Episode 19: Fast Times in Ta-Arma Report
General Summary
Arrival in Ta-Arma
The Blackjack arrives in the City of Ta-Arma and is met by the Port Master of Ta-Arma, Gronzod the Filthy, a Fist of Ar-Tamak. "I greet thee in the names of the Infernal Triumverate: Ar-Tamak, Malfador, and Tiamat."
He is very excited to discover that this is the Blackjack and that he is receiving the unholy ship of Malfador, bearer of the avatar Xeno. He is in awe of all the 'relics' on board.
"I am aboard the Cradle of the Avatar! I kneel here where the divine Hells returned to the world!"
Just in time, they remember that blue goblins are killed on sight in Ta-Arma. The crew hides Of the Hope the Way inside the Xeno-chassis. Gronzod is blessed with a shower of ale after prostrating himself before Xeno's Spigot (temporarily taken from Thunderfox).
Port Master Gronzod reveals the Infernal Triumvirate is strong in Ta-Arma: The Church of Ar-Tamak, the Cult of Malfador, and the Grasp of Tiamat. They also learned that the Cult had taken up residence in Ta-Arma, led by Master Dirk Altmann and the newly anointed warlock of Malfador Sigrid Silversång. The crew bribed the Fist with relics of Xeno (Holy Salt of Xeno,), and convinced him not to announce their presence until morning.
A Night in a Conquered City
The officers took the crew to meet their contact at Tito Corbin's Tavern. They met with Coyote Rose, the shifter mix-o-mancer behind the bar. There was some gambling had by many, El did a pole dance, Nels was entranced, Nia took on the form of a half-orc looking for info. Lance mixed drinks with Rose.
Eventually, the crew extracted that the wood of Telperion could be found on a wrecked ship from The First Armada that was nearby. It had become a griffin nest and was sought after by Gray Angels and Ta-Arman forces.
They promised Rose a gig at Lunapalooza and a ride back in Lance's bed to get information about the Blue Network of rebels which seems to have mostly collapsed. Only one surviving descendant of Atho the Blue remains, Of the Blues the Revenge. Find out he is holed up nearby in the ruins of Atho's Tower.
The Ruined Tower of Atho
Nia finds out from gambling with orcs, Bhadrub Ghost Defacer and Garrak the Mangler of the Natorska Manglers, that a hunt for the blue is going to start in an hour. Crew rushes to the tower with instructions for Sugar Bear to wrap it up soon and get the rest of the crew to the ship. They get to the tower and quickly recognize an old marking, the ornate letter A, from the Blue Network. Spark hears a voice in his head to announce himself and explain the presence of Way, which he does and the entrance to the tower opens.
Inside the tower is Revenge, and old blue and a gaggle of goblin children. Way reaches and Revenge holds him for a moment as he explains that he is all that remains of the blue network rebellion. It has collapsed as all their hiding holes had been discovered. Only the children remain.
There is a sound outside as the tower begins to be surrounded as forces on a blue hunt have arrived. Revenge reveals the Hedra-cron, a glowing blue gem, says it contains all the collective knowledge of the blues and absorbs the children into it, revealing them to be blue goblins as it does. He hands the Hedra-cron to Spark telling him to take care of the children as he draws his blade.
Outside, Dirk, Sigrid, General Aginnad and another pit fiend show up outside the door taunting the crew. Nia asks Sigrid to turn from the darkness and come with her. Sigrid says she and Dirk are going to rule the world soon as Nia was supposed to in Dirk's original plan.
Revenge says he can hold them off for a few minutes. He launches himself at the foes while Nia uses Word of Recall to return everyone to the ship. The crew and the mix-o-mancer were all on board, and they headed to the Elvish wreck.
The Nest of Griffins
They ran into Gray Angels in the sky, but left the ship crew and Thunderfox to deal with it while the officers bounded over the rails to the wreck.
The griffins were watchful and agitated, but a young red dragon was the cause. The griffins battled the red, and Spark took the opportunity to search the nest for the Wood of Telperion. Lance added some support magic, Nia smacked the dragon abit, and El smote it to near oblivion almost instantly. The griffins took a few bites out of Spark then decided to take their young and flee, leaving behind six eggs. The fungal folk makes a mycelium nest in the griffin nest.
The crew took them, the dragon corpse, installed the Wood of Telperion and readied their vomit comet ride back to the Zone.
Rewards Granted
- Wood of Telperion
- The Hedro-cron Atho's Eye
- Six griffin eggs
- The corpse of a young red dragon
