ToA: Session 13

Among the Kobolds
After a successful business transaction of goods and friendship, the D-Squad settled down to share a fire with the kobold group for the night. The two shamans that seemed to lead the group introduced themselves as Argo and Bira, and invited the squad to share in food and stories. Neb shared a story of his time in Darguun, where he met a strange kobold by name of Lexaan, He of the Gilded Blood, which garnered some curiosity and interest from the other kobolds. Bucket shared a tale of a past mission to instill an idea of his abilities, even if he kept coming across as kind of menacing. Fargus waxed nostalgic, warming the atmosphere with tales of a home he can never return to. And Daedalus, guarded with his own information, instead probed for information from the kobolds on Artus Cimber.

Tales of Intrigue and Quest info?!
The Kobolds informed the Squad of some new valuable information regarding Artus and his strange smelling companion. They confirmed that the companion is indeed a mute, and that his name seems to be Dragonbait. They told the squad a little more about the strange Dagger of the Stars that Artus carried with him, though it seemed to still be a somewhat mysterious item to them. The Kobolds turned out to be rather chatty once the Squad got them talking, and they shared some new information about the local gods that proves uniquely interesting. They told the tale of Moa, our friendly river frog god...OR IS SHE?! As the Kobolds told it, Moa may in fact be a trickster snake god who ate the true frog god to steal its power and domain, masquerading as the downed deity. They believe the frogs are in fact a plague.

Mo' Orchids, Mo' Problems
The Kobolds told the squad that their people are suffering from a strange illness as well. Though they did not have a settled village, they told the squad of the area they roam, in case they ever cross paths again, and indeed they plan to.

Birds of a Feather Sail Together
After Bucket healed the Aarakocra, they soon warmed up to the squad and seemed keen to travel back with them down the river. As the squad and friends rode the waves down the way, they come across what appeared to be a mass of ruins entangled with vines. This, the Aarakocra said, was surely an outpost of Omu, and a temple of Ubtao! Not about the miss out on this opportunity (to loot if nothing else) the group made their way over the gilded bridge into the temple proper. What would be inside? Riches? Artifacts? Gods? A nifty looking rock?!

Not All that Glitters
The overgrown temple was filled with monkeys and birds it turns out, all of which went silent at the sight of the group. It conjured up some uncomfortable memories of angry, fist shaking golden monkeys and evil Iblis, but were far from as threatening as the main attraction. There before the group was a strange labyrinthine structure. Besides it was the form of something between a man and a triceratops, with its hands in a cup. A shining gold and white parrot landed in the hands of the statue and instructed the group to touch the alter and explore the maze of their lives. The moment it flew away it seemed to lose its shimmer, becoming an normal yellow and white parrot, as if it had only borrowed its divinity for the moment. Never ones to shy away from strange bird instructions, the Squad laid their hands upon the altar, and all but Fargus were struck by a draining yellow fog. He managed to pull the rest of the squad out of the fog, only to find that they were all in a golden maze. A maze filled with the painful chill of past memories, and three doors.

What's Behind Door Number 2?
The group decided to actually make a plan for once. Fargus, Daedalus, and Neb would each pick one door to explore. Before going in, they would tie themselves together with Neb's rope of climbing, and Bucket would stay behind to hold the rope and pull them back if anything went wrong.

Fargus went first into the leftmost door. There he saw a city burning, with something between a snake and a person cleaving all in its way in half with a wretched flaming sword. It seemed to lead an army of ghouls, and pointed directly at Fargus.

Daedalus went into the middle door. There he found himself floating in the sky above a resplendent city of gold. Among the shimmering gold were nine spirits, all being worshiped by more beings than he has ever seen gathered together before.

Neb went through the rightmost door. He fell into a gold void, dangling helplessly above a city of ruins and rubble. A battlefield of monsters, with nine shambling corpses, building a vile machine that siphons a strange energy out of all that lives. There in the center of it all stood a Lich of unimaginable power. His eyes snaped to lock onto Neb's, and the horror enveloped him just as his rope snaped.

Oh Boy! Trauma!
The three fell to the floor, where they stood. Daedalus and Fargus were no worse for wear, while Neb was so shaken from what he saw that he was shocked back into his natural Changeling form. He was on edge and snapping. But there was no time to give him some psychological help, as the group was suddenly swarmed by a horde of insane half dino half man spectres!

Will the group wipe out yet another group of weirdos? Will they even have to? Will Neb ever get to see his therapist again?

Find out next time on D-Squad: Operation Imminent Coffin!