The party:
- Ploikal (MU4)
- Gorakal (T4)
- Urasenai (NC)
- Parvatsaya, Kosalaya, Surarta (LF)
Treasure:
- Partial map of The Balok
- Ulfire snakeskin boots
- Bright yellow plate armor engraved with feathers
- Sword and shield made of a green-brown material decorated in curved and bubbly shapes
- Spellbook of Vurazil
- Spellbook of Shazulamur
- Two potions
- A scroll
- 30 SP
XP: 30.
Casualties: None.
Report:
Day 1
- The weather is terrible. Torrential rains poor down unrelentingly.
- Ploikal studies Xonokon’s spellbook and learns ‘charm person’, concluding his need for the spellbook.
- The party heads to the temple to respond to the priests’ call to aid in the lifting of the geas inflicted on Xonokon by the crystal forest.
- Ploikal bargains with the priests to get Aralal and Dugalu to forget several weeks of past experience (so that they do not remember anything related to the ring they retrieved previous expedition).
- The priests promise to petition the god of time to do so on his behalf, but he needs to be present for it, and it will have to wait until the stars are right (the stars will be right three days later).
- They lead him to Xonokon’s chambers. Before anyone can say anything, Ploikal taps the geased magic-user with his wand of cancellation, which he has hidden up his sleeve.
- Miraculously, the magic of the wand is powerful enough to break the spell of the forest.
- Xonokon faints, and comes to again some time later. He remembers nothing from his visit to the forest or what happened after.
- His son Egar is very grateful.
- Before leaving, Ploikal hands back the spellbook.
- That evening, the party seek out the rivaling adventurers that were hired by Aralal at the Spider’s Gate gambling den.
- They spot the opposing team, lead by a yellow thief named Ganomar. It includes three fighters and two magic-users besides. They appear rather poor and inexperienced.
- Gorakal sneaks up to overhear their conversation. They appear to mostly be exchanging banter and bs, but occasionally allude to the need to find those machine parts, soon, and how they should systematically explore the first level for secret rooms that they have overlooked.
- Ganomar pats a packet of maps tucked into their jacket.
- Ploikal and Gorakal decide to spread rumors about their departure for the Balok in two days, and that they are hot on the heels of the machine parts themselves. They hope this will make the rival party leave for the Balok the very next day, so that they can ambush them on the trail leading into the mountains.
- They also make sure to hire all the available retainers, preempting any attempt by the opposing team to reinforce their ranks.
Day 2
- The bad weather of the previous day continues.
- They leave for the Balok in the early morning, but the going is slow.
- They slog through the bone-white mud of the Mirror Hills all day, and only make it to the foothills of Mount Hunger late afternoon.
- There, they spot the rival party ahead of them, but also a flock of seven massive bright red pteranodon circling above.
- Gorakal finds the whole situation way too risky, and decides to leave for town again.
- Ploikal considers chugging a potion of animal mastery, but wants to ensure it will achieve the desired effect, so first uses his precognition to see into the future.
- It tells him the potion will have a powerful effect.
- So, he actually does drink it, and manages to take control of five of the seven flying dinosaurs.
- He makes four attack the two pteranodon that remain free, and the fifth one he commands to attack the rivaling party.
- Up in the sky, one pteranodon is almost immediately eviscerated.
- Meanwhile, the most powerful of the two magic-users is torn apart.
- The battle in the sky continues while the rival adventurers make a courageous stand against the dinosaurs.
- The remaining pteranodon is killed by his brainwashed companions.
- The rival adventurers fall one by one. In the end a lone magic-user and fighter remain.
- They attempt to flee, but are cornered, and mercilessly slain as well.
- Ploikal commands the pteranodons to go off and massacre the hamlet near the spheroid and crystal statue north of Zailin.
- He then has his men loot the bodies, after which they are forced to camp out in the wilderness.
Day 3
- The next day they travel back to Batbeng without incident. The rain has stopped. Heavy clouds obscure the sky and Planet Karus’ huge dying sun.