Quick facts
Campaign: The Wonders of Arlia (Campaign 1) · Where: West City, Parmesan Diego · Previous: C1 Chapter 06 · Next: C1 Chapter 08
King Piccolo was loose in West City. The party walked into his city, lost a Star Orb, lost Oolong for a moment, and met Bulma Briefs, who got them out just before Piccolo turned the city into a feast.
Piccolo is free
Sophie Ghiradelli, Obsidian, and the Cacklers set out for West City. On the way, Juliette tried to send a message to Meo, but he seemed to be in the middle of a difficult conversation and couldn’t talk. Oolong scried on him instead, and the party watched Emperor Pilaf unseal the jar holding King Piccolo’s soul before the vision cut out.
Into the city
Much of West City was already in ruins when the Rootbeer Float approached, and the ship came under fire from energy blasts. One of Piccolo’s minions flew up and demanded their Star Orb or their lives. They polymorphed it into a turtle and threw it overboard.
The party fought through more minions as they crept toward Pilaf’s castle. They snuck inside and up to the third floor, where a makeshift prison held Meo in one cell and his long-term partner, Mai, in another. Juliette tripped an alarm spell while picking a lock. After Meo told them how Piccolo had been released, Elyon took her revenge on the Thorned Rose. She threw a fireball bead from her necklace into his cell and burned him to death.
The party fought their way down to the courtyard, where Piccolo himself cut off their escape. He said he would let them go if they gave him the Star Orb he could sense on them.
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
Greene offered him one. Piccolo took it and swallowed it whole. Then he asked how many of his children the Cacklers had killed. Greene said one, and Piccolo demanded one of their lives in exchange. Sophie, Juliette, and Oolong all stepped forward, and Piccolo picked by playing eeny, meeny, miny, moe. It landed on Sophie.
When Sophie was knocked unconscious, Oolong couldn’t stand by. He healed her and polymorphed his owl to attack Piccolo. Piccolo laughed, said “Always go after the healer first,” and killed Oolong. Then he went back into the castle. The party dragged Oolong outside, and Greene brought him back to life.
The Deck and Capsule Corp
Down an orb and badly beaten, the party searched West City for contacts from Juliette’s thieving days. In an old hideout, Juliette and Oolong found a Deck of Many Things. Juliette drew a card, and her hair grew to her knees and turned bright pink instead of its usual red. Only a wish could change it back.
Juliette messaged an old contact, Reese, and learned he was still in town and working nearby, at Capsule Corp, “where science and technology converge in a dazzling display of innovation and wonder.” There they met Reese and the company’s CEO, Bulma Briefs, an inventor and obscenely rich.
Pilaf’s speech
Bulma told them Piccolo’s minions were dragging every citizen into the streets toward Pilaf’s castle for a grand speech. Bulma and the party watched from a nearby rooftop.
Pilaf insulted the crowd: “To the citizens of West City, I offer you no choice but to bow before me. Your loyalty is irrelevant, as your fate is sealed.” As he went on, Piccolo grew more and more irritated, until he yanked Pilaf into the air by the arm.
“What are you doing?!” Pilaf shouted.
“Ridding the world of your foolishness,” Piccolo answered. He unhinged his jaw and bit down on Pilaf’s skull. When the body went limp, he swallowed and shouted, “Well that was fun, it’s time to feast boys!” His children dropped on the crowd and started tearing people apart.
“Holy shit guys we gotta get out of here,” Bulma said. She pulled a capsule from her pocket. “You’ve got 6 seconds to decide if you’re coming.” She spiked it, leaving a glowing blue circle on the ground. Everyone jumped on, and they were teleported to her father’s lab in Parmesan Diego.
Parmesan Diego
The party rested and met Bulma’s father, Dr. Briefs. He was a member of the “What Has Science Done?” Institute, along with Dr. Gero, a mad scientist working for the Rose Ribbon Army. Gero had visited the institute while the party was there, trying to get Parmesan Diego to join The Calyx, the alliance of states the Rose Ribbon Army was building.
The party went with Bulma and Dr. Briefs to a State Hall on the coast where the army planned to sway public opinion toward the Calyx. Sophie and Greene spoke up and laid out the destruction the army had caused. Afterward, while they drove into town in one of Bulma’s vehicles, two androids ambushed them. They barely survived, and Bulma got them out through another capsule teleportation circle to North City.
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