3.2 The Pirate Queen

This recap covers Rodeo, Haliah, and Umeiri's action-packed naval adventure on Zhu Zhuwei's ship, the Decorator, as they navigated the stormy Western Dragon Island and confronted the Pirate Queen Duo Zhuwei.  

Setting Sail

Rodeo, Haliah, and Umeiri had just agreed to be a part of the copper dragonborn Zhu Zhuwei's crew on a journey to the Western Dragon Island. They saw the creaky leaky ship but decided to roll with it since good ol' Zhu Zhu was a descended and had to have some kind of secret. After a few days of preparation, a full crew had been assembled, consisting of SKRUNGUS members (Rodeo, Haliah, Umeiri, Zoeyette, Rasli, and Dae'dwa), an engineer, and a medic. A strange request had been made by Zhu Zhu, however, as he asked if everyone could bring some sort of decorative gift onboard. Apparently, that action was quite important, as Zhu Zhuwei revealed the true nature of his ship, the Decorator after sailing a few miles off the coast of Fengqi.   The Decorator was perched atop a gigantic decorator crab named Hai Hai, and she loved presents and pretty things to place atop her back. After Hai Hai's introduction, it was time for Zhu Zhu to spill the beans. And spill he did. He let everyone - including the non-descended - know that he came from the celestial plane and that he had a very personal stake in this particular mission. The Western Dragon Island was once home to a fearsome dragon guardian named Duo Zhuwei.   Duo Zhuwei was a vehement protector of nature and the inhabitants of the island itself, namely the metallic dragonborn. For centuries, she coexisted with the island's peoples, chasing away evil spirits and keeping the oceans bountiful. Duo Zhuwei was revered as a goddess, one might say. However, when magic was dispersed throughout Tian Wu Yan and development hastened at an unheard of speed, the island was changing faster than the dragon could keep up. More and more foreigners of other species arrived, and together with the indigenous dragonborn, they birthed massive cities and trade ports all throughout the island.   This unprecedented economic growth was obviously not without its ecological consequences. Rare animals were hunted, fish populations were depleted, and forests were cleared in favor of farmland. Duo Zhuwei tried to use her waning influence to get the island's leaders to hear her pleas, but to no avail. Thinking that perhaps the voices of mortals would be more effective, she 'birthed' five children to represent her in the mortal plane. Unfortunately for Duo Zhuwei, her progeny proved to be ultimately unfaithful to the cause, with some becoming wealthy leaders themselves and others avoiding any conflict entirely.   Eventually, the anguish and frustration became far too great for the dragon to bear, and she lashed out. She lashed out hard. Her rage was so monumental that it flooded cities, sank battleships, and slaughtered thousands of innocent lives. Her rampage was slow and methodical, using her own 'ship' to pursue victims and besiege cities. Hence, her newfound title, "The Pirate Queen." The only way she could be stopped was by way of her own children turning against her. Using Duo Zhuwei's gifts that they had been given, the four older siblings took her down at the cost of all of their lives.   Considering the events that transpired surrounding the human and dwarven territories, it only made sense that the legend of Duo Zhuwei would be integral to well, dealing with a Chaos-Duo Zhuwei. And that is exactly why Zhu Zhuwei recruited the party to help. He was the youngest child of the ancient dragon, as well as the one most people don't know about. Trauma from being constantly overshadowed by his older siblings aside, Zhu Zhuwei needed their aid in order to beat back his mother. Not their direct aid, of course, but the aid of their legendary god-given artifacts.   The dragonborn was determined to prove himself after all these years.  

Treasure Hunters

So when Duo Zhuwei floated on over in her giant bubble and met face-to-face with her son, Zhu Zhuwei all but shit his own pants. So much for proving himself. He could barely stammer out a single phrase before Chaos-Duo brushed him off and told him to just run away like he usually does. Surprisingly, she even gave him a head start to leave before she would not show any remorse and actively hunt him and his crew down.   And with that, the weeks long adventure across the Western Dragon Island began! Zhu Zhuwei still kept his own artifact, which was a map that allowed him to track specific entities, including Duo Zhuwei and his siblings' artifacts. As our party moved between major destinations, they made several stops to collect some treasure! I have listed all the treasure that was collected in this journey in the 'Acquired Items' section and boy was it a lot. Of exceptional note are the Armored Albino Alligator egg (last of its kind) and some of Duo Zhuwei's shed dragon scales.   In any case, the first artifact, the Banner of the Pelagic, belonged to Zhu Zhu's eldest sister Hyun-Ra, and the search for it took them all the way to Soksan's Naval Museum. Amongst the litany of gift shop souvenirs and historical antiques was, well, quite a bit of water. Water elementals had taken over the museum, and our party had to face them in battle. It was a tough fight, but they prevailed and acquired the Water Key to add to their collection of elemental keys.   The second artifact, the Tricorn of the Deep, belonged to Zhu Zhu's second elder sister Zap, and it was located in the bottom of the ocean within a shipwreck. Umeiri, thankfully, belonged in the ocean, and could therefore retrieve the legendary hat with relative ease. In fact, she even got the aid of several of Zap's crewmates, who had been turned into sea animals. A few of them even decided to tag along on the Decorator.   The third artifact, the Cannon of the Winged, could be found further inland, and was, at first, missing for some reason. However, a golden finch led the group to a statue of Tong Fei, Zhu Zhu's eldest brother, whose celestial spirit managed to speak through the statue and have a heartfelt conversation with his baby brother. From this discussion, the party learned that the situation with the Court was pretty shady, and that Duo Zhuwei was in a lot of pain. Compassion would be needed this time around, Tong Fei advised.   The fourth and final artifact, the Heart of the Drifter, could only be accessed via cave and with the help of one of Kaelaro's many partners. Kaelaro was Zhu Zhu's third eldest sibling, and they were a reclusive sort, choosing to live their life with their polycule in an isolated cave. At this point, Duo Zhuwei was swiftly catching up, and the party had to rush through the flooded cave complex as fast as possible. There was turbulence and hallucinogenics; it was a hectic ride. But eventually, the party came through the other side with all the treasures they needed and the means to take down Duo Zhuwei's ship.

From Mother to Son

In order for Zhu Zhu to get close enough to talk to his mother, he and his crew needed to disarm the dragon and her ship first. Like with Zhu Zhu and Hai Hai, Duo had a giant animal attached to her ship as well - a ginormous iguana named Varintheus. This iguana made the ship move and did all the bubble magic, so severing its magical connection to the physical ship would provide enough of an opportunity for Zhu Zhu to have his heart-to-heart.   An epic naval battle ensued. Cannons were firing at Duo Zhuwei's minions. The Decorator was boarded and defended. Magical ice spears were being shot out from the dragon. It was a heart racing sea showdown!   SKRUNGUS and crew were able to do what needed to be done and give Zhu Zhu his chance. As the Pirate Queen's ship lay stranded in the ocean, the suffering spirit froze the ocean around her, creating the perfect terrain for Zhu Zhu to gallop on riding atop Rodeo. Not that the ice was needed as the centaur had a ring of water walking, but still! It was very cool.   The copper dragonborn now had the words he needed to speak to his mother. He had consoled with his brother, had read about the battles that Duo Zhuwei waged against her own children, and approached the dragon with understanding, but not necessarily forgiveness. The spirits of his siblings helped him along, and eventually, Duo calmed enough to provide what little information she possessed about her divine soul and about the Court of Heaven.   Essentially, the Court of Heaven was keeping her divine soul captive and it was suffering. No, not just suffering, it was tormented and in tremendous pain. Duo Zhuwei's mortal soul could sense it. She could also sense where it was located - the Pavillion of the Loyal within the All-King's Palace. The same intense guilt over the Chaos was felt by Duo, but it was also accompanied by an intense fear. She wasn't sure what she was fearing, exactly, but she knew that this entity could consume the entire world and that it was the world's magic that drew the entity to Tian Wu Yan.   At this point, all of the dragon's energy was spent and her rampage was over. Like with the other gods, her mortal soul retreated into an object, a large opal. The party then returned to the Decorator but the family visits were not done yet. Using the tenuous connection that they had with their artifacts, the children of Duo Zhuwei briefly reunited, albeit only Zhu Zhu was actually mortal. During this short conversation, Zhu Zhu informed them of their mother's soul's whereabouts. Tong Fei, Hyun-ra, Kaelaro, and Zap all agreed to work together to investigate up in the celestial plane.   With that, it was time to return home with the spoils of their exploration. Not only did SKRUNGUS pacify a goddess and nab hundreds of gold's worth of treasure, they also gained two invaluable allies - Zhu Zhu and Hai Hai.