left down the corridor, and the rest checking out a door at the east end of the corridor. Corvus forced the door, which opened into a huge water filled chamber. Probing forward, he noticed the water got much deeper, so Kwinsea volunteered to go for a swim and check it out. She discovered that the water was about 15' deep, but had little chance to search more as she was surprised by the appearance of three albino sharks. Two clamped down great bites on the aquamancer before she was hauled out of the water by Corvus, who then slammed the door shut to keep their attackers barred in the room.

Meanwhile, Abdul and Awg followed the flooded corridor, coming to spot where the passage continued up a short staircase to a platform above the water level. The platform was only about 20' long, at which point stairs led down into the water again. At this point, hearing Kwinsea's screams, the two backtracked to meet the rest of the party.  After binding the aquamancer's wounds, everyone decided the continue along the corridor rather than risk the door and the sharks again. Coming again to the platform, the front rank of Abdul el Abdul and Rodrigo were just starting to descend into the water when they noticed a frenzy of activity below the surface. They retreated just as a pair a giant piranhas broke the surface and madly hurled themselves half out of the water at the two warriors.  The pair stood their ground, slashing away at the toothed fish. Chaff, meanwhile, cast instinct on the two, forcing one to forego attacking the fighters to instead try putting some moves on the other piranha.  Alas, it's place was taken by a previously unseen third fish, and the already weakened Abdul el Abdul was taken down by vicious fishes before the rest of the party finished them off.

TOTAL XP

7220

GAINS

5 gems (1000go, 1200gp, 500gp, 800gp, 50gp)
3 gem inlaid bowls(500gp each)
gold and coral statue of some sphincter-mouthed monstrosity (2000gp, but cursed)

KILLS

2 Native Warriors
3 Giant Albino Piranha

LOSSES

Abdul el Abdul

Far Isles Session #57 - Taboo Temple Assault, Part Deux

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Rodrigo (Swashbuckler 4), with henchman Corvus (Fighter 2)

Kwinsea (Aquamancer 5), with familiar Hermes and henchman Jaz (Elf 1)

Chaff (Vivimancer 5), with familiar Pretty Bird
Abdul el Abdul (Fighter 5)

Awg Wahmn (Calmonari 3)

The paralyzed members of the party recovered as Jaz, Rodrigo and Corvus rowed across the lake. By the time the two dugouts came in view of the village, the party was fully awake and functional. Their appearance on the lake immediately provoked activity in the village, and a line of spear-armed warriors soon appeared, standing knee deep in the water and along the veranda of a large building on stilts which stood in the lake. The party stood, showing their weapons free hands as a sign of peace. This was answered by a volley of spears from the warriors, all of which fell short and splashed into the water.  The party stopped rowing, and Kwinsea did her best to say "We come in peace" in the doggerel pidgin she'd used on the temple natives. After a little while, a pair of older men appeared on the veranda. They were the "Talking Chief" Faro and the witch doctor Umlat, and they beckoned for the party to come ashore in peace.

The Chief

The party landed, offering the captured Oltau as a peace offering. As they turned the bone warrior over to the villagers, the party noticed everyone they saw was either older or very young. Even the warriors who had confronted them on the beach were well past their prime. As Umlat and the villagers hauled Oltau up the beach where a large bonfire was being prepared, the party questioned Faro about the absence of young people. Faro replied the party must come with him to consult with the true chief. And with that, the old man led them to the large council house out on the lake. There, Faro reverently approached an alcove at the end of the hut, where sat a small well worn statue of an old man. Faro proceeded to address this 'chief', asking him for guidance on what he should tell the party. He seemed to get some reply (although the party heard nothing), for after a few minutes Faro agreed to tell the party about 'Taboo Island'. For generations, the tribe has not gone to the island; he offered no reason beyond 'it is taboo', but did note it was once the abode of old, evil gods. Some months ago, a group of young warriors broke taboo and crossed the lake. At first the tribe assumed they were destroyed by the taboo. But then the raids began. Groups of the renegade warriors would sneak into the village at night and take the young and strong, until the tribe was left as it was today.  Faro, knowing the party had already been to the island, asked if they would return and deal with the renegade tribesmen. He was unclear if he wanted them captured and returned or simply killed off; taboo, it seemed, prevented him from being precise about that.

Abdul el Abdul, meanwhile, has stayed on the beach to watch the proceedings there. In addition to

Oltau - Post Ritual

the bonfire, the rest of the tribe started cooking fires, and soon had a feast of fish, baked yam and turtle soup ready to go. Umlat had supervised the bonfire, which was fanned to blazing hot and forced to burn down quickly, leaving only warm grey ash. Into this Oltau was thrown and rolled around in the remains of the fire until he was coated in grey ash and mild burns. Umlat put one hand on Oltau's face and muttered some words. The witch doctor then declared the warrior 'purified', but still under some kind of enhancement. The witch doctor ordered him bound until he could call on the power of the Lord of the Sky to break the enchantment in the morning.The party was then feasted by the village and scattered among the village huts to rest until morning. 

Next morning, Umlat once more went through some rituals with Oltau and broke the charm which held him in thrall. Questioned, the bone warrior revealed that when he was captured in the one the first raids, he had been brought to worship in front of a statue. The statue depicted a vaguely amphibious humanoid with a smooth head, large eyes and a tentacled, splintered mouth.  After that, the bone warrior become a servant of the 'old gods', charged along with the rest of the renegade tribe with reviving the gods cruel empire.

After hearing the story, Faro once more asked the party to deal with the renegade tribe. To which the party agreed; they were going that way anyhow. Faro offered anything the village could provide to help, but no warriors would accompany them. The taboo still held. The party did get some samples of paralytic poison, as well as  antidote to help protect against the poison of the renegade tribesmen. They then chose to wait until nightfall, and carried their dugouts away from the village, fearing they might be observed by those on the island if they left from the village proper. Reaching the island, they ignored the obvious entrance, and landed on the opposite side. From there they trekked back to the temple, looking for the smoke hole which opened into the main temple chamber. They found it hidden away behind some tumbled ruins. Glancing below, they could see the net back in place. Huddled around the fire were a number of sleeping forms, mostly woman and children. Pacing around were also 4-6 alert guards. The party decided to try a little surprise this time. Rodrigo would stay at the hole, and drop down a few small bombs made using the party's remaining gunpowder. Taking advantage of the confusion caused by the explosions, the party would rush the temple through the main entrance, and take control of the balconies. 

Initially, all went according to plan; bombs exploded, confusion ensued, and the party rushed the balconies. Kwinsea, Corvus and Awg hit the north balcony; Chaff, Jaz, Rodrigo and Abdul el Abdul hit the south. This time they found no one there, but did observe a number of doors leading to who-knows-where. Down below, the guards started to lob spears, while the woman and children ran for the exit; the party responded with laser and crossbow fire. Rodrigo also cut part of the net free from above, and swung down to join the fray. At the same time, the rest of the party cut the other ropes, dropping the net onto several of the warriors below. 

At this point, the plan started to go south. Out of a door on the south balcony burst the chief, his henchman and the witch doctor. Before the party could respond, the witch doctor cast a spell on the northern balcony, holding all three party members there. In response, Chaff cast a web, trapping the witch doctor and one of the henchmen; the witch doctor was eventually hacked to death. Abdul el Abdul, isolated on the far side of the web from the rest of the party, charged in to fight the one henchman facing him. Jaz, Rodrigo and Chaff turned their attentions to the chief. [Chaff also sent Pretty Bird to examine the giant human face carved in the wall over the exit tunnel; the familiar found holes in place of the eyes and observed another dust filled room beyond.] The fight against the chief was going well, and the big warrior was soon slain; but more danger arrived. On the floor below, the entangled warriors got out from under the net and charged the south balcony. One struck Chaff and paralyzed the sub-tall vivimancer.  Meanwhile, one of the doors on the north balcony opened, and a half dozen archers appeared, surrounding the held party members. They made signs that they would kill the prisoners if the party continued to fight, so a truce was called. After some back and forth pantomime, the party offered to trade the webbed chief's henchman for Kwinsea. The warriors agreed, and the tense trade was done. As soon as the archers backs were turned, however, Jaz grabbed the wand of fear from Kwinsea's hand, and loosed some magical terror on them. Most of wariors turned and ran back into the room from which they'd emerged. The chiefs henchman and one other warrior ran into the tunnel leading deeper into the temple complex, while two others tried to jump off the balcony and join them, but broke their necks in the fall. With the great hall temporarily in their control, Jaz, Rodrigo and Abdul el Abdul gathered up their held and paralyzed comrades, then retreated to the chief's room, barring themselves in to await their companions recovery.

TOTAL XP

1040

GAINS

nil

KILLS

5 Native Warriors
1 Renegade Chief
1 Chief's henchman
1 Witch Doctor

LOSSES

nil