He who laughs last gets Bombarded

Feeling somewhat disgruntled, the group tries again to gain some reward from this farglebargling jungle city. They circle around the perimeter and head towards the large lake that sits against the eastern side of the sunken landscape. They notice a pair of snakemen guarding the main road entering the city…one small and armored, one huge and armored, The group makes note and continues to circle, avoiding the occasional foraging group of mongrelfolk. Scouts report that there is something huge in the lake – a la Nessie – of even which the large crocodiles seem afraid. Eventually they descend along the cliff face and into the water. Water Breathing and Airy Water ensure that the trip is nice, although muddy as they slog along the bottom of the lake. The airy bubble repels the pike and barracuda-like fish and the odd crocodile that thinks about swimming into it falls to the ground and is pummeled by party members. The group surfaces on a small ‘island’ about the size of an area rug and finds a human staked out on the surface, Between Barada and Ti’Karu they determine he is a villager kidnapped and left there as an offering to the god of the frogmen. Although many in the group are loathe to interfere in the local cultural traditions, Ti’Karu champions the idea that he should be freed and escorted to safety.

The group relents and frees the poor traveler. There is a brief discussion about assaulting the frogmen in their fortified mound, but the idea is temporarily shelved in favor of killing more snakemen. The group engages the dastardly duo and slays them after a brief but tense tussle. The clamor attracts others from the buildings long the avenue and the group engages them as well with long range spells. It is at this instant the ‘prisoner’ transforms to reveal himself to be an intelligent dragon and by the way – god of the frog people. Aren’t you glad you didn’t attack the froggies? Yes! So glad indeed when the dragon pulls out an assortment of jewelry and bestows gobs of the stuff on each party member…maybe ~20kgp each. Woo hooo! The dragon departs and dives back into the lake and the group retreats since battling hordes of more snakemen is unlikely to garner further reward. Circling around the cliffs again – this adventure is good for the walking muscles – they plot on the cliffs and decide to take another run at the magician.

They send Barada down to the front door, clad in all his bardish finery and he knocks politely. The magician is at home and intrigued enough to hear him out. The bugbears serve tea and fan the attendees while Barada bargains with the magicians apprentice. They strike a tentative bargain for information from the wizard for 10% of the haul that they take form beyond the door. The group learns that there is a key in the chest beyond the door and the an area of reverse gravity protects it. At this point they go all neutral chaotic greedy and bail out on negotiations and race towards the door – chuckling to themselves about the foolish magician revealing things he shouldn’t have. They drop down the sinkhole and traverse the passages, arriving at the door. Dalliance uses various powerful magics and they obtain the key and open the door. They cross the room and exit through a door on the opposite wall. THey traverse a short hallway and arrive at a ‘T’ intersection. They go left and Ron’j! is disintegrated. Alarmed, the group uses a limited wish to gather up the disintegrated remains of Ron’j! and try bopping it with the Rod of Resurrection. To no avail it seems, for Ron’j! does not rise. The group is incensed and declares that the magician (whom they defrauded in good faith negotiations) is to blame for Ron’j!’s demise. They return to the cliffs overlooking the town and descend to the step pyramid they discovered earlier.

Hidden from view, the druid begins to cast Call Lightning, taking advantage of a tropical storm that is rolling through the area. ZOT! POW! KABLOOM! Bolts of lightning rain from the sky onto the wizard’s lovely pagoda. After a half-hour the group decides it is time to move and Demming unleashes one last spell – bombarding the wizard’s home with boulders called out of the sky. They then flee into the jungles again and use Barada’s last wish in the armor to roll back time to the instant before Ron’j! goes poof…this also has the advantage of not leaving the wizard’s home buried under rubble – so they got the satisfaction of attacking the house without the long term dangers of ticking off the wizard for real this time! Winning!