Daughter and Mother Rising (14th of First Harvest - 1st of First Stores, Rose: 47)

In defeating the Merrow in their own lair, the party found a secret passageway behind a large statue. That passageway was dark and sloped downward, deeper; instead of stairs, there was a swooping track that edged right and left as a deep groove for fish-like bodies.  With their magical light cast upon a stone, the party descended and witnesses bass-reliefs carved into the stone walls. It was a story of the Merrow's exodus from the home of the Merfolk, and the eventual splintering of their clans. And then they wandered into a small cave of wonders.

Enormous clam shells lay open spilling over with gold, silver, and platinum coins. There were old chests recovered from surface-dwellers that laid here as well, filled to the brim with treasure, jewelry, gems, and other sparklies. Fine tapestries lined the floor and adorned some of the walls. And in the center abrupt against the wall, a 9' tall ivory statue of a deity - the room obviously organized to present tribute to the mighty god - and He watched over it with a greedy eye.

The statue was that of a man with a fish-like bottom-half, a male human torso, but the head of a sperm whale; behind his head were eight large tentacles like that of an octopus and in this representation looking more like thick dreadlocks. The creatures arms and hands were outstretched as to accept the bounty before Him.

Not exactly adventuring newbies, the party was smart enough to immediately decree nobody - no one - was to touch the treasure. It could be trapped. Tolman the Halfling performed and inspection yet didn't find any of the clam shells or trunks of treasures closed, locked, nor trapped; Siegride cast Detect Magic to find anything of spiritual and magical influence (only the statue of the god itself radiated a faint glow - it was of the Abjuration School of Magic - and none of the treasure or its contents radiated enchantment); and Gorbash the dwarf guarded the entrance to the treasure trove as the party did its investigation.

Thinking only of kindness, Elan contributed some gold coins onto a pile of tribute. Later, she may have come to regret that decision (and may have even scooped back up the coins), but I'm not sure. Meanwhile, Dru the Pseudodragon, the tiny companion to Ma'yah, sniffed the air in some delight. Then left her to prance over a pile of gold. Then the tiny dragon flipped over, rubbing itself in the gold like a dog might some smell in the yard. It made pleasurable cooing noises and curled up like a cat on a heat pad. At scale, it kind of looked like Dru was an awesome red dragon on top of a mountain of treasure, and the dragon probably probably liked it that way.

From the main anti-chamber, a single Merrow approached Gorbash who was guarding the door. He was an older Merrow and not with a buff physique of a soldier. He bore a white tapestry slung between both of his arms in a gesture of peace. He approached the dwarf and asked for conference with him and his companions. Gorbash allowed him in and he slithered down to meet the rest of the party.

"I am Kay-Den-Nay," the old Merrow proclaimed, "I have been dispatched by my Queen to negotiate your terms. And I was under the impression you were interested in a different sort of treasure than this."

The party conversed with Kay-Den-Nay who spoke fluent and articulate Common. He was the clan's academic, a scholar and elder, an advisor to the Queen. When asked, he named the god in the room - Pah-Ka-Steel - the Dark Deceiver, the Liar, the Corruption. Obviously, Kay-Den-Nay was no fan of this deity and he explained the story written on to the wall. He said that the Merrow were Merfolk in the beginning, that they were beautiful and artistic, cultured, but long ago, an idol was drug up from the deepest depths of the sea (pointing to the large idol in the room). It was a god, and it came to influence the thinking of his ancestors. This entity promised riches, wealth, power - a path to stave off the growing influence of surface dwellers who were trolling their seas, spoiling their resources, eating their fish. This entity promised longer life for the Merfolk. It wasn't long before the faction that followed Pah-Ka-Steel were exorcized from the Merfolk colonies and a great exodus occurred. Over time, mutations were introduced into the gene pool that turned Kay-Den-Nay's people (and the animals that dwelled with them like the shark-dogs) into twisted horrific mutants that fostered resentment, anger, and malice towards those who lived on the surface of the water. For generations they attacked ships and killed innocents.

"It was He," Kay-Den-Nay said, thrusting an accusing finger to the statue, "that transformed us. We were once beautiful. We are now monstrosities. But we are of our own making."

Further, Kay-Den-Nay was not sore towards the party for killing his countrymen, replying, "Does the cuttlefish resent the eel? No. The cuttlefish are as they are - prey. The eels are as they are - hunters. It's the way of things." He did desire to reach a compromise and his Queen had sent him to do so, at much distain from other elders. He convinced his Queen to allow him an audience with the intruders. "The Queen is of two minds. One mind is that of a grieving mother who lost her son today. That mind is erratic, chaotic, blood-thirsty, and full of revenge. The other mind is that of a monarch who wishes to protect her people. Currently, the latter mind commands her reason." Inasmuch, Kay-Den-Nay offered to bring the books taken from The Gentle Current to the party in exchange for their immediate departure. He lead the party back to the large anti-chamber where the books - 20 water-tight trunks tied together in three columns with a mesh of slick seaweed - were waiting.

"I hadn't time to open the cases," he explained, "and all should be intact."

Regular Merrow citizens were lined in a cavern away from the large anti-chamber - men, women, children, all of them mutated in some form or another, they watched as the party gathered up the books and dragged them ... they were slick from water and the vines, and could be drug easily across the stone floor.

Kay-Den-Nay lead them through a temple area where there were more reliefs on the walls and more statues dedicated to Pah-Ka-Steel. It was at this time in conversing with Kay-Den-Nay, in witnessing more of the reliefs and statues, and in receiving angry stares from Merrow clerical devotees, that Siegride recognized that Pah-Ka-Steel was a Tempest God, of the same domain of her own deity, Isthmeria. A sinking feeling came to her, and she stopped, withdrew her grimoire from her cloak, and started flipping through the pages.

Her Grimoire was the sum knowledge of certain demons that she had encountered. Her order collects that knowledge into Grimoires that are maintained at their various temples and holy places. She had spent many, many hours copying information from those tombs into her own Grimoire, and she was looking for the expression Pah-Ka-Steel, to determine the True Name of ...

"Agloolik!", he breathed, and read the True Name under her breath. "I knew it! Why am I running into this thing all the time?" She explained privately and quietly to Kay-Den-Nay that knowledge of the True Name could temporarily banish the demon from the prime material plane, and she taught he Merrow how to say the True Name. Kay-Den-Nay was truly gracious and thanked her. He said that such knowledge could change the course of destiny for his people, and Siegride told him that she could be found at the sanctuary in Sphant, should this entity be encountered again, and to come and find her.

The party was escorted to an enormous bolder that once moved aside revealed a tunnel that lead up a long slope through a network of caves. Kay-Den-Nay said that the secret passage would lead more towards the center of the island, and the party could head west to the colony of lizard folk.

After a long walk the party finally emerged from an open pit covered by thick brambles. The leaves of the plants and trees here were abnormally large, almost primeval. The insects massive. The flowers as big as their heads. It was if they just stepped backwards in time to a place not made civilized by humans.

The party pushed westward lead by Elan the Ranger. She said it would be a four to five hour march to the colony, dragging the columns of books. They cut their way to the west, but, what was to happen next was a flurry of blood, bashing, and battery.

Three Hook Horrors emerged from the swampy badlands! Their menacing hooks ripped at the foliage and tore away trees and vines and other obstacles.  They screeched wildly and shook their heads, their eyes useless and relying entirely on their sense of echolocation. As the party engaged, they arranged themselves in a way that would allow them to take on this new adversary when - suddenly - a giant maw erupted from the green and snatched at one of the Hook Horrors! It lifted the body some fifteen feet above the ground where another lizard-like head came and snatched at its lower half, eating it, and nearly ripping it in two!

An enormous figure emerged from the swamp with the body of a stocky brontosaurus and seven swirling heads with vicious teeth!

"A hydra!", announced Vongur to Gorbash; Vongur was an amulet of an old dwarf hanging around Gorbash's neck. "Look out boy! If you cut off one of its heads, two more will grow back!"

[DM's Note: At this point, I should have allowed the hydra a surprise round but I forgot about it and it didn't attack the party until the second round, wasting at least five other attacks it could have made with Advantage on that round. Plus, when I reduced the number of Hook Horrors, I brought the overall challenge rating from "deadly" to "difficult" - I should have replenished the Horrors and brought a few more into melee to really make a stronger impact. Also, I spread the hydra's multiple attacks around to multiple PC targets rather than focusing in on just one target, which spread the damage rather than concentrate it. To make matters worse, the hydra rolled poorly after a while and missed its attacks. Finally, during the second round, I forgot to allow one of the Hook Horrors to attack. Overall, I botched the melee which could have been more fierce than what it was. So it could have been much worse, okay? It could have been. Yeah.]

Gorbash rushed the Hydra and took some mighty swings at it. Ma'yah cast a spell then Misty Stepped (teleported) thirty feet away from the Hydra; Llewellyn evoked a song that created a Chromatic Orb and sent it hurling at the monster, and it exploded in a firey mess! The thing screeched in agony and pain, and one of the heads fell limp, and a new head didn't grow back. The party had discovered the creature's inherent weakness! "Fire!", yelled Llew. "Use fire against it! Fireball it, Ma'yah!"

Melissa (Ma'yah's player) shrugged. "I CAN'T! I didn't memorize Fireball! You guys told me not to fireball the ship!"

(And there was a collective groan at the table).

Melee with the Hydra and Horrors was, in fact, "difficult". Gorbash took the brunt of a double attack from the hydra that rolled a critical hit. It moved into a position that would allow its heads to attack multiple PC targets and started trying to attack them, too. Some PC's were bit, and when Siegride was hit, a lightning bolt erupted and electrocuted the beast - retribution from her deity, smashing into its body.

All of the PC's were engaged with the Hydra or the remaining two Hook Horrors until, finally, all of the things were dispatched. The party was hurt but not down, so they pressed on westward until they came to a forest grove overlooking the ocean. It was dusk. A parliament of ravens took to the trees nearby, and the party recollected the creepy ravens that attacked them last year when they were exploring the White Stands - the haunted arctic forest - and made jokes about buttered ravens (the meal that was served after said battle when Tolman used an infinite supply of butter from Brandyford's Endless Buttercrock to make a delicious meal out of their corpses).  Still, they made camp there. Llew cast Lemund's Tiny Hut which created a force dome for comfortable, safe, easy camping. They made food and posted watches through the night.

On Gorbash's watch, around 11:30pm, he was peering into the dark, windy, rainy night from the comfort of the magical dome. With his darkvision, he could make out the natural shadows of trees blowing in the wind. Then, his eye caught something. A shadow, one even darker than all of the other shadows, of a human, on the outskirts of the camp, slowly walking the parameter. Grabbing his weapons, Gorbash exited the dome and into the night air, rain pelting him, and Gorbash called out to the sulky shade.

The shadow seemed to be that of a human with a large, black, brimmed hat and dark cloak. Gorbash couldn't see his legs or torso or face, but could make out its black form enough to see that it stopped, turned, and faced Gorbash. Its black form stopped. Gorbash couldn't make any facial features out. He called out again for the shadow to state its name and explain what it was doing around here.

It said nothing. The shade just ominously faced Gorbash and made no sound whatsoever. It then, slowly, took a step backwards and as it did, from the shadow two, black, shadowy-sharp rapier-looking blades emerged in a lowered cross: a dueling or sword-fighting position as if to portray a defensive maneuver. Still, the stranger said nothing.

Recognizing that the shadow had now armed itself, Gorbash stepped forward and brandished his own weapon when - suddenly - the shade burst into a hundred black ravens that rushed skyward and past Gorbash and into the night sky. Gorbash shrugged and returned to the Hut; Vongur simply remained asleep during the whole ordeal.

Others took watch that evening and the shade didn't seem to return.

It was now the 1st of First Stores, Rose: 47. In the early morning, there was a deep cloud cover and mist over the island. Siegride announced that she wanted to visit the lizard colony and warn them about the possibility they could be attacked by the cultists of Takhisis who attacked Sunrock Abbey in Sphant last Cycle. She asked for volunteers to come with her to the colony. Tolman, Ma'yah, Elan, and Llew said that they would join her, while Tamroohk and Gorbash said they'd stay behind and watch after the books they recovered from the Merrow's lair.

It took about an hour for the party to close in on the colony, but as they did, they immediately thought something was amiss. They could smell smoke. They could hear screams. As the fog and mist parted, they were on a cliff-side, and could see the colony. It was on fire; there were lizard people running in all directions; they could make out three Black Ships off the coast, and small dots of dingys filled with men mounting a raid on the coast!

Siegride recognized that her fears were warranted and she clinched her fist. "Of course! The first of the Cycle! Just like last time. They're attacking during specific lunar phases! Both Daughter and Mother* were in the sky! We're too late!"

[*DM's Note: Added a little content here that was spoken after the game - Daughter and Mother are the twin moons of Shae Tahrane].

The party readied their weapons, and Tolman called into existence his magical owl familiar. He wrote out a note to the Dwarves to tell them to hurry to the colony and handed to the owl.

The owl politely accepted the paper note and ate it.

Tolman then wrote out another note and told the owl not to eat it (which the owl, already full, accepted), and it flew off with the note towards the dwarves.

At thirty men a ship, Elan counted, there could easily be at least a hundred pirates - conscripts of the clerics of Tahkesis - attacking the lizard colony!

But the party was split up! It would take the Dwarves at least thirty minutes at a dead run to get to the edge of the colony, but by then it may be too late! What are our adventurers to do?! Should Siegride, Elan, Tolman, and Llew confront the evil clerics and their pirate forces alone without their fighting-powerhouse-tanking-dwarves? Wait until they arrive? Scout the situation? And what about the dwarves?! AND who was that weird, ominous shadow-thing?! WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?!

Well, we'll find out soon enough, true believers! Tune in next time!

R