H:RotG Chapter 4: Patient Cruelty

Hot on the heels of the escaped prisoner and Zor-napper Kris Nifeton, the adventurers of Caravan 17 depart Crooksbarrow post-haste. The Sweetfish, now no longer adversaries of the town, offer their services, driving the ship downstream even faster than normal with their powerful muscles. The speed-up helps greatly, as by the time the river merfolk part ways with the group they’ve nearly reached the Tzuu’s branching point.

Upon the departure of the Sweetfish, however, the group's smooth sailing soon came to a bumpy halt. **Salt dwarves**, brutal sea dwellers notorious for their nigh-impenetrable armor and bloodthirsty temperaments, were fighting a lone orc warrior on the riverbank up ahead, drifting the party straight into a difficult battle. They nearly finish the fight when Rabi’s featherblade suddenly strikes at space itself at a wrong angle, ripping open a dimensional hole that drops a demonic figure into the fray. It calls itself **Guillotine Gorilla.** It appears to be an ape-like demon called a **barlgura**, however instead of simple being a powerful ape-like demon it has a sharp beheading apparatus taking up the majority of its midsection. The heroes fight against it valiantly, and with the help of their newfound ally they manage to defeat the nefarious creature.

With combat out of the way, the orc is finally able to introduce herself. Her name is **Rok’saog Bonecrush**, Rok for short. She’s a green orc with orange eyes and immense physical strength. She came from the Northeastern Badlands, wandering south after leaving her arena-fighting hometown of **Santriga**. Happy to help the party out, she hops onto their small vessel for the remainder of their trip downstream, eventually reaching the docks of **Moore Bay**. The docks are humble and small, barely a reflection of the impressive towering walls of sand which shield the town from the dangers of the outside world. Shimmering slivers of glass are embedded within them, giving them a jagged but beautiful appearance.

Parting the walls like water, the guardian of the town greets the newcomers herself. She’s a slender, elderly sand elf, with tall horns and dappled skin, and introduces herself as **Shards**. Her magic allows the town to defend itself from the dwarven onslaught that plagues the coastline, as well as the frenzied yellow dragons who live as part of the chaotic Dragon-God **Balktan**’s brood. Though the area itself was flooded with danger, thanks to Shards the exiled sand elves who lived in Moore Bay were able to live peaceful lives.

Sand elf culture dictates that all elves must pass a coming-of-age trial to prove themselves worthy to live in elven society. When they fail their trial, or otherwise commit any sort of criminal or dishonorable act, the elf (and sometimes their entire family) are exiled. These exiles, many of whom are still quite young, are often left homeless and lost. However, they eke a living out for themselves whichever way they can. Moore Bay is an example of such a community- exiles, yes, but living a better life than even some non-exiles do. There is no currency, only bartering, and those who are in need only have to ask another for aid and help will be provided.

Among the exiles is an elf that quickly recognizes the caravan leader, Sarnai. His name is **Chingus**, and he’s her uncle. He smothers her in questions and compliments, flustering her in front of the group as he walks with them and Shards to his bakery in the heart of the town square. They discuss the missing Nifeton, discovering that she has yet to be spotted. As her ship is docked outside the walls, the party can only assume she’s cloaked her presence within the town somewhere.

Questioning the locals and exploring the towns’ crevices bring no results to the group, and so they return to the town square. They find a small crowd surrounding a self-proclaimed prodigy magician, a human named **Ace Ellabryne**. Hydran recognizes him as an ex-student- a prodigy in the school of Conjuration, but an overly cocky and obnoxious child who ultimately deemed the school unworthy of his presence. Ace continues his magic show, calling for a volunteer. A cloaked sand elf approaches his “stage”, piquing the group’s interest- they hadn’t seen this individual during questioning. He teleports her with his magic, claiming to have sent her all the way to the Southern Mantle… but this is soon proven to not be the case, as he vanishes and a wall of knives surrounds Shards’ home.

Fearing the worst, the party springs into action. One of the elves knows of an underground entrance to Shards’ home, and so the group ducks down below to sneak inside. A gelatinous foe lurks in the basement’s underbelly, baffling the group and nearly spelling the end for their new friend Rok. Thankfully, the slime is defeated before any lives are lost.

Entering the house itself, the party discovers that the house is as quirky as its owner. A large central pole holds the whole thing together, as massive holes in the floors above allow access to and fro the other floors alongside the stairwells. A garden makes up the bottom floor, and at the top sits the now-unmasked Shards- revealed to not actually be an elf, but instead a dragon, a hybrid between the despised yellow and the noble brass. She’s knocked unconscious, and rests next to a tied-up Zor.

Ready to greet them, Kris Nifeton appears. Ace is with her, as well as two other allies she brought in from the Glitterati Elite- **Delzum Rell**, an elderly kobold and grandfather to the recently deceased Shashank Dempti; and **Handsome Banson**, a baby-faced buff human. The adventurers and their adversaries duke it out with all they’ve got. They discover that Ace is preparing to teleport the entire house all the way to the Glitterati’s base in the **Southwestern Fringe**, and that there are only mere moments left until his spell is cast. Zor manages to get freed and escape, and Kris is knocked unconscious. However, the spell is not stopped from being cast, and as the group attempts to escape Sarnai sacrifices herself to ensure that they do, pushing Rabi out with Kris in his arms. The house teleports her arm still sticking out of the circle, and as it’s teleported away her arm is severed, also landing in Rabi’s lap.

As Shards’ presence is forcefully ripped away from her home, the enchanted walls of Moore Bay dissipate. Completely exposed, the townsfolk fear for their lives. However, Chingus steps up to the plate, soothing their worries and ensuring them that the group of (now exhausted) adventurers will be able to help protect them from the imminent dwarven assault. After licking their wounds, the party attempted to fulfill this promise as best they could. The exiles were armed and taught to fight by Rok and Rabi, who had an intense sparring match. Meanwhile, the others played a primitive form of “basketball”, piling up arcane energy inside of building materials to build a new wall around the exterior of the town. It wasn’t nearly as impressive as Shards’, but it was functional enough.

One long day came and left, and by the dawn of the next morning the armored villains of the Sea of Salt were at the town’s doorstep. However, there was one force that even the strongest adventurers couldn’t prepare for- the raging god of salt himself, **Balktan**. His shrill, gravelly voice sent shudders down the party’s spines as he spoke, and with one foul bellow the entire group fell unconscious, their fates left to the marauders and the exiles.

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 TBD