Six players were present:
- Mortos,
Male Tiefling Druid - Bruno FaceSmasher
Male Dwarf Barbarian - To’Mas
Male Human Fighter - Lupin Damakos
Female Tiefling Rogue - Garrus Ironside
Male Dwarf Paladin - Ffion Tanwen
Female Dragonborn Cleric
The blimp caring Pyter is pulling out of the dock with the Waters of Restoration suspended beneath it. Garrus and Lupin are landing on the tail of the blimp as archers fire upon them. Mortos is dive bombing the blimp in seagull form. Mithraax is battling Scarlett and other soldiers on a crumbling dock that is being pulled over the cliff by vines attached to the blimp. And a small garrison of guards and servants are standing in the center of the hanger.
Bruno steps from behind the crates and cleaves his mighty axe into the ground taking out several of the servants and injuring some of the guards. The rest of The Heroes and members of the United also reveal themselves and a massive battle ensues.
Scarlett embraces Mithraax in a bear hug and leaps off the dock. Smashing into the floor of the cliff, Mithraax takes the brunt of the impact and is rendered unconscious (player couldn’t make it). Landing next to the body of Malachi (see Cliff Hanger), the Female Felon franticly begins searching for something.
With the blimp pulling out of range, Ffion reaches into her backpack and unfurls a flying carpet (see Hopes and Fears). Ffion, To’Mas, Bruno and Baron Damocles hop aboard and fly towards the blimp, leaving Sotrom, Penny, Tang, and Boma to battle the remaining garrison. To’Mas instructs Ffion to land upon the tanks. Alighting on one of the tanks, To’Mas attempts to open a hatch on top of one of the containers, but discovers that it can only be unlocked by solving puns about Winter/Cold.
HORRIBLE WINTER/COLD PUNS (Classics)
1: Kill Southern Women.*
2: Small Frozen Kiss.**
3: Surveyor in a Tornado.***
4: Frosty’s Testicles.****
5: Teepee made of frost.*****
6: More than 31 Diplomas.******
7: Sexy Cocoa.*******
8: Robert’s Toboggan.********
9: Chilly Ball and Socket Joint.*********
10: Opposite of Hot Back.**********
11: Disney Animated Movie.***********
12: Unsolved Crime.************
Lupin scampers from beneath the blimp and appears behind Pyter and tries to strike him. However, he is faster than he looks and manages to avoid her blow. As Garrus shoves one of the archers over the edge, his body bounces off the iron container with a comedic metallic boing and Wilhelm Scream.
As the carpet transporting The Heroes lifts off from the tanks, it nearly flips over as it is struck from below. Scarlett has located Malachi’s ring of flight and plowed into the carpet with all her might. The Heroes are able to barely hang on, but Damocles falls from the carpet. To’Mas, with the rope still attached to his waist, hurls his grappling hook. Damocles manages to catch it and dangles from it as the carpet rises.
From afar, Mortos casts a wicked wind which whirls the Wily Wealthy man over the proverbial precipice. Seeing Pyter fall, Scarlett ceases her attack on the carpet to aid him. As the carpet levels with the blimp’s deck, The Heroes scamper off and begin to pull Damocles onboard. At the rear of the blimp, the Warrior Woman has climbed the vines and is balancing on the tail fin. Charging onto the deck, the Furious Female and Angry Archers make a final attempt to repel the invaders from the deck.
Looking over the side, The Heroes see Scarlet hanging on to Pyter, flying downward in large concentric circles to slow their descent. They hear Scarlett cursing Pyter for eating too many cannolis, as they disappear into the mist.
Lupin leaps into the cockpit below and baring her horns and fangs, intimidates the pilot to turn around. The frightened pilot claims he had nothing to do with anything and pleads with her not to hurt him.
Ffion instantly recognizes him as her father: Telor. The Powerful Priestess perceives this regal figure standing before her erect and proud. But as his favorite daughter, the Religious Reptile recognizes things the others do not. The She Serpent sees the effect the plague that has struck her village has wrought on him. There is a slight tremble in his stance. His eyes are not as bright as they once were. His scales are dull and pale. Her Father has always been the strongest man she knew, but today she realizes that he is standing on sheer force of will alone.
Ffion tells him that they can share the waters, but the Powerful Patriarch proclaims that their entire race is on the brink of extinction and they don’t know how much they may need to cure everyone. The Elegant Elder insists that they surrender all of the waters to them and they will return any that is not needed.
Garrus threatens the pilot to head straight toward the airship. The trembling pilot informs him that they’re just a hot air balloon and the other ship is made of wood and steel. Garrus doesn’t care and demands that they go full speed ahead, confident that they will win this game of “chicken”.
With The Heroes safety removed from the deck, the blimp crashes into the hanger and skitters across the ground in a flaming mess. The airship and tanks of waters, attached to the chains hanging below, smash into the cliff side wall leaving the airship dangling at a 90-degree angle. The chains supporting the tanks of water snap and plummet into the ocean below. Lupin assists Telor in climbing to the top of the precariously dangling airship, where Ffion manages to pick them up with her flying carpet.
The Confused Cleric questions what happened. The Daring Devil declares that Mortos caused an explosion on the blimp. The Puzzled Paladin ponders why. The Demon Damsel denotes that she doesn’t know. Offering him her hand, the Cagy Criminal cautions him not to ever tell anyone about this as she puts her arm around him and helps him hobble out of the smoldering wreckage.
Mortos is reduced to a bloody pulp when Ffion slams her staff to the ground, causing a thunderous wave to separate them. She chides To’Mas, reminding him that they are a team. The Steaming Sentry scoffs and demands to know why the Devil Druid did what he did. The Caring Cleric casts a healing spell on Mortos, removing his negative numbers and leaving him with 1hp.
The Mighty Midget mentions that the Waters can also be used to heal people, and maybe even be used to stop the Crimson Empire. Mortos proclaims: “Exactly!” The Flustered Farmer frets that the United will weaponize the Waters and that will always make it, and them, a target. A frustrated Garrus has heard enough and slams his Warhammer into Mortos’ chest before he storms off. Reduced to negative hp, Ffion is forced to revive Mortos once again.
As The Heroes tie Mortos up (ummm. . . guys??? He’s a shapeshifter?!?!?) and let him recuperate from his injuries, his sister Sotrom appears behind him. And suddenly, the Sinister Siblings swiftly slip through a transportation circle.°
As The Heroes and Dragonborn gather materials to create hoists and pullies, Ffion begins to hum a Dragonborn tune of unity and cooperation. Telor smiles at his daughter and also begins to hum the tune, soon every Dragonborn is humming the song as they labor over their construct (cue montage scene).
With the makeshift hoist completed, Garrus casts breath underwater on four of the Heroes and four of the Dragonborn. Diving beneath the waves, they discover that one tank has broken in half.° Finding the second tank, they discover that a large rock has pierced the hull.° However, upon closer inspection, they see that the rock merely dented the side and the Waters are intact.°
Telor replies that even as a young girl, he knew her curiosity and thirst for adventure were too large for their tiny village to contain. He tells her that she will return when she is ready and that she will always be welcome home. She thanks her “Da” and with a teary embrace, they say their goodbyes. As the dragonborn cast off, Ffion begins to hum her tune once more, until Telor and all of the Dragonborn proudly take up the melody as they sail off.
As The Heroes turn toward the tank containing the Waters, they are startled by a large clang. Landing on top of the tank stands Mortos, still Hell-bent on destroying the Waters!!!
To be continued? ? ?
Lupin was her crafty self. Using her spider boots allowed her to flank Pyter and his crew on the blimp. She forced the pilot into submission with an intimidation check rather than physical violence. Facing the Dragonborn, she leapt onto their airship aggressively, but ended up helping save Ffion’s father. Her concern and aid toward Garrus showed a softer side of her. Garrus was determined to secure the Waters. Shoving an archer over the side of the blimp showed that he would do whatever it takes, no quarter given to capture Pyter. His game of chicken allowed The Heroes to return the blimp to the hanger with mixed results. His frustration with Mortos’ actions was quite palpable. Ffion needed a little help remembering that she was carring around a flying carpet. Once released, she used it quite effectively to reach the blimp, travel to the airship, and save her father. Her reunion and farewell with her father was both heartfelt and touching. Her humming of the Dragonborn song of unity was a wonderful way to show their racial pride and harmony. Mortos started off fighting with The Heroes against Pyter’s troops, but ended up fighting his own teammates. Believing that the Waters of Restoration made them/the United a target, Mortos did everything in his power to destroy the waters. Even using up all of his Drama Cards. His return at the end may force a battle to the death. To’Mas determination was fueled by his desire to cure his daughter of Vampirism (see Father’s Day). Willing to risk his life in an attempt to grapple on to the blimp, he instead was able to hop on to the flying carpet to reach the tanks. He showed great foresight by having The Heroes fill their water skins with the Waters of Restoration in case they couldn’t recover it. Risking everything, he ordered Garrus to send the blimp headfirst into the airship. His fury with Mortos would have killed him, if Ffion hadn’t intervened. Compromising with the Dragonborn allowed them to recover what remained of the Waters. Bruno once again showed how powerful a Dwarven Barbarian can be. More comfortable with his higher level powers, he now regularly takes out two or more opponents at a time; a fact that he boasted about to To’Mas. And on a personal note, the player's expressive and overly contorted facial and hand gestures while he was berating Mortos were some of the most amusing I have ever seen. Bravo to all!!!
* Kill Southern Women: Kill = slay; southern women = belles – Sleigh Bells.
** Small Frozen Kiss: Frozen = ice; small kiss = peck – Ice Pick.
*** Surveyor in a Tornado: Surveyor = poller; tornado = vortex – Polar Vortex.
**** Frosty’s Testicles: Frosty = snow; testicles = balls – Snow Balls.
***** Teepee made of frost: Teepee = cone; frost = snow – Snow Cones.
****** More than 31 Diplomas: More than 31 = 32; diplomas = degrees – 32 Degrees.
******* Sexy Cocoa: Sexy = hot; cocoa = chocolate – Hot Chocolate.
******** Robert’s Toboggan: Robert = Bob; toboggan = sled – Bobsled.
********* Chilly Ball and Socket Joint: – Chilly = cold; ball and socket joint = shoulder—Cold Shoulder
********** Opposite of Hot Back: – Opposite hot = cold; opposite back = front—Cold Front.
*********** Disney Animated Movie: – Frozen.
************ Unsolved Crime: —Cold Case.
Next: Chapter 77 - Coming Soon!
Previous: Chapter 75 - Cliff Hanger