Session One Hundred and Forty-Six Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall)

Session 146, August 2 2023

Introduction

We continue at 6:00PM on the 3rd day of the Winter Holiday (00.000.08.32 on the Apocalypse Clock) with the party placing an offering on the Saint's Island shrine just off the coast of the beach where Enzo the fisherman lives. The party has spent the day with Enzo, who continues to be agreeable and rowed them out to the island twice. It seems the shrine is dedicated to the Matriarchs, specifically Feldma, and the party hopes that some blessing will occur at sunset. After that, based on Enzo's advice, the group plans to head south down the coast toward Shemm in their search for a ship. Will the items offered to Feldma be blessed? Is Enzo a cursed sharkman like the one Druul halfway remembers from tales around Armada? Is there a ship to be had near Shemm -- which may not even exist anymore? Find out next time; or maybe not.

Larry's Summary

Put a portion of a candle in the depression and light it and put a drip of it in the depression and the candle on it under the altar.

Velkin lays the roc claw necklace on the altar.

Druul puts the engraved ring with C.S. from inside his lute.

Velkin puts herbs on the altar.

Thorfus puts his spyglass on the altar.

Kauri puts empty pot for the healing water.

Renthark put stone bracer on altar.

One map of the surface and one map of the underdark.

Kauri - Silver Flame on chain for necklace and back says "Praise the Matriarchs."

Velkin - Silver Flame on chain for necklace and back says "Praise the Matriarchs."

Velkin sits in front of the altar.

Thorfus stands quietly hoping something happens that will help us.

Kauri, Druul, and Renthark

Sun sets behind the statues.

Sun falls to horizon, lighting up the ocean, red and fading.

The sun is right between the two of the four figures in the middle.

As the last bit of light disappears we hear Enzo muttering.

There is a cracking noise and a flash of light near the altar.

Druul, Kauri, and Renthark all failed on a saving throw, Thorfus and Velkin succeeds.

There is an explosion as statues and altar with splinter of rock. 9 HP of damage, half for those that saved.

Everyone is injured, but still conscious.

Our stuff goes flying around the island. The candle continues burning.

We begin searching for our stuff, working together using continual light coins.

The statues themselves are destroyed. Mostly blew out backwards, away from us.

The candle is still burning where the altar used to be.

We are able to find our items, most does not go very far.

We can hear Enzo swearing and hear a splash and his head appears asking what happened.

There are divots in the depression.

Kauri looks around with his mask and we lay out the items.

The spyglass, ring, roc claw necklace, map of the surface, and stone bracer, he puts to one side. They have a glow to them.

The herbs, blood, jug, and map of the underdark, and the two amulets off to the other side. He doesn't see anything on them.

Picking up the jug and it is sloshing around.

We look at the map of the surface and lay it out. (The one with all the Khels on it.)

Still a map of Curabel and in addition to marks for the Khels, there is a golden mark almost on top of Feldmark on Cresent island. There are no other new marks on the map.

Thorfus looks through his spyglass, looking to shore and sees the group near Enzo's hut. I can smell cooked fish and can hear them talking.

Lambertus, "Guys, was that an explosion?" The rest of them are looking.

Felix, "It's not too surprising they are messing around with the shrine."

"Let's eat more fish before Enzo gets back."

Velkin puts on the Roc Claw Necklace. Nothing seems to happen. Velkin thinks of the necklace.

Thorfus suggests, "Maybe you can fly?"

Velkin starts hopping around the island.

Druul puts on his ring. Druul looks at his hand and says, "I don't feel any diffferent."

Thorfus says, "Maybe you can finally play a decent song."

Druul - The ballad of Xenilum Khel? Thorfus - Yeah.

Druul starts playing noodling at the strings, doing scales. It sounds good. Did I sound better? Nah?

Thorfus - Maybe it'll help you play one of those complicated songs?

Druul - tries playing one of those, and his playing seems smoother on these more complicated songs. He says, Maybe?

Check out the candle. It is still burning. It isn't building up wax. Velkin feels that it is hot.

Velkin holds up the candle and looks through the light of the candle at each person and their items. Nothing looks different, nor does the circle of illumination.

Renthark has mostly been poking through the rubble. He has been staring at the items, and suddenly he says, those herbs, which ones are they? Supposed to be henbane. From Borthan?

Those look like the herbs Borthan used. The ones that let us look different places?

It looks like there is enough to do one pot for three people.

Is it possible to use 1/3 of it for one person?

Renthark knew this stuff better than I. I believe you must brew an entire pot, but Borthan would know for sure.

Thorfus suggested three places: Feldmark, The city with the underdark, Serpent Isle (last place of the Dragons), and we should think of 6 more places.

We hope to find a gem but find none.

The bases of the statues are still there, planted and still there. No writing, and jagged remains of bottom of statues. Bases are anchored into the island. Different stone than the island.

Enzo asks if we have all of our stuff and are ready to head back.

Enzo asks if these were the demonic forces you mentioned?

Thorfus said, not it was the Mothers.

I thought they were on our side. They are, it used the last bit of their power.

Enzo asks if we're ready to head back?

Thorfus asks if they left any fish for Enzo.

Lambertus asks what happened. We put items on the altar and waited for sundown and it exploded.

Felix asks Enzo how long the statues have been there. Personally, I think Enzo is 200 years old and the statues explode when the party shows up.

We let them know about what happened.

Ithirialma is interested in the map, and is disappointed it wasn't the underdark map.

I guess the idea of going to Crescent Isle isn't a bad idea after all.

Velkin agrees to go out fishing with Enzo.

Enzo rows out to point where they will fish and cast the net.

Thorfus uses his spyglass to observe and can both see and hear the talk.

Enzo has a whole system and method and really knows what he's doing.

He does pretty well and has a good number of fish. Velkin sees beneath the water and it is almost uncanny that there is a fat bunch of fish where the net lands. There are bigger fish like herd dogs herding the fish into a group by circling.

Velkin gets a turn and points where to throw it, where the bigger fish are heading the smaller ones.

Velkin says, you really are a friend of the fish. I don't know if they'd all agree, pointing to the ones in the boat.

On shore we let the fire burn out as we did the prior night.

Velkin mentions the bigger fish seem like they're helping us a little bit.

Enzo scrunches up his eyes, "You see something down there?"

What do they look like? Bigger fish?

I was going to suggest we hop in the water for a swim, but maybe another time.

Velkin grabs a fish and is says I can't breathe. You're airboarding me! I'll talk. What are those big fish. Sharks!

Thorfus shouts, Carcus, where are you? Velkin hears, but can't make it out.

As Velkin starts to toss it back, it says, no! I told you what I knew!

Enzo, says, what out, they're slippery.

Maybe we'll catch a shark.

Velkin says that Druul told him something about shark shaman?

Enzo, they have shamen? I don't know, let's fish more and maybe I'll remember.

Shark man, not shark priest, that's what it was? Some story Druul heard back in armada.

There may be sharks in the water right now. I'm pretty confident I've never run into any shark men, definitely not around here.

You blew things up close by, not where I live, so that's OK. It seems like you guys are trying to do something about these devils, or whatever they are. If it's true what you say about the world ending. That seems like something worth fighting for. I wish you luck and help you find your ship.

Velkin asked about the devilfish speaking in his head? Enzo, I guess there could be fish shamen.

Have you ever run across any of those devilfish again? There's a couple factions. Some want to wipe out surface life. So they're in league with the devils? Not necessarily, some of them might work with them.

Enzo asks how you tell them apart? Thorfus shouts, "Don't tell them!" But Velkin can't hear him.

Ever hear of Dagon? Yeah. He had a girlfriend Lysander and when Lysander died supposedly the devilfish are her scales. Oh, I've not heard that.

On Thorfus and Renthark's watch Thorfus finds the boat and hears Enzo telling a story about a big fish that got away.

Renthark calls out that he heard something a buzzing that is getting louder.

Thorfus wakes up Ithirialma and Philomanthraxus. As I do so it sounds like someone dropped a suit of armor and lots of buzzing then more clanging. Perhaps there is a large number of armored people with something that buzzes.

You're invisible maybe you should check. Ithirialma says, I'll come with you to the tree line.

Thorfus peeks through his spyglass and doesn't see or hear anything.

Try to lose invisible if you get in trouble as it will be hard to find you.

Slowly move forward. Brush is thick, a bit of a push to get in. Not the same as the trail we came in on.

Break through underbrush into the canopy of trees. Don't see anything. There is a truncated buzz off to the right. Not picking up anything with infravision.

Thorfus waits to see if he hears anything. Less than 5 minutes there is a loud buzzing, it sounds different. The pitch of the buzz is different. It is pretty loud. There is a kind of a wheel. There is a high-pitched squeaking almost in time with the buzz.

About 20 yards along, trees with signs that something nearby crashed into them.

Looks like a dip in ground up ahead. As Thorfus peaks into the gully, there is a shiny, giant hornet, stuck on it's side, with a kind of buzzing. It is shiny because it is metallic. It is squirming on the ground.

Its movement drives into the side of the gully and then it goes still.

Thorfus says in ancient dwarven and asked if it needs some help.

It goes quiet and wing in the air buzzes and it just digs deeper.

If you keeps doing that, you'll just bury yourself.

Thorfus goes and tells Ithirialma what he found, then goes and retrieves the scepter from Druul.

Uses a charge and asks if it can hear him now.

Weak, need food, energy? What kind of energy?

It grows in the field in Elysium. On Xenotel? Maybe, it was our home, then something happened, then nothing to eat, hungry.

Do you want some help.

Thorfus uses his shield to move the dirt and mud away.

It is pretty beat up, pieces bent and dented. Not just from digging.

Other than a couple twitches it stays put.

Thorfus helps lifting. The trapped wing is bent at a bad angle. It just collapsed, slumped on its legs.

Thorfus gets Ithirialma and guides her back to the hornet.

It doesn't react to Ithirialma. Yeah this doesn't look very good.

I'd say this is ancient dwarven. I'd say it eats transpatial energy. If we carry it with us, maybe we can feed it the DVLs we encounter.

We go get Philomanthraxus and we drag him all the way back.

What is your name? No name. Would you like one? I fear it won't matter much. I'll call you "Buzz". Very well.

We ask Kauri about how to feed it transpatial energy. Tik Tok is not on the menu.

Philanthraxus says, if someone wants to come with me we can start constructing a travois for when we leave. Peronell goes with him.

Felix casts a cure light using his own blood

Kauri confirms there is a burst of energy but Buzz doesn't seem to notice. Thorfus said we tried. There's a little bit not much. I don't see it, I feel it. The antennas twitch in the direction of Kauri.

Buzz says I just want to go home. Something bad happened, falling, there was still food but then people like you came.

Thorfus asks Caspar to take a look. This is amazing. It is far beyond my abilities. Maybe if I had a forge to work with, I could fix some of it's superficial damage.

Thorfus keeps watching since Velkin is fishing and Peronelle is helping

Caspar stays with Thorfus.

Philomanthraxus and Peronelle return.

Lambertus and Philomanthraxus do the final watch.

At morning, Enzo and Velkin return, after a night of fishing and tales of fishing. Velkin tells him about underdark and fishing in the underdark. Velkin tells him about the aboleth. Like a leviathan. Are there lakes and seas? There's big bodies of water, that's all I know.

After the baskets are filled, the sharks and little fish dissipate.

Velkin says in Shark, I can talk to sharks too. Enzo responds not noticing. Velkin switches to fish, and these guys here don't like sharks. Enzo again responds not noticing.

Velkin says in Shark, you've spent a lot of time near the ocean. Yeah. The Velkin notices he startles.

You spent a lot of time in your travels near the water. Sounds like you swallowed some water.

It's getting on towards dawn, why don't we head back in.

Much better than working on a ship.

Enzo and Velkin see a giant metal bug. Looks like they took care or it, it doesn't look edible.

After the fish are put away, Enzo comes and checks out. Thorfus (invisible) says we think it eats DVLs. We're hoping it can be an ally.

Why don't we cook up some fish before you head out.

Velkin helps clean the fish to cook them.

Velkin says, if you can put a word in for us with the sharks out there, we'd really appreciate it.

You're a pixie fellow. You may think you know about me, and maybe you do.

I gave you good information, there is a ship. I checked it out, there were things moving around.

I'd appreciate what you think you know about me to yourself. I live here alone, I don't want any trouble.

I don't think there'll be any trouble, I'm a pretty good judge of character.

I've had people come out here on purpose looking to put me down as something unnatural.

I meant what I said. I hope you and your friend accomplish what you set out to do.

Then he stands and calls everyone over.

We get a big meal and don't need to use rations.

By 9:00 am we are ready to leave.

Is it better to take the beach or is there a trail. Shem is SSW so wouldn't save time going through jungle, especially, if you're dragging that big metal thing.

It might take you a day and a half or two days. I haven't heard anything from them.

We decide to stick to the beach heading South.

Velkin goes aside and uses the scepter to heal.

Felix gives cure light potions to Druul, and Lambertus gives one to Kauri.