After Action Report Events of 29 September - 1 October 1023 Countering Thea Dalma’s Gambit
Thea Dalma began her attack against us before we even set foot in Nangea. Harnessing the power of her goddess Calypso, she besieged the western coast of Nangea with heavy rain, though it was of such a magnitude as to make the journey only unpleasant rather than impossible. Perhaps this is indicative of the limits to Thea Dalma’s power.
Thankfully there were dry accommodations arranged for all of us who had come to Nangea. I made my arrangements in a house on the edge of the village and as I stepped outside to return to the tavern, I immediately found myself in the middle of combat. Sir Saka had organized several adventurers into a defensive formation around the Seagate in order to prevent couriers in the service of Thea Dalma from passing through. I later learned that we had intercepted a schedule of courier missions and supply caravans, which thus gave us a valuable opportunity to disrupt Thea Dalma’s logistics. Noteworthy among these was a courier who attempted to disguise themself among a band of Arazian refugees. Of course, we were able to suss out and neutralize the imposter, as well as escort the Arazians to the tavern.
Our counter-operations throughout the night were on the whole very successful. From the couriers we retrieved several reports which exposed details about Thea Dalma’s plans; from the caravan raids we acquired many potions and other valuable materials. As we came to the end of the enemy’s schedule, we made plans of our own for the following day. With assistance from General Ashir’s fighters, we would attack three obelisks which were corrupted and under the control of Thea Dalma’s forces. With these objectives set, we all retired for the night.
The following morning was blessedly free from rain (yet another measure of the setbacks we had already inflicted upon the rogue avatar of Calypso) and several more adventurers had arrived in the area. After a nourishing breakfast, we set out to march on our first target. This obelisk was located in an abandoned village near clay and silica mines. Part of the village had been converted to a Glow Weed laboratory (this was a high-value secondary target, as Glow Weed is extremely corruptive). As expected, we faced resistance from waves of Hollow (beings who once formed the civilization which followed the Archon Akkedis Ruse but now had devolved into soulless shells of their former selves).
In the mines, we guided constructs to dig up the raw materials we needed to restore the defaced obelisk. As we completed this task, the Hollow forces which had been attacking us throughout were reinforced by a large crab-like creature covered in Glow Weed and a particular Hollow who appeared to be strengthened by a corrupted Ley Core which was embedded in his chest. The crab was eventually defeated with a great deal of lightning and the empowered Hollow was beat down several times after it had regenerated and re-animated its cohort of Hollow fighters. Unfortunately though, we quickly realized that we recognized the body of the Ley Core-Hollow as Seneres, one of the Arazian refugees we had assisted the night before and the brother of a merchant who had set up shop in the tavern. The living brother was distraught because we knew that there was nothing that could be done to save him as there is no known remedy for the curse of becoming Hollow. It was only because of the Ley Core embedded within him that we were able to even partially return Seneres to life, yet all the same his remaining life force was tied up in the Core and we could not come up with a way to separate him from the core that wouldn’t result in his demise.
But of course, there is always another way. While some of us worked on saving Seneres, other adventurers had physically restored the obelisk using the clay and silica we had just collected. To fully remove it from Thea Dalma’s influence however, we needed to transfer the curse which beset it to another being. This is one of the main reasons the Nangeans need our help; the curse would annihilate any Nangean who took it on, but powerful adventurers such as ourselves were far more likely to survive it. In considering our options, it occurred to us that it would be possible to pass the curse on to Seneres. He would suffer the same fate as any other Nangean, but perhaps that was preferable to whatever end awaited him in his current state. His brother eventually agreed with this assessment, knowing that this final sacrifice would be significant to the protection of the dwindling Arazian people. An honor guard saluted Seneres as his brother carried him to the obelisk, and when it was done, we brought his body back with us to the tavern so that we could perform the appropriate funeral rites.
We could not afford to mourn for long, as we still had two more obelisks to deal with. Our second target was located off the coast, submerged under several dozen feet of water. We were warned that some rare and exotic birds had built a nest in a nearby cove and that we should avoid harming them and their unborn brood. As we reached the shoreline, we again split our forces; several of us fought near the water’s edge against a variety of fishy monsters while others climbed into the cove. I was under the impression that the cove also contained large deposits of salt, to which the aquatic monsters were especially vulnerable, so I was quite surprised when the other half of the party returned with three pillars, and only one of them seemed to be made of salt. Of the remaining two, one contained magic which would temporarily protect the soul of anyone who attuned with it and the other was able to bestow an enchantment which made it possible to breathe water. Surprises to be sure, but not unwelcome ones.
With these pillars, we slowly advanced into the water. The seafloor pitched down at a steep and unwelcoming angle and we soon encountered dark tentacles which lashed out at us from under the ground. These were all extensions of a soul-sucking leech (note: NOT a Soul Leech, thank the Goddess) which guarded the obelisk. The fish-monsters too continued to surround us, but eventually the churning waters settled as we defeated the leech and lifted the curse from the obelisk.
Following our second success, we met with Ashir again to learn more about the final obelisk. It was protected by Thea Dalma’s champion, who had summoned a powerful ward of wind and lightning around it. We would need to disrupt that ward if we were to have any chance of reclaiming the obelisk. With the sun nearing the horizon, we set out again.
First, we had to navigate around the wall of wind. To prevent ourselves from getting fried by all of the lightning, we also needed to be connected to grounding points. This was a rather frantic process, but we eventually got to the far side of the warded area and from there we could find the means to bring down the ward. In this case, those means were more lightning. With great effort, we assembled and empowered three Storm Bolts and turned them against the champion’s ward. So powerful were these bolts that they could be used by anyone to channel the power of lightning into the magically weak parts of the ward. With them, we shattered the champion’s spell and then defeated them in direct combat. With their death, we took control of the third obelisk. We knew that doing this would attract the attention of Thea Dalma, so we had to move quickly to meet her head on.
Fortunately, we had one more secret weapon. As we prepared to face Thea Dalma, Tybalt of the Brimiri helped us forge a sword made of blue fire which was able to incinerate Glow Weed. In the fading light, we struggled against Thea Dalma to prevent her from taking Leyla and used our blue flames to burn away the three walls of magic which surrounded the avatar. As we broke through the last circle, Thea Dalma fled through the Seagate.
Despite her escape, we had dealt a heavy blow against Thea Dalma. We celebrated our victories by feasting with the Brimiri and Arazians and the following day, we reinforced our advantage against her by destroying the Glow Weed laboratory. We also retrieved family heirlooms belonging to Seneres and other Arazians who had to flee their village after it flooded. This allowed us to honor Seneres’s death with a funeral which combined Azarazian and Brimiri rites.
Finally, we used an artifact left behind by Thea Dalma in her retreat and two recovered Ley Cores to elevate Leyla to the position of Archon. We had been preparing for this decision for the past two days; the power of the Ley Cores could have also been used to strengthen the Archon Brimir or to create a new Archon for the Arazians, and we weighed these options very carefully. In the end and with all things considered, we chose to make Leyla an Archon for all Nangeans.
Thea Dalma is on her back foot. Tybalt, Ashir, and Nefita will prepare themselves and their people so that in six months we can return to Nangea and defeat Thea Dalma once and for all.
But what will become of Nangea and her people after that?
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In service to the Realms,
Commander Sir Orion, Cerulean Company
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