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

Players Missing: Gallliard, Rahn

The ascent up the plateau is fraught with danger. Old pathways and rotting planks cause several party members to fall and take damage or suffer from exhaustion.

As they reach the edge of the village they are greeted by their friend Nephyr and his friend Cirrus. Nephyr has told the tale of [title redacted]’s heroism atop Firefinger, and how that group of Pterafolk with harass the jungle no more. The birdfolk are friendly and welcome [title redacted] to their village as long as they abide by a few rules:

• Don’t Harm
• Don’t Steal
• Don’t Lie
• Don’t Disrupt Traditions
• Be Helpful with Chores

The dwellings in Kir Sabal are simple structures carved out of the rock face, all joined by a wooden walkway. As they make their way through the village, they notice many children and families. One cute little kid (boy? girl? how do you tell?) named Airy catches Zyldi’s eye. Zyldi asks her (I guess it’s a her? Yeah, Airy is a her) if she can teach her how to make some of the pretty bone jewelry that they are wearing – Zyldi wants some souvenirs for her grandkids. After speaking with Airy’s parents (Talon and Beaker), they gift Zyldi a very pretty necklace as a welcome to their village, as well as a thank you for saving Nephyr.

After ritually cleansing themselves according to the traditions, the party is invited into the Monastery to meet with Teacher. The Monastery is the largest building in the village, and the front room is a dining/meeting room. As the party helps get lunch ready for their meeting, Teacher enters the room. Asharra, Teacher of Tradition, Elder of the Aarakocra at Kir Sabal greets the party warmly and they eat lunch together.

Asharra is old and wise and has seen much. She gives the party the following information:

• She does not know of the Death Curse or the Soulmonger, but knows there is concentrated evil in the lost city of Omu to the south
• Omu is where Ras Nsi currently resides with his army of Yuan-Ti. They want to summon Dendar the Night Serpent and bring about the end of the worldAarakocra scouts keep an eye on Omu but it is well defended
• Tells of the princess and prince that are being sheltered in Kir Sabal: Princess Mwaxanare N’Buso, lost heir to the throne of Omu, Queen of Chult, last of her line, and her little brother Prince Na. Their parents are dead (killed by pterafolk and gravity)
• Mawaxanare is 17 and Na is 6
• The Dance of the Seven Winds can grant the party the ability to fly for 3 days, but in order to perform it Asharra needs a Black Orchid from Nangalore, two days west of Kir Sabal near the River Olung- Nangalore
• “The Garden of Lost Dreams” – is home to many exotic plants. A human queen from Omu also lives there, and has for centuries – what’s up with that? Her name is Zaklore and she knows much
• Asharra does not let her  people near the garden due to the Eblis – Evil intelligent cranes – that live there.

As the conversation is wrapping up, Mwaxanare enters the room. She is dressed in fine clothes and wears a colorful feathered cloak. She is charismatic and beautiful, and immediately lets the party know that they are there to serve her. Seraphina tells her that she needs to be more respectful and is immediately slapped in the face by ‘Nare’s “MageHand”. “You will not speak to me this way” she tells the party.

She takes an immediate liking to Elgard. He impresses her by casually playing with a Firebolt, and they hit it off. The rest of the party’s collective eyes roll out of their heads.

Mwaxanare needs the party to clear the evil out of Omu so that she can restore it to its former glory and take up her “Rightful place as the queen of Chult”. The party needs to have a pow-wow about these developments. Kanye tells the story of how when he was younger his tribe had to team up with an enemy Ogre tribe to take out a rogue Storm Giant. Even though the Ogres were evil and smelled like shit, they were helpful in helping take down this greater evil. Kanye says that now is the time for them to endure some Ogre shit and help this girl so they can destroy the Soul Monger.

As this discussion is winding down, some harried looking scouts return to the village, and hot on their heels are flying stone monsters with the faces of devils – gargoyles! We leave our heroes as they begin the defense of Kir Sabal against this menace from Omu.

Players Present: Kanye, Zyldi, Elgard, Seraphina, Nor, Rahn, Galliard

Players Missing: Eridor, Kulu

[title redacted] is making their way through the jungle a few days after their meeting with Bwayes O’Tamu, the weretiger. As they look for a suitable place to camp, Seraphina gets a bad feeling about their surroundings right as some arrows fly out of the darkness. The party is caught in a Batiri Goblin ambush! A giant log is thrown from the cliff to their right, bonking Rhan on the head. He is annoyed. Arrows come from all sides as Qawasha and Elgard are caught in nets from behind. Emerging from cover in front of the party is a tall stack of Goblins on each others shoulders – 5 Goblins tall wearing colorful wooden war masks, holding shields, and waving spears.

The goblins do a well choreographed war chants as they fight: “Stab stab stab! Kill kill kill! Each little Goblin eats its fill!” “Dagger stab! Arrow fly! Oh we loves to watch it die!”

Once the party gets in action the tide begins to turn. The stack gets knocked down and murdered by the front line fighters, and Elgard dispatches the cliff goblins with some well placed magic. Zyldi turns into a bear and goes into a murder frenzy. Nor and Seraphina take care of the front goblins as Kanye gets his bloodlust out on the ones in the rear. Zyldi runs into the woods and dispatches those goblins in her mama bear death rage.

After the battle, a surviving goblin is found on the cliff. His name is Yik Yak and he promises the party treasure if they let him live. After some tense negotiations, the party finds his treasure cache in the woods: a canoe and a jar of ointment. The ointment is magical, and it is discovered that when applied (as they do to both Kanye and Yik Yak), that disease is cured and 2d8 hp is healed.

Kanye wants to keep Yik Yak as a pet, the rest are mired in a moral quandary about letting an evil creature go free verses going back on their word and killing him. Rhan decisively grabs Yik Yak out of Kanye’s arms and tosses him over the cliff. As Yik Yak falls, a slow motion montage of his life plays over some sappy music before he splatters on the jungle floor below. The party continues their journey.

A few days later they come to a massive sinkhole. The skeleton of a large dragon is deep in the pit and there is lots of wildlife around (frogs on lily pads, fish in the water, etc).

Zyldi reaches out to the surrounding nature and can feel that there is the presence of poison in a particular area on the wall of the hole. She is also able to detect magic near the same spot. After some sleuthing, it is determined that this is where the Dragon kept her stash.

After trying a few things, Galliard casts “Knock” on the wall, causing the secret door to open. Beyond the door is a small cave filled with treasure and magic items.

Galliard and Kanye go into the pool to try and get some teeth out of the Dragon’s skull. Kanye is unable to lift the massive skull out of the muck, but they are able to pull a tooth out. As they do this, swarms of small carnivorous fish begin to attack them. Gal jumps on Kanye’s shoulders and they run out of the water to safety. 

After two more days travel the jungle thins out as they approach a massive plateau. A village is carved into the side of the plateau, and Aarakockra can be seen flying around it. The party approaches the plateau and prepares to meet the Aarakocra of Kir Sabal.