We Destroyed a Zoo

Youtube video thumbnail for Chapter 2 Episode 9

**We Destroyed a Zoo** is the 20th episode in the series.

## **Plot Synopsis**

After an eventful first day in Bulkard, our heroes reconvened at the Kal’s estate. Eloy, Ezra, Wake, Nedra, Onslow, Risf, and Skrung were chatting about the day’s events in the manor’s parlor when they were interrupted by a disheveled high elf wearing patchwork clothes. Just as they were about to have him escorted out, he revealed that he had been following Skrung and overheard their plans for a heist, prompting the group to move the discussion into the courtyard for privacy.

Now able to converse more freely, the elf introduced himself as Arandale Jaerkaender, or AJ for short, and explained that he had been cursed by an acolyte of Schrodinger, the god of time and fate. AJ now had to find all of the items on a list while being teleported to a random location every twelve hours. With only eight hours remaining before he would be relocated again, he requested our heroes’ aid to obtain the next item on his list, a dire elephant tusk, in exchange for blink pyramids, two magical pyramids that can instantly transport an object between their locations. Despite reluctance from some of the crew, they eventually agreed to AJ’s offer. Knowing that the zoo would be the most likely location to find a tusk, AJ retrieved guard uniforms and assisted Eloy with an illusion spell to make the centaur look human, including turning his back half invisible, so they could sneak in to find a dire elephant.

Eloy, Ezra, Wake, AJ, and an excited Nedra entered the zoo under the guise of investigating elephant related illnesses and were given several tasks to assist with before visiting the elephants. Their first assignment was to remove an object from the wing of Bruce, a large bat that was one of the zoo’s main attractions. As they made their way through the three leveled bat enclosure, they were assaulted by numerous smaller bats. When AJ swung his pistol to keep some of the bats away from Eloy, the elf hit Eloy in the face by mistake, at which point the indignant centaur escorted AJ back to the room’s entrance to wait. Once the group, excluding AJ, made it to the third floor, Eloy used magic to put Bruce and the other bats to sleep.

With no other option available to retrieve the item, Ezra jumped onto Bruce and extracted a sickle from the beast’s wing. Eloy healed the wound the sickle had inflicted, but, when Ezra moved to get off of the massive bat, Bruce woke up, biting down on the half-elf and drinking his blood. Thinking quickly, Wake stunned the creature with a powerful blow, freeing Ezra from its jaws, and the nimble half-elf managed to avoid a treacherous fall by grabbing the wing of another bat and swinging onto the second level. As everyone began evacuating the room, Wake tried to stun Bruce again but missed, so he jumped from the third floor and landed in a pile of droppings before leaving with the others.

Next, they were asked to remove some strange fae creature that had wandered into the purple worm enclosure. Poking around, they found evidence of it being a faerie dragon and used magical items as bait to lure it out. Drawn to the concentration of magic, it peeked out of a nearby tunnel but was startled by the group’s presence, so Wake gave it some enchanted rock candy to put it at ease. After a brief discussion and the offer of more sweets, they convinced the faerie dragon to accompany them, naming it “Yt” as it nestled into Nedra’s hair.

Their final task before seeing the elephants was to check on the nightmares, a race of fiery horses, because one had mysteriously died with no apparent cause. AJ wanted to ignore the animals and proceed to the elephants, which shared an environment with the nightmares and other creatures, but the heat produced by the flaming stallions barred them from passing. Instead, they decided to start a fire to lure the horses to one side of the area while Nedra stayed behind to look after and pet them. Continuing through the enclosure, the rest of the group encountered sleeping hyenas along their path. Not wanting to deal with another herd of animals, AJ conjured a hut on top of the pack so he, Eloy, Ezra, and Wake could slip past unnoticed. As they went to ford a river, Wake came across several sahuagin, a type of humanoid fish creature, that AJ convinced to go eat the hyenas, allowing the group to advance into the elephant enclosure.

They found the elephant herd fast asleep and could see the dire elephant at the back with a rotting tusk. However, when AJ flipped off a child in the observation area for laughing at his appearance, the child’s scream alerted the elephants to the group’s presence. Moving closer, AJ magically held the dire elephant’s head in place while Wake leaped forward and snapped the rotten tusk off with a fierce blow, sending it flying across the area. The elephants did not take kindly to these actions and prepared to charge the intruders, but Ezra threw some rations to distract them. Only the baby elephant maintained interest in the crew, charging straight into Wake. Wake forcefully disengaged from the baby as Ezra sprayed a can of toy snakes at the elephants, panicking several of them, which knocked two of the children into the enclosure. Immediately, Eloy distracted the elephants with an illusion and grabbed one of the kids while Wake seized the other. AJ snatched the fallen tusk from the ground as the entire group evacuated, jumping into the river before the elephants could retaliate.

Wake was swept downstream by the current, but he found a maintenance hatch that he, AJ, and Eloy used to escape while Ezra retrieved Nedra and left the way they had come in. When the crew encountered the irate zookeeper on the way out, AJ distracted her by informing her that the sahuagin were eating the hyenas, and they released the children to go find their parents. After returning to town, AJ gave the group the blink pyramids and said his farewells before a portal opened up and encompassed him, leaving no trace of the elf.

## **Appearances**

* AJ
* Eloy
* Ezra
* Nedra
* Onslow Green
* Risf
* Skrung
* Wake
* Yt

## **Notes & Trivia**

* *This is where you can put notes and trivia, anything that is interesting or strange can be included here*