Fishmen
View all episodes in Mythic Cycle.
Season 4: Episode 5
What happens when you fall 600 feet from an airship directly into a chaotic jungle battlefield?
In Episode 5, “Fishmen,” our heroes find themselves caught right in the middle of a bloody crossfire between a fanatical warband of amphibious Kuo-toa and a relentless horde of undead South Trading Company miners! But they aren’t fighting alone. A mysterious celestial ranger named Lyra literally falls from the sky, guided by a divine calling to cleanse the corrupted ley lines of the Lost World. United by fate, the party must forge an unlikely alliance with the bulbous-eyed fish-men and trek deeper into the treacherous caldera.
- Lyra’s Descent: A flashback introduces a new party member, Lyra, an elite Storm Watcher ranger. While flying above the Lost World on an airship, she is pushed overboard by her nemesis and uses Feather Fall to safely land in the jungle, driven by a calling to cleanse ancient, corrupted temples.
- Fish-Men Skirmish: The players temporarily take control of a Kuo-toa warband (playing as the priest, whips, and whelps) to battle a horde of South Trading Company zombies, learning the fish-men’s unique combat mechanics like nets and pincer staffs.
- The Party Joins the Fray: The main adventuring party arrives at the skirmish. Using radiant hammers, green flame magic, and Oak’s Ankylosaurus form (while dealing with an ambush from a giant crocodile), they help the Kuo-toa completely destroy the undead miners.
- Aftermath and Introductions: The party disposes of the zombie remains into the river, Cort collects STC insignias from the bodies, and the heroes formally meet and recruit Lyra into their group.
- Foraging and Ominous Tracks: Traveling upstream with their new fish-men allies, the party manages to forage for food to save supplies. During the trek, Cort discovers a colossal, terrifying beast’s footprint violently gouged into the mud.
- The Kuo-Toa Village: The group arrives at the fish-men settlement, which surrounds a murky lake with a weatherworn, flat-topped ziggurat shrine rising from the center.
- The Stone Disc Puzzle: The Kuo-toa priests guide the party to the top of the shrine to interact with a broken stone disc puzzle. Realizing pieces are missing, Oak uses wild shape to dive to the bottom of the lake and retrieve the lost stone fragments.
- Unlocking the Temple: After the party successfully fully assembles the stone disc, the mountain violently rumbles and splits apart, revealing a hidden cavity beneath the shrine. The episode ends on a cliffhanger as they unlock the entrance to the ancient temple.
Lyra’s Descent
Floating majestically almost six hundred feet above the jagged peaks and suffocating green canopy of the Lost World, the brass-clad airship Maercant Protectorate cut through the early morning sky. Aboard the vessel were the Storm Watchers, an elite unit of rangers dispatched on a mission of vital importance: to locate and cleanse the corrupted, ancient temples of earth, water, and fire before their dark magic could trigger a world-ending elemental cataclysm.
While the rest of the unit was busy preparing below decks, Lyra stood alone on the eastern edge of the ship. A striking ranger with dark green hair, glowing celestial heritage, and a loyal Starfire raven companion at her side, Lyra felt an overwhelming, inexplicable pull toward the savage island below. She gazed wistfully at the breathtaking sunrise, soaking in the view, when the heavy boots of a fellow ranger interrupted her peace. It was her bitter rival within the unit.
“Beautiful morning, isn’t it?” -Nemesis
Lyra barely tore her eyes away from the magnificent horizon.
“Yeah. I wish I could just stay here forever.” -Lyra
Feigning curiosity, her Nemesis stepped up beside her and pointed down toward the dense, misty jungles of the caldera.
“Hey, what is that? Down over the deck of the ship. There. What do you see there?” -Nemesis
Following the pointed finger, Lyra’s sharp eyes picked out ancient stone breaking through the treeline.
“That’s a temple.” -Lyra
“There’s the ruins of a temple. Yeah, I see that. If you lean a little further, can you see a little better? Your eyes are better than mine. Can you lean over the deck a little bit?” -Nemesis
Trusting her keen eyesight over her instincts, Lyra obligingly leaned over the brass railing to get a better look at the ruins below. Without a second of hesitation, her Nemesis violently shoved her forward, sending the celestial ranger tumbling headfirst off the airship.
Plummeting nearly five hundred and ninety feet toward the deadly jungle floor, the wind roared in Lyra’s ears. Yet, as she hurtled toward the earth, she did not panic. Reaching for the precautionary scroll issued to all Storm Watchers, she waited until the very last moment before casting Feather Fall.
As her rapid descent magically slowed to a gentle, floating glide, a profound sense of relief washed over her. The betrayal didn’t sting; instead, it felt like freedom. Liberated from the stagnant ranks of her former unit, Lyra drifted gracefully toward the primeval canopy of the Lost World, finally set upon the true path to fulfill her celestial calling.
Fish-Men Skirmish
The muddy banks of the Lost World’s tributary had devolved into a horrific, blood-soaked battlefield. Forty undead South Trading Company miners, their rotting flesh still clinging to tattered canvas uniforms dusted with raw tin, shambled relentlessly forward. Standing bravely against the mindless horde was a fierce warband of Kuo-toa—bulbous-eyed, amphibious fish-men who croaked madly as they fought to defend their territory.
“There’s a lot of gut churning moans punctuated by frantic croaks before you amass of undead surging forward against a warband of fishmen armed with nets and two pronged pincer spears. “ -Dungeon Master
The Kuo-toa fought with a desperate, savage efficiency, relying on specialized weaponry and coordinated tactics to hold the walking dead at bay. The smaller Kuo-toa, known as Whelps, darted around the edges of the fray. Hurling heavy, weighted nets, they expertly tangled groups of three or four zombies at a time, drastically slowing the horde’s crushing advance.
Stepping up behind the nets were the formidable Kuo-toa Whips. Wielding long, two-pronged pincer staffs and barbed spears, the Whips thrust their weapons into the trapped undead. One particularly brutal Whip managed to skewer three zombies at once, creating a grotesque, writhing kabob of rotting miners before brutally executing them.
“I stabbed one in the head… I use the hook part of the spear to drag the brains out of their skulls. “ -Whip
Despite the fish-men’s terrifying combat prowess, the sheer numbers of the zombie horde eventually began to overwhelm their defensive lines. The undead surged forward, breaking the formation and violently dragging one of the brave Whelps down into the mud to be eaten alive.
Seeing the line falter and his warriors falling, the Kuo-toa Priest took action. Adorned in strange, crustacean-themed regalia and wielding a makeshift shield that crackled with iridescent magic, the Priest stepped to the front lines and called upon the divine, chaotic power of his people.
“I will cast spirit guardians as spectral fish start swimming around. “ -Priest
“Spirit guardian for a fish creature is a piranha. I love it. “ -Dungeon Master
A brilliant, fifteen-foot aura of radiant energy suddenly erupted around the Priest, manifesting as a swirling, deadly school of glowing spectral piranhas. The divine phantom fish tore through the undead ranks, incinerating the zombies with pure light and reducing them to piles of smoldering dust. Emboldened by his potent magic, the Priest bashed his glowing shield into the horde, leading a vicious counter-charge to avenge the fallen Whelp.
It was at this exact moment of glorious, gory chaos that the main adventuring party—Cort the Goliath paladin, Wark the eccentric artificer, Oak the towering druid, and Lyra the newly-descended celestial ranger—pushed through the dense jungle canopy, weapons drawn and ready to throw themselves into the fray.
The Party Joins the Fray
The humid, heavy air of the Lost World was thick with the stench of rotting flesh and the frantic croaking of the Kuo-toa when the main adventuring party finally burst through the dense jungle foliage. Seeing the brave, bulbous-eyed fish-men being slowly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of undead South Trading Company miners, the Capable Hands did not hesitate to throw themselves directly into the bloody fray.
Lyra, the celestial Storm Watcher ranger who had just miraculously descended from the sky, immediately spotted a heavily wounded Kuo-toa Whip. Darting through the chaos, she pressed a glowing hand against the fish-man’s scales, casting Cure Wounds to knit its torn flesh. Retreating to a safer vantage point, she drew her shortbow and took aim at the shambling horde, attempting to weave a Hail of Thorns into her shot, though the arrow sailed harmlessly wide into the brush.
Meanwhile, Wark, the grieving but brilliant gnome artificer, proved far deadlier than his small stature suggested. Nimbly squeezing his way between the towering, rotting miners, he gripped a specialized, tinkered weapon.
“I draw my dagger and stab I hit a little button that you see on the side of my dagger. “ -Wark
With a sharp click, emerald magical fire violently erupted from the blade. Wark drove the Green Flame Blade deep into a zombie’s chest, instantly incinerating the undead creature from the inside out, before swiftly punching another with an electrified offhand strike.
Seeing his small friend surrounded, Cort, the towering Goliath paladin, charged forward with righteous fury. Raising his massive warhammer, Cort called upon his divine power, imbuing the heavy weapon with blinding, crackling radiant lightning.
“Careful bud and just take my hammer and just smash smash smash on the ground. “ -Cort
Cort swung with devastating force, shattering the undead into writhing, broken pieces and completely ignoring the foul zombie gore that splattered thickly against his heavy armor.
Across the sluggish, silt-choked tributary, Oak, the towering Goliath-Wood Elf druid, attempted to flank the horde by crossing a fallen tree.
“The river before you was a sluggish opaque ribbon with brown silt winding oppressively through the dense canopy… but as you cross over what seemingly was a log without warning the illusion of the safety of this river shatters. “ -Dm
The log was no tree at all, but a colossal, jagged-jawed crocodile that lunged upward in a terrifying hydraulic death spin! Relying on his magically enhanced speed, Oak threw himself backward just in time to avoid the snapping teeth. Unfazed by the ambush, Oak raised his hands and called down the celestial power of nature, casting a brilliant, forty-foot-high cylinder of Moonbeam that scorched two distant zombies into piles of smoldering dust.
Deciding he needed a more robust form to deal with the prehistoric apex predator, Oak tapped into his primal magic.
“I turn around and face the crocodile and take my bonus action I turn into him. “ -Oak
In a flash of druidic magic, Oak transformed into a massive, heavily armored Ankylosaurus. Stomping his heavy feet and swinging his dangerous clubbed tail, he looked down at the massive crocodile, utilizing his innate connection to beasts.
“Your mistake. “ -Oak
Thoroughly outmatched by the sudden appearance of a prehistoric tank, the giant crocodile wisely slipped beneath the murky water and retreated upstream.
With Wark’s green fire, Cort’s radiant hammer, and Oak’s devastating lunar magic, the tide of the battle instantly turned. The party systematically exterminated the remaining undead. As the jungle fell silent once more, Cort stooped to pull the corporate STC insignias from the rotting uniforms of the fallen miners, securing proof of the rogue wizard Knox’s necromantic smuggling operation. Acknowledging their timely rescue, the Kuo-toa priest signaled his warriors to stand down, and together, the fish-men and the adventurers tossed the dismantled, thoroughly dead zombie remains into the river to be washed away.
Aftermath and Introductions
As the last remnants of the undead horde dissolved into smoldering dust and pulverized bone, the chaotic sounds of battle finally gave way to the natural, rushing waters of the jungle tributary. The Capable Hands stood victorious alongside their strange new amphibious allies.
Wasting no time, Cort, the towering Goliath paladin, knelt in the blood-soaked mud. He systematically ripped the South Trading Company insignias from the rotting canvas uniforms of the fallen miners—undeniable proof of the rogue wizard Knox’s necromantic smuggling operation. To ensure the undead would never rise again, Cort raised his glowing warhammer, methodically smashing the remaining limbs. Seeing this, the Kuo-toa Whips enthusiastically formed a gruesome assembly line, passing the shattered zombie pieces to the smaller Whelps, who tossed the gore directly into the river. Just before the remains could sink, the massive, jagged jaws of the giant crocodile broke the surface, lazily snapping up the free meal.
With the threat neutralized, the Kuo-toa Priest sheathed his crackling, iridescent shield and approached the heroes. He touched the top of his head and swept his hand forward in a solemn, respectful arc toward the party, croaking in a guttural, aquatic language none of them could understand. Oak, still maintaining the massive, heavily armored form of an Ankylosaurus, crouched low to the ground to appear non-threatening. Unfazed by the prehistoric beast, the brave Priest stepped forward and gently patted the dinosaur on the head.
It was then that the mysterious celestial ranger with dark green hair stepped forward to formally introduce herself to the group.
“I am Lyra. I come to cleanse the land. Of what? I don’t know. The temple here.” -Lyra
She explained her divine calling to stop a looming elemental cataclysm caused by corrupted ley lines. Wark, the eccentric, three-foot-seven gnome artificer covered head-to-toe in strange gadgets, peered up at her glowing, celestial features and slightly blue-tinted skin with intense curiosity.
“Do you have any elf in your bloodstream?” -Wark
“I do not.” -Lyra
Lyra casually recounted her harrowing arrival on the Lost World, explaining how she had been betrayed by her own squad of Storm Watchers and purposefully pushed from an airship high in the sky.
“Is he your nemesis, then?” -Wark
“He is. However, as fate would have it, I think it was meant to be.” -Lyra
Ever the pragmatist, Wark nodded thoughtfully, completely unfazed by her tale of high-altitude attempted murder.
“On the plus side, it looks like you had a feather fall or you would’ve died in the fall. Also, on the plus side, you did not encounter a pack of velociraptors.” -Wark
Looking over the heavily armed group of adventurers, and sensing that their paths were magically intertwined, the celestial ranger made her decision.
“I feel that fate has brought us together. I would like to join you on your journey.” -Lyra
With the introductions settled, the party prepared to follow the Kuo-toa upstream toward their village. Lyra looked at Oak’s massive, spiked Ankylosaurus form, noticing that a small Kuo-toa Whelp had already happily claimed a spot on the dinosaur’s wide back.
“Should I climb aboard?” -Lyra
“Sure. Yeah. There’s already one little whelp. There’s room for plenty more.” -Oak
Seeing the celestial ranger effortlessly claim a comfortable ride on their druid friend, Wark immediately crossed his arms, his jealousy flaring up.
“I want to ride, I want to use him as a chariot.” -Wark
United by fate, the paladin, the grieving artificer, the druidic dinosaur, and the sky-fallen ranger set off alongside the fish-men, venturing deeper into the unknown mysteries of the caldera.
Foraging and Ominous Tracks
The humid, oppressive air of the Lost World weighed heavily on the Capable Hands as they trudged upstream alongside their strange new amphibious allies. Guided by the Kuo-toa warriors, the party followed the sluggish tributary deeper into the caldera, their boots sinking into the thick mud. As they marched, the pragmatic gnome artificer, Wark, mentally tallied their dwindling provisions. Between their grueling trek and the sudden addition of Lyra—a celestial ranger who had literally fallen from the sky without any rations—their supplies were stretching dangerously thin. When the party began to argue over their resource calculations, Wark simply sighed, adjusting the heavy mechanical gadgets strapped to his chest.
“This is arithmetic. It is not math. “ -Wark
Realizing the dire need to conserve their remaining food, Oak stepped forward to utilize his primal connection to the wild. While the Kuo-toa expertly plucked fish from the murky river, the towering Goliath-Wood Elf druid scoured the dense foliage. With keen eyes, Oak managed to forage a bounty of exotic jungle fruits and even expertly snared a scrawny, wriggling monitor lizard to add to their evening stew, successfully sparing their precious rations.
Meanwhile, Wark split off slightly from the main group, keeping his eyes peeled for the sharp razor-vine thorns he needed to craft more of his explosive grenades. Pushing his way through a particularly thick wall of oppressive canopy, the gnome did not find thorns. Instead, he stumbled into a terrifying scene of primeval destruction.
Before him lay a massive, muddy crater near the water’s edge. The jungle clearing had been violently gouged. Massive, ancient trees were completely pushed over, their trunks splintered and cracked like mere twigs. Staring down into the crater, Wark’s blood ran cold as the shape registered in his mind: it was a single, fresh, colossal footprint.
Wark immediately called the rest of the party over to the riverbank. Oak, who had been traveling in the heavily armored form of an Ankylosaurus while cheerfully giving rides to the Kuo-toa whelps, hurried to the clearing. To communicate the danger, the druid abruptly dropped his wild shape.
“I morph into Goliath. So wherever they’re sitting on your shoulders… have a great time. “ -Oak
The little fish-men tumbled unceremoniously into the mud as Oak stood to his full, towering Goliath height, staring down into the violent gouge in the earth. The footprint was so unbelievably massive that a full-grown man could comfortably lay horizontally across its front toe. As someone stepped forward, seemingly tempted to test that exact measurement by laying in the muddy depression, the eccentric gnome immediately snapped at them.
“Don’t lay down in that. You don’t know where it’s been. “ -Wark
The veteran Kuo-toa warriors gathered around the edge of the print, their bulbous eyes wide. Bending low to the mud, they sniffed the humid air and listened intently to the deep jungle. By the sheer violence of the splintered trees and the deep, terrifying gouges of the claws, it was undeniable: this was not the track of a wandering herbivore, but the fresh trail of an apex hunter. With a new, looming dread hanging over them, the party tightened their grips on their weapons and continued their march toward the Kuo-toa village.
The Kuo-Toa Village
Following the sluggish tributary deeper into the dense, oppressive heart of the Lost World, the Capable Hands and their new celestial companion, Lyra, finally arrived at the Kuo-toa settlement. Ramshackle huts crowded the muddy banks of a wide, murky lake, and the humid air was thick with the echoing croaks of the bulbous-eyed inhabitants. Little amphibious whelps playfully slipped in and out of the water, basking on the shores, while veteran warriors trained with heavy nets and pincer staffs.
As the heroes entered the village, a cacophony of gurgles and croaks erupted. The fish-men who had fought alongside them excitedly animated the recent skirmish, gesturing wildly to recreate Cort’s thunderous hammer smashes and Wark’s explosive magical fire. A grateful Kuo-toa priest stepped forward, reverently pressing a heavy, carved blue stone piece into the towering Goliath paladin’s hands. Meanwhile, several tiny whelps tugged eagerly at Oak, begging the towering druid to transform back into a dinosaur for more rides.
At the very center of the murky lake stood a bizarre, nonsensical shrine—a low-slung, weatherworn ziggurat of ancient stone rising just above the water’s surface. Guided by the insistent priests, the party waded out to the mound and climbed to its flat summit. There, etched deep into the ancient rock, lay a perfectly smooth, circular depression designed to hold a massive stone disc.
“Is that one of the shrines that you’re looking to cleanse? “ -Wark
Lyra studied the ancient carvings with her keen celestial eyes, feeling the powerful, chaotic hum of corrupted ley lines beneath her feet. The Kuo-toa priests practically forced the adventurers’ hands down toward the altar, urging them to insert the blue stone piece and other fragments they had gathered. However, as they placed the heavy stone shards into the puzzle, gaping holes remained.
“I’m pretty sure we’re missing some pieces. And I’m pretty sure we were told there wouldn’t be Mad Men. “ -Wark
“This does not seem to have anything to do with Knox. “ -Cort
Deducing that the missing pieces had been deliberately broken and tossed into the water, the party sprang into action. Oak tapped into his primal magic, shifting his massive frame into a sleek, deadly crocodile to dive to the bottom of the murky lake. Wark, completely unfazed by the deep water, prepared to join the druid using his own water-breathing apparatus.
“It is also true that I am a gnome with the strength of ten. So it might be that if it’s that heavy… “ -Wark
Plunging into the dark water, the crocodile and the eccentric artificer scoured the silt-choked lakebed, successfully dredging up the two remaining, heavy stone fragments. Dripping wet and covered in mud, they returned to the ziggurat’s summit.
Carefully matching the carved symbols of water and strange elemental heads, the heroes slotted the final, slippery stones into place. The moment the disc was made whole, the ancient stone began to hum with a low, terrifyingly powerful vibration. A deafening, guttural grinding echoed across the water, sounding like shifting tectonic plates. The entire surface of the mountain violently quaked and split apart, the heavy stone disc sliding clear to reveal a dark, gaping cavity underneath. Staring down into the abyss, the Capable Hands realized they had just unlocked the entrance to the corrupted elemental temple.
The Stone Disc Puzzle
At the very center of the Kuo-toa village’s murky lake stood a bizarre, nonsensical shrine—a low-slung, weatherworn ziggurat of ancient stone rising just above the water’s surface. Guided by the insistent amphibious priests, the party made their way across the water to the mound and climbed to its flat summit. There, etched deep into the ancient rock, lay a perfectly smooth, circular depression designed to hold a massive stone disc.
“Is that one of the shrines that you’re looking to cleanse? “ -Wark
Lyra studied the ancient carvings with her keen celestial eyes, feeling the powerful, chaotic pull of the location. The Kuo-toa priests practically forced the adventurers’ hands down toward the altar, urging them to insert the carved blue stone piece they had been given alongside other fragments. However, as they placed the heavy stone shards into the puzzle, gaping holes remained.
“This does not seem to have anything to do with Knox. “ -Cort
“I’m pretty sure we’re missing some pieces. And I’m pretty sure we were told there wouldn’t be Mad Men. “ -Wark
Deducing that the missing pieces had been deliberately broken and tossed into the water to keep the temple sealed, the party sprang into action. Oak tapped into his primal magic, shifting his massive frame into a sleek, deadly crocodile to dive to the bottom of the murky lake. Wark, relying on his customized water-breathing apparatus, prepared to plunge in after the druid.
“It is also true that I am a gnome with the strength of ten. So it might be that if it’s that heavy… “ -Wark
Diving into the dark water, the druidic crocodile and the eccentric artificer scoured the silt-choked lakebed, successfully dredging up the final heavy stone fragments. Dripping wet and covered in mud, they proudly returned to the ziggurat’s summit.
Carefully matching the carved symbols of water, the heroes slotted the final, slippery stones into place. The moment the disc was made whole, the ancient stone began to hum with a low, terrifyingly powerful vibration. A deafening, guttural grinding echoed across the water, roaring like shifting tectonic plates. The entire surface of the mountain violently quaked and split apart, the heavy stone disc sliding clear to reveal a dark, gaping cavity underneath. Staring down into the abyss, the Capable Hands realized they had just unlocked the entrance to the ancient, corrupted elemental temple.
Unlocking the Temple
Dripping with dark, murky lake water and coated in silt, Oak the towering druid and Wark the eccentric gnome artificer hauled themselves onto the flat summit of the ancient ziggurat. Between them, they carried the missing, heavy stone fragments they had successfully dredged from the lakebed using their aquatic transformations and breathing gadgets.
“Okay, this feels like we’re getting close. “ -Oak
Wark wrung out his soaked clothing, thoroughly unimpressed by the gritty realities of their underwater excavation.
“And I am very, very wet. “ -Wark
The eager Kuo-toa priests croaked with frantic excitement as Cort the massive Goliath paladin and Lyra the celestial ranger stepped forward to help take the heavy, waterlogged stones. Fitting the large shards together into the altar’s depression wasn’t easy in the humid, oppressive jungle air.
“They are slippery. “ -Cort
Carefully aligning the elemental symbols of water and matching the ancient, fractured carvings, the Capable Hands pressed the final stone fragments into the circular depression. As the pieces seamlessly interlocked to complete the map-like puzzle, the ancient stone suddenly began to hum with a low, resonating vibration that sent violent ripples across the lake’s surface.
A deafening, guttural grinding roared out from beneath their feet, echoing like shifting tectonic plates deep within the earth.
“Quaking. “ -Lyra
With a terrifying scrape of stone against stone, the surface of the mountain violently split apart. The blue-edged stone disc slid clear, revealing a gaping, pitch-black cavity plunging straight down into the abyss below. Staring down into the dark, corrupted entrance of the elemental temple, the party realized just how wildly their quest had escalated.
“It’s not down down there. “ -Wark
“Not the way we were sent into the jungle. “ -Cort
Wark sighed heavily, adjusting his damp mechanical gadgets and thinking back to Director Zara’s original corporate bounty that brought them to this wretched island.
“Into the jungle to find a child. He’s a miner. “ -Wark
Oak stood tall, gazing bravely into the newly unsealed ruins that lay submerged before them, a primal thrill of discovery washing over him.
“Awesome. Found something… This is the largest temple in the water. “ -Oak
With the ancient seal finally broken and the Kuo-toa cheering them on, the heroes readied their weapons. The Lost World had far deadlier secrets hidden beneath its surface than missing miners and rogue wizards, and the time had come to step directly into the dark.