Looking for the beginning of this series, and an introduction to the cast of player characters? Find the first post of the series here!
Yet, in the last two months the players found and pursued a major sidequest, only tangentially related to the megadungeon:
The Temple of Lunaqqua
The sidequest started after the players checked in with Jerusha, the priestess of Artemis, and sold her some art that they had found in Stonehell (Jerusha has a soft spot for antiquities and has requested the players check in with her if they have any for sale).
Jerusha explained that the Temple of Artemis had sent two representatives to Terem Village, a small coastal fishing village east of Farum, and that Artemis's priestesses had been treated badly and run out of town by the insular villagers.
Both the followers of Artemis and of Apollo have rubbed the heroes the wrong way once or twice in the past, as they seem to carry a sense of arrogance and entitlement, yet their relationship with the heroes has been beneficial. They agree to visit Terem and determine if there is a problem to be resolved there.
The heroes travel along the coastal road between Farum and Terem Village, and are attacked by a giant crab-creature! Beached not far away is some kind of vessel, from which more crab-like monstrosities emerge. Some even fire beams of light at the heroes using some kind of technology. The heroes defeat the one that ambushed them, and chase the others back into their ship, which disappears beneath the waves.
After one night on the road, the heroes arrive in Terem Village. They find it to be a quaint fishing village, with a longhouse, cottages, and one small house dedicated to the old goddess Lunaqqua. The longhouse is a gathering place. Coin isn't used in the village, so the characters use some of the "crab" meat to barter for information, a place to sleep in the longhouse, and food and drink.
They learn that the village headman's youngest son is missing, Young Dan, a boy of about 15. They also hear that the representatives of Artemis's temple were thrown out due to the local reverence for Lunaqqua (another moon goddess) and because they were pushy and cruel to some of the villagers.
The heroes visit the family that has dedicated their home to Lunaqqua, an old moon goddess that the sailors revere, but that also has been rumored to have connections to darker forces influenced by lycanthropy (were-creatures) in myth. The family there is kind, and has a daughter about Rianorix's age (the party's Priest of Boreas, God of Wind). The daughter, Tessa, has received dreams from Lunaqqua -- that she has been called as a priestess, and that the lost temple must be seized and cleansed of evils that have taken up residence there. She was also led to a medallion of Lunaqqua that may be a key.
The heroes decide to first pursue the missing Young Dan, and then to accompany Tessa to the lost temple that she says she has seen in vision, and should be able to navigate to, and help her clean it out and reestablish the Temple of Lunaqqua, though Rianorix and several other members of the party are a bit leery of this goddess.
After spending the night in the village longhouse, the heroes travel into the wilderness, moving away from the sea and leaving the village behind. Fennig the Ranger finds tracks, and follows them into the wilderness; the heroes hope that Young Dan will be found alive. It becomes apparent to Fennig that at one location Young Dan was attacked and captured by a group of creatures that left a foul scent at the scene of the scuffle.
They continue to pursue these prints, and find several bipedal reptilian creatures camping around a hollowed-out tree. The more stealthy members of the party attempt a reconnaissance of the area, but one of the party (Fennig or Xandraous?) trips, alerting the reptiles. They attack the heroes, their grotesque scent nearly leading some of the party to lose their lunches. Yet by sword and spell the heroes are soon victorious, and find Young Dan unconscious and tied up but alive, in the hollow-tree by the reptiles' fire pit. Fennig is soon able to identify these creatures as troglodytes.
The adventurers travel back to Terem Village, where they are given a warm welcome and hardy meals and grog by the headman and leaders of the village at the longhouse. After another night of rest they gather Tessa and set off into the wilds in search of the lost temple of Lunaqqua.
Next time: The Daemon-Infested Lost Temple of Lunaqqua!
