Parent Quest: Save the Last (Coiling) Dance
Character: Earlshaw/Earlshack
Date: 10/01/2026
Completed
Loose Threads: We managed to stop Yssrix's ritual on the northern side of the island, but his next steps are currently unknown.
Participants: Adaya, Abraham Dovameg, Earlshack (Me), Tiamara
Locations:
Short Summary: The four of us managed to track down the serpentfolk and stopped the ritual short. There is still
Full Report:
We all gathered in First Landing, and managed to make out five possible locations for the ritual to take place at: The Everbirth Forest, the Northern Woods, North of the Halfling Churh, Northwest of the Tomb of the Oracles, and Northwest of the City of Srasthadra. We took time to gather information at some of the local taverns, like The Nail in the Toe, The Goblin Belly and Hare and Dog. Adaya and I stepped inside The Goblin Belly, while Abraham and Tiamara spoke to some of the beggars we encountered. offering food from the Hare and Dog. We eventually talked to an odd looking elf, with an odd herb in his drink. May have been poisonous or hallucinogenic, but I'm no one to judge their drinking habits. We unfortunately didn't get tons of info, weird place that tavern is. A couple hours later, regrouped and better prepared, we hopped onto the next ship out of town and started out trip north. We landed around the Saqqaran Observatory to mark down the Everbirth Forest, then move east across the island. With my *impeccable* tracking skills, we made our way through the forest, with the aid of my companion's nose to track down any sign of the serpents' smell. Sadly, although the location is dripping with magical energies, we find no signs of the Serpentfolk. Before leaving, we are attacked by a couple of wild animals that we quickly dispatch off.
Our next destination was the Northern Woods past the Saqqaran Observatory. This time, the serpentfolk's presence was quite obvious—chunks cut out of trees with too much precision to be a local beast, with markings of mechanical saws. Following the trail, we found ourselves face to face against a group of serpentfolk apparently on watch duty for travellers. The situation immediately turned hostile, as their archers shot volley after volley of arrows at our group, while their biggest, meanest brute landed hard blows against most of us. Tough guy was apparently 'emboldened by the local leylines', according to Abraham at least, which made him far stronger that it really should be. Watch out for that if something similar happens again. Anyways, where was I?— Oh right, the fight. It was hard-fought, thanks to everyone's efforts, once the brute was introduced to the ground with a hard-earned kiss.
Finally, we reached the ritual site, a wooden structure poked out of the canopy, as well as a clearing cut down into a large circular area as a sort of 'stage'. The creature they had resting on one of the podiums... was as if they had sown a fey's head onto a large snake. Morbid. Many of their guards and patrols were little more than illusions meant to dissuade any attackers, which I made sure to keep track of to find the perfect moment of attack. Then, while I did so, Adaya leaned down and began speaking in a tongue I did not grasp, yet her voice was quite mournful. Then I felt this powerful rippling, as if the forest itself took a deep breath powerful enough to shakes us all. We all stood there for a brief moment, feeling the pull between Adaya and something else, as we backed her up with our presence.
Finally, it all stops... the sounds of nature that I'm familiar with, the world itself froze for a minute as this pull moved through the forest soil and through to the altar. Most of the drones walking around stumbled around, as if breaking from a weird dream, before running away in utter fear. The ground itself torn open, as the stone shattered with unbearable heat, the Naga's corpse tumbling down as this yelling began piercing through the forest canopy. The ritual was disrupted.
Yssrix's plan was foiled, at least for now.
Excertp from Abraham, regarding the party's split before departing:
1. 'We decided to stay the night in First Landing Port before taking the trip around the island to gather some information. I reasoned that the serpentfolk have been troublesome enough lately that it was worth the time to collect intel. Earl and Adaya went to one of the bars, so I lent them my talking hammer Sadalsuud (mostly so that he wouldn't complain about missing out on a bar he hadn't been to before). Tiamara went with me as I indulged a wild hare of an idea. There was a larger number of homeless individuals around the port than I'd anticipated, and the sight bothered me. I decided to try and feed some of the folk in need and look for info by asking them. Admittedly, I got the order of operations wrong. Before I knew it, we had a small entourage of people following us to one of the only open restaurants, the Hare and the Dog. I underestimated the average clientele of the place. The workers inside were rather unhappy to see half a dozen people off the street. To their credit, they did serve us, though they sequestered us at a table in their storage room. It took some convincing, but we had a fine dinner after a few of the beggars set aside their arguments for the night.'
2. 'After dinner, one of our new friends did have some very helpful information, though that's not why I'm making note of my ill-planned evening. While we were seated, Tia noted a few oddities that I had missed. A lot of the Hare and the Dog's storage seemed to be recently imported and rather expensive goods, and the table we were seated at didn't take any extra effort for them to set up in the back room. A few of the beggars pocketed silverware, which I'm miffed about, but I wasn't going to make a big deal about it. However, the waitress did slip a note to one of them when she thought Tia wasn't looking. Lastly, there seemed to be some kind of mental manipulation on the staff. A minor emotional upper of some kind; enough to make me wary about any stronger manipulation when Tia mentioned it later on. Overall, the Hare and the Dog seemed to have something shady going on besides its upper-crust dining. It might be to the guild's benefit to root out any wrongdoing in First Landing's port.'
