The Djinn of Al-Qadim

Session #34

Previously, the party had killed an Elder Brain beneath the island of Afyal, and, returning to the main city of Medina al-Afyal, are preparing to aid against the djinn incursion attacking the island’s forces.

Bottle Episode

Quite a while back, Nezima had had a vision relating to these events, wherein her prayers loosed a hurricane that sunk the djinn fleet but also sent her to a watery grave. Following this vision, she found herself in possession of an unopenable bottle.

Presuming this to contain the hurricane, the plan was for Nezima to head to the nearest of the ships in the fleet (aided by Atar), while Telchak and Dahlia provide a distraction on the beachfront, in front of the city, between the city walls and the harbor.

The plan goes according to plan, with a disguised Atar and invisible Nezima making their way to a nearby ship’s crow’s nest. It’s smooth up to the point where Nezima opens the bottle with a Religion check (it could not be opened through strength-based means), with Atar still around. She was supposed to have teleported out, but stuck around.

A literal hurricane’s worth of force shatters into existence in a tiny mote in front of them, hurtling them away from each other hundreds of feet and alerting the entire fleet to their presence. Aaracockran flighted warriors begin to converge, while the now-expanding hurricane tears up the ship they had teleported to.

They possess enough magical resources to blunt their falls (Fly and/or levitation spells), and close the gap between them to teleport out, before the bulk of the forces converge on them.

Meanwhile, On the Beach

Telchak and Dahlia storm out on elephants, trying to provide a distraction for the other duo. In the night, fighting is minimal, and small camps of enemies begin to rouse on the beach. A pack of creatures converge on the two, including martial warriors, spellcasters and elementals.

Since the goal is distraction, the two only stick around long enough for the hurricane to be loosed. Telchak’s elephant – previously granted to him by the elephant god, Ogtar – is swarmed and killed, but he escapes to his mother’s elephant and they rush back toward the city.

With the storm occupying an increasing amount of space, pursuit is minimal, as the enemy now has bigger problems.

Storm’s Wrath

They spend the night in the city’s palace, unpacking the situation with its ruler, Zumurrud. Outside, apocalyptic winds and rains batter the structure, and they fear for the city itself.

The next morning the storm is still raging. They’re provided elephants, and head into the city with the storm in full force. Many structures are flooded or destroyed, though the sturdiest of buildings and the outer wall remains intact. And at the front of the city, devastation in the harbor, with the djinn having lost close to two thirds of their naval force.

Scouts inform the group that various water-based creatures in the force remained unharmed. Merfolk, Sahuagin, elementals, etc. But the ships themselves are battered. The approaching fleet of Afyal took some losses as well, many miles off, but the majority of the fleet is in retreat, back to the city of Kasal on the island.

And in the maelstrom, something else: a gigantic water bubble, encircling what appears to be a full third of the djinn navy. The group suspects the head djinn herself, Awasseah, who is suspected to be leading this force. With this magical protection, they maintain a strong force.

Zumurrud suspects that it will still be a tough fight once the storm dies down, though she’s hopeful of a more protracted siege and battle, rather than the measured retreat from the city that was previously planned.

Boating Expedition

The group requests a boat, and though all in the harbor have been destroyed, fishing boats that are near completion are in a couple workshops within the city. Zumurrud commissions the completion of one, assigning several skilled workers to the task. It is seaworthy within the day.

The group needs to investigate this magical water bubble. They may continue to aid Afyal, or simply commandeer a ship to take back to the mainland, to their eventual goal of magically binding the djinn permanently. They set off into the still-raging storm as we left off…

Dungeon Master Notes

As an amusing aside, you’ll recall that at the beginning of each session, we have a “Fate Roll” wherein I roll against the players. If any beat my roll, they get to choose from a list of small boons, like getting advantage on a roll of their choice.

One got the boon that reinstituted “pun pennies” for a single session, which are a DM-discretion award for amusing puns, humor, or great roleplay. You can turn in a “penny” for advantage on a roll.

We have played entire campaigns with this pun penny option, and have handled it with maturity. But here, with only a single session to cram in puns that could reap rewards, the players took it upon themselves to unleash all of their worst jokes and puns. This culminated in a very goofy session, at one point breaking me so hard I had to sit down and steady my breath from laughing so hard. In all, fun stuff, but I’m glad it’s not like that every session.

Creatures Used:

• Water Elemental (CR5)
• Guard (CR ⅛)
• Veteran (CR3)
• Elephant (CR4)
• Priest (CR2)

Continue Reading: Session #35