Roleplaying table top games make for great stories! The Envoys of Spark is a Dungeons and Dragons campaign created by Elyse T. Join hilarious and entertaining player characters on their voyage in an unknown world, as they try to accomplish an enigmatic mission.
The Envoys of Spark Chronicles are published every Monday! Check back for new adventures!
Check Out Part I of The Envoys of Spark
Check Out Part II of The Envoys of Spark
Check Out Part III of The Envoys of Spark
Check Out Part IV of The Envoys of Spark
Used Items
Aboard the Waveweaver, Virgil the fire sorcerer who could, unfortunately not, drink lava, decided to go find his companions. His burnt tongue had somewhat healed, and he was curious to see Miapolafa Trading Post. He lowered one of the ship’s boats and rowed to shore.
Meanwhile, in the mangrove forest, on the path to Miapolafa Shrine, Beatrice, Medea, Regor III and Kohmai rested momentarily after a very difficult battle. The Hynerian suggested a thorough search of the many corpses surrounding them, some bandits, and some the unlucky victims of bandits. Digging for pockets through bloody and disgusting dead bodies, they uncovered a few items of value, among which, a small ritual book that Medea could possibly learn from and use.
Kohmai was a bit dumbfounded by this activity and snuck away instead, exploring a beaten path on the eastern side, forking north.
Virgil, after inquiring about his friends at the trading post, managed to join them just as they noticed Kohmai’s disappearance and attempted to find him. Beatrice skillfully crept through the foliage and detected his heavy footprints. She left behind the three others, who were discussing loudly. Medea was trying to let Virgil know what he had missed, while Regor III ordered them repeatedly to return to the campsite and help him keep looting bodies.
The Pincer Maneuver!
The hobbit spotted Kohmai near a ravine, crouched into bushes. He signed to her to look further west, where another handful of bandits seemed to be guarding a cart full of belongings.
Regor III, after making sure to have completely robbed the dead, followed a set of footprints along the road, on the western side, forking north. He ignored Virgil and Medea yelling at him come back. They wanted to follow Kohmai and Beatrice through the trees instead.
Medea was shouting, “What should we do? We’re all going in different directions, we have no idea what’s going on! We’re going to die!”
Some of the bandits heard the careless envoys on the road below and started to advance through the trees. Using this as a distraction, Beatrice and Kohmai advanced carefully towards the cart. Unnoticed, the hobbit untied the horse, and used the Etching of Wilderness, to speak to it, she asked it to help, runaway, and return once the sound of fighting had ceased.
The horse leaped away and sought vengeance, running directly towards two unaware bandits and knocking them down.
At this precise moment, Regor III unsuspectingly turned the fork in the road, appearing in plain view of the now very angry enemies. They drew their weapons.
Virgil and Medea could not properly find Beatrice’s and Kohmai’s tracks in the dark and somewhat lost their way. They, by chance came upon two bandits, and attacked.
Somehow, the group had managed, without intending it, to surround their foes and successfully surprise them. It felt satisfying to turn the bandit’s tactic against them.
Finally, Some Answers
After the battle, they took a last surviving bandit, who was badly wounded, as prisoner and interrogated him. Coincidences had to be answered for. LizardFolk and pilgrims had been robbed and murdered in these woods. Somehow, the Miapolafa Trading Post owner, now a man called Tel Manian, knew nothing of bandits lurking so close to his home. Blame for luring newcomers to the woods was instead thrown at two lighthouse keepers who had been hired recently by another man, Geomo Lif, who was nowhere to be seen. The Lighthouse keepers swore they also knew nothing of bandits lurking near Miapolafa Shrine and genuinely venerated the goddess of financial ventures, the ultimate lure for the ill-intentioned.
After some impressing demonstrations of strength by Kohmai, the prisoner finally spoke:
“All right! We were told to wait for pilgrims by Tel Manian, we give him a cut so long as he tells people to come to the forest!”
That sounded about right. They would confront Manian later. The group decided to follow the road up to Miapolafa Shrine first, after Beatrice’s new friend, the horse, returned. The envoys knew that many of the objects and money they had found were intended originally as offerings to the goddess, at least some of it should be left there. Bringing the horse and cart up the road and across a small rickety bridge, with their captured bandit, was not easy, but the group managed to pass on without any disasters, for once.
The Goddess of Investments
Miapolafa Shrine was a small circular white-stoned ruin tucked among the trees. Upon closer study, Medea the Wizard of the First Order, discovered that it was once a bell tower, and built thousands of years ago. The Miapolafa statue in the circular alcove was much younger.
The goddess was placed in front of an empty stone altar, where Beatrice assumed offerings should be left. The group discussed leaving half of the money they found, or perhaps 30%, no just one coin, perhaps all of it?
Regor III suggested that a few Solems, the currency of this new world, be added gradually to the altar until the goddess seemed satisfied. Feeling a bit cheap, the rest of the group agreed that it was the most logical method if they meant to keep some of the treasure they had gained from defeating the bandits.
It took 36 Solems before a pressure plate beneath the altar lowered, unlocking a mechanism that opened a trap door in the stone floor. A ladder led down into deep, dark depths.
