Session 30: City Boys in the Bayou

The group sends a message to Lokreth’s sending stone, asking ‘how is your boyfriend’, which is Arran’s encrypted way of asking whether he’s alright. They don’t get an answer right away, but they do get a message from the Ashen Archive saying someone from the Crimson Archive showed up asking for Arran. They send back asking whether this person is a wingless aarakocra, and to keep them safe if they are.

They arrive at Namos city, which is a simple lizardfolk city in the middle of the swamp. They go to the tribe elders, and Joe asks them about the war declaration. They did receive it, but don’t take it seriously because the dragonborn are far away and Namos isn’t a valuable target. They ask the elders whether they are willing to form an alliance with the other western cities, which causes them to erupt into discussion. One of them claims it will take a few days to reach a conclusion. They part with the elders, intending to return a week later.

In search of a library, Arran finds a lizardfolk who records information by inscribing it into bones. He asks for information about the tower of Turagh, but the bonecarver says there is no tower. Arran also asks about shrines, and the bonecarver points him towards the west coast of the city. They go there and find a sort of amphitheatre with multiple shrines crafted from bone, and a single stone statue of a female figure. The lizardfolk priests clarify that their main gods are Semuanya, god of nature, and Saralya, god of civilization, to whom the stone statue belongs.

Vica, Arran, and Vojta ask a dragonborn priestess to guide them in prayer to Semuanya, who they suspect is an aspect of Mereteth. They perform a ceremony and end up in a murky green plane, feeling Mereteth’s presence. Arran communicates with Mereteth in mental imagery, conveying that he wants her blessing transferred to Vica, because she is more suited to it. The blessing is painfully extracted from Arran and infused into Vica. The priestess brings them back to the real world. When they awake, they find Joe and Grombrin playing guitars and arguing about which of them is better.

Joe seeks out a member of the thieves guild and arranges a meeting to trade supplies. Their den is underwater, so Grombrin holds onto the water-sensitive items, while the other four swim to it. Arran and Joe are hindered by the gross bog water and struggle to hold their breath long enough. Vojta, in the form of a seal, pulls Joe along to safety. Arran nearly drowns, but uses teleportation to get into the thieves' den in time. The den is a slimy underground cave. The group trades several of their own magic items, including two of the disguise amulets, for new ones from the thieves guild. They also sell the potion of mind reading for a large amount of gold. While they have a drink in the underground tavern, Arran and Joe start having hallucinations due to the resonance of the many magic items stored here. They return to the surface, wash off the swamp water, and spend the night in Namos.

Overnight, Vojta has a vision of a stone spire in the swamp being destroyed by tentacles and a giant shadowy dragonborn. He tells the others, and Joe says that some of the Last Light members have been known to visit the swamp. They get a response from Lokreth’s sending stone, saying that he is safe and asking in jest how Arran’s right hand is. They also get a message from the Ashen Archive, saying that the person from the Crimson Archive is not a wingless aarakocra. The group fears that this is an impostor, but it could also be Lokreth in disguise. Joe sends a telepathic message about this directly to Lokreth, in case the sending stones are unsafe. Joe also suggests starting a smear campaign against the dragonborn, by spreading disinformation about them. Grombrin suggests using his trade routes to spread the rumours, and Vica considers hitting up her old mercenary contacts for the same purpose.

The group returns to the shrine of Saralya, who they suspect is Turagh. A priest explains that the lizardfolk discovered Saralya when they moved here from the south, and that Saralya taught them the ways of civilization. Arran, Grombrin, Joe, and Vojta initiate a prayer to Saralya. Vojta doesn’t say the draconic phrase correctly and is denied access, but the other three are transported to a stone room, where a large faceless statue speaks to them. Arran explains their purpose, causing Turagh to reach out and touch him, reading his mind. She is impressed by what he has to offer as a potential acolyte, but she requests a final challenge: finding her tower and reaching the top. She claims that it is still intact despite the Lunar Man’s vision, and that those who are worthy can enter the tower without dying. She also mentions that Pha’uel might be more generous with them once they have her blessing.

The three of them return to the real world and explain what happened. They question the priests and find out that there is another shrine to Saralya in the swamp, no longer in use. The priests provide them with a map to find it, and the group decides to go there in the hope of discovering the tower.