(Night Watch - Resting): Resting through the
night, Vermin sat atop one of the spheres waiting for creatures to come and rip
his flesh off. When none came, he was surprised.
(Dawn Watch - Travel to the Unknown): Rising
the next day the party began the day with a nice chunk of boar meat. Then the
discussion ensued as to whether they would return to the barrier island to
await Martel, go to Svarku's new moon party or head southwards towards the
steam imps. Worried that he may live IN
the volcano, they opted to wait a while before going to the party. The nude
self-portraits may also have affected the decision in some fashion. Left
between going back to the sludge tower or continuing on towards the imps, they
opted to head south towards the house.
Hiking through the
sand washed jungle, the party noticed that scores of crabs and birds were
scuttling in their direction. It did not take long before they heard a
bellowing "woop-woop-woop" crying out through the trees. With what
few precious seconds they had, they quickly perused the stack of zoology
portraits discovering that the wooping noise was made by a zip bird. Undaunted
by the new found knowledge, the zip birds drove through the party. Leaping and
slashing in a chaotic fashion, they seemed to make short work of the party when
Donjon remembered that he had a halberd and set for charge. The birds leapt
over it and drove him to the ground while the rest of the party peppered their
bodies with arrows and sword stroke.
Taking a brief
pause, the party began carving up the corpse of the zip birds trying to get as
much as they could. As none of them had the slightest idea how to dissect a
giant bird, much of it was lost. A few eyes, some feathers and a talon were
recovered before they set off.
(Day Watch - Explore): Arriving at a large
grove filled with giant pine trees the party paused. Looking at the groove,
they discovered that the entire area was swarming with bees. Small white cubes
sat in the middle of the clearing while vast piles of honey dripped from the trees.
Fearful and nervous, Danny Vermin lead those who retreated to a more secure
bee-free area while Sir Boren and Bobah pushed forward cautiously so as to not
provoke the bees.
Sir Boren focused
his attention on the honey dripping from the trees. With nervous cautiousness
he dipped his finger into the ooze. Then slowly to his lips, waiting for the
swarm to attack. When they did not he was at best confused. Nothing on the
island had failed to attack them yet. Why not the bees?
Bobah moved towards
the white cubes, drawn to one in particular where a large swarm of bees was
swarming in a variety of patterns. He approached and they paused for a few
seconds before starting their whirling again. After a few minutes of watching
them buzz around and then pause he decided to attempt to move with them. Noting
their enthusiasm, he broke into a smooth Selunewalk and followed up with a
mechanical Golem dance. The bees were delighted and responded with their own
moves. Bobah closed up his set by finishing them off with a full Grippli Style
routine.
The excited bees
flew off into the woods, pausing for Bobah to follow. The bees led him out of
the grove of pine trees deeper into the jungle to small spring that was
bubbling up. They hovered over a small flower covered mound. The rest of the
party followed at a distance while Bobah began to cautiously root around in the
mound. He soon found that it was a carefully piled set of stones that moss and
plantlife had covered over in time. Slowly removing the stones so as to not
upset his insect friends, he dug down. After a few moments he found a skeleton
clutching a perfectly preserved staff in a serpent motif. Once he recovered the
staff, the bees departed.
Investigating
further, the party dug up the skeleton and found that while humanoid, it has
the remnants of a tail, no nose and small holes near where the ear were.
Returning to the silver zoology plates they had found, it was soon decided that
this was obviously an Arva. They replaced the body, reburied and spoke some
words. Then they left, intent on finding the steam imps.
(Day Watch - Explore): Continuing on the search for the steam imps
and the house, they eventually found a small hill with a series of pillars on
top. A thick warm fog rose from the ground and covered everything. From the
appearance of the ruins, it seemed that at some point there was a dome that
covered the pillars but had long since collapsed. Looking around they found a
series of steps leading down. Following them nervously they found a large
wooden door barring their way. After knocking, they door slid open to reveal a
hovering steam imp who welcomed them to the Tranq Tank. Pushing past him the
continued down the stairs past a tall woman in long black hair having a
conversation with a blazing hot lizard like creature.
Once inside the
room, they were nearly overwhelmed by the sensory chaos. Steam imps bickered
and shouted on a raised dais, while humans sat a drank. A couple of humans were
sitting in a booth near a brewery making out. In the distance on a stage,
Steamy Dan and Binary Fission Band belted out
lounge music. Other imps strode buy requesting drink orders while the
ruckus of bet placing continued.
Deciding to mingle,
the party went their separate ways to do a little gland handing with the
locals. In short order they met three other Martel indentured treasure haulers
who were debating with Ada and Bryan about which pillar they would use for the
upcoming easter egg hunt in the lower levels. Baxter, Joni and Trevor were
sitting at the bar having some drinks. Ingratiating themselves in to these
groups, the party began to get a better feel of what was occurring on the
island and where they fit into the mix including when Martel picker up
treasure, who Svarku was, that there was an ancient elven city built by
perverts to the west and that not everyone on the island worked for Martel.
The night progressed
with drinks, gambling, swing music and good conversation. Thoughts of dead
companions and their own impending doom were put aside for the present, to be
addressed in the light of dawn.
(Dusk Watch - Action): As the sun set, the
party continued to enjoy the paltry comforts offered by the steam imps at the
Tranq Tank. Bryan came over and offered to heal those who were wounded prior to
the easter egg hunt. The party eagerly accepted the offer.
Soon after, the
topaz hunt began and three of the party found themselves clambering down a rope
into the bowels of the casino. Looking around they found a ruined camp ground
and longsword encrusted by a giant topaz. Quickly scooping it up, they heard a
voice screaming and cursing in the darkness as it ran towards them. The hunter
was pursued by a massive centipede that ate him whole. The party classified the
single topaz as victory and scrambled out of the pit at a rapid pace.
Exiting, they found
that while they did not win the topaz hunt, they did win the side bet that they
had placed on Ada and Baxter. Additionally they had a giant topaz with a sword
in the middle. Jack offered to break the sword out and preserve as much of the
topaz as possible. While talking with him they mentioned the crystal frog that
they had seen. Jack became very excited and pulled out maps. They learned that
he was on the island looking for a mystical jewel forge and that Joni was here
looking for her brother Charlie.
One of the groups to
descend into the pit was a group or Martel indentured. They all dies except for
one, a dark skinned elven woman named Nimlenwe. She agreed to accompany the
party in return for a fair share of the available treasure to pay off Martel.
(Night Watch - Action): The party headed up to
the top of the casino where they had paid steam imps to set up tents for them
Donjon arranged for a steam shower, not really thinking too much about what
might be involved. They slept through the night.
