Session #22: The Unintentional Heretics

As the forest fell silent, the party decided to try and find some sort of civilization in this strange land. They easily found a well-used but humble road, and followed it north for an hour or two. They found a tiny farming village, but decided not to risk any entanglements with the locals that evening. They camped outside of town and rested after the fight.

The next morning, 10 Dravago, they were awakened by the sounds of the farmers getting up to go about their daily labors. (The farmer's fields were to the west of the village, so the party had to actively go into town to meet someone.) They hailed a farmer who called himself Zara - he was surprised to see them, and a little perplexed by the sight of Edge, but he seemed unafraid. He said the name of this village was Tranor, in the empire of Reidra. When asked questions about this land and this nation, he seemed both uninterested and unaware of much of anything beyond his village and his fields. He did suggest they travel to the capital city of Dar Reinoth, saying individuals of their mettle and skills would be valued by the Inspired, the mysterious rulers of his country. He then bid them farewell and headed off to his day of honest labor.

The party couldn't think of much else to pursue, so they decided to take Zara's advice. First though, they decided to head back to the clearing where they'd left the dragon's corpse and harvest the skin and scales. It was messy work, especially for Edge. The trip there and back and the time butchering the dead beast cost them most of the morning.

By mid-afternoon, the party had traveled a dozen miles or so north of Tranor when they saw three figures approaching from a distance. They were wary, but didn't see many places or reasons to hide themselves, so they decided to meet the strangers as they came. This proved to be a bad decision, as the three strangers, who were all kalashtar women, were servants of a race called the Inspired, who rule Riedra and had outlawed all worship of anything but the Path of the Inspired. Azeri, cleric of Ioun, was clearly not a follower of such. The women attacked with almost no warning, determined to bring her  and the rest of the party down. However, they quickly found themselves outmatched - the party slew two and was able to intimate the last into surrendering.

The remaining woman's name was Lanamelk. When she learned that the party was from Khorvaire, she softened her stance, and like Zara, said her masters would be greatly interested in meeting them. She offered to travel with them to  Dar Reinoth and make introductions there. The party agreed, feeling that they could escape from or kill Lanamelk relatively easily should the need arise.

The party and Lanamelk traveled north and west for the rest of the day, and camped overnight. The next day, 11 Dravago, they traveled for a few more hours before reaching a mid-sized city around mid-day. The party entertained the notion of slipping away from her while there, and Azeri did manage to sneak away long enough to buy some spell components, but in the end party decided to see their journey to the capital through. The afternoon and early evening passed uneventfully, and they all spent the night in an obscure country inn along the highway.

Around noon the next day (12 Dravago), the travelers arrived in Dar Reinoth, a great bustling metropolis. As they journeyed towards the center of town with Lanamelk, they listened to the crowds around them. It didn't take them long to discover that the big news, even here, was that Khorvaire was on the brink of war!

Rewards

• 2,500 XP each. Time to level up!
• 4,000 GP total.

Session #21: The Forest of Fog & Teeth

The party fought bravely and resourcefully. The dragon was powerful, but they had many tricks up their sleeves that often thwarted the dragon's most powerful attacks. Once, the dragon managed to fly through a storm cage and attack two party members at once - but not only did he miss, but the party's defenses and reactions actually knocked the beast to the ground!

As the battle wore on, the party found themselves tiring out. Fortunately, they were able to muster some strong final blows, and at last the dragon fell to the ground, dead.

Rewards

• 3,500 XP each.
• 5,000 GP total.
• You found a Stormwalker Cloak +3 (Player's Handbook, p. 251).

Session #20: The Unexpected Exile

The party decided that they wanted to get some old questions answered, and that step one in doing that would be to raise Elfrich from the dead. As doing so would take eight hours of Azeri's time, and it was already night, they found lodging and retired to tackle that project the next day.

Raising Elfrich was the work of most of the 8th day of Dravago. Edge kept watch while Azeri was casting the ritual. At long last, it was completed, and Elfrich opened his very surprised eyes. The party demanded to know if he had knowingly betrayed them, and if so, why. He hung his head, and said that, yes, he had done it all on purpose. Zelian had gotten to him, and forced him to do it. They asked why he'd activated the hidden bomb when he knew what would happen - he replied that by that point it was either they killed him or Zelian did, so it didn't seem to matter.

The party was not pacified by his answers, but wasn't about to kill him when they had just spent a great deal of time and money bringing him back to life. They informed him that he owed them for that; he is in their debt. And to repay that debt, they said, he will gather information for them now, and they'll call on him when they need him. Elfich was grateful, and said he planned to set up shop in Ghalt, a city none too far from Passage. After obtaining their leave to go, he fled into the waning light of the evening.

The party decided their next move was going to be to head to Tselem's alma mater in Fairhaven, University of Wynarn, to meet with an old professor of his, and continue pursuing other unanswered questions. Thus resolved, they headed to the nearest House Orien teleportation station. On their way however, they were met by a Dragonborn male named Kriv. Kriv knew they had taken down Zelian, or rather Kriv's master did, and had asked Kriv to 'invite' them to meet with his master.

The party was naturally very guarded, especially since Kriv would not say who his master was (though it seemed pretty likely it was a dragon) or what exactly he wanted. Kriv made it very clear though that he did not intend to take no for an answer, but neither was he in possession of all the facts. The party debated for a time, and then decided to accept. Kriv led them down to the docks on the shores of Silver Lake, where they boarded a galleon going to Drum Keep on the far side of the lake. (Kriv insisted they pay their own way, which annoyed them, so Edge paid for everyone, including Kriv, as a nose-thumbing gesture.)

It was night by the time the boat set sail. The party bedded down in the passenger bunks (such as they were) below deck. The boat arrived at Drum Keep very early the next morning, but the crew did not ask the passengers to disembark until dawn arrived on the morning of 9 Dravago. Drum Keep was a busy though not particularly noteworthy fort, and the party did not really have any reason to linger, so they followed Kriv an hour's journey into the desert beyond.

At long last, Kriv stopped and declared they had arrived, then stepped to one side. A moment later, a great brown dragon emerged from beneath the sand. Kriv's master was indeed a dragon, and his name was Khamsin. Khamsin greeted the party cordially enough for dragon, but quickly made it clear he had a bone to pick with them. Killing the leader of one of the Dragonmarked Houses, at least according to him, was interfering with the Draconic Prophesy. The party asked to know how so, but Khamsin loftily refused to entertain such questions. To him, there was only one course of action - the party must leave Khorvaire entirely, so as to not interfere any further. The party was naturally reluctant, but they were also reluctant to take on a dragon of Khamsin's stature, so they agreed to his terms.

Khamsin opened a portal to Sarlona, the other great civilized continent of the world, and ushered the group through. They found themselves in the midst of swampy, humid forest. It had been morning in Khorvaire, but now they were literally on the other side of the world, and it was evening.  The portal closed beyond them, leaving to wonder what was going to happen next.

They didn't have long to ponder. Through the trees a crashing was heard, and then a ferocious green dragon burst into the clearing where they stood. It wasted no time attacking them. The party fought back bravely, wondering if this was just bad luck ... or if they'd just been played.

Rewards
(Nothing yet, since the encounter is still on-going)