ToA: Session 6

Hangover in Fort Beluarian
Another day began with Daedalus waking up in the worst state he had ever felt. The mysterious illness that had gripped him after blocking the sharp teeth of a crazed Ghoul with his shoulder a few days prior had worsened. D-Squad were understandably worried for their commander, going so far to listen to his fevered wishes to explore any and all possible solutions. Unfortunately the illness had progressed to the point that it was now plainly obvious to all in Fort Beluarian and Daedalus was quickly relegated to the tent for the ill under the care of the local medic, Matzen, who quickly supplied a local herbal tea to help soothe him. Daedalus was able to identify the properties of two pieces of loot acquired from the Ghoul King. A magical staff, which was promptly supplied to Bucket and a cursed diadem that was conveniently lost somewhere in the bag of holding contraption D-Squad always carried with them.

By the Power of Triceratops!
However all was not lost and D-Squad came together in finding the best viable option to help their stricken commander, namely to forge out into the foreboding jungle in search of the Aarakocra. This was quickly shot down as a truly dangerous preposition by the madam medic who had been tending to Daedalus. Instead she would lead the intrepid group to the local encampment outside Fort Beluarian where they might find a proper solution. There they were greeted by an Elder in a village that showed signs of being plagued by similar Ghoul attacks that had been happening around the area. After the combined efforts of the members of the squad who weren't currently so ill they literally needed to be carried on a stretcher, they were able to garner favor with the Elder. This Elder then proceeded to perform a rite that seemed to transfer the commander's illness to their Triceratops and seemingly transferred a certain amount of the vitality/experiences of the Triceratops into Daedalus. The Elder warned that this was not a permanent solution but that it would buy our group an uncertain amount of time to pursue our mission and a more permanent solution.

Great Frosty Blue Tracts of Land
With Daedalus now in much improved spirits D-squad headed out into to the jungle to pursue their now numerous missions, from tracking down Artus Cimber, to finding out about the apparent frost giant presence, to documenting local myths and deities, and finally to procuring a black orchid from the mythical garden/forbidden city Nangalore. However they quickly had more immediate concerns as they came upon a dormant Zombie T-Rex! Bravely did D-Squad take tail and ran, bravely, from the monstrosity. Utilizing their unique and hard earned talents all members of D-Squad were able to bravely escape the wrath of the Zombie T-Rex with nary a scratch, such was their bravery and talent.

After their brave flight, D-Squad found a place in the jungle to settle down for the night, and struggled to find peace in the loud and humid environment under the watchful eyes of Bucket. Disconcertingly, more loud steps were heard plodding through the jungle that night. Thankfully, D-Squad had less to fear than during the previous encounter, for the steps belonged to none other than the frost giant Thyra of Permafrost. Immediately friendly and interested in what D-Squad was doing in the jungle, Thyra proffered her giant ale to the whole group. Daedalus couldn't handle the strong ale, and was granted a somewhat peaceful respite as Thyra proceeded to offer seemingly all the information the group wanted about the group of Frost Giants who had come to the jungle. It was quickly apparent that they were the true owners of the artifact that Artus carried and were there to retrieve it. The group also learned the location of the Hvalspyd, the grand ship the Frost Giants had arrived on, captained by Jarl Storvald.

Ptera of the Jungle
Sadly, nothing good ever lasts, and after spending most of the night sharing stories, Thyra departed, leaving the team to press ever onwards. After a day with mostly nothing happening, the party noticed the appearance of jungle sprites blinking to and fro on the other side of the river the group was following. They seemed to be peaceful and somewhat playful, mirroring any gestures we sent in reverence until one of the sprites pointed up to the sky. Unfortunately the jungle is bountiful in it's gifts of terror and as the group looked up to the sky a group of Pterafolk proceeded to attack D-Squad. This particular battle went wholly different than many others D-Squad had faced. Fargus seemingly stayed standing, Neb used the cover of the nearby jungle to advantage, and Daedalus was able to achieve a tactically superior vantage point over the battlefield. D-Squad prevailed in the end, bloodied but alive.

Soon thereafter they happened upon a stranded group of adventurers who had clearly seen some shit. After a tense staredown, the adventurers agreed to share their camp for the night. The group learned that the adventurers had tried to find Nangalore as well, but had been unsuccessful, and after months of being lost in the jungle were now just trying to get home. They had also lost many comrades on the journey. It wasn't long, however, until a women named Messen, who bore the marks of a notorious mercenary unit of sellwands during the Last War, accosted Bucket. Apparently she held a grudge against warforged. Fargus, ever the master of diplomacy and tact, ended up not only pissing her off even more, but pissing off everyone else as well. As such, D-squad had to find another place to sleep. It was just as well; this particular group had clearly angered the jungle and were more than likely doomed to perish in the sweltering heat of the jungle anyways.

The Great Race
Being forced to find other sleeping arrangements, D-Squad proceeded on-wards along the river until they happened upon a clearing where a Great Tortoise seemingly held sway, who offered a peaceful area for respite in exchange for winning a race. D-Squad agreed to help the Great Tortoise win his race against the supernaturally fleet-footed Great Almiraj. It became immediately clear to D-Squad that the only way they could help was to somehow steal the attention of the Almiraj and keep her distracted long enough for the Great Tortoise to finish the race first. D-Squad put their hastily made plans in action trying everything they could think of to keep the Almiraj distracted, some more successful than others. In the end the Great Tortoise was able to stick his tongue out and cross the line just ahead of the Great Almiraj. The Great Almiraj was graceful in her defeat and offered her horn to D-Squad, and the Great Tortoise whisked the party off to a fey realm seemingly in the clouds resembling a peaceful beach side hut. Having previously told the Great Tortoise about the groups plans to visit Nangalore he provided the group with information about the history and current state of Nangalore. Once D-Squad awoke to continue their journey they were seemingly deposited back to the material world right at the foreboding entrance to Nangalore.

Practically well rested and fresh faced, we leave D-Squad facing the massive T-Rex head fountain, and await them taking their first steps into Nangalore.