Rise of Drekis: Chapter 3 Episode 03

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==Synopsis==
The party, along with Umpalla and 4 rangers from Ayu, sail towards Sol'feng in a canoe. During their journey through a swamp, the party is attacked by lizardmen who can summon crocodiles. The party manages to fight them off but Umpalla is nearly killed. Umplalla only manages to survive thanks to the healing magic of Maada. The fact that Umpalla now has a life debt to a dirty goblin is deeply shameful for her and the other rangers. That night, one of the rangers kills Maada. Sunny almost kills the ranger but Umpalla talks her out of it, promising strict punishment when they return to Ayu. 
Several days later, the party arrives in Sol'feng. They part ways with the Ayu rangers and speak with an elven bard about the elves in Bravo. 
==Recap==
=== Encounter with the Lizardfolk of the Swamp ===
The party, along with Umpalla and 4 other rangers, set sail towards Sol'feng in a canoe. As the canoe approaches the swamp that leads to Sol'feng, Hank asks Umpalla about the monsters in the swamp. Umpala talks about giant crocodiles, green dragon hatchlings, electric eel hounds, lizardmen, giant mosquitoes, leeches, ozeds, polacanthus, and Trollaroos.
The party begins sailing through the swamp when Umpalla, who is at the bow of the ship, calls out, “Crocodiles! Lizard shaman!” as four crocodiles swim towards the boat. The lizardmen are out of sight.
==== Combat Begins ====
===== Round 1 =====
Bill hits one of the crocs with the head of his spear.
A croc lands a bite on Umpalla, bringing her to half her health and gripping her in its mouth.
Another croc bites Umpalla who is now almost dead.
Sunny moves from the back of the boat and lands a blow on one of the crocs with her sword.
Umpalla attempts to escape from the jaws of the 2 crocs biting her but fails.
Hank hits a croc with his bastard sword.
Maada casts on Sunny, Bill, and Hank.
===== Round 2 =====
Sunny attacks both of the crocs biting Umpalla, dealing significant damage.
Hank jumps to a tree branch and uses it to swing towards one of the crocs landing on it with his sword, severely wounding it. Hank then belly flops back on the canoe.
Bill hits one of the crocs with the front and back of his spear, almost killing the croc.
One of the crocs biting Umpalla continues to chew on her, bringing her unconscious and bleeding to death. The croc then drags her body into the swamp.
As the croc crawls into the swamp Sunny lands a massive blow, almost killing it.
Maada casts on a croc, dealing minor damage.
Hank kills one croc with his sword.
Sunny kills another croc with her sword.
===== Round 3 =====
Sunny lands another massive strike on a croc.
A croc bites a ranger.
Daniel jumps into the water and attacks a croc with both his daggers, killing it.
Hank climbs a tree to try and spot the Lizard Shaman but can’t find it.
Maada casts again on a croc, hurting it.
Hank jumps from the tree onto the last croc landing a critical hit, killing it.
==== Combat Ends ====
Sunny jumps into the swamp and retrieves Umpalla’s unconscious body. She asks Maada to heal her with magic and Maada casts on Umpalla, bringing her back to life. The party notices the croc bodies have disappeared. Umpalla warns the party that the lizardmen are nearby and advises them to continue rowing. Minutes later, the vegetation in a 20 foot square around the boat comes to life and grabs at everyone in the canoe.
==== Combat Begins ====
===== Round 1 =====
* Hank jumps out of the canoe and swims to a tree and climbs it. At the top of the tree he tries to find the lizardman shaman but fails. Instead he sees 6 lizardmen with spears approaching the canoe.
* 2 lizardmen throw javelins at hank and one hits him for critical damage.
* Bill fails to escape the vegetation that is grabbing at him.
* Daniel frees Maada from the vegetation.
* Sunny fails to escape the vegetation.
* 4 more lizardmen throw javelin at Hank but they all miss.
===== Round 2 =====
Hank casts in between the party and the lizardmen.
Realizing that the enemy has a spell caster, the lizardmen decide it is not worth it to attack the party and leave.
==== Combat Ends ====
=== The Murder of Maada ===
The party continue to sail through the swamp towards Sol'feng. During this time, Sunny tells Umpalla that Madda saved her with their magic and she should thank the goblin. Umpalla doesn’t believe her at first, but when it becomes clear Sunny is speaking the truth, Umpalla is ashamed. She remarks that she would rather die than become a servant to a goblin. Sunny tells Maada that Umpalla owes them a life debt and if she wants, she can make Umpalla their servant. Some of the rangers overhear this conversation and look sideways at Sunny. Eventually, night comes and the party goes to sleep in the canoe.
In the morning, Sunny wakes up and notices that Maada is gone. Sunny asks the rangers where Maada is but they claim not to know. Sunny draws her sword, pointing it at them and asks the same question. They wake Umpalla and she also claims not to know. Bill finds goblin blood in the canoe and confronts the rangers about it. The ranger admits to killing Maada and throwing its body into the river. Sunny attacks the ranger with her sword, almost killing him. Umpalla calls on Sunny to stop. She argues that the party needs them to get to Sol'feng and that the ranger that killed the goblin will be severely punished when they return to Ayu. The party agree and continue towards Sol'feng. 
=== Arriving in Sol'feng: December 14, 1517 ===
The party have now made it out of the swamp and are sailing down the river when a jungle wyrm appears on the bank of the river. Daniel calls out to it, “Praise Platos”. Daniel asks the wyrm if it is the legendary river serpent named . The wyrm hovers over to the canoe and looks at Daniel and after a very long minute, levitates away back into the jungle. Once the wyrm leaves, the rangers look at Daniel with reverence.
The party arrives in Sol'feng, where there are lots of different races, including dwarves, halflings, goblins, half-orcs, gnomes, and more elves than the party have ever seen in their entire lives. They make their way to a tavern and Sunny attempts to poison Umpalla with tea injected with poison. However, Umpalla refuses to drink the tea. Later in the day, Umpalla brands the ranger that killed Maada as Sunny watches.
That night, Hank talks to an elven bard named Tas. The elf talks to Hank about the purpose of Sol'feng and the relationship elves have with the other races here on the island of Bravo. The elf explains:
“Sol'feng is a bridge of worlds. It is where our people can meet your people, and we can come together and see each other as equals or at least as friends or trading partners. This is a rare thing indeed. In lands far and wide, wherever the borders of elves cross the borders of the other subraces there is conflict; there is bloodshed. This is the nature of our peoples. Mine are long lived and slow to reproduce. We take our time to make decisions; we shape the world around us to be just so and last for as long as time. Your people - I think the common phrase is: breed like rabbits - are as varied as the weather. They have plans the scope of their lives or shorter, and while there are countless wonderful, beautiful, envious humans who we all would deserve to know better; there are just enough who are violent, ill tempered, and just charismatic enough to rally many to their side. Inevitably, this means war and bloodshed. It means encroachment on our lands. It means the logging of our forests, the killing of our friends and family. Here on this island, there is enough jungle, rivers, and mountains that keep the subraces in check due to the lack of resources. Thanks to this, we can peacefully coexist. I am here because it is my duty as one of my people to do our very best to make sure this special relationship remains very special indeed.”
Sunny joins the table, very drunk, and asks the elf why his people left Arcadia. The elf explains that their land came under untenable assault and that although Scoria is dead, there are many dangers still in the “old world”. He explains that the elves wish to seek a more peaceful existence; one that does not involve endless bloodshed. According to the elf, a new land became available for them to migrate to.
The next day, Hank goes to say goodbye to Umpalla and notices that instead of going back the way they came, they are heading up the river away from Ayu.  
==Experience==
No experience given this episode.
Category:Rise of Drekis Episodes
Category:Rise of Drekis