Episode 2: The Tragedy of Azar
In which Ryu, Wazir, Trok, and Kaleho confront and defeat Azar the Lost, who came to Hamri in search of the water of the Sentient Ocean at the urging of the mysterious voice of Gazankoa.
3 August 1747
Evening. Ten days after encountering the merfolk and recovering the sentient water from a chest in a tidal cave north of Hamri, Wazir, Ryu, and Trok meet again at the Leviathan Inn, joined by the human sailor Kaleho, a friend of Wazir’s. Wazir has deciphered the scroll they found, and is concerned with the contents. The scroll reports on someone who seems to be experimenting with trying to resurrect the dead, under the influence of some entity referred to as Gazankoa. The scroll writer, Azar the Lost, summoned a Marid using treasure apparently found in one of Airion’s towers, and commanded it to steal sentient water, called Yi’weti by Airion, from the mysterious oceans to the west. In Hamri, the creature Nimessa delivered the Sentient Ocean to Azar the Lost, where he used it to experiment until it was recovered by the party.
4 August 1747
Morning. The party heads out to investigate, starting with the tower which they quickly learn is built on top of an older tower. The strange illusionary vision of the Elemental Plane of Water persists here as well, as it did in the tidal cave below. Finding signs of occupation, they spend the morning talking to contacts: Jaeson on the cliffs, Orden the beach bum, Samar and Reliah, the orphan twins in the Drowned Flats, before meeting at the Fish Market around lunch, where they discuss history, and Airion the Mistspeaker’s connection to Hamri, with Benat the Lizardfolk liaison to Hamri.
Afternoon. After lunch, they speak with Yaz, the old ocean watcher, and Ovina, the slightly dubious dwarven smith. From these contacts, they piece together the events of the past few weeks. Azar the Lost has killed a number of gatza addicts in the Drowned Flats, apparently taking the bodies to his lair, and recently has commissioned a solid box of lead to be made by Ovina, paying handsomely for her to not ask why. Learning Azar the Lost will return in a day to get the box, they plan an ambush.
5 August 1747
Morning. The party confronts Azar the Lost, who tries to flee but then turns and fights when cornered, but is eventually defeated.
Afternoon. After recovering from your injuries and helping calm down the civilians on the Shark’s dock, as well as tend to the one dead woman, caught in Azar the Lost’s lightning blast, you heard the full tale from Azar the Lost.
Evening. An expedition to the Splinters finds two more drowned zombies that are quickly dispatched; one poor gatza addict, an older woman known as Sefa who lived alone in the Drowned Flats; three books of Airion’s notes and lore (two written in an old language that Wazir recognizes as Drankorian, the third written in Elvish); the knife, which you lock in the lead box; the brass bowl; and a number of scattered coins, which are paid as restitution to Sefa and the families of those who died (that could be found, at least).
6 August 1747
Morning. Wazir is able to identify the items recovered from Azar the Lost’s lair. The knife is a strange thing, shrouded in mystery and darkness, it is clear that some greater power beyond Wazir’s magic is at work here. The brass bowl is a bowl of commanding water elementals, with the stipulation that it must be filled with water drawn fresh from the ocean in order to be used, and must be used immediately when filled.
9 August 1747
Morning. Azar the Lost leaves for the Lizardfolk village to the south, traveling with Benat. Azar the Lost is going to heal, before returning to make amends to Hamri for the damage and death he brought here.
Aftermath
Wazir, Kaleho, Trok, and Ryu disperse to their daily lives, but questions remain:
- What to do with the knife, now locked in a lead box in the Leviathan (or wherever else you want it to end up)?
- What other mysteries lie in Airion’s notes, and what language are they written in?
- What did Trok write to his family? Did he write to his family?
- How is Hamri connected to the Elemental Plane of Water via Airion’s tower and Airion’s mysteriously missing well, and why was Airion so interested in this place?
- And perhaps more as well, such as what really lies beyond the horizon to the west