Session 16 (The Pirates of Atlas)

 

"Session 16"
The Pirates of Atlas episode
Episode no.	Episode 16
Original air date	December 3, 2023 (2023-12-03)

"Session 16" is the sixteenth session of the campaign The Pirates of Atlas.

Synopsis

Following the events that transpired in Atlas, Willem's Willies find themselves looking at three towering trees at the shores of the Wildlands with the night sky. Suddenly, a shadowy door emerges with Death accompanying Durgl who appears to be alive and well. Durgl pounds his chest as he coughs up and a ball of slime projects out. His voice suddenly changes. He says it was something he has eaten and refers to himself as "The Durgl". Durgl signs a paper with Death and Death hands Durgl his gun, the Frogger. Durgl says he wanted to take a vacation. Willem is confused and said he was fighting in the ship when Durgl was there. He asks what Durgl remembered. Durgl recalls what he had happened. In his memory, his crew vanished as he was on the verge of death. Death visited him and told him to take a nap. He was then revisited after a few hours and woke up. Reyen tells Willem that he does not remember how their ship remained in good condition and arrived to the Wildlands. Durgl begins to play a tune as the crew dances to it, happy to see their dear friend returning in good health.

As Vidro stands, he notices an object bouncing through the water towards them. As he focuses on it, he notices a shark fin. It is none other than Akula himself. The ship rocks violently as they see their old friend who is now a menace. Akula, having been gone for nearly two years, he is now tattooed all over with numerous scars. Durgl welcomes back Akula. Willem asks what has happened to Akula. Akula says they can speak about it over dinner. He is willing to cook them a good dinner once again. Reyen informs Willem that Ren has taken his leave, which is perfect since Akula has returned as the ship's chef. Akula said he was looking for his old crew and meant many new "friends" who worshipped as a god. He formed a new crew, hoping they could unite with them. One day, he returned to his new crew and found them all dead. He realized that his original crew was now under threat, he wanted to return back to protect them. Akula reenacts the individual who slew his crewmates. Akula says this individual was not as good-looking or strong as him. He tells them that it appears to be another "shark". Akula is happy to see Willem again, saying distance has made the heart grow fonder. Akula inquires if Akula Jr. is still alive and well. They tell him he is. Akula Jr. emerges from the cabin who is now two times larger whose eyes illuminate as it pounces on Akula. It gnaws at him playfully. Chowder emerges and floats upside-down, bumping against the ceiling as drool droops from its mouth. More tentacles sprout out of it.

As they get closer and closer to the shore, they make their way down to the mess hall. Akula stops by the ship's vault and searches for his hammer. Willem tells him that the hammer was a trap used by the Stormlord to track the crew. Willem tells him that the hammer went missing after their confrontation with the Stormlord.

Akula tells him how he obtained his fishhook and his need to enhance it by a person named Alimon. Reyen gives Willem a report of the Wildlands. He informs him that people are not allowed to venture into the forest as there are various competing territorial claims. There are also tribes who live in the Wildlands. There are elves and chimeric animals who live on the eastern portion of the Wildlands. On the western portion are humans and orcs. They are unsure what their affiliation is with. There is also a large town in the center of the island which is teeming with intelligent beasts. There are also a band of armored humans who have started an instigation against the elves. Willem turns to Durgl and tells him he remembered that Durgl was seeking the Golden Ribbit here. Durgl tells him that he knows that he needs to find an elf, Aylon, who may know where the Golden Ribbit is. Reyen says there are druidic elves and there are shamanistic trolls. Willem decides that they should pay a visit on the western shore. It takes two hours for them to venture along the shore.

As the ship sails, Willem throws out his prayer books and religious artifacts to sea.

Akula inspects the kitchen and is meant by a robot waiter who welcomes Akula, recognizing him as the ship's cook. Akula suggests that the robot's voice should match his to be welcoming and accommodating to the crew. Akula creates the Fruity Moody dish. It is fruitful medley which the crew is homesick for. Their bodies feel ready to tackle on the rest of the day and feel reinvigorated. Reyen asks Durgl more about the Golden Ribbit and his plans after obtaining it. Durgl presumes it would take quite a while to find it but once he retrieves it, he would return home to forge his path there, perhaps as a musician in a band, preferably by the name of the Grungets or the "Gargles". Reyen asks what happened in the revolution in Atlas and why he saw Willem throwing out his prayer books. Willem explains what had happened, including his decision to throw out the books. He had long believed the voice in his head was that of his god but it turned out to be a farce. He says he was unsure how he was able to swap locations with his alternate self. All this time his voice was the ghost of his alternate self. He said he has made peace with his alternate self. Happiness he felt is happiness his other self would feel. The common nexus in both of their selves' suffering is their father, the Stormlord. He admits his whole motivation to find the Stormwell was to seek the voice. Now that he knows what the voice is, his new goal is to simply get revenge and kill the Stormlord. Durgl still believes that the crew should have dropped a nuclear bomb on the Stormlord when they had the chance. Akula asks what a nuclear bomb is and Durgl explains what had happened when the crew was in Elytra. Durgl says they may still have the bomb with the chance to use it.

As they finish their meal, they hear a bell ring loudly as they dock in the harbor. Akula goes back into the vault to grab a Cloak of Protection and Gauntlets of Destruction. Flynn and Reyen stay back on the ship. They descend on rowboats and row to shore. They sense magical energy emanating from the large trees above. The particles which float down feel like snow. They walk towards the largest tree in sight which has natural lighting, glowing brightly against the night sky. Vidro says he feels uneasy being around these areas as he is an elf. He puts on a cloak and a mask to obscure his identity.

As they make their way through the forest, Willem asks if anyone is familiar with orc culture. Akula holds Willem's hand as they walk through the dimly lit forest. Willem and Vidro both notice a strange object inside what appears to be a cave off to the side of their path. Akula pulls out a torch to make it easier for the visually impaired to see. The cave is naturally dark and he notices a faint orange glow deep within the cave. Vidro stops everyone as he investigates for any potential traps. Vidro accidentally steps on a termite bug which lets out a screech. There is then dead silence. Vidro suspects it could be an alarm. Akula decides to lead the pack. He has his hook ready in case they encounter anything. They move towards the light source and discover it is a swarm of fireflies. The fireflies fly about and as they continue through this path, the cave ceiling gets lower and lower. They notice two paths. One of the paths require some crouching to go through. The other path is darker which continues on and on. Vidro uses his echolocation to assess each route. On the right path, it spirals downward with no signs of life other than a few stray spiders. On the left path, he detects a figure sitting, surrounded by small creatures. Vidro suspects this individual knows they are here. Akula reasons if this individual knows they are already there, they might as well confront this person.

They decide to go left to visit this individual. Akula decides to be on the back of the crew as he has to crawl. Willem hunches back in front of Akula. Vidro and Pravuil continue forward and Durgl is at the front since he is the shortest. The path gradually opens up into a dome-like room. They begin to see wood furniture in what appears to be a dwelling. In the center, they see a hooded orc who is cooking meat by the fireplace. He appears to be an old orc. The orc tilts his head and looks at them emotionlessly. At his side is his axe. Vidro apologizes for intruding and explains they needed to seek shelter. The orc speaks calmly whether they are assassins. Vidro says they are not, not even knowing who he is. The orc then says they may take shelter. He asks if they are hungry. He says his name is Ogrin. He says none of them are native to this land except for Durgl whom he recognizes as a grung. Akula shows him his fishhook as his reason being in the Wildlands. Durgl says he is seeking someone by the name of Aelon. Ogrin asks why Durgl is looking for her and he explains because he is seeking the Golden Ribbit. He says that she has been banished many suns ago and she cannot be located. He says she is an elven druid who lives long. Ogrin says they will find many things here in the Wildlands but many they may not wish to find. Durgl asks why he is hiding out here and who wants to assassinate him. Ogrin explains that war has been going on for years and that the humans and orcs have controlled the minotatus and other beasts, and have waged war against elves. Ogrin also explains the purpose of the three trees. Most tribes are indifferent to the trees. He says they are but the first landmark into the Wildlands. He also explains the other path next to them where no one has ventured out safely. He said many have come venturing for knowledge. Willem and Vidro speak on what to do, while Akula inquires Ogrin's meal, which is smoked fox. Akula offers to cook with whatever Ogrin has in the kitchen. Ogrin is amazed by Akula's cooking and devours it happily.

They inform him they will investigate the other path and he merely nods at them, looking as though he has already seen this scenario play out a thousand times with other parties. They then head towards the spiraling path.

As they descend down the path, they feel a light breeze blowing. They notice a partially built structure and notice that the spiral continues downward into the abyss. They hear the sound of water drops dripping down to the void below. They are unable to ascertain how deep the spiral goes. They reach upon what appears to be a deeper cave with pillars, mossy overgrowth, and stony structures. They notice three bodies strung across the floor. They are skeletonized, reduced to withered, dusty bones.

Vidro grabs one of his enchanted marbles, a golden one, and crushes it. It will grant him one absolute truth. Vidro asks his question. There is a deity down here, but not to protect this place. Its mind appears to be in hibernation. Vidro investigates the armor sets of the corpses. He notices that one of them, the one closest by the door, has green inscriptions on it which seem to be familiar but unaffiliated with any existing civilization. Vidro feels a numb pain as he reads it. He says he believes it is from the old world. He attempts to interpret the inscriptions but is unable to comprehend them. Willem leans down and places his hand on the floor to detect if there are any celestial beings. His arm shines bright red as it shoots out a radius of pulsating redness. He detects nothing.

They venture deeper through a circular hallway. Vidro tries to investigate. Willem notices holes, large enough for projectiles to shoot out, on the ceiling. Durgl notices old instruments and songbooks containing characters he has never heard of. Akula notices one of his tattoos shining faintly as he looks about a field of old technology. As Vidro looks atop one of the discs above, he is able to crank it as he tries to move it. He infers people used to work on this disc and required manual labor. Akula's glowing tattoo fluctuates between blue and violet. Vidro believes the technology may be druidic magic. Willem points towards the holes and warns them about the arrows. They are unsure what could potentially trigger them. Vidro notices holes which could be plugged in to block the arrows. Akula tries to pull back the lever and Willem helps him, pushing it. The lever gets unjammed and is activated as the arrows activate, blocked by Vidro's handiwork. The large disc door rolls open. Akula pulls out his axe and Pravuil helps as they crowbar it into the lever. They are able to secure it.

As they step through the disc and into the ruins, which takes about two hours to safely navigate through the hallway. Eventually they reach a fork with two paths. In between the paths is a metallic structure bound together by moss, thorns, and branches. It appears to be an encased, slumbering knight, a mix of machinery and nature. Akula approaches it and tries to wake it up. Suddenly, its visor begins to flicker and its eyes light up. Its armor begins to glow green and reanimate. It stands up and looks at Akula inquisitively. Akula communicates with the robot. It tells him that he is neither the warden nor the architects. It says they are not allowed further. Both paths are meant only for either the warden or the architects. Vidro asks what is stopping them from proceeding. It says if they proceed, they will be terminated instantly. Akula asks what a warden or architects are. The robot says the wardens are the protectors and the architects are the designers. It says it will scan them to determine their roles.

Vidro is a warden. Willem is a warden. Akula is an architect. Pravuil is an architect. Durgl is both. Durgl decides to follow the "warden" team. Vidro, Willem, and Durgl go down the warden path. Willem notices spectral power shooting from him as he sees phantom echo fighters walk alongside him. One of them tells him that this place is ancient, older than any of them. It tells him to be weary of the old as the old may wish to stop the new. They notice blue sigils adorning the ceiling with a distortion of light. They see what appears to be weakened teleportation circles. Further down the path is a great chamber before them with a portal entrance that looks it requires activation. As they continue, the path moves leftward and upward.

Meanwhile, the "architects" walk into an area which goes downward into what becomes stairs. Akula gets squished and they eventually come across a chamber. As they walk into the chamber, they notice six pillars that holds tall stone walls. They see fragments of soot and dust powder falling down slowly. They see what looks like four doors. Two doors lead to the left with a partially destroyed path. Two to the right have a green door and a gold door with sigils. They inspect the symbols. Pravuil notices that it is a sigl he recognized from the pantheon on the gold door. It belongs to a deity which is still being actively worshipped. Akula notices the green door matches the color of his own arm. They agree to split up, Pravuil to the gold door and Akula to the green door. Akula peeks at both of the leftmost doors which appear to be simply storage for armor and weapons. Pravuil and Akula grab 200 gold worth of equipment. They then proceed through their respective doors.

Featured characters

Player characters

• Akula
• Anradeem Pravuil
• Durgl
• Jué Zosteif
• Ryul Vidro
• Maren
• Willem