Croaki's animal instincts kick into gear and he quickly finds a sheltered depression. Trusting his companion's instincts Sarathor follows, bringing the group along behind. The sound is almost deafening, but no lasting harm is done. You do, however, see that was not the same for at least one of the Aspis agents. He stumbles and falls to the ground in a nearby street, blood oozing out of his ears.
Aspis Stampede
As you seek an advantageous position a group of terrified Aspis agents rounds the corner, obliviously charging your location. You have a brief moment to redirect them or everyone will be caught in the open. Yell a command for them to make way , hoping they listen so you can slip through or attempt a lie indicating there is second Mobogo in the other direction so they turn and run the other way.
Kord's monstrous presence strikes the fear of his god into the scattering Aspis as they frantically fall over each other to get out of the way. One turns so hard he slams into a stone wall and collapses to the ground, twitching. The group easily follows the pathfinder to a safer location.
Leap Dragon-Frog
With a thundering leap, the Mobogo briefly takes to the air aiming to squash everyone under its massive frame. Deftly maneuver through the rubble to get to safety or dive out of the way at the last second .
Croaki leaps for an empty space
Sarathor also tries to leap out of the way
Ahmande sees the danger the whole way, and at the last moment shoves the group one direction, easily avoiding the bellyflop of the Mobogo. The Aspis agents were not as lucky, one being completely squashed and the others knocked to the ground.
Hurricane Alley
As quick as it lands, the Mobogo takes flight. You see a possible escape route and dart down a side street. It quickly cuts you off, hovering at the end. Its giant wings pumping gusts of air down the narrow alleyway. You can withstand the gusts or push your way through .
Kord shrugs off the wind, loosing a roaring laugh as he easily stands firm providing sufficient shelter for the group. The Aspis, again are not as lucky. The winds pin the remaining few against the wall.
Sudden Overgrowth
Seeing the edge of town, the group cuts towards the safety of the jungle. The remaining Aspis trail just behind. The mobogo chants and the innocuous vines on the walls suddenly spring to life, threatening to choke off the escape route. Identify which plants will allow safe passage or find a safe route around them .
Croaki leads the way instinctively as Ren, Kord and Sarathor point it out. Ahmande and Tishka notice a few poisonous plants among the overgrowth which are then easily avoided. The Mobogo croaks in anger as the group escape her trap.
Crumbling Archway
The giant frog dragon beast thing thunders after you. Up ahead, the lower half of an ancient statue forms a crumbling archway. Darting under it, you think that if the right pressures were applied either through brute force or intelligent removal of the cornerstone that it would all tumble down around the beast.
Kord picks a spot and tells everyone what to do. Ren and Sarathor pull out a couple key blocks and Kord heaves his should into the archway. It starts leaning to collapse as the group darts out the far side. The Mobogo continues darting forward after her prey and is caught in the collapse. A shriek of anger is heard as she opens her mouth wide...
Tongue Tied
... and her tongue shoots out, slamming stickily into Gideon's back. She starts dragging her consolation prize back towards her gaping maw. You can pull him free or hack away at the thick tongue .
|
Sprinting away past the archway, Ahmande hears Gideon's cry of alarm as he's caught up by the tongue. The first thing that comes to mind is a repeat of his earlier effort to free the man from the trapped floor. Ahmande quickly incants the words of magic that are already so close in his memory, causing a film of grease to cover Gideon's back, hoping to ease the man's escape!
|
Eyeing the massive animal, Tishka moves to grab hold of the man. Suddenly, flashes of it turning its tongue on her cross her mind. "You shall not eat me!" she screams, drawing her weapon.
Giving the tongue a solid whack, she states "Those things like to swallow my kind whole! At least chew a girl first!"
Kord grabs Gideon and as the Grease loosens the tongue, he pops free. Tishka and Ren take whacks at the tongue as it flops to the ground and it is quickly snapped back into the open maw of the beast. The monstrous Mobogo squirrels its may back out of the entrapment and turns to feast on the ones that didn't get away... A bag is tossed over the rubble and you hear a voice, "Gideon! Take the tablets back to her! We'll hold off this..." ...you hear screams of Aspis in the distance as you make your way into the cover of the jungle.
Gideon grabs the pack and follows you into the jungle. He hands it over while gasping for breath. He is covered in all sorts of various slimes but manages a small grin, "well shit that was quite impressive. You all happen to be recruiting?"
He wipes his hands off onto his soiled clothing, not making much of a dent in the dirt. "So uh do you all have a boat? If not, I can prolly sneak you into the one we chartered. By the sound of those screams I'm guessing there aren't many agents left and the crew is just a bunch of mercenaries." He looks closely at a couple of you, "it has nice bunks, you all could get some rest at least."
|
|
"We do have a ship, both a small fishing jetty and a larger ship that got us here. Our first task has to be to go find Wallace and the fishing jetty; he's our ride back." Ahmande looks around for any familiar landmarks.
Then Ahmande returns his gaze to Gideon, with a smile. "You did well there, Gideon. That was a dangerous chase, and you came through it with us. I think we can probably get you a meeting with someone back at the Grand Lodge; stick with us and we'll get you a wayfinder of your own." He walks up and shakes the mans hand.
"We also could use your help, if you don't mind. We need to prove to Senghor's leadership that the Aspis were up to no good out here. Just proving that they were investigating Baoli will be enough, I think. Could you testify to that for us?"
Gideon thinks about it for a second, but doesn't make any quick movements to grab the bag. "Guessing by what that guy being digested right now said, it is at least one of the twelve rites tablets as my old boss Shinri called them. The predicament you found me in was the result of locating one of them. Touching it... well gave me a really odd feeling. Sent chills down my spine. Worse then when I saw Shinri punch a guy so hard his eyeball popped out."
The boggard accepts the jerky and nibbles on it. After that he rips off large chunks, gulping them down. He seems to be less terrified of Kord, his head bobbing in what you might guess to be thanks.
|
Great, a pet. Just what I needed.
"Well then, I guess we can assume it's magic. As to the rest, I can guess why you don't want to give up the ghost just yet on the Aspis. They have connections. However, you wouldn't be the first defector, and we can get you outta town to somewhere you think is safe."
|
|
"I take it that Shinri is quite formidable from what you have said. Where is she expecting you to return to? As my friends have said, you wouldn't be the first Aspis to leave and join our ranks. We really would like to know more about your boss and their operation here."
And we really need to rest.
He looks over the group, his eyes carefully picking out those among them that might have suffered injury during the terrifying run.
"Is anyone in need of healing?"
Overwhelmed by your compassion and excellent arguments, Gideon agrees to testify on your behalf as to what the Aspis were doing here. He adds, "let's walk and talk, I don't feel great and there are more of those things out here." He nods at the young Boggard.
As you start making your way to where you left the fishing trawler he shares what he knows, mainly answering Ren's two requests for information.
"So my former boss, Shinri is tough. She earned her spot with the Consortium as a Bronze agent by coming up with good plans and
cracking any skulls that popped up along the way. I’ve been a part of her crew in Bloodcove for two years, and let me tell you, it’s much better to be standing behind her than in her way. Shinri was born on the streets. She’s a natural fighter, tough as crocodile and furious as a hippo, but lately she’s been even more ‘Shin-rey’ than normal. That’s a word we use when we’re safely out of earshot. Over the last few months, she has been meditating for four or five hours at a time, and she’s been using all kinds of strange fighting techniques she never used to, things you don’t learn on the streets. This might sound strange, but I think she is actually talking to someone when she meditates. Someone, or maybe something?”
"Our operation here was pretty simple. The boss wanted us to collect some stone tablets with weird-looking markings etched onto them. I was in the process of procuring one earlier when I was so rudely interrupted by the floor swallowing me up. If I recall correctly, that going to be the tenth one in Shinri’s set. Once, I overheard her calling them the Twelve Rites during her meditations. She’s begun talking to herself when she thinks no one is listening.”
You make it back to where the trawler has been tied off. The snoring from inside the cabin is still cranking along, but stops when you board. White-tooth Wallace pops his head out, "back already? And with friends I see."
|
|
When Gideon points out the Boggard, that gives Ahmande a thought. "You know, if we can get past the language barrier, this fella could probably also testify to what the Aspis were up to out there."
Then, as Gideon goes on to explain in more detail what was really going on out there, Ahmande finally decides that it would be a good idea to take a look at this tablet. He opens the bag and takes a look inside to see if he can decipher anything from it.
Ahmande opens the bag and see two stone tablets inside, they look really old. Without touching them he waits until they are back on the boat. Carefully sliding them out onto a table he inspects the writing.
|
|
After examining the tablets, Ahmande shares what he learned.
"Gideon appears to be right. The language is similar to the writing we saw in that room--those crazy runes. This one must be part of a larger set, and it seems to be providing guidance for some rite or another, though I can't really tell what it does. Blood magic, though. Not really sure that I want to figure out what it does, to be honest."
|
|
"Well, it's pretty clear that Shinri is up to sumthin'. However, as of right now, its kinda hard ta go to the authorities sayin' the we know they are guilty cuz we just saw them while we were breakin' the same law." Looking to their till-man, "Wallace, you've done right by us so far and have been around these parts awhile. How do you think the Council would respond to just our story and a few recovered tablets?" He thinks a moment before adding, "Assuming the Aspis haven't bought some of them o' course, then the whole point ain't fer beans."
White-Tooth Wallace shows his pearlies and shrugs, "I ain't one to know the will of the council, but you bring em some evidence and a witness I figure you got a decent shot. Better not act like a fool though, they expect respect."
He starts piloting the trawler out into the coastline and Gideon gives him some directions. You come around a stand of trees and see a much larger sailing ship anchored in a small hidden bay. Gideon is up front and gives a coded response to the hail, which puts the crew at ease.
Once you get close enough for a line he explains that you all 'acquired' this fishing vessel, putting an emphasis on the word and none of the crew seem surprised. With the recognition of Gideon as an Aspis and the proper codes, no one pays attention to the rest of you sorry lot .
The quarters are decent enough and the larger ship handles the waves a lot better. The travel back across the bay is approximately one day. If anyone wishes to sleep, they can get a full night's rest . The fishing trawler is lashed along behind, but White Tooth Wallace manages to sail it by himself well enough to prevent it being a drag.
The ships are docked in Senghor near Windrel Holdings, which Gideon indicates is where his old boss is located. The crew is happy to be back and heads straight into town for a stiff drink.