Episode 41: Apparatus Operation

Having escaped attacking Yuan-Ti in a desperate race across a desert island, The Heroes of Bingle now must figure out how to help their mysterious prisoner and track down the treasure he has promised - all while dealing with the infamous Whitebeard, himself! When the team discovers the real reason they were brought on board, will the confusion of their task lead to even more chaos?

### DM/GM Intro

It started as a simple Dungeon Run, but it has become a grand adventure. An adventure influenced and shaped, every step of the way, by you the watchers of the time stream. Your support and challenge, your input and ideas have helped tell the tale, and now more then ever your impact has shown our team a new side to the story. Just as the Heroes of Bingle were about to step into the fabled Fortress of the Four Former Forges they found themselves transported to another time and place. Back to a moment when their old foe, the infamous pirate Whitebeard, was alive and well. Alongside his lieutenant Loudmouth, Whitebeard arrived late and ornery to a secure back entrance of what seemed to be a bank, ready to fill a vault with untold treasure. The very same vault that you, the watchers of the time stream, told our Heroes about with one of your Forces of Good. But before the team could witness exactly what valuables were to be kept there, Loudmouth launched into a story and in a flash and two blinks the Heroes of Bingle were transported further back in time. As if living out the telling of the tale inside the bodies of five sell swords, members of Whitebeard's makeshift crew. They trudged through barren sand in a place known only as the Deserted Island, dry empty land in the middle of the Lost Sea, and they helped transport an apparent prisoner alongside crates of exotic creatures. the stranger, manacled and chained, pleaded with them for help to avoid the price on his head set by the Shaxen Gao. He claimed to be attempting to save his family and offered anyone who could help him 1000 times the value of his bounty in return. The man, a muscled pale skinned humanoid named Cho'Ran, claimed to know where the most wondrous riches of the Shaxen Gao Dynasty were hidden and promised to demonstrate the power of these items if he could just get to the water. So, the team pretended to abuse and harass the prisoner while helping him get back to Whitebeard's ship. Along the way, they weathered a violent Sand Storm, thanks to Fahima's clutch concentration on a Tiny Hut spell, and liberated the caged creatures thanks to James's mad dash through the convoy moments before the lashing winds tore through the remaining pirates.(edited)
[9:02 AM]
When they arrived at the ship they were surprised to find it beached at the base of a sand dune, water no where in sight. Crew members hastily making repairs to its hull. Whitebeard ordered Cho'Ran into a cage mounted at the front of the poop deck just as a host of tiny sand craft appeared at the horizon line. Piloted by the snake creatures known as the Yuan-ti. The small one and two man vehicles rocketed across the surface of the sand, their sails propelling them at amazing speed. Though it seemed like the Heroes of Bingle were sitting ducks they soon learned that Whitebeard's vessel was more then capable of traversing the desert landscape, as massive ship length skis extended from the sides of the craft converting it into a sand skiff. The chase was on. James launched a volley of Eldritch Blasts as the ship hurled through the desert cutting deep lines in the sand, and Uggo used his grappling hook to swing off the starboard side taking out would be attackers along the way. Lily sowed confusion in the air with her Hypnotic Pattern. Fahima conjured a flying earthen gargoyle, and Siv, casually oh so casually, fired arrow after arrow into the reptilian faces as they attempted to board the ship. But when the vessel hit a particularly steep dune, James lost his footing and tumbled over the side. Uggo, in a critical moment of reaction, managed to catch his blood brother as he fell toward the sand. A tug of war ensued as a Yuan-ti also grabbed James, only losing its grip when Lily used her magic to convince it that it's own tongue was burrowing up through its nose and out its...eye parts. And in that moment the crew caught sight of the water and Whitebeard ordered them to increase their speed, heading straight toward the cliff at the islands edge. As the boat cleared the side of the overhang Cho'Ran grabbed one of Siv's arrows, fixing his magic bracelet upon it, and asked Siv to fire it high and long back at the island. When the arrow made contact with the sand the bracelet unleashed an impossible torrent of water. Transforming the dry arid desert surface into a lush watery paradise crowned with flowing waterfalls.(edited)
July 30, 2021