Tomb of Annihilation: Episode 12
Head canon is a weird thing, but when it comes to a medium liked shared storytelling it can be pretty important. Having the story make sense in your head helps you get immersed in the grander narrative. That’s why I couldn’t just have two new adventurers show up. They needed to have a story, and at least some reason for joining up with Harden and Torven to create a new adventuring party that could pick up where we left off as players.
The Party:
(Jon) Zorel — Aasimar Paladin
(Terry) Harden — Dwarf Barbarian
(Matt) Grender — Human Wizard
(Stacy) Torven — Lizardfolk Monk/Druid
The Path:
Kir Sabal, Heart of Ubtao
“Life isn’t fair, it’s just fairer than death, that’s all.”
William Goldman — The Princess Bride
The players had completed Cellar of Death, and it was time to fast-forward them to being caught up with the survivors of the original party. I started asking quick-fire questions, and making rolls to find out what happened. What lead did you follow in Port Nyanzaru? Were you allied with the Flaming Fist? Could you trust your guide?
The story began to fall into place. Because Zorel had connections with the Order of the Gauntlet, they decided it would make sense to report to them. Musharib, an albino dwarf, guided them to Camp Vengeance, where they were given the orders of clearing out a gang of pirates in Jahaka Bay. They succeeded, and commandeered a ship for themselves. They headed to Wyrmheart Mine which was connected to Hrakhamar, where Musharib’s people had been kicked out of their ancient home. But they were driven out by a dragon, Tinder, and were forced to retreat to Snapping Turtle Bay. Their ship was destroyed by a dragon turtle, so they had to proceed on foot. They explored north, through the Peaks of Flame and Sky Lizard Mountains, until they arrived at Kir Sabal.
They’d had some victories and defeats, and gained some useful magical items, like a Wand of the War Mage and Adamantine Armour, but some of the group were desperate for rest. It was here, at Kir Sabal, that the two groups met under the watchful gaze of Asharra, the aarakocran leader.
Harden, Torven, Qawasha and Kupalué were met by this new group of Zorel, Grender, Elsbereth, Coberion and Musharib. Qawasha was heartbroken at losing so many of his comrades, and was unable to continue as a guide. Elsbereth was a member of the Emerald Enclave, like him, and they decided to meet with their faction’s leaders to see if they could help with what they’d discovered so far. Coberion was happy to offer his abilities as a protector for Kir Sabal against the marauding gargoyle attacks that had become more frequent. But Zorel, Grender, and Musharib were eager to continue their quest to end the Death Curse. Harden and Torven agreed that they could use capable adventurers like them. And since they had the final ingredient for the Dance of Seven Winds, they decided to share in its effects, and fly together to try and find Omu.
They looked at their map of Chult. With only a few days worth of flight, they’d need to plan a smart route to squeeze the most out of their newfound ability to fly. Harden remembered that they’d seen a floating rock known as the Heart of Ubtao in the centre of Chult. He wanted to investigate it more thoroughly, and now that they could fly, getting up there would be no problem. Zorel and Grender had been without any good leads for some time, so they agreed on this course of action. Without much delay, Asharra had completed the magic ritual, and this new group of adventurers were flying to the west.
“Was she now a goddess or a monster? Perhaps neither. Perhaps both.”
R.F. Kuang — The Poppy War
The party flew over the jungles of Chult, getting to know each other a little more, and discovering why they were adventurers. Zorel was very keen to do good and rid the jungle of evil, while Grender seemed much more willing to bend the rules to get his way. The group’s new guide, Musharib, was overjoyed at the idea of travelling with a dwarf. He warmed to Harden instantly, laughing at his jokes and fawning over his exploits.
After a couple days of flight, they arrived at a massive chunk of earth and rock hovering a hundred feet above the swampy ground, with a petrified tree towering above the stone and red liquid dripping from the roots. A carved staircase led to small cave mouth.
Harden and Torven had heard tales of how the people of Chult believed this was the “Heart of Ubtao” and would seek it out to receive visions and connect on a deeper level with their lost god, Ubtao. Harden wanted to investigate the tree at the top level, while Grender was eager to run into the cave and start throwing spells around. Zorel diplomatically offered to accompany Harden to the tree, while Grender and Torven could go through the cave mouth.
Grender and Torven stealthily crept to the cave mouth and peered in. They saw a musty cave, dimly lit by the sun filtering through the hollow petrified tree above. In the centre of the cave was a pool of dirty rainwater and some natural pillars formed from the roots of the tree. But there were also signs of life inside — bookcases, a desk, and several wooden crates. The cave stretched a bit further into some side rooms, but before they could get there, they were approached by the occupant of the cave — a smiling, elven woman who introduced herself as Valindra. Grender, Torven, and Valindra began to converse about what they were doing. They discovered quickly that they shared an interest in the death curse found in Chult. Valindra was a scholarly wizard who had been studying the curse from her books, while Grender and Torven had done some firsthand research of their own. They amicably chatted and shared what they knew.
Up above, Harden and Zorel examined the petrified tree as Musharib acted as their lookout. A swarm of bats harmlessly flew out of the hollow tree, but it caused enough noise to make them think carefully. They could see their compatriots talking with someone, and figured it was best to stay stealthy for now. Harden wasn’t the quietest man around, but Zorel was even worse with his heavy armour clanging around with every movement. Harden softly flew down and peered into the cave. It didn’t look out of the ordinary, until he saw a large iron cage in the corner. It took a second, but he recognized the occupants on a second look — Artus Cimber and Dragonbait.
Artus and Dragonbait were good, true heroes who had helped the party on their way earlier. Harden thought that if they were imprisoned, then he needed to help. And he needed to somehow warn Grender and Torven that they were in danger. He motioned to Artus to keep quiet, and beckoned Zorel to come into the cave to help him.
Valindra was becoming more engaged with Torven and Grender, as they were speaking on what they’d heard of the Soulmonger, and how she believed it resided in Omu. A large smattering of metal was then heard, as Zorel’s armour brushed against something, and Valindra turned around to see what was going on. Seeing that their plan to remain out of sight was over, Harden tried to de-escalate the situation. He bellowed loudly about why they had Artus and Dragonbait locked in a cage, as he could vouch for their just nature.
Valindra kept her composure. She explained that these two had been caught snooping around and trying to steal from her, so she locked them up. Harden didn’t trust her. He rolled a Wisdom (Insight) check, but couldn’t pierce her veil. He remained skeptical. Torven tried to invite Artus into the conversation, who tried to subtly hint that he made a mistake stealing from her and that he “saw red” the moment he laid eyes on her. He continued trying to drop some hints as to who Valindra really was.
This time I had Torven roll a Wisdom (Insight) check to see if he could glean what Artus meant. He rolled high, and it dawned on Torven that Artus was trying to say that Valindra was a Red Wizard of Thay.
What transpired next was an awkward negotiation between the party and Valindra. Artus beckoned them not to upset her, as she was quite powerful. Harden wanted to get them out of the cage. Zorel wanted proper justice to be served. Torven tried to keep anyone from fighting. And Grender tried to find out more about what she knew of Omu. Valindra was amused by the whole display.
Eventually they came to an agreement. Valindra would let them take Artus and Dragonbait, but once the party made it to Omu, they were to meet her contact there, and help them however they could. Valindra didn’t care either way what the party did, she was simply hoping they would weaken some of Omu’s defences until she could make it to the city herself. She was in fact a lich, using magic to alter her appearance to look like an elf. Now she had some time to come up with a strategy.
With that, the party was off to Omu. Artus knew the way to Omu, and led them there as quickly as he could. They had had a vision at Orolunga and needed to be on there way, so they couldn’t stay. But he and Dragonbait accompanied them until they arrived at the city, and gave them all the advice they could.
Previous: Episode 11
Next: Episode 13
