NOTE: I emailed Jeff and he let me know that he doesn't have much free time to play for right now. But he made it clear that he wants to come back when things settle down. I let him know that he can stop in and play with us anytime. Just like Jayne and Domingo.
Also, the title of this post is a Rush song reference.
Balthazar, death of a meat-shield
The rest of the group continued to drop down the grease slide. Balthazar was taking on Kartoeba single handedly, while Bistek flew above and flung Eldritch Blast. Djura, Flo'rel, Dirk, Cyd, and the rest were clustered about 50 feet away from the action. They were making slow movement through the disgusting slurry. That's when Kartoeba flexed and truly made his presence known with a terrifying scream. Its tentacles splayed out and its neck extended with the maw fully open, displaying a mouth and interior throat covered in dagger-like teeth. The scream reverberated off of the walls; the vibrations gripping the hearts of those foolish enough to take on this abomination in its own lair.
Cyd, feeling fearless in his magical armor, may have been the only one left mentally unscathed. For the rest, that scream will fuel their future nightmares. Within the context of the combat, it meant that Balthazar was left on his own having to wrestle with Kartoeba's tentacles and his own existential terror. Meanwhile, most of the group slogged around in the muck and tried not to go insane. They did what they could by flinging arrows and magic, but Balthazar did the bulk of the damage. He even managed to roll a critical hit while having disadvantage. Something I have never seen.
Alas, poor Balthazar. He met the fate with which all meat-shields must contend: The brutal death by an unimaginable monstrosity. At least he got to keep his soul.
After taking 150+ points of damage from the Fighter, Kartoeba wrapped a tentacle around Balthazar's legs and smashed his skull into the ground one, two, three times. The slurry did soften the blows, but the force of several impacts left the fighter's brains scattered about. This Traladaran; who started out life as a humble slave, only to be conscripted, who then fled the Black Baron in shame; died a hero that day. Kartoeba was severely weakened and quickly dispatched after that.
Treasure!
The secret portal was found after some searching and the group followed the corridor to a circular room with a 40 foot reinforced metal ladder. Using ropes and a lot of patience, the group hauled Balthazar's body and the tigers up the ladder. They opened the hatch and found themselves in what appeared to be the Hutaakans' secret treasure vault. An ebony, jewel encrusted throne dominated the room. Hinata recognized symbols on the throne as belonging to Rajas'el-Najar. He suppositioned that their prophet had this throne built to await his return. Everything else belonged to the Hutaakans. (I will list the magic items in another post)
A door was found that opened to a long, downward sloping hallway. After a long rest the group followed the passage for six hours (roughly 18 miles). Bright light could be seen at the end of the corridor. The Red Suns found themsleves in a small hidden valley. Having been under ground for over a day, the group was blinded and a little dizzy from all the bright sunshine. The group traveled at a slower pace and tried to take everything in when the Rakasta spotted the entrance to The Lost Shrine Of Rajas'el-Najar. The Rakastans fell prostrate and began chanting.
Balthazar 2.0
The Red Suns laid the remains of their fallen comrade and commenced with the 12 hour ritual. Balthazar's body began to glow with a white light from within. The light grew until his form could no longer be seen. At the moment of full radiance, the Fates rolled their dice and consulted their charts. As Balthazar's soul floated towards its supposed final destination, the Hands of the Fates yanked him from behind and thrusted him back into the world of the living.
"697!" The Fates declared "BWAHAHAHA!" And they all high-fived each other.
Balthazar awoke, looked around and wondered how everything got so tall. He also wanted breakfast. Actually eating two breakfastes suddenly seemed like a very sensible hobbit thing to do.
Here's the chart I used: https://5emagic.shop/my-reincarnation
I'm no mathematician, but I think that's a 1/400 roll which is less likely than having twins and ironically is a bit more likely than Luke and Han surviving a night out in Hoth in a snowstorm.