My Pet Snakes

The Strangers With Weapons try to gather all of the puzzle cubes and escape from the Yuan-Ti.

## Major Plot Points

* SWW and Valindra continued their search for the puzzle cubes in Omu.
* Upon seeing the waterfall that flooded much of the city, Peggy, Vlad, and Vulveeta saw different visions of the city
	+ Peggy saw Queen Zalkore on a grand balcony overlooking her people from the Omuan castle. The people cheered for their queen.
	+ Voloth saw the city streets filled with people and the buildings still looking pristine. However, people crowded in the Temple of Ubtao where healing magic failed and citizens asked aloud, “Why has Ubtao forsaken us?”
	+ Vulveeta saw the city in turmoil. The people erected nine shrines to new gods and fought openly in the streets about whose was the true faith. A dark cloud came over the city and skeletal hands then gripped the citizens by their throats.
* The party made it to the Shrine of Tung-Tung. A Red wizard woman was leaving the shrine as the party arrived. She quickly teleported away. The Strangers With Weapons investigated the shrine and found sprung traps and a pedestal without its puzzle cube.
* Vlad asked a local parakeet for help who flew over part of the city. He said that he saw a “big ass nest” for people and snake people loitering around a “smaller nest.”
* The party walked around the ancient Omuan castle and ended up at Obo’Laka’s Shrine. There, they saw a bald man with a blue triangle painted on his forehead leave the shrine. He wielded a flaming sword, which the female red wizard from earlier was impaled on. Instead of legs, the man had a pale red snake tale. And he had four puzzle cubes tied to his waist.
* He looked at the party and made his way towards the ancient castle. Salida then emerged from the shadows, instructing a Zombie dragon and 8 Yuan-Ti malisons with snake heads and human bodies to take the Strangers alive so she could torture them later. She revealed her true form which is that of a woman with a snake tail instead of legs.
* Sudsy cast darkness on the dragon, which unleashed havoc for all involved in the fight.
* The dragon used its necrotic breath to knock out Vulveeta, Peggy, and Sudsy. It also accidentally killed several Yuan-Ti.
* Voloth, Valindra, and Calypso yielded.
* Vlad used Aid to bring his three fallen comrades back to life with 5HP. They also yielded.
* Vlad continued to fight against the dragon stubbornly but yielded once he was hit with its claws.
* The party was put into prisoner pits. A Yuan-Ti pureblood snuck in and spoke to Valindra. He was undercover and working with her. He released her and showed her the party’s possessions he was able to take from the Yuan-Ti. Valindra found the Ring of Winter in Vlad’s pocket. She put it on and revealed she was a red wizard working for Szass Tam who ordered her to destroy the Soul Monger if she couldn’t find a way to control it. Imbued with the ring’s power and madness, Valindra said the Soul Monger was no longer her concern and that it was time for Thay to have a new leader. She used the ring’s magic to teleport away with her spy.
* The party was able to free themselves after this and free 7 out of 8 other prisoners. One was tragically killed by Voloth’s critically missed Eldritch Blast. Four of the prisoners were the Amandas who warned that tonight was a full moon and that the Yuan-Ti would be performing their blood rituals.
* In the next room, the party found a sacrificial altar with a dead Chultan girl on it. Her blood was being drained into rivets and gutters on the floor. Four brood guards with bloody blades then fought the party.
* In the adjacent room, the party discovered three malison priestesses with snake tails worshipping over a pool of black and purple fluid. The SWW promptly killed them.
* Sudsy touched the fluid and had a nightmarish vision of a giant snake creature eating him alive. He then drank the fluid and suffered psychic damage and went into a vegetative state.
* With Sudsy paralyzed and the rest of the party still wounded from their fights, the SWW enjoyed a short rest in this room. Vulveeta and Vlad kept calling each other “squire” and “assistant.”
* The SWW then found Salida’s personal chambers. It was guarded by two malisons who had snakes for arms. After killing them, the heroes found 300 gold and 4 greater healing potions in a chest.
* Sudsy took the silver painted stone urn that was on the chest and opened it, unleashing an air elemental. Voloth threw oil on it and killed it by lighting it ablaze.