| Jul. 14th, 2009 @ 11:22 am In which Jo has a very special day... |
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Another solid 8 hour session later, and we've made it to the very heart of Thanaclan.
And because I realize these things get awfully long (especially now that we're running longer sessions), I'll actually deign to put it behind a cut this time.
You'll recall that our heroes had just fought off a band of evil skinwalkers and their ghoulish demonic leader (now short a head). Jo decides that holding onto the spear of Tezcatlipoca might be silly since she's not likely to use it. She offers it to Jakara, who takes it with some awe--it is the weapon of a Big Damn Hero of Legend, after all. After camping, we set off to follow Noltus' footsteps toward the village of Mantru, hoping to find some clue to his fate, or any clues at all. Upon reaching it, we found no signs of recent habitation, though all tracks had been cleared away. It was as if they all just vanished. After searching thoroughly (and for the record we have Jo, Skald *and* Jakara with ranger levels), we noticed a ring of totempoles off to the side. We immediately set out to explore this significant monument when a mental command/urge to stop came over us. This presence asked us who we were. Bliz got lippy, and it started to get a bit crabby at our impertinence--and revealed itself to be a couatl before swooping down to give Bliz a piece of his mind (although something about Bliz made him stop and reconsider). And then another couatl appeared next to us as well--this one recognizable as Tonatiuh, who we met at the Temple of the Jaguar before the Battle of Farshore. Great...two godlike beings at once. Jo dropped to her knees. They basically wanted to know if we had come to send Umlat off properly. (Who's Umlat? And what happened to him?) We're like, sure, anything you want. So we move towards the ring again, but this time, *another* coatl shows up in front of us, and then *another* one behind (surrounding our group).
At this point, Jo and Jakara are having a giant Holy Fuck moment, as 4 gods appear simultaneously (technically, they're not actual gods, but they might as well be for the Olman). They tell us we have to demonstrate wisdom in order to go deal with this Umlat guy and give us a riddle. Of course, they also indicate that they're going to make it easy on us, and indeed, it was easy. I got it right away and we proceeded to the circle, where the body of an Olman man was laid out on a bed of flowers, fully prepared for funereal rites. The couatl addressed each of us by a name which wasn't our name but rather a word, or epithet, and while they spoke to each of us at the same time, we were able to hear the words used for our companions. I love gods.
So here's the breakdown: Bliz = Spirit. Jo = Huntress. Urol = Shifter. Adamant = Jailer. Jakara = Hero. Skald = Revenant. Rishitak (the lizardfolk cleric of Pelor) = Disciple. Natch, this raises quite a few questions. Certainly we have seen some of these aspects in play already, but when Quetzalcoatl, Tlaloc, Tonatiuh and Tezcatlipoca all call you by a particular name, it's best to sit up and pay attention. Definitely food for thought.
So, while Urol starts performing the funeral rites for this guy, we learn something of what happened here in Mantru. Seems they had been living here on the shores of the lake supposedly without attracting notice. In truth, they were being subtly controlled by the kopru for a long time. Occasionally, a few of the young warriors would disobey the elders and cross the lake to find out what was there. Umlat suspects that in fact, this was the result of mind-control, as the kopru harvested their best warriors...I'm guessing to turn them into skinwalkers. Well, the cycle didn't repeat itself this time. Instead, the skinwalkers attacked the village, along with a wastrilith out in the lake (who smoked the chief). Umlat recognized some of the attackers as warriors who had left previously. Umlat himself was done in by the very same demon that Jo decapited last night. The question Jo asked and that none of the couatl could answer is...why would they destroy the village now? Also of major note: Umlat, who is called the son of Quetzalcoatl, is recognized by Bliz as one of the infamous party from the quest to take out the aboleth. There was Tez. and Xochi, who stayed behind, and the other two who returned to the surface...one named Umlat and the other who carried the bow recently discussed as being important. Feel like an episode of Lost yet? If not, I don't know where you've been for the last 3 modules.
The rites completed...Umlat's spirit left. The couatl all beam thoughts of gratitude and love at us (although Jo notices that either Adamant wasn't getting the good vibes or he was able to ignore it, given that we were all in states of bliss and he was looking annoyed.) We ask if there's anything else we can do, but they respond that what we are doing is all that they could ask of us. And let's just reiterate here that we're talking to the aspect of FOUR GODS, who have been ousted from their natural place by the evil that we puny mortals are now going to try to defeat. Let that one sink in a bit.
We spend the night in the village after the couatl take their leave. Before dawn, we take a couple of the outrigger canoes left at the village and set off across the lake to the island which once housed the heart of Thanaclan. We were fully expecting to run into a wastrilith, but instead the boats are destroyed by a gargantuan crocodile, who immediately bites down on Jakara. Luckily, we are a party that is kind of tweaked to overcome the water handicap. After a horrendous critical hit on Jo doing 120 damage, we fight him off successfully and swim for shore. Circling around the island we find a beach from which two paths lead. We can see four large ziggurats above the trees, so we take the path that leads toward the closest one. After climbing it to get a good view, Bliz reports that there is a large temple on the far western side of the island and that's where we want to go. Because she just *knows*. We head off in that direction, passing a few Demogorgon statues along the way. Jo, on point, gets ambushed by a gaggle of skinwalkers, but the party isn't too far behind, so she isn't alone for long. Adamant actually interposes himself between two baddies and the blink dog which has put itself into direct line of charge from either one. They charge Adamant instead, of course, and he gets the shit beat out of him as usual. One tries to run away, but Jo and Jakara make quick work of it. After piling the bodies off the path, we proceed.
The island not being very large, it's still early afternoon when we make it to a ziggurat next to the wall/rockface of the temple Bliz was talking about. Before we even have time to think, a skinwalker trots around the corner and gives the alarm. A few more run out of their huts and attack as well. Then a tiefling rogue pops around the corner and sneak attacks Jo (ouch). Adamant flies in to take care of him, as we mop up the other dudes. Bliz moves in to cut off his escape and he drops his bow and puts his hands up...too bad it was a feint. He whips out a sword and stabs the shit out of Adamant. The dude runs, Bliz bases him and then Adamant sends him off the plane for a round. That trick never gets less creepy. Jo rounds the corner and sees Adamant bleeding, Urol trying to help and no bad guy. Thinking he's in a hut, she runs over there and is adjacent when the bad guy blinks back onto the plane. Looking rather scared, he calls for parlay. Upon examination, he's sporting some red accessories which leads us to believe he's tied to the Crimson Fleet. Then Bliz (invisible on the other side of him) sneak attacks him anyway. Jo gets pissed, tells Bliz to back off and the guy to start talking. He says he has information about the Fleet and their involvement here and he's got a ledger...and then Adamant lets loose with SIX scorching rays, reducing the guy to a charred corpse. As everyone turns to look at him, he says "What?"
To be continued. All in all...an eventful 17th birthday for Jo. She hasn't told anyone yet, though. She might later when they're camped. She didn't want to jinx herself by being all like, yay it's my birthday, and then getting shwacked by some nasty. It is however, rather significant to her that the night before her birthday, she was graced by the presence of 4 gods, and that on her bday, she went all out with the defiant taboo-breaking and is now standing on the island that none of her people knows anything about other than legends from a millenia ago. No party, no presents, but definitely the most eventful bday of her life so far.
And for the record, just what *is* the past tense of sneak attack? Snuck attack? Sneak attacked? Stabbed the shit out of?
At any rate, I counted and for the session, we drew 21 cards from the crit deck, of which only a couple were from the bad guys. When you've got two weapon fighting, and one of them is a keen rapier (15-20) and the other is a cutlass for which you have Improved Critical (17-20) and a sacred scabbard that lets you Bless Weapon 3 times a day thus confirming all crits on that weapon...this is to be expected. Jo is all about basing and full attacking, and with her boots of speed, that often means 7 attacks. Just call me the Cuisinart.
Next up, we find out what Jo does when she's angry and upset (and boy is she angry at Bliz and Adamant right now). We see if there's any good loot. And then...into the temple, gods help us. Get ready for dungeon crawl mayhem. |
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