Session 14

### The Gang meets Skarūl’s family

The group readies themselves to take part in a grueling desert fight against Nandise, Skud, a gang of cultists, and an unnatural green monstrosity. But just as the fight begins, Skarūl’s siblings disappear and the group is forced to fight Skarūl’s invisible siblings‘ magical attacks on the battlefield.

Skarūl does his best to keep his party alive during the fight. He heals himself and Barthus several times. And he aids the group by casting Fairie Fire on an invisible Skud.

Nandise telepathically taunts Skarūl and hints at some of the activities the family took part in since he left. Without having Skarūl around to pick on, the older siblings in Skarūl’s family redirected their aggression and misguided attempts at brotherly love toward the next youngest sibling—Skexal. But she mentions that Skexal wasn’t as fun to torment as Skarul, so they decided to make a few “adjustments.”

Skarūl takes a closer look at the monster they had been fighting and he recognizes his brother’s eyes. The eyes are glazed over, and he also notices a glowing light under the skin of the monster’s forehead. Barthus lands a few blows on the monster before becoming overcome with fear. But after recovering his senses, he returns to grapple it and attempts to punch through and rip the glowing object out of the monster’s forehead.

Meanwhile, Kaax squishes a couple cultists to a pulp as a brontosaurus while Falgas insightfully slashes the guts out of a couple more. Skud is killed in combat.

With Skud out of the fight, and narrowly avoiding a second fireball with a clutch counterspell, the group then turns their attention to Nandise.

Skarūl casts darkness on the area where he believes his sister shot the fireball from. Kaax changes into a giant constrictor snake and pursues her with his blindsense. Falgas turns his attention to the monster that Barthus is grappling with.

Kaax manages to grapple Nandise. But before the group can finish her off, she uses a scroll to teleport out of his grasp. And she’s nowhere to be found.

With a final blow, Barthus manages to rip a green gem out of Skexal’s forehead. The cloudy look leaves his eyes and he’s able to shapeshift back into his original form and explain to the group what happened to him.

He tells them that Nandise and her brothers turned on him after Skarūl left. Shortly after joining the cult, They turned him into an unnatural creature, controlled his mind, and used him as their pet. By removing the stone, he is free from their control. He also mentions that the entire family has joined the cult, which is based on an island up north called the Isle of Ra. It was presumably deserted, but they’ve established a secret base of operations in an abandoned temple on the island.

The group asks Skexal what he plans on doing now that he’s free. And he mentions that he’s not sure. Tormenting Skarūl and being enslaved by his older siblings were his two primary pastimes of late. And he’s not too keen on being enslaved again. The group suggests he hide for now, and that they’d help him get in contact with some pirates they know who could potentially give him work. He seems interested in the idea of being rewarded for disreputable behavior and agrees to this.

As the sun sets, night overtakes the desert. And the group gathers their humanoid meatballs and decide on their next steps.

*Find out what happens next with Skar-kūl and the Gang.*