S11E11 - The Ancient Roar Beneath the Ruins

The session opens at the bridge to the abandoned abbey, where a minotaur stands guard. Farther back, two guards wait by the abbey door.

Lyra tries to confuse and distract the minotaur by sending him magical messages, but the minotaur can’t make sense of the messages and grows increasingly confused.

As the party lines up another round of Mage Hand, psychic blades, and Message, Klik and Klak get bored and start throwing rocks into the lake. The minotaur approaches the area where the party is hiding. Soto tries one last distraction, but it’s too late and combat starts.

The minotaur gores him, knocking him unconscious in the first round. The rest of the heroes strike back from the forest’s edge. Ike casts Thunderwave, hurling the minotaur into the acidic lake. A round later, the creature climbs out, skin blistering, only for Ike to finish him with scorching ray. The heroes kill one of the two thugs that stood at the abbey’s entrance, but the other thug escapes inside. While this has been going on, the heroes have also been hearing repeated roars from inside the abbey.

The heroes spend a few dangerous minutes debating their next move in front of the abbey. Then a young black dragon, hidden atop the ruined wall, swoops down at Nemo on the bridge. The heroes fight back, still winded from the minotaur fight. Soon, a hunchbacked mummy emerges from the abbey and lumbers into the fight.

The black dragon introduces himself as Xul’gath, Lord of Rot, and tells the party that it’s too late, “the Ancient One has been awakened.” Lyra tries to persuade it to go check its treasure because they, the heroes, have stolen it, but the dragon remains unconvinced.

The party hesitates, then does the math: a young black dragon, a mummy, and possibly an ancient black dragon might be too much for level-three heroes, so they start running. Moments later, a new roar rolls out of the abbey, several degrees scarier than the last, supporting their decision to flee. In order to buy the party more time, Brand runs onto the bridge, puts himself between the dragon and the mummy, and gets ready to repel the monsters. The mummy does exactly that, and Brand hammers it hard enough to send it flying into the middle of the acidic lake. The, and I quote the party, “zombie rolled in toilet paper,” sinks, its face twisted in undead agony. Meanwhile, Ike, Lyra, and Soto stop running and start attacking the dragon with weapons and magic while Shocking Grasp holds the deadly monster in place. That gives Brand just enough time to escape the bridge and catch up with the others, who then run together, leaving no hero behind.

The dragon tears after Brand through the forest while the rest of the party flees. Ike buys him another few seconds with Shocking Grasp. Then, in the thick fog, the dragon breaks off and disappears.

After a few minutes of running, the heroes stop to regroup. Somehow, the idea of going back to the abbey that same night comes up again. Jinu points out that if an ancient black dragon has awakened, they stand no chance.

After sprinting through the forest, as quietly as a zombie-laden donkey and an armor-clad paladin can manage, our heroes reach the shore and, relieved, see Paco, Paquito, and Pietro still trying to fix the damaged ship.

The heroes give the crew a hurried description and one clear call to action: “Shit has hit the fan. We must leave now.”

Poorly patched, but still afloat, the ship slips away from the island into thick, oppressive fog.

Minutes later, still full of adrenaline, the party realizes Uncle Bob the zombie is missing, along with a chunk of the stern. Only one ankle remains. Ike insists that boarding the ship and sailing into the fog is making them sitting ducks. Unable to do much about it anymore, everyone retreats into the cabins except Nemo, who hides near the bow to protect their pony, Little Sebastian.

Minutes later, the gnome hears the thuds of something climbing aboard. He hides and waits. When the black dragon’s head rises above the rail, Nemo shoots it through the neck, rolls a 20, and insta-kills it. Xul’gath sinks back into the sea with a furious look in his eyes.

For two or three hours, the ship sails undisturbed. Then Wicked Whiskey Wharf appears in the distance.

As they approach the docks, the party spots hooded figures in red tunics: Asmodeus cultists dressed like the ones Nemo killed in cold blood days ago. Sister Gloria is with them, and so is the bounty hunter chasing Lyra.

The party decides that leaving immediately for Zoqoi and the Red Sea is the better idea, and they quickly arrange with Paco how they will pay for his services. To pay for it, the party discusses several responsible options: piracy, robbing pirates, taking side quests, or simply taking the boat from Paco and company if the money runs out.

The episode ends with our heroes sailing southeast along the coast.