Session 9: The Howling Island

The Waterspout

Summary

The Palace of the Wind

Sirocco

The Howling Island

Zekir al-Suhail

Avatar of Yan-C-Bin

The party reunited with Ember at the Palace of the Winds, where they learned of her predicament. Her new husband, Prince Zekir al-Suhail, had vanished while exploring a mysterious howling island. After conferring with Sirocco al-Hikmat, a storytelling djinn, and gathering information about the Elemental Plane of Air, the group set out to rescue the prince.

Mastering the art of falling with style, they navigated the Boundless Blue, using The Waterspout - a massive column of water connecting two planes - as a landmark. They eventually reached the Howling Island, a pockmarked volcanic rock resembling a face. Inside, they found Prince Zekir manacled to an altar, with two kobolds - a shaman and a chieftain - performing a ritual.

The party executed a daring plan, with Uchu stealthily freeing the prince while the others prepared to ambush. However, their intervention came too late to prevent the shaman from partially completing the ritual. In a dramatic turn, the kobold transformed into an avatar of Yan-C-Bin, the malevolent wind god.

A fierce battle ensued, with the party unleashing a barrage of attacks against the avatar. Despite Yan-C-Bin's fearsome powers, including attempts to throw Cedani aside in a whirlwind, the group prevailed. The freed Prince Zekir assisted by controlling the winds to aid the party.

In the aftermath, the surviving kobold shaman pleaded for mercy. This sparked a moral debate within the group. Eventually, Diedric healed the shaman, who then led his people in a hasty retreat from the island.

As the session concluded, the party began exploring the island, discovering burial mounds and prisoner cells, with the promise of more secrets to uncover in the kobold shaman's chambers.

XP Award

• Planar Wonder: 500 XP for discovering The Waterspout
• 50 XP for avoiding an encounter with kobold guards
• 200 XP for avoiding an encounter with kobold dragonshields
• 1420 XP for defeating the Avatar of Yan-C-Bin and the kobold tribe leaders
• 500 XP for disrupting the ritual before it was completed
• 1000 XP for saving the djinn's life and flawless execution
• Total: 3670 XP
• Current XP: 6743 XP -> 10413 XP (Level 5)
• (Required for next level: 14000 XP)

Things That Happened

The Palace of the Wind

• Date: 7th of Tarsakh (The Claw of the Storms, April), 1372 DR, late afternoon
• Surrounded by djinn lounging, eating, and telling stories in the Palace of the Wind, Ember asked the party what they were thinking leaping into another plane without planning.
  • She was surprised to hear that the deva did not recall the location of the Palace of the Wind.
• The party explained Niara requesting her return to Sigil, which Ember guessed halfway through the conversation.
  • She said she first needed to speak with Sirocco al-Hikmat, an older djinn surrounded by listeners sitting on low divans.

The Most Humble of All Djinn

• Taking their seats near the other djinn, the party watched a floating Sirocco tell a short story to the crowd.

Sirocco's Poem

In days of yore, when pride did swell,
A djinn did visit, with tales to tell,
Of mortals' wit, which he sought to test,
To prove his own was far the best.

A crimson mage, a desert prince,
A masked witch with bluebell tints,
Did face the djinn, his trials three,
To match their minds, their guile free.

A riddle posed, a maze to break,
A game of chance, with life at stake,
The mortals three, with clever pace,
Did pass each test, with wit and grace.

Impressed, the djinn, a ring did grant,
With rubies three, each a wish to chant,
A boon for those who proved their worth,
A tale to tell, for all the earth.

Now humbled, I, who once did boast,
Am but a breeze, a zephyr's ghost,
Sirocco, the most modest of all djinn,
With a lesson learned, and a tale to spin.

• The audience sensibly chuckled and applauded lightly.
  • It occurred to Diedric that the ring described in the poem matched the description of Azhar Al-Farid's ring, although his has an empty socket with only two rubies. Probably just a coincidence.
• Sirocco floated over to Ember and the party, happy to see more primes enjoying the splendors of the Plane of Air. He asked if they were Sensates like Ember.
  • He gossipped about Ember eloping with the Prince (Prince Zekir al-Suhail), causing a major scandal as he was to be wed to a member of the Palace of the Mists. Ember blushed.
  • Ember asked if the Sultana (Sultana Samira al-Suhail) had reconsidered her request for assistance. She had not, with the djinn more concerned about Jabal Turab stirring with activity and believed that her son could take care of himself.
    • Asking around, the party learned Jabal Turab is a volcanic island in the Elemental Plane of Air with a vortex to the Elemental Plane of Fire -- at a point not too far from the City of Brass. Efreet live there and there are often conflicts with the Djinn. They do engage in commerce however, with the Djinn trading books and wind instruments.
• Ember explained that Prince Zekir and she had traveled the Boundless Blue on their honeymoon and stumbled on an island in a dark patch of cloud. It emanated a howling sound, which led Prince Zekir to believe it held an artifact that could control the wind. He entered and never came out. That was two days ago.
• She pled for the party's assistance, saying she could not return to Sigil until she knew Zekir was safe.
• The party argued amongst themselves for a time, with Cedani making a case for true love -- and they agreed to help.
• Thankful, Ember provided them with directions -- to head in a specific direction until they saw The Waterspout -- and then down until they reached a howling patch of dark clouds.
• The party asked about access to their library -- Sirocco felt it was possible after tensions with Jabal Turab lessened.
  • Sirocco carried Ember up to the palace to discuss diplomacy with the Sultana. The party could hear him singing "The most noble of all djinn" as he departed.
• The party spoke with a rude djinn (Khamzin al-Jahim) asking questions about travel in the Plane of Air. He sighed, looked up from his book, and explained that the large clouds are fairly stable and can be used as waypoints... and that they should research next time.
• Cedani tried to use a cantrip to make references sparkles, but they would not last long enough or be visible from a distance.
• Octavius asked an air elemental servant to transcribe the poem sung by Sirocco. Looking somehow annoyed, it did so.

Falling With Style

• Willingly changing the direction of down, the party had a much easier time navigating the plane.
• They skimmed over the surface of clouds and passed through several, the world turning a dark gray during those passages.
• Eventually, they saw a large spherical ball of mist, the air getting wetter and wetter as they approached. The roaring of water could be heard within.
• Octavius launched Alaundo, his mouse familiar, ahead to scout. He plunged eagerly through the misty veil.
  • [squeak] "You'll want to see this!" Through their connection, Octavius could see a massive column of spiraling water.

The Waterspout

• The party followed Alaundo and beheld a planar wonder and statistical improbability -- two vortexes to the Elemental Plane of Water within miles of each other, the first releasing an awe-inspiring vortex of water upward and into the second vortex.
  • During the approach, both Glenn and Diedric were able to experimentally discover and they could hover in place if they imagined down to be all directions at once.
  • Many party members drank the cold sweet water and bottled it in vials and waterskins.
• Following Ember's instructions, they descended past the lower vortex, falling through the mist veil.

The Howling Island

• As they eventually reached a dark brown cloud, the sky grew darker, as if it were dusk, and they could hear the howling sound that Ember warned them about.
  • Bursting through the cloud, they landed (or misty stepped) on to the surface of the island, which was pockmarked, made of a volcanic stone that allowed air to pass through it, creating the howling sound.
  • It resembled a face, with two eye sockets, a nose, and a mouth, forcing the primary cave opening.

Subterfuge and Disruption

• Their stealth aided by the ambient howling noise, Octavius cast the Invisibility spell on Uchu, who then effortlessly climbed the island's face with his Sandals of Spider Walking.
• He entered an eye socket and scouted inside. He spotted Zekir hanging from planar manacles, unconscious, attached to an altar devoted to an air elemental god.
  • Beneath him were two kobolds, a shaman, chanting incantations and waving an ornate blue dagger around, and a chieftain, the most muscular kobold anyone had ever seen, his scales ripping from the muscles beneath.
  • They were in a large cavernous chamber. Behind them were burial mounds to important kobolds that had passed away.
• Uchu and Octavius communicated with each other with arcane magic.
• The party deduced that this must be a ritual to sacrifice the djinn and that they should intervene.
• They concocted a plan:
  • Uchu would revive the djinn using the Illithid Ointment.
  • Uchu would pick the locks on his planar manacles.
  • Once freed, the rest of the party would ambush the kobolds.
• The rest of the party ascended to the eye sockets of the island.
  • Glenn, ever desiring to be within 30 feet, risked a stealth check to crawl closer.
• Uchu climbed to where the djinn was held, rubbing the ointment on his back and shoulders.
  • The djinn shook awake, assessed his situation, and remained quiet, feigning he was still unconscious.
  • Uchu picked the lock on the left manacle.
  • The right one became undone at the same time, with Uchu effortlessly catching it before it fell to the ground.
• The party began their assault.

Encounter 1: The Shaman and Chieftain

• Caught unaware, the kobold shaman and chieftain suffered grevious wounds almost immediately.
  • They were beset by soul knives, eldritch blasts, True Strike-charged tarot cards, and Glenn utilizing gravity for extra movement.
• The kobold shaman, a wing severed by a soul knife and near death, began to plunge the dagger into his own stomach.
  • Uchu made several desperate attempts to disarm him, to no avail.
• The dagger plunged into the shaman.

Encounter 1b: The Avatar of Yan-C-Bin

• The kobold became surrounded by black winds as a menacing, twenty-foot-high figure appeared. His emaciated, elongated form was a deep, shadowy blue, with wild, flowing hair that seemed to merge with the gusts of wind around him. His piercing eyes glowed with a cold, icy light, and his skeletal hands stretched out menacingly, exuding an aura of dark power and malevolence.
  • Diedric recognized this as an avatar of Yan-C-Bin, a cruel wind god that took pleasure in casting aside the lost and destroying them in his storms, the antithesis of his goddess's desire to help guide the lost.
  • The holy symbol of Selune on his shield glowed in defiance.
  • The Avatar of Yan-C-Bin did some monologuing: "You dare disrupt this sacred rite? You would stand against the scream of the endless gale, the fury that scours the land? [He inhaled, drawing air from the entire room, characters resisting being pulled toward him] Against the wind that rips the breath from your lungs, the storm that shatters mountains? I am Yan-C-Bin, the Howling Hatred, the Lord of the Four Winds! You are NOTHING."
• The kobold chieftain was decapitated by a soul dagger.

Might and Magic

• An onslaught of might and magic assailed Yan-C-Bin's avatar from all sides. An outside viewer would have seen bursts of light coming from the eye sockets of the island.
  • Lines of divine wrath from Diedric's Guiding Bolts remained on his body as it grew more and more ruined.
  • Yellow bursts of energy from Octavius's True Strike created permanent holes in his figure.
  • Glenn cut at tendrils of shadow and wind with his longsword.
  • Cedani struck the creature with an icy glaive.
  • Uchu struck the creature repeatedly with carefully-aimed soul knives, taking out its eyes one at at time.
• Attemping to exhale violently, Yan-C-Bin was countered by the freed djinn, who spent the encounter controlling the winds to aid the party.
• Enveloping Cedani completely, Yan-C-Bin attempted to spin and throw her aside. She withstood the gale, planting her icy glaive into the rock beneath her.
• As Yan-C-Bin grew more wounded, the kobold, unconscious, was seen hovering inside his form. Glenn attempted to strike the kobold and was rebuffed.
• As he fell, Yan-C-Bin struck Cedani twice with arms of storm and wind, crushing her to the ground, nearly slaying her.
• Yan-C-Bin's form exploded, the knockback prevented by the djinn.
• XP Award: 1420 XP per player

Flight of the Kobolds

• The one-winged kobold shaman, still clinging to life, asked for mercy, and for him to take his people from this place, as Yan-C-Bin had forsaken them and led them astray.
• The djinn hovered over, saying that they should do so.
• The kobold moved to drink a healing potion, which led to a disproportionate party conflict, including Octavius pointing his crossbow at Uchu, who wanted to take the kobold as a slave.
• Diedric healed the kobold and the party took his potion. Grateful, he explained to the party that they were not from this place, and that their story could be read in his chambers.
  • The kobold cried out for retreat, and a swarm of red-scaled kobolds flew out of the eye sockets of the cave, appearing from within the stone.
• The party began exploring the island, with Glenn returning the body of the chieftain to one of the burial mounds.
  • The +1 Dagger of Returning was looted and given to Uchu (after some more argument).
• The party explored prisoner cells, finding nothing of interest.
• The session ended as the party continued to explore the upper level.

Maps

• No maps for this session.
• A map of The Howling Island will be made available after it is fully explored.

NPCs Encountered (or mentioned)

• Ember, the Crimson Sensate
• Sirocco al-Hikmat, the Most Humble of All Djinn
• Sultana Samira al-Suhail, Sultana of Qasr al-Suhail
• Khamzin al-Jahim, the Rude Djinn
• Zekir al-Suhail, the Djinn Prince
• Zrizzak, the One-Winged Kobold Shaman
• Yan-C-Bin, the Howling Hatred

Memes

• The party is thirsty.

DM Thoughts

• The players actually appreciated natural planar phenomena like The Waterspout. Based and Planescape-pilled.
• Lots of party conflict. Mostly yelling at the monke™. Good, good.
• The party resisted my attempt to change the color of the Illithid Ointment. I need to pick my battles.
• The party's fairly patient with exposition.
• The party is immortal and tends to do everything right. I will never railroad them though.