Chapter 5: Great barrier grief

Threats are being screamed over the sound of rushing winds and rustling cargo. The party (minus Cyrell) awaken to hear the voice of several strangers and slappy in a verbal war with one another.

Peering outside the curtains of the tent mounted on the back of Cosmo, Twitch and Namira see 3 groups of dwarves each riding a giant iguana & mounted with a swivel cannon equipped saddle yelling at Slappy. They have surrounded Cosmo on three sides and are running at full speed with an angry Slappy trying to outrun them.

"GIVE US WHAT YOU OWE BRADFORD"

"ARR the only way ye be getting a single copper from me is to take it from me cold dead hands!"

"GET EM BOYS!"

At this point, a purple dragonborn who was hitchhiking in the tent shakes a pile of blankets off of himself to see what chaos is ensuing. The party does hasn't the faintest idea of who this dragonborn is - but he offers his aid to fend off the attackers and that is good enough for them. Barney has joined the party.

Combat ensues. Twitch is able to place a crossbow bolt directly in the eye of one of the salamanders. The rider is unable to steady the beast and it falters. The giant creature falls over in pain and is left behind in the dust before it could even make its first attack.

One of the Salamanders uses its barbed tongue to latch onto Cosmo as the other fires the cannon directly into Cosmo's leg. Thankfully, Slappy is able to keep control of his steed. Barney takes the opportunity to walk across the tongue like a tightrope. He nearly falls off in the process, but is able to shimmy himself the rest of the way and pull himself up onto the enemies mount.

Twitch misses several shots with his crossbow.

One of the Dwarf assailants gets into a shoving match with Barney. He pushes as hard as he can to knock Barney off of the mount but after multiple attempts is unable to move him. Barney shoves the dwarf back and he goes flying over the edge of the mount getting left behind.

A few more rounds pass as Cosmo gets injured further, but the party successfully is able to dispatch the rest of the beasts. Unfortunately, Slappy doesn't slow down so the bodies of each of the bandits gets left behind waiting for another adventuring party to loot them.

Slappy explains that he needs to find a place for Cosmo to recover. He takes a lay of the land and realizes that there is a town somewhat nearby to the East called Ula's Bounty that is known for outstanding hospitality. The party agrees to go there to rest and recover.

Most of the journey to Ula's bounty is calm and pleasant. Large cumulonimbus clouds cover the sky resulting in a pleasant shade and some beautiful light rays that are able to poke through in the distance. The light that is able to pass through paints the green hills behind you in a quaint orchestration of natural colors while ahead of you a large mountain range reaches towards the sky. During the travel Slappy shares the story of how he was once held prisoner in the underdark by none other than the devil himself. He speaks of all kinds of dead folk he met down there, like this turtle person named Jeremiah or something who claimed to be the king of an island that wasn't really an island - but an even larger turtle. And how he once fought off a pack of sea hags that had taken control of his entire crew's minds.

He reminisces on these memories fondly, wondering if he will ever return to the Remesian Seas.

Time passes quickly listening to Slappy's stories. Before they know it the party is at the foot of the mountains standing outside a massive pass. Jagged rock faces flank either side and a visible road meander around flooded sections of concave ground. Low hanging clouds stuck in between the mountain create a light fog that grows thicker as you pass deeper into the pass.

"This here be Ula's Steppe. Thar's a story behind this here pass if ye care ter hear it"

"Sure..." the party shrugs.

"Legend has it that once, long ago, Ula goddess of hills and mountains was in a relationship with Eadro, the merfolk's god of the sea. For Eadro, being far from the ocean was worth it. At least in the beginning. Being far from the ocean, Ulaa continued to make hills and mountains that could collect rainwater which would then naturally flow down to early folk who settled nearby. Eadro, however, got increasingly frustrated and angry as his view of the sea began to get more and more obstructed by Ula's creations. Ula and Eadro started fighting constantly. You see, Eadro had given up so much to be with Ulaa so far from the ocean, but Ulaa refused to make any sacrifices herself by stopping what she was born to do. One night, they fought worse than usual, and in an act of defiance, Eadro summoned a powerful storm originating from the ocean so strong it ripped straight through the mountains Ulaa had formed creating this very pass. He then used the pass to walk through and return to the ocean, his last act to Ulaa before they separated forever. They say these pools of water never dry up, and that it is Eadro who uses them to maintain a constant watch over the pass. Should Ulaa ever try to restore the mountains he will be ready to strike back."

"The more politically correct version of the story these days is that Eadra and Ulaa were long in love but separated by the mountains, so Ulaa created the pass in order to reach Eadra." Slappy adds on.

About 3/4 of the way through the sky changes from cloudy gray to now a deep purple. The low hanging fog has shifted to an indigo color. A light smell of smoke is noticeable in the wind. Slappy gives a whip of the reigns to signal Cosmo to run faster. After about 15 minutes, Slappy in haste rounds the edge of the mountain pass and the town comes into view and it is surrounded by a massive purple dome encasing its entirety. They rush towards it. A scream comes from inside the barrier and as Slappy rushes closer on Cosmo (you are about over a football field away) you can see a halfling as he runs towards the edge and throws an object which shatters on impact against the barrier and causes it to become distorted where it landed. 3 other halflings with rotted gray skin, body parts missing such as lower jaws, arms, and legs, shamble towards the halfling. He's able to pass through the distorted section, along with the 3 creatures chasing him. Combat ensues.

The party successfully dispatches some of the undead halflings and the survivor reveals his name to be Archie Emberkettle. His entire town was taken over by a peculiar individual wearing a distinct necklace. Once he arrived it was only a matter of days before the town started to devolve to chaos as neighbor turned on neighbor. The individual then announced himself as Ulgog the Worm and had taken over the town with a small undead force.

He explains that they developed a crystal that let him pass through, but it was a one way trip. He was sent as a sole survivor to recruit help.

He explains that a robbed man comes every few days from the road to the north, and they should start investigating there.

The party gathers their thoughts and starts along the road, they come across a ferryman on the other side of a 40 foot river. He wears a straw hat and is asleep in a rocking chair. The ferryman is mostly deaf and nearsighted - so it takes a while to get his attention. The party shoots arrows towards him to try and wake him up. Eventually he paddles over, taking his time (about 20 minutes worth). He charges each of the party 1 silver piece to cross before it takes him another 20 minutes which frustrates Barney and Twitch. The ferryman explains that he doesn't think Barney is strong enough to paddle any faster against this current, to which Barney attempts to prove him wrong and easily does so. The ferryman comfortably sits back and rests as the party does the work for him.

Time passes quickly as they travel along their tracked trail and before they know it they reach a small dungeon lair. Inside, caustic slime runs along the caverns. With dinnertime quickly approaching, and Barney's tummy rumbling, they make haste through the main caverns skipping through any side passages before reaching a room filled with vats. Inside, halflings with their skin melting are suspended. One awakens and bangs on the glass begging for help before falling unconscious. The party breaks valve where the fluid seems to be coming from and it causes pressure in the tanks to overwhelm them and burst. The fluid, and deceased halflings, fall to the floor pooling in the middle where a gelatinous cube forms.

Sprinting through a labyrinth, they are able to evade the cube from getting too close before arriving at the end, an arena with massive vats flanking either side of a high raised balcony where Ulgog the Worm sits taunting the heroes.

Undead climb up on the vats, attempting to break them spilling caustic fluid into the arena below. Each of the party takes turns knocking down the climbing undead while dispatching ones that are attacking. Ulgog cackles from above but the party is able to overwhelm his forces. Ulgog tries to surrender but he is mercilessly killed. Twitch claims Ulgogs helm as a prize. An enchanted helmet that allows the user to cast acid breath. Ulgog explains that his master Malleus will make them pay before he dies. Ulgog does not seem to have any method to break the barrier surrounding the town of Ula's bounty, so the party leaves Emberkettle behind to try and find help elsewhere.