After the excitement of the wedding celebration had subdued, the Chiefs Pauihito and Temaunota quickly turned to deciding what must be done about Tahitia. Pauihito urged an aggressive strike, while Temaunota pushed for a more cautious approach. Chief Temaunota was weary of going to war while Borotonga recovered from the recent plague. Ultimately, they agreed to send a scouting party to Tahitia so a more informed decision could be made.
The chiefs sought the adventurers with the greatest Mana from Morotana and Borotonga to send on the mission. They brought in the renowned navigator Wake, Root the Warrior, and the old but wise Kahuna Leilani. They shared with the adventurers the pressing need to gather information as the Chiefs debated the best course of action. Like the Chiefs, the adventurers themselves were also divided on the best course of action. They listened as the chiefs bickered back and forth, Pauhito encouraging sabotage and assassination and Tamaunota hoping to avoid a conflict.
Eventually the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Kahuna HareHare. He pulled the group outside the hut and shared with them a vision gifted to him by the gods. “I presume you all remember the story of Maui and Tuna. Tuna continually harassed Maui’s mother Hina angering Maui. Maui chased Tuna from island to island, each time Maui caught up, the slippery eel escaped. Eventually Maui cornered Tuna, and slayed him. Maui buried Tuna’s head and cast aside the body. Where the head was buried, the first coconut tree grew.” The Kahuna paused, after reminding the adventurers of the story.
“It seems as if the Gods, after all these years, are teaching my like I teach our children. The version of the story I saw was different. Maui and Tuna made peace, and Tuna became guardian of Hina’s home. Still, could you imagine a world without coconuts? While I employ you to be cautious in your approach, Parau-tia must be stopped.”
The group of adventurers then prepared to depart Morotana. Nearly ready to set sail for Tahitia, the group returned to the two chiefs before departing and asked if they had anything that belonged to Parau-tia, to enable them to call upon the power of Hina to guide them directly to the evil Kahuna. The chiefs recalled the adventurers who helped stop the plague on Borotonga and the bones of Parua-tia’s servant the brought back from the island of Moti-Poti.
Ready to set sale, the group set sail for Borotonga. On the last day of the journey, Wake saw a wicked storm approaching. Seeing no other option than to leverage the winds of the storm and race to the island, that’s exactly what they did. Masterfully tacking into the wind, the group managed to reach the island just as the storm intensified.
Once on the island the group sought out the Princess’ Manao and Tepiti shared the mission they were on and inquired about the bones. The princesses sent for an old Kahuna, and they found the bones were securely wrapped away at the islands main alter. Throwing the old man on his back, Root carried him to the alter and retrieved the bones.
Before departing, Princess Manao paused the adventurers and told them she thought Prince Tiape was a good man. They inquired if he was rather eel-like, and although a euphemistic miss-understanding occurred, she mentioned he kept his head shaved. Leilani then asked the princess if she perhaps still had anything that once belonged to Prince Tiape, and she provided them with a massive snail shell he had gifted to her. Princess Tepiti scowled at Manao upon finding out she held on to this gift, although it was clear there was no real ill-will between them.
The trip to Tahiti passed by quickly and uneventfully. Upon arrival they were hailed by a pair of warriors on a small patrol canoe. The group convinced the warriors they were traders blown off course by the whims Tahwhiri in the recent storm, unsure of where they were and looking to trade for supplies. Wake pulled of the rouse masterfully, and quickly befriended the pair of warriors.
Guiding the PCs through the reef, the warriors seemed overly concerned with ensuring the adventurers avoided the south side of the isle. Following the warriors’ lead, the party came ashore and began negotiations.
The island seemed abuzz with activity. The sound of stone axes echoed across the island, celebrations with Kava were everywhere, and disagreement on the course of action taken by Chief Aturu (and whether he was even in charge) seemed to permeate every conversation. While Wake negotiated to get as many supplies for his rare feathers as possible, Leilani and Root began to meander south to look for a quiet place to conduct their ritual.
Reaching the edge of the forest near the cove on the south side of Tahitia, Leilani and Root saw two massive Pahus under construction. While not necessarily instruments of war, these boats could carry hundreds of warriors the short distance to Morotana and Borotanga. To avoid suspicion Leilani pulled a full-on Grama Taly act. Acting a bit eccentric in song and dance, she eventually shifted into the actual ritual of finding as the sun set. Once complete, Leilani looked at the stars and realized Prince Tiape was not on the island.
Realizing something was amiss in Tahiti and trusting the advice of Princess Manao, the group immediately set sail and followed the stars. However, it seems the gods were not in favor of this course of action, and the group was blown off course and into the tentacles of a Kraken looking for a meal.
A brief and violent battle ensued, but the adventurers fought heroically. Leilani was grappled by an arm, and pulled back by Root. Then Root expertly deflected the attacks of the kraken, pushing Wake out of the way to be grabbed himself, then cutting his own way out of the Kraken’s grasp. Leilani converted Hina’s healing energy into a dark necrotic force to help subdue the beast, and Wake swung his leiomano at the beast. Eventually, the Kraken decided this meal was not worth the effort.
The adventurers continued to sail north, trying to adjust their path and follow the stars shining in the sky, when a massive burst of light occurred not too far off their current course. Setting sail in that direction, the group found Prince Tiape later that evening.
They found out that Prince Tiape, dis-illusioned with his father’s leadership, was seeking out a new island and planned to steal one of the three war Pahu’s under construction and take with him those who shared his viewpoint and wished to avoid war. A short negotiation took place between the prince and the adventurers. The adventurers agreed to help the Prince in exchange for a Mele Hoku to a magical island where the Prince found the oversized snail shell he gifted to Princess Manao.
The prince and the adventurers set course back to Tahiti, and used the time on the journey back to make a plan on how to deal with the dangerous Kahuna Parau-tia. Root shared a magical potion he had been given allowing him to take the form of someone else for a brief time. Practicing how to impersonate the Prince’s Kahuna Kalahari, the group decided they would have Prince Tiape surrender to be brought to Parau-tia once on the island.
Upon reaching Tahitia, the plan worked as expected. During the Prince’s absence Kahuna Parau-tia ended the rouse of Chief Aturu having any authority, completely seizing control of the island. The group was escorted directly to the evil Kahuna. Parua-tia, not seeing through the enchantment worn by Wake, asked who he thought was Kahlahari, of his loyalty.
Wake bluffed excellently, making up a story of remaining loyal and brining the prince back to him. Wake slowly approached the Kahuna, and waited for the perfect moment to break his disguise. The moment came. The Kahuna dropped his guard for a brief second, and Wake swung his leiomano at the Kahuna’s throat. The shark’s teeth found their mark, and the Parau-tia instantly collapsed.
Afterwards, the group found Queen Maroa prisoner in the Kahuna’s hut and saw the compulsion enchantments fade from Chief Aturu. Prince Tiape set off the next day with hundreds from the island and headed north to follow a Mele Hoku to an unknown future with two of the great Pahu’s that had originally been made to prepare for war.