Meet Your New God

4/5/2017

   It's been almost two years since The Guardians of Grog stood together.  Not since the death of their companion, Raptor have they reunited.  Today, the surviving members found themselves together;  Zorak Gargalgrog, half-orc son of brewers and Champion of the Hunt of Qor'Rok Tar,  Bastion Ruavel, traveling musician and descendant of great explorers,  Kaszuk Lyr'Yan'Nya, Shaman of the Moss Scale Tribe and impetus of their survival,  and Kriskahn powerful sorceress and manipulator of the elements.  Mareg was absent in defense of his people.  They were joined by Vath, a representative of Mareg and Atreides, a representative of Clappam.  They had all been summoned by Clappam to Trifid City for a yet unknown reason.

   Areides explained that Clappam was not yet here and would take several days to arrive. They were provided with lodging and patiently awaited his arrival.  It was over a week before Atreides told them of Clappams return.  They were taken to his chambers but as they passed under the threshold they were doused in some sort of liquid.  Nearly instantly they were rendered unconscious.

   The Guardians now found themselves in chains in the bowels of a ship.  Perhaps even more mysteriously their clothing, armor and belongings had remained untouched.  Bastion used his (flute of unlocking?) to release their binds.  They could hear a conflict from above, and below, the sounds of massive sea creatures swimming past the ship.  With Vath and Zorak taking the lead they headed up into the storage area of the ship.  The conflict above seemed to have died down and blood was seen dripping through the slats in the ceiling.  A voice called from above deck beckoning the now freed prisoners.

   Agreeing that it was a trap but seeing little options Kaszuk provided cover using Obscuring Mist and most of the party climbed onto the deck of the ship.  It was only a few seconds before the mist dissipated revealing a horrible sight.  The crew of the ship lay slain about the deck save two who had been strung up on the masts.  The attackers, demons.  A group of dretches and a hezrou lead by a balor who called himself, Scourge.

   The balor mocked his prey before loosing his minions upon them.  The dretches fell like reeds and after some work, the hezrou was felled as well.  The balor spoke again.  He offered the survivors a choice; take part in "Tecticlan" or die here.  If they succeeded in "Tecticlan" they would be allowed to go free.

   The balor commanded Atreides to step forward and be marked.  Much to his new allies surprise the man stepped up without protest or the slightest hesitation.  The balor took Atreides' wrist in his massive hand and and burned a mark into the inside of his wrist using his thumb.  As the balor moved to each person Kaszuk whispered with Zorak and Vath.  Kaszuk told the others that he would rather die than be taken into the service of a demon.  The two men were also reluctant to give in but expressed confidence in their ability to escape or to survive whatever Tacticlan was.  The ancients had told Kaszuk to embark on this journey with Zorak, surely they must have anticipated this turn of events.  The balor commanded Vath and Zorak to step forward for their marks and finally, Kaszuk.  Kaszuk had to struggle not to dive overboard and flee but, with faith in the elders, he stepped forward and received his mark.

   Victorious, the balor commanded his new thralls to wait here and someone would collect them and their vessel.  They were given no instructions as for what to do once they reached land.  Perhaps part of Tacticlan is figuring out what it is.  He then flew off into towards the north where, for the first time, they were able to assess their surroundings.

   Off in the distance, in the direction that the balor flew, was an island.  In the center of this island was a massive mountain that appeared to be hollowed out.  A gigantic opening with ornate statues on either side was in it's center.  This allowed vision of a huge spectral chain.  The glowing green chain extended from a point anchored into the center of the mountain into the heavens where it chained the moon in place, blotting out the sun and placing the entire region in a perpetual eclipse.  Surely there must be powerful, evil magic at work here.

   A few hours after the balor left a flying creature could be seen approaching from the island.  As it reached the boat they could see that it was a gnome riding a griffin.  The gnome landed on the ship and explained that he was sent to take them into port.  He was strangely cheerful and casually asked the party to string up the remaining sailors.  Of course, they protested and did not.  When they reached the shore they towns people cheered.  The capture of a vessel and slaughter of it's crew is apparently something to celebrate.  The Guardians were directed to (the bar.)

   (the bar) was in the center of town and was quite large.  Inside were all kinds of people, mostly human, socializing and drinking strange green beverages.  The party found a booth and Bastion left to find out anything he could about Tacticlan or the balor.  Vath and Atreides also did some instigation.  Together they were able to piece together some information.

   The mountain in the center of the island is a volcano that erupts once every 14 "eves."  An eve is how they measure a day and is currently an unknown amount of time.  Tecticlan is some sort of competition that most competitors do not survive.  It takes place somewhere near the volcano around the time of it's eruptions.  The island's locals worship a god they call Scourge.  Scourge chained the moon in place and caused the eclipse to banish the evil creatures to under the mountain or so they believe.  The enemies of Scourge are still around under the mountains, but no one has seen them for some time.  The people seem happy and no more or less evil than other people the party has encountered.  They are not the first people to end up here, confused and marked for Tacticlan.  So far, no one knows where Panacea is, therefore we do not yet know where we are.  The local alcohol is green, algae based and potent.

   After having looked around for a while Bastion returned to the group.  He was holding an "Algae-Brew" and his teeth and tongue were stained green.  He drunkenly introduced everyone to a local woman he had met, Skia.  Skia had grown up on this island and seemed willing to assist.  Kaszuk began asking the stranger questions but before she could respond a thoroughly hammered Bastion began singing a ballad.

   Even in his current state Bastion was a magnificent performer.  He captivated the entire establishment with a song celebrating the reuniting of the Guardians of Grog.  At the end of the song, while receiving raucous applause, he waved and slipped out a back door.  Suddenly distracted themselves, Zorak and Kriskahn followed Bastion out the back door.  Kaszuk and Vash spoke to Skia.  She expressed a desire to explore the island and travel and was willing to act as a guide to the Guardians.  The remaining members rejoined and everyone agreed to accept Skia's offer.

   Being new in town the barkeeper offered the party a room free of charge for one night.  Skia decided to sleep outside of town but the rest of the group decided it was best to stay together and took the room.