Party: Ship Dandies
Konguq-Human Wizard Captain
Ace-Human Rouge Quartermaster
Calix- Minotaur Marshal Night Watch and Battle Master
Oliver- Half-elf Bard and Navigation
The party sets out from the Noskwa settlement and heads towards the undead.
On the way there, they come across the metal man, who introduces himself as the Automatic Agony Accumulator and Harvester. (Otherwise known as AAAH.) The party is intrigued by the construct and asks for assistance getting through the lighting room to take out Feal-Thaas. AAAH agrees, provided it can get two samples from them. Calix agrees as large needles come from its hand and injure the minotaur. Oliver, expressing his fear of needles, tries to convince him to use Zim instead. Konguq, however, tells AAAH that Zim doesn't feel pain, and Oliver is forced to take the agony. AAAH scolds him for lying, but he agrees to wait for them near the lighting room.
The party enters the crypts and can perceive a mummy standing in the dark. The party attempts to proceed into the battle with caution. Still, with the lack of magic weapons and surprise reinforcements, they take heavy damage, with Ace, Aron, and Oliver getting severely hurt and losing Zim entirely.
With casualty, they return quickly to Sunlight in her Eyes, and she heals the group of their ailments. While they rest, they try to figure out if there is something they can do to revive Zim. Oliver suggests going to Blood on his Soul, and while they consider it, they ultimately decide to press on.
Returning to the crypt, they find a room surrounded by eight mummies and a large chest giving off magic energy. Not wanting to wake the dead, the group decides to dispatch the mummies first, and they all (including Agratok) slice their heads off. Inside, they find a lot of platinum, angelic armor for Calix, and a pardon for Solamnia. Aron insists on Ace taking the pardon. While they investigate, a group of thanoi shows up. Calix pretends he's apprehended the group, but before they can catch on, Konguq burns them all with fireballs.
With that out of the way, they go to the lighting room. They found evidence of AAAH, but they took too long for him, and he left. They investigate to learn the patterns when Oliver notices something in the corner. As they catch on, the flesh Golem Aviuk warns them about begins to attack the group. They struggle with the lack of proper weapons, but they still dispatch her. With her out of the way, the group destroys the pillars, and Ace picks the locks, making his own keys for them.
Oliver investigates what turns out to be a destroyed satchel. He finds a destroyed spell book and discovers it belonged to Raistlin. He excitedly tells the group that the wizard might be here and that he, too, is going after the orb. He takes the book with them. As they go to exit, they hear rushing water. The sound quickly catches up, and they discover that it's a group of water elementals. They befriend the group, and despite the language barrier, they learn about the castle's layout and the orb's location. They learn that the orb is being guarded by a large elemental and that the Dragon on the next floor ate Raistlin. He drops his staff in the pool next to the dragon, and Oliver, from its description, figures out that it's the Staff of Magius—one of, if not the, most powerful artifacts for wizards.
The party presses on into the cult's domain. As they approach the door, they hear chanting. The party debates how to handle it, but Aron pushes on, and the group ambushes a ritual. They attack the group and manage to dispatch the majority, but one slips past Konguq and Ace and alerts the others. Oliver, thinking quickly, manages to disguise the group as the cultists and the cultists as their corpses. When the cult returns, they pretend to be disposing of the bodies. Oliver and Ace convince the leader, Wind-Reader, that the one who ran to tell was a coward and called a false alarm. Wind-Reader blinds the cultist, and they take him away, with Oliver giving his regards to the “Father.”
With the significant threat gone, Konguq makes the bodies disappear, and they continue to sneak around the cultist territory. They manage to get to a room with a throne, a well, and two giant iron maidens. Konguq figures the well was used for scrying and starts to destroy it using a zombie cultist she raised. Oliver investigates Iron Maidens and discovers that not only is it how the first flesh golem was made, but there is also a second one. Ace makes more keys, and Calix keeps watch. Not long after, more cultists arrive, and Calix grabs Konguq, having her unleash a fireball on the group, incinerating them. From the opposite door, shadows crawl after the group. They find a hidden path and dodge out of the shadows, clearing a long dark hole to a room resembling Silvanost. In the center is a fountain with women surrounding Feal-Thaas and a cottage.
However, they don’t get a moment to rest before the shadows catch up. This time, the shadows are joined by a large dragon figure. While the party preps to fight the hoard, Oliver checks out the cottage. He finds it an illusion, like the rest of the room they’re in. He finds a pile of bones and another flesh golem, this time the son. Surrounded, the Dandies stand their ground and barely eck out the win, with Konguq severely injured. Aron calls for their rest and to fortify the room. Seeing how hidden it is, they figure few people other than Feal-Thaas know of its location. While the group settles in, Ace takes time to plot out their possible escape route and finds even the door leading to the room is hidden behind an illusion. When he returns, he finds that the door entering the room is trapped with electricity.
The Dandies sleep in shifts, with Oliver taking the first shift due to insomnia. During his shift, the dumbwaiter in the cottage comes down with a letter. Written in elven, it warns the son about a shapeshifter that looks like him possibly coming into the room. In common, it asks what it will take to get these intruders to leave. Oliver waits and tells Calix about the letter during his shift. Calix attuned to his new armor and practices flying with it before waking Ace for his shift. As Ace watches, he sees Feal-Thaas peeking around the corner from which they entered. Feal-Thaas is polite enough but probes Ace’s mind for information. Ace manages to eventually push him out before he can learn anything useful. He tells the group to leave and will only give them one chance since Konguq, a black robe, is there. He, however, quickly changes his mind, and Ace wakes the rest of the group to prepare to flee. Calix charges the wizard but finds that what he attacks is an illusion. Feal-Thaas taunts the minotaur, telling him a famous but old minotaur, General Zanor, is posted there. He takes off, and the party is left to finish their rest.
Once rested, they try to plan their next move. Oliver presses again to get the staff, saying it’s practically a Dragonlance for wizards. With the layout given to them by the water elementals and Oliver’s fathomer’s ring, he manages to convince the group that getting it will be easier than they think. The party agrees, and they decide to go down the pit in the ice tunnel. They realize that the darkness from the pit is because it’s painted black.
They fight some bat-like creatures and find themselves back in the Noskwa territory. They notice a skirmish between Sunlight’s and Blood’s factions, and Aron, Ace, and Calix break it up. One of the Noskwa dies in the fight, and Blood’s group demands the body. In an attempt to make nice with their group, they allow Blood to take the body, and they go with him to talk about possibly bringing Zim back using Chemosh’s power. Blood on his Soul agrees if they can help him remove a monster in the caves that Chemosh told him to kill and sacrifice for him.
They look for a way to sneak up and attack the dragons from below, and they find a member of the dragon cult who looks ecstatic to have found them. The man who calls himself the butcher informs them that the dragon wants to speak with them about a deal, destroying the dragon orb. They ask for some time before speaking with the cult, and he agrees before running back into Sunlight’s people. There is friction in the encounter, but Konguq calls for a parlay between both groups to come to an agreement.
The significant friction between the groups comes from their methods of dealing with the cult that terrorizes them. Blood on his Soul refuses to be passive, while Sunlight in her Eyes constantly prays. The divide is growing because of a conflicting story about their sacred land. They know a champion of Chemosh and a Champion of Mishakal met, and one died. But they don’t know who, and they can’t agree on the miracle that took place.
Oliver offers they create a new sacred land, and his eyes fall back on Ace. Ace vehemently refuses, calling all his previous attempts flukes. The party urges Konguq, telling him he can do it and that they will never bother him again if it doesn't work. He relents, and the two Noskwa leaders take their place, Blood killing Sunlight.
Ace holds the Noskwa woman in his arms as she returns to life, his chain turning into a proper medallion. Ace promptly passes out.
While in this state, Ace hears Mishakal's voice. She gives him a final chance to leave the life of a cleric, but Ace accepts. She makes him swear from now on to ask questions before attacking and to spread the word. He agrees though he warns her he’s not a preacher like Vodren. While she agrees that might be true, he has one thing Vodren doesn’t. Oliver.
She also asks that Blood on his Soul not prosper down here but doesn’t pressure him. Ace When he comes to the Dandies, they congratulate Ace and make their way to talk with the cult, and the Noskwa is satisfied. Blood on his Soul’s group goes with them to take out the creature.
While walking back, they run into another group of thanoi, but Oliver throws them off their scent by presenting a letter he forged using the handwriting sample he got from Feal-Thaas. The thanoi begin to escort them to the cult, but the one demeans the Noskwa with them, and Blood is furious. Calix tries to calm them, but Blood demands their heads. Calix obliges, and he attacks the Thanoi. The group quickly dispatches the group, despite how furious Oliver is. He calms himself, and they continue to the cult; Blood’s group waiting in the lighting room for their return.
The Dandies meet with the cult members, and the cult gives them the gist of what will happen. There are snow golems inside, and the cult has to pretend to attack them so that the golems don’t report back to Feal-Thaas about their betrayal. Once the golems are destroyed, they can talk.
They enter the room and see Wind-Reader again, unconvincingly condemning the group as they engage in a mock battle. Oliver summons three fire elementals to take out the golems, and they are quickly dispatched. With the fire so close to the dragon, however, he rises from his nest, quickly puts down the elementals, and locks eyes with Oliver.
Oliver tells him he’s sorry for the fire, but he needs to put on a good show to have faith in their endeavors. After getting over their fear, the dragon accepts his answer and begins to make a deal. Sleet wants the orb destroyed but wants Feal-Thaas to live since the two already have a working relationship, and the armies would only send someone else out in his place. Sleet even offers to get them down the glacier if they do it. Calix struggles to hide his disdain for the dragon, but Sleet pays him no mind. Oliver agrees to it, asking that they have access to the pool where the wizard that was eaten dropped his staff. Sleet asks about its importance, and Oliver brushes it off, agreeing it’s for sentimental value since Raistlin was a member of his faction.
Sleet warns them that his daughter is the guardian over the eggs where that pool is located and can’t promise her being agreeable. They take their chances and go to see her. They meet the younger dragon, who is getting high and very protective. Oliver promises that they don’t even have to get near the eggs and that he just wants the staff. She asks what’s in it, and Calix offers to make her a trap to notify her when someone is trying to sneak in when she sleeps. She agrees, and Oliver raises the staff out of the water so she can hand it to him. With Oliver attuned to the staff and the trap made, they return to Blood, a plan formulating in Oliver’s head.
They meet back up with Blood in the lighting room, standing near a wall of ice the party ignored previously. Konguq makes quick work of the wall, and they find a dark room just beyond. They hear a voice call out and instead meet a giant mammoth-headed man named Mammoth Jo. Ace recognizes him as an avatar of Kiri-Jolith, a god of honorable warfare. They realize that he’s been trapped in this room since the cataclysm 300 years ago and that he’s kind of losing it. He refers to Konguq as a witch for her black robes, but the rest of the group convinces him that she is on their side. Blood demands that they start attacking the avatar but loses his nerve and runs off with the rest of the group. While the Dandies struggle with handling the avatar, Oliver informs Jo that Feal-Thaas is in charge of the castle, which throws him into a fit to take out the elf.
Calix and Jo talk, with Calix telling Jo about how he has turned against the armies to seek revenge on those who subjugated his people. Jo tells Calix that he has much to learn in honor, and he can teach him. Despite how wary Ace and Aron are, they begin to march with shadows of soldiers following behind them. They find the well that leads to Feal-Thaas's sanctum, and Jo busts through. Oliver hears a quick “nope” in elven, and Jo exclaims he’s escaped. When the party gets up there, they deduce that wherever he’s gone, it’s nowhere in the castle, and he’s likely not coming back that day. Jo becomes angry about losing him, but they try to keep him on task with getting the orb out of their possession. Jo then gets in his head to attack the dragons after, something they know none of them will survive.
They get to the courtyard and are attacked by a swarm of snow golems and Thanoi. While removing the threat, they figure out which building houses the dragon orb and prepare to enter the building when General Zanor enters the scene with a group of minotaur.
Calix stands before the general and calls to fight the man. Zanor calls him honorless and promises to put him down. Calix takes the front line alone, and the courtyard brawl begins. Outmatched as Mammoth Jo unleashes his divinity, Zanor makes a deal that if he dies, Calix will let the other minotaur escape. Calix agrees, taking his head off. Jo continues his assault, but his divine powers no longer work. The group turns on Jo, trying to take the avatar down as he no longer upholds his ideals. Konguq gets the final hit as he tries to flee. Before his body fades away, Calix hands Jo’s head to Konguq.
The rest of the minotaur warn Konguq to watch herself around Calix since he went back on his oath, but Konguq tells them she trusts Calix. While checking for injuries, Aron asks Oliver if he’s hurt, and Oliver tells him something doesn’t feel right about taking the head. Konguq argues that she doesn’t get many opportunities living where she does and has nearly lost everything too often to let this slip through. Ace claims that he knows loss and struggle, too, but Aron reminds him of the nobility he grew up in and how he never had to worry about finding his next meal. While Oliver agrees with her sentiment, he still feels this isn't right. Calix tells him that the world isn’t black and white, and Oliver shows the party his scar, expressing he knows what it’s like when someone goes back on their honor.
Aron asks that they pin this conversation and try to get into the orb building. While the others investigate the door, Oliver recognizes the runes on one of the towers, blocking the ability to cast sending. As they unlock the door, they find that it is a portal leading…somewhere. They send Agratok in for reconnaissance, and he tells them it’s the plane of air and that he touched a feather and could fly. While they try to figure out how to tackle it, Sleet checks on them. He gives them an ultimatum of going in the door or getting eaten, and the group enters the air plane.
The group manages to primarily land on clouds, with Calix holding Konguq as tiny mephits try to attack them. They don’t do much to the group; the air elemental the water elementals warned them about appears, calling itself the storm. It begins to attack, with the party getting their bearings, and Oliver tries to cast vicious mockery but gets the group shunted into a small stone room with the dragon orb. While Oliver looks confused at the staff, Konguq recognizes the spell as dispel magic instead, getting rid of the illusion and leaving them with the air elemental, Konguq then turns to Ace and turns him into a Roc fledgling and has him quickly kill the air elemental. Konguq then grabs the orb, feeling something grab her, but fails to take hold. Oliver then puts his plan into place, grabbing the orb himself, masking its energy, and faking another orb. Oliver pauses as he realizes if he tries to fake the magic signature of the orb, he can’t dispel it.
Not without hurting himself.
Oliver takes the pain as the white patch on his hair grows to cover the entire front part of his hair. He hands Konguq the orb as they leave the tower. Oliver comes out and smashes the illusion right before Sleet, and the dragon breathes a sigh of relief. The party takes some time to look around before heading back to the Noskwa; Oliver asks what they will do with the head. Ace, Calix, and Oliver don’t want to give it to Blood. Ace tells Konguq that Mishakal has asked him to take out Blood. Oliver says it has nothing to do with the gods and respect for the dead. Ultimately, Konguq agrees to let the head go and try and find another way to get Zim.
They return to the Noskwa to get Aviuk. Ace thanks and gives Sunlight his final goodbye while pride shines in hers at him. Konguq breaks off a finger from Zim to keep with her. Sleet then flies them off the glacier as they reunite with Morris and Fallen Oak. They thank Sleet, and Oliver tells Sleet to tell Aserex he is sorry for tricking him. Sleet tells Oliver it was a lesson the young dragon needed to learn. As they take off away from the castle, Oliver plays his violin.
They return to the village and are met with friendly faces, happy at their return. Konguq’s father is well and hugs her tightly, and Vobble reunites with Calix. Aron shows off the lance to the village while Calix and Oliver decide to check on Isa. Vorlo has been looking after the frail human woman, mentioning that she seems to be struggling to recover from her fatigue. Knowing Ace’s new abilities, they decide to return with him in the morning.
Ace prays to Mishakal for the first time back on the ship and can feel her pride in him, knowing he’s done right by his goddess and by Sunlight. They head to Isa’s tent, and with a prayer, Ace takes the elderly woman’s fatigue for her, and she recovers. Calix tells her what happened to Zim and wonders if she knows what can be done. Having just woken, Isa can’t think straight about the scenario but tells Konguq she’s coming with them to work on it better.
The party splits their loot with the rest of the dandies, and silence falls over the crew as they’re handed 120 platinum each. Konguq gives a portion to Zebiom. As they get ready to take off, Oliver and Nutaaq talk, and he tells her to send word to Wayreth if anything comes from their night.
As a final send-off, the dandies have a burial at sea for Martle. As Ace performs the rite to ensure his soul passes on safely, a giant dragon turtle with platinum horns emerges from the sea and swallows his body whole, taking him under.
With the orb in her possession, Konguq attunes to it. While she is given a rush of magic beyond her standard capabilities, she can also tell a furious spirit inside isn’t happy to be with her. But with her newfound ability, she knows she can scry at last. The party isn’t sure she’ll be able to see the other group with Ryai’s amulet. But with one of his journals in hand, she casts the spell.
Add comment
Comments