Hotcha is baffled.
“I’m baffled.”
So much so, she has to collect her thoughts just to elaborate.
“I just can’t make sense of the sheer size of this thing.”
She hops atop the edge of the shell, which is considerably thicker than she is tall!
“What hatches from this? What could have brought it here? Has it been here a really long time?”
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"I don't have the slightest idea. I'd hate to meet its Momma," he said, without a trace whatsoever of foreshadowing.
With no other clues to unearth here, you continue exploring the region. Your efforts are rewarded as you discover a pair of greater boots of bounding inside an abandoned coastal bungalow.
You move to the east, exploring some swampy areas. You come across an old druid circle being used as a team’s base, though it is currently empty.
Further coloration brings you to a small village of boggards. The village is relatively unremarkable. It consists of a few scattered mud huts dispersed throughout the thick marsh and a large open area in the center of the village dedicated to worship. Two enormous winged toad monsters laze about the village center, the boggards hopping about to cater to their whims.
"It might have nothing to do with the tournament," Xin tells his companions in a whisper, "But I still want to know who those winged creatures are. Any objections?"
If he hears none, Xin will lead the group into the village.
As you approach the village, you get a better look at the monstrous creatures in the center of the huts. These grotesque monsters resemble gigantic toads with leathery wings, fangs, horns, and three bulbous eyes. The creatures croak and bellow angrily, and the boggards of the village scramble to surround them, brandishing their spears at you.
One of the creatures croaks out words in a strange tongue, and a boggard hops forward you translate. "The great gods speak! Gonmoji and Roomon demand you leave this place at once! Or you will be devoured!"
"And you, my friend? Do you desire to remain in the realm of these demons you call gods? If you wish it, we will leave. Or, if you wish it, we will make them leave. What do your people want?"
"Do not blaspheme against the great gods! We, the Spotfoot tribe, are beholden to the great gods!" the boggard declares. "It was they who bore us on their backs and brought us to this blessed island after our prior home became desolate and barren. They protect us and keep us safe! Now leave this place, or face their wrath!"
While Wu talks, Yog'Moi sizes up the two 'Gods' and wonders if they could've crawled out of that egg. Something tells him the egg was home to a beast far larger, far more dangerous than these two sad froggy blobs.
Hotcha giggles as the snazzy boots shrink to fit. If no one else wants them, she’ll keep them until a friend needs a few hundred gold.
Hotcha lets Xin chat a bit… then moves quite gracefully into the conversation, knowing how harmless she must appear to regular-size giants, never mind extra-large ones.
“Are they truly so noble? I thought they were using you as slaves. I mean, they certainly look strong so I guess it’s easier to just call them gods and do as they say. But usually the heroic types don’t threaten to eat by-passers.”
Xin shrugs. "When in Goka, do as the Gokans, they say. Very well, we will leave you to your gods. Live well."
He's ready to leave.
Not aching to get into a scrap with an entire tribe of boggards and possibly end up being frog food, Yog'Moi suppresses a snarl and turns around to follow Wu. "Good call. We got bigger eggs to crack."
Following Xin’s lead, Hotcha redirects—“But of course, this is the first time I’ve seen a frog god. Unless ya wanna escort us out to make sure we really leave, we’re off, Mr. Translator.”
The boggards and their gods warily watch you as you depart.
You continue north along the coast, exploring the area. A boathouse here is another team’s base, currently unoccupied.
As you continue your exploration, you are caught by surprise when a large flightless bird hops out of a copse of trees and rushes towards you!
Xin and Yog’Moi instinctively shout, but while the bird is shaken, it quickly hops up to Xin! Its beak darts out, snatching the phoenix necklace around the rogue’s neck and yanking it free!
The bird squawks and victory and begins to hop away!
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The fairy is not normally one to blaspheme, but in this case—
“Frogdammit!”
She ▶️bolts after the bird and pummels it!
Angry beyond words, Yog'Moi froths at the mouth as he gargles up incoherent words. Already he's running after the damned beast and with sword in hand, it's clear to all what will happen to the bird if the hobgoblin manages to wrestle it into submission.
You attempt to grab a creature or object with your free hand. Attempt an Athletics check against the target's Fortitude DC. You can Grapple a target you already have grabbed or restrained without having a hand free.
Critical Success: Your target is restrained until the end of your next turn unless you move or your target Escapes.
Success: Your target is grabbed until the end of your next turn unless you move or your target Escapes.
Failure: You fail to grab your target. If you already had the target grabbed or restrained using a Grapple, those conditions on that creature or object end.
Critical Failure: If you already had the target grabbed or restrained, it breaks free. Your target can either grab you, as if it succeeded at using the Grapple action against you, or force you to fall and land prone.
"What the...?"
Xin takes off after the bird!
Disarm
Single Action
Attack
Source Core Rulebook pg. 243 2.0
Requirements You have at least one hand free. The target can’t be more than one size larger than you.You try to knock something out of a creature’s grasp. Attempt an Athletics check against the target’s Reflex DC.
Critical Success You knock the item out of the target's grasp. It falls to the ground in the target's space.
Success You weaken your target's grasp on the item. Until the start of that creature's turn, attempts to Disarm the target of that item gain a +2 circumstance bonus, and the target takes a –2 circumstance penalty to attacks with the item or other checks requiring a firm grasp on the item.
Critical Failure You lose your balance and become flat-footed until the start of your next turn
With nothing else to go off of, we leave the enormous egg and continue on. Walking through swamps is not my idea of a good time, and I'm glad we don't end up fighting there. Leave the amphibians to their own devices.
And then there was a bird. I sigh in mental anguish and give chase.
Esh rushes after the bird, sweeping its legs from under it! As it falls, Hotcha leaps upon it, punching it in the head, though it resists the stun. Yog’Moi joins the dogpile, grappling the beast as Xin hustles to keep pace with his swifter companions.
The bird manages to get up on its feet, despite the hobgoblin holding onto it. It gives a strange, ululating cry that threatens to mess with your heads!
Success The target is unaffected.
Failure The target is confused for 1 round.
Critical Failure The target is confused for 1 round and immediately attacks itself (in the normal fashion for attacking oneself while confused). This Strike doesn't give the creature a flat check to recover from the confusion.
Hearing the warbling song, Xin begins to shake, then begins to stab...himself. "Rrrraaaaah!"
Hotcha slaps herself silly!
“Take THIS and THAT!”
“Owwww, why?!”
“Ow again!”
When Hotcha comes to her senses, she’ll wonder why she didn’t hurl sprite’s sparks at herself.
As the others stab themselves, or worse, Yog'Moi screams at the bird, telling it to shut up. Since it doesn't, the hobgoblin takes drastic measures to hopefully make it shut up permanently.
Esh Attacks Hotcha in his confusion, landing one critical hit. The bird weathers both of Yog’Moi’s spells, though it is injured. The beast squawks and hop-runs away at top speed!
As the bird dashes away so does the hobgoblin. He utters one explicit phrase after another, but the swearing doesn't magically close the gap between him and the foul beast. If anything, it makes it easy for the others to keep track of where Yog'Moi is.
Xin follows as fast as he can, yelling "Hotcha! Get that bird!"
↩️To battle, Hotcha ▶️runs and ▶️runs!
“Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!!”
She clobbers the bird!
The bird shrieks in pain as Hotcha clobbers it and sets in ablaze. "Wark!" it cries! It drops the phoenix necklace and lowers its head to also drop a bag it was wearing around its neck, then it hops away, smoke rising from its burning feathers!
In addition to recovering the phoenix necklace, the bag contains numerous treasures mixed in with a fair amount of junk. In all, you discover a balisse feather; a piece of dispelling silver; a light brown elemental gem; an eye of apprehension; a glowing, thin glass rod which turns out to be a wand of crackling lightning (6th level); a runestone that glows with faint, crimson light due to its greater flaming rune; and a greater ring of cold resistance.
Hotcha instantly heals, then dives into the bag. She comes out holding a rune similar to one infused onto her handwraps.
“I was saving up for one of these! Even I could get burned by fire with one of these on!” Considering how much of the battle damage was self-inflicted, she notes, “Hopefully I won’t start punching myself again.”
Hotcha of course would like another dip in the drink.
As the last lingering notes of the birds song leave my head I realize what I've done.
"Hotcha, I am SO incredibly sorry," I bow so low as to nearly be kowtowing. It's my job to protect my team, not endanger them. I'm pretty sure this is what an existential crisis feels like.
"I don't... I... Please forgive me." I say as humbly as I can manage.
“Awww, don’t sweat it Esh. I did about as much damage to myself with my own fists, but…” Seeing that Esh is bowing so low, Hotcha steps close to his face and twirls. “…as you can see, I am unscathed!”
Eyeing the goblet, she adds, “But if you reallllly wanna make it up to me, a rosebud lite will make me feel muuuuch better!”
After recovering from the bird attack, you continue along the northwest coast of Danger Island. Here, you discover an old pirates' cove being used as a team's base, as well as an official beachside fighting arena.
Another team approaches you, four wizard-warriors known as the Glowing Embers. They all look rather haggard and stressed-out, and you can see why--they only have one silver feather remaining on their phoenix necklace.
"We challenge you to a match!" their leader shouts. "And we wager our last silver feather on the outcome!"
With the challenge declared, you wait a few minutes for a group of enforcers to arrive and observe the match. Ingdani steps forward to officiate. "The Glowing Embers versus Three Men and a Fairy. Ready? FIGHT!"
Your battle cries leave two of the mages badly shaken. However, they react very quickly. One of them casts a spell to conjure black tentacles beneath your feet, though the tentacles fail to grab anybody! The other three spread out across the battlefield, targeting you all with chain lightning!
"First priority is to get out of the tentacles," he says to his teammates. "And spread out so they can't use area spells against us."
"We need to lock these magi down so they're not free to cast. Esh, you've got the man in the backfield. Hotcha, I need you with me on the man in front. Yog... see you soon," he says with a grin.
Xin dashes across the sand, weaving past the lead attacker.
Debilitation = The target takes a –10-foot status penalty to its Speeds.
Hotcha does a triple dodge, though her second attempt is at the speed of a middle aged man who gets no respect.
“Yowch! You guys are lightning fast! I guess I’ll have to fire back with fire, which like me is…”
▶️ Hotcha dashes into action, assumes the ▶️ jellyfish position, and…
“…irresistible!” she squeals in delight as her shiny new rune lights up her foe!
“Awww, don’t sweat it Esh. I did about as much damage to myself with my own fists, but…” Seeing that Esh is bowing so low, Hotcha steps close to his face and twirls. “…as you can see, I am unscathed!”
Eyeing the goblet, she adds, “But if you reallllly wanna make it up to me, a rosebud lite will make me feel muuuuch better!”
"Yes, of course," I chuckle weakly and hand her my goblet, then grind the heels of my hands into my eyes. I'm going to feel bad about that for a while.
We carry on for a while along the beach before running into the Glowing Embers. They don't look like much, but I've already been lectured about underestimating opponents. The fight starts and they're quick on the draw, throwing out spells before we can close the distance.
"First priority is to get out of the tentacles," he says to his teammates. "And spread out so they can't use area spells against us."
"We need to lock these magi down so they're not free to cast. Esh, you've got the man in the backfield. Hotcha, I need you with me on the man in front. Yog... see you soon," he says with a grin.
I dart off, swiping at one foe before continuing to my designated opponent.
Yog'Moi finds himself stuck between a rock and a charged place as lightning strikes more than twice and otherworldly tentacles tug and peel at his body. Like the others, he rushes forward but instead of tending to his own wounds, he cracks open a jug and throws its contents over Esh. "Hei Feng has your back!"
Esh strikes the nearest mage once, while Hotcha and Xin both score critical hits! The wizard resists the sprite's stunning fist, though Xin's strike hampers his movement.
Burning from Hotcha's hit, the wounded mage stands his ground, protecting himself with both a shield and mirror image spell.
The wizard Esh is in front of tries to put some distance between himself and the elf, but Esh makes him pay for this tactical mistake with a critical hit that leaves him badly hurt!
Grimacing in pain, he staggers away and then tries to confuse the barbarian!
Another mage moves in to flank Xin, casting shocking grasp and then punching at the rogue! The final one moves to line up Xin and Yog'Moi and fires off a lightning bolt!
Hotcha has not four, but seven foes. She focuses on the four in front of her!
One mirror image shatters!
“Mel…”
Hotcha misses!
“…low…”
Hotcha shatters another fake!
“…OUT!!”
Hotcha finally hits her guy!
Even though Yog'Moi bites into his ancestral hatred for arcane magics, he still fails to dodge the mage's lightning. He groans and knows that if he doesn't have a drink real soon, he'll be out of the fight after another zap or two. A flask is popped, a drink is had, and a slap to the face finishes the hobgoblin's moment of self-TLC.
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Very badly hurt and burned, Xin grits his teeth. Only moments to salvage this.
Hotcha winnows away at the mage's mirror images, landing a hit with her last attack. The mage blocks it with his shield, absorbing most of the blow. Xin misses with his initial strike, but he inspires Hotcha to battle, and with a combo punch from the sprite and stab from the rogue, the wounded mage falls!
Meanwhile, a confused Esh rushes at the mage that cast the lightning bolt. He manages one hit on the foe.
Yog'Moi heals himself!
The mages are beginning to flag, as the fatigue from the long day and the brutal battles they have dealt with takes its toll.
The far mage raises a shield and telekinetically hurls his sword at Yog'Moi, slicing the hobgoblin twice before the weapon returns to his hand.
The one battling Xin casts true strike before delivering another shocking grasp through his punch, dropping the rogue!
The final mage steps out of Esh's reach and tries to spell punch Yog'Moi, but the hobgoblin dodges his electrified fist!
My head hurts and my vision is swimming, fire seeming to warp the air with it's heat. I am FURIOUS, but finally clear headed. I see Yog dodge a spell from the mage, and move to support him.