This would be the last of the 3 time adventures - Out of Time. The group has less than 3 months to find Sanctadragodon, kill the dragon form, release Dagon, and then fight the Lord of Nightmares - and finally seal the last rift with the Desmondian Diamond. It will test them from top to bottom, beginning to end. If at least 3 people don't die, It's because they've rolled nothing but wonderful dice all session.
As for what happens afterwards - its up to the group - it would be a perfect place to end the campaign and park these characters as having won. Or they can continue on in a strange new world that is both their home, and also not. Cart before the horse - we aren't there yet. Check back weekly and most likely February this campaign will come to the penultimate end.
Follows:
After returning to Bork Keep, we spent weeks training as well as selling, repairing, and purchasing equipment. Most of us learned new skills or at least honed existing ones. We ate, drank, smoked, and played. When we were idle, we followed the Steward’s command and made ourselves helpful and useful.
Captain Twilick drank heavy with us one night, speaking about his honor of ferrying us around the last 3 months , but the Kaiser’s commands are that only Battleships are allowed to fly south of the Enderlyn due to Sanctodragodon’s draconic support. When we were done here, we would return to Erylond and then part ways.
Shim had tried the Desmondian Diamond a few times, getting no readings. The feel between himself and the mages at the Keep were that if the gen does indeed sense gates, the fact that the existing one is in Dagon and in Sanctodragodon, we would have to be a lot closer to get a reading – 3 miles?
We left Bork Keep on the morning of the 5th, loaded up and on our way. It was 2 days of flying until we arrived at the Enderlyn River and the bridge to Erylond. We docked by 4:30 that afternoon and disembarked by quarter after 5. The Kaiser’s people me t with us and we were escorted through the city until eventually arriving at the Kaiser’s Castle in Center Ring.
The Council had been called and barring the time travel aspect, we explained what we had done over the last month and a half and what our next steps were going to be. The Council listened and then we talked. Any sky ship south of the river was a target for a dragon attack, so that was out. In fact, of the original 7 Battleships, they were down to 3 – and they were pretty beat up.
The evacuation was still heading apace. In 2 weeks or so Staz would be emptied, then 3 weeks more and Pax would be left unmanned. That would leave about 4 weeks to then empty Erylond itself and then a week and a half gap time before the river ritual fires off. The group that time to finish off the Dragodon.
As for his whereabouts, after the Chasmstorm spell about 3 months ago that swept every monster and nightmare creature out of the land, Sanctodragodon went to ground, hiding in a cave somewhere. No one knows where, his dragons continue to rule the skies. And the Starlitzian Lizardmen continue their raiding and approach ever northward. As the Kaiser says, “We are losing.”
The Council is not convinced. A group of what, 7, 8, 9 of you against the worst nightmare dragon ever? There are elven wizards capable of great magics but they would be killed instantly. Fighters who have tilted at the yards and engaged for years but are driven back. They want to believe, but are skeptical. The Kaiser feels different and we are not sure why. Yes he’s a Black Orc, yes he was there when we were picked up after the Chasmstorm, but he has always sided with us and given us what aid he could.
As for us, they are going to give us a 2 ton armored battlewagon and a team of 6 heavy draft horses to pull it. With enhanced shocks and Gorokian dwarven steel cladding, it should withstand most any attack. Rhygar was going to take point on the teamstering and spent the next few days learning to drive and handle it and the team. They gave us lances, food, and water as well. And a case of healing potions, 24 total.
We were ready to ride off on the 9th, and into the rainy cloud covered sky we drove off from Erylond and headed southwest towards the distant city of Pax. Eoghan was…unpleasant. We stretched a tarp for Rhygar to stay dry, and Darius was happy to be in the saddle, riding his war steed.
Pax was overloaded – city was normally about 25k, but 3 times that number was here. Refugees were swarming northward. There was nowhere in the city to stay so we set up camp outside and got a decent night’s rest after taking care of the animals.
Firemonth the 10th had us out and on the way in the morning, Wilhelm practicing animal forms and the weather once again giving Eoghan a serious case of hatred. We rode off to the east, the wide road filled with traffic heading to Pax from Staz, and no one but us going the other way. Families walking, ridings, dragging, all they can carry and hold. Absent stares, sad faces, worry. Hundreds of hundreds of people moving slowly away from the war to an uncertain future.
It was late when we arrived at Staz. The walls here were standing, the people were here, but the city was not as overstuffed at Pax was, a city of 25k, but only about 30k were here. The local constabulary looked over our wagon, got some of the stations armed forced to look it over, it was kicked up to the local prefect who arranged for us to have a room and wheelhouse use at a place called Thunderclap Hotel.
While here, the Prefect, a Lord Ginnias, asked us about our destination and plans going forward. We shared the Kaiser’s scrip with him and he understood that food and water would be available for us as need be from the king’s stores. He asked if we were heading east to Upperton or south to Miningboro and we didn’t have an exact answer. He asked us that if we were heading east, a Guildmaster who had been forced to flee Upperton about 2 weeks ago might have a request for us. We don’t have to take but to listen cost nothing and would generate good will between us and Lord Ginnias.
We rested and the next morn, Firemonth the 11th, at 7:30 Am, Lord Ginnais came and met with us for breakfast, bringing an orcish mining looking elder fellow with him. He introduced himself as Doggar Skullbeat, Guild master of the Cinder Vein Mining group in Upperton. They run a lucrative nickel mine on the east end of Upperton, employ about 80 people, and until recently, were suppling nickel rich iron ore for the Kaiser’s furnaces and forges.
The Starlitzian Lizardmen had been closing and sadly, they arrived at the town sooner than expected, and Doggar ordered his employees to flee. But they had not had a chance to activate the mine’s defenses, a clay golem who’s job would be to seal all the vault doors from inside the mine and seal the barriers until the command came to reopen. He wanted us to go there and activate the golem. In exchange, we were welcome to whatever was still in the vault.
We were not inclined at first to do it but the more we talked, the more we were swayed. In the main mine, Referred to as Furnace Hollow, they had come upon a number of phazonire deposits. These deep glowing purple hot stones were a danger to anyone who was around them for too long but in the hands of the Starlitzian Slaan Mage-priests, the volatile stone could be used to expand their dangerous magics in too many deadly ways. He had a bracer of command on him, linked to the golem, so when it was activated, he would know and be able to guide the golem from a distance as well as speak and hear through it. He would give us a 6 word cycle of command codes to wake up the golem and then it would seal up Furnace Hollow and keep the lizardmen out.
It was worth it, plus we’d have to go that way, plus we needed to engage with the lizardmen to see if we could get any information from them as to where Sanctodragodon was currently holed up. So, go to Upperton, scout of the place, find Cinder Vein Guild, infiltrate, get to Furnace Hollow mine, enter, find the golem, activate, seal mine, and get treasure from the vault.
Done. We were going to be ready to head out by 9 AM today.
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