Where we find the final destination of Yellyark, stumble upon a huge, delirious plot development, and nearly get killed by fog.

When last we left our heroes, they had tracked down the group responsible for kidnapping their guides, porters, and one of their companions. They were being held by a sadistic tribe of goblins called the Batiri. Our heroes managed to free everybody, but were caught while escaping. During the ensuing battle, the Batiri unleashed their village defense system. This consisted of a series of ropes, vines, and a spring-loaded tree. The entire village is collected in a giant net and then flung like a catapult to a new location. Everyone escaped this trap except Roland, who is currently flying through the air to a destination unknown. Flying is the easy part. It’s the landing that causes problems.

Roland was convinced that he was going to die. As a DM, I love these moments. Now the best way for a player character to die is in noble heroic sacrifice, but a ridiculously comedic death is a close second. And hurtling for miles through the air trapped in a giant sack stuffed with huts and dead goblins is pretty funny. Besides, I don’t want him to die. I just want him to think he is.

Roland makes his DEX save, so when the village of Yellyark finally crashes to earth, he only takes 14 points of damage. Not nearly enough to kill our hearty paladin. Unfortunately, Roland isn’t exactly on earth. Yet. In another brilliant example of goblin foresight, the village of Yellyark didn’t land in a clearing. It landed up in the trees. Roland is now dangling upside down, stuck in a cargo net about 50’ feet in the air, jumbled with all the debris of the village. The trees aren’t all level, so parts of the village are higher than others. To reach the ground Roland has to climb down about 40 feet through the village, which I deemed to be pretty difficult terrain. Please roll four Athletic checks.

As you know, I love making bad situations worse, so as Roland is attempting to climb out of the village, a triceratops has come to investigate this new addition to the jungle canopy. It has stationed itself just below Roland’s location and you notice that it seems to has several ropes tied around it, like tethers or leashes. Roland vaguely remembered that two guides, Faroul and Gondolo, lost their dinosaur pack animal here in the jungle; this must be it. Roland picked up the pace to get out of the trees before it wandered off again.

Unfortunately, another dinosaur, this time an allosaur, has also wandered into the area and it doesn’t want to share. The two dinosaurs charge at each other directly beneath Roland’s descent. Of course, Roland fails his third Athletics check and tumbles out of the net, falling 20 feet, and landing right in the middle of…  a DINO FIGHT!

Meanwhile back at the old location of Yellyark, the rest of the group is trying to maintain order, chase after the fleeing goblins, keep a brainwashed Miche from running away, and remember which way Roland went flying. But they couldn’t do everything. They had to let the goblins go. Finally, after what seemed like months, they had the entire gang back together again. Well, except for Roland who technically was now lost, so, no, they’re not all together, again, yet. But closer than they ever been.

They went off in search of Roland. Or at least where they think he went. I rolled a Survival check for the Tabaxi guides to follow the path of Roland’s flight. I also had Martic the ranger do the same, but I had him roll behind my screen. One rolled the correct path, the other failed. I didn’t tell the group which one succeeded and let them debate whether to follow the guides or follow their fellow player. They chose to follow Martic.

Mean, meanwhile, things weren’t looking good for Roland. He was determined to fight to the death to save this triceratops, and die he nearly did. He was down to three hit points and the allosaur had only one. The next hit would determine who lives and who dies, and the allosaur strikes first. Roland was content that this might be his demise. I rolled my dice out into the middle of the table for all to see. It was a miss. The table cheered. Roland rolls his dice. He hits. The table roared. Singlehandedly, Roland has defeated their first dino combat encounter. His player was rightfully very proud of this moment. It was a well-earned victory. Just then the rest of the group showed up.

Just as the group was celebrating the long-awaited reunion of the party, the last of the Batiri goblin tribe showed up to reclaim their village. And they were pissed that this group of humans and other vagabonds had somehow thrown it up into the trees. Roll initiative. Sorry Roland, you can’t catch a break in this one.

The combat was mercifully short and sweet. But I was able to make good use of the goblin boss, Grabstab, and her special ability: Redirect. This is my favorite bad guy ability of all time. Any attack that targets the boss, she uses a reaction to redirect the blow to another ally within five feet of her who takes the hit instead. From a narrative stance, this would mean that the boss deflects the incoming blow with a parry or a block and it strikes her nearest ally. But I use it as if this boss has her own secret service protection. It makes sense that the lesser goblins would protect their leader. So I have goblins jump into the path of an oncoming strike. The boss sidesteps the strike and it hits the unsuspecting goblin standing behind her. I even had the boss grab another goblin and use it like a shield. I wish more monsters had this ability.

Eventually, Grabstab ran out of minions and she was mercifully put out of our misery. It was at this point, that I realized that this entire village has zero treasure. Seriously, none. No gold, gems, or valuables. They did collect about two dozen painted, wooden masks that I had to remind my group that their patron back in Waterdeep will pay handsomely for. But that is months into the future. They want some loot now.

The only item of note is worn by Grabstab. She has a silver medallion that has the name “Vorn” etched onto the surface. They don’t know it yet, but this is the control device for some object hidden in the jungle, that these goblins have been worshipping as a god. They can’t even recognize it as magical because none of them ever learned the spell Identify. At least maybe Gwen will remember its name now, instead of mistakenly referring to it as “Zorn.”

By the way, the dinosaur that Roland assisted did indeed turn out to be the missing triceratops. Roland has made it his job to be the primary animal wrangler of the adventure. He casts speak with animals and convinces the docile beast to join their expedition. When I reminded Roland that this dino belongs to someone else, the lawful good paladin replied, “Yeah, well its mine now!” I handed Roland a stat card where he learned that its name is Zongo, and Zongo likes bananas.

Next, I decided that it was time to initiate my sending stone experiment. Back in the Yuan-ti temple, they found a sending stone on the body of the cult leader. This stone had a blue triangle etched onto it. The same blue triangle that has been burned into the forehead of every undead the group has encountered so far. My players correctly surmised that this stone was in communication with Ras-Nsi, whom the players have also assumed is the main villain of the adventure. (I’ve certainly built him up to be.)

In an epic adventure, it is always better to have the bad guy be a constant presence in the player’s lives, so that they don’t forget who they need to kill. Oftentimes, this is hard to do since most bad guys hide in the last room of the last dungeon, just waiting. But the big bad guys should not be static, they should be moving around and doing things, like pissing off the players. And they have evil plans and evil goals and they have to order their minions around somehow. Ususally, I do this via letters found by the players after they defeat some minor boss. But this adventure states that one minion has a sending stone to communicate with Ras Nsi. Unfortunately, that minion will not be uncovered until late into the adventure, too late to make the sending stone relevant.

I planted this new stone earlier in the campaign, so that my players could have a way to talk with Ras Nsi before that ever meet him or even know who he really is. Ras Nsi will constantly berate, insult, and threaten the players, compelling my players to hate him even more. But my players will also have the chance to ask Ras Nsi questions; maybe Ras Nsi will slip up, make a mistake, and tell them something important. Over time, I hope that the players might really learn about their nemesis; what motivates him, what his goals are, and what made him who he is today, moreso than you usually get in D&D.

But there are some limitations. A sending stone is bound by a 25-word limit to what you can say. And you can only use it once per day, so it doesn’t have quite the same function as the walkie-talkies from Die Hard. Also, the message received is not audible, it plays inside the mind of the one holding the stone. I initially kept all these limitations intact, but I quickly change the message to an audible message heard by all around. This allows all the players to engage with the message at the same time and someday, I hope this might allow me to deliver a very loud message at the most inopportune time, like when the players are trying to be stealthy.

While my group is debating where to go next, the rock in Thames’ pocket suddenly squawked, “Maztil, you were to report two days ago. Deliver slaves to rendezvous. Status on captured outsiders. Is dragonborn or tiefling among them?”

Their reaction to this message was fun to watch because they didn’t know what to do. They were all slightly afraid of this tiny pebble, as if Ras Nsi could use it to hone in on their position like a GPS tracker. Who knows? Maybe, he can. My players debated a long time about their possible response. Some wanted to immediately respond with a witty quip. Others wanted to stay silent because they didn’t want to tip Ras Nsi off that they had his sending stone. At least they were comforted by the fact that Ras Nsi addressed the former owner of the stone, Maztil. This meant that Ras Nsi doesn’t know about Maztil’s death or that they players are still alive. This might give the players the upper hand. For now, the group decides to leave the stone alone and give no reply. We will revisit this sending stone experiment in another session(s)

Of more immediate concern, now that everyone is together again, we need to get back to the river, get back in our boats, and row to Camp Righteous to finally complete the Undril Silvertusk mission that they accepted months ago. Ahh, if only life were that simple. While rolling up my random encounters for this session, I got four results: giants, blue mist, chwinga, and statue of Ubtao. Instead of spreading them out into four belabored and boring encounters, let’s mash them all into one thrilling extended one.

These giants are the most out-of-left-field encounter of the enter adventure. A band of frost giants, (yes, frost giants), are miserably trudging about this sweltering jungle looking for a man, Artus Cimber, and the artefact he possesses called the Ring of Winter. Back in the day, Artus Cimber was the main protagonist in the novel that introduced Chult to the D&D world. Here he is little more than a cameo appearance or an easter egg. But I want him to have a real impact on the story of Chult, Mezro and Ras Nsi. But before that, I want to surround him with an air of mystery and have my players asking, “Who is this guy?”

I had already dropped several hints about Artus Cimber as foreshadowing. He is mentioned by name in the journal that my players have based much of this first expedition on. When they arrived in Port Nyanzaru they detected several strange out-of-place scents that hinted at Cimber’s unusual companion. Then in Session 10, during the ride up river, they came across a bizarre scene. An entire lake had been frozen over by some powerful unknown magic. They discovered tracks of a humanoid, a lizardkin, and a large dinosaur along with more unusual odors. My players don’t realize that all these events are related and they’re about to get another tantalizing clue.

As for the blue mist, my group has had one prior encounter with it and they know that it is bad news. It induces a random madness that can easily split the party and place them into some very precarious situations. The chwinga are mystical elemental sprites that might help, hinder, or just curiously observe these strange outsiders (the PCs) in their land. Ubtao is the legendary creator god of Chult, whom I have made numerous references to throughout the campaign.

At this level, a frost giant combat would be deadly and I’m not ready for a roleplay encounter with them, so I need to introduce these giants but the players can’t fight or speak with them. My solution: as the group is following the path back to the river, they can hear the sounds of an enormous creature running toward them. Fearing that it is another dinosaur, everyone scrambles up into the trees. Some fail their athletics roll and are stuck on the ground. I allow that the players have all heard tales about giants, so they recognize a Frost Giant when it comes crashing out of the trees, running right for them. What brings a giant from the Artic North down to this tropical hell, they have no idea.

Everyone prepares for battle, but the Giant ignores them completely, runs right past them and back into the jungle, all while screaming “Bajoit! Bajoit!” over and over again in a blind panic. What could possibly terrify a giant like that, they have no idea. Sadly, no one speaks giant, (I had mistakenly thought that at least one of the PCs did) so no one knew that Bajoit is the giant word for butterflies. The giant is suffering from manic hallucinations, but the players are convinced that something even bigger is coming out of the jungle next.

In a way they are correct. Looking back from where the giant came, they can see an enormous wall of blue mist that stretches for miles in each direction, seeping toward them through the trees. “Run!” The party was climbing, jumping and falling out of the trees and began running in the same direction of the fleeing giant. The mass was so wide there was no chance of running to the edge of it. They could only attempt to outrun it.

I had each player roll several athletics checks, knowing that the law of averages will trigger someone to fail. Gwen did not disappoint, when she stumbled and fell prone during her flight. She knew she couldn’t escape the mist. I made the others aware that their companion had fallen and asked what they did. Roland and Martic ran back to help. Thames, the human-hating dragonborn, was true to his character, ignored the others to their fate and ran on. All the NPCs followed the dragonborn.

But all hope was not lost. The three who stayed behind rolled a Perception check. Only Gwen passed. She sees what appears to be small twinkling lights off to her right. In her mind, she perceives the thoughts, “Help, safety, and follow.” (I invented this ascept of chwinga communication). Gwen yells to her clueless companions, “Follow me,” and runs towards the lights. Convinced that Gwen is out of her mind but out of options, the rest run after Gwen. The lights seemed to leap from leaf to leaf through the jungle. The lights led them to a vine covered statue. Just as the blue mist bears down on them, our heroes huddle around the statue.

Like the fire ants in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the blue mist parted as it approaches the statue, spreads around the statue, and flowed on past it. Whatever magic that surrounds this statue has spared our heroes the madness induced by the mysterious blue mist. Upon further inspection, they realize that this is a long abandoned statue to Ubtao, another example of divine intervention of a god who has been long thought to have abandoned his land and his people. Once the mist has passed, our heroes looked for their illuminated saviors, but they too had vanished. Our heroes didn’t know it yet, but the Chwinga hadmerged back within the statue.

Had any players really screwed up and got caught in the Blue Mist, I would have rolled on the random madness table and run the encounter on the fly from there, but frankly, I’m glad they all survived unscathed. This time. Meanwhile, Thames and his troupe of NPCs had run for almost a mile before the blue mist that was chasing them had dissipated back into the jungle. Thames, who hates to be in charge, is now responsible for the lives of eight NPCs who are looking to him for leadership. As a DM, I never want any players to feel outright uncomfortable, but slightly uneasy is fair game.

Somehow, I had managed to split the party yet again, and this time it almost bit me in the ass. I never considered that Thames might completely abandon the rest of the group, assume them to be dead, and continue on the journey without them. But Thames really considered this. I might have to run two separate tracks, filled with distinct encounters and divergent timelines until I can contrive a way to get them back together again. Again.

Fortunately, Thames took pity on me and decided to double back to learn the fate of the rest of the group. That group also made their way back to the main path, which was an easy to follow trail made by the frost giant crashing through the jungle. That giant was long gone, somewhere to the south. I expected the group to either follow the fleeing giant to see where he ends up, or more likely, follow the path to see where he came from. My players refused to do either.

Had they backtracked the path of the giant, the group would have found his camp where two other frost giants lay dead, killed by some other effect of the blue mist. They would have found some treasure, plus some giant artifacts to sell, and more importantly another clue to the Artus Cimber mystery. But my players want nothing to do with anything involving giants and they’re not going to go looking for them, so no treasure for them. But I need them to find this clue. So, I give it to them right here.

Both groups reunite along the giant’s flight path. At this very spot, I have each roll a perception check. There is no way to fail this check, I give the clue to the player with the highest roll, guaranteeing that someone will find it. Is this contrived? Yes. Will your players care? No.

Roland spots a piece of paper sticking out of the mud, presumably dropped by the fleeing giant. It is a picture of a man. I specifically describe it as a Wanted Poster, so that my players realize that this giant was looking for this man. On the back of the poster, I wrote in the giant language “Wyrm Venn”. Again, I thought that someone could speak giant, so they would know that this translates to “Dragon friend”. But they don’t speak giant, so this is yet another puzzle that they will have to solve at some later date. But at least I did get my players to ask out loud, “Who is this guy?” Mission accomplished.

From here it is a simple matter to find the river and their boats. I have notes that an encounter with a tiger occurred, but I have no memory of it. The very next day, they arrive at Camp Righteous. The players were stunned. “Wait, we were this close to it the whole time?” Yes, you were. Finally, the group can complete the first actual quest of this entire campaign: The escort of Undril Silvertusk to The Order of the Gauntlet here at Camp Righteous.

Except, the camp is deserted and no one from the Order is to be found anywhere. A dozen ruined, burnt huts lie in disarray around the camp. The footprints of human boots and goblin feet are all over. No bodies or equipment are to be found. I added that on the beach, they find a board planted in the sand with the emblem of the Order hastily painted on it with an arrow pointing up river. Clearly someone from the Order has moved on, further up river into the jungle. Maybe, the mission isn’t over yet.

Before they jump in the boats and move one, our heroes explore the camp. The only living thing found in camp is an exceptionally ugly bird, trapped in an animal pen, squaking loudly. This is called an axebeak, but my players ignore it in favor for the more obvious feature of Camp Righteous.

The camp was set at the base of an enormous statue carved out of the existing hill. A stylized man is shown seated with a crocodile perched on his shoulders. A beckoning doorway sits between the statue’s legs, daring the curious to explore further. When my players ask, the tabaxi guide explains, “This is the Crocodile Man. A very ancient story. You would call it a proverb.” I read the story as written in the book, since it is rather good. After that jungle parable, I have just one question, “So, do you want to get back in the boats and travel up river looking for the new camp, or do you want to investigate this enticing portal into the unknown?” I think you know the answer.

Next week, this is it! The Raiders of the Lost Ark session we’ve all been waiting for. Don’t forget your whip.

As always, have backup plans to your backup plans for when the players won’t go where you want them to go, and Game On!

Why couldn’t it be follow the butterflies? – Ron Weasley, my inspiration for the worst fear of my panicked frost giant.

Don’t forget to check out my Tomb of Annihilation Resources Page, filled with all the stuff I use to make this epic campaign even more epicier: My full Campaign Diary, plus Handouts, Maps, Charts, PDFs, Images, and more to use, abuse, or ignore at your peril.

And written specifically for this adventure, read my Explorer’s Guide to Chult to delve into all the legands, lore, history, religion, and culture that I used to bring even more life to this adventure.