Session 11 of Tomb of Annihilation
The PC's:
Sembian
Sam, Human Rogue 4 (thief), Ranger 1, archaeologist, Harper
Shaun the Kobold, Cleric (Light of Kossuth) 6, Criminal from streets of Port Nyanzaru, Zhent
Varis, High Elf Wizard 5 (evoker), acolyte of Oghma
Adran, Wood Elf Bard (Lore) 5, Entertainer and Bagpiper from the cold northern forests, Zhent
Angry
Agatha, Half-Orc Barbarian (Totem Bear) 5, Harper, bodyguard and long time associate
of Sembian Sam
Rainy Day, Cat Person Monk (Open Hand) 5, Chultan native
New Arrivals:
Shummp, Half-Orc Fighter (Champion) 5, Soldier from the North seeking wealth in Chult
Are, Moon Elf Druid (Circle of Moon) 2, Young refugee from overrun northern village, now travels in company of Darius Foreshot
Darius Foreshot, Human Fighter 2, Outlander/Hermit, Seeking fortune in Chult
NPC's:
Vorn, a Shield Guardian
found in the jungle now under the command of Varis, who promised to
eventually return the shield guardian to Wakanga O'Tamu in exchange for a
spell book.
River
Mist and Flask of Wine, quite capable cat person sister and brother
who are associates of the Zhentarim, hired by party as guides for a
share of treasure found on expedition.
Adran, Agatha, Rainy Day, and the Cat siblings were told by the lobsterfolk of travelers like them lost in the swamp, and they find Shummp, Are, and Darius. Shummp turns out to be an acquaintance of Agatha's and they join the party. Traveling back to meet Sam, Shaun, and Varis they find the other party members have struck out into the jungle to the south and they follow, figuring themselves to be about a day behind. Pushing themselves, one morning they catch the scent of a large quantity of smoked meat and find the three have spent the previous afternoon and this morning butchering and preserving the meat from a T-Rex they had killed the day before. They figure they are about four days out from the Lost City of Omu at this point, and after joining back together and getting to know the newly arrived explorers they strike off again to the south.
One day passes without incident (other than Are finding some dubious looking mushrooms), and the next day a giant spider tries to ambush the rear of the party but is driven off. The party also notes mountains and volcanoes to the southeast, the Peaks of Fire. The next day Sam and Agatha from the front of the party hear a discussion ahead in the forest about hoping to find some fresher meat. Striding ahead through the jungle Agatha walks into the open, discovering a number of human tribal warriors with blue triangles painted on their foreheads. She says "Hey, what's up," and the tribal warriors turn in unison and shout "Food!" Sam shouts a warning and before the cannibals have a chance to swarm and overbear Agatha most have been dropped by fireballs from Varis and Shaun. Agatha drops the last with a mighty blow to the face. That night, more giant spiders attempt to ambush the party and this time nearly succeed in hauling off Shummp but Adran stops the spider retreating off into the trees with Shummp's web encased body with a thunderwave spell that also manages to hit Shummp and drop him from 20' in the air (but also destroys the webbing). Shummp is not especially grateful, but is restrained from tearing Adran in half by timely healing spells from Are.
After completing their rest and traveling the following day, the party hears a waterfall and notes large quantities of steam rising from ahead in the distance. Rainy Day climbs a tree and sees a sunken city ahead in a vast crater, with a river running through and flooding the northeastern quarter of the city. Steam rises from further to the south where the river seems to drop again. Gargoyle statues watch from the rim of the crater above the city. The party rests, intending to investigate further near the waterfall in the morning. Here several party members level up as we log some XP upon discovery of the city, including at least Are, Darius (who chooses the path of the Champion), and Varis.
The next day, they make their way to the waterfall, noting the nearest gargoyle. Shummp decides to poke it with his sword and it turns and attacks him! After a brief scuffle and a couple shatter spells the gargoyle crumbles; Varis notes other gargoyles have turned to look in the direction of the party but at this point make no other move. While Sam and Shaun discuss a strategy for moving into the city, whether to walk around the rim to the south or go into the ravine above the waterfall, Are turns into a flying squirrel (as her player points out, flying squirrels aren't truly a flying animal and thus fair game for a lower level druid shapeshifter) and launches herself down into the city, noting some crocodiles on her way down. Her guardian, Darius, decides he needs to follow and launches himself into the river and over the waterfall after her. Adran sees this and decides to be even more direct, leaping out from the cliff hoping to land in the pool of water 100' below. He takes a bit of damage but survives the fall, managing to actually hit the water. Are heals him when he swims to shore. The others follow more cautiously, with three cat people and Sam the rogue ably aiding the others in the climb down alongside the waterfall. They note a temple like building nearby in flooded part of the city on the way down and strike out for that after a lunch break on the shore by the waterfall. Sam leads the way but scampers back behind Agatha when he sees a giant crocodile in the water within the falling down walls of the temple enclosure. The giant crocodile then tries to bite Agatha but misses, and in the ensuing battle four additional regular crocodiles also attack the party but all are defeated and the party make their way to the front of the shrine, noting bird motifs and carvings. Adran recognizes the bird as an Eblis, a type of intelligent Chultan waterbird he had previously encountered. Making their way into the shrine, the party reads (thanks to Varis casting a comprehend languages ritual) a strange mythological account of Papazotl the Eblis' conflict with Nangnang the Grung. Both appear to be some kind of divine beings worshiped by the old Omuans. Solving a puzzle in the shrine the party recovers a small cube with the Eblis figure on it; the cube is magical but its purpose is not clear.
They decide to rest in the shrine and overnight nothing bothers the party, and the following day they move back to land, heading toward a large building to their west. They note T-Rex and Kobold tracks in the area near the building, and entering the building find a massive ruined market and a number of traps. Shaun sets one of releasing a swarm of wasps and runs outside and is face to face with another kobold! They talk a bit, Shaun relieves the kobold Itch's persistent itch and rash and he happily agrees to introduce the party to his boss, the mighty Kakarol, who sometimes thinks he is a dragon. Going into a cellar beneath the bazaar, the party finds a number of kobolds, including one resting atop a pile of treasure (Sam noting that it is mostly copper). They have an amicable exchange with the kobolds, who are happy to lodge the party in their lair in exchange for shiny coins, and the kobolds share information about the other factions in the city, notably the recently arrived Red Wizards, the Grungs near Nangnang's shrine, and the Yuan Ti in the ruined palace. They also note the back door to the Yuan Ti complex, and point out that the puzzle cubes are what gets people like the party into the dungeon set up by the dead wizard who says he will turn Kakarol into a dragon in the future for his service leading the kobolds in maintaining the shrines that house the puzzle cubes. Kakarol warns the party to not bother with them or the dungeon, as nobody has every come out of it but the puzzle cubes always return and more adventurers arrive only to also die within the dead wizard's dungeon. He also mentions that the Red Wizards have started collecting the cubes, but were set back a bit following a battle with some of the Yuan Ti. Rainy Day suggests hanging out with the kobolds and waiting for the Red Wizards to retrieve the remaining puzzle cubes.
And here we call it a day. Having a kobold in the party turns out to be very advantageous in Omu.
