This is the third recap episode for ANNIHILATION ADJACENT, covering the events of a game that took place on April 20, 2024. It takes place directly after EPISODE II.
A sense of gloom and purpose weighed heavily on Stabracadabra and the crew of the Sea Dwarf as the ship pulled in to dock at Port Nyanzaru, paired with a sense of deep foreboding. The ship's captain, Hadrian Stone, remained a semi-conscious wreck of a man, necrosis spreading steadily from his previously scarred-over wounds.
As the ship docked, his first mate Cora made immediate plans to contact a local cleric, assuring our heroes that the Sea Dwarf would be remaining at port for at least a few days - long enough to see to the captain's health, recruit some new crewmen, and to resupply and repair damages the ship had sustained over the voyage. The harbormaster, a half-gold dragon called Zindarat, was pleased to hear the ship would be docked for some days, and quickly came to Cora's aid in directing her toward various parties that might be able to help her out.
The voyage's patron Volo seemed the only truly cheerful passenger aboard the ship, happily hiring on a porter from the dock with arrangements to carry his extensive baggage to the villa of Wakanga O'Tamu, his friend and business partner in Nyanzaru. He paid Cora and each member of Stabracadabra (including Lergz) the agreed remainder of their fee, and invited the heroes to join him at Wakanga's later that evening.
This left Stabracadabra to their own devices in the bustling port city. Nyanzaru was a marvel of colorful awnings, lumbering dinosaurs, and elaborate fountains. Tabaxi bards sauntered down the street playing music on all manner of instruments, and folk around the town chatted of undead creatures in the jungle, of dinosaur races, and of awkward interactions with the Flaming Fist mercenaries from Baldur's Gate. The first thing our heroes did, of course, was to split up.
Nelvin's first stop at port was to seek out a temple. More than the rest of the party, he'd been troubled in the latter days of his journey. He was no stranger to battle, and had his fair share of regrets - but he was trying to atone for that life. In his last battle though, when it came down to the moment... his power to inspire itself had become a direct weapon. Could he find peace, if he continued to turn unconsciously toward more violence? He sought answers. There was no temple to his own god Baravar Cloakshadow in the predominantly anthropocentric city of Nyanzaru, but he did find a temple of Tymora at the edge of the city's slums where he was able to seek some private council.
He sought an answer to why his music had become a weapon, but he received no direct answers, in the gods' infuriating ways. Nonetheless he pondered the question in the quiet halls of the temple for some time, until he was interrupted by an aged woman who was volunteering at the temple. She introduced herself as Eku, and offered some council on behalf of the gods, implying that Tymora's silence might not be uncaring, but instead a sign of confidence and support that Nelvin could find his own answers. Eku closed her conversation, offering her best wishes and her services as a guide, should Stabracadabra need one.
As he left the temple to do some shopping, Nelvin noted the many apparently injured, cloth-wrapped figures, moving like lepers through the temple and surrounding streets. It seemed as though there was some sort of plague within Nyanzaru - one that few were openly discussing.
For Lergz and Trixie, arrival at Nyanzaru meant a long overdue trip to the tavern. As Buddy watched them leave the docks, he was somewhat overcome by the rush of noises and scents - he rushed to follow rather than losing himself in the chaos of a real town. Thus the three of them arrived at The Thundering Lizard together.
The Thundering Lizard was a boisterous bar ran by an attractive chultan half-elf called Lan. An ordering mix-up led Trixie to believe they sold something called a "Pizza Drink," but Lan's cooks were able to deliver it anyway - a sort of tomato-vodka beverage with a cheesy breadstick garnish. The drink was nearly the size of Trixie, and she was happily inebriated by the time she'd finished it.
While she drank her pizza, Lergz and Buddy enjoyed their beer and tej - a local honey-based drink - and listened to talk from the nearby tables. Lergz listened with keen ears to the yammering of two half-drunken tabaxi nearby. Apparently they were looking for help with a certain project... and also for an adventuring party. Lergz leaned in to overhear them, then turned to introduce himself, fading out of our narrative for a time.
Buddy was restless, watching Lergz shuffle off to speak with the two tabaxi. The city was loud and full of distractions, but Buddy wanted to see something quiet - a moment to appreciate this new and foreign land in a more primal sense. He wanted to venture into the jungle - to see the flora and fauna and to let them see him in turn. Scooping up a cask of tej and walking somewhat unsteadily, he left the bar and traveled inland. Curious, Trixie followed, bobbing lazily from one side to the other as she soared muzzily through the humid air, occasionally belching tiny puffs of pizza-breath.
Leaving the Red Bazaar, the pair passed Nelvin as he bargained with a chultan merchant over the inflated price of reeds. They left the market through Ubtao's Jaws and entered Malar's Throat, where ramshackle structures built along the steep walls of a ravine rose like mountainous towers above them, undetectable to Buddy's shorter-ranged "vision." Passing beneath the many enormous rope bridges spanning the slum, they immediately noticed the sounds of city life - voices, footfalls, music, yelling and laughter - fall away, to be replaced by the buzzing, croaking, chirping and subsonic heartbeat of the jungle.
Through much of their journey Trixie had led the way, quietly directing Buddy when there were signs or road crossings. Here though, Buddy's echolocation was more effective than her sight, able to penetrate the thick foliage that threatened to overcome the wet earthen road, even so close to the city.
Trixie wasn't sure exactly what Buddy sought out here, but it was certainly interesting to watch! An hour of time spent tracking led the two of them to a game trail within a small clearing - deserted save for two deadly-looking bipedal dinosaurs.
At first - things were fine. The two of them were downwind of the jungle predators. Studying their movements, Buddy memorized their shape and structure, sure he could replicate it the next time he shifted as a druid. Then Trixie hiccoughed, and both dinosaurs went on alert. The two inebriate heroes tried to retreat, Trixie conjuring illusion magics to distract the beasts, but ultimately their drunken antics undermined their ability to distract - and the two were forced to flee - running all the way back to Nyanzaru.
They were short of breath when they returned to The Thundering Lizard, passing beneath the Tyrannosaur head mounted over the door. The found Lergz almost where they'd left him - now deep in conversation with three figures - two tabaxi and a greasily-smiling chultan called Rokah. Directly on their heels, Nelvin returned as well, carrying some new reeds and a tiny dinosaur he'd bought, apparently as a pet.
Lergz, now several pints of tej later, had found Stabracadabra a job! His apparently good friend Rokah, who the tabaxi introduced as their associate, had a suspicion that the Flaming Fist is in league with the local pirates. Rokah needed a capable band of allies to distract them while he ransacked the commander's quarters at their barracks. As compensation, he'd pay them 50 gold each, and offered the two tabaxi (River Mist and Flask of Wine) as guides to help the party reach the Flaming Fist base - Fort Beluarian. Stabracadabra agreed to depart the next afternoon, then departed to meet Wakanga at the O'Tamu Villa.
The adventurers were met at the Villa's entrance by servants and ushered to the sitting area, passing various magical artifacts, books, and artwork along the way. Plush, colorful rugs and ornate swords adorned the walls and floor, the evening's illumination accented by heatless motes of color-shifting arcane light. Gentle music played throughout the villa, from no apparent source - O'Tamu was not subtle, it was clear this was the home of a wizard.
In the sitting room they met Volo and two strangers: a heavily-bandaged woman who nonetheless held a certain elegance introduced herself as Syndra Silvane, and a tall chultan man with numerous earrings and fine silken clothing was announced as the merchant prince Wakanga O'Tamu himself.
Tej flowed; O'Tamu spoke of his friendship with Volo, of that time he and Volo had explored Chult in their relative youth. He'd happily financed Volo's new book, and was delighted with the resulting publication. O'Tamu offered an excellent wine, a quality that Syndra, his guest of several weeks, appreciated.
Over dinner, Syndra explained her situation. She was an elf, several hundred years old, and in her youth she'd been an adventurer; a fine life until she was killed, her body crushed by a minotaur. Her companions had raised her from the dead, but her will to adventure remained trampled. She grew lost in her studies - most recently the magical effects of certain chultan herbs, but then she heard strange reports from contacts in Nyanzaru - from the jungles of Chult.
The more she learned of what they called "The Death Curse" the more convinced she became that it represented a growing danger, not just to Nyanzaru or Chult, but to all of Faerun. The curse only affected those that had been raised from the dead, gradually reversing the effect of the spell in a matter of days, weeks, or sometimes months. Those that were risen, once affected by the curse, began to die again. Additionally, no spells to raise the dead worked on the continent of Chult, and hadn't for weeks. Syndra herself was a victim, and had been for weeks.
Most concerning of all - the effect was spreading. The heroes considered their own voyage, and how the ship's captain had fallen ill days before they reached Nyanzaru. Working together, Syndra explained, she and Wakanga had plotted out a map of Chult, based on the best sources available. Somewhere in the jungles of Chult, an artifact was intercepting souls involved in rituals of resurrection. An artifact that she and Wakanga called "The Soulmonger."
If the heroes could find this Soulmonger and destroy it, bringing proof of the deed back to Nyanzaru, she'd pay them a thousand gold pieces each, and offer them an artifact from her personal (and extensive) collection besides. After all - her life depended on their success.
Servants led the heroes to their guest rooms; O'Tamu was a generous host and each room was well kept. As they prepared for the night, our heroes considered the following day and their trip - soon - to the jungle. They would need a guide. They'd need supplies. They'd have help with both of those things, would meet with the licensed guides of Nyanzaru, in the morning.
As they drifted off, they recalled their conversations with Flask of Wine and River Mist, the distinctly un-licensed guides ready to escort them to Fort Beluarian the next day. Choices would need to be made.
UP NEXT...
We follow our heroes to EPISODE IV.