After exploring the floating markets of Truong Giang, the party meets with the Tigers again as previously arranged.
Characters Interacted With
Mei: Accompanied the party and aided them in battle. Revealed that she had made a Binding Vow to heal Donovan when he was in the hospital, linking their souls.
Instrument Store Clerk/Alex: Sold a lute to Fanna. Shoutout to Alex from the Technology Support Center.
Jewelry Shopkeeper: Asked by the party for information on the Maiden’s Bell. Sold a Rhododendron necklace to Amanti.
Old Man: Asked by the party for information on the Maiden’s Bell. Scolded the party instead.
Flower Shopkeeper: Revealed that someone in the Tigers of Nam was sick, motivating them to hoard Maiden’s Bells. Sold the party some orchids.
Thien’s Mother (Linh): Hosted the party in Truong Giang.
Thien’s Father (Minh): Hosted the party in Truong Giang.
Tigers of Nam Grunts: Brought Fanna to meet the captain and attacked them on his orders. Got beaten.
Tigers of Nam Captain (“The Big Boss”): Talked with Fanna briefly as he inspected the plant construct parts, before stealing the bag of holding and disappearing.
Sickly Child: Present at the fight with the Tigers of Nam. Captured by the party. Coughed up blood on Brooks.
Other Characters Mentioned: Soup, Unnamed Leferinese Guards, Lauran, Donovan
Locations
- Truong Giang (Changjiang)
- Thien’s House
- Truong Giang Floating Market
- Secret Docks
Session Overview
The party woke up after a long rest. While getting ready, they discovered that Thien had left in the middle of the night, only leaving a note saying that he was going to “investigate” things. They also noticed Mei was holding her right arm, which looked grey and ashy, with several scabs starting to form on its skin. When they asked if she was okay, she assured them she was fine, and bandaged up her arm. After a moment of thought, however, she asked Fanna what this “Lauran” person they mentioned looked like. Fanna asked if he had visited Mei in her dreams, and she said yes. Fanna told her to ignore him, as he didn’t actually know anything. Finally, Amanti also woke up and discovered a special item that Michael had put in his bag before the party left for Nam: “Hotwheels”, a special pair of shoes that gave him increased movement and initiative.
The party went downstairs and had breakfast. After some discussion on what to do, they decided to go shopping for a lute for Fanna, and ask around to see if anyone knew how to obtain a Maiden’s Bell. After an anecdote from Thien’s mom about a sweet hole-in-the-wall instrument store with a frog statue at the front, the party set off.
They first stopped at an instrument store to buy a lute for Fanna. After interacting with the very exhausted minimum wage worker inside, Fanna successfully acquired their loot. Then, the party set off to ask about the Maiden’s Bell. Within the floating markets of Truong Giang, the first person they interacted with was a Lizardfolk woman that sold flower jewelry and pet insects. She stated that it was incredibly rare, and only grew in wet areas like marshes. But because the Tigers of Nam had been hoarding them recently, they were basically impossible to find now. Seeing as she only collected plants as a hobby and not to study, she mentioned she had a friend who might have a better answer, but she still wasn’t confident. Fanna asked if the Lizardfolk woman knew any mages that could cast Locate Object for the party, and she pointed them downriver.
Downriver, the party came across an elderly man. Unfortunately, he became angry when the “mundane object” Fanna requested he find was a Maiden’s Bell, and assumed the party was pranking him. He even chewed out Amanti, saying that he should have “raised his kids better.” The old man said too how the Tigers of Nam were hoarding the flowers, and seeing as he wouldn’t be much help either, the party moved on.
Debating on where to go next, the party noticed Mei looking at her bandaged arm and quickly casting a healing spell to help with it. Concerned, they offered to take her to a healer while they were out, but Mei declined, cryptically saying that she didn’t think it would be something a healer would be able to help with. Upon questioning by the party, she finally broke down and told them her secret: Several months ago, when Donovan was in the hospital, she had made a Binding Vow with a passing powerful Spirit to heal Donovan. Ever since, both their souls were linked, and her soul was currently being sapped to try and heal Donovan as he was dying. She lamented how if she were to be in that situation again, she wasn’t sure if she’d make the same decision, as the Binding Vow has severely impacted her life since, including her standing in The Atracidae. The revelation motivated the party even more to find the Maiden’s Bell, so they could heal both Donovan and Mei, and they assured Mei that they’d find the rare flower for both their sakes’ as they cared about them both.
The party went back the Lizardfolk woman, inquiring about the friend they mentioned. She pointed them toward a boat closer to the sidewalk. Before they left, Amanti purchased a Rhododendron necklace for his wife Louisa. At the boat the Lizardfolk woman pointed them too, was a horticulturalist Halfling woman selling flowers. She gave similar answers to the previous business-owners, that the Maiden’s Bells were incredibly difficult to find and the Tigers of Nam were hoarding them. When asked if she knew why they were hoarding them, she hesitated before denying that she did. After some pressing, she agreed to go elsewhere to speak to the party privately. Brooks offered to watch her boat in the meantime.
Away from prying ears and eyes, the Halfling mentioned that she heard that someone in the Tigers of Nam was very sick, and that’s why the Tigers were hoarding Maiden’s Bells. She didn’t know any further details, and very nervous about being caught for leaking this information. Still, the party was thankful, and lead her back to her boat. There, Brooks was dealing with a very difficult customer, and was incredibly relieved to give the woman’s shop back to her. Before the party left, they decided to buy some orchids for Thien’s parents, as thanks for sheltering them in Nam.
Returning to Thien’s house, they knocked on the door, and his father answered the door. Fanna explained how the party wanted to express their gratitude for housing them for free, before showing Thien’s father the orchids. He was delighted, happy that his son had found such nice friends and excited for when his wife would come home and see them.
Evening soon rolled around. Thien’s mother returned a short while later and prepared dinner for everyone. Once finished, the party made preparations to meet the Tigers: Brooks would watch from a hidden position, while Amanti and Mei would watch as Fanna met with the Tigers. Once 9pm came, the Tigers arrived as promised. After making Fanna show proof once again of the bag of holding and plant constructs hidden inside, they asked Fanna to hand over their weapons. Fanna obliged. Then, the Tigers informed Fanna that for the sake of secrecy, they’d have to be blindfolded and have ear plugs put in as they guided them to the meeting spot. Fanna also agreed to this. Once this was done the Tigers and Fanna set off, with the rest of the party and Mei following.
After about half an hour of walking through the Truong Giang countryside and forests, everyone arrived at an empty set of small docks. The party hid as the Tigers brought Fanna to the captain, removing the blindfolds and ear plugs. Accompanied by the captain was someone in full Leferinese armor, and a small child about 10 year-old. The captain asked for the bag of holding, wherein he reached inside, inspected the pieces, and consulted with the Leferinese guard about the quality of the materials. They concluded it was worth their time to take the pieces, and so the captain signaled to his grunts to dispose of Fanna.
The captain told the kid to run, and that they’d meet back at base, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. The other party members and Mei soon joined the battle. The Tigers and the Leferinese Guard mostly focused on Fanna, and soon another individual decked out in Leferinese armor and weaponry joined in.
As Fanna and their assailants traded blows, the kid from before attempted to run past them. However, the kid was included as a target when Fanna cast slow, hindering their attempts to flee. Frustrated, Mei resolved to use a powerful attack—Steel Wind Strike. One by one, she teleported to five of the combatants and struck them with her rapier, dealing heavy damage and even killing one of the grunts. Brooks then flew down and tied up the kid in the distraction. One of the Leferinese Guards, heavily injured by Mei’s attack, fled, and the two Tigers of Nam grunts that were still alive begged for mercy. Fanna finished off the Leferinese Guard by transforming into a shark and biting them in half, spitting out the armor and rifle.
With the kid and two grunts out of the fight, the party started interrogating them. The kid began screaming and crying in protest, before breaking into a coughing fit and spitting up blood. After a cursory investigation, Amanti and Fanna noticed that the kid was sick, but he also had an unusually strong Spirit which seemed to not be meshing well with his body. His Spirit not fitting well with his body, along with pre-existing conditions that were probably already present in the body, were interacting and causing the sickness. Fanna transformed back into their default form, causing the kid and the grunt to both freak out. They recognized Fanna’s current form as their Echo, whom had been terrorizing Nam and the Tigers especially for a while. The kid in particular demanded that Fanna give him back his necklace, which was silver with a small koi charm. Despite Fanna’s insistence that the aggressor the Tigers were familiar with was their evil doppelganger, neither the kid nor the grunt believed them.
The two grunts’ usefulness mostly over, the party decided to drop them off in front of a local police station. Before preparing to leave, the party fished out the rifle that the Leferinese guard that the captain talked to had used. It was characteristically Leferinese, being able to be loaded with advanced ammunition and seeming to have the mechanics to discharge electricity, but was damaged by Fanna’s shark attack and the water. Amanti then noticed that the seafoam green acid that the other Leferinese guard had launched during the battle, which missed Fanna but had leaned nearby, smelled distinctly of Pourronium. Thinking over this uneasy revelation, and with the party debating on what to do with the kid, who was a useful asset, the session ended.
Key Learnings
- Someone in the Tigers of Nam was very sick, motivating them to hoard Maiden’s Bells
- Mei had made a Binding Vow with a powerful Spirit to heal Donovan when he was in the hospital, linking their souls. The Binding Vow was causing Mei’s Spirit to be sapped in an attempt to heal Donovan.
- Fanna’s Echo stole the sickly child’s Koi necklace, along with fighting, and killing a few of, the Tigers of Nam
Items Of Importance
- Hotwheels
- Rhododendron Necklace
- Orchids
- Fanna’s Bag of Holding (Stolen)
- Damaged Leferinese Rifle
- Koi Necklace (mentioned)