The Feinting GOATs were violently ejected
from a shimmering portal, tumbling onto the soot-covered caldera of
Mauna Taimana, the Weeping Volcano. Disoriented but alive, they found
their arrival witnessed by a patrol of Menehune artisans who, believing
them to be hostile fire spirits, took a defensive stance. The party
quickly de-escalated the situation, apologizing for the intrusion and
explaining their peaceful intentions. The Menehune, already overwhelmed
by a recent volcanic eruption on their home island of Maunga-huna and a
preceding plague, were simply relieved the newcomers were not another
threat. They shared their plight: a monstrous sea creature they called a
Taniwha had laid siege to the archipelago, and two mainlanders who had
come to investigate—an Oracle and a Cleric—had gone missing.
Learning of the Menehune refugees' plight, particularly their suffering
from a recent plague, moved Bao Bao to action. Compelled by her duties
as a healer and her compassionate nature, she decided her skills were
most needed with the displaced Menehune, who were being housed on the
far side of the island. The party agreed to a temporary split; Bao Bao
would travel to the Menehune encampment to
offer her aid, while the rest of the Feinting GOATs would proceed to
Kaihanga to deal with the council and the looming threat of the Wheke.
The remaining members of the party sailed to Moanaora Island and found
the islands tense, with the Dowelloft Trading Company’s presence felt
everywhere. The island council was paralyzed by indecision, their
silence enforced by an ancient vow known as the Tapu o te Kōrero. A
sympathetic maero elder, Hina, revealed to Korloth that old family
rivalries and new DTC bribes had created a political deadlock. To gain a
voice on the council and break the stalemate, Korloth was told he must
reclaim the bountiful Mataora-a-Tai lagoon by defeating the monstrous
octopus, or "wheke," that had claimed it as its lair.
In a public trial to prove his worth, Korloth faced the colossal wheke
one-on-one. While his companions were permitted to offer support, only
Korloth could deal the final blows to qualify as the lagoon's new
guardian. The battle was swift and brutal. After a furious first round,
Korloth landed a devastating critical strike in the second, smacking the
octopus’s beak clean off its face and ending the threat in a spectacular
display of strength. His victory was met with a celebratory luau, where
his new status as Kaitiaki was formally recognized, granting him a seat
on the Maero council.
As the party prepared to depart to search for their missing friends,
they were publicly intercepted in the harbor by Captain Thorne
Dowelloft. Thorne offered 50,000 gold for their help in promoting the
Taniwha myth to secure a treaty with the council, callously referring to
the GOATs as "clowns" when they refused. The confrontation ended with
harsh words on both sides, and the party continued on their new quest.
Their journey was interrupted by the bizarre sight of a coronation on a
small atoll, where the Ponaturi goblin Glim-Glam was being crowned "King
of the Whispering Tides". Wielding a magic club, he demanded one on one
combat. The situation took a strange turn when Korloth, attempting to
appease the delusional goblin, was teleported into the infinite forest,
soon followed by Elyn and Cut-Cut. While they were gone, the remaining
party members dispatched the arrogant goblin king with a few gunshots
from Adrian and a magic missile from Akemi. The separated party members
eventually solved the puzzle of the forest and returned, staff from the
infinite forest in hand.
Following the trail of their missing friends, the party located a cabin
guarded by DTC mercenaries. Korloth, hidden beneath the water, began
dragging the guards' canoe away from the shore. The two panicked guards
were unable to stop it and called for reinforcements. As two more
mercenaries arrived, the party launched their ambush. Korloth killed one
guard, and the sheer shock of the assault sent the remaining three
fleeing in terror. The party rescued Nathia the Oracle and Galyndra the
Cleric and, after tracking down and capturing the fleeing mercenaries,
left their friends and prisoners on a nearby island with trusted Maero
allies of Korloth. Before they parted ways, the Oracle delivered a
final, cryptic vision: "The serpent of steel sleeps at the foot of the
weeping mountain. The forgemasters knows the door, but you must first
offer them a key. Beware the man of many faces, for his final words will
be a truth that burns brighter than his lies.".
Armed with this new knowledge, the party returned to Mauna Taimana. With
Korloth’s new status and Akemi's skilled diplomacy, they convinced the
Menehune to aid them in their final assault on the hidden DTC grotto.
The party easily dispatch a couple of guards and navigated a complex
mechanical lock puzzle at the grotto's entrance, surviving several
electrical and fire traps before gaining access.
Inside, the final confrontation erupted as the party faced all their
foes at once: Thorne Dowelloft (who turned out to be an automated
knock-off), the cyborg Vassik Thornoak, the colossal Taniwha Engine, and
a squad of DTC mercenaries. The battle was a maelstrom of coordinated
chaos. The party worked together to dismantle their opponents, annoyed
to discover that the Thorne they were fighting was merely an automaton
when it became damaged. Before its final destruction, the decoy made one
last offer of 100,000 gold and, true to the Oracle's vision, delivered a
devastating revelation: the Yakuza's mysterious "Benefactor" was none
other than the Heirophant himself.
In the aftermath, the GOATs destroyed the automaton and disabled the
powerful engine, retrieving proof of the DTC's machinations. They
returned to the council as heroes. Korloth used his newfound authority
to have the two council members who had taken DTC bribes ejected from
their positions. Elyn, in a quiet act of personal justice, later
followed and assassinated the corrupt members. The Dowelloft Trading
Company was already in a state of evacuation when the party returned.
With the immediate threat gone, the Feinting GOATs decided to remain for
a few days, hosting a charity luau for all the islanders before planning
their next move to perhaps follow the Yakuza leads into Mupalan
Note: The following writings are from the character's perspective and are often private to the character. They are not considered "in-game" knowledge to the other characters, and any in-character reference to this information would be considered meta-gaming.
Adventure Log by Syd McVay
Greetings and salutations! We’ve made it to Korloth’s homeland—the island of Kaihanga, where he grew up. His people live more like a tribe than a formal society. Once they realize we were not there to attack or heard them they were warm, welcoming, and clearly in need of help. Honestly, it feels like everywhere we go, someone needs saving. Why is that? Why are we always the ones stumbling into these messes?Dear Master,
We are now wrapping up our time in the Maukoru Archipelago. If we were expecting this to be a relaxing visit, we were certainly wrong. We arrived to find that the Dowelloft Trading Company had essentially blockaded the archipelago and was attempting to strongarm the residents into signing a contract with them. I think I speak for all of the GOATs when I say we’ve had about enough of the DTC and their contracts. Beyond simply occupying the harbors and shipping lanes, we discovered that the DTC had also constructed a mechanical sea serpent (the locals named it the Taniwha) which they were using to attack non-DTC ships, preventing necessary trade goods from reaching the archipelago and local fishermen from securing their food supply. Unfortunately, mistrust of outsiders, old family rivalries, and the machinations of a pair of leaders who had accepted DTC bribes clouded the issue, so in order for the GOATs to bring the DTC’s corruption to light, Korloth first needed to earn a place on the council. To do that, he was tasked with defeating a gigantic octopus – the wheke – in single combat. I lent him my Ouroboros ring, which improved his reflexes a bit, but otherwise I felt quite useless. I wasn’t even allowed close enough to distract the beast and draw some of its attacks from Korloth. Not satisfied simply to finish off the creature on his own, he was also determined to take all of the punishment it meted out. Thankfully, our titanic teammate was up to the task. One mighty blow severed the octopus’s beak, removing its ability to bite, and the fight was essentially over after that. Korloth was named the guardian of Mataora-a-Tai lagoon, and the meat from the octopus was an excellent start at rectifying the recent food shortage.
In the midst of all this, we also helmed a search for Nathia, the oracle, and Galyndra, the cleric, who had gone missing while attempting to investigate the monstrous Taniwha. We were lent a small fishing vessel for the search, but before we could set out, we were met by Thorne Dowelloft, who once again attempted to secure our services. After the GOATs refused in no uncertain terms, he resorted to immature insults, thoroughly reinforcing our resolve to oppose the DTC. After setting sail, we were briefly waylaid by a delusional Ponaturi named Glim-Glam who declared himself “King of the Whispering Tides” and demanded that one of us meet him in single combat. Korloth obliged, expecting to make short work of it, but upon being struck with the Glim-Glam’s club, he was abruptly teleported elsewhere. Attempting to assist, Elyn soon followed. I tried a different tactic, attempting to flatter the Ponaturi into allowing us to examine the club and failing that, attempting to disarm him, but I soon found myself teleported as well. I met Korloth and Elyn in a place called the Infinite Forest in the midst of deciphering a riddle. In the end, the solution was relatively simple. Crafting a wooden weapon and then exercising “matter over mind” by hitting oneself with it would allow one to return to their point of origin. Strangely, since I was the last to exit, I returned to find myself still holding the bo staff I constructed, which had replaced Glim-Glam’s club as the magical Staff of the Infinite Forest. In the interim, the other GOATs had dispatched Glim-Glam, perhaps unnecessarily, but possibly for the best. I imagine the other Ponaturi will fare better with less tyrannical leadership. We finally found Nathia and Glyndra on a small island, guarded by just a handful of DTC mercenaries. We laid an ambush for them, with Korloth drawing them out by towing their boat away from shore. After Korloth killed one mercenary, the rest quickly fled. Later, we tracked them down and took them prisoner, since they were valuable witnesses to the DTC’s conspiracy. Before we returned to the council, the oracle shared another prophecy, which I will discuss with you in person as soon as I am able.
With the support of the council and help from the Menehune, we were able to find the DTC’s base of operations in a hidden grotto. There we found the Taniwha and, in the middle of everything, Thorne Dowelloft, who once again attempted to purchase our support and complicity in the DTC plot. Of course we refused and were forced to fight. In addition to the sea serpent, Thorne himself, and a pack of DTC mercenaries, we were also met with Vassik Thornoak, a member of the Gilded Scales who we thought we sent to his death in the Temple of Saa-Thoth, but who appeared quite alive, though now modified with several cybernetic enhancements. It seems Vassik was not an entirely willing participant in the process, because before the final blow was struck, he asked that we make sure to finish the job this time. The mechanical marvels did not end there, because after a few hits, Thorne’s façade fell away to reveal that we were not fighting a real Dowelloft, but a robotic duplicate. So, although we defeated this group handily and sent the rest into a retreat, clearing the archipelago, further conflict with the Dowelloft Trading Company is certainly assured. The Feinting GOATs have made ourselves a problem for the DTC and probably a target as well.
We were able to put worries aside for a few days, at least. With the archipelago freed and the corrupt members ousted from the council, the GOATs took the opportunity to host a celebration. Between the giant octopus and other creatures harvested from the sea and Akemi’s magically produced feast, there was more than enough for everyone. As always, though, we cannot stay still for long. In discussing where to go next, I mentioned that since we are relatively close to Mupalan and not currently on Citadel business, we might spend some time tracking the Yakuza at their source. And, since it’s on the way, perhaps we can stop by the Ha’Chakik tribe as well. When next we meet, Master, perhaps I will be an official adult.
Best,
Cut-Cut