Tomb of Annihilation: Episode 9
For a big stretch of this adventure, certain elements can start to feel the same. You roll some dice, you play your random encounter, you uncover a new hex of the map. Rinse, repeat. There are at least two good ways to not let your players get bogged down in the familiar pace: change it up, or skip it all together. With so much travel in this adventure, just read your players and see what’s appropriate for them to keep them engaged. I started our session off with some new, player-driven narration techniques, but when I can tell they just want to get to where they are going, I can just hand-wave the travel and get them to the fun parts.
The Party:
(Jon) Alathar — Half-elf Bard
(Terry) Harden — Dwarf Barbarian
(Matt) Illiyum — Gnome Illusionist
(Stacy) Torven — Lizardfolk Monk/Druid
The Path:
Mezro, Kir Sabal
“It’s like knowing your way through the forest. You don’t keep the whole forest in your mind, but wherever you are, you know where to go next.”
Ken Follett — The Pillars of the Earth
After uncovering clues about The Forbidden City of Omu, the party was eager to find out more. They departed Mezro by way of the Ataaz Muhaha (where they suffered through a pointless encounter that I’d recommend skipping), and continued south down the River Olung. I had each player narrate how their characters attempted to overcome an obstacle during their travels using one of their skills. This made the journey more involved than simply rolling dice and looking at random encounter tables. For example, Alathar tried to keep everyone’s spirits up with a classic bardic tale, and Harden tried to get the canoe unstuck with his brute force. Based on how many successes they had, I set up a variety of combat encounters they’d have to go through at the end. They didn’t end up doing very well (in-universe; out-of-universe it was very fun), so they had to fight a Tyrannosaurus Zombie that vomited out undead minions.
Nevertheless, they managed to safely make it to Kir Sabal, the ancient mountaintop monastery of the Aarakocra people. They were welcomed by Nephyr, who remembered them from their daring rescue at Firefinger. They mentioned that they were looking for Omu, and Nephyr said he would take them to their wise leader, Asharra, as she would know how to help.
One thing my players really liked was when I revealed a bunch of hidden hexagons surrounding Kir Sabal. I said since they were so high up, they could now scout out the area. I was shocked at how intrigued they were by the newly revealed map. It didn’t even give them much, but even hinting at what was around was enough to get their imaginations going.
The party could see that the aarakocra were very ritualistic and strict. Every birdfolk modestly performed religious rites, and did menial chores. The party was expected to do their fair share while they stayed under the hospitality of the birdfolk, which they did. After a day, they were rested, washed, fed, and ready to meet Asharra.
But first a little human boy wandered into their room, and began to marvel at Harden’s bushy beard. Illiyum tried to interact with the boy, but he wanted to play. He was dressed up as an aarakocra. Illiyum tried to pry a little bit into why he was in Kir Sabal, but soon another human entered. This time, a teenage girl came in and chastised the little boy for running off. She ushered him out, caught a quick glimpse of dreamy Alathar, and tried to hide a smile before she scurried off.
When they finally met Asharra, she was talking to the human children, but dismissed them before she approached the party. Harden began to expand on their adventures, and how they were on the hunt to find Omu. Asharra’s interest was piqued, and she asked whether they had spoken to those human children about Omu. Torven was adamant that they had not, which pleased Asharra. She said lying was not permissible in Kir Sabal, so she appreciated their honesty. She beckoned them not to bother the humans with their problems, or mention Omu at all to them.
Illiyum wanted to know more about these humans, and Asharra explained that they were former royals of Chult who were being protected by the Aarakocra. Illiyum’s Wisdom (Insight) check told him that this seemed plausible, as they didn’t seem kidnapped per se, but perhaps the full story wasn’t there. It wasn’t really his business though, and he didn’t press further.
Asharra said she had met with Nephyr, who told her of how brave the party was. She couldn’t take them to Omu, but she could point them in the right direction — and even better, she could make it much easier to get there. If the party so desired, she would perform the Dance of the Seven Winds, and grant them the ability to fly for a handful of days (I kept it vague so I could keep them flying for as long as it was beneficial to the pacing of the adventure). They could avoid the dangers of the jungle and cut straight to Omu. All she needed from the party was a final ingredient — a black orchid — to complete the complex ritual.
This sounded like a great deal to the party, and they accepted. Alathar meekly asked where they could find a black orchid, half-joking that it was maybe just a short jaunt down to the river. Asharra explained that the only place she knew that would have one of these rare petals was the great garden of Nangalore. It was a few miles south, and had been built for the Omuan queen Zalkoré. The garden was now cursed, overrun with dangerous plants and creatures that could kill those who were unprepared. Zephyr offered to accompany them, hoping to repay them for his rescue. And with Qawasha and Kupalue in tow, they made for a strong fellowship of adventurers.
Before they could leave, the teenage human girl found Alathar on his own. She remarked about how important she was, a princess in fact, and that it was crazy for her to talk to someone as lowly as an adventurer. Alathar was offended, but couldn’t help but reply with charming aloofness. He discovered that she was Mwaxanaré, the oldest living descendant of the royal families of Omu. Her family was killed and she and her brother, Na, were rescued by the aarakocra. Soon enough she would get to rightfully rule her people once again.
“I’m sure the people are hungry for my rule,” she said, “but I’m stuck here in Kir Sabal. I need you to help me.”
The way she said “you” frightened Alathar. She sounded possessive of him already, even though she’d only met him a couple minutes ago. Alathar said how they were going to be back soon, after getting a black orchid so they could fly and try to find Omu.
Mwaxanaré was delighted. She could take them to Omu, she knew how to find it. She could even perform the Dance of the Seven Winds herself. Then she could go and get the Skull Chalice of Ch’gakare back “for the good of Chult.”
She begged Alathar that when he came back, he would take her (and Na) with them. She even put her arms around him and got intimately close. Alathar felt in over his head, and gave a flimsy promise as he hustled over to find the rest of his team.
He told them about Princess Mwaxanaré’s offer. The group was intrigued. Having someone so connected to Omu might help a lot, but the aarakocra had treated them well so far. It felt wrong to go against them. Torven especially didn’t want to turn his back on people who had been so nice to them.
Illiyum figured it was best to discuss on the canoe-ride back to Kir Sabal, once they’d retrieved the black orchid. So Alathar gulped his feelings down and got into the canoe with the rest of the team. Soon they were paddling toward Nangalore down the River Olung.
What awaited them there was something more terrifying than they realized. For if they had known, then they would understand it was highly unlikely all of them would be coming back.
Previous: Episode 8
Next: Episode 10
