A New Friend

Another entry from Kyla Cox.

The group, still recovering from their encounter with the raptors, is awoken during the night by the sound of someone running through the jungle towards them. It doesn't take long for the source of the sound to reveal itself: a tiefling Druid, named Chance, being chased through the wildnerness by a pack of angry goblins. A pack of angry goblins from the village the group was searching for, no less!

The would-be killers were quickly routed save for two prisoners. They didn't have much to offer in the way of information. They ranted something about "undead will eat humans, and then Bhatiri will rule" (much to the conternation of the party's human members). They revealed the location of their village and that their queen, Queen Grabstab, carried the amulet to make the construct work. They also mentioned something about ants.

That would prove to be important later.

New found friend Chance in tow, the group soon came upon the village. It wasn't much to look at: a few ramshackle huts, an empty cage of to one side, and ant hills along the other edges. There was also a tree bent low so its top almost touching the ground for some reason. It was quiet at first as the group approached.

At least until Jane attempted to plug the anthill s with honey from the Jug of Alchemy. Then things got very loud. And very violent. Remy and Jane soon had their second brush with death in one day. Jane would have died if not for a quick intervention.

Goblins emerged from the huts, carrying their possessions as if about to flee for their lives. It was only then that the team noticed the rope tied to the tree. The rope that was also looped around the village like a giant slingshot. Some quick thinking (and even quicker talking) defused the trouble. The team left one way, medallion in hand. The goblins?

The goblins left the other way, at high speed, when Jane triggered their slingshot trap.

A few days' trip downstream back to Port Nyanzaru, and the group spent some time gearing up for their return to the wilderness. For their trouble, the casters in the group were gifted a wizard's spellbook chock-full of useful spells for them.

...And Games!

Once more, curtosy of Kyla Cox!

The temple itself proved a problem for the group at the start. Between spike traps spearing anyone trying to make their way down the main hallway, and a pit trap right smack dab in the middle of the ground, our heroes took a few bumps and bruises along the way. The key to avoiding the danger came from their gladiator friend, Taban. He regaled them with a folk story of a man who caried a crocodile on his back after a deal to cross a river.

Being short of crocodiles, the group improvised the next best thing: Remi standing on Brynne's shoulders. Despite their bickering, the duo managed to solve every puzzle and trap left between them and whatever treasure lurked at the heart of the temple. The first impression wasn't much to look at: a sealed jug of some kind. But it wasn't just a jug. It could create any sort of liquid its owners requested, as Remy found out when she asked for some beer.

Returning outside, the group rummaged through the ruins of Camp Righteous for any more clues on Artus and where he may have gone. The road led only to Camp Vengeance and the military outpost there. They rowed upriver for a few days to the gates of Camp Vengeance in search of answers. All they found was a garrison under siege by the undead and an exhausted group of soldiers.

The commander, a pompous windbag if ever there was one, quicky press-ganged our heroes into serving as a scouting party in the woods. Artus was gone, last seen heading west of the camp and seemingly veryconfident about his ability to survive the jungle alone. The group, in a show of cunning, quickly used their "scouting" mission to also check on the construct they were hunting for Wakanga back at Port Nyanzaru.

After a few mishaps involing giant spiders (and a stegosaurus nearly trampling Brynne during an attempt at befriending it), the group then ran across a Cyclops making his way through the woods. Despite no one speaking Giant (and the cyclops not speaking Common), they did manage to get quite a bit of information from him before he set out to find his family. Namely, a reference to a medusa with a connection to the lost capital city of Omu. The same city Artus had been searching for...

Trouble, however, reared its head when the group managed to locate the construct. It came in the form of a pack of velociraptors. A pack of velociraptors with Pack Tactics. They quickly tore through both Brynne and Jane, and only luck (and the raptors' cowardice at being stabbed) kept them from killing Remy as well.

The group, exhausted from their close brush with death, chose to rest for the night at the construct. They'd found half their prize. Now for the other half...