Episode 4: The Chained Beast
In which Ander, Nerissa, and Ryu battle steam creatures and fire cultists to save a captive dragon turtle.
8 November 1747
Morning. Ander comes to visit his childhood friend Ryu in the towers. While having a late morning tea, Jaeson approaches, telling them that some beast is trying to take all the Lizardfolk gatza, providing an opportunity to corner the market. Jaeson says the beast has killed several Lizardfolk already, and he hints to Ryu that if he went and stole the gatza tribute from these Lizardfolk they could make a lot of money.
Ryu and Ander meet up with Nerissa who had heard the same story, and decide to investigate and see what can be done to help.
Afternoon. They arrive at Eskorola, the Lizardfolk village, in the late afternoon, after a half-day’s sail north up the coast. Speaking with Itzal, the village elder, they learn several Lizardfolk have been killed by a strange beast, and a burned body washed ashore with a note demanding gatza be placed on a barge in the harbor in three days time. The only clue is gouts of steam and a place to the north of strange mists. Amaya, a young Lizardfolk scout, takes the party to the site where the last attack happened, where Ryu spots the print of a massive, dragon-like claw, and notes the vegetation along the coast seems to have been boiled.
9 November 1747
Morning. The party heads north to explore. Approaches the mists, Blu scouts ahead and is attacked by flying steam creatures that seem to be guarding a giant tunnel or passage. Slowly paddling forward to investigate, the party attacks the steam imps, and the fire cultist warrior standing guard with them. They defeat these enemies, but are badly wounded when the fire cultist explodes as he dies, pelting them with shrapnel.
Deciding to climb the nest and approach from the top, instead of through the tunnel, they make there way over the mound to a thinner section, with a giant pool beneath it. In the pool is another fire cultist with a robe of flame, and a giant turtle, at least fifteen feet across, with the head of a dragon and a massive black spear stuck in its neck, fire running along it. As battle begins, Ryu, Blu, and Nerissa focus on removing the arrow while Ander makes his way to the mage. Despite the searing pain of the black spear, Nerissa is able to remove it after it was loosened by Ryu and Blu. Nerissa calms and soothes the dragon turtle, convincing it to fight the influence of the spell it is under and tell them that they need to break the concentration of the mage to free him. As fireballs fly, Ander begins to hack the mage apart, finally breaking his concentration. With Ander and Ryu nearly dead, and Nerissa and the dragon turtle charmed by a hypnotic pattern of flame in the air above them, Blu shakes the turtle awake who delivers the killing blow to the mage.
Afternoon. After the battle, the party learns the turtle is young, not more than 20 years old, called Chaessenth, and has been in captivity as long as he can remember, probably since he was an egg. But he can hear the songs of the ocean, the vision they paint of the stars below and the dazzling lights of the deep sea. He sings one, as Nerissa starts to pick up the melody, and tells the party of the songs of the Wanui Teora, and that he will go west and find a home in the deep.
From Chaessenth they also learn that the fire mage was searching for gatza, lots of gatza, in order speak with the long-dead Khathayi the Flametongue, buried or associated with some lost tomb on an island to the north, off the coast of the peninsula. Coincidentally, the fire mage also carried a golden amulet that matches the symbol drawn in Hiyasa’s treasure map, marking a place on an island to the north.
As the party returns to the Lizardfolk village on the back of the giant dragon turtle, they say their goodbyes as Turk swims off with Chaessenth towards the open ocean to the west and the rest of the group returns to Hamri.