Session #70: The Diamonds in their Eyes

The party did not let Ovisra get up, and continued their relentless assault. Within minutes, the great monster was dead!

The party took a moment to breath and celebrate! Azeri dispersed her magical chariot, Maak Tol turned back into a tiefling, and Tselem let the vortexes and portals he had created fade. Then they went about the business of stripping the corpse. Tselem made an earring out of one of the bones, and Taumir took some of the ribs to make arrows. Azeri and Maak Tol were less inclined to make such trophies and collected what they needed for their divine weapon.

After resting for a bit, the party took stock of their situation. They knew that the dragon's lair, which was sure to contain a massive hoard, was certainly somewhere under the swamp. They weren't sure they felt like mucking around in said swamp, but they didn't want to just leave. Tselem cast Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion and the party went in, and they spent the next several hours thinking of different plans.

Taumir, half-jokingly, suggested they drain the swamp. They all chuckled ... and then Tselem's face lit up. He realized that they could absolutely do that! By casting a magical gate at the bottom the swamp and have the other end come out on top of a linked portal, they could remove a huge portion of the water! Simple calculations of the size of the body of water told them they'd have to get over 225,000 gallons of water out. A linked portal could only be held open for 30 seconds, but they realized that Tselem and Azeri could cast consecutive portals, and that a minute was almost enough time to drain everything!

Delighted with the audacity of this strategy, they plunged ahead: where should send all this water? Someone brought up the idea of sending it to the prison Edge was in, to set him free! They worried for a second this might drown him, only to remember that, as a living construct, Edge doesn't need to breathe! They used scrying magic to find Edge, and discovered he was in prison in Greenheart, in the Eldeen Reaches, and there was a portal near him they could use! The scrying showed them their friend ironically playing the harmonica in his cell. Taumir shouted hello, but Edge couldn't see or hear them, the magic was 'one-way'. He appeared intrigued by the magic window that appeared in his cell but in true Edge fashion, he then shrugged and went back to his harmonica. The party was gladdened to see their friend still in good spirits, and were now even more resolved to spring him.

The next morning (27 Rhaan), they emerged from the Mansion and walked to the edge of the swamp. Maak Tol and Taumir handed over the gold to compensate Tselem & Azeri for the spell components they were going to be using up here, and then stepped back. They started working on their portals, and then, at the exact moment, Tselem cast the gate, and a massive flood of water poured out from the end of the gate into the portal! Maak Tol cheerily tossed in an ale bottle which the night before he'd replaced the liquid contents with a note for Edge. The bottle disappeared into the stream. Through the portals the party could hear surprised and baffled shouts as the flood poured down on the heads of the jailers in Greenheart. As soon as Tselem's portal closed, Azeri opened hers in the same spot, and the flood continued!

Once Azeri's portal closed, Tselem dispersed the gate. A final thousand gallons of water splashed onto the forest floor, and the party turned back to look at the swamp. It had indeed been drained! There was still several feet of water in the lowest section, but what had once been a dark and forbidding cesspool was now a plain, damp pit. (Tselem later estimated that they got about 65% of the total water out.)

The party made their way down the newly exposed mud cliffs to the remaining water below, as they could now clearly see the entrance to the dragon's lair just below the surface! (Maak Tol more fell down, reaching the bottom in a muddy heap.) They dove under the water, and swam a good distanc through an underwater tunnel, breaking the surface of an underground lake within a huge cavern. In the middle of this cavern was an island, and on that island, was a massive, enormous treasure hoard. Two thousand years worth of ill-gotten dragon loot glittered and gleamed before their eyes! Piles of gold a dozen feet high, armor and scrolls and weapons and diamonds and books and trinkets and even mundane items like mirrors, all piled so high and thick they couldn't begin to guess how many there were.  It was more treasure than they'd ever be able to spend in a lifetime, and it was all theirs for the taking!!

The party swam to the shore of the island, overwhelmed with how well this was paying off!!

After a few minutes of metaphorically swimming in their pile of money (and Maak Tol carving his name into some things), the party began to think about what they were going to do with all of this. At first they were inclined to just leave it here and come back when their adventures were done, but they decided to take some of it out. They decided they should pay it forward - or back, as the case may be, and give some to the various people who'd gotten wrapped up in their adventures inadvertently. So the next day (28 Rhaan), Azeri teleported the other three to Fairhaven. Tselem took a whole wheelbarrow full of gold to Miri, the professor they'd nearly gotten killed some months back. They also donated a significant sum to the University, not-so-subtly mentioning they wouldn't mind having a building or two named after them. They they spent some of their loot on ale and books, and at a pre-arranged time, Azeri teleported them back to the cave.

The next day (the first day of the month of Sypheros), they repeated this, this time going to Owl's Perch, where Akta and Reita lived. Again, a wheelbarrow of money was exchanged. Akta and Reita were a little apprehensive to see them - their visits were typically harbingers of doom after all. But after Akta and Tselem caught up, and the money was exchanged, all their fears vanished. Reita make them a wonderful home-cooked meal, and that evening they started making their way back to Azeri's pick up point.

As they walked through the streets of this town, a gang of four human thugs stepped out and drew their weapons. The party nearly doubled over with laughter.

Rewards

• 47,000 XP each!
• Well what do you know, there actually was an Iron of Spite in the dragon's hoard! (Player's Handbook p. 249)
• You also found a Rod of Forceful Invocation +6 (Player's Handbook 2 p. 205)
• 35,000 GP each!
• What happens with the rest of the hoard will be determined in the next session.

Session #69: The Culmination of their Efforts

The party emerged from the Mansion on the brisk morning of 26 Rhaan. Even in this tropical clime they could feel a little bite of autumn air. Little light penetrated the gloom of the jungle canopy, and the humid air hung thick and oppressive around them. But they felt confident and rested, and trekked deeper into the jungle.

After only a few moments, they came across an open area with a large pond in the middle. There were some bones scattered along the banks, and the dark, dank water seemed to be hiding something. Tselem scouted to one side, while the rest of the party investigated the other. They feel the presence of the dragon so near.

And then, with a great crest of water, the dragon burst from the pool! Tselem recognized this black wyrm - it was Ovisra, an ancient dragon who's history went back over two millennia. She had a fearsome reputation, and immediately began to live up to it, spraying the party with acid and surrounding herself with a cloud of gloom that made it difficult for them to see her.

The party was caught flat-footed by the appearance of their quarry after so many weeks of searching, and for a moment it seemed the dragon would have the upper hand. But then Tselem cast a vortex that yanked Ovisra out of the water and tossed her to the ground at the edge of the clearing. Seeing this, Azeri wasted no time casting her magical chariot and hovering above Ovisra, pinning her to the earth. The other party members took further advantage, casting spells and using attacks to restrain her further. Taumir used a nest of magical vines, and Maak Tol used his animal forms to sprout wings and join Azeri in the airborne pincer movement.

This combined assault left Ovisra unable to bring her full abilities to bear. She hissed, shot her acid, and raked her claws and tail, but the party's blows fell uninterrupted. Very soon, Ovisra was fighting for her very life! She cast the cloud of gloom over herself once more, but Azeri and Taumir used invisibility powers that stymied her other counter-attacks. Tselem then followed this up with blasts of fire and ice that left Ovisra bellowing with pain and rage!

The party pressed their assault. Now, it was only a matter of time.

Rewards
No XP or GP yet, but all the bragging rights! This is amazing!

Sessions #66 - 68: The Death in the Deceit (Parts I - III)

Part I

The party trekked all day through the territory of Clan Watros. They often saw, off in the distance (very far off in the distance) members of said Clan observing them, but they never came close. The fear of them had spread far and wide across the land.

When evening fell, the party was deep in the jungle, and felt they were getting close to the dragon at last, though they were not there yet. They made their camp for the night, and built a fire.

As they were relaxing before turning in, they saw several figures approaching the camp. The figures made no effort to hide themselves, and soon came into the light. It was a group of Eladrin females - one was clearly a warrior, while the others looked like peasants. They all looked very bedraggled and wary. The warrior introduced herself as Evanora, and the other women as Koume, Nyx, Thessaly, Lavina, Keziah, and Thais. They claimed they were fleeing yet another clan dispute far to the northeast (the party was now in the central-western part of the jungle). 

The refugees asked if they might share the party's fire for the night. The party let them come and sit, but were suspicious of them. Tselem in particular doubted their story, and they all began to look for ways to find out the real truth.

But before anything could be done, an unseen force began attacking the party. They leapt to the ready, only to have their new guests turn on them! These women were not at all what they seemed - as the fray commenced, all but Evanora transformed into hideous hags with sharp, cruel claws and raspy voices. 

Taumir used some of his magic to turn invisible and take up an striker position outside the close, intense contetst. As the party rained blows on these deceitful females, they were surprised to see another form appear, somewhat: a ghostly apparition that was launching itself at them and draining their energy! It was dark and malevolent, but they could hardly see it, and it kept disappearing and reappearing.

One of the hags was able to kick the fire out, snuffing out the only light in this heart of the jungle, but the battle still raged on in the sinister darkness...

Part II

Tselem recast the magical light, centering it on a pine-cone he tossed up in the air, restoring light to the battlefield. The hags began shooting out blasts of necrotic energy, sucking away the party's life force and restoring themselves. But the party was not down and out by any means. Tselem and Azeri let out blasts of powerful energy too, searing and blinding their foes. The dark phantom that had been vexing them was annihilated, and Evanora, Thessaly and Lavina soon fell to these attacks as well.

Part III

The night grew darker, and both sides of the fight grew tired. Koume, Nyx, Keziah, and Thais continued to try to suck the party's life force away, and even succeeded a few times. But the party was not out of tricks yet, and a long battle was finally brought to a close with arrows and several blasts of magical lightning.

The exhausted party then filed into Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion, which Tselem had cast with the door in a tree, to rest out the rest of the night in peace.

Rewards

• 19,500 XP each! Time to level up to 25!
• 55,000 GP total!

Session #65: The Territory of the Vanquished

Their guide bid them farewell, and wished them luck on their travels through the territory of Clan Watros, which began on the other side of the river. Azeri and Maak Tol crossed the river first, with Tselem and Taumir hanging back. This turned out to be a good decision, since as soon as they were on the other side, a warrior of Clan Watros, flanked by several wild hunt hounds, attacked these intruders.

Azeri had had too much fun the night before and was very tired, and her heart wasn't in fighting another territorial dispute, so she hung back. Maak Tol reveled in the fray, and he was quickly joined by Taumir and Tselem. Tselem cast a few spells that seared their new enemies, as well as the riverbank, leaving much of the vegetation dead from acid burns. He then began to swim the river. Taumir stayed on the far bank, launching arrow after deadly arrow.

The protectors of Clan Watros were valiant, but not on the same level as the party. The bank and the river were soon stained red with their blood. After defeating them, the party tossed their bodies into the river. Taumir then leaped the entire way across the river, and the party marched off into the jungle, leaving their Clan Feymight guide supremely over-awed.

Rewards

• 16,000 XP each
• 30,000 GP total

Session #64: The Foolishness of the Factions

As the party moved through the jungle towards their guide's clan (Clan Feymight), the party, with their superior perception, became aware that they were being followed. They debated for a moment whether to tell their guide. When he was informed, he tried to act if nothing was happening, though he asked his new compatriots to describe the hidden Eladrin to him. The party related to him the colors they were wearing and he became agitated - this was Clan Ilzom, he declared, come to ambush them.

The group came to a fork in the jungle path, and the scout seemed unsure of how to proceed. Azeri however was tired of waiting for the ambush to be sprung, and called out to the hidden figures to just go ahead and make their move already! There was a moment of pregnant silence, then some muttered Elven curses, and the attack began!

These warriors of Clan Ilzom did not seem particularly interested in the party's neutrality or non-neutrality, they quickly moved to attack them just as surely as their guide. This turned out to be a grave error on their part, as they were badly, badly outmatched. Taumir used an attack that created lethal plants, and it crushed one of these warriors to death in an instant! Tselem was so impressed by it that he could not help but audibly mock how pathetic their opponents were. The rest of the party were similarly lethal, and in a very short order, the would-be ambushers lay dead. (Maak Tol went through their pockets and looked for lose change, but all he found were some scimitars - see "Rewards" below.)

The Clan Feymight scout stared in shock at the defeated enemies. His earlier arrogance and dismissiveness towards the party was now replaced by a downright sycophantic attitude. He wasted no time leading them the rest of the way to his clan's enclave. En route, Tselem tried to draw out of him why Clan Feymight and Clan Ilzom had been enemies for so long, and was treated to a rambling, semi-coherent mythology that told of some ancient feud. The story so bored him that he couldn't even remember it when it was done.

Arriving at the enclave, the rest of Clan Feymight regarded them with curiosity and suspicion. The scout led them directly to the elders, and told the tale of their victory! After the tale the elders were impressed and accommodating, though not much more welcoming. They granted the party several boons, including food and a place to spend the night. They agreed to lead the party deeper into the jungle, to the edge of their territory and the territory of a clan that was supposed to be near the realm of the dragon. Tselem was able to buy some rituals from them that would have been hard to find otherwise too (see "Rewards" below).

By this time it was evening. The party was treated to a fine meal, and was able to spend some time relaxing. Azeri entertained the clan's children, giving them annoying little trinkets, telling stories and playing pranks. Her fox (who had nipped at the attackers heels during that afternoon's battle) enjoyed running around and playing. Maak Tol was pleased to be surrounded by forest again, and was even able to capture and tame a small spitting drake!

The next morning, they arose early and hiked several hours further into the jungle. Azeri's fox trotted alongside her, while Maak Tol rode mounted on his new drake. Again Tselem tried to get the guide to share more of their history and culture and again tedious stories ensued. Taumir saw trees.

Around noon-day (on 24 Rhaan) they arrived at the edge of Clan Feymight's territory, where a modest river marked the boundary and the beginning of a new unknown.

Rewards

• 2,500 XP each
• 2 Magic (+6) Scimitars (heavy blades - see Player's Handbook p. 235)
• (Tselem is able to choose any three rituals scrolls level 20 or lower)

Session #63: The Search for More Foes

The party was still taking stock of their situation when a new threat appeared! Several dusty, dry skeletons shambled out of the darkness at the back of the cave and began to attack them. Evil magic radiated off them, and they tried to combine their powers against the party. But whatever horrors they had once had in store for hapless travelers seemed to have badly decayed, as the party was able to defeat them quickly.

The party decided there wasn't much to do but head back to Newthrone, arriving there in the afternoon of 19 Rhaan. The king was much more pleased than they by the outcome of their battle - he didn't care what the dragon was, he only cared that it was gone. True to his word, he agreed to deescalate the conflict with the Talenta Plains. True to their word, the party agreed to make introductions to Shaena. They drafted a letter and left it with the king.

The next day (20 Rhaan), they went back and looked at their map. After examining it and consulting the palace library, they decided they would travel to Ravar Orioth, also known as the Jungle of Simitars, on the southern edge of Valenar. They knew that this land was inhabited by warring Eladrin clans that they might have to fight their way through, but were confident that this would pose no real trouble. In fact, Azeri and Taumir were optimistic that, as part of elven bloodlines, they might be able to build a repertoire with these clans and help broker some peace.

Tselem disguised himself as an Eladrin and cast Linked Portal, transporting the party to Jal Paeridor, a mid-sized town in central Valenar. From there they took another three day journey south to Pylas Maradal, on the shores of the Kraken Bay. After a hearty lunch, they made their way into the outer edges of the thick, forbidding jungle (it now being 23 Rhaan).

They had scarcely entered the jungle when they encountered an Eladrin sentry. He demanded they leave his clan's territory immediately. The party was unintimidated, and let him know that they were there to slay the dragon that lived deep in the jungle. This caught his attention, as the dragon, though semi-mythical, had long cast a long shadow of fear and death across their lands. He agreed to let them come meet the clan elders and began to lead them deeper into the jungle.

Rewards

• 22,500 XP each!
• You found a Cloak of Invisibility +6 (Player's Handbook p. 249)

Sessions #61 & 62: The Failure in the Success (Parts I & II)

Part I

The party emerged from the Mansion on the morning of 16 Rhaan and headed deeper into the jungle in search of their black dragon quarry. The jungle grew thicker and darker as they went along. Tselem and Azeri also began to notice traces of dark magic, and necrotic magic at that. (Taumir & Maak Tol felt a growing unease, but did not notice the magic themselves.)

The sun was not yet high in the sky but the party was cloaked in gloom when they saw it: the mouth of a great cave. Given everything, they knew this was the lair of the dragon. It was far too dark to see inside, so Tselem tried sending in a magical sensor. They were able to see through his scryglass that there was indeed a dragon inside, sitting on some large glowing white object.

Taumir decided to try sending in an advance attack in the form of one of Hapselmath's alchemical weapons. Unfortunately, he selected a jar of mayonnaise. The dragon seemed more bemused than anything else, and cackled evilly for them to come and face their doom. When they hesitated, they saw him leap from his perch and fly towards them!

As he passed the view of the scryglass and charged down the dark tunnel towards them at the mouth of his cave, the party realized that this dragon was undead. He had no flesh, but was made entirely of bone, and a phylactery glowed dimly in his forehead. As this evil creature bore down upon them, Tselem and Azeri could sense his malevolent magic and realized to their disgust that this horrible beast had done this to himself, had willingly become an abomination.

The dragon landed just short of the mouth of the cave and began shooting dark fire at them. The party was initially hampered by the lack of light, but Tselem set his staff aglow. One of their first attacks knock the beast off his feet, and then Azeri and Maak Tol (using a magical chariot and magical wings respectively) poised themselves above him, pinning him to the ground! The frustrated monster continued to lash out with his claws, teeth, and fire, but the party was able to rain powerful blows on him somewhat with impunity!

Part II

The party kept the dragon pinned even as their supply of spells began to run dry. The dragon did eventually get to his feet, but it turned out his decision to fight in such close quarters was a poor one. The party did not let up, and their perseverance was rewarded. The dragon's phylactery finally shattered, and the evil creature disintegrated into dust.

The party immediately realized that this presented a problem: how could harvest the bones of this creature if its bones had already turned to dust?! Tselem tried halfheartedly to recombine some of the dust, but they all knew it was futile. Even if this dragon in its undead form had been a a black dragon capable of being part of their ultimate weapon, there was no way to use it now.

Tired and disappointed, the party trudged to the back of the cave to investigate what been causing the eerie white glow. To their disgust they found it was a pile of enchanted bones. They were somewhat gladdened to see that light was now fading, as the death of the dracolich seemed to have dissipated whatever evil spell was over them.

Rewards

• 25,500 XP each! Time to level up!
• 14,000 GP total