Session 16: Providence

12,250 XP

 

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?
Turns out, the Dowelloft Trading Company had already wormed its way into Korloth’s island and the nearby ones too. Korloth went straight to the council to speak, but it was obvious—some of the members had already been bought off. You could see it in their eyes. What Korloth didn’t realize at first was that his family name carried baggage. His ancestors had pushed to keep the islands closed off from outsiders, to preserve their way of life. That didn’t sit well with everyone..

But Korloth wasn’t about to let his family’s name be dragged through the mud. He wanted a seat on the council, and the only way to earn it was to defeat the Wheke—an enormous octopus—alone. We weren’t allowed to land a single blow, but we could support him: healing, boosting his strength, sharing magical gear. He took it down in just two rounds. We celebrated the only way the islanders knew how—with a wild luau. Octopus was on the menu.
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Now, I still don’t understand why they don’t cook their meat. I tried the alcohol, skipped the protein. Echo, though? He was stuffed. And Philip didn’t seem to mind the options either.
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With the Wheke defeated, Korloth earned his seat. That’s when we learned about two captives—Galyndra, an angelic being, and Natheia. The Oracle was with them too. But before we could leave the island, Captain Thorn stopped us in front of everyone. He offered us 50,000 gold each to join him and the Dowelloft. We laughed in his face. Insulted, really. We parted ways, but not without a few choice words thrown his way.
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We set off for a nearby island where the captives might be held. Spotted a boat in the distance and decided to go in quiet. Korloth swam beneath the surface and took the boat. Cut Cut and I slipped ashore. Between the three of us, we either scared off or took down the guards. Korloth shook the boat to rattle the ones on land, but they’d already attracted something worse—a beast. Once they realized resistance was pointless, we captured them and freed the prisoners. We handed them over to the city guard. Let justice do its work.
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Galyndra gave us a riddle before we left. It went like this:
“The serpent of steel sleeps at the foot of the weeping mountain. The forgemasters know 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.” That riddle would lead us to the real threat.
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We were ready to take down the Dowellofts, but then—of course—we got sidetracked. A goblin named Glim Glam, this annoying little nocturnal creature, baited us into a fight. Korloth went first. Got smacked with a mallet and vanished. I stepped up next, missed my swing, and—bam—same fate. I woke up in a forest, found Korloth carving a hammer. He caught me up on everything, and I made a dagger from the scraps of his work. Cut Cut showed up soon after and made a staff. We figured out we had to use our weapons on ourselves to return home. One by one, we did.
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When we got back, barely any time had passed. Our friends had already taken out the goblin. I felt a little ridiculous for getting pulled into such a strange detour. But hey—Adrian now has a place to house his animals. His zoo is turning into something truly bizarre and wonderful.
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We returned to Maoanaora Island to report to the council and ask to borrow a ship to reach Taimana. They agreed easily—after all we’d done, how could they not? Two council members still loyal to Dowelloft voted against us, but it didn’t matter.
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With some clever decoding and knowledge of ship mechanics, we unlocked the entrance to the Grotto. And just like that, we were in battle again. Thorn was there—well, a version of him—along with a snake-like creature and mercenaries. Thanks to the blue scarab we’d found, I could finally land some solid hits and cast spells that normally wouldn’t work. We fought hard, even without Bau Bau, who was off healing the community. That mattered more.
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We held our ground so well that Thorn, desperate, tried to bribe us again double the gold. But he wasn’t even real. Just a cowardly copy. We took him down with satisfaction. Before the final blow, he revealed something big: our employer was also funding the Hierophant.
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We brought back proof of everything and spent the night celebrating. With Korloth’s new authority, he removed the two corrupt council members. He was ready to show mercy. I wasn’t. I got to them before they could escape. Tied up, helpless, they watched as I took every last coin they had. Then I slit their throats. Let whoever finds them decide what justice looks like.

Now we know we have to be even more careful. Even those who seem safe might not be. I always had a bad feeling about the church, but I didn’t expect this. We’ll keep following the contract, but we’re holding our cards close from now on.
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Anyway, the party’s still going. Time for me to join in and stir up a little mischief of my own.


Letter to Master Kagemitsu at Tengai-no-mori Monastery by Caylen Redden

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