Session 11

Session 11 began at the temple Wongo's shrine (one of the nine trickster gods).  "Carvings of monkeys hanging by their tails decorate two cracked obelisks that stand before a shrine enclosed by broken walls. Past the obelisks is a courtyard filled with horsetails and arum lilies. Five archways open into darkness at the base of the ruin. Mounted above the central arch is a stone plaque bearing a cuneiform inscription."

The party entered into the center to hear a cacophony of monkey shrieks at the entrance.  The group figured out the puzzle by pouring the water into the cupped left hand of the statue monkey only to release four su-monsters.  

After receiving the puzzle cube, the party was faced with a new challenge on their way to the next temple.  The group was attack by a hoard of deinonychus surrounding the group.  As the group settled in to a battle a quick turn of events....attack from the huge King of Feathers from the west scattered the deino's.  Arlen ran out to meet the King, only to be grappled and chewed to bits...ending his life.  The King tried to escape with its prey but was eventually caught by the party and killed.  

I'ljin's shrine included a puzzle floor and a series of swinging blade traps the party working through.

Kriv, the Dragonborn barbarian was introduced after explaining his story of how he ended up in Omu.  He was invited to the party and rest was history.

 

Next, the party crossed the river to be ambused by a lone Tabaxi hunter looking for treasure.  He eventually gave up and offered advice and what treasures he's looking for...  He recommended using disguise to enter the Yuan'ti's temple instead of direct assault. 

Black Opal Crown

The Black Opal Crown was once worn by the archmage Sadamor of Netheril. Legend speaks of how Sadamor saw the depths of humanity's evil reflected in the opal of his crown. Heartbroken, he created a doomsday device—a sphere of annihilation—to swallow the world but was consumed by his own creation.

Eye of Zaltec

For centuries, this fist-sized ruby surmounted the Great Pyramid in Nexal, capital city of the Maztican Empire. The gem is a relic of the cult of Zaltec, and its dagger-like point was plunged into the hearts of countless sacrifices.
An adventuring band known as the Company of the Yellow Banner entered Omu to find the Eye of Zaltec and was never seen again.

Navel of the Moon

Said to be carved from a chunk of the moon, this polished egg-shaped stone was given as a gift by the ruling syl-pasha of Calimport to his sailor daughter. It is said that anyone who holds the stone can always find the way home to his or her loved ones.

Skull Chalice of Ch'gakare

This jeweled goblet was crafted from the skull of a long-dead Omuan king and served as a symbol of office for the royal line of Omu. The legendary Chultan hero Ch'gakare (pronounced chuh-GAH-kah-ree) is said to have beheaded the king after escaping the Nine Hells on the back of a mastodon.

Session 9

Session 9 returned to action just before the Medusa ambush in Nangalor.  The party was forewarned by the previously petrified Ranger Haldor.  Nobody knows for sure how long Haldor was in that state but his rescue to Eku may have saved the party from his same fate.  

With eyes closed, the party fought the Medusa along with her Eblis care takers to the death.  Volo's guide:  As deadly as they are ravishing, the serpent-haired medusas suffer an immortal curse brought on by their vanity. They lurk in quiet exile among the tumbled ruins of their former lives, surrounded by the petrified remains of past admirers and would-be heroes.

Immortal Splendor. Men and women who desire eternal youth, beauty, and adoration might pray to malicious gods, beg dragons for ancient magic, or seek out powerful archmages to fulfill their wishes. Others make sacrifices to demon lords or archdevils, offering all in exchange for this gift, oblivious to the curse that accompanies it. Those who strike such bargains gain physical beauty, restored youth, immortality, and the adoration of all who behold them, granting them the influence and power they so desire. However, after years of the living like a demigod among mortals, the price for their vanity and hubris is exacted, and they are forever transformed into medusas. A medusa’s hair turns into a nest of venomous serpents, and all who gaze upon the medusa are petrified, becoming stone monuments to its corruption.

Medusa Lairs. Medusas live forever in seclusion, alienated from the world around them by their monstrous form and caprice. Their homes gradually fall into disrepair until they are little more than shadowy ruins covered with thorns and creepers, riddled with obstructions and hiding places. Foolhardy looters and adventurers who enter are often unaware of the medusa’s presence until the creature is among them.

A medusa is subject to its own curse. By looking vainly on its reflection, it turns to stone as surely as any living mortal. As a result, a medusa destroys or removes any mirrors or reflective surfaces in its lair. 

Onto Omu:  The party arrived to the dead city of Omu and immediately found graffiti at the gatehouse: 

"Fear the fangs of Ras Nsi!"
"Erik, I've gone in search of the nine shrines. V."
"The puzzle cubes are the key."
"Beware the frog monster!"
"Who is Unkh?"
"All hail the King of Feathers!"
"The snakes are not what they seem."
"Kubazan = bravery. Shagambi = wisdom. Moa = ?"

The Walled compound where the party found a guide of sorts Orvex:  

Smoke drifts lazily from a walled compound. The gate lies in splinters, and scorch marks deface the buildings. Near the center of the compound is a plaza littered with charred human corpses. One of the corpses is being torn apart by a pack of wild dogs.

Onto the first temple:  Kubazan

 Karn and Arlen worked as a team here.  Arlen unlocking the gate and freeing the group from having to face the Monster in the pool to retrieve the key.  Karn using his speed to jump and retrieve the first puzzle cube.

Stop at the Magic Academy:  The party faced its fears having failed the Intelligence check ending up in separate rooms.  Peter faced off against a Beholder, Arlen and Kasais faced a very large centipede, and Johfra and Haldor dealt with Ghosts.  After everyone finally arrived at the final room the party gained a scribed map of Omu (yet to use) and some crazy magic mix potions. 

Session 8

Day 13 began deep in the jungles of Chult along with the constant rain, humidity, and bugs.  Having just crossed the gorge over the River Tath, the party headed due south intending to see the crashed airship.  The party came across a gruesome destroyed campsite.  Lots of blood and two bodies mutilated with limbs cut off.  Group members discovered it was the work of frost giants looking for the ring of winter.  The party made the decision not to follow them but keep on south.

Overnight more antics occurred with "Mike's" next victim was Cogar...the wrong one to mess with his belongings.  Busted again, the parrot was shot at and fortunately the arrow missed allowing the little fucker to yet live another day.  A deep distrust developing. 

The magic of Lehman's Tiny hut once again became an invaluable resource utility saving the party from a huge constrictor snake. 

Arrival at the wreckage site was indeed a site.  The airship trapped some fifty to seventy five up in the trees made it challenge to deal with.  "A wooden vessel is caught high in the tree branches, broken into three chunks. It resembles a ship, but there are differences that mark it clearly as not a seagoing vessel. The stern is the lowest piece, hanging precariously by its rigging about 50 feet above ground. The middle section appears to be 15 feet higher, and the bow section is firmly wedged into a nest of branches another 10 feet above that.  A weak voice calls out, “Hallo, on the ground. Can you help us?” 

Arlen immediately took action and climbed up the vines only slipping once making it look very natural.  At the top he met with several of the exhausted crew members who had been trapped for three months.  Suddenly, three girallons zombies swung from vine to vine towards the rogue with matched skill to his own.  In danger Arlen tried to protect the others only to be knocked out the claws and bites of the girallons.  Eku flew up to assist.

Meanwhile on the ground, the rest of the party had their own issues to deal with...a pack of ghouls. Karn climbed up and assisted the wreckage victims trying to get them out of harms way.  Cogar placed the three in darkness and cold slowing them down a bit.  The rest of the party dealt with the danger of being paralyzed by the ghouls eventually killing them off.  Later the three girallons made it to the ground to be quickly taken down.

Party issues reared their ugly head as to what to do with the wreckage victims.  A heated debate ended in Azaka agreeing to lead them back to safety, leaving the party with Eku as their sole guide.  Arlen was quoted to have lost respect for Johfra, but the party moved on.

On to Omu....or almost.  The group encountered a dilapidated overgrown hanging garden.

"A fantastic edifice rises up out of the jungle: a hanging garden of exotic beauty. Water streams down the steps between two massive elephant carvings. Beyond them, a broad, flooded avenue runs arrow-straight for more than a hundred feet before ending at a carving of a tyrannosaurus face. Water pours from the tyrannosaurus’s jaws and flows the length of the concourse to drain down the steps in front of you. Five-foot-high terraces flank the boulevard. Low archways—three on each side—are built into the terrace walls. These archways are in various stages of collapse, as are the tunnels beyond them. Beautifully carved, larger-than-life stone faces are mounted between the arches.

A wild profusion of plants grows on the upper terraces, and multicolored parrots and canaries flit and sing among them. To the north, a dilapidated brick dome rises above the tyrannosaurus-head waterspout. Smaller, bell-shaped domes surmount the highest terraces to your left and right."

After crossing the river full of crocs, an intrigued party decided to explore the garden so strangely out of place and random.  Discoveries of plants even some easily defeated "flower zombies" were dealt with easily.  Lots of clues in this encounter:  

Face 1 (lower west) has a bemused expression. The message above it reads, “This garden is dedicated to Zalkoré, queen of Omu and jewel of Chult.”

Face 2 (upper west) has a condescending expression. The message above it reads, “Worshiped by her people and by Thiru-taya, who loves BETRAYED her.” (The word “loves” has been chipped away, and the word “BETRAYED” is scratched into the stone above it.)

Face 3 (upper east) has a stern expression. The message above it reads, “In this, the tenth year of her reign, may she govern forever in splendor.”

Face 4 (lower east) has a serene expression. The message above it reads, “And may the gods themselves marvel at this humble reflection of her beauty.”

Having discovered a Huge statue inside the main hall...more clues:

An urn?

"An 18-foot-tall stone statue of a Chultan warrior in splint armor, wearing a helmet festooned with tyrannosaurus teeth and bearing a shield of intricately patterned leopard hide, towers over the chamber and looms above a wide, octagonal cistern. The chamber echoes with the sound of rainwater dripping from the ceiling into the gaping pit. The face of the giant warrior statue is obliterated by deep gouges, but the rest of the statue remains intact. Clutched in the statue’s right hand is a stone spear, and resting on the floor beneath it is a clay urn. North of the statue is an open balcony overlooking a flooded garden.

Standing to one side of the giant warrior is another statue, this one much smaller. Exquisitely lifelike, it depicts a man reaching for the urn, his face turned toward the balcony. In his lifeless eyes, you see terror.

Stone steps ascend along the curved wall to the level of a second floor, but that floor is almost entirely collapsed. Someone’s been up there, however, because a message of some sort is scrawled across the domed ceiling. (“True love, faithful general, safe will you rest in Nangalore eternal. None will disturb you while I live. Such is my vow of penance, and for my sins I cannot die.”)

And inside Zalkore's lair.....The single, large chamber inside the dome is obviously a royal apartment—or was, centuries ago. Now the bright, floral murals are dim and gray, bits of colored glass are heaped beneath a cracked mosaic, enameled wooden tables are split and tilting, and every bit of cloth is frayed and streaked.

At the center of the room, a long divan stands atop a circular dais. Reclining on the divan is a woman dressed in a flowing robe made from parrot feathers in stunning colors. Despite the heat, her arms, head, and face are covered in feathery veils. Next to her, a black orchid grows out of a large clay pot at the head of the divan. She addresses you in a voice tinged with odd inflections. “Strangers have come to Nangalore, my love. What boon do our subjects beseech?” 

After a brief and strange discussion, the party was accompanied with Zalkore to the final dome not yet investigated.  Stay tuned for next week....it might get interesting.

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