Arc 5: Pulkra

Distress Beacon
The crew of the Vici are investigating a distress signal from the forest world Pulkra. Upon arriving at the small village Qimol, they discovered the town had been almost completely destroyed and burned, along with most of its Tabaxi inhabitants whose bodies lined the streets. Looking around at the destruction, they were able to reason out with the help of Sebastian's bird Frightful that the attack happened quickly and was deliberate in its execution, though there were no signs of the attackers. Inside Qimol's temple dedicated to Gundr, the god of nature, Felicity found several tabaxi laying dead on the floor that hadn't been burned or mutilated. Rose used the spell raise the dead to resurrect a female tabaxi, who informed them of a few children hiding in a cellar behind the temple's altar. The group was also able to find out from the children that some of the residents started to get sick about a week before the destruction happened. The tabaxi then began to convulse from strange black tendrils inside her body, killing her, and then taking the body as a host. The group managed to destroy the host, and quickly found out the city was now crawling with many of these zombie-like tabaxi. They managed to escape with some quick thinking, but on the way out Felicity saw three gnarled-looking humanoids with a large rock entity attacking the zombie-tabaxi. The group ended up saving the three tabaxi children (Jacira, 8; Tamal, 6; and Tatanka, 4).

Back on the Ship
After a quick pick-up from the Vici, the group decided to return to the village to see if they could talk with the beings that attacked the tabaxi hosts. They found no evidence of them in the village, save for the now-burned bodies of the hosts, and didn't find anything in the woods nearby either.

They returned to the ship and decided to head to the Akara tribe capital city Izamal. Findall hounded Kevin about whether they knew anything about a Covenant ship that landed in the same area of the planet, but he didn't know anything about it. Findall also bothered him about his father and upset him.

Felicity went to check on the children and found them in the med-bay playing with Finnea and Nelzol. Some tests from Dr. Enae revealed that the youngest tabaxi, Tatanka, was infected with the same thing that caused the tabaxi to turn zombie-like. She estimated Tatanka maybe had 5 or 6 days before he would suffer the same fate.

Findall then met with Dr. Enae as well. She informed him that his body was in perfect health, and there were no physical ailments or reasons to explain why he was suddenly connected with Cadmael. The only unusual thing about him was that he was radiating energy, which she tentatively concluded was from the energy he absorbed from the pyramid and used to interact with the ship's engine core. Dr. Enae assured him she would keep looking into it.

Kevin informed the group that the Tabaxi culture is very resistant and untrusting of outsiders and technology. They have a more primitive and druidic way of life, leaning on the planet for what they need. The tabaxi themselves have an innate connection to druidic magic, which they see as a form of holy magic gifted to their race. This also meant that they were also distrusting and suspicious of arcane magic. He also informed the group that he would be joining them when they went to Izamal.

Izamal
The ship landed outside the city of Izamal, located in a valley in the Black Mountain range which has the striking feature of a black belt of stone present in every cliff and open rock-face. The three-tiered city sat atop a hill of this same dark stone. A small group of houses and an inn lied outside the city walls, which the group passed through to the city gates. They were met with a small group of warriors and a grey-and-white tabaxi, Peacemaker Ugai. The Peacemaker explained they weren't taking visitors in the capital because of recent events, but the group managed to talk him into letting them in with the help of the three tabaxi children they saved.

They were led through the city, under strict orders to not talk or touch anything or anyone. They passed houses and shops, and a large 30-foot barren tree in the middle of the city. After a few minutes of walking, they were led up a staircase in the rock to a large pool of water, where Peacemaker Ugai created a bridge for them. Ahead of them was what he called Blackstone Keep, the city's seat of power, and where they would meet the Chieftain of the Akara tribe.

Vetrnott
Inside Blackstone keep, the group met with Princess Niviarsiak of the Akara tribe, who wanted to go by Niv, and discussed the slaughter that happened at Qimol. Izamal had just received word of what happened, and already had begun planning what their contingency plan would be in the city. The group learned that the sick were being housed outside the city in a little inn, and that the Queen was also infected with whatever is plaguing the planet. Everyone was invited to the harvest festival, Vetrnott, but Kevin stayed behind with Peacemaker Ugai and Niv to discuss plans.

The group then ventured out into the city to find the tabaxi children's grandmother and look around. There was a bittersweet reunion with the grandmother, and Findall stayed behind to catch up on the latest info about the city that the grandmother seemed to know about. Some of the group also went to visit the Temple of Gundr, and met with some of the shaman to talk about how they are caring for the sick outside the city. They were told to find the new Elder Shaman Achakanahimana somewhere in the city.

Everyone met back up and went to the inn outside the city, called the Steam Springs Inn. There were about 20 or so sick citizens being looked after by the two tabaxi that owned the inn, Redfoot the owner and Irista. They were very concerned to hear about the sick tabaxi turning in Qimol, but decided that they still needed to help the sick despite what happened. Staying at the inn was the most recent elder, but he was unable to speak or hold any kind of conversation with the group.

Back inside the city, everyone participated in carnival games and food, trying to take the night off from a relatively traumatizing day. After winning and losing a few games of skill and chance, the group went to go get their fortunes told by the Elder Shaman. She claimed to be speaking for Gundr, the god of nature. After a series of somewhat scathing fortunes, both Felicity and Sebastian were a little shook up from what they heard.

Denial and Defiance
The Elder Shaman then led them to a backway into the keep, and they ended up in the sick room of the Queen where Niv and Ugai were discussing what to do about the whole situation. The group barged in and demanded to be included in the conversation. They took Niv's side, saying that if there was a possible solution at the Great Eskah then they should all go. Peacemaker Ugai said that he didn't want to risk Niv's life as the next-in-line for the throne on some hunch, despite the traditions of the next ruler undertaking the Pilgrimage before being crowned. This disagreement was cut short when the group left without any real resolution. The group left Niv with one of their communicators so they could stay in touch. As they exit the keep, they find that an Alliance ship had launched an escape pod towards the city.

Inside the escape pod was Belinda, the ex-Covenant, blind dwarf, who was sent by the Alliance to help stave off the plague. Her connection to the soul thread of magic helped her prolong the inevitable turning of the sick. Though Peacemaker Ugai was upset that his city was being flooded with outsiders, he agreed to let Belinda set up shop in the Black Temple, a temple dedicated to the different threads of magic. They would bring in the sick, one by one, for Belinda to stabilize.

As they were setting up for Belinda, Kevin and Captain Noora got into a disagreement. Kevin, after talking with Niv and Ugai, felt the crew needed to stay and help figure out what was happening here. Noora, saying that she already lost one crew and wasn't about to risk another, felt that they were ill-equipped to try and fight a plague. She and the crew were already in trouble for disobeying orders and coming to Pulkra in the first place, and she felt that considering the circumstances, they should let people who have a firmer grasp take their place while they continue their mission. Noora put her foot down as the Captain, breaking from her genuinely friendly demeanor, and commanded that everyone be ready to leave the next day and go back to homebase.

This fight continued as the group went back to the ship with Niv, to try and explain why they should stay and possibly steal the ship. Noora remained unconvinced, saying that she was genuinely sorry that they couldn't help Niv's people. The fight escalated, ending with Niv starting out on the journey and Felicity saying that Noora was unfit to be captain. The group joined Niv, and as they were leaving were also joined by both River and Finnea.

To Ravenswatch
The next morning, the group awakes after a rough night's sleep. Niv explains that it'll take most of the day or so to get to Ravenswatch on foot, and then an additional 5 or 6 days to get to the Great Eskah from there. She's never travelled far outside of the city, but she's studied maps of the area in preparation for the Pilgrimage. The group then continues the journey to Ravenswatch, following the road out of the mountains and into the foothills.

Refugees and New Faces
In the foothills, the group stumbled upon a refugee camp run by a tabaxi named Acha. He explained that the camp was initially supposed to be small to stay away from the cities and villages that seemed to be the target of the fires and were basically ticking time-bombs. As word spread, the camp began to grow to about 80 or so tabaxi but he said he tries to keep everyone busy and calm while they wait out whatever is happening with the plague. During their talk back in his tent, Findall and Rose noticed that Acha had been drawing some of the residents of the camp with X's over their eyes. They planned on coming back and looking while Finnea and River get him out of the tent and keep him distracted.

As talk of some newcomers spread across the camp, the plucky teenage tabaxi Losand grabbed her older jalek friend Drelgo and went to go find them. At the same time, the Vici group were also searching for Losand and Drelgo, being super wary that a jalek was here in the camp with a possible Covenant presence. Eventually they found each other, and a tense standoff happened between the two groups as Drelgo and Rose tried to calm everyone's nerves. Drelgo and Losand explained they were here to look for Losand's parents, who were from a nearby village and possibly here in the refugee camp. Her parents weren't here, but they decided to join the Vici group as they travelled north towards Ravenswatch and the Great Eskah.

As Drelgo and Losand went to pack up their tent, the rest of the group went to go look around Acha's tent. They successfully snuck in, finding some empty vials and seeing that most of the refugees were drawn in similar sketches with X's over their eyes. Findall pocketed two of the vials before they were told to get out when Acha was coming back. They regrouped with Drelgo and Losand, and decided that even though it was late in the day, it was probably safer to keep going to Ravenswatch and stay in a smaller, isolated group from the camp.

Getting to Ravenswatch
As the sun began to set, everyone came upon a ruined town and a desolate plain of land stretching off to the east. Niv explained that years ago, an energy company called Shellvron started harvesting trees to see if they could pull the magic out of them. By the time the tabaxi Chieftains decided to act, it was too late. The area had already been scarred and the damage was irreversible. When the dust settled, the local Trinzi were also gone, and that was the last time that the Trinzi were heard from.

As the group moved through the hills, Sebastian informed Findall that they were being followed by something in the tall grass around them, saying that he counted at least two distinct figures. Findall tried a few ways to see if he could trap the things into being spotted, but was unable. The group decided that since it was already dark, it would be better to move stealthily and slowly the rest of the way to Ravenswatch. They arrived around midnight, and found that there were still a number of occupants still up and working. Ravenswatch consisted of a large house and eight smaller cabins around a garden and a large firepit. A younger tabaxi named Awinita greeted them, and Niv introduced her as her old friend from when they were growing up. The two then ran off to catch up as another tiger-like tabaxi named Donoma came and introduced herself. Donoma welcomed them to Ravenswatch, saying that since it was so late and they all seemed so tired that she would show them all to unoccupied cabins and get them set up for the night. They could all get acquainted in the morning after everyone had a good night's rest.

Late Night Attack
Before everyone went to sleep, Rose found Felicity dealing with someone in the dark and looking over the black book. When Rose confronted her, Felicity brushed it off and said it was nothing. Drelgo had a dream about his accident on Tethys, where he ended up in a dark space in front of an archway. A loud crash and screaming woke everybody up late at night, and the group found one of the pilgrims being torn apart by infected-tabaxi that they recognized to be from the refugee camp. They managed to defeat the infected-tabaxi and keep everybody else safe, deciding to leave early in the morning after Niv receives the Blessing from Myara, the eldest Resident of Ravenswatch.

Journey to the Great Eskah
In the morning, most everyone gathered by the river next to Ravenswatch as Niv received the Blessing for her Pilgrimage, which is a traditional ceremony to signify the beginning of the Pilgrimage. Drelgo recognized that the language used in the ritual was a mix of a strange gutteral language and Jal, the language of the Jalek.

Both River and Finnea decided to stay behind and protect Ravenswatch while the rest of the group started the journey to the first temple on the Pilgrimage: the Earth Temple. Losand thought it would be better to go to the Earth Temple to see if anything was to be gained from it, and if not they would head straight for the Great Eskah through the forest and save themselves a few days of travel.

On the way to the Earth Temple, they came across a roadside shrine to Gundr, the god of nature. It had been desecrated, and creatures called Grove Guardians trapped them in a ring of trees. They managed to fix the shrine, appease the Grove Guardians, and get back on the road.

Inside the Veil
About halfway to the Earth Temple, the group came across the shimmering energy field they originally saw while landing on the planet. It moved like a liquid, and reacted to both Niv, Sebastian, and Drelgo, opening up and forming an entrance through the energy field. Findall walked through, taking a lot of damage, with the energy field remaining intact as he moved through it. Rose was able to see the auras of Drelgo and Findall on the opposite side of the energy field, much like back in the caves outside of the dwarven city Hargo back on Erathis when Belinda showed her this ability. Drelgo and Sebastian opened a gap in the Veil to let everyone through, but the Veil attempted to close around Felicity, seemingly trying to bar her from entering.

The Earth Temple
After a few road bumps and pathfinding getting there, the group gets to the first of four temples on the Pilgrimage: Earth Temple, which deals with the concept of strength. The entrance was blocked by a large multi-ton stone, but after a few minutes of concentrating Drelgo was able to use one of his abilities to render it almost weightless and tosses it into the air.

Once inside, they enter a large circular chamber dotted with huge pieces of rock, a raised prayer ring on a dais, and a stone altar at the back of the room. After trying a few things to see if there was a puzzle, Niv prayed inside the circle, reciting the prayer of protection depicted on the prayer ring and activating something in the temple. This caused a Stone Titan and two Earth Elementals to form and attack the group, nearly killing Niv before they were defeated.

After the fight, an arcane lock appeared on the stone altar. The group spend some time trying to figure it out, discovering it was an arcane lock that wasn't locking the altar itself, but locking a space. Felicity tried dispell magic and Rose tried remove curse but neither worked to remove or affect the lock. Drelgo tried to push on the stone of the altar and it opened up, like the stone molded around his hand, and he was able to grab a crystal orb out of the altar. The orb was filled with swirling earth inside, and the group gave it to Niv.

The Air Temple
After resting for the night just inside the entrance to the temple, the group sets out to continue on the path to the next temple: the Air Temple. The forest gives way to swampland, and travel gets a little more wet and yucky. Through a series of successes and failures, the group comes across a blackened tree in the swamp that Rose discovered was radiating a divine energy. It was dead, but the natural chemicals of the swamp had preserved it and kept it up. After fighting some undead, the group moved on and made it to the Air Temple.

The Air Temple, situated on a cliff, is an open air platform surrounded by pillars that depict swirling wind. Before the group actually reached the temple, Findall and Sebastian approached three gnarled-looking tree people wandering in the space between the temple and the treeline, and were attacked. After a tough fight, the group discovered these were not Trinzi, the tree people native to this planet, but something different and corrupt. Looking at the bodies revealed they were grown out of a black tree limb that formed the spine of the creature. They collected one of the black tree limbs, and the amber eyes of the creatures.

Now inside the pillars of the temple, they group struggled to figure out what exactly they're supposed to do here. The ground of the temple had an intricately carved tree, with eight circles in the branches and eight circles in the root system. They discovered by creating wind inside the circles, they could start to hear a humming sound. Losand also used detect magic to find that the circles all had a residual conjuration magic that was primed when wind was created inside the circles. Niv used commune with nature to figure out that the area had an aura of the elemental plane affecting it, and the group figured out that they had to somehow get to the ethereal plane.