Testing the Waters
The party halts and looks around as far as the rain allows.
ARAN: I think we need to stay to the high ground and avoid these puddles and ponds. We should also pick up the pace.
ROLAN: I agree. My concern is what happens if this entire area floods. We should probably fight one of these water creatures directly and get a sense of their strength.
A few minutes later, they get their chance. Qarzdaq agrees to refrain from attacking since the entire purpose of this exercise will be to see how to cause damage and they’ve already learned that Qarzdaq’s great balls of fire can wipe these things out. Everyone except Qhortho dismounts and lines up several feet from the edge of the pond. The creature in the middle of the pond still has not noticed them.
Rolan fires a normal arrow directly through it. It seems to have been hurt but doesn’t appear to have taken the entire brunt of the damage.
The water creature skates along the surface of the water, getting to the edge and swiping at Qhortho nearby. Qhortho calmly walks towards it and unsheathes his sword. He stops inches out of the water elementals reach. He brings wraps his sword behind him as if winding up with a mace. He slashes clean through the water elemental, momentarily separating its top half from its bottom. A shimmering ripple propagates through the entire watery form. The two halves melt back together immediately.
Aran runs up and slashes through the water elemental twice in quick succession, both times leaving behind a shimmering wake.
Rolan draws one of his Valyrian short swords. He strikes the creature, but the combination of rain and his lack of training with swords over the past several months sends the sword sailing into the middle of the pond.
ROLAN: Damnit… Well, I have to go get that guys. Kill this thing, will you?
Qarzdaq steps forward from behind them.
QARZ: Mmm… ok!
Qarzdaq sends a firebolt into the center of the creature, causing it to splash apart and fall back into the water.
ROLAN: Ok, I’m going to get that sword.
Rolan wades into the water. He finds himself waist-deep at the point where he crouches to take the sword. As he does, a tower of water rises up behind him. Arms form from the liquid, rising above Rolan and slamming his back, knocking him off his feet. Though caught by surprise, he grasps the sword instinctively.
Qhortho rides wide around the elemental and lassos Rolan as soon as he pops out of the water. The elemental narrowly misses Rolan as he is jerked out of the elemental’s path. Though caught off-guard, he nimbly goes along with it. As he approaches the shore, he gets his legs under him and runs as Qhortho slows. It’s as if they’d trained this maneuver a thousand times.
The water elemental rushes at the shore, maintaining such momentum that he leaves the pond’s surface. Mid-air, the life within the elemental creature disappears, dousing Qarzdaq and Aran with a wave of water. They all back away from the shoreline.
They mount up and continue on their way, the rain’s intensity increasing with every step. The visibility eventually cuts down to no more than 20-30 feet.
The Bubble
Not more than 15 minutes later, they arrive at a translucent steel-blue barrier. Their eyes scan the barrier, and they determine this thing is some sort of bubble surrounding the area ahead of them, perhaps a thousand feet across.
All except Qhortho dismount. They test the barrier with their weapons and notice no ill effects. Aran is the first to step through. They decide to use the peaks of the nearest hill to get a better sense of what they’re walking into. As they walk up the slippery grass, thick black tentacles rise out of the ground.
They all evade the tentacles, but those are not the only threat. A blue-cloaked cultist rushes towards Qarzdaq, allowing Aran the opportunity to slash through his cloak as he passes. The cultist reveals a curved dagger and stabs Qarzdaq just under his ribs. The wavy profile of the blade saws through his flesh. He pulls it out and slams it in again, pulling it out to the side to widen the wound. Qarzdaq stumbles backward. Suddenly, his amulet begins to glow.
Two other cultists appear on the hill and Qhortho, still on horse-back rides up to attack. He fails to notice a more intense threat. The creature, human in form but with tentacles for dreadlocks, lashes out at him. Qhortho ducks under and charges at his original target. He misses with each attack he sends towards the cultist.
Two cultists approach Aran and Qarzdaq. One touches Qarzdaq with a cold hand but to no effect. The other touches Aran. Bubbles quickly form under his skin. The pain is intense as the bubbles burst with watery blood.
Qarzdaq fires off a few scorching rays at the priest atop the hill.
Qhortho attacks the cultist from horseback, finally slashing through his neck and sending him sliding down the hill towards a large pond, bleeding out the entire way down.
Aran attacks the one that caused him great pain, killing him after several strikes. Aran attacks the last cultist.
As Qarzdaq is charging towards the cultist near Qarzdaq, lightning suddenly strikes the ground. Aran and Qarzdaq are struck by burns and knocked to the ground. Qarzdaq’s amulet flickers and the light dies out. Although Qhortho avoids being singed, Lajak Chaf is not quite as lucky. He squeals as he falls lifeless on the hill. Qhortho lands on his feet and scrambles to help his horse.
Rolan shoots a few magical arrows into the priest, who disappears in a bellow of steam. A muffled, yet distinct thud is heard in the grass as his robes fall.
Rolan immediately approaches Qarzdaq and lays his hands on his burned flesh. A moment later, his skin looks undamaged. He gets to his feet and thanks Rolan.
Qhortho and Aran manage to stabilize Lajak Chaf. He remains unconscious, but he will live. They decide it’s best if he remains here and they come back for him later.
They each take potions to regain their strength.
Teardrop Pendant
Aran examines the priest’s robes and finds a dull silvery teardrop pendant and tosses it to Rolan.
ARAN: Hey, what do you make of this?
ROLAN: I’m not sure exactly. Doesn’t exactly look valuable. It may be a symbol of rank or something like that.
Rolan attaches the pin to his shirt.
ROLAN: Hey look! I’m matchy matchy!
Aran turns away and looks out over the landscape to see what they’re dealing with. Just below them, a large pond sits in the valley between the surrounding hills. The shore is not far beyond the few hills to the west.
ROLAN: What the fuck are we doing here guys? There’s nothing out here!
ARAN: It looks like the center is out there near the shore.
He points to an area beyond a hill in the distance, perhaps a few hundred feet away.
ROLAN: WHY??? I mean, why should we even go over there??
ARAN: The Children of the Forest told us we had to resolve a large threat – this HAS to be it! I mean, this is the kind of shit we do.
Rolan sighs loudly and states his disdain with charging into bottlenecks like this.
They note his complaint, but press on. To get a better viewpoint of the shore, they decide the next hill to the west is where they should go, being sure to avoid the large pond in the center area; that can’t be a happy place.Priests with Tentacles
They continue forward cautiously. They meet battle again with a few cultists, but these appear to be weaker than the others. Aran takes charge and slashes through the first with ease. He moves on the next one with fervor.
A loud screech fills the air as he gets near. It pierces all of their ears causing them to trickle blood. Rolan is immediately stunned, his ears left ringing. The others are able to shake it off. A floating mace appears behind Rolan and smacks him in the head.
A second floating mace appears in front of Aran, but he dodges the attack.
Another priest with tentacle dreadlocks comes into view. Qarzdaq fires a four scorching rays at him on sight severely burning through areas of his robes. The flames are doused immediately by the rain.
Still stunned, Rolan concentrates hard enough to fire off a couple of arrows at the tentacle priest. The priest’s tentacles reach out as he screeches loudly. A second later, he disappears. The only remnants are his robes and a bit of steam that quickly dissipates. A soft thud is heard as his robes hit the grass.
Rolan shakes off his tunnel vision; his hearing returns. He refocuses on the fight around him.
Amidst the weaker cultists, a few deep-blue-cloaked cultists appear along with another floating mace appears next to Aran. Though the blow hits his armor, he certainly feels it.
Aran attacks one of the blue cloaks. Though he does significant damage, the cultist returns the attacks.
Over the next few minutes, they finally prevail over the cultists, but not without some fresh wounds.
QARZ: I’m not sure how much longer we can keep this up, guys.
Aran looks at the priest’s robes and sees another teardrop pendant.
ARAN: Hey guys, there’s another one of those teardrops over here.
Interested, Rolan takes out the teardrop he retrieved earlier and they leave the one in the robes on the ground.
ROLAN: Hmm, Qhortho, can you detect magic on this?
Qhortho retrieves his stick and taps it on the pendant.
QHOR: Detectus magicus!
The pendant glows a bit but fades out.
QHOR: Something’s fucky with this fellas…
They look out towards the center, which is still too far away to see in the heavy rain. They decide their next lookout point should be the next-closest hill to the west. Rolan takes a minute to heal before they continue.
Keep Seeking the High Ground
As they ascend out of the small valley between the two hills, a large water elemental grows from the ground immediately behind Qarzdaq and Rolan. The 11-foot tall creature raises its arms to slam Qarzdaq’s back, but Qhortho catches the movement out of the corner of his eye. He quickly goes into a rage and rushes it, slashing it multiple times with his Valyrian blade. Qarzdaq’s amulet flares to life and he blasts it with a firebolt. Now caught slightly off guard, it smashes the ground, causing Rolan and Qarzdaq to be pulled a few inches into the muddy ground and held in place. Qhortho, on the other hand, is knocked backward several feet.
Aran passes Qhortho as he’s being pushed backward. He slashes the elemental with his Jaded Guandao. With two swipes, the water elemental falls into a pool of water that drains towards the nearby pond. Qarzdaq’s amulet dims until it is out.
They climb the nearby hill. They can now see out to the shoreline. However, the dense rain means that only Qarzdaq and Rolan are able to notice a few figures out on two small shore islands no more than 20-30 feet off the mainland – glorified sandbars really. They can see a few wooden bridges connecting the islands to the beach.
They descend the hill carefully, focused on the islands when they hear someone closer than they’d like.
GRUFF VOICE: Hey! There’s one of them!
Qhortho knows he’s been made by one of those weak cultists.
QHOR: Hey guys, what’s going on? I’m so lost? Do you know where the Grass Sea is? You ever hear of the Grass Sea?
LOW VOICE: Hey, there are two of them!
This cultist is wearing a deep blue cloak. Qhortho holds his hands up in front of him.
QHOR: Hey, what’s with all the hostility? I’m just a little lost… I’m… Do you have a campfire around here where I can dry off? This rain is crazy, am I right?
ARAN: Yeah, we’re just a little lost is all.
Qarzdaq and Rolan climb back up the hill with care, remaining out of visible range through the rain. This is good for them, for the sight Aran and Qhortho face is hideous. Two creatures from the depths appear, one on either side of the two cultists and let loose a scream heard for hundreds of feet.
Aran and Qhortho cover their ears instinctively but are unable to shake the sound this time. Both their heads are left cloudy, their ears ringing, as if they were near a concussive blast.
Qarzdaq launches a fireball just beyond his friends, killing the two human cultists. The two creatures rush towards Aran. Aran strikes from where he stands. He connects well and knows he did damage, but the creature seems unfazed!
Rolan fires two arrows at the creature, killing it.
Another deep blue cloak appears from behind the last remaining creature but doesn’t rush to attack. Instead he moves between the party and the first bridge.
Aran and Qhortho focus on the creature and kill it first.
Suddenly a large 20-foot wave rises from the sea, washing Qhortho, Aran, and the cultist away from the shore. Rather than the water receding, the area is kept under 20 feet of water. Luckily for Rolan and Qarzdaq, they are on higher ground.
Qhortho emerges from the water near Qarzdaq and Rolan.
QHOR: There’s a priest still down there with Aran!
Qhortho uses his wand to detect magic and the water and determines that it is indeed magic.
Qarzdaq looks out across the water, squinting to make out small details. About 30 feet away, Qarzdaq notices the cultist bobbing in the water. Qarzdaq throws a firebolt and nails him in the head. The cultist sinks below the surface.
Aran sees the cultist sinking nearby and strikes. With two blows, he kills him.
Above the surface, a priest and two cultists emerge from the water, entering melee range directly behind the group on the hill. The priest, however, is standing on the water, still 15 feet away. He releases a piercing screech. Instead of being stunned, however, none of them seem to suffer any lasting effects. Aran, still underwater, has become frightened of what’s on the surface.
Qhortho grabs a spear and chucks it at the priest, nailing him in the shoulder. Qarzdaq, in an act of self-preservation creates a mirror image of himself. The nearby cultists are immediately confused by this.
Rolan nails the priest with a magic arrow and gets behind Qhortho. On his way, one of the cultists is able to slice him with a dagger.
One of the cultists attacks Qarzdaq, but only succeeds in removing one of the Qarzdaqs from the hill.
The priest pulls the spear from his shoulder.
PRIEST: He’s too powerful already! You’ll never win here today!
QHOR: You don’t know MY POWER!
The priest skates across the water and hits Qhortho with powerful water magic, opening legions on his skin. When the priest attempts to do this a second time, it backfires and he looks down at his palms with horror.
PRIEST: NO!
Picking up on the priest’s self-doubt, he attacks the priest, disemboweling him with the first stroke and slicing his throat with a second. The stunned look on his face remains as he falls backward. He tumbles towards the water in an ever-reddening pool.
Qhortho turns to the cultist next to him and screams in his face.
A giant bolt of lightning strikes the top of the hill, causing all those above water to be struck.
The battle continues with the cultists while Aran, still submerged and frightened, moves as quickly as he can through the tumultuous tide. He regains his composure as he focuses on holding his breath. He sees something… someone… ahead. He continues forward. He suddenly feels a jolt of electricity, but he still pushes forward.
Rolan, realizing his friend is stuck underwater wearing heavy armor, rushes towards the water to help.
Old Friend
The water level recedes quickly as Rolan rushes down the hill. The water retreats to levels low enough to reveal the small islands not more than a foot above the sea. Rolan slows to a stop as he sees Aran standing on an island just across a small bridge, seemingly unhurt, but unmoving. Farther in the distance appears to be a robed figure, but the rain obscures his view.
As the rain clears Aran’s eyes of the salty ocean, he recognizes the man before him.
THOL: Hello old friend. I’ve been watching you here today.
ARAN: It is good to see you friend.
THOL: I’m afraid our friendship has come and gone. I’ve waited a long time for this. You’ll never stop me. You’d do well to run away.
Behind Tholannan, three massive tentacles slowly rise from the ocean’s surface at least 20 feet into the air.
Aran slowly backs away, then turns and runs towards his allies.
THOL: You are wise old friend!
A wave forces its way across the island’s surface, pushing Aran towards the mainland. He turns and yells up at Rolan, “FALL BACK!”
He continues towards the base of the hill where Qhortho is in the process of slaying the last of the hooded cultists.
ARAN: Guys! Tholannan is on one of the islands over there! I think he’s turned bad!
QHOR: What?? Tholannan’s alive??
ARAN: He’s gone to the death side. He’s no longer our friend. He’s not the person we knew. He is causing all of this.
QARZ: Looks like we’ve only got one choice.
Qhortho looks at the two of them in horror.
QHOR: You couldn’t reason with him??
ARAN: He said we are no longer friends.
QHOR: I’ve known him a lot longer. Maybe I can talk to him.
QARZ: If he’s come back from the dead…
Qhortho doesn’t look happy about it, but they all know what must be done.
They hear something approaching from the shoreline. Three Scions from the watery depths are about 20 feet behind Aran, spaced about 10 feet apart from each other.
ARAN: These fucking things…
He runs at the closest one, winding up to swing when he gets in range. He slashes through its thick, spongy flesh twice with the blade and once with the butt of the guandao. Its head whips to the side with the bludgeoning blow of the weapon’s back-end, screaming out in reaction. Its loud, but not ear-piercing.
It jumps and claws at Aran, taking him a little by surprise. It manages to slash very deeply into his right cheek; the kind of wound that will take weeks to heal.
As the creature calls out in triumph for such a strike, Rolan fires an arrow in the creature’s open maw. The arrow leaves out the back of its head. It falls backward in silence.
Another creature rushes at Qarzdaq, and jumps to attack. However, he strikes the wrong Qarzdaq. The mirror image vanishes as his claws pass through it. He stands confused, but realizes another Qarzdaq is directly next to him. Aran fires a shot that sticks in its fleshy chest.
Qarzdaq disengages and takes a position behind Qhortho. Qhortho stands tall and walks up to the scion. With two cleaves, he significantly injures the beast. It stumbles backward but regains its footing.
The third scion runs to a central location to the party and looks around, gauging its distance. It screams loudly, but the party is ready for it. None of them are affected by the sound. Aran turns to it and slashes. The first misses, but the second shears off a few of its fingers.
Another scion emerges from the water. It runs towards Aran, but he spins to meet it, slashing through part of its thigh. The two scions begin clawing and biting at Aran just as Qarzdaq sends a firebolt through the one at the top of the hill. Rolan shoots at the wounded one and takes him down with a single arrow. He fires a second arrow at the scion who just joined the fight.
Qhortho charges down the hill to strike down the last scion with two strikes of his blade; the first removes its hand from one arm, the second removes the other arm entirely. Qhortho turns to face his friends. Before stowing his blade, he spins it quickly to cast off the thin purple blood from the Valyrian steel.
Planning Ahead
They huddle up to discuss plans and heal up. Rolan places his hands on Aran’s and Qhortho’s shoulders, revitalizing them for the upcoming battle.
They break and begin walking towards the first bridge, as if in slow motion, the rain still obscuring their view beyond 20 feet, but they could see forms well enough to attack at twice that — probably.
Qhortho and Aran lead the way. Qarzdaq and Rolan look at each other and slow their gait to remain safely behind.
Rolan presses a sapphire into his Ring of Universatility and nods to Qarzdaq.
Qarzdaq flicks out his arms, casting water off his robe’s sleeves in small sheets. Puffs of steam leave his cuffs.
Qhortho unsheathes his great sword, holding it out in front of him, tip towards the ground. A grimace crosses his face: a blend of disgust and anger; the rage bubbles just beneath the surface.
Aran looks over at Qhortho and creates some distance, either to stay out of Qhortho’s way when he goes berserk on Tholannan or to safeguard his friend from his own attacks. Both men would probably claim one reason over the other as absolute fact. Aran takes ahold of his guandao with both hands and spins it in front of him, sending water in a wide arc. He holds it off to his side, the long hilt across his body, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
Qarzdaq casts a Twinned Haste on Qhortho and Aran.
Qhortho and Aran immediately take off with great speed and disappear across the bridge. They cross the first bridge onto a very small island where they find another small bridge leading to a second small island. They dash across that one, finding yet another small bridge.
Tholannan is in sight on the third island. Thick, black tentacles writhe from the water’s surface, towering 20 feet in the air behind him. As they rush toward him, the sea suddenly rises, pushing them onto the second island. As the water level recedes, two towering 12-foot water elementals stand at either side of Tholannan.
Aran yells back to his ranged comrades.
ARAN: He’s ahead of us about 75 to 100 feet!
Qarzdaq and Rolan run onto the first island next to Aran and Qhortho. Qarzdaq sends a Fireball in the direction of the farthest island, guessing the distance. He gets it close enough. Tholannan calls out in pain. The blast and Tholannan’s voice allow him to just barely make out his location. Both his arrows strike true.
Qhortho dashes across the bridges, now greeted by a floating teardrop shield alongside a mace. It strikes him as he passes.
QHOR: Thol!!! Don’t make me do this!!
THOL: It’s so nice to see you my brawny old friend. I fear you’ve come at a bad time…
QHOR: What have you gotten yourself into?!
THOL: Everything…
Tholannan’s skin is more pale than Qhortho remembered. Tholannan raises his arms slowly into the air, revealing blue pulsing veins just beneath his thin skin. His eyes, a cloudy white, seem to stare through Qhortho.
Qhortho glances up at the two water elementals at Tholannan’s sides and screams a horrendous whinny into the air. He immediately stabs at Tholannan, which he easily avoids. He then swings his blade around for a second attack, making contact and slashing Tholannan across his rusty plate mail. Tholannan takes a half-step backward and grits his teeth.
THOL: You really should not have come here. Behold the power of the Kraken!
Lightning arcs from the surface of the ocean, connecting through the rain and striking Qhortho. A look of shock crosses Qhortho’s face, but it only hardens his intentions. Thol must be killed… or he will die trying.
One of the large tentacles rises out of the sea to a tremendous height of 30 feet. It swipes through the air towards Qhortho with more speed than he would have liked. Still being Hasted, he’s able to side-step out of its way. A second one is there to meet Qhortho where he stops, grappling and squeezing him tightly. It tosses him off the coast with ease, into the poison water.
Tholannan focuses on the source of the fireball, sending a stream of water directly towards Qarzdaq. He notices it at the last possible moment. He raises his hand instinctively and turns his head, bracing for impact. A fiery red bubble appears around him. The stream partially glances off the bubble to either side sending a small plume of steam into the air. The stream continues until it pierces the bubble, causing it to collapse. The impact of the stream knocks the wind out of Qarzdaq, but he’s able to maintain his concentration on Hasting his allies.
Tholannan calls out from the distance, roughly 75 feet away.
THOL: HAVE YOU COME TO LIGHT MY CAMPFIRE OLD FRIEND?!
Qarzdaq catches his breath quickly.
QARZ: I’VE COME TO LIGHT SOMETHING ON FIRE!
Tholannan’s gurgled laugh sounds weakly human, yet strangely horrifying.
THOL: YOU’LL HAVE TO TRY HARDER THAN THAT!
Rolan and Qarzdaq look at each other as if considering whether any of this is worth it.
Aran takes off across the bridges and jumps at Tholannan, slashing Tholannan several times in succession and following up with a blunt attack with the back end.
THOL: You’ve certainly come a long way…
Tholannan casts his arms out to his sides then at Aran. Lightning flows from the surface of the water from both sides of the island and arcs directly to Aran’s plate. Aran composes himself just in time to avoid two attacks from the closest water elemental.
ARAN: Thol, if I’m here another couple of months, I’m going to have rust on my armor too! You piece of shit!
THOL: The rest of your dismal life won’t be that long!
Qarzdaq quickly downs a Potion of Invulnerability to avoid taking quite as much pain from future attacks.
The three tentacles behind Tholannan stand directly into the air, immediately three bolts of lightning strike. Aran and Qarzdaq are both directly hit; Rolan dives out of the way just in time, rolling and re-entering his stance, bow in hand. He sends two more arrows into Tholannan.
Qhortho finally makes it back to shore then jumps at Tholannan, recklessly attacking with rage. He lands every strike, causing massive damage. Tholannan appears to be hurt, but takes it all in stride. He laughs his gurgling giggle and summons a floating mace behind Aran. It swipes at him, but Aran, still seeing these events in slow motion, ducks in plenty of time.
One of the water elementals tries to punch Aran, but he blurs out its path. Seeing an opportunity, he strikes Tholannan twice; the rusty plate is finally starting to give. He follows up by striking his legs and knocking Tholannan prone. As Tholannan hits the ground, lightning strikes each member of the party.
Qarzdaq sends multiple scorching rays into a water elemental, causing it to vaporize in a puff of steam.
Rolan strikes Tholannan with another pair of arrows, this time causing him to spurt black blood. He coughs and spits out more black blood.
THOL: YOU FOOLS! YOU’RE RUINING EVERYTHING! WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE?!
QARZ: IT’S WHAT WE DO!
ARAN: We are the Busters of Ghosts, blah, blah, blah…
THOL: Why have you come into my place of worship?
QARZ: To ruin your shit.
THOL: To ruin my shit?! Why?? I did not leave you to drown at the bottom of the salty ocean… … old friends…
QARZ: That’s not at all how that happened!
From the tone of Tholannan’s voice and barely making out that Tholannan is raising his hands, he attempts to Counterspell whatever it is that Tholannan is trying to do. Thomann’s power is too strong for such meek attempts to stand in his way.
An enormous water spout draws from the ocean, heading directly for Qarzdaq and Rolan. They jump to either side, barely dodging the direct impact. Still, the impact is substantial. Qarzdaq feels it less from the potion he drank just seconds ago, thankfully. He maintains his concentration on keeping the front line Hasted.
Qhortho recklessly attacks Tholannan and shifts away from the tentacles, hoping that he is now out of their range. Tholannan realizes this and disengages from Qhortho and Aran, backing up to stand next to the tentacles for protection. He sends the floating mace after Qhortho, smashing him in the back of the head.
The remaining water elemental smashes down on Aran, causing considerable damage. Simultaneously, Tholannan raises lightning from the electrified water again, arcing it at Qhortho.
QHOR: ARRRGGHH!! STOP WITH THAT SHIT!!
THOL: Why did you come here?? Leave me to complete my work!
QHOR: You drew first blood! Not me!
Tholannan waves his hand at this. Qhortho cringes slightly, expecting this to bring more lightning, a crashing wave, or a grasping tentacle. Nothing happens though, which somehow angers him more.
Aran retaliates against the tower of water before him, quaffing a healing potion in between strikes.
Gods and Men
Through the pouring rain, a massive wave becomes visible behind Tholannan.
THOL: Behold the power of the Drowned God!
This outcry bothers Rolan and makes him second guess his part in all of this. This figure claims to be fueled by the Drowned God. The Kraken’s path has led him here. The tentacles behind Tholannan may even, in fact, be the Kraken itself! Why should he be against this? Perhaps he was brought here to help this man fulfill this destiny? Perhaps this Unlikely Assembly was simply the vessel to get him here while also drawing in the most powerful group of adventurers in the land. How is he supposed to navigate these waters?
Even though all the symbols are here in front of him, his training with Jahor and the most recent revelations of Jahor’s past make him feel that destroying the Assembly is not… right… this is not the man he is… Still, can he actively take part in destroying the Kraken’s desires?
Rolan lowers his bow.
ROLAN: Uh… Hey Qarzdaq, what do you say we get out of here and hit up a tavern? There were some good ones back in the mountains where I trained. I don’t think this fucker can get all this water up there.
Qarzdaq ponders it briefly, but gets his head back into the fight, for losing his concentration now would mean certain death for Aran and Qhortho.
The wave crashes down on the island, parting around Tholannan. Arana and Qhortho brace themselves and are pushed 10 feet. They are otherwise unscathed from the impact.
Qarzdaq musters all that he can gather from R’hllor into a Fireball that explodes with such heat that falling rain vaporizes a hundred feet in the air. The water elemental manages to hold its shape.
Rolan realizes he cannot simply walk away. He must choose sides. Now.
Rolan raises his bow, aiming directly at Tholannan’s blurry body. Two well-placed arrows strike Tholannan in succession.
THOL: AHHHHH!
Tholannan falls to his knees.
THOL: WE COULD HAVE BEEN GODS! TOGETHER WE COULD HAVE RULED THE WORLD KNOWING WHAT I KNOW NOW!
QHOR: You shouldn’t have chosen the dark path.
THOL: You’ll join me soon enough… old friends…
He coughs a few times before falling to the side, multiple arrows sticking through his rusty plate armor, black blood oozing from the wounds.
The floating shield and weapons disappear.
QARZ: It’s hard to lose a friend, but it’s harder to lose him again.
Each member of the party assesses the situation: the water elemental remains standing, the large tentacles remain in place, the giant bubble remains intact. Tholannan wasn’t the only piece to destroying this thing. The Assembly stands extremely weakened, all of them within death’s grasp.
Qhortho charges at the water elemental and brings about its demise with two strikes. The tentacles and bubble remain.
QHOR: What now?? I’m not getting near those fucking things!
ARAN: I’m not sure how much more I can take…
Qhortho makes some distance between himself and the tentacles. Aran takes a different tact. He stows his guandao, drinks a healing potion, and retrieves his bow.
Tholannan stirs. He stands up.
THOL: You fools! I will have vengeance!
Tholannan rushes Aran, mace in hand. Aran now wishes he had his guandao at the ready. He instinctively raises his bow.
Tholannan lands two strikes with his mace, then spawns another spectral weapon near Qhortho.
QHOR: DAMNIT!!!
He dodges its attack and stomps quickly towards Tholannan.
Qarzdaq sends a firebolt at Tholannan, knocking him down, lifeless once again. His robes burn briefly before the rain extinguishes the flames. The spectral mace disappears again.
Puzzle Pieces
Seeing as the bubble has not wavered, they determine the Kraken must be destroyed.
Though it pains him to do it, Rolan raises his bow and fires at the tentacles. The first manages to strike true, but his nerves get the best of him. His second arrow sails wide.
Qhortho rushes to Tholannan’s body. He cleaves Tholannan’s head from his body.
ARAN: Hey guys, there’s something over here!
He approaches a strange looking symbol in the sand. Despite the water all around them and the series of waves that have covered this area, the symbol remains pristinely carved into the sand. Aran attempts to disturb the symbol, but no matter how he digs at the symbol, it remains intact. Magic must be afoot.
Looking at the symbol, it seems the teardrop pendant they found earlier would fit nicely into one of the areas. Were there others?
ARAN: Hey Rolan, it looks like the teardrop pendant may be of some use in taking this thing down! Were there others?
ROLAN: There may be. I thought we heard thuds when we killed those tentacle priests earlier.
ARAN: Shit! We have to go back and find those! I’m on it!
Aran runs away from the area and kicks Tholannan’s head onto the next island over. He gets out of range of the tentacles just as one attempts to sweep his legs.
The water all around them springs to life with electricity, arcing across the entire party, bringing them all within an inch of death.
Qarzdaq, not sure what else to do, casts a firebolt at Tholannan’s decapitated body.
Aran crosses the bridges and passes Qarzdaq.
QARZ: You know where you’re going right?
ARAN: Yeah.
QARZ: Well, you’re the fastest one, so it makes sense for you to just go and get back as quickly as possible.
ARAN: I think Qhortho is even faster, but it would have taken too long to explain it to him.
Aran rushes away leaving Qarzdaq laughing.
Rolan dashes past in the opposite direction, towards the symbol. He places the pendant into one of the teardrop carvings. It shimmers as it did when touched with the Wand of Detect Magic.
ROLAN: Aran’s right!
Qhortho searches Tholannan’s body and finds the sphere from their first adventure, a scroll, several potions, a pile of coins, many gems, and a rusted Ironborn Kraken badge similar to the ones worn by the members of Rites of the Old Way.
A tentacle crashes down on Rolan, causing severe pain and knocking him unconscious. It picks up his dying body and flings him onto another island.
QARZ: Rolan! Shit! I got him!
Qarzdaq rushes to Rolan, but not before more lightning arcs from the ocean around them. Qhortho and Qarzdaq almost fall where they stand. Rolan’s back arches momentarily and falls limp. A puff of steam escapes his mouth.
QARZ: Fuck!
Qarzdaq pulls down Rolan’s pants and administers a healing potion as an enema.
QARZ: This is the way the priests at the Red Temple say they work quickest.
Rolan’s eyes shoot wide open.
ROLAN: What the fuck just happened?!
Rolan jumps to his feet and Cures Wounds on himself. He removes the vial from his ass.
ROLAN: Thanks! I’ve also heard that’s the way it works best from my time around the Drowned Men.
Qhortho, moments away from death, slams two more potions and runs as far as his legs will carry him.
Rolan and Qarzdaq are struck again by the lightning.
QARZ: FUCK!!
Rolan’s eyes flitter briefly, but he remains standing.
Qarzdaq and Rolan follow after Qhortho. Qarzdaq runs like his life depends on it, Rolan waddles with the same urgency but as if he were wearing Depends.
Just as they are about to rest, Aran rushes past them in a blur, clutching two pendants. He gets near the symbol, but is pushed back towards the others by another huge wave. He spits a mouthful of salty ocean onto the ground and shakes his head.
ROLAN: Guys, we should rest here and heal up.
The crack of lightning is heard as arcs of electricity zap across the islands they just escaped. They fizzle out before getting close to the party.
ROLAN: Look, we’re pretty much out of danger right here.
ARAN: No way. We need to finish this off before it’s able to replenish itself.
They take a moment to formulate a plan. In doing so, they discover that the Ironborn Kraken badge Tholannan was holding may have some significance. Qhortho and Aran decide they will be the ones to rush in. Aran will take the two teardrop pendants and Qhortho will take the Kaken badge.
ARAN: Ok, let’s go.
QARZ: Wait.
Qarzdaq shoots a firebolt at Tholannan’s decapitated body… again.
QARZ: Ok, go ahead.
Aran and Qhortho take off towards the symbol.
Rolan prepares himself for the fact that he may have to go back in there to help and quaffs another healing potion… the traditional way.
Aran arrives at the symbol and places two of the tear drop pendants. All three pendants in the symbol shimmer in unison.
ARAN: Qhortho, get that Kraken badge and stand in the center!
As Qhortho is about to step into the symbol, badge in hand, both he and Aran are struck by lightning. The badge falls from his hands, 3 feet from the symbol.
Qarzdaq sees his friends jolted by another strike and knows he is powerless to do anything to help them.
QARZ: Damn! Did you see that Rolan?? I want help, but if I go in, I know I’m dead!
He prays to R’hllor to aid their progress.
Rolan wipes his mouth from the recent healing potion and downs another one.
ROLAN: Wait… they may be missing something… the words. I’ve got to run in there to help.
Qarzdaq looks at him as if that is the most brave and foolish thing he’s ever heard. Rolan dashes onto the first island.
Qhortho dives towards the Kraken badge and scrambles to pick it up. He quickly gets into the center of the symbol and stands, waiting for something to happen. Nothing does.
Rolan is calling out to them, running as quickly as he can.
ROLAN: THE WORDS!!! SAY THE WORDS!!!
QHOR: WHAT WORDS???
ROLAN: WHAT IS DEAD MAY NEVER DIE!! WHAT IS DEAD MAY NEVER DIE!!
QHOR: What is dead may never die.
Nothing happens.
Rolan slows his run and stops on the first island.
ROLAN: …no… I could have sworn that would do it… does anything I know of the Kraken mean anything at all?
ARAN: THAT DIDN’T WORK! TRY BRINGING THE TEAR OF LIFE OUT HERE!
In a stroke of brilliance, Qhortho tries placing the badge into the center of the symbol. All four pieces immediately begin to glow with pulsing blue light. The tentacles just 20 feet away appear to become agitated.
Rolan takes a step, about to run towards them when he sees the symbol glowing.
Dire is an Understatement
Aran and Qhortho are immediately struck by tentacles and restrained. They are held off the ground, while the one remaining tentacle remains free and ready for whoever comes within range.
Qarzdaq realizes that the Haste on his friends is about to wear off. He knows that at that point, they will need to take a few moments recovering before they can do anything… even moving will become impossible until they’ve recovered.
QARZ: Oh no… GUYS, YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF THERE SOON!!
Aran and Qhortho are able to maneuver their weapons to slice into the massive, slimy tentacles holding them. Aran makes two deep cuts; Qhortho manages only one. On Qhortho’s second attempt, his blade slips from his hands. It sticks out of the sand not more than five feet from him, just out of reach. The grapple’s strength remains unaffected.
QHOR: NO!!!
Lightning strikes the two grappled men just before the tentacles fling them different directions.
The pendants in the symbol begin to glow more brightly.
Qarzdaq puts his own welfare out of his mind and rushes in to help. Rolan takes a running jump to get to the third island faster than running along the bridges.
Lightning arcs across the area, causing significant damage to all of them.
Now that he isn’t concentrating on Haste, Qarzdaq creates a ring of fire around the Kraken then tries to escape the lightning area.
Aran dashes away from the Kraken, just as the lightning arcs on the surface of the sea and across the islands. Qarzdaq, Qhortho, and Rolan are all electrocuted, but still surviving.
Qarzdaq fires a firebolt into the Kraken for good measure then gets out of the lightning area.
Rolan arrives at the symbol and notices it is glowing even brighter than it was just moments ago.
ROLAN: Maybe I have to be the one to say the words while holding the Tear of Life…
He holds the Tear and closes his eyes.
ROLAN: What is dead may never die.
Everything in his being expects something to happen. A moment passes. Then another. Nothing feels any different.
Going through Rolan’s mind are all the symbols around him. The Kraken is mere feet away from him, roasting in a ring of fire magic. The symbol beneath his feet, coursing with water magic. The Tear in his hands, the very artifact bestowed by the gods themselves to harness water magic in its purest of forms. Everything he stands for, everything he believes. The words mean nothing.
Being a man to take meaning in symbols, he finds himself speaking the very words Jahor spoke in the past recently seen: “…the way of the Kraken is a sham…” It is not lost on him that he also sheds a tear as he comes to this realization. He feels almost silly that he thought it would work. They’re only words…
The world around him feels as if it is spinning.
He loses consciousness again when he hears a crack of lightning.
Qarzdaq sees Rolan standing on the symbol when the lightning hits his three allies. A moment later, Rolan has fallen.
QARZ: NO!!
He knows he’s one lightning strike from being in the same position.
QARZ: QHORTHO! GET ROLAN!
Qhortho gets back to shore, but can’t quite make it to Rolan. He quaffs a potion to give him a little more longevity.
A wave pushes Aran, Qhortho, and Rolan sixty feet towards the mainland, but separates them from each other. Aran is able to get next to Rolan and reaches for a potion. He has none left. He quickly stabilizes Rolan with his knowledge of medicine and drags him as far as he can. Rolan remains unconscious, but at least he’s no longer dying. Looking towards the symbol, even from this distance, it is now glowing so brightly that it is difficult to watch for more than a second.
ARAN: I don’t think I can take another one of those lightning strikes!
With that, lightning strikes and hits Aran, Rolan, and Qhortho. Qhortho is mid-run towards his allies. He stumbles but maintains his momentum. Rolan and Aran, on the other hand, are now both dying.
Qarzdaq wants to run in, but he knows he shouldn’t. He can do more good here than dead. But he trusts Qhortho to pull him out of danger if he does fall – and he trusts R’hllor to provide him life beyond death. As he takes his first step to help Rolan and Aran, he realizes that he literally trusts these guys with his life.
Qarzdaq reaches Rolan and starts to drag him towards the mainland.
QARZ: Qhortho, grab Aran! I can drag Rolan!
Miraculously, Rolan begins choking. Immediately the words cross his mind, “what is dead may never die…” Maybe it’s not complete nonsense. Maybe it’s only in the way it’s practiced. No time to think of this now. His eyes blink open and he grunts.
QARZ: It’s alright buddy, I got you. We’re almost there.
Qhortho picks up Aran and begins running with him towards the mainland.
The lightning strikes again, this time striking Qarzdaq and Rolan; Qhortho and Aran are just out of the danger zone. Qarzdaq takes a knee for a moment, but Rolan blacks out once again. Qarzdaq loses his ability to concentrate on the ring of fire.
QARZ: FUCK! This lightning shit has GOT TO GO!
He gets back on his feet and continues to drag Rolan.
Qhortho stabilizes Aran then turns to Qarzdaq.
QHOR: Push man! You’re almost out of there!
Ignition
Qhortho’s eyes widen. Qarzdaq, now scared of what Qhortho must be seeing, pushes as hard as he can. His grip slips and he falls forward. He quickly flips over, sitting and resting on his palms.
A small bright light is shining on the island with the Kraken. Suddenly, it seems to ignite the air itself in a blinding white light.
The air is sucked out of their lungs instantly. The water in the ponds and the rain still falling, vaporizes into a thin haze. Now able to see much better than the rain allowed, the Kraken is now visible. The Kraken’s tentacles reach out, grasping for the area near the symbol. Before they can disturb anything, they are sucked into the ocean as if being pulled into a deep draining whirlpool.
Seconds later, and still unable to breathe, the haze thickens, becoming a dense fog. The water around them vanishes before their very eyes. The boundary of the steel blue bubble collapses in on them. They can actually feel the boundary passing through them as it collapses towards the symbol.
Everything goes dark.
A moment later, Qhortho and Qarzdaq awaken gasping for air. They are bruised and badly beaten, and stuck in a fog so dense they cannot see more than a foot ahead. Qarzdaq, not knowing how long it has been, quickly scrambles to Rolan and attempts to stabilize him. He fails, so Qhortho comes over and does so successfully.
The rain subsides. They take a short rest and prepare for how they get out of here.
While resting, they hear muffled voices through the fog yelling for help.
During this session, the party gained 6,750 XP each, bringing them each to 62,450 XP since leaving Valyria 462 Days ago. Luckily, they were able to survive this far. They’re abilities will reach new heights at 64,000 XP.