Week 19: NO OBs are not Nawabe

The NOOBs woke in the morning to find that a group of orcs and humans seemed to be approaching from up the river; jumping into their boat they attempted to outrun the pursuit. After avoiding a hail of arrows, treacherous rocks, whitewater rapids, a swarm of crocodiles, and a morass of kelp, they finally evaded them and made it safely into Bowok territory where the ne’erdowells dared not tread.

As they lunched, the group spotted a large flying silhouette diving at a location downstream. Hustling over, they found a group of nomads being attacked by a large, human-insectoid demon creature. The creature managed to take control of Tobias’ mind briefly and force him to attack who it wanted, before he broke the bind. Eventually the thing blasted them with a life-sapping necrotic breath before flying away. All but one of the nomads had been killed; they interrogated the survivor, and Aiden learned through mental chicanery that he was part of a Maal raiding party that is planning an attack on New Typor city. Some 200 Maal were already in the area about to strike. Aiden used his magic to send a message to the Baron, alerting him of the impending strike and advising him to prepare defenses. 

A giant toad attacked, attempting to swallow Armen, but he evaded it and they made short work of the beast.

They continued on back to the river mahski village, convincing them to care for the children for a few nights while the party decided what to do next. They considered splitting up but decided that having two groups — the NOs and the OBs — would be too confusing since it sounded kind of like the Nawabe, so they opted to stick together and head for Typor Citadel. Paying Lefty off, they set out for the citadel. After traveling upriver, they reached a point where the root growth around an island was so dense as to make the river impassable. Anchoring the boat, they walked the remaining distance, until the citadel appeared in the distance.