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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Brakkart" data-source="post: 2133010" data-attributes="member: 19617">DM's Log of Session Twenty ThreeAfter eight uneventful days in Calimport, the group were finally ready to depart, having made good use of their time in the city. Zamtap had hired a bench in the back of a jewellers shop and made a few magical brooches using the tools there, as well as buying a Bag of Holding to carry around the increasing number of bits and pieces of the project he is working on, filling it with gears and mechanical joints and the like. Though he was somewhat stymied when he tried to buy a large quantity of alchemists fire, running into a city ordance law dating back to the time of the Shoon Imperium against selling anything more than a limited quantity of any incendiary to one person.Gylippus had spent his time in the way that he liked best, profitably, having sold or fenced off several items that the group had been carrying around for a while. He loaned money to Zamtap, scribed scrolls and paid to have his rapiers magic enhanced again. Aeron bought himself a headband to boost his already considerable intellect still further. Both Jebodiah and Ash were moved to make donations to temples, both giving over 200 gold pieces to the temples of their respective gods (Clangeddin & Sune respectively). True to his womanising form, Ash used his powers to cure a whore of her wasting disease, taking payment for the deed in her bed for a few days, and still finding time to pen a letter to his aunt.The party were the toast of the Bloody Cutlass for the time they stayed there, the Innkeeper having had Garx stuffed and mounted upside down to the ceiling of the taproom, the mounted Phase Spider drawing in considerable extra business, to the extent that when the group mentioned that they were heading towards Chult, he asked the group to bring him back some dinosaur heads for additional decoration, seeing a lucrative line of business in luring adventurer types to his establishment.Still all good things must come to an end, and the group boarded Tisiphone and set sail across the Shining Sea towards Tashluta. All went peacefully for two days, Captain Baeran's warnings about encountering the Rundeen proving to be unfounded. It was in the early evening though of Nightal 1st when the lookout in the crow's nest called out "Land Ahoy", only to be met with a stern rebuke from the Captain who pointed out that they were more than a day from land. It was then that the "sandbank" started moving towards the ship at speed, and as it got closer, so it became obvious that it was a Dragon Turtle.The group immeditaly began casting spells to fortify themselves in various ways, as the creature surged towards them and rammed the prow of the Tisiphone, the impact making everyone aboard totter a little, and knocking Ash clear off his feet. Aeron rushed to the side railing, grabbing it to steady himself and he exhausted the Turtle with a well placed ray, though it did not deter the monsters attack, as it swam around the side of the ship, reared its beaked head up out of the water and blasted most of those aboard with scolding hot steam, catching Aeron, Jebodiah, Zamtap and Ash in the blast, though only Zamtap seemed to be seriously wounded by the attack. Gylippus, withdrew to the stern of the ship, keeping himself out of range of the creature, yet ensuring he could see it clearly, and magic missiled it. Seeing how little effect the missiles had on the huge turtle, Aeron decided that someone would have to take the fight to the beast, and cast Fly on Jebodiah, Ash lending a hand to bolster the dwarf by healing his burn wounds from the steam blast.Jebodiah swigged back a healing potion also, and then launched himself through the air towards the turtle, smacking its head with his axe, but getting bitten in return, and then swatted with a large webbed claw too. Ki and Ash shot the creature with crossbow and pistol, as Aeron used another ray on it, this time sapping its strength. Gylippus had less luck though, his attempt to blind it failing. Jebodiah swooped back down, axe crunching down against the turtles shell and cracking it badly, the creature responding with claw and bite, both inflicting further wounds on the flying dwarf. On the ship, both Ki and Ash fire again, and having healed himself from the effects of the steam blast, Zamtap casts Wield Skill and draws his own pistol to join in the missle assault. Aeron cuts loose then with a Scintillating Sphere, his most powerful offensive spell, blasting the rear of the turtle to make sure he does not catch Jebodiah in the explosion, and seeing the turtles attacks lessening after the rays that Aeron had cast, Gylippus follows suit, also enfeebling the huge turtle.At which point, suffering from his wounds, Jebodiah flew straight up and out of the turtles reach, its beak snapping up after him, but narrowly missing his boots as he swigged back another healing potion. Ki's crossbow bolt bounced off the turtles shell, as it dived out of sight and feebly swam away to recover from its wounds and live to hunt another day.In the late afternoon on Nightal 3rd, the Tisiphone pulled into the great caldera harbour of Tashluta, and Captain Baeran informed the group that he would be staying in port a couple days in case they should need to depart again, but after that he would be heading back north. The party paid a boy on the docks for some information about the city, learning its rough layout and the names of the prominent temples. Deciding that the House of the All Seeing Eye, a vast temple to Savras is their best bet to find information on the Yuan-ti, the group decided to head there tomorrow, stopping at an Inn for the night, choosing to take up residence at The Crushed Coils, it having a reassuring name. Ash uses his charm and good looks to seduce one of the serving wenches.Nightal 4th dawned with a light rain washing the filth from the streets of the city, the group glad that they picked an Inn halfway up the cladera slope, realising now why the locals regard down by the docks to be the worst parts of the city. Making their way through the city, they come to the largest temple to Savras in all the Realms, and gain an audience with High Seer Damai, one of the senior priests, who listens to the partys entreaties about what the Yuan-ti are up to, but remains sceptical and insists on a suitable donation before he will scry on Esau Enoch whish the group eventually agree too, handing over the monies to pay for a casting of Greater Scrying. Alas, it proves fruitless, as try as he might Damai cannot force his spell through the snakeman scientists considerable force of will. The party ask him to try again tomorrow, but this time they intend for him to scry on Shan Hsi...DM's Notes:Well after re-equipping themselves and spending the loot they gained from the orc pirates, the group are back on the move. I threw in the Dragon Turtle as a nice challenge, it being only a little above the groups CR, but as it was going to be the only encounter of the trip I was sure that they could handle it, and it was a nice boost to their experience.I like the way Tashluta is described in the Serpent Kingdoms book, it was really easy to picture what it looks like (I basically just thought of it as a larger version of Cauldron from the Dungeon magazine Adventure Path, but with half the city gone and a harbour in its place). The party won't be there long, and won't be attacked there either (cos they were starting to get nervous about cities, having been attacked in every one thus far, figured I'd cut them a break in this one... they'll get plenty attacked soon enough!).</blockquote>

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