Sessions #54 & #55: The Arrogance and the Wisdom of the Ancients (Parts I & II)

Session #54

The party stepped over the bodies of the fallen guards and went around the bend. There they saw the mouth of a huge cave, undoubtedly the dragon's! They marched in confidently. The cave entrance was a narrow-ish passageway flanked by a thirty-foot cliff on the right side. When they rounded the side of this cliff and entered the main cavern, they were awed by the size of it. But their attention was much more focused on the huge red dragon lying on an enormous pile of gold and treasure at the far end of the cave.

The dragon rose from his repose with a surprised look, and then let out an evil laugh. "I give you full marks for bravery," he cackled. "Now come and meet your death!"

The party launched into the fray, while the dragon let out blasts of fire. At first the great wyrm still seemed bemused by them. However, Azeri then summoned an ethereal chariot and steed that gave the party the ability to fly up to meet the dragon in the air and gave them extra protection. The dragon recognized this as powerful magic, and became less casual. And then Azeri was able to actually inflict some damage with a fire attack! At this the dragon looked downright stunned and gave the party his full attention.

Around and around they went, the magic of the party's weapons and staffs pushing back the dragon's lethal claws, teeth, and breath. Azeri guided her chariot through the air with Maak Tol riding in the back delivering blows against their foe even in mid-air. The dragon grew more harried and concerned as the battle progressed, and lighted on the top of the cliff.

Session #55

Now beginning to show the strain, the dragon let forth might roars that caused Maak Tol and Tselem to both retreat several paces in momentary fear. But their courage quickly returned to them, and once again they rained blows and spells down upon him. Fear began to show in the ancient creature's eyes, and his attacks became both more desperate and clumsy. He tried to back away from the party, to find some cover, but then he flew up into the air once more and this time, Taumir arrows found their final mark. With a scream and crash, the beast crashed to the cavern floor, dead!

The party was exhausted from the fight, and took some time to savor their victory. Then they got to the messy work of stripping the corpse and collecting the bones for their mission (particularly the femur, arm, and skull bones). They also set to work looting from the hoard. The enormous pile of treasure gave them cause to mourn that their bag of holding wasn't infinite!

As they were thus engaged, Azeri suddenly heard and felt Shaena speaking in her head! She recognized this was the Sending ritual. Per the brevity of the ritual, Shaena said only a short phrase: "Friends, I owe you an apology. Please come again soon - you won't believe what we have found." Azeri was not able to respond, but she felt the genuineness of Shaena's message. So the party decided to return to Clan Ulantra on the Talenta Plains.

Azeri summoned her magical steeds and the party arrived back with their former hosts on the evening of 26 Barrakas. Shaena was waiting for them, and greeted them with warmth and an apology. She asked their forgiveness for having blamed them for the death of her people. She thought that the mummies had attacked the camp that night because of the party, but she has since learned otherwise. The party frankly accepted, and asked how she had learned this. Shaena told them to come and see.

Shaena had acquired a large bruise on her face. When asked about it, she said simply that in the aftermath of the deaths, she had been challenged for leadership of the clan. Cracking her knuckles, she concluded, "It won't happen again."

Shaena led the party to a spot about a hundred yards outside of the camp. To the party's surprise, a huge pit had been dug, and inside it, was a huge pyramid! Shaena explained that some of her warriors had followed the mummies who'd escaped, and they'd disappeared into the sand here, so her people had dug down, and found all this! They'd ventured inside once, but been driven out by mummies. Shaena asked for the party's help in venturing in once more. The party agreed, but in the morning. Tselem was especially still a bit dazed from the fight with the dragon, and night was quickly drawing on. Shaena agreed.

That night the party and the clan partied the night away. This night saw the light of several of the moons, as well as many burning torches and constant guards, so everyone slept soundly.

The next morning, Shaena and her guards fetched the party and they all went down into the pit and began to search the pyramid. It was several hours before they found anything of interest though. Around noon they entered a large chamber, and saw an orb glowing with evil energy. It sent a blast at them that knocked them all flat and threw Shaena and her guards out of the room entirely. Still on his back, Taumir let an arrow fly, and very nearly destroyed the evil thing; then Tselem finished it off with a disintegration spell. Now motivated, everyone searched the room, and found mention of a library hidden deep within the pyramid.

Azeri heard this and was off like a shot! A few minutes later they entered said library and found it to be huge and full of dusty tomes. Tselem quickly realized that much of the magic in here would be offensive to all Lawful Good and Good gods, though not all of it was strictly evil. Taumir searched for books about the thirteenth moon for some reason. Azeri, her little fox in tow, found some books about dragons. And in one of them she found a map of all the known dragons in Khorvaire! It was a hundred years old, but for dragons that is nothing, so this was a very promising lead!

Shaena and the guards had not descended to the library's level, choosing to go back out and get some lunch. After an hour in the library, the party followed as well.

Rewards

• 23,350 XP each! (Maak Tol will now level up to level 22.)
• A Dragondaunt Shield - Level 26 magic item (Player's Handbook p. 245)
• 3,100 PP (equivalent to 310,000 GP), plus 5,000 GP worth of gems & jewels

Session #33: The Flight & the Mercy

The last two fire creatures did not make it easy, but in the end the party struck them down as well. Elane continued trying to attack Azeri as she lay there, but once the last of her allies died, she became strangely still and quiet. The party was exhausted, night had fallen, and while they were outside of town, they were close enough to populated areas that the fight was bound to have attracted some attention. They took their captive, hustled into the woods, and settled in for the night.

That night, as the party slept, Azeri awakened and, in a rather amazing display of stealth, slipped past Edge, who was keeping watch, and took the still bound Elane away, deeper into the forest. There, she confronted the Silver Flame cleric about her betrayal, demanding to know the reason. Elane gave none beyond what she had said earlier in the evening, and was dismissive and rude to her captor. Despite this, Azeri didn't have the heart to execute her, and set her free, telling her that this was her last chance. Elane pondered this for a second, then fled for her life.

When the rest of the party awoke the next morning (6 Lharvion), they were surprised and annoyed at Azeri's actions, but they decided the only prudent thing to do at this point was to get the heck out of here, especially considering the number of power players they were now wanted by had reached a half-dozen or more. They decided that they weren't going to have any luck with the ritual until they could gain more magical knowledge, and they couldn't do that skulking around in the bushes of the world. So they decided to head to Breland (specifically the capital city of Wroat) and try to join the war effort.

The party made their way south to the city of Sigilstar, a day's journey. Fortunately, despite their wanted status, the day passed without incident. The next day (7 Lharvion), they made it as far as Nathyrr, but there they were stopped by suspicious guards at a checkpoint. They were able to bluff their way through though. An hour or so later they passed over the Brey River into Breland, and breathed a sigh of relief - here they should be less hunted.

The next few days were uneventful as they traveled the major highway through the fields and plains of Breland to Wroat. Around noon on the 12th day of Lharvion, they finally arrived. After making some inquiries, they decided to seek out a certain Baron von Mucharsen, a man supplying the Brelish government with soldiers.

They approached his house in the center of the city and offered their services as elite troops or even spies. The chamberlain there seemed bored by their offer, and ushered them into a courtyard to give them a 'test.' The test turned out to be three ogres, whom the party dispatched with almost no effort at all. The chamberlain was stunned speechless, and invited them to come meet with the Baron personally.

Rewards

• 9,100 XP each! Time to level up to 16!
• You found a Spirit Shield +4 (Player's Handbook 2, p. 203).
• You found a Lifedrinker weapon +3 (Player's Handbook, p. 235).
• You found 8,500 GP (total).

Session #10: The Inconvenient Truths

Azeri had a head start and surprising new speed, and the party was not able to catch up with her. Though the distance to Askelios was long, they all ran flat out (except Akta, who jogged behind, and took quite a while to catch up). When Azeri reached the outskirts of the town, she began to attack the townspeople! Some ran for their lives; others turned and fought. Those that did were cut down. The party rushed in to take Azeri down themselves, but Azeri had some new tricks up her sleeve. She put a curse on Edge, making it so anyone who got near to him would be injured. One of the townspeople who stood his ground was unaware of this, and in rushing to defend his town, ran right past Edge and died instantly!

The battle was furious, and when it ended, Azeri had been knocked unconscious, and four of the townspeople lay dead. The party grabbed their fallen comrade and hustled out of sight. It took some time and effort, but they were eventually able to break the dark spirit's hold over Azeri, and she awoke as herself. Immediately, the enormity of what had happened crashed down over her, and she began to weep.

The party made their way back to the camp outside of town, and slept. The next morning, the 19th day of Eyre, they decided to continue their journey to Varna, in part due to Akta's pleadings. They arrived there in the afternoon of the 21st day of Eyre, where Akta went straight to her mother's home. When Reita, Akta's mother, saw her again for the first time in 15 years, both burst into tears. The party was invited in.

When they entered the home, there was another person there, a human woman named Elane, She was dressed in the vestments of the Church of the Silver Flame, and it quickly became clear that she had a position of no small authority in that church. She explained that Reita, a worshiper of the Silver Flame, had years ago reached out to her to help her locate Akta. Elane had eventually learned of Akta's imprisonment by Zelian d'Deneith, and was making plans to get her out, when the party beat her to the punch!

In the course of their conversation, Taumir asked his usual question about the Thirteenth Moon. When Elane realized that he was one of the Whisper Wood elves, she was greatly surprised - she thought they had all been wiped out! She explained that his people had been working on a way to give dragonmarks to any person, regardless of bloodline. Zelian had found out about it, and felt so threatened by it, that he had had them all killed. The party was great relieved to have finally found some answers!

Another shock was coming for Elane, and Reita too - as they all talked the existence of Akta's dragonmark was revealed. Elane was as astonished and stunned as the party had been upon their first learning of it, and Reita too, as Akta had managed to keep it hidden from her too. With all these revelations, Elane seemed to make a decision. She declared that Zelian was dangerous, dangerous to the world, and needed to be stopped. Elane could not get the Church of the Silver Flame involved directly, but she could hire a group like the party to take him out. Would they do it?

Taumir, Tselem, and Azeri did not hesitate. Edge, however, told them they were all insane! Zelian is one of the most powerful men in the world, he reminded them, and House Deneith is already hunting them. The chances that they would even survive this is small, let alone accomplish their goal. The party remained committed though, and Edge grudgingly agreed to come along.

Elane said they would outfitted with whatever equipment they wanted, and given the support they needed to carry out their mission. Tomorrow they would travel to the city of Flamekeep, the headquarters of the Church of the Silver Flame, and start their mission from there. With that, she retired to an inn she was staying at in town, and the party took their leave of Reita and Akta.

Rewards

• 1,000 XP for Edge, Tselem, and Taumir; 200 XP for Azeri. This means leveling up!
• You found 200 GP on the bodies of the townspeople; split it however you wish.

Session #9: The Cleric's Fall

The party talked for a minute to determine their next move, and decided to get in the coach and carry on their way. After only traveling for a few minutes they came upon the rest of the caravan, who were surprised and a little wary to see them. So wary in fact that they sent them on their way, letting them take the couch without any further questions.

The party rode on until late the next afternoon (17 Eyre), when they reached the city of Askelios, at the foot of the Star Peaks. Taumir had been acting aggressive and suspicious all day and now argued that the party should go into town without him so he wouldn't be recognized by anybody. Edge and Akta went into town and asked around about the Whisper Woods. They met a farmer who mentioned that his brother had spent some time in the woods, but was currently doing some woodcutting a long way away.

Returning to the camp outside of town they found that Taumir had fortified the spot by building a moat. The rest of the party was beginning to feel a bit jumpy themselves, but the night passed without incident. The next day (18 Eyre), the party hiked into the Whisper Woods. Before long, they came upon Taumir's old camp, which lay in ruins. It didn't look like anyone had been to this spot in a long time. Edge found a few gold pieces on the ground, and Taumir found a scroll he thought was long lost, but they didn't find much else of value.

While the party was puzzling over what to do next, a fox wandered into the clearing where they stood. They could tell at once that it was not just a fox, but a fox spirit, a fact that intrigued and excited Azeri. To their shock, however, the fox only spoke one word: "Run." And then it ran for its life. The party followed, only to find themselves pursued by an Owl-Bear! They turned, they fought, they defeated, and then they feasted!

After lunch, they heard someone moving in the woods near by them, just down a hill. Azeri and Taumir decided to try to sneak up on them. Taumir failed miserably, falling down the hill to land at their feet. The surprised peasants answered the questions he asked them, and were genuinely startled when Azeri snuck up on them. They didn't have much useful to say, though.

The party was frustrated with their lack of progress in finding out anything about the Thirteenth Moon, so they decided to wait for evening to see if some star-gazing would help. In the meantime, Edge rested, Tselem studied magic, while Taumir took Azeri to see the Whisper Rock, an interesting formation nearby.

That evening, the fox spirit returned, much to Azeri's delight. As it approached, and she prepared to commune with it, a hunter's arrow struck the animal vessel dead! Azeri's shock and rage was palpable - in fact the entire forest suddenly went dark and the party realized that something terrible had just happened. Azeri stood, and turned around, and the party saw literal darkness overtaking her - her eyes had gone black, and they could sense dark magic gathering around her. She rushed the shooter, a poor farmer they could see at the edge of the clearing. She struck him dead with a single blow, and then tore off in the direction of Askelios!

Rewards

• 700 XP each.
• In the forest you found a Watcher's Horn. It's in the Player's Handbook 2, which I have a PDF of. The description: "This small black horn produces no noise when sounded, but it awakens your slumbering friends and makes them ready to fight (as a minor action)."