Now that the other gnolls are out of the picture, the party focuses all of their efforts on taking down Pungysh. The sounds of stirring gnolls emanates from below decks.
Krask sidesteps out of Fobias’ way and unleashes his trademark series of arrows, striking true. Meanwhile, Barnaby manuevers through the wreckage and charges at the gnoll shaman. She may look old, but she’s heartier than she first lets on.
Channeling his divine power of Sarenrae, Trace Smites Evil at Pungysh. If there’s one thing he’s intolerant of, it’s liars and deceivers. Demons and devils are okay in his book.
Fyn concludes his summoning, creating a huge mud elemental of his own. The elemental begins to pummel Pungysh with its muddy fists, a cruel twist of fate to be mauled by a clone of your own false divinity. The mud encases her torso, impeding her movement.
Pungysh surrounds herself in a protective bubble before unleashing a devastating blast of acidic energy in all directions. Fobias retaliates, slamming his weapon into the gnoll, killing her.
As her body crumples to the ground, however, a burst of light rises up. Sand and water mix and grow, forming in a gargantuan mud elemental. It’s Uranueh, the Absolute! Not to be confused with Uranueh, the Absolut, which is a different adventure.
Final Form
Fobias, momentarily startled by the turn in events, continues his assault. The mud elemental is thick and meaty, making the strikes seem sluggish and slow. Richard retreats to the back of the deck.
With such a large target, it’s easy for Krask to find his mark. Again, the arrows are subdued by the swirling mud. Fyn hastens the party, spurring them to new heights as the mud elemental attempts to cleave through them all. Luckily, Fyn’s mirror images distract the elemental just enough to prevent the entire party from being encased in mud.
One by one, our heroes attack the towering elemental, but it is Krask who earns the title ‘Godkiller’ with his well-struck arrows. As the elemental dies, a thunderous shockwave erupts from the body, and tiny shards of light are seen scattering before joining towards each other and floating to the west.
In the wreckage, Fyn examines the shards of glass that Pungysh threw against the ground. He discerns that it is some kind of soul gem, able to house the soul of a creature. Trace finds a heavily edited tome containing Uranueh’s holy text, and Krask finds the missing leaf-shaped emerald.
They help the other gnolls from the wreckage as Targosh approaches with a contingent of gnolls. Once again, Trace exudes confidence and poise as he diplomatically explains the situation. Because of the corroborating witnesses, Targosh believes the party and thanks them for their service. It is time for a new age of gnoll, not bound by the falsehoods of the past.
After staying the night with the gnolls, Fyn teleports them back to the cistern to replace the emerald in the tree. Much to their surprise, Guish looks fit and much larger. They also remember everything that happened to them!
Reflections of Guish
As it turns out, Guish was created when Sarenrae ripped them from their other half and placed them in the Cistern. It was the faith of the Tenders that convinced Sarenrae to bestow this gift upon the region after the Lake dried up. They were the only ones who still believed in her divine grace.
Guish recalls two gnolls breaking into the Cistern through the northwest gate. One of them held a driftwood staff, which the party presumes to be Pungysh. The gnolls sprinkled Dust of Dryness, repelling the elemental backwards before Pungysh conducted a ritual and ripped the soul from the Guish. Before blacking out, Guish saw a bright blast of orange flame directed at the second gnoll.
The party begins to put the pieces together, lining up the timelines with Guish’s revelations. Krask places the missing emerald into place, causing the entire tree to glow with a natural green light. As a result, a circular handle appears in the door. Trace pushes it open, revealing treasure beyond their wildest dreams.
What lies beyond the tree door? What do the djinn have to do with all of this? Where can we donate to Trace’s Presidential Campaign?