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023 - Mighty Polymorphin' Chuul Smashers

Cresting the top of a very long hill, the group sees the modest village of Vrikolas at the edge of Avongad Lake. It looks like perhaps this valley is a water-filled former volcano.

From the crest, there is a steep descent of 600-700 ft. With two castings of dimension door Aaron and Tegan are at the bottom. Wazo flies. They notice a sign for Vricolas. Walking further, there is a sign for a tavern, The Painted Lion.

The town has neglected fences and gardens, and the air has heavy fog. There is a small dock with no boats. Looking around more, they see another sign, this one for The Tin Can, which has supplies and goods.

Aaron wants to take a rest but eventually decides against it. Tegan doesn't see anyone in the streets. The group decides to check out the Tin Can.

Inside, through a rusty-hinged door, is a portly, short half-elf wearing a tunic and blue overalls. Wazo clears her throat.
He deliberately lowers his book. "Hi."
"Seems quiet in town."
"Yep."

It seems like a general store. The shopkeep is incredibly terse. Wazo asks what he's reading. "Book."
"What's it about?"
"Story."
"So, fishing town?"
"Yep."
"How's the fishing?"
He doesn't answer.

The group talks, and decides to try to catch something in the lake.

No luck.

Aaron has Flit look around, who notices some people but nothing helpful. The group decides to check out the tavern.

Inside, a male halfling is seated, wearing full plate. Behind the bar is a tall, human male wearing hazy, scratched glasses. "Hey."
Tegan asks, "what's the cost for a meal and a good drink?"
"One."
Wazo presents a copper.
"No."
She replaces it with a silver. "Yes."
Tegan pushes over two more. "Three?" gesturing to the whole group.

As they speak, the group can see that one of his cheeks has a blue, scaly texture.

The halfling, who was watching the exchange, introduces himself as Sir Flynnler Perrywise IV. He explains that Yondalla, goddess of the halflings, sent him up here, but he thinks he has failed.

Tegan asks, "What did you try? How did you fail?"
For three weeks he's been here. He can't find the source of the magical energy Yondalla wanted him to investigate.
Ferd, the barkeep, only speaks in single words. Personality of stale bread. Punctuates this by tearing off a bite of the bread. It seems like this is the curse of the town, probably from drinking the lake water. Wazo tries the barkeep again, but he is not useful.

The group wishes Flynnler the best. They finish their meal and head back to the dock. After some discussion they decide to fly/swim to the island. tegan polymorphs to a giant eagle and carries aaron over. wazo leads the way and finds a clear space to land Aaron doesn't see anything specifically magic, he thinks it might be underground Tegan polymorphs again, and burrows down as a giant badger, but despite ranging widely around, the island seems to have a stone foundation all over. Wazo circles the island, looking for a cave entrance or something. She finds a place where the water looks different, and Aaron thinks the magic is stronger there. The group decides on their underwater forms and dives into the water. They see that there is some kind of invisible barrier preventing passage underneath the island. As they swim deeper, they see a shadowy mass protruding beneath the island. They feel magical energy pulsing slowly. They swim deeper, approaching the bottom of the lake. They see a bubble, and a plaque. "I fall without being called I rise without being woken within me life and death what am I?" Aaron mimes "sun", and a door opens in the barrier. Beyond it is a towering structure, its surface like obsidian. It has angular protrusions. The group pushes through the doorway, and a pair of scaly insectoid monsters (Chuuls) rush the group. Initiative!

• Chuul 2 grabs Octopus-Tegan in its claw, grappling him. He maintains concentration
• Octopus-Aaron releases an ink cloud
• Wazo bites chuul 2, big damage
• Tegan grapples chuul 2, it's restrained
• Chuul 2 poisons Tegan with its tentacles, paralyzing him. Tegan loses concentration
• Wazo, now an Aarakocra again, attacks chuul 2
• Tegan shakes off the paralysis
• Chuul 1 grapples Aaron
• Chuul 2 grapples Wazo
• Aaron polymorphs into a giant shark, becoming too large for the chuul to hold
• Wazo, still grappled, impales chuul 2 with her rapier, burning it with holy fury. She hits again, slicing it further.
• Tegan kills chuul 2 with green flame blade
• Chuul 1 claws at shark-Aaron
• Aaron snaps his jaws at the chuul, but misses
• Wazo stabs and slashes at chuul 1
• Tegan twins Polymorph on himself and Wazo. Giant Sharks
• The chuul flees. Shark-Aaron and shark-wazo get opportunity attacks. Together they shred the monster nearly to death.
• Aaron swims after it, taking a big bite
• Wazo bites it in half, still feeling the remnants of her barbarian rage

Circling around after the fight, the group notices a closed door in the base of the structure. Aaron drops his polymorph and inspects it. It doesn't seem locked, but it's too heavy for him to open. He ties his rope around the door handle, and Wazo swims away with the other end. She tears the door off its hinges!

Aaron swims through, and on the other side it is magically dry! He walks further. There is a shelf with four glowing orbs, and a staircase curving up the wall. Aaron examines the orbs with Detect Magic. They are aligned with magical elements: water, fire, earth, and lightning Tegan examines a bookcase. It has reference books on a wide variety of topics. "I'll be back for you later!" Tegan peeks into a back room. There is a huge stash of different items, notably a suit of armor, a large killer whale skeleton wrapped in a net, and random other artifacts. He takes a closer look at the armor, which seems quite old. As he is about to touch it, Initiative!

• The armor becomes animated. It slams its hand at Tegan, but he reacts with Shield.
• Tegan stabs it with GFB
• Wazo rushes towards the fight, but is grappled and bludgeoned
• Armor bludgeons Tegan, who reacts with Hellish rebuke
• Aaron blasts the rug with EB. Both bolts hit the rug, but Wazo, inside, also takes some of the damage.
• Tegan GFB the armor, which remains in place
• Wazo takes damage as the rug constricts around her. She muscles free from its grasp.
• The armor tries to club Tegan but hits a nearby table instead.
• Aaron blasts holes through the rug, unraveling it into fabric shreds. He gets a better angle on the armor.
• Tegan disengages and steps back from the armor. As he backs up, he touches the whale skeleton, awakening it.
• Wazo picks her way out of the room.
• The armor walks over to Aaron, but somehow misses him.
• Aaron blasts through the armor with an EB, defeating it.
• Tegan disengages from the skeleton and runs out of the room
• Wazo holds her action, ready to bar the door once Aaron is through. Aaron leaves the room, and leaves a parting EB before Wazo slams the door.

Aaron turns Tegan into a shark again, and he retrieves the door. Once they have it in place, Tegan mends the hinges and they bar the door. Long rest, and end of session.

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Category: AdventureLogs

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