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Recap 83 Supplemental: Retrieving Crulicar's Lore

February 10, 2018


But We Just Had a Fight

After killing the beholders and Starspawn in the ziggurat chamber, the Motley Too is once again transported through time.. Unfortunately, they have no time to see to their injuries. The party materializes in the present, startling a group of rhinomen herding rust-colored bulettes.

Sir Gyles and Delphine remain petrified from the beholder attacks. Under her stone skin, Delphine is also inflicted with mummy rot as are Jandove and Kurtis. The Motley Too is in no shape to fight. The Harper of the North tries to preempt an attack by stabbing one of the rhinomen first.

The Harper: Halt this attack and allow us to leave!

It doesn't work. As the still-standing members of the party engage in battle, they all hear a murmuring coming in the direction of the dragon Auric's corpse.

Auric: I was once alive. Now I am dead. You are not to blame. I will do what I can to aid you.

They see a spirit rise from the dragon's body and hover over Delphine. The gnome mage's skin regains its normal color and Delphine is no longer petrified. Adarra conjures a wall of fire to hold off some of the attackers. She and The Harper use this time to cure Kurtis, Jandove, and Delphine of their mummy rot. Unfortunately, as a consequence of the rot, they each have a permanent hand-shaped mark where the mummies touched them.

The rust bulettes disintegrate Wileu's armor and one of her swords, but luckily, they are much easier to kill than normal bulettes. With Auric's help, the Motley Too finishes off the rhinomen and bulettes, leaving just the one rhinoman The Harper stabbed earlier.

Auric restores Sir Gyles, but it uses up the last of her powers.

Auric: Beware! I sense changes, not only in my own history but in that of the Oblivion King and Cervantes. This is the last of me. I cling to a life not lived. Please see to it that my spirit is allowed to rest in peace.

Did Someone Say "Giants"?

After Auric's spirit fades, The Harper tries to get the rhinoman to reveal Crulicar's location, but he will only say that she is safe.

The Harper: What are you doing with these rust bulettes?

Rhinoman: We use to fight Fire Gang. Make pact but Fire Gang betrayed. We come to punish them and reclaim Crulicar's lore.

The Harper releases him and the rhinoman shakily leaves the chamber. Now that they aren't fighting rust bulettes and anthropomorphic rhinos, the group notices sounds of battle coming from the doorway to the east. Cautiously they walk through to the next chamber. In the center of the room, a fierce battle is being fought between a group of fire giants and the rhinomen, a rust bulette, and white copies of Vain. The fire giants are no match for the white Vains.

Wileu's natural hatred for giants causes her to start running towards the fire giants with a yell. The Harper quickly freezes her in place with a spell.

The Harper: Listen, you have no armor. And the fire giants could turn out to be allies. So...just...stay here for now.

Sir Gyles: Time to put Crulicar's evil to rest. Battle leader!

Delphine downs a potion of superheroism that improves her strength. Adarra creates another wall of fire, engulfing a few white Vains and a fire giant. The fire seems to energize the fire giant so that he is able to throw off his attackers. Conversely, the flames cause the white Vains to melt slightly. This gives the group the idea to toss the pseudo-Vains into the lava pools situated around the room.

With the Motley Too's help, the fire giants are able to prevail. Sir Gyles prevents them from killing the last rhinoman so that he can be questioned. This rhinoman also accuses the fire giants of betrayal. But according to the giants, they are members of the Fire Gang. Crulicar's arrangement was with Mad King Snurre's people and had nothing to do with them.

At the mention of Crulicar, Sir Gyles notices the rhinoman glances briefly at another set of doors in the room. Impatient with the questioning, the fire giants kill the rhinoman. In thanks for their assistance, the Fire Gang gives the Motley Too permission to search the area, but when they return in 15 minutes, they expect the party to be gone.

The door the rhinoman glanced at seems to be bulging forward as if something is pressing against it. Delphine uses a spell to open the door only to have a zombie fall through the door right on top of her. It bites her before she can kill it. More zombies shamble out of the room and attack the party.

After dispatching the zombies, The Harper cures Delphine before she turns into a zombie and the party proceeds to search the room. With a limited amount of time to search, they grab everything that looks valuable and destroy the rest. The Motley Too makes their way quickly out of the Underdark and sets up camp a little distance from the kobold cave entrance.


Smugglers?

There's a brief scuffle with half-starved wolves, but the group is able to subdue the animals. Shortly after they settle in, a man steps out of the dark and introduces himself as Oakfriend, a priest of Uller. Adarra remembers the priest helped the Motley Crew find a way to destroy the chicken god egg. During his recent wanderings, Oakfriend came across a group of people hiding in a grove nearby and thought the Motley Too should know. Nyngard had previously alerted Vashti that smugglers from their country were hiding in the Disputed Territory so the Motley Too appreciate the intel. Oakfriend leaves shortly afterwards.

The next morning, the party heads off to confront the smugglers. After a brief fight, the Motley Too realizes many in the group of "smugglers" are more merchant than fighter. After bandaging the injured, the group escorts the Nyngardians to Gelfini where they are put into the brand new, never before used dungeons while Vashti sorts out a financial settlement with Nyngard that would allow the people to operate in the Disputed Territory as legitimate merchants.


Some Days You Should Just Stay in Bed

On the following day, an impatient Leento appears, irritated that the group has not yet found a way to control Crulicar's orb. After Adarra learns from Leento how to travel through the mirror, the party leaves Gelfini for Sorceror's Isle in the hopes of finding information on the orb in Beeblebrox's tower.

Once there, they notice the castle has been ransacked. Strange tracks are visible in the dust that look like insect prints if the insects were man-sized. Upon entering Beeblebrox's tower lab, they see several humanoid ants tearing the room apart. The two groups look at each other warily. The Motley Too moves to attack.

Before they can do much of anything, one of the Thri-kreen twitches its antennae and waves its arms and Sir Gyles is paralyzed. Jandove is overcome with a feeling of worthlessness. Delphine is paralyzed and nauseous. Wileu and The Harper try to attack but end up severely injured. The party decides to surrender. Seeing that they no longer intend to attack, the Thri-kreen wave their arms and tentacles again and Sir Gyles, Jandove, and Delphine are restored.

As the Motley Too start back down the steps, Adarra feels a Thri-kreen mind touching hers. She pictures the orb in her mind and one of the antmen brings a book to her. As thanks, Adarra shares her memory of riding a dolphin.

On the way back to the mirror, the group is unexpectedly attacked by the Atlantean warrior Yakima, a man wearing antiquated armor who they all recognize from the Tako cave, and Sir Gyles' "sworn enemy" Sir Carian Cadwalder & jabberwocky.

Sir Carian Cadwalder: Hand over the book or you die.

The Motley Too refuse, obviously. Aoki pops out of nowhere and backstabs Delphine. The jabberwocky kills Wileu and The Harper and drives Adarra insane with its stare. Yakima kills Sir Gyles. Then a strange man caressing a boa constrictor steps out of a side room and immobilizes Jandove and Adarra with a spell. He easily takes the book from Adarra.

Sri Boa: Let me introduce myself. I am Sri Boa. Now you are Sri Boa, too. [To his companions:] The ants upstairs are coming. We'd better leave.

With a touch from the armored stranger, the mirror's surface liquefies and they all step through, escaping with the book.


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Tags: Adarra, Auric, Delphine, Jandove, Kurtis, Leento, Oakfriend, Sir Carian Cadwalder, Sir Gyles, Sri Boa, Tala, The Harper of the North, Wileu


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