The Absence of God

The Strangers With Weapons meet Granny in Mbala and Saja N'Baza in Oralunga.

## Major Plot Points

* SWW headed towards Mbala. As they climbed the stone steps carved into the side of a mountain, the party saw ghostly flashes of a woman hanging herself, a woman sharpening a knife, a kid crying, and a kid picking flowers around a flayed man.
* The only structure left in Mbala was a hut made of animal hides. Mariah led most of the party towards it and spoke to Granny, who was tending to her garden in the middle of the night.
* The entire group accepted Granny’s invitation inside except Fern and Vulveeta. Inside, they saw Granny perform a ritual where she killed a grieving mother and brought her deceased son back to life.
* SWW ate gross stew with Granny. She told them about how she worships Grandfather Bones. She also said that the Yuan-Ti worship Grandfather Bones incorrectly cause they think he’s Dendar, the Night Serpent, and believe in bringing him back to kill us all. Granny knows we all die eventually and Grandfather Bones is patient.
* Granny avoided questions around the source of her magic and how she can bring the dead back to life despite the Death Curse looming over Chult. She was equally stingy with the details of Mbala.
* Cheshire found a spellbook in Granny’s hut that detailed the Rite of False Life. It showed that the spell requires a dead body and a humanoid sacrifice. The sacrificed soul is transferred to the dead body and is overwritten with the body’s personality and memories. However, the body only lives for a month and starts to rot after the first 24 hours of its restoration.
* The resurrected boy is now Granny’s indentured servant. Vulveeta helped chop up his mom so Granny could “save the good bits.”
* Granny made weird threats about “showing you mercy” if SWW didn’t do what she asked.
* You all politely left and went to Oralunga.
* At Oralunga, SWW found a large step pyramid and a sleeping Nolard. The friendly cyclops said he can never make it up the steps but just enjoys lounging around it.
* The first set of steps up the pyramid were covered in thick, thorny vines. Vulveeta had Nolard throw her passed the first staircase.
* The rest of the party followed a chwinga’s lead and used a purple and orange orchid to drum beat the vines away.
* At the second staircase, the chwinga used parakeet feathers to magically solidify crumbling steps. SWW followed his lead again.
* At the third staircase, SWW had to smack, rub, and swallow snakes.
* At the top, what looked like a shrine to Shrek was, in fact, a shrine to Saja N’Baza. She was a large snake oracle who took over the temple after Ubtao abandoned Chult.
* She told the group that Ras Nsi was still alive and was in Omu. She wasn’t sure how, but she knew that he was connected to the Soulmonger. She also said he was leading the Yuan-Ti. She also saw Red Wizards there.
* Saja revealed that Granny is a green hag in disguise and that she killed all Mballans.
* She gave the following personal guidance to the PCs
	+ Calypso - Syndra Silvane has died. Destroy the Soulmonger to rescue her soul and bring her back (Calypso accomplished this later).
	+ Vulveeta - Slay Tinder to become a famous fighter in Chult (Voloth would later slay the dragon and earn the title himself).
	+ Mariah - Help kill the pirates plaguing Chult to prove your worthiness to your family. You will find them in Jahaka Bay, Refuge Bay, and Snapping Turtle Bay (This is never accomplished, leaving Mariah an outcast)
	+ Fern - You will find yourself in Omu (This refers to Fern being a clone and the original being housed in Omu).
	+ Neuriel - Kill Granny to prevent her from using “healing magic” to hurt others again (This is accomplished by Calypso).
	+ Cheshire - You’ll find the source of your knotted wood in Snapping Turtle Bay (Cheshire/Salty has yet to do this).
	+ Group - Dinah Lance walks a dark path. You can steer her towards the light. Save her - save hundreds (The party helps Dinah accomplish her mission. Together, they take Port Nyanzaru from the Merchant Princes and she later becomes a hero in Batsbluff).
* SWW used the sending stone left by Dinah and made plans to meet at Ataaz Kahakla, the home of the Amazons.
* Calypso made you all play the Oral Coralean game called “A story of love, a story of loss, a story of pain, a story of gain.” The night got super sad and weird.
	+ Mariah talked about how her father hated the song she wrote for his birthday
	+ Vulveeta talked about how her entire village was killed
	+ Fern talked about her lost love
	+ Cheshire talked about finding her knotted wood
	+ Neuriel talked about discovering his love for medicine
	+ Calypso talked about how shitty it was being the youngest daughter of her family.

## Random Encounters

On Foot

* T-Rex fight
* Cannibal combat
* Fern befriended a baby tiger named Steven (pronounced Stephen). SWW killed the Flaming Fist soldier responsible for his mother's death.
* Tinder the dragon flew overhead