The Characters
Ted, bugbear ranger, played by Heather
Xastra, githyanki warlock, played by me
The Scorpion is Seized!
The night after saving the people of Rumble City, Xastra dreamed that one of the lizard creatures was at her window, desperately trying to get in. It hissed, showing its teeth before fleeing down the wall. She then noticed that the shadow on the floor was unusually deep. The shadow began to speak; its voice was in her mind, saying, "Take the white opal from the black pyramid. The scorpion is the key!"
In the morning, Ted and Xastra were asked to gain access to the wizard's compound so that a distress signal could be sent to the giff for reinforcements. On the way to the wizard's home, Ted was pleased to see that the grateful townfolk were engaged in constructing a statue in his honor. Unfortunately, the pair discovered that the compound was sealed off by a stone hatch that, when tampered with, manifested a magic mouth that presented a riddle.
Now, neither Ted nor Xastra are the brightest bulbs, so their attempts to solve the riddle resulted in a man of stone emerging from the hatch to murder them. Violence is usually more their speed than word puzzles, but on this occasion they found themselves in trouble--each of them either missing the construct or failing to damage it for several attacks in a row. Ultimately, Ted managed to shatter it with his sword.
Down inside the wizard's compound, the pair found the communication device and also managed to locate the missing helm from their spelljammer. They also found an additional spelljamming helm. Glancing through the wizard's telescopic device, they saw what looked like a rusted claw sticking up from a dinosaur-infested jungle in the distance.
Further searching revealed two more important bits of loot: a cache of gold coins and a flying carpet. Xastra insisted on a shopping trip for Ted using their newfound loot; the duo were pleased to see that their fame as the saviors of Rumble City entitled them to a 50% discount on all goods, so Ted was soon outfitted with a rapier and a breastplate.
Some items discovered in the wizard's sanctum gave Ted and Xastra the idea that the metal claw they had observed earlier might belong to a scorpion-shaped spelljammer. Sensing a potential lucrative salvage, or perhaps even the chance to own their own ship, the pair loaded up the spare helm onto their magic carpet and flew out into the jungle. (Xastra also had her strange dream in mind.)
The scorpion ship was in poor repair and perilously perched on a jungle cliff. There were trees growing through rusted holes in the craft, which they carefully cleared away. They also encounter a gravity switching chamber, scared away a hungry displacer beast, and found a locked metal case. Unwilling to spend the night in the jungle with marauding dinosaurs about, they got the helm up and running and flew the scorpion craft back to Rumble City.
After locating someone who could open the mysterious metal case for them, they found themselves in possession of what appeared to be a magical sword.
But where is the white opal and where is the black pyramid? More questions to be answered in the future.
