Players Present – Kulu, Galliard, Rahn, Nor, Seraphina, Kanye, Eridor

Players Missing – Elgard, Zyldi

Rahn and Galliard return to the rest of the party. They are dressed as bushes, and now have a cart.

The group questions Eridor’s motives for wanting to join the party and proceed further into Chult. He says that he wants to return resurrection magic so that he can bring his father back from the dead. A vote is taken if he should join, and he becomes a new member of the party.

As they are talking through this, 3 spears come whizzing out of the forest.

ENCOUNTER – Tribal warriors with upside down blue triangles on their forehead (refesher – upside blue triangles are the sign of worshipers of Raz Nasee). The tribesman were dispatched with relative ease. The most notable battle moment that occurred was Qupalu hitting one of the warriors with a rock.

Kanye and Eridor grapple one of the tribesman. Eridor murders him after some pointless questioning. Galliard wants to make it another zombie. This is not voted in. However, it does bring up the thought of not wanting those they have killed to become zombies. As a result, Galliard decides to light campfires over the dead bodies multiple times in an attempt to burn them. Despite the good thinking, it was honestly just cooking their flesh and creating a terrible smell. Nor chops off their heads instead, and the entire party moves a small ways to a new non-smelly campsite.

They next day, after multiple, valiant, but poorly done attempts, they capture a harmless flying snake. Eridor keeps it as a pet. After a controversial vote, [title redacted] let’s it join. The snake is named Larry.

A few moment later, a trio walks toward the party. There are two elves and a human. They wear cloaks made of wool and have a distinctive clasp of a yellow shield and stag. This is the same clasp that Q’washa wears, indicating that there are part of the Emerald Enclave. (…a yellow clasp with a group name of Emerald Enclave?)

The trio offers lunch, and Q’washa seems happy and comfortable. Their leader is named Atwar, and he is open and amiable. Galliard asks them if they know anything about a black armored zombie. This is the first that the rest of the party hears of Galliard and Rahn’s close encounter with the Wight. The Wight goes about and resurrects bodies into zombies. They ask if there is any way that they can prevent people that they kill (in self-defense…usually…see three paragraphs above) from turning into zombies that they may have to fight yet again. Cutting off heads is the best that they can do at this moment.

The lady elf marvels over the map that the party has in their possession. She asks if she can copy their map, and she helps fill in details of their own. With the information that she has provided, the party decides to head to an upside down shipwreck named the Narwhal.

The next day, as the party travels through the forest, they encounter a statue off the side of the road. After their run in with the Golem, they are on edge and study the statue carefully. Galliard is able to divine that there is a glyph like thunder on it that would cause something bad to happen.

• Galliard: “Remember how when [Kanye] throws me there is a big boom? The same thing will happen here.”
• Kanye: “So, I should throw you.”
• Galliard: [Sidelong glace] “No.”
• Kanye: “So I should throw it?”

They simply walk away and leave the statue alone.

The next day, it is raining cats and dog. Everyone is DRENCHED. A tiger walks across the path, and the party freezes. The tiger stops and stares at the party and then begins to walk off. In the distance they can see the broken upside ship. They an also see it is surrounded by Vegepygmys. Some of them are riding mold dogs. (This sounded way cuter until I looked up the picture)

The tiger turns out to be another weretiger. He and Azaka were cursed by the same weretiger. (Seraphina: “You are weretiger siblings.) His name is Bwayes, and he is friendly. They learn he is a cousin of Wakanga. He does not want his family to know he is still alive, and so lives alone in the Narwhal. He has largely forgotten how to socialize. He really wants alcohol (Rahn leaves Bwayes his brewing kit). He is also very happy to learn some gambling games from Nor.

They stay warm and dry for the night, learn a few pieces of info from Bwayes, and the party heads out once more. That evening as they continue on their journey, Seraphina gets an odd feeling. “Hold here. Something doesn’t feel right.”

Crossbow bolts come shooting out of the forest.

(Below is the recount of Rahn and Galliard’s solo escapades after Clarice dropped off Kilgore’s Will and Testament)

After Clarice the Raptor delivered her sad message, Galliard was filled with hope. He was promised a fully intact not-that-old corpse! If only he could find it. After a brief conversation with Qawasha about how to go about finding it, Galliard and Rhan set out on their quest. Rhan knew Galliard would die on his own, and he wanted to do his part to help honor the agreement Kilgore had made.

They followed the trail that Clarice had made and it led them up a ridge. Traveling for most of a day, they came to a high point that looked out over the gorge that fed the River Tiryki. If there were postcards of Chult, this view would be on it – The sun about to set, wild jungle as far as the eye could see, the basin that fed the river – every angle a fresh wonder to behold. There, propped up against a large tree taking the view in, was a freshly dead Kilgore.

After examining her body (a small satisfied smile on her face – or maybe just the onset of rigor?), they noticed skillfully applied makeup that had been covering up the blue veins on her face, the telltale veins of the Death Curse. Suddenly, they heard a noise headed their way. After hiding, Galliard made other noises away from their location so they could get a better look at their new guest. Long, stringy white hair, black armor, a wicked looking blade, that was all they needed to see before grabbing Kilgore’s body and hiding a little further away. The figure came back and stepped fully into view. Intelligence sparked in the eyes, but the creature was obviously undead. A hateful scowl on his face, he began to search the area while Rhan and Gal made their escape.

That night they made camp along the trail back to Firefinger. During Rhan’s watch he noticed 5 strange looking dwarves covered in plants approaching their camp. Waking Galliard, he started the battle with these undead plant-dwarf-zombies. The plant that was controlling the zombies was beset by spontaneous campfires and could get no closer to Kilgore, while the 5 zombies landed a statistically improbable number of critical hits on Rhan. After many fires, healing words, and good attacks by Rhan and Dragle, the zombies were vanquished and the night went on peacefully.

The next evening, having passed by Firefinger and resumed the trail of [title redacted], the 3 remaining Pterafolk attacked! All party members were at one point lifted into the air and dropped (Dragle came within 1 hp of death!), but in the end our heroes were victorious.

That night, during Galliard’s watch, an old woman appeared in camp, plucked a hair from Rhan’s beard as he slept, and then disappeared. No big deal. Rhan doesn’t know.

The rest of their journey proved uneventful save for a small encounter with a poisonous snake and a T-Rex munching on a dead stegosaurus. They killed the snake and avoided the T-Rex.

Early in their journey they built a small cart and began gathering any good wood they found. They knew they were going to meet the party on the other side of a bridge known as Ataaz Muhahah. Rhan’s natural distrust of any workmanship not his own has only been fueled by the shoddy ruins he’s encountered in Chult so far. “I’m going to build my own damn bridge”
Upon reaching the bridge and seeing the statue (large, no gemstone eyes though…), Galliard detected magic on the statue and then cast Identify. He got a quick vision of ancient Chultan priests binding the spirit of an Earth Elemental to the statue to create a Golem. 

A maze was carved on the base of the statue and looked like it had seen recent activity (moss cleared away, etc). Does doing the maze activate the Golem? Or does NOT doing the maze activate it? Gal drew a copy of the maze on paper and sat on the bridge to solve it. Once they were confident of the solution, all three traced the maze (with Dragle taking tedious step-by-step instructions from Galliard) and stepped past the Golem.

Now at the gap in the bridge (and freaked out that the Golem could suddenly activate or they could be attacked by angry baboons), they drove pitons into the bridge and fired ropes into trees with their crossbows to make a network of tied-off ropes from the bridge to the other side. They sat in the cart and pulley-ed it across the chasm.

Having made it across the chasm and recovering their ropes, they looked forlornly back at the pitons they had to leave behind on the bridge. Farewell, small metal spikes. You served us well.

Rhan shed a single tear.

Addressed to Title Redacted:

Here is written the last will and testament of Alison “Kilgore” Lohman. Filed properly with the law offices of Robinson, Robinson, and Crusoe.

“Hey, it’s Kilgore. If you’re reading this then it means I’m dead. Well, sort of. Long story short, when Filbretta died and we all met at her funeral, I knew my days were numbered. Seeking the soulstone was the only way of insuring my inevitable death be delayed, but whatever. I didn’t want a funeral or anything fancy, but didn’t want you to worry either.

I only have in my possession my staff, my sweet dagger I stab things with, a healing potion, and some gold, 663 pieces to be divided evenly between you. Except Elgard.

To Seraphina I leave and my sexuality in hopes that you can calm down enough to get laid once in a while.

To Kanye I leave my love of all things pretty and shiny. May you get distracted at every opportunity.

To Nor I leave regret. You’re pretty handsome and whatever.

To Rhan I leave respect and my sweet dagger. He’d only want respect but a dagger can come in handy.

To Zyldi I leave my quarterstaff, I don’t know what you’ll do with it but you seem the most trustworthy of the group.

To Elgard I leave my healing potion, you’re going to need it.

To Kulu, I give you Elgard’s share of the gold, and scritches behind your kitty ear.

And finally, to Galliard I leave my rotting corpse. If you can find it, you can keep it.

I’ve enjoyed our time together, despite being shorter than I thought it would be. While I wish I could continue on our journey, I have a new adventure to pursue. Thank you all for including me and making me feel loved.

Warmest regards and sincerest condolences on your loss, Kilgore

P.S. I may have figured out how to transfer my soul in to Clarice. You’ll know if it was successful.”

Players Present: Zyldi, Elgard, Seraphina, Kanye, Nor, Kulu

Players Missing: Galliard, Rahn, Kilgore

Splitting the party had resulted in a victorious end, and all came back together at the base of the Firefinger Tower. It was 3am, and only a short rest can be had before moving on. They have decided to head their way to Kir Sabal in hopes of learning the power of temporary flight.

As they start to settle down for the evening a rustling in the brush reveals a familiar Raptor. It is Clarise, and she raptors her way into the camp. On her back is a scroll that she insists that they take. With a wink to the party, (At least, it is assumed it was a wink. It could have just been a blink, but seeing both eyes at one time is a bit tricky) she runs back off into the forest.

The scroll contains the last Will and Testament of Kilgore, their Warlock friend who had been suspiciously absent for some time. Apparently she died? There is a general feeling of confusion and maybe some guilt. The scroll Clarise was carrying explains the Warlock’s death, and the “possessions” she wished to pass along. (Please reference next post to read contents of the will.)

The party, now one player down through no fault of their tactics, rested for the remainder of the night. The next day, Q’Washa was almost squished by a snake, but it’s all good now. The snake provided some great meat for the party.

That evening, 3 giant poison flowers tried to murder them. But the team is accustomed to this death trap that is Chult, and they murdered them as well. Nor just slept through it.

The following day, as they travel through the dense jungles, they see a T-Rex and a Stegosaurus fighting. Everyone agrees that nature must do it’s thing, and they leave it alone. Continuing on their way, they see hiding in the brush a humaniod species called the Yuan-ti. As they make camp for the night, they question Azaka about the Yuan-ti. According to Azaka, if ever she sees the species she kills them without question. And she does just that as she is out hunting later that evening.

The party also had some good chit-chat over the fire where they learn a bit more about each other. Specifically, each other’s ages. Zyldi – 300 yrs old, Elgard – 34 yrs old (so he says…but is lying and likely adding a decade to his age), Seraphina – 32 yrs old, Kanye – 17 yrs old (the freaking baby of the group), Nor – 35 yrs old, and Kulu – old enough to kill.

As they continued their jungle trek, they come upon a large gorge. A bridge spans across the chasm, and below, along the vines, they can hear the monkeys and baboons laughing out their calls. On the middle of the bridge stands a statue of a Chultan warrior, red rubies shining in his eyes, with a pile of broken bones along its base.

Q’Washa walks up to the giant statue and traces a maze that is evident at the base. “I suggest you all do this as well.” The party thinks it odd, and Seraphina has definite reservations as to the pagan nature of this task, but for the sake of the party, she goes along with the procedure. Zyldi, Seraphine, Nor, Elgard, and Azaka are all successful in tracing. They make it to the other side of the statue without issue. However, Kanye is not as successful at solving this rather simple puzzle. The golem comes to life.

ENCOUNTER – Golem

• Nor fails a goading strike to draw the Golem’s attention
• Zyldi turns into a tiger
• Kulu hits the golem and leaps onto his head. She begins to attempt to pry out his eyes.
• Seraphina casts Wrathful Strike which gives extra physical damage, but it does not have an effect on the golem.
• The golem casts slow on the party. Seraphina, Zyldi, Kulu, and Nor are affected.
• Kanye turns to Bill and asks him to charge the golem. Bill is not convinced. However, Bill wants food and agrees if he will get some more later on. He charges, but his piercing damage is ineffective.
• Nor attempts goad once more and successully draws the golem’s attention.
• Seeing that everyone is slowed, Elgard casts Thunderwave to help push everyone 10ft from the golem. It helps Seraphina, Nor, and Zyldi. Kulu is still on the golem’s head.
• The group realizes that they need to run, as no physical damage is effective against this construct.
• Zyldi tries to run off the bridge. There is a giant break in the bridge that prevents them easily running away. She attempts the leap, but the ground crumbles at her feet and she backs away.
• Kulu removes the second gem. But the golem continues unaffected.
• Seraphina is able to successfully cross the bridge.
• Kanye is not willing to run without Bill. And Bill is unable to make it around the golem without first pushing the golem aside.
• Bill makes his attempt to push the golem off the edge. Nor, realizing that Kanye will not leave Bill, also helps push. They are unable to get the golem off.
• Elgard jumps over the gap in the bridge, and falls to his death…Zyldi however manages to snatch his cloak in her claws and catches him (Nat 20!). Epic.
• Kulu falls off of the golem and is now unconscious.
• Nor looks at Kanye helplessly and goes over to stabilize Kulu.
• Kanye debates what to do and tells Bill he needs to run. Bill runs as fast as he can and makes it past the golem. He leaps across the gap in the bridges and makes it across, skidding through some trees. He breaks a leg. (Zlydi is later able to heal his leg successfully)
• Kanye dodges an attack from the golem as he runs past next. He snatches Kulu as he goes.
• Nor runs and makes his jump across the chasm.
• Kanye throws Kulu across and she lands
• Zyldi is also now able to successfully jump across.
• Kanye decides to let himself get pushed, unopposed, by the golem in hopes it will propel him across the edge. No such luck. Kanye plummets downwards.
• Seraphina leaps off the ledge and actives her Aasimar power. She catches him.

Now that they are all safely across the bridge, a very intense argument ensues with the party. Kanye is very upset that everyone left him and decided to run. They all do what they can to assure him that was not their intent. Zyldi ends the argument telling everyone to be silent and drink tea. The party sits in silence and sips.