Sessions #76-78: The Large Green Monster (Parts I - III)

The party then turned to their new young friend. She told them she came from a tiny village somewhere in the extreme western edge of the Towering Wood. She had been abducted from her home by a devil, and the party realized it was probably the one they had fought earlier that day. She had been taken to Gorthol's lair but had managed to escape and now found herself here.

The party debated what to do, and decided to take Stassi back to her village. This wasn't going to be a straightforward task as the sheltered young girl had no real sense of where she was. But they got some general directions from her and set off for the west.

Two days later, around mid-day on 9 Sypheros, the party and Stassi had made their way a significant distance southeast. As they finished their mid-day meal, they heard a great rushing noise, like a hurricane coming towards them. They looked up and saw to their determination and dread that it was Gorthol, bearing down on them! The massive green dragon strafed them from the air, screaming curses at them for the loss of her children.

Tselem, thinking fast, cast Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion and thrust Stassi inside, to keep her safe for at least the next eight hours. The party cast swirling vortexes and burst of fire & lightning, while Gorthol whipped through the air, shoving them about with her fearful powers and blasting them with her poisonous breath. Both sides seemed evenly matched: the party dealt powerful blows, but Gorthol was relentless in her fury.

Gorthol's anger did not give way to cleverness, though, while the party had many tricks up their collective sleeves. Taumir and Tselem alike got very creative with their spells and magical items, very nearly trapping and even decapitating the dragon! Azeri cast her cloud chariot and Maak Tol cast his eagle form, and they met the dragon in the air. This mighty beast, who had kept a realm in her thrall for centuries, began to falter under the deluge of blows.

The party's onslaught forced her to land, and she found herself entangled with magic vines that left her unable to even lift her head. And at last she succumbed! The pillaging beast, the eater of children, who consorted with and ruled the demons and wraiths of the forest, lay dead, half-choked by underbrush.

The party was exultant in their triumph! They harvested the great beast's bones, which meant they finally had all the components needed for their epic ritual! They then entered the mansion themselves for a bit of a rest. (This proved a tad difficult as Gorthol had died on top of the entrance, but they made it work.)

It took another few days of traveling west, but on the evening of 12 Sypheros, they finally located Stassi's village and reunited her with her family! The village was the humblest of hamlets but the party was able to rest and gather a little information.

Tempted by the alleged proximity of now unguarded ancient dragon lair, the party asked Stassi and her people what they knew about it. It was precious little, but it was enough that the party decided to spend a few days searching for it. Alas, it all came to naught - the secrets of its hiding place had probably died with its mistress. So now (18 Sypheros) the party turned their attention to more pressing matters - finding Orisis in the Khyber Underdark and continuing their mission!

Rewards

• 55,000 XP each!
• You found a Star Opal Ring (Player's Handbook p. 252)

Sessions 74 & 75: The Children of the Swarm (Parts I & II)

The party was naturally flummoxed to set their target flying away, but they knew it was useless to try and follow, she could fly much faster than any of them could move.

As they started making a plan for what they should do next, they became aware of someone calling for help in the forest off to their right. After a moment of deliberation, they decided to head into the forest to investigate. When they did, they came to a clearing, and found a little girl, probably no more than 12, huddled under a tree. The party asked her name and what was wrong. She said her name was Stassi, and that she had escaped from Gorthol's lair. This fact was underscored seconds later when nine young green dragons, clearly Gorthol's children, crested the ridge behind them. They caught sight of Stassi, yelled, "there's our dinner!" and attacked!

The party lept to Stassi's defense, only to have her leap to her own defense! Well, at least to start. Stassi quickly discovered that while she was an equal match for these foes, the party could deal with them with their eyes closed. The dragons could barely scratch the party's armor, while the party literally could not miss. So after a few attacks, Stassi retreated to a safe point and let the party do their work.

Azeri turned herself invisible, and the party whirled through the midst of the dragons, raining down blows. Taumir's arrows and Tselem's magical forks filled the clearing like a deadly mist. The dragons took to the air, trying to use flying attacks against the party, but more than once found themselves blown completely out of the sky. Maak Tol held back a little, but Azeri did not, repeatedly freezing these foes in place so Tselem could strike them with chained lightning attacks! But perhaps the most dramatic moment of all came when Tselem trapped one of the dragons in an inter-dimensional maze which it just barely escaped, only to be struck down at last!

In short it was a quick, one-sided fight that left the party victorious!

Rewards

• 9,000 XP each!
• 35,000 GP total!