Note: The links highlighted throughout the text are to a WIP campaign wiki on Scabard, a wonderful DM tool I would highly recommend.

Chief Pauihito called the adventurers into his hut, an honor reserved only for those of great Mana. He sat sullenly on his throne holding a large, shattered conch shell. As the adventurers entered, he thanked the adventurers for coming so quickly.

Raising the shell gently, as if he could somehow will its pieces back together, he began. “This shell arrived this morning via bird, it was obviously sent as a message to end the engagement of my son Price Pauifeia and Princess Manao of Borotonga. Setting aside the great dishonor this places on our family, I am looking to avoid a war against the combined might of Tahitia and Borotonga. Alone, we are the strongest, but I fear the consequences of facing their combined might. Could you help me find out why they called off the engagement?” The wedding date was fast approaching, set initially to occur after the next full moon.

The PCs (player characters) proceeded to probe the chief for additional information. They asked about the recent visit from the Borotongan emissary, how the royal family reacted to the news, and if anything seemed amiss in the interactions between the two tribes. The chief shared that his daughter, Princess Tepiti seemed the most disappointed and mentioned some fisherman had said they saw the moon missing a few nights ago.

The PCs started out chasing down the few leads they had, beggining by talking with the Chief’s Kahuna HareHare. The kahuna shared a vision he had of the story of Hinemoa and Tutanekai. Though, the version of the dream portrayed a dark tale. Instead of reaching the other shore and finding her true love, she drowned halfway across the lake. HareHare suggested this may be a signal of Hinemoa’s disapproval and suggested a great sacrifice may be needed to obtain a clearer message.

Exploring the rest of the island, the PCs pieced together clear evidence the two princesses were in love and pulled a confession and a gift intended for Princess Manoa from Princess Tepiti. They also heard rumors of a ghost ship passing by the night after the moon was mysteriously absent.

HareHare worked with Su (the pc Kahuna) to conduct the ritual, using Tepiti’s gift to Manoa, and received the same vision. But this time, he received a Mele Hoku (star chant), as she swam towards the sound of the flute across the water and began to drown, a clear vision of the night sky was shown in the vision.

The next morning the PCs set out under the roof of voyaging on this unknown path through the skies. On the second day of their journey, the PCs crossed the path of the ghost ship. Though it was not a ghost ship, it was just a poor fishermen succumb to a mysterious, potentially magical, disease. They pushed the fishermen’s vessel away, lit it aflame to stop the disease from spreading, and continued on their way.

The remainder of the journey was uneventful and on the seventh night they reached the isle of MotiPoti. As they approached, they heard a whistling that sounded like the flute in the vision. They threw anchor for the night and waited until the morning.

As the sun rose, they found the whistling was simply wind howling through a cave entrance. The parties shapeshifter changed into a great frigatebird and scouted the island. In the cave they found a massive crab, known to be a favorite of the god Kiwa, along with a fresh body and footprints that likely belonged to the crabs last big meal.

The group first gathered supplies on the island for the journey back, and then ventured into the cave. A short battle ensued, and just as the crab was about to die Su put it to sleep. Little did the group realize, sparing this crab saved them from the full wrath of Kiwa later. They searched the cave, found a tattooed arm of a Tahitian, and mushrooms often used in some dark rituals.

The group quickly fled the island, fearing any other dangers that may lurk here, and set sail to Borotonga. With evidence from the island, they were convinced the Tahitian kahuna must have done something to poison the union between the Borotonga and Morotana.

After arriving in Borotonga, the group was escorted to Chief Temaunota. They presented the arm, the mushrooms, and their story. After a brief exchange with the chief and his kahuna they managed to convince him of their tale. Working with the islands kahuna and using the mushrooms originally put to a nefarious purpose, they set out to conduct a long and complicated ritual to reverse the plague.

After successfully appealing to the gods for help through the ritual, the PCs had won over the trust of the Borotongans. They then set out to chat with Princess Manoa. Although Princess Tepiti’s original gift was sacrificed to have the gods show them a path forward, during the journey the PCs competed to make the best replica of the original tiki. After a heart to heart with Princess Manoa, they approached the chief with a proposal for a new union between the islands.

With relatively little resistance, the chief vowed to renew the marriage between the islands, but this time proposed a marriage among the princesses.