Quest: "Jungle Fever"
Start Date: 10/13/09
End Date: 10/13/09
DM: Phoenix
OOC
This thread references Emwonk's actions and some of the thoughts behind them from the Jungle Fever quest run by DM Phoenix on 10/13/09.
Summary of Events
Emwonk arived in the port city of Stort, seeking to explore the area and harvest some of the spotted mushrooms he'd heard were rumored to grow in the nearby jungle swamps. Upon disembarking from the ship he'd sailed upon from Lor, Emwonk encountered some old acquaintences, and as he spoke with them, other adventurers showed up as well, many of whom Emwonk didn't yet know, and he was suspicious of.
After introductions, the group of adventurers noticed guardsmen moving into position for a quarantine lock-down of the port. It was discovered through keen observation, careful listening, and interaction with the guardsmen that a vessel named the Sea Sprite had brought some sort of plague into the port. Using his harmonic crystal (from the Elemental Mysteries adventure), Emwonk overheard a ship captain and a guardsman arguing on a ship below in the harbor and picked out snippets that indicated the Sea Sprite was likely at the northern docks of the harbor, and it was possible it would be incinerated soon (possibly with infected crew and passengers still on board?).
Seeing an opportunity to make off with some potentially valuable goods, should he be able to get them off the ship, Emwonk aproached a guardsman and attempted to convince him the he'd been a stow-away on the infected vessel, and needed to get back on board to retrieve his own belongings (with the thought that the guards would wish to contain all possible infected persons on board the ship and so would escort him there). He of course got in trouble for admitting (untruthfully) to be a stow-away in this instance (though he has stowed-away in the past, see his inititial character submission). Shiff Dragonheart paid for Emwonk's release with a diamond, and the group was cleared to board the ship after it was anounced by another guardsman that the infection had already spread to the townsfolk anyway.
After boarding the ship, Emwonk could see that it's crew and passengers were still aboard, and many were still alert, even if distressed and anxious by the situation of the spreading plague. He knew that would make retrieving larger or more valuable commodities nearly impossible, so he changed his tactic to aiding in trying to examine the plague victims and find the cause, and hopefully the cure so he might profit from 'being a hero'. In the course of his examination of the Sea Sprite's captain, Emwonk himself contracted the illness which set on very quickly. However, it was through this that it was discovered that the prayer or blessing to Remove Disease would work to cure him and other afflicted individuals.
Meanwhile, another part of the party lead by Pallena discovered another, druidic potion derived cure for the plague that could be implemented on a far larger scale than the available priests and priestesses of the faiths could handle on their own. The potion cure would require a rare plant from the surrounding jungles and swamps which could be found growing only near running, flowing water. Emwonk volunteered to help search for the herbal remedy in hopes that he'd profit from being part of saving the townsfolk from the plague.
Once in the jungles and swamps Emwonk resorted to using his well developed skills of stealth to evade detection by the pygmies and most other dangerous flora and fauna of the area. However, his ability to hide didn't help when a rare and dangerous Malar Panther ran across him, nearly killing him before moving on to it's next victim. Emwonk however did recover from his wounds, and tracked the beast back to where Pallena had turned to face it down and dispatch it. Since she didn't seem to be claiming the beast's valuable hide, Emwonk took a few moments to skin it himself while discussing what to do next with Pallena. It was decided that she'd stay put and he'd return into the jungle swamps to continue the search for the curative plants.
The rest of the party, aside from Pallena, lost in the landscape of the jungle swamps, Emwonk moved out on his own. In the course of his searching he was forced to confront an ooze-like bog beast, and then eventually found his way to the entry of a cave hidden behind a waterfall. Emwonk slipped into the cave and proceeded to scan what he could see of it's interior for signs of more of the curative herb. He spotted some in one corner that also appeared occupied by some form of aquatic humanoids he'd never seen before. Emwonk snuck along the shoreline, using it as cover to avoid their detection, and easilly managed to pick the herbs. He then backtracked and found more herbs in a few more locations of the cave, collecting them as well. When he reached a point where he couldn't carry any more of the herbs without being serious weighed down, Emwonk exited the cave and returned to join Pallena. From there they made their way back to Stort and the curative potion was mixed up in a large cauldron. Emwonk had even managed to collect more than was needed, so he received some of the extra brew as part of his reward after all the plague-victims had been cured and the quarantine lifted.
Not wishing to let the opportunity pass, and sensing the others thought him a bit of a hero for succeeding in finding so much of the herbs, Emwonk also attempted to communicate his desire to draft the other adventurers into his future army of "good groundings" to help him fight against the Wardens when it came time for him to take his revenge upon them. How many of these adventurers would heed that call when the day came, however, remained unclear to Emwonk.
