Four players were present:
- Garrus Ironside
Male Dwarf Paladin - Mithraax
Male Githzerai Battlemind - Lupin Damakos
Female Tiefling Rogue +
Willow, Cat Animal Companion - Mortos
Male Tiefling Druid
Giving a vague explanation, the Rambunctious Rogue requests that the Warrior Woman watch Willow while she is gone. Taking the Furry Feline into her arms, the Elegant Eladrin assures her that she will take good care of Willow, and that they are already well acquainted (see Behind the Scenes).
Approaching the Weird Sisters, the Powerful Paladin proclaims that everyone who wishes to be transported is present, then enquires what the price of creating a Transportation Circle to Pyrite’s mountain castle, the Eagle’s Nest, will cost. The Women Wizards reveal that the price of transportation is to answer puns about Thanksgiving.
HORRIBLE THANKSGIVING PUNS (Classics)
1: Ships made out of brown liquid.*
2: Round graph showing the sales rate of orange gourds.**
3: A Purple, Bulbous, Gelatinous Bruin.***
4: Sugary Tuber.****
5: 3.14 Orange Squash.*****
6: Turkey’s Drinking Cup.******
7: What a Turkey Hits in Baseball.*******
8: Plant that Grows from a Turkey.********
9: Opens a Lock on Thanksgiving.*********
10: What a Percussionist Eats on Thanksgiving.**********
11: What a Republican Eats on Thanksgiving.***********
12: What a Democrat Eats on Thanksgiving.************
Flying through the castle, the Itsy-bitsy Insect ascertains that most rooms have been emptied and everything of value has been boxed. Hearing voices, the Flying Fiend follows them to a large hanger with a sheer cliff overlooking the ocean. A strong looking woman in armor is barking commands to the castle’s servants and armed garrison to hurry and stack all of the crates and barrels in the center of the hanger.
Suddenly, a pair of glowing eyes opens, then another, and another, and another. Horrible gapping, ghastly, glowing, jagged, grins below each set of eyes completes the mocking visage of a fearsome face. Lupin notices that the glow is not a reflection, but rather is emitting from within the rotund horrors! The collective internal glow soon lights up the entire cavern, revealing dozens of evil Jack-O-Lanterns.
At first The Heroes employ brute strength alone: Lupin slices with her short sword; Garrus Hits with his hammer; Mithraax stabs with his spear; Penny pierces with her pinchers; and Soltrom strikes with her spells. The Super Squashes’ superior defenses prove to be quite resilient, however, one hit causes them to explode. Unfortunately for The Heroes, the sheer number of Prolific Pumpkins proves to be quite formidable.
Working a little too well, Mithraax endures enough damage that the Brainy Battlemind begrudgingly beats a retreat. Sotrom shoots scorching spells into the swarm, scalding several squashes simultaneously, until she too has to retreat from injuries. The Jumping Jack-O-Lanterns continue to attack Mithraax until he is reduced to 0 hit points. Using many of his most powerful spells, Garrus manages to stand his ground and defeat the Pumpkins around him while healing himself and bringing Mithraax back to life. With only a few Pumpkins left, Lupin and Penny strike at the last three on the left while Garrus destroys the final two on the right.
The Scholarly Spirit states that the cave leads to the hanger Mortos described. Shocked by her direct response, The Heroes then ask if the Waters of Restoration are stored here. The Female Phantom forewarns that the waters shall be arriving soon with Pyter Pyrite.
Suddenly, the sounds of blades slicing through air, accompanied by a rush of wind, herald the approach of a mighty airship. Hanging below are two massive tanks filled with the Waters of Restoration. Docking next to a loading ramp, The Heroes spot Pyter Pyrite, Scarlett, and Malachi (see Talking Points) along with three archers on the deck of the airship. Realizing that they need backup and witnesses from the United to see that Pyter is in possession of the waters, they order Sotrom to create a portal and travel back to the United Center to try to convince some of the leaders to return with her. Penny volunteers to bring Queen Sapphire back as they step through the portal and disappear (and that dear readers, is how you remove NPCs from a fight).
Hurling headlong toward Malachi, she notices something odd. He is staring directly towards her and bracing himself. Knocking him off the airship, she is shocked that he too can fly. Laughing at her, the Evil Elf assures her that he can see her as well.
Mortos and Mithraax battle the remaining workers at the top of the dock, while Garrus rushes to back them up. With the archers from the ship firing a volley of arrows toward them, Scarlett leaps from the airship onto the dock and begins battling The Heroes. Mortos and Mithraax casts their most powerful spells at her, but the Awful Assassin easily avoids them.
Garrus faces off against Scarlett as the archers on the airship fire at him, unintentionally striking the invisible Lupin who is standing between them. Without her sword’s healing ability, Lupin and Malachi are near equals, dealing as much damage as they are receiving it. Mortos decides to transmogrify into a seagull to distract the archers. Flying in Pyter’s face the archers immediately hurry to defend him from the angry avian.
Lupin picks up Garrus and launches off the dock. Finding himself alone, Mithraax braces for battle as Pyter’s men, led by the Warrior Woman, begin to charge up the ramp toward the dock.
The airship’s engines strain and begin to pull out of the hanger. With a sudden jolt, the wooden pylons are torn from the ground, towing the crumbling dock and everyone on it toward the edge. Flying above the airship, Lupin prepares to hurl Garrus onto the deck as the three archers take aim at the Defiant Dwarf.
Thoughts on this Session: This really was a session about a hanger on a cliff that turned into a true cliff hanger! My original thoughts were for The Heroes to battle a large monster in the cavern, but since it was just after Halloween, the candied pumpkins seemed appropriate. Plus, the players got to eat everything they killed. A lot of action in this session where everyone unleashed some of their strongest daily feats.
Lupin showed foresight by boarding Willow with Epiphany. Her kitty companion is of little help battling creatures in these higher levels. Once again she was the first to run into trouble. Scouting ahead led her to the killer pumpkin patch. Realizing that Malachi was the greatest threat, she tried to take him out first, forgetting that a fellow rogue has a few tricks of his own. Unleashing many of her most powerful actions on him proved to be enough to finish off her Elvin Adversary. Garrus tried to keep the party together, but Mortos and Lupin followed the plan they made when their party was twice its size. Circumventing the swarming pumpkins from isolating individual party members as well as marking them may have saved a few lives. Sneaking up to the ramp allowed The Heroes to take control of the dock with minimal fighting. However, being air-dropped into archers may not end well for him. Mortos insistence on bringing Penny and Sotrom paid off as they helped defeat the Pumpkin menace. Reconnoitering the castle left him out of the Pumpkin battle, but he was able to forewarn the others about the activities in the hanger. Casting his wall of thorns prevented most of the servants and guards from immediately following them, but many of his strongest spells were thwarted by Scarlett. Mithraax charged bravely into battle marking the Pumpkins and preventing Lupin and Garrus from being surrounded. But the powerful foes soon reduced his hits points, forcing him to retreat. He was actually reduced to 0 hit points, but brought back by Garrus. Scarlett proved to be a formidable foe, avoiding Mithraax’s most powerful spells. Caught on the crumbling dock being pulled over the side of the cliff with enemies around him will require some quick thinking on his part next session. Bravo to all!!!
* Ships made out of brown liquid: Brown Liquid = gravy; ships = boats – Gravy boats.
** Round graph showing the sales rate of orange gourds: Orange gourds = pumpkins; round graph = pie chart – Pumpkin Pie Chart.
*** A purple, bulbous, gelatinous bruin: Bruin = bear; purple, bulbous, gelatinous = cranberry – Cran-bear-y.
**** Sugary Tuber: Sugary = sweet; tuber = potato – Sweet Potato.
***** 3.14 Orange Squash: 3.14 = pi; orange squash = pumpkin – Pumpkin Pie.
****** Turkey’s Drinking Cup: Turkey = gobble; drinking cup = goblet – Goblet.
******* What a Turkey Hits in Baseball: Turkey = fowl; hits in baseball = balls – Foul (Fowl) Balls.
******** Plant that Grows from a Turkey: Plant = tree; turkey = poultry – Pole Tree.
********* Opens a Lock on Thanksgiving: Opens a lock = key; thanksgiving = Turkey – Tur-Key
********** What a Percussionist Eats on Thanksgiving: Percussionist = drummer – Drumsticks.
*********** What a Republican Eats on Thanksgiving: Republican = right wing–The right wing.
************ What a Democrat Eats on Thanksgiving: Republican = left wing – The left wing.
Next: Chapter 76 - Explosive Developments
Previous: Chapter 74 - Talking Points