Episodes 50 & 51 – Belly Up to the Gar

Temporarily abandoning their quest to hunt ol’ Pinkeye, the party continues on to the Shimmerglens to investigate the mysterious lights that had been spotted by the trappers in town. Even without the constant downpour, this area is a swampy mire that is making movement through it quite the slog. With a promise from the bargeman to return at nightfall, the party makes their way to the center of the swamp.

It isn’t long before a flutter of movement catches Fobias’ eye; a small pixie introduces himself as Yap and begs the group to help a dryad in trouble. Despite the eeriness of the area, the party finds no fault in the pixie’s desperation and agrees to help, thinking that there might be a connection to the lights.

As the swamp gets darker, the land and trees turn sickly and black. At one point, the trees turn into sharp, hooded figures in the group’s periphery, only to be replaced by twisted trees when attempting to focus on their forms. When Krask launches an experimental arrow, blood pours from the wound. But there’s no enemy – it’s just a tree.

Having learned their lesson in Foxglove Manor, everyone stays vigilant and wary of anything out of the ordinary. A crystal-clear pool of water? No thanks. Cavorting ghosts? Hard pass. What does intrigue the party is a random three-masted galleon in the middle of the swamp. Inside they find the remains of the ship’s captain, and book of strangely complicated musical masterpieces. Yap is unable to play the music on his pan flute, but there are definitely traces of magic in the notes.

Just before arriving at Yap’s keeper, Myriana, the party stumbles across the dismembered body of a dryad. She was torn limb from limb and left to rot at the base of a gnarly tree. Eventually, the path gives way to the spectral form of the same dryad. A massive amount of anger and blame is directed at the party for their part in failing to protect her lover, Lamatar, from the ogres that killed her. Her lamentations and sadness are likely bleeding out into the Shimmerglens, causing the land to rot in despair. Theo reasons with the dryad, emphasizing that they have never met Lamatar and couldn’t possibly be indirectly blamed for his death.

Calming down, Myriana requests the party to bring back Lamatar’s remains so that she can be at piece. Her attempts at resurrection were unsuccessful, and she believes that there is some other, foul magic at play. Lamatar happened to be the commander of Fort Rannick, which adds some additional intrigue to the situation.

After venturing out of the Shimmerglens, armed with their new information, the party decides to get back to business and slay Pinkeye. They begin their preparations in earnest, trying to piece together the legends and rumors they’ve heard to derive a successful plan. Barnaby is most thrilled at the opportunity of hunting down a new mythical creature, for its head would perfectly compliment the drab walls of his townhouse in Magnimar.

Fishing directly seems to be out of the question, but Fobias acquires a rusty harpoon frequently used by fishermen in Turtleback Ferry. Bait is trickier, since the actual amount needed seems to be something of a debate; Fobias could easily snare some wild rabbits, but that might not be enough to garner Pinkeye’s illicit attention. Instead, they agree to visit the local stable and purchase some emaciated livestock to live out their remaining hours in peace before exiting Golarion in a blaze of glory. In the end, they purchase a buoyant pig and a noisy goat and tie them to drag along in the wake of the two ferries that they’ve rented. Krask finally finds a good use for the crossbow bolts carried by Justice Ironbriar, as the drow poison could be useful in sedating the schoolbus-sized gar.

With their plan in place, the party heads out towards the middle of Claybottom Lake and makes delicate incisions in the livestock to entice their prey. After an hour of waiting, a gargantuan shadow rises from the murky depths, underneath the two ferries. The shadow elongates and begins to circle as it continues to rise, eventually coalescing into a compact form directly under the pig and goat (Pumpkin and Pumpernickel, respectively). As the gar bursts from the water, it devours the pig in a bloody spray and creates a massive plume of water and several large waves.

But the party was ready.

Harpoons are fired, displays are dazzled, poisoned bolts are launched, and hexes are placed as the party tries to keep this encounter as short as possible. Unfortunately, Krask’s bolts caught the grotesquely pink eye of the beast, and it pins the kobold between its razor-sharp teeth. Fobias hurls javelins and Barnaby defies danger by facing the gar head-on while Theo mutters incantations in attempts to distract Pinkeye and free their friend. Luckily, Krask is able to slip through a missing section of teeth and he splashes into the water before the creature can swallow him whole. Irked and furious, Pinkeye lunges at its next target: Barnaby. But this isn’t the swashbuckler’s first monster-hunting rodeo. He deftly sidesteps the battering ram known as the gar’s maw and slashes across its pink eye in a burst of bright blood.

With it’s tether cut in the chaos, Pumpernickel floats away from the action to drown peacefully instead of being swallowed up by a mythical sea creature. Knowing that he needs to do something before Krask is targeted again, Theo calls forth the fury of the elements. He shouts into the pouring rain and a blinding bolt of lightning careens from the heavens and incinerates the wounded gar. It goes belly up.

Not wanting to lose their prize, Theo casts a web to entangle the charred remains of the Menace of Claybottom Lake, and the party heads back towards shore. The bargeman sees them returning and his cigarillo drops out of his gaping mouth.

Are ogres to cause for the lack of communication from Fort Rannick? Will the party find remnants of the Paradise in the belly of the beast? Will Krask finally get to try sushi?

Art by RogierB on DeviantArt : https://bit.ly/2xspX5l