Session 10: Mind the Monkeys
Session date: 2026-06-16
Campaign: Tip of the Diceberg
Status: Canon summary
Summary
Fresh from killing Shago outside the Temple of Cayochan, the party had one ugly question left: what to do with Lilith. She admitted enough guilt to stay dangerous but enough remorse to stay useful. After threats, jokes, and a lot of debate, the party spared her. She remains with them, but the terms are clear: one more betrayal and she is done.
Searching Shago’s body produced the real hook. He carried a map with three marked locations and a torn note tying the temple idol to the Night Song. The note, addressed to Shago, read: “Deliver me the idol after the Night Song. We must then make haste south to the Basin and intercept Grackles and LeFleur, before they ruin all the fun.” So an unseen patron was directing Shago to deliver the idol, then race south to the Basin to intercept a named pair, Grackles and LeFleur, whose identities are still unknown. One map mark was labeled Dragon. Lilith claimed she did not know the Symposium and only understood that Shago expected payment from some bard-linked contact.
The party chose speed. With the Midsommer Night’s Song clock bearing down, they traveled down the Soshenstar River, short-rested instead of long-resting, hid the canoe, and cut into the jungle at night. Faf led the first push cleanly. The second stretch went sideways. The party harvested a steaming orange-gold tree growth into a jug of hot orange goo, then got lost under the canopy.
Bonzo used Speak with Animals to push away the biting insects, and one crystal dragonfly stayed long enough to provide a directional sense. That led the party into an old overgrown cemetery. One grave bore a butterfly symbol; another read Sigred. Lilith suggested the symbol belonged to old Chult, from before Ras Nsi became the monster he is now. It felt like a real old-world clue, but not one the party could solve on the spot.
Still off-course, the party followed faint music, rattling, and skeletons through the dark. When Isilrod played, his glowing Midsommer invitation lifted from his pocket and became a guide. It pulled them onward for about an hour, then cooled from orange-red to blue and settled down as the jungle opened into a hidden threshold.
Old Tin Top’s Juke Joint and Casino was not just a building. At ground level, it was a half-sunken ship overtaken by vines, barnacles, ferns, and a lanterned trellis. Above it, hidden in the canopy, was a whole suspended casino village of rope bridges, paper lanterns, music rooms, bars, gambling tables, and bird fights. The invitation unlocked an elevator at the ship’s mast. Moghammer stayed parked below while the party rode up.
Inside, a rabbit-like runner dragged Isilrod backstage. Old Tin Top himself, a seven-foot rabbit showman with a top hat, mustache, glass eye, and dangerous grin, hosted the 284th Midsommer Night’s Song. The place had rhino bartenders, monkey servers, purple sound-dampening curtains, jazz bugbears, gamblers, performers, and a sense that every weird thing in Chult eventually finds a stool there.
Isilrod performed “The Old Mountain Keeps Eating Away,” a dwarven song about family, mines, grief, and refusing to stop singing. It killed. He advanced to round two.
The rest of the party worked the room. Bodius, briefly disguised as Shago, noticed Isolde the Moth, a pale half-elf with a bone flute, and used Minor Illusion to whisper that they needed to meet after the last song at the boat. Volo emerged through a fireplace in blue smoke, delighted to see them and already cashing in on Moghammer merchandise back in Xibalba. Bonzo entered a bird fight in Raven form as “Mad Uncle Octavius.” After drinking fairy breast milk, he breathed fire on a blue heron and won the wager.
At the end of the hour, pans clattered and the room reconvened for round two. The six finalists were announced: Vesper Ralk, Raif Bright-fin, Gus Galloway, Eoin Cooper, Summer “Hardcore” Mooneyham, and Isilrod Gurglestrom. The session ended as Vesper Ralk, “the Tongue of Baldur’s Gate,” began her acapella performance.
Outcomes
- Lilith was spared and remains with the party under threat.
- Shago’s map and note opened new leads: Night Song, the Basin, a Dragon mark, and a named pair to intercept, Grackles and LeFleur.
- The party reached Old Tin Top’s Juke Joint and Casino.
- Isilrod advanced to round two of Midsommer Night’s Song.
- Bonzo won a bird fight in Raven form after fairy breast milk gave him fire breath.
- Volo reappeared and confirmed Moghammer merch is already moving in Xibalba.
- The party is currently inside Old Tin Top’s at the start of round two.
Open Threads
- Identify Grackles and LeFleur and figure out why Shago’s patron wanted them intercepted at the Basin.
- Determine what the Basin and Dragon map marks refer to.
- Follow up with Isolde the Moth after the last song.
- Finish Midsommer Night’s Song and learn what winning, losing, or attending actually triggers.
- Decide whether Lilith can actually be trusted.
- Tell Flea that Mosquito is dead.
Transcript: Full session transcript
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