Harmony Session 32: Above the Hull, A Screegull

Fresh from a successful quest despite a violent series of dreams, The Suckhole Six rode their brand new Ashblaster out of the Woodsmen's Garage and back into Ferrous Forest. With Enoch's steady hand at the helm, they were eager to return to Echwink's Landing and show off their newest prize. They headed back toward the path carved through the trees by the Charred Woodsman 30 years ago and turned toward home.   The first stretch of the journey was honestly a bit fun as the Ashblaster carried them through Ferrous Forest at speeds before impossible. Though they would have to slow down once they entered the thick of the massive Ironwood trees, this stump-laden path was perfectly suitable to seeing what the Ashblaster could do. After a few hours though, they noticed a large bird flying several hundred feet above them and keeping pace. The Six identified it as a screegull and realized its presence so far from the coast and by itself was extremely strange. They stopped the Ashblaster for a few minutes and watched the bird slow and begin to circle their position. It was following them.   The Six decided to ignore the bird for now and turned from the path to try and lose it in the heavy tree cover. After a few hours of Azarki's skilled guidance, the Six once again noticed the strange smell of burning roses. They stopped to investigate, but couldn't make heads or tails of the scent-trail through the woods. After an hour of searching, the Suckhole Six returned to the Ashblaster and continued on. The rest of the first day of journeying passed without incident and the Six spent a peaceful night of rest on the deck of their Everskiff under the protection of Enoch's tiny nautical hut.    

Ape of Tentacles

  Malachai began the next day speculating about the origin of yesterday's screegull. Perhaps this was a pet? Maybe it had an owner? This line of questioning inspired the diarrhea-laden Zoran to offer a theory: "Scott... Screegullbeard..." A former fellow member of The Windblown, Scott was among the adventurers lost in the Temple of 1,000 Legs, likely due to treachery by Byzix Flintclaw, Pestus, and a remnant of the Alerki Ascendency called The Reconstitution. Though the Suckhole Six had found the remains of several of his screegulls in the Temple, they did not find Scott's corpse nor his centipede mutant. Did this mean Scott Screegullbeard yet lived?   Before they could consider what to do with this information, a series of bestial hoots began to sound from the trees. Answering calls responded from every angle. Suddenly, a loud thump sent the Ashblaster heaving as a massive tentacle-armed simian landed on the deck. With arms evolved to swing swiftly through the massive branches of Ferrous Forest, a troop of arboreal grapplers attacked the intruders.   The fight was bloody and brutal, but the Six ultimately prevailed. Malachai notably used his Ring of Animal Influence to great effect, causing two of the monsters to flee in fear. Enno taught these chimps a thing or two about swinging by using the magic of Ferrous Forest to pull every ape toward him. They obliged the barbarian, pummeling the 14 AC hitpoint sponge over and over and over again. At least 3 Pilgrims died in the assault on Enno, but the dragonborn was made of tougher stuff than that. With one final pull, the Branches of the World Tree ripped the remaining ape off the deck of the Ashblaster and smashed it upon the ground in a pile of tentacles, fur, and blood.   After a brief respite, the Six continued on until nightfall.    

Screegull Creepin' in the Dead of Night

  That night during Azarki's watch, the screegull found them. Having tracked them through the dense trees, it now perched on a low branch blankly observing the Ashblaster. The cleric roused Gorr to converse with the bird, after which the sleepy swampkin declared the bird "cool". Azarki encouraged Gorr to ask some more detailed questions before going back to bed to which Gorr begrudglingly acquiesced. Gorr discovered the bird's name was Bonnie, she knew Scott, he needed help with a rockwood, and she could take them straight there if they wanted. Azarki and Gorr resigned to decide in the morning and went back to sleep.   In the morning, after some heated discussion, the Six voted to head east and find Scott, with only Malachai objecting. Their day went by without incident, but Gorr ultimately decided that Bonnie was perhaps not "cool". With detect magic revealing nothing, Gorr asked a few more probing questions of Bonnie and got some intriguing answers:  

1. Is Scott in charge? No.
2. Who is in charge? We are.
3. Did the rockwoods kidnap Scott? No.
4. Is Scott in danger? No.

  Evidently, the situation with Scott was not as clear cut as it seemed. Malachai recommended forgetting everything and going to the source of Spooky Water. Again, the group was split on what to do. If Scott was in trouble, they were obligated to help a fellow guildmate. If Scott was just another centipede mutant as Enno feared, Russell would quit the campaign. And if there was another third thing? My god. The chaos.   The party once again faced their greatest enemy: harmony.