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)

Session #19: The New Paths

The party headed back to Sylbaran, where Elane announced her intention to part ways with them and make her way back to Flamekeep. Her goal had been accomplished, and Zelian was eliminated.

The party arrived at Sylbaran on the 7th day of Dravago, as the spring night was falling.

Session #18: The Heroes

The party stopped to catch their breath, reeling a little bit from the fight. As they did, from above, Sheshka applauded their victory. She then informed them that all visitors to her castle are hers to do with as she pleases, and most of the time, for humans, that means they get turned to stone, or worse. Their little vendetta with Zelian has sufficiently amused her, and their victory has sufficiently impressed her that she is willing to give them the gift of leaving with their lives. The party fumed, and Tselem in particular was itching to attack Zelian, but they simply weren't able to mount another attack in their weakened state. So they took her offer, and left the castle. The guards gave them itchy looks as they passed by, but they were able to depart unmolested.

By this time, dusk was hastening on, so the party made their way back to the caves outside of 'town' to rest for the night, and plan their next attempt on Zelian's life. They devised a strategy where they would lead Sheshka to believe that Zelian was about to betray her, and parley another chance to attack him through these means. They wrote fake letters for this purpose, then went to sleep.

The next morning, the 5th day of Dravago, the party awoke, prepared, and headed out. To their surprise and alarm, as soon as they started coming down from the caves, they met Zelian! Their battle commenced, with Zelian being joined shortly by six hulking ogres! The fight was vicious and choatic, but Azeri and Elane surrounded Zelian and laid into him with their most impressive spells. The wicked sorcerer was knocked unconscious by the force of their attacks. At first, Azeri was hesitant to kill him outright, and even persuaded Elane to not go for the killing blow just yet. But then she reconsidered, and Elane needed no encouragement to deliver the final strike.

Moments later, the last of the ogres fell too, and Elane let out a shout of triumph.

Zelian d'Deneith, the power-hungry, filicidal public enemy, was dead!

Rewards

• 3,700 XP. Time to level up to 11, and enter the paragon tier!

Session #17: The Long Fight

The party struggled against the remaining two Medusas. They eventually realized that Tselem's stinking cloud wasn't doing what it was supposed to, since Medusas aren't damaged by poison attacks. Azeri and Elane found themselves being worn down by the powerful warriors. Edge and Taumir landed some serious blows, and finally, both vile creatures were disintegrated by lightning attacks.

Rewards

• 3,125 XP! Time to level up!

Session #16: The Bargins with Monsters

The party roused themselves, as well as Reita & Akta. While gathering some food for breakfast, Azeri and Reita chatted a little bit. As they were all about to continue on their way to Owl's Perch, a few days journey north, they saw some people coming down the road. The party and co. made themselves inconspicuous, only to realize that it was Elane and some of her guards! Taumir and Tselem were still a little apprehensive, but Azeri welcomed her with open arms, and everyone's fears were soon put to rest. Elane expressed astonishment at all that had happened, and then delivered grave news: Zelian had gone Cazhaak Draal, in the heart of Droaam. She feared he was courting the favor of Sheshka, the Queen of Stone, a wicked Medusa, in hopes of gaining dark allies. Elane revealed that she had known for some time that Zelian wants House Deneith to take over the world, and fears this is him escalating his plan.

Troubled by this new development, the party put Reita and Akta into the hands of the Church of the Silver Flame, and then headed back to Varna, along with Elane. Once there, they used Elane's money to teleport them her and themselves to Sylbaran, the last civilized city before the Droaam border. They arrived there around mid-day, and spent the next two and a half days traveling across back roads and increasingly wild territory before finally arriving at Cazhaak Draal.

Cazhaak Draal is a ruin, a crumbling fortress. By human standards it is a haunted, deserted place, but here in Droaam, such places teem with monster life. Creatures of every variety were found roaming, bartering, and fighting with each other. Given the lateness of the hour, the party decided to hole up in one of the caves outside of town, and wiled away the evening sharing stories. The next morning, on the 4th day of Dravago, they went back into 'town', asking questions of the denizens and trying to formulate a plan. They had learned from a friendly Tiefling (Tselem posed as one and won his trust) that Sheshka will tolerate human visitors if they bring her large, expensive presents. The party had been hanging onto some armor that was a little too heavy for them, and they decided to use this as a present to get in the door. They approached the castle, presented their gift, and were admitted.

As they party had discussed, when they were finally permitted to speak to the queen a few hours later, they revealed they had a vendetta against Zelian d'Deneith, and demanded the chance to face him in battle. The queen was amused, and with a wicked smile, agreed to the tournament. The party was ushered into a courtyard, but it appeared the queen had double-crossed them, as she sent two Medusas and two Snaketongue cultists to fight them instead. The cultists proved easy prey, and Tselem was even able to take a potshot at Zelian as he and Sheska watched the fight from box seats. But then the Medusas stepped up their game, and suddenly the outcome didn't seem quite so clear...

Rewards

• (As the fight is not yet finished, no XP rewards just yet. Great role-playing though!)
• You have found an Elemental Twist Dagger (level 10 magic item, Player's Handbook 2, p. 204).
• You have found 1,400 GP (to split amongst yourselves).

Session #15: The Sins of the Innocent

The party approached the house with trepidation, and their worse fears were quickly confirmed - Reita had found Akta dead in her bed that morning. The party, conscious of the rarity of raising someone from the dead, asked if they could go and see what state her body was in. They discovered a priest of the Silver Flame performing ceremonies for the dead over Akta. The party asked for some time alone, and ejected the priest, much to his protests and consternation. The party then brooked the question of whether Reita would like Akta resurrected. Despite the conflict of faith this should have presented for her, she readily agreed.

Casting the ritual took Azeri almost the entire day. That evening Akta finally stirred, and looked around in surprise at the people in her room. She knew nothing had even taken place - aside from the soreness where she had been stabbed, she felt no different than if she'd had a long night's sleep. Apparently she had been murdered while she slept. Reita of course fell on her daughter's neck and wept with joy, which unnerved Akta a bit.

As everyone was re-grouping, Tselem let slip that Zelian was Akta's father. Akta was stunned, and Reita was furious - apparently she had never wanted Akta to know. With this Reita decided to abandon this home and go stay with some family in the city of Owl's Perch, a few days journey to the north. She was so angry that she almost refused the party's help, but they were able to persuade her that she and her daughter didn't stand much of a chance without them.

As the tieflings frantically packed, Azeri decided to go into town and contact the Church of the Silver Flame to try and get a message to Elane. Reita had a message cube specifically for contacting Elane, but it wasn't working, which made the party extremely suspicious. They even started to wonder if maybe they were being double-crossed, or dismissed as collateral damage.

Azeri found a church, and was able to persuade the acolytes there to raise the vicar from his sleep. The vicar was a little put out by her request, but eventually agreed to send a message along.

When Azeri returned to the house, a plan was formulated. Tselem transformed to look like Akta, Azeri and Edge placed "her" in a coffin (not a cheap affair!), and then set off very publicly for a graveyard, staging a funeral procession. With the show distracting everyone else, Taumir took Reita and Akta and headed up the road (somewhat disgruntledly).

The funeral lasted till late at night. Once it was over, the three party members discreetly made their way out of town. They were just about clear when a passing dwarf lady stopped them to talk to Edge. She asked if he was the Edge who had served in the 31st Regiment. He confirmed he was, and she attempted to arrest him for murder! Three other dwarf females came to join in the arrest attempt. Edge and the party resisted for a moment, but then Edge decided to try a different tactic and surrendered to their authority. (These warriors were enforcers of the druidic cabal that tries to keep order in the Reaches; this cabal operates like a national government, but has very little actually power outside the cities that border Lake Galifar.)

Tselem and Azeri ducked into an alley and quickly made a plan. Tselem transformed himself into a nondescript human, and Azeri conjured her phantom steeds to ride with all haste to catch up to Taumir.

Edge's captors brought him to a House Orien teleportation station, and informed him he was being taken to a judge in Greenheart, the capital of the Reaches, some days away. At this Edge decided to drop the ruse and broke his bands. He and Tselem made off into the night, and after a long chase were able to elude the dwarves.

Azeri found Taumir and the tielfings, and after a heated discussion, it was agreed that Azeri would stay with them and camp for the night, waiting for the rest to join up with them again. Taumir rode the phantom steeds back to Varna, and after some searching found Edge and Tselem. The three of them fled town and rendezvoused with Azeri and the sleeping tielflings. Edge confessed that he was more or less guilty of the accusation - he had allowed his terrible, brutal captain to be killed during the war.

By this time it was the dead of night, almost getting into the wee hours of the morning. The party elected to sleep till they woke up, and it was mid-morning on the first day of Dravago before they roused once more.

Rewards

• 1,200 XP each.
• You've found some Hydra Armor (Level 13, Player's Handbook, p. 230).
• You've found a scroll with the ritual "Reversed Portal" (Player's Handbook 2, p. 216).
• You managed to loot 2,400 GP total.