The party’s journey through Mysterra led them to Dios, an ancient Milean
city dedicated to the thunder god Zeus. Seeking guidance to defeat the
legendary Kraken, they visited the grand Temple of Zeus. There, they met
High Priest Callimachus, a shrewd cleric who seamlessly blended attempts
to convert the party with aggressive requests for "divine donations."
Though tight-fisted, Callimachus directed them to the one man who had
slain the beast before: the hero Perseus, who was apparently quite
behind on his temple tithes.
They found Perseus a few blocks away on Pegasus
Street, charging tourists for embellished retellings of his past
glories. The legendary hero proved to be a pompous blowhard,
prioritizing fame and optics far above actual heroics. Recognizing a PR
opportunity, Perseus agreed to help, but immediately began re-branding
the party. He attempted to change their names to sound "more heroic" and
unilaterally dubbed the group "The Caprinauts." The GOATs firmly
declined, but Perseus ignored them, instructing his entourage of
personal bards and scribes to rewrite the narrative to his liking. His
team was exhaustive, complete with artists, cooks, attendants, and a
cadre of wizards whose sole job was to teleport the hero around so he
wouldn't have to endure the tedium of travel.
Over a lavish (and mandatory) wardrobe fitting and
portrait-painting session, Perseus outlined the itinerary: 1) Teleport
to the Gorgon’s Swamp to kill Medusa and take her head. 2) Visit
Vulcan’s Shore to ask the Stygian Hags where the "Old Man of the Sea"
lived. 3) Convince the Old Man to summon the Kraken. 4) Turn the beast
to stone.
Decked out in fine Greek attire, the
remonstatively-minted "Caprinauts" were teleported directly into the
murky depths of the Gorgon’s Swamp. Right outside Medusa's temple, they
were ambushed by Perseus's ancient rival, the exiled warlock Calibos.
Bursting from the muck atop Slogmoth, a gargantuan, epic-level hydra,
Calibos sought to end the hero's quest before it began. The battle was
fierce, but the party systematically dismantled the Swamp King and his
beast. Upon searching Calibos's corpse, they made an anticlimactic
discovery: the warlock had already raided the temple and killed Medusa,
keeping her severed head in a sack just to spite Perseus.
Quest step one skipped, the party cleaned the swamp
muck off their fine togas and were teleported to Vulcan’s Shore. There,
they found the Stygian Witches washing burial shrouds in the dark
waters. The hags demanded a toll in the form of personalized riddles,
poking at the deepest secrets and recent traumas of each party member.
The GOATs answered true, and the hags revealed the Old Man of the Sea
was living right where the party started: on the southern docks of Dion,
the port district of Dios.
During the exchange, one hag accidentally slipped
that the party was entitled to exactly three questions. Capitalizing on
the mistake, they asked about Merinka (the Silver Maiden from the
Dream). The hags cackled, revealing that she was the "Mother of All
Hags," Baba Yaga herself, and congratulated the party on unleashing her
back into Alluria. For their final question, they asked how the Anubis
Box functioned once opened. The hags warned that the Titans possess no
free will. To control them, the party members would each have to "adopt"
a Titan and act as its conscience. They added an ominous caveat: the
reigning Gods would despise this shift in power and would likely offer
godhood or massive bribes to stop the GOATs.
Teleporting back to the Dion docks, the party
(alongside a Perseus who had finally accepted the name "Feinting GOATs")
found the Old Man of the Sea (Nereus) sleeping on a pile of gnarled
nets. Upon waking, the eccentric hermit became immediately enamored with
the alien beauty of Cut-Cut. He agreed to summon the Kraken under one
condition: the Thri-Kreen had to spend the night in his shack.
Platonically, he assured them, perhaps with some cuddling. Cut-Cut
reluctantly agreed. The party spied from outside all night. A tense,
ten-minute window occurred where Bao Bao lost all psionic contact with
the monk, though visually everything seemed mundane. They waited it out.
Come morning, Nereus stood at the edge of the pier
and called the beast. The Kraken that answered was beyond comprehension;
a horrific, two-thousand-foot hybrid of crab and octopus that
obliterated half the docks simply by surfacing. The party severely
underestimated its reach, finding themselves immediately within striking
distance of its mountain-sized tentacles. A desperate tactical scramble
ensued. Korloth, Perseus, Cut-Cut, and Lenti (now shifted into a
massive, fungal battle-form) took the vanguard, weathering the crushing
blows, while the rest of the party provided critical support from the
absolute edge of the battlefield.
The crux of the battle relied on Lenti, who carried
the sack containing Medusa's head. Navigating the chaotic flurry of
tentacles and crashing waves, the fungal druid closed the distance.
After several harrowing attempts, Lenti thrust the Gorgon's gaze
directly into the Kraken's massive eye. The petrification was
instantaneous; the titanic beast seized, its flesh turning to solid
stone before crumbling into the boiling sea.
As the Anubis Box flared to life, a vortex of energy
began sucking the Kraken's essence inside. But just before the lid
snapped shut, the Old Man of the Sea turned to Cut-Cut, offered a cheeky
wink, and transformed into a blinding bolt of pure lightning that shot
directly into the Box. The realization hit the party like a thunderclap:
the "Old Man" had been Zeus in disguise, up to his old mythological
tricks, and he had just intentionally locked himself inside their
prison.
Oblivious to the cosmic implications of bagging the
King of the Gods, Perseus dusted off his toga, thanked the GOATs for a
wonderful adventure, and marched off with his entourage to begin
marketing his latest triumph. The party stood on the ruined pier,
holding a box that was suddenly far heavier than before.
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.
Letter to Master Kagemitsu at Tengai-no-mori Monastery by Caylen Redden
Dear Master,
After escaping the underworld and collecting Khumbaba, we returned to Enik’s cave, much to his surprise. We are frequently underestimated, but we seem to thrive on proving people wrong. Wherever there are doubters, the Feinting GOATs will rise to the challenge. Our next challenge came in the city of Dios, where we met a legendary hero named Perseus. Perseus had an exceptionally high opinion of himself and an army of sycophants to cater to his every whim. Although he was generally welcoming and willing to assist us in our quest to defeat the Kraken, he was critical of many things, such as our appearance, style of dress, and even our names, and was intent upon shaping the narrative of our adventure to suit his own aesthetic. Although most of us were willing to play along and don the local fashion for a portrait, we flatly refused to participate when he suggested alternative names his bards might use for us individually and when he attempted to convince us to adopt a ridiculous group name, “the Caprinauts.”
Despite some annoyance, we remained civil with Perseus, since we required his assistance to achieve our goal, and we would be forced to endure his company through a bit of a process. Perseus explained that he had previously defeated the Kraken by using the head of Medusa, a legendary Gorgon, to petrify it. Having encountered a Gorgon previously, we felt sufficiently prepared when Perseus’s wizard teleported us to Medusa’s swamp, though I did briefly regret leaving the Chisel of Flesh and Form with Ded Moroz. As it turned out, we had no reason to fear the Gorgon’s gaze, since an old rival of Perseus, Calibos, had saved us the trouble. Calibos had intended to thwart Perseus’s plans, but we caught him in the act, and he set upon us with a giant hydra. This was the Feinting GOATs’ first chance to prove ourselves to Perseus, and both Calibos and his beast were quickly and soundly defeated. We discovered Medusa’s head among Calibos’ effects, and so the first step in our quest was completed.
Next, Perseus took us to visit the Stygian Witches, oracles who could tell us where to find the Old Man of the Sea, who was the one responsible for summoning the Kraken. The Sygian Witches were a trio of ancient hags who somehow shared a single eye, yet seemed to have no trouble seeing. They posed a riddle to each of us in turn, revealing their knowledge of our innermost thoughts and secrets. After we gave the correct answers, we were able to ask our question. As luck would have it, the Old Man of the Sea could be found back where we started, on the docks of Dios. Before we departed, one of the witches let slip that we were entitled to two more questions. After some discussion, we decided to ask about our mysterious stowaway in the Anubis Box, Malinka. The witches seemed pleased by this and revealed that Malinka was none other than Baba Yaga, “the Mother of All Hags,” who had been replaced by Baba Izza, the hag we met on Dinos. The Stygian Witches hinted that Baba Yaga is likely keen to reclaim her old domain, which does not bode well for Baba Izza, but perhaps that will be a positive change. Baba Izza was not particularly welcoming after our first meeting, and I am still not convinced that her “gift” to me of the violence sigil was intended to be helpful. With one question remaining, we conferred again, and finally decided to ask what would happed once we opened the Anubis Box and released the titans in Alluria. This yielded an ominous answer: the titans possess no free will, so in order to direct them toward a useful purpose, some of us will have to control them. To make matters worse, the present deities reigning in Alluria will likely view this as a threat and attempt to stop us. While we have already proven that we can fight gods and win, I would prefer not to make it a regular activity. I suppose we will see what happens when we return.
After concluding our business with the Stygian Witches, Perseus’s wizard teleported us back to Dios, where we made our way to the docks and found the Old Man of the Sea, an eccentric hermit living in a small hut. He answered when we knocked on the door, but would not immediately agree to summon the Kraken. Strangely, he seemed especially interested in me, and perhaps it was partly because her name had come up earlier, but I was uncomfortably reminded of Baba Izza’s scrutiny. The old man, who called himself Nereus, did not seem quite as sinister as the hag – in fact, he was extremely complimentary – but I’m not used to that level of attention from anyone, except, perhaps, Chk’Tik, the other solo Thri-kreen I met all the way back at the Adventurer’s Decathlon. We concluded that Nereus must simply be lonely and curious about new things, and I suppose it worked to our advantage, because he finally offered a deal: he would summon the Kraken if I would spend a night with him. At first I politely declined, stating that it would be against my monastic vows – not the truth, I know, but something that should seem believable enough to a gaijin. He then adjusted his offer to a night of “platonic cuddling.” None of the GOATs were in favor of this plan, but humoring Nereus seemed to be the path of least resistance, so I countered by offering a night of conversation. Nereus hopefully added “and several long hugs?” and I reluctantly agreed.
With that settled, we departed and took some time to prepare. We briefly discussed whether Elyn should change shape and go to Nereus’ hut in my place, but I wouldn’t put a friend in danger for something I agreed to, and I was confident in my ability to protect myself if necessary. Still, the rest of the GOATs did accompany me back to the hut. Elyn invisibly slipped inside with me, Bao Bao checked in regularly through our psionic link, and the rest kept watch through the window. I spent the evening discussing various topics with Nereus, in between demands for hugs, until he finally fell asleep on a pile of old fishing nets. Aside from being incredibly awkward, there seemed to be no ill effects. Bao Bao did mention later that there was about a ten-minute period in which the psionic connetion was disrupted, but neither I nor any of the other GOATs, inside or out, noticed anything untoward.
In the morning, true to his word, Nereus stepped out onto the pier and blew into a conch shell, summoning the Kraken. Although we had positioned ourselves carefully, we underestimated the sheer size of this titan, which was gargantuan creature with a crab-like, armored carapace and a mass of writing tentacles. One of those tentacles swiped at me, even though I had taken to the sky. I was able to maneuver Kuu safely out of the way, but I took the full force of the attack, slapped down into the water. I was badly hurt after that single blow, but my new position was as good as any for a counterattack; I simply choose the nearest mass of Kraken and unleashed everything I had on it. Although the ocean is not my preferred terrain, I found it more agreeable than Khumbaba’s lava, and I had an easier time landing my blows. I more than repaid the damage the Kraken had given me, and then I returned to Kuu, taking her even higher to get truly out of reach. Perhaps out of fondness for me, Nereus chose to involve himself in the battle, summoning a wave of healing magic that quickly revived all who had been injured in the Kraken’s initial attack. Whatever his motives, the second wind was a welcome boon.
Korloth and Perseus also met the Kraken head-on, both dealing and receiving massive damage. Adrian fired from another position, his aim true despite the necessity of dodging flailing tentacles. Akemi provided her usual support while also summoning owlbears to help distract the Kraken and draw some of the damage away from the rest of us. Bao Bao, Elyn, and Echo, positioned further back with Akemi, cast spells from a distance, while Zan-kalak and Qhari-f’taal attempted to hold off any tentacles that got too close. Lenti, shifted into a strange, roughly spherical flying fungal form that Perseus found particularly unsightly had the most critical role in the combat, maneuvering close enough to the Kraken’s eye to put Medusa’s head into its line of sight. When she succeeded, the effect was instantaneous; the titan rapidly solidified into stone and began sinking beneath the sea. We quickly opened the Anubis Box to draw the Kraken inside.
Nereus, still standing on what was left of the pier, made eye contact just long enough to wink at me. Then, suddenly, he transformed into a bolt of lightning that flashed into the Anubis Box before it snapped shut. It was only then that we realized that Nereus was actually the god Zeus in disguise, and he had just invited himself along back to Alluria. The Sleestaks are a minor complication. Baba Yaga is a greater concern, but likely not an insurmountable problem. Zeus, from what we were collectively able to recall, seems like a much larger problem, and possibly one that will have to be dealt with immediately upon his release from the box. I am now also forced to ponder with greater concern the implications of his interest in me and the brief period of time during which Bao Bao’s psionic connection was interrupted. Did something happen during that time that none of use were able to perceive? It is clear now that returning to Alluria was his plan all along, so his show of reluctance and the bargain for summoning the Kraken was simply him taking advantage of the situation for… what? Amusement at my expense, at minimum, but perhaps worse. I understand, Master, that violence must be tempered with serenity, but I confess I am feeling somewhat eager to see Adrian make use of his god-killer gun once again. I wish I were able to ask your advice on the matter.
The realization of Zeus’s treachery and the weight of the Anubis Box, now with yet another stowaway inside, dampened the celebration somewhat, but at least we have succeded in collecting another titan, and Perseus finally spoke the name Feinting GOATs with a measure of respect. Hopefully his bards will compose a suitable record of our deeds. Now we need a good rest, and then we will be on to the next.
Yours,
Cut-Cut