Having secured their island base and stocked up with provisions at Port Peril the party remember that
their original intention on leaving Koranande was to sail north to Miredor.
Their newest recruit Aecrypa persuades them that the port of Ilizmagorti on
Mediogalti Island is 'on the way' as she seems to think that is where her enemy, the bard Vilren, has fled to.
Research indicates that Ilizmagorti is indeed the kind of place full of pirates, assassins, dealers in illicit substances, and establishments to cater for every know vice that
every self-respecting pirate should visit at least once in their life.
The party arrive at the city and split up into pairs with some taking the scientific approach of magical scans and others pretending to
look for Vilren while visiting as many taverns as possible. Surprisingly it is the latter approach that yields results with a tavern owner
confirming that he hired the bard for a succesful evening of entertainment but then after he offered Vilren even more money for a second
night's appearance he failed to turn up. After a few hours, however, it is noticeable that someone has got to the locals and people are
becoming very reluctant to answer any questions about the bard. Tiramba and Arreng are told by a barman that someone indeed has been looking
for them and if they wait in the back room they may find what they are seeking.
In due course a very confident woman with the appearance of a mercenary/pirate/assassin walks into the backroom and puts her feet on the table. She informs them that she is the only person in Ilizmagorti who has the information they require but that she will need them do
'a favour' for her in return. She tells them about a secret temple in the jungle and asks them to
find a fugitive who has fled there and escort them back to Ilizmargorti. She says that the person they are looking for will not come with them willingly but the phrase 'Rosalind says it is time to leave' should do the trick. Also relevant is that there is an ancient race of
Saurians in the jungle who regard the temple as their property and that these Saurians are extremely hostile to the
Red Mantis but would be happy to see the back of the Ghost Mantis who currently occupy it. She mentions that every bit of the information she has just imparted is such a well guarded secret that many (including in normal circumstances her) would kill the party just for knowing it.
As the mission sounds insanely dangerous naturally
Tiramba and Arreng readily agree to it.
The party make a provisional plan which involves appearing to go into the jungle to stock up on supplies and returning with fugitve in a bag of holding. It is generally agreed that Gurr can do all the most dangerous stuff.
Unfortunately next day Dru goes down with the rare illness Varghotzesesh which has no know magical cure. The party are devastated that Dru will not be accompanying them and even more so that his Staff of the Woodlands wont be making the trip either. Venturing into the jungle
the party soon meet the local wildlife in the person of a pack of man-sized dinosaurs. They quickly take to the trees as the dinosaurs
try to grab their ankles. Urugu warns the dinosaurs that they may not survive the encounter and after some steady missile fire several of
the dinosaurs don't. On the bright side the remaining dinosaurs now have something to eat as the party disappear into the distance
covering their retreat with Pass without Trace.
Not long afterwards the party meet a similarly sized pack of dinosaurs and, on taking to the trees, are slightly surprised when the pack
continue to run past them. Three large dinosaurs immediately appear and give up chasing the pack in favour of what they assume is easier prey.
Unfortunately the new dinosaurs have no trouble in reaching those members of the party on the lower branches and Urugu is unceromoniously
hauled to the ground unconscious. Luckily Hapu heals Urugu so that he can at least stand up and Gurr uses his Boots of Flying to assault Urugu's attacker. The fire power of the party then again proves too much for the unlucky creatures.
The party camp overnight in a Leomund's Tiny Hut courtesy of Aya and next morning have to cross a long thin lake that bars their
way. The party debate whether to swim or fly across the lake and in the end decide to walk across the surface (presumably as this will provide higher comedic value). Gurr, however, chooses to fly and Aecrypa casts Gaseous Form. The party are about half way across when they
observe an ominous v-shaped ripple heading towards them at high speed. The monster approaching is somewhat surprised when Hapu freezes
the water in front of it and the party commence combat with a three-headed fire breathing dragon standing rather precariously
on an iceburg. The powerful but seriously disorientated creature is soon bested and the party make it to the further shore.
The party's next obstacle is a shallow canyon which is a scar across the landscape that supports no vegetation at all on its
rocky bottom. Bizarrely this feature apparently also doesn't support magic either and the party hurry across it only to find their way
barred by a deputation of dinosaurs led by an enormous sword-wielding carnivore. Correctly guessing that they have met the legendary
Saurians the party enter into negotiations, Hapu speaking in Draconic and they in their own language. After a while the dinosaurs usher
them through their ranks and offer them a guide. Hapu explains that he has promised that the party will kill the Ghost Mantis.
Arriving at the temple at dusk as planned the party find the simply enormous Ghost Mantis camped outside what appear to be the
only entrance with six of her brood. They decide to provide a distraction for Aya who will approach the temple in bat form before switching
to human form to try to gain entrance. The party choose one of the brood to target with missile fire and it responds by entering
the Ethereal Plane with a companion and approach the party (who have taken the precaution of bringing See Invisibility potions.
When the creatures materialise next to the party, however, they get a lethal response. Their enormous mother comes across (apparently
to eat the corpses of her offspring) just as a lightning storm erupts around the temple striking the remaining smaller creatures.
With the mother isolated the party take the opportunity to attack her, formidable as she is. She launches a devastating attack on Gurr
which woulf probably have mortally wounded most party members. Fortunately Gurr survives and such is the party's response that the monster is
driven back into the Ethereal Plane. The lightning's assault on the rest of her brood continues, however, and the door of the temple
now opens and a fully-armoured Red Mantis steps forth immediately slaying one of the lesser brood. As the mother approaches the Red Mantis enters the Ethereal Plane herself and slays the mother before her brood can come to her rescue.
Urugu and Aecrypa fire Magic Missiles into the melee on the supposition than the Red Mantis is the person they have come to escort back to Ilizmagorti. The brood are all slain and Aya appears on top of the temple.
The party escort the Red Mantis back to their ship as agreed with their contact Rosalind. It would appear that the Red Mantis is a former high priestess of the cult, Shiel, who also happens to be Rosalind's mother. Rosalind tells them that Vilren the bard has left Ilizmagorti
and is heading to Westcrown having ensnared another Red Mantis assassin with a collar as he did to Aecrypa.
Rosalind searched his last digs and found an indentation in a notepad with the words 'Children of Westcrown'. This refers to small group of
mainly young idealists who want to change the way Westcrown is governed. It is not obvious why Vilren, who Rosalind suspects of having powerful sponsors, would be interested in such a group.