Quick facts
Campaign: The Wonders of Arlia (Campaign 1) · Where: Ranchinian Peninsula, Tabasco Forest, Korrin’s Tower, Kami’s Lookout, Buttermilk · Previous: C1 Chapter 04 · Next: C1 Chapter 06
At the tip of the Ranchinian Peninsula the party split in two. Greene and Elyon went inland to train with Master Korrin and Kami. Juliette, Oolong, and Terra Misu went under the sea at Buttermilk and came back with the fourth orb, though the Rose Ribbon Army made Terra pay for it.
Korrin’s Tower and Kami’s Lookout
After fighting young dragons and hydras on the way, the party reached the tip of the Peninsula. Greene and Elyon headed inland toward the forests of Tabasco to find Korrin’s Tower. Elyon wanted to train with Master Korrin. Greene wanted to learn about Kami, the guardian of Arlia.
A rabbitfolk guide helped them through the forest. When they reached the tower an adult black dragon ambushed them. They killed it, but lost their companion in the process. Then came a hard three-day climb up the tower.
At the top, Elyon trained with Korrin. Greene went further up to Kami’s Lookout, where he trained with Kami and Mr. Popo inside the Room of Spirit and Time, where one day in Arlia is a year inside the room. Greene lasted almost two months of room time.
Kami told Greene his history. He had once been a nameless being from another realm who wanted to become Guardian of Arlia, but was told he had too much darkness in his heart. To fix that, he split himself in two. The good half became Kami. The evil half became King Piccolo. Their souls are tethered, so if one dies, so does the other. Kami confirmed that Turtle Island was gone, though he could not find the vase holding Piccolo. He also explained the rules of his Star Orbs and of Shenlong.
Korrin gave Elyon and her friends permission to enter the Collector’s tournament as his pupils. He warned her that The Collector was more ruthless and powerful than he let on, and told her he was the Collector’s half-brother.
Buttermilk Under the Sea
Meanwhile Terra Misu Umber, Oolong, and Juliette sailed down the coast until bad weather hit. They sent Captain Barqs to take the ship somewhere safe and said they would call when they needed pickup.
The three walked into Buttermilk, a town partly sunk into the sea during some past conflict. In a nearly empty tavern, a water genasi named Cascade overheard them and introduced himself. His people in Buttermilk Under the Sea, just off the coast, were being attacked. The trio agreed to help.
Cascade gave them water breathing and took them down. The attackers were the Rose Ribbon Army, searching for the Star Orb. After a fight at a temple, Cascade was called back to help evacuate the residential districts. He left them two senzu beans before he went.
The trio worked south toward the original temple from old Buttermilk. Crossing the seaweed farms, they watched a giant battleship sink past them into the depths, spells sparking off it. A mermaid came up and offered them another route in. In exchange, Juliette promised to take a crystal apple to the mermaid’s sister off the coast of Toasty. The mermaid led them to a gap in the temple wall, which dropped them into a rushing river and a fight with a water elemental. Terra ate the second senzu bean afterward.
Grand Admiral Blue
In an open cavern, a small Rose Ribbon force was rowing from the battleship to a landing where the orb waited. Four water genasi burst up from the water and attacked the ship’s crew. Grand Admiral Blue made a run for the orb and got there first. He held it up to admire it for one second, and Oolong, shaped as an eagle, dove down and stole it right out of his hand.
Blue brought Oolong down with a knife of ice. Oolong put the orb in his mouth, dropped off the platform, became a giant shark in midair, and swam for it. A large sea creature knocked him out of shark form and charmed him for a while, but he broke free with the orb still in his beak. The rest of the force beat Blue badly before he teleported away.
The trio and the genasi then fought the remaining sea creature and an aboleth. They won, barely, and all of their genasi allies died.
Heading back through the caves, they tried to rest in the tunnels. Blue ambushed them. Juliette and Terra were both knocked out, and Oolong was nearly finished when they finally killed Blue. Out of spells and supplies, Oolong searched Blue’s body and found an empty healing potion bottle. He tipped the last few drops into Terra’s mouth, and she pulled through.
That night Juliette dreamed of The Trickster. Oolong dreamed of falling through the sky and meeting golden birds. Terra dreamed of the worst day of her life.
The price of desertion
The trio made it back to shore and contacted the Rootbeer Float, which told them to meet at the border of the Peninsula and Tabasco. While they waited, they looked down on docks full of Rose Ribbon ships. Someone hailed them over a sending stone they had taken from Blue. It was the newly appointed Grand Admiral Aqua, who brought the surviving members of the Umber Squad onto the deck of a ship and beheaded them where Terra could watch.
The Rootbeer Float swept down and pulled the trio off the cliffs. Kami and Korrin magically sent Greene and Elyon back to the ship, and the reunited party headed for North City with four Star Orbs.
Previous: Chapter 4: The Silent Vaults · Next: Chapter 6: The Greatest Below the Heavens