ToA: Session 11

The Massacre
Traveling on the river the group noticed that the were being shadowed by unknown figures, on both sides of the river. The river being both shallow and narrow at this point, an attack was entirely possible, and so the party prepared for an ambush. But none came. Instead, they eventually came upon a grisly sight. A group of Aaracocrahad been massacred by Ghouls while resting on a large rock. Bucket and Daedelus quickly searched for survivors. Two where still alive although one was unfortunately beyond saving.

Meanwhile Fargus and Neb had searched the scene and figured out that the group of Ghouls had most likely taken one of the Aaracocra and dragged it into the jungle. Given that they were our allies, we moved in pursuit!

The Ritual
Moving through the jungle, the Desolation Squat decided to attempt to sneak up on the Ghouls they were pursuing.

They came up on a clearing, where up on a small structure the last Aaracocra was slowly beeing lowered into a hole, with the ghouls surrounding it. The group spread out a bit and had a plan. Neb would open up hopefully killing one and then the rest would either charge in or shoot the surprised ghouls.

But Fargus had other ideas. You see he spotted the fact that the Aaracocra would most likely just be dropped then, likely falling to its death. So he stormed in, jumping at the Aaracocra hoping to get both of them to safety. Unfortunately, he failed, and instead ended up hanging over the pit alongside the Aaracocra. The ghoul holding the rope sadly didn't care to finish the ritual, and with a shrug let go of the rope, sending both Fargus and the Aaracocra into the hole.

Up on the surface a glorious battle commenced! Bucket used divine magic to protect himself against the Undead and entered melee with the creatures while the others provided supporting fire. This not being their first encounter with ghouls, they made short work of them.

Godslayer
Underground Fargus had landed shielding the Aaracocra with his own body, and thus saving its life. But unfortunately he was not alone down there. A giant snake was slowly awoken by the sound of the fall, so Fargus, not wanting to become a snack, grabbed the Aaracocra and booked it down the nearest tunnel. Markings on the wall hinted at a more divine origin for the snake, but Fargus had little time to to study them, as he neared large pool of water. Finding it unlikely he'd be able to carry the Aaracocra underwater, he readied his axe for his last stand.

Luckily, he wouldn't have to face it alone, as the rest of the party descended into the temple, and together the laid into the snake. It proved little match to the seasoned veterans, and so the snake humbly awaited it's fate, showing it was more then a simple beast. Fargus now had a choice to make; Let the snake pass, thus sparing it, or end it's existence, and rid the jungle of a unique, if slightly evil, entity. In this moment, a vision of his past filled his mind;

In the end, with the memories of his past weighing heavy on his conscience, Fargus swung his axe at the snake, again and again, and ended the creatures life in a brutal display of violence. This decision would surely haunt Fargus for days to come. Not to mention the whole party, since when the climbed out of the hole again, a golden lion monkey shook its fist in anger at the group, before vanishing into the jungle.

Now our group stands above a long forgotten underground system. What will they find down here? And have they just made even more enemies? Find out next time on the Tomb of Annihilation!