Episode 33

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## Plot Summary

The salamander continues to attack the party.  Mahogonis of the Iron Horn shifts into bear form and attacks it.  The dwarves shoot it with their cannon.  Klaxxon charges the beast with his clockwork rhinoceros.  Hank and Barry sled down to the salamander on top of Bubo’s portrait.  Fizz Binkle and Paragon Tinytoes both charge in.  Klack Flintborne and the other injured gnomes hide in Nitsuj’s hidden room.

Bubo shoots at the salamander, attracting its attention with fire.  Andre is able to banish it again, which causes Hank and Barry to fall to the ground with Bubo’s portrait.  Everyone tries to get to hire ground before the monster returns.  Swellbelly starts making a fire to distract the monster when it returns, which works.  The salamander rushes to the fire, and everyone unleashes attacks on it.  The dwarves' cannon blast causes a small avalanche.  Ora uses a mage hand to gather some flame and lure the salamander down the path.  Bubo, when trying to jump on the salamander, accidently falls off the cliff, but is rescued by Halestorm and Dumeril.

Starheart approaches the salamander and attempts to befriend it.  It tolerates her presence because it is enthralled by the fire.  Bubo is able to land on top of the salamander as the Tinytoes go to fetch the carts.  Suddenly, a second salamander bursts through the ground and lands on Hank, but he is protected by his Bubo merch.  Gritt Flintjaw throws a bomb at the salamander, which causes a huge avalanche.  The first salamander dives underground with Bubo on her back.  The Iron Horn and the dwarves are hit by a falling tree, which kills Mahogonis and Gritt Flintjaw.  Klaxxon retreats into the rope trick.    Fizz Binkle is able to jump over most of the snow.  Ora and Nitsuj can avoid most of the snow, but Andre and Starheart are swept away.

Starheart slips down an ice tunnel, landing in a cavern with piles of bones and half digested animals.  She sends a message to Bubo and he responds that he’s still on the back of the salamander.  She follows his voice, eventually finding him.  The salamander’s back legs are broken, which distresses Starheart.  She calms the emotions of the salamander and approaches it.  Starheart casts a heal on the salamander, but it still tries to eat her.

Above, Ora and Nitsuj rescue Andre and the remaining Iron Horn.  Fizz Binkle and Klaxxon also assist in the rescue.  Hurmed Leadmantle is still missing, as are Ash and Dovine.  The Tinytoes return with the wagons and Paragon is devastated that Starheart is missing.  Andre tries to melt the snow on top of the hole.  The party decides to finish off the male salamander before it can climb back onto the cliff side, which Andre does with a cast of blight.  Nitsuj casts locate object on Bubo’s bow and senses it beneath them.

The party leaves the others in the hands of Klaxxon and travels down the tunnel.  They land in the salamander’s nest.  Nitsuj finds several eggs.  They follow the sound of Starheart and Bubo’s conversation and see the wounded salamander.  Bubo wants to put it out of its misery.  The party votes to kill it, which Bubo does with an arrow.  Starheart gives a prayer over the body.  When Starheart wants to take the salamander eggs with them, Ora relates the story of One-Legged Jim who served on her crew.  He adopted an exotic snake as a pet and ended up being eaten by it.  Andre debates taking the eggs to sell or eat.  Ora goes to retrieve the seven eggs and puts them in the bag of holding.  Three are fertilized, four are not.

The party decides to head up a tunnel that heads in the general direction they need to go.  After traveling for a while, they come to the end which faces out the side of the mountain.  From this new vantage point, they see a vast bottomless pit.  This is thought to be the place where Kloht was banished from the world and clawed the earth with him as he fell.  Andre drops to his knees at the ledge and communes with his god.  He learns that Kloht is angered by the powers given to Nitsuj to bring back people.  Starheart asks about joining the Bubo Fan Club, which requires a donation of gold or a portrait.  Ora cooks one of the eggs and they all partake, except for Starheart who is a vegetarian.  Andre rejoins the party but does not reveal what Kloht has told him.

They journey onward and eventually rejoin Klaxxon and the rest.  Nitsuj feeds the wounded and Starheart scavenges for roots to feed the minotaurs.  They decide to continue journeying toward the Steamfangs.  Bamir Bonepike identifies the prayer beads the Andre was given.  Ora asks Andre to scrye on Kurluk and Thaul Alhoon.  Andre sees neither of them, but instead a horrific creature who resembles both of them, sitting on a massive throne.  Orcs bow before it and offer it gifts.  Andre relays the information to Ora who peels off into the trees.  She stabs an oak with her sword and summons Kleth.  She asks if it is too late.  Kleth says that the army would be destroyed, but not likely the creature.  Ora presses the button.

The entire earth begins to shake.  The party turns around to see the peak of Copperforge mountain topple and a huge cloud of dirt and ash fill the air.  Andre scyes again, seeing two eyes open and looks directly back at Andre through the eye.  Klaxxon’s beast collapses because the seed of the mountain was destroyed.  Starheart offers him a drink but doesn’t understand.  Klaxxon is upset, but understands it had to happen.  Andre tells Nitsuj that the creature survived.  Nitsuj gives Klaxxon a seed given to him by Orethil to replace a small part that was lost.

Starheart speaks with Greyflower, telling him what happened to Copperforge.  Greyflower says that Hortiel could grow it back.  When Starheart says that she doesn’t know where to find Hortiel, Greyflower explains that he has met Hortiel before, in a small shack with a pumpkin patch.  He only realized the crazy old man was Hortiel the second time they met.  Nothing used to grow on the plains but grass until Hortiel gave them vegetables.  He went by the name Orethil and likes to wander.

Nitsuj wanders off into the woods and communes with Kelrek.  He is overjoyed about Thaul Alhoon and Kurluk joining.  When Nitsuj says he is going to kill Kelrek, the demigod laughs and begins to constrict Nitsuj's body from afar before he is able to break the bond.

## Fun Moments

Deva reenacts the Hiccup-Toothless interaction with Ryan’s face.

Deva tries to talk herself out of a bad role, causing the chat to say “Own the 2, woman.”

Deva ends her prayer over the salamander with “Salhen” instead of “Amen.”

As Ryan bows his head to hear the results of Andre’s communion with Kloht and everyone goes silent, Deva blurts out “Hey Bubo!”