Rousing the Dragon

Sections: Main | Campaigns | Characters | NPCs | Locales | Culture | History | Artifacts | Maps

Campaigns: Slaadi Invasion | Northern Strife | Heroes & Traitors | Hollows | Black as Pitch | Air Islands of Nack | BUFD Wars

Air Islands of Nack: Flight of the ElectroZephyr | Malevolence in Pursuit | Rousing the Dragon | Betrayal at the Dragon Temple Rousing the Dragon (DMed by David W.) Now that Selubrius has been slain and both the Canary Scrolls and the Orb of Dragon Command in their possession, the adventurers now must strive to awaken the dragon goddess Locqwerthalyn while fighting off their enemies, including the vampire lord Luciditus Diovax, the Molten Juggernaut and the Empire of Nack itself! (Current adventure.) 

If you would like to read about the first two "seasons" of this campaign, visit the Flight of the ElectroZephyr page and the Malevolence in Pursuit page. You can also read up on the one-shot session set in the Air Islands of Nack, Betrayal at the Dragon Temple.

For character information, go here.

Episode 1: “Uniting the Tribes”
Date: SH 671, February 5 - 13

Played by Balasar, Freia, Halcyon, Kamenos, Lats, Lilhani, and Poppy

Alas, a new page has been turned for the heroes who would awaken the sleeping dragon! With both the Orb of Dragon Command and the fabled Canary Scrolls securely in the possession of the adventurers, the power to awaken the dragon goddess Locqwerthalyn can now be realized. Yet, a massive obstacle remains in their path: the Nack Fleet and the Empire itself is using everything in its power to prevent this catastrophic event, for the dead goddess represents everything they stand for, and their plans for the ultimate domination of the airborne realm would surely be foiled!

After obtaining the scrolls, the adventurers exited the Tomb of Locq and traversed the darkened valley under a midnight moon. In the distance, white wisps called their names in an attempt to lure them into an ambush, but thanks to the unexpected spiritual and telepathic guidance from the recently slain Selubrius, Lilhani determined that it was indeed a trap. Meanwhile two soldiers known as Balasar and Kamenos of the vampire-slaying syndicate known as the Vengeful Sun were deep in the island, tracking down two known vampires: a handsome man named Brodeau and a slender woman named Noniye all the way from Namara. They silently followed them through the woods of the primordial island of Locq and learned that they were planning to meet their superior, Valosine, who is none other than the right hand of the enigmatic Lord Diovax himself! After hours of tracking, they followed the two vampires into a great valley clearing and saw the unmanned ElectroZephyr in the distance.

As they hid in the brush and waited for something to happen, a battle between the vampires and the returning adventurers broke out! Instantly, Balasar and Kamenos joined the fray to help out these unknown individuals. Lats quickly cast a darkness spell to hide his companions while both Lilhani and Freia began to maneuver around the edges of the battlefield in an attempt to flank Valosine and the others. All the while, Halcyon joined in the melee with Balasar and Kamenos in an attempt to subdue Noniye and Brodeau while Valosine used her vampiric magic to unleash an aerial assault upon Poppy. As the battle raged on, Brodeau managed to climb aboard the ElectroZephyr and promptly initiated the liftoff process. Acting quickly, both Lilhani and Halcyon managed to get at him before the ship could truly take off. Meanwhile, Noniye was fighting off Kamenos and Balasar and shortly thereafter quickly climbed aboard the ship. Valosine, seeing that this battle was quickly turning against them, abandoned the ship and took the form of a bat, but not before Poppy had managed to strike her with a Branding Smite, making her bat form illuminated and therefore easily spotted. After killing both Noniye and Brodeau as they fell off the ElectroZephyr, Halcyon had charged the lightning bolt from the ship itself and blasted Valosine out of the sky. With all three vampires vanquished, the group quickly introduced themselves to Balasar and Kamenos and decided to return to their ship, the Black Albatross, upon which the Vengeful Sun elite had followed the vampires to the island.

There they rested aboard the ElectroZephyr and spent the next day strapping both the Black Albatross the and the vampires' ship to the underside of the ElectroZephyr. After explaining their overall situation and the grand goal of awakening Locqwerthalyn, Halcyon had the great idea of attempting to recruit the natives of Locq, who must have some sort of kinship with the ancient goddess. After spending a day and a night tethering the ships together, the group decided to scout the surrounding area and see if they could come into contact with any natives. Lats, Kamenos, Poppy and Freia headed out first, and after a couple hours of hiking through densely packed forests, they came across a small clearing filled with thatched huts and blue dragonborn children running about, being watched over by their mothers. Poppy and Freia went in while Lats and Kamenos stayed back in the shadows in case anything bad happened. Poppy, translating the guttural draconic language of Nrukianak for Freia, learned that the dragonborn mother, Lizabet and her son, along with the rest of the natives in the clearing, were part of the Locquian tribe that called itself the "Blue Lightning." Freia also learned that the men were out during a two-day hunt and if they were to have a proper audience with them, they should wait for seven days until the next Locquians Moot.

Meanwhile, Halcyon, Lilhani, and Balasar were keeping watch on the ElectroZephyr while there companions were away, and the dragonborn noticed two wyverns fighting each other off in the distance and some distant cheers and grunts in the same direction. She headed off on her own to investigate the situation. After some hiking, she discovered a group of blue dragonborn betting on the fighting wyverns. When she came into view, the leader introduced himself as Dantak, and they were extremely curious about this golden dragonborn who claimed to come from across the great sky. After some tense discussion, the warriors decided to see the great wyvern Balasar called the ElectroZephyr, and later that night, when the rest of the scouts met back up at the airship, the Blue Lightning tribesmen took them to the star-clearing where they partook in bloodmead, dwarven ale and elven wine. There they agreed to convene at the Locquians Moot and discuss the awakening of their legendary and forgotten goddess Locqwerthalyn.

Ten tribes in total met at the Locquians Moot, in total over a hundred fierce dragonborn warriors who were curious to see the powers of the ElectroZephyr and the promises of glory and the reawakening of their goddess. The adventurers as a whole made a great speech and Halcyon unleashed the lightning fury of the ElectroZephyr. After a great cheer, a dozen of the fiercest warriors agreed to travel with the group to garner more allies to fight against both the vampire lord Diovax and the Nack Fleet!

Notes: The adventurers did well to unite the ten tribes of Locq, and Balasar learned a bit more about the mysteries of her heritage. Halcyon enjoyed shooting off the lightning bolt from the ElectroZephyr. Lilhani came up with some random antics, including drafting some forged documentation for the dozen or so dragonborn in the event that they are stopped by anyone in service of the Nack Empire. Kamenos and Lats became fast friends who could bond in silence as they both became the de facto hidden lookouts for the party, and Poppy did a great job translating everything into Nrukianak after she so happened to learn it on a whim mysteriously in some hidden part of her personal history. Overall, a great session! (Sorry for the horrendously long summary, but that's just what happens in RP-heavy sessions!)

Episode 2: “Sparinon is Burning!”
Date: SH 671, February 13 - 28

''Played by Balasar, Halcyon, and Kamenos

With Halcyon at the helm, it took the ElectroZephyr two weeks to travel through eastern snowstorms from the mystical island of Locq to the elven reservation island of Sparinon in an effort to ally with the disgruntled Svar-tu elves against the Nack Empire, in essence to gather an army and a fleet large enough to face off against the dominating Nack Fleet. Upon arriving at the merchant city of Brindarry on the edge of the island, the adventurers quickly learned that the hidden capitol city of Sparinon was under siege by rogue soulless dragons -- the same ones who were originally spontaneously created by the engines developed by the Dragon Shipwright's Guild.

A distant smoke rose from the center of the island, so the adventurers acquired the help of one Halgondas, a noble of House Waterlight, and his retinue to escort them to the hidden gateway to the central city. Seeing that their elven counterparts were gracefully traveling above the snow level while he and his party were struggling to walk through waist-deep snow, Halcyon cast water walk on himself and his companions. After trekking through the snow for two hours, Halgondas himself performed the secretive Svar-tu magicks in order to unveil the illusion surrounding the gateway, which immediately revealed several elven corpses littered about the entryway and along the road-branches higher above in the city proper. Several houses were ablaze and a handful of brave elven warriors were facing off against insurmountable odds -- dragons of all size and color were destroying everything in their path! It looked as though the majority of the siege was all but over, and the dragons were merely finishing off any stragglers. Upon seeing this travesty, Halgondas immediately ran off and hid while his retinue, enraged by what they saw, charged forward toward the central Palace of the Svarsun, hoping against hope that their queen Vlaya of House Skyflower and her unborn child were still alive. Meanwhile, as Balasar, Kamenos and Halcyon struggled to react to this situation, they were beset by a handful of dragons who spotted them from a short distance.

Halcyon quickly drew out the fabled Orb of Dragon Command and utterly possessed one of the attacking dragons, commanding this silver to turn on his fellow dragons and unleash a sweeping cold breath upon them. Meanwhile, Balasar did battle with one dragon head-on and Kamenos wrapped around from behind to deal backstabbing attacks. A brass dragon reared up and blasted Kamenos off a ledge, but the tiefling barely managed to grab onto another ledge from behind, sweeping himself back onto solid ground. Eventually, the silver dragon shook off his enchantment and began tearing at his attacker Halcyon. As a final measure, Halcyon cast the powerful spell control water which melted all of the snow within 100 feet, including that which was currently falling. He formed the snowmelt into a massive orb that he hurled against the remaining dragons, utterly crushing them and sending their broken corpses to the land 100 feet below. Still possessing the power to manipulate this floating mass of water, Halcyon quickly molded the mass into a disc shape which allows Balasar and Kamenos, still under the effects of Halcyon's spell cast a couple hours ago, water walk, to simply jump atop the disc. With Halcyon also atop, he flew his party across the snowy road-branches of Sparinon directly toward the Palace of the Svarsun, crashing the water itself into the grand front doors which burst them open, flooding the outer cloister of the palace. Inside, they could see in the distance a great red dragon holding none other than the pregnant Vlaya Skyflower hostage. "Ahh, greetings old compatriots!" the dragon called from the distance. After seeing the adventurer's confused looks, he said, "What, don't remember me? It is I, Thex, your savior atop the Radiant Tower!"

Until next time!

Notes: The group decided it best to leave Dantak and the other twelve Locquians aboard the ElectroZephyr, since their draconic presence would've likely sent all of the civilians of Sparinon in a panic. Hopefully they won't upset the comatose Naïlo Enna... Halcyon realized that the Orb of Dragon Command can completely control any single dragon, among other things. Kamenos narrowly avoided death, or at least a nasty fall -- good thing he's super acrobatic! And I find it sort of strange that Balasar, an armor-clad dragonborn can strut about without people really looking twice -- she practically a one-of-a-kind dragonborn in this region! That is of course excepting the Locquians, but they don't count because they aren't even on anybody's radar. Also, for more information on the heroes' initial interaction with the soulless red dragon Thex, see Episode 5: “A Stern Talk with Lord Diovax”.

Episode 3: “The Curse of Barratu”
Date: SH 671, February 28

''Played by Balasar, Elizagerth, Halcyon, Kamenos, Lats, Leucosa, and Lilhani

We begin today's story with a little bit of ACTION! BAM! Halcyon crashes a massive amount of snowmelt water into the front doors of the Palace of the Svarsun, completely flooding the otherwise beautiful outer cloister of the palace. Within, several dragons are immediately agitated into action and attack the infiltrators! Immediately Halcyon finds himself in a sticky situation and Balasar is forced to lay on hands upon her unlikely ally to keep his soul afloat while the rest of her companions bravely battle the dragons. Meanwhile, Lilhani and Kamenos are vying for the "most deadly" title as they slash and slay their way through multiple dragons. In the end, the initial waves of dragon are utterly defeated and the larger red dragon Thex looms up to the closed portcullis leading toward the inner cloister and further the inner harem. Lilhani managed to taunt the dragon into unleashing a fiery breath that once again nearly killed the previously unkillable Halcyon. But before the dragon could do any further harm, Lilhani unleashed the power of the Orb of Dragon Command to halt his attacks, and while he was under the spell of the orb Halcyon managed to cast a geas spell, issuing with it a vague command to destroy the vampire Diovax. Bear in mind, the geas spell is slated to last 30 days, until March 28th at roughly mid-afternoon. And as part of commanding the dragon thus, he clawed his way through the closed portcullis and immediately leapt into the skies, flying quickly away from the city of Sparinon.

It was at this point that Elizagerth, Lats and Leucosa miraculously showed up just in time to do some dragon-ridden palace exploration! In the short hallway leading to the inner cloister, the heroes saw a great marble statue of the Svar-tu goddess Myralda, and further within the massive cloister were two statues on either side, one of the the androgynous Sakarin and the other of the equally androgynous Lorressa. But before the adventurers could inspect these massive statues further, two dragons, one black and one blue, entered into the cloister, appearing to be on some sort of patrol. Lilhani, acting quickly, used again the power of the Orb of Dragon Command to control a silly blue dragon named Sliss to convince his black dragon buddy that the battle in Sparinon was going on... somewhere else? I dunno. Either way, Lilhani explained it very well and it worked! The two dragons keeping guard in the inner cloister promptly flew off and the heroes found out quickly that the archway leading to the harem was blocked by an invisible magical force field. However, Vlaya Skyflower, now the queen of the elves in Sparinon, was on the other side of the force field! She told them that there was a way to break the field but that they needed to go to the temple which was further within the palace itself. To put more pressure on the situation, Vlaya was very pregnant and at that moment, the stress of the situation put her into labor, so the adventurers were spurred on by this news. They fought their way through several other dragons in an elongated courtyard which also included a bathhouse, a wine-bar and a barracks of some sort. Either way, it was a very long and tactically driven battle that has no damn place in a damn summary!

Anyhoo, the group eventually made their way to (legends of) the hidden temple and immediately discovered a quandary: the usual group of the Elven Pantheon of Svar-tu were represented in marble statues. These included Sakarin, Lorressa and Myralda. But a fourth and unknown deity's likeness was depicted in marble here. Fortunately, a few of the more religiously knowledgeable adventurers were able to determine that this barbed-wire wreathed elf was none other than Barratu, the elven god of pain and curses. Open worship of this deity is forbidden throughout the elven community, so it was very interesting to see him here in the temple of nobility! Either way, Halcyon invoked divine intervention to hopefully determine what to do with these statues and break the force field to Queen Vlaya and her unborn child. He was at first unsure of whether his plea to the dark goddess Runsted worked or not until he saw a ghostly likeness of her appear in front of him. She reached into the statue of Barratu and withdrew a small bead with which she gestured artfully in a particular fashion before crushing the bead, as if to show Halcyon what to do with it. So Halcyon took the Bead of Barratu for safe-keeping, believing it to be the key with which he would break the force field. Meanwhile, Lilhani took the Wineglass of Sakarin while Kamenos took the Sphere of Lorressa and Balasar took the Flower of Myralda just in case.

Upon returning to the archway leading to the harem, Halcyon followed Runsted's wordless instruction and smashed the Bead of Barratu. In an instant... he was gone. Vanished! Nobody could immediately determine what had happened to the half-elf! But his dance had apparently shattered the force field nonetheless. And Lats was forced to step in and assist in the delivery of the Vlaya Skyflower's newborn baby boy, who was to be named at a later date which would coincide with generational line of House Skyflower's family poem and with the assistance of a cleric of Myralda... seriously, it's a long and fascinating topic about the deep-rooted culture of the Svar-tu but it has no place in a summary! Anyway, upon her recovery from giving birth in the early hours before dawn the next day, Vlaya told the adventurers that Halcyon had unwittingly sent himself to the cursed realm of Barratu: a dark and desolate pocket plane nestled on a cliffside that loomed precariously over an endless abyss... or something like that. But all was not lost! Vlaya was one of the elves who could create a dimensional gate to this worrisome plane of pain and so she did precisely that. Vlaya drew many sigils onto the ground of the inner cloister which opened up a small window to this blackened world, and the group stepped through. The ground beneath them was so darkened as to be an invisible and infinite abyss. A reddened sky rest above them and looming in the distance was a great Palace of Pain resting atop a crag...

Notes: Just so we're clear, Queen Vlaya was not alone but instead had her mother, her younger sister, and a small retinue of royal cousins and the like within the harem with her. None of them were important enough to name. Lats Boldengrin and Elizagerth both thought it would be a good idea to fill the Wineglass of Sakarin with the wine they found in the winery nearby. Elizagerth promptly chugged it and instantly fell into a deep passion for the first women he saw: Lilhani. Hilarity and awkwardness ensued, but the half-orc was able to contain his lust and keep it mostly to his feeble mind. When Halcyon crushed the Bead of Barratu, his entire world went black to the point of absolute sensory deprivation. Time itself was lost as he struggled to hold onto his sanity as the emptiness teared at his psyche. His physical possessions, including his weapons and armor and other items on his person, were left behind in the Svarsun. Elizagerth recognized this opportunity immediately snatched Halcyon's animated shield and the wicked ranseur Akaid. I wonder how Akaid, which houses the will of Belial, will respond to this wreckless barbarian wielding it? Hmm...

Episode 4: “The Tree of Pain”
Date: SH 671, February 28 - March 5

''Played by Elizagerth, Freia, Halcyon, Lats, Lilhani, and Umer

After stepping through the massive gate created by Queen Vlaya, Lats used his eyes of the eagle to discern that amidst the dark and desolate landscape which could only be Barratu's Plane of Pain, there was a solitary landmark: a massive fortress-like structure off in the distance that seemed to rest on the edge of a cliff that plummets into a blackened abyss. The crew began their trek through this hellish landscape, shuffling across black dirt and peering up at an overcast filled with reddened clouds with a hint of naive optimism. And after traveling a full day, they slowly realized that true rest was impossible and that they would have to march up to the unknown fortress for days without sleep. Selubrius telepathically informs Lilhani that sleep must be somehow impossible on this plane, and it's clear that exhaustion must be the first form of pain that visitors feel when arriving.

On the second day of marching, the group stumbled upon a figure standing still with its head tilted toward the ground. After closer inspection, it appears to be Halcyon, but he looks as though he's aged substantially, and is now rather decrepit-looking. He states that he now has a mission to find the dragonborn Umer Deszeld upon the Tree of Pain, so they band together and continue their arduous trek toward the distant structure.

Seven days in total pass, leaving both Halcyon and Lilhani extremely exhausted, before they finally approach the bridge leading up to the front doors of this massive structure. Upon the bridge, a bone devil, Qalox, demands a fee of magical items for entry to the Temple of Anguish. Thinking quickly, Lilhani offers Qalox a draw from the Deck of Many Things. After drawing the Throne card, Qalox becomes extremely elated and allows them passage.

Within the foyer of the Temple of Anguish, the adventurers find several torture devices and four doors, the central two of which depict a thorny tree but are locked, with keyholes large enough to fit intricate, possibly magical items. Paddy then piped up, stating that he was pretty sure that the key to the left Tree of Pain door was something that you'd wear, perhaps a crown or helmet. With that clue, the party ventured on into the outer area to the right named the Human Forest, within which dozens of pikes sticking out the ground impaled individuals -- some of which still managed to stay alive despite thick pikes breaching through their entire torsos and through their mouths.

As they began to inspect the pikes and the moaning individuals on them, they were attacked by shadowy demons which they quickly dispatched. They found one particular elf on a pike who was wearing royal garments and a jewel-crested clown. Halcyon knocked the pike down and let the poor elf bleed out to death while taking his crown. At this point, he and Elizagerth began brutally mauling the individuals impaled on the pikes, at which point a huge voice bellowed from the skies above, "How dare you kill my subjects!" It was the Elven God of Pain, Barratu! Suddenly, in the distance, the group saw a large figure with four arms standing still with glowing red eyes and a body that seems to be made of twisting steel razors as those impaled on the pikes began to whisper, "The Shrike, the Shrike..." As soon as the creature appeared, he disappeared, and the voice from the sky grew silent.

The group headed back to the locked door in the foyer and inserted the elf's crown, unlocking it. Within they found the Tree of Pain and thousands of individuals screaming and moaning in agony, impaled upon its multitudinous thorns. Before they could look for Umer, the Shrike suddenly appeared and began slashing at the heroes. After a gruesome battle, they managed to shatter the Shrike into a pile of broken blades. Upon the destruction of the Shrike, Barratu's deep rumbling voice booms in, and he offers each of the adventurers passage out of the Plane of Pain in exchange for their service and worship.

While deciding what to do with that offer, they experiment with the Relics of the Svar-tu Pantheon, and Freia discovers that after planting the Flower of Myralda near the base of the Tree of Pain and pouring water onto it, the Tree's leaves suddenly turn from black to green and the thorns upon it shrivel back into its branches, releasing the thousands of individuals impaled upon them. And after climbing to the top of the tree, Lats could see that the power of Myralda also pierced the red overcast clouds directly above the tree, revealing a bright blue sky beyond. They find Umer within the tree and heal him while practically ignoring the rest of the nameless individuals who are all on the brink of death, despite being released from the Tree.

As the adventurers were discovering more about the realm they were in, they decided to dig deeper into the Temple of Anguish in search for both answers and treasure. They entered the Hall of Psychosis and struggled against the multiple mirrors placed in there that made them each individually think that others were attacking them or that they were attacking themselves while also performing insane acts of various kinds. Freia could read a riddle that was repeated above each mirror:

Soma and psyche, guile and glamour,

we show not your reflection, your face or your manner.

Pain and pleasure, king and pawn,

when you see with your mind, the glamour is gone.

Halcyon and Lilhani worked together to investigate these mirrors while staving off the pending insanity and discovered that the mirrors, while impervious to damage of all kinds, shattered like glass when attacked with the eyes closed. They quickly destroyed all the mirrors, which revealed an unmarked map of the Temple of Anguish. Using the spare clues of this map, they realized that there was a secret area just off from the Tree of Pain. A door was suddenly revealed when they went back to the area with runes etched into it saying that it was the Chamber of Unending Misery. Within, they found an ancient human man tied to a massive wooden wheel which was slowly spinning while attached to a rod in the wall. The man's arms and legs were broken and twisted into the spokes, and he revealed himself to be Rustingard Nack I, the founder of the Organizations of Nack and the man which the entirety of the Air Islands of Nack are named after. The group engages in a brief discussion with him regarding escape from the Temple of Anguish, but after only a few moments they realize he is a hateful wretch who, even in a state of eternal pain, cannot let go of his powerful prejudices against dragons and elves alike. The group decides to plunder his private hoard which was left out in front of him and leave him in the chamber for the rest of eternity.

Notes: Halcyon has experienced an untold amount of time in a completely sensory-deprived state, and has subsequently gone quite insane. Qalox, upon drawing the Throne card from the Deck of Many Things now is in the possession of a fortress somewhere on the Material Plane. Which one is anyone's guess. Although the Shrike was destroyed, his being the physical avatar of Barratu leads one to believe that it may not be truly dead. Halcyon and Elizagerth managed to kill of several innocent individuals that might have provided valuable information. Freia proved useful in discovering the potential of the Flower of Myralda despite her relative uselessness in the fight against the Shrike. Lats discovers that his fists are more magical and powerful than actual weapons in the fight against the Shrike. Lilhani proves to be by far the most useful in fights against a solitary powerful enemy. And Umer finds that he is nearly as insane as Halcyon as he internally questions his life goals. (The following information is hidden from everyone except Umer Deszeld.) After the tremendous ordeal suffered by Umer upon the Tree of Pain, while the rest of the adventuring party were looking for an alternative way out of the Temple of Anguish, Umer secretly made a pact with Barratu to become an Agent of Pain in exchange for his freedom. As such, Barratu gifted the dragonborn a Ring of Barratu and opened up a gateway at the base of the Tree of Pain that only Umer could see.

Episode 5: “One Thousand Refugees”
Date: SH 671, March 5 - 7

''Played by Balasar, Elizagerth, Freia, Halcyon, Kamenos, Lats, Leucosa, Lilhani, and Umer

After leaving Rustingard Nack in the secret chamber, Umer let the party know that he had found some sort of gateway at the base of the Tree of Pain that seemed to lead them back to the mortal realm, namely Nack. However, Elizagerth and a few others decided it best to rampage through the rest of the Temple of Anguish in hopes of finding more valuable treasure. Therefore, he kicked in the door leading to the "Hall of the Hunt" and they fought off a handful of large gorilla-like demons. After the bloody battle, they consulted the map they found in the "Hall of Psychosis" and discovered a small, secret room housing a few poor souls left on racks. After some cajoling, the prisoners were set free and sent back to the Tree of Pain to rest with the thousand other refugees, and Lilhani found a suit of Glamoured Studded Leather.

From there, Elizagerth smashed a hole into the thin walls separating the secret chamber from the outer cloister known as the "Carrion Field." There, they discovered a large wooden tub, inside of which was a man covered in milk and honey and his own excrement, slowly being eaten alive by flies and maggots. Halcyon quickly put him out of his misery and Elizagerth shoved the tub altogether off the nearby cliffside, plunging it to the abyssal depths below. From there, they found a large guard tower of sorts and ended up fighting off large vulture-like demons who cursed them in the Abyssal tongue. The group as a whole were taking quite a while to decipher the supposed bridge that seemed to be on the map but was not present in reality, but they realized that it only led to another entryway to the Tree of Pain. Therefore, they moved back through the "Chamber of Whispers" where they spoke to a handful of prisoners tied up to the ceiling by their wrists, their necks fastened with Heretic's Forks. Thaumaturgy was cast on one particular elf who told Halcyon and the party to kill her sister Sharovar in the mortal realm for cursing her to the Plane of Pain. Halcyon quickly put the elven woman out of her misery and made a mental note of this "Sharovar."

The group ended up returning to the Tree of Pain, where the thousand refugees kept asking for a way out of this hellish realm. One individual elf stood up amidst the crowd and claimed that he had found a way out of the Temple of Anguish by submitting to the will of Barratu and becoming an Agent of Pain. He quickly rallied about two dozen other souls who, after spending untold amounts of time skewered upon the Tree of Pain, decided to side with the God of Pain and Curses, all of whom attempted to leave the Temple and enter the mortal realm of Nack. However, Lilhani, Halcyon, Elizagerth and others slew several of these individuals before they could reach the gateway. And in an effort to stop and slay all of those attempting to leave the temple of these grounds, Halcyon cast a blade barrier that was promptly shut down by Umer's counterspell, which ultimately allowed about a dozen or so of these Agents of Pain into the world. Meanwhile, the rest of the adventurers were at a loss of what to do when the apparent infighting began. And in the midst of it all, Umer decided to leave through the same invisible gateway. Shocked, Lilhani attempted to follow. And after pushing her hand through the base of the Tree of Pain, she felt Umer's scaly hand grasp her and pull her through. Lilhani held hands with another party member and in this way, through a chain of held hands, the adventurers and the one thousand remaining refugees slipped through the gateway into the massive foyer of the Palace of the Svarsun.

After recuperating and finding magical and medical aid and food for the thousand refugees, Queen Vlaya Skyflower held an audience with the adventurers who led several of these individuals from the Temple of Anguish, she gave her thanks for not only freeing the refugees, but for saving Sparinon during the dragon invasion and in particular she thanked Lats Boldengrin for successfully delivering her newborn child, Prince Elondar Skyflower, named after his late father. As payment for their services, Vlaya agreed to act as allies in the rebel movement against the Nack Empire and gave the adventurers the three best ships in the Svar-tu fleet: the Vilya Myralda, the Vilya Sakarin, and the Vilya Lorressa, along with a couple of Fingership Class Warleaves. While the larger ships came with a crew to manage its flight, Vlaya had informed the adventurers that all the combat-skilled pilots were slain in the recent dragon invasion, and would therefore have to be piloted specifically by someone trained in such ships during combat.

After receiving their reward and learning that their good names were spread throughout the Svar-tu community on Sparinon, the group were escorted by a representative of House Skyflower, Vannon to various magical shops so the heroes could spend all the monetary treasure they had been accumulating over the past several months.

Notes: During the shopping spree, members of the party visited a magical weapons and armor shop called Anantha's Singing Steel. The owner, Anantha took quite a liking to Elizagerth. There, Elizagerth bought a Berserker Axe, Leucosa bought a Flame Tongue short sword and a Dagger of Venom, Freia traded in a Staff of Fire for a Robe of Scintillating Colors, and Lilhani managed to steal 70pp. Some of the group also visited Pallovin's Sorcerous Sundries, where Balasar bought himself a Ring of Mind Shielding and Kamenos bought a few Immovable Rods. And Halcyon and Umer bought several potions from Yung's Alchemical Creations, the local potions shop in Sparinon. (The following information is hidden from everyone except Umer Deszeld.) Umer had a secret conversation with Queen Vlaya Skyflower concerning the fate of her late father, Algondas. Umer stated bluntly that he saw Algondas in the "Human Forest" and that Halcyon killed him quickly. After some persuading, Vlaya admitted that she summoned the servants of Barratu to send him to the Temple of Anguish. When asked why she did this, she revealed that Algondas had assassinated her husband Elondar Cloudspell before her child was born, which ensured the child's disassociation with House Cloudspell and kept the royal line solely in the hands of House Skyflower. Vlaya swore Umer to secrecy. If this information were made public, it could plunge all of Svar-tu society into a civil war and possible seriously endanger the life of her newborn son, Prince Elondar Skyflower. Umer promised to keep this issue secret.

Episode 6: “Crushing Gears and Smashing Boulders”
Date: SH 671, March 7 - 12

Played by Lats, Leucosa, and Umer 

After a brief send-off speech from Vlaya Skyflower, Queen of the Svar-tu, the crew of the ElectroZephyr left the elven island of Sparinon with a small fleet of elven ships, including the Vilya's Sakarin, Lorressa and Myralda and a couple of Warleaves. The search for more allies to assist in the battles to come with the Nack Empire led toward the dwarven island-nation of Runeterra. However, on the way there, their small fleet was attacked by agents of the Molten Juggernaut! A massive gateway tore a whole in the fabric of space and out poured a massive Goliath airship along with several Gadfly Mines meant to attached to ships and explode in a kamikaze-like fury.

Lats manned the Vilya Myralda, Leucosa captained the Vilya Lorressa, and Umer took to the vampiric Nightwing in an effort to thwart this new and ungainly threat as Gadfly Mines began swarming the area. The Goliath split into two equal halves and began barrel rolling into the allied ships, dealing extensive damage as a few mines managed to explode once attaching to a couple of the Vilyas. And after a harrowing dogfight, the adventurers managed to emerge victorious in the battle, but not without first losing both the Vilya Myralda and the Vilya Lorressa, two of the three best ships available by the Svar-tu. And before the gate to the horrible plane of Dis, the second layer of the Nine Hells closed, Lats could see a massive airship being built up in the distance, with none other than the Molten Juggernaut himself, staring at him with eyes...!

Anyway, the crew made it to Runeterra after a few more days without further incident. There, they landed in the meadow town of Pashen where they were confronted by a dwarven lieutenant of Bandle City who, after first halting them to state their business with a small elven fleet, allowed the group access to the Bandle River. Apparently, the dwarven community of Bandle City is on the verge of civil war, with Queen Myrtle Alfansire on her death bed. After a brief and awkward reunion with the canoe-girl Kimmek, the group went to the Midland Inn where they hired the drunkard/expert river guide Jomorel to accompany them down the Bandle River to the dwarven city and to assuage the potential wrath of the Weird of Bandle River. After a couple days rowing upriver Jomorel successfully pacified the Weird even after it clearly had some qualms about Leucosa in particular. That following night they set up camp on a riverbank and were beset by a couple of stone giants atop the surrounding cliff sides. Jomorel was immediately crushed in his sleep by a boulder hurled 70 feet from above and as the gore oozed from underneath the stone, the newly alerted adventurers fought back hard with bow and spell and shadowy fists. And although Lats in particular was pounded four-plus times by massive giant-sized clubs, he still managed to finish one of them off in style while jumping between shadows and running up and down sheer cliffs.

Notes: After the airship battle in which he lost the Vilya Myralda, Lats could see that at some point in the near future, he will have to face off against the Molten Juggernaut as the devil's attacks have become more and more severe. Leucosa proved her worth as a airship pilot but still lost the Vilya Lorressa while managing to board a Warleaf before the larger ship fell beneath the Cloud Canopy. In total, the crew lost 18Svar-tu elves in the clash against the Juggernaut. Umer displayed an uncanny lack of exhaustion as he rowed upstream in the rented canoe through the night. Perhaps dragonborn are born with this talent naturally.

Special Episode: “The Whims of Gods”
Date: SH 671, March 7 - 14

Played by Umer and Elizagerth

Dreams... a place that defies the logic of space and time. A location that is nowhere, a time that is never. It was in the dreamworld where our heroes Elizagert and Umer found themselves at the whims of the Svar-tu God of Pain, Barratu, separately wandering through a strange, archaic forest in search for an artifact called the Toy Box.

Now bear in mind, Barratu came to Elizagerth in his dreams while he was still sleeping in Sparinon, technically on March 7. It was here when Barratu tempted the barbarian to seek out the Toy Box and become an Agent of Pain. Now it's easy to believe that Elizagerth would jump on the opportunity to dole out more pain, but he certainly wasn't too keen on the whole subservience-to-a-god thing. Nonetheless, he was transported to a strange forest and was told to look for his companion Umer...

Back in the mortal, physical realm, seven days later, Umer fell asleep on a bank next to the Bandle River and was visited by Barratu as well. Umer had been secretly praying to Barratu (after he secretly became an Agent of Pain a week earlier -- read the hidden info in the "notes" section of Episode 5: “One Thousand Refugees”) and had requested immortality in the form of lichdom. Really, he was begging the God of Pain for this, nearly throwing a tantrum like a child. But nonetheless, Barratu decided that it would be fun to send Umer on a hunt for the Toy Box in an unknown forest.

Umer and Elizagerth ended up searching through multiple shrines dedicated to the Svar-tu Pantheon that were scattered throughout this forest, which turned out to be the Ennawood of the island of Taurë. Each of the shrines had three pillars surrounding them in seemingly random spots, each with simple symbols of three of the four gods of the pantheon. After some poking around separately, Elizagerth got impatient and toppled the statue of Myralda to reveal an opening beneath. Simultaneously, the statue at the shrine of Lorressa toppled in front of Umer's eyes, also revealing a passageway underneath.

Umer immediately descended into the opening only to immediately pop out in front of Elizagerth. And after some puddling around, the two decided to return back to the shrine of Lorressa. There, they fought off some harpies and then both scratched their heads for waaaaay too long trying to figure out the simple riddle set out before them. Let me explain it to you and see if you get it:
 * Imagine a shrine-room surrounded by three pillars. The shrine is dedicated to a god. Let's say Lorressa. The each of the three surrounding pillars has a symbol of one of the other gods: Myralda, Sakarin, and Barratu in this instance. And the pillars are set in a seemingly random position around the central shrine. Beneath the symbols are mile markers. Let's say the Myralda pillar says "6 miles" and the Sakarin pillar says "4 miles" and the Barratu pillar says "8 miles." This is what you're given. These symbols, these distances, and the positioning of the pillars around the shrine. What would you do? Where would you go? I'll let you ponder it for a second...

Anyway, Umer and Elizagerth, despite their immense intellect (8 and 11 respectively) could not figure out where to go. It ended up being freakin' Barratu himself telling them, "That way! Walk that way in the direction of the pillar with my symbol on it, for 8 miles, you fools!" And after trekking through the woods for nearly a day altogether (this includes the hours spent scratching heads) the two finally came upon the shrine of Barratu.

At this point, Barratu revealed to them that the Toy Box was none other than Elizagerth himself! And if Umer truly wanted immortality, he would have to kill his buddy Elizagerth and utilize his body as a phylactery. But not to worry, Elizagerth would retain an undead immortality as well and would serve as Umer's lich phylactery for eternity. If Umer and Elizagerth couldn't accept that, they could destroy each other instead, and Barratu would grant the victor immense power. Seeing that opportunity, Elizagerth immediately struck down Umer, burying his Berserker Axe deep into the dragonborn's neck. At which point, Umer's gaping wound was surrounded by black tendrils that bound it back together.

Suddenly, Umer found himself once again in the Temple of Anguish, where he had a verbal confrontation with Barratu, who stated that since Elizagerth had slain Umer and not vice versa, Elizagerth would be the one to attain true immortality and lichdom in place of Umer. After revealing this and giving instructions to Umer to find the remaining ingredients for the poison to turn Elizagerth into a lich, Umer was sent back to the shrine of Barratu in the Ennawood. There, Umer decided both destroy the shrine of Barratu and kill Elizagerth by casting disintegrate and immolate on everything. He managed to destroy Elizagerth, the shrine, and himself in one fell swoop...

...But that's not the end of this ridiculous story! Despite dying, this entire episode was in a dream, remember? Both Umer and Elizagerth ended up waking in the mystical realm of the Svarwood, the home of the rest of the pantheon of Svar-tu. The Mother-Goddess Myralda greeted them and explained to them that the grasp Barratu had on them has ended. She offered both of them the opportunity to become Children of Myralda. Umer decided that peace and love was good compared to pain and anguish, so he renounced cruelty and hatred in lieu of love and compassion and received Myralda's blessing. But Elizagerth thought that puppies and kittens and free love weren't really his bag. Myralda, sensing his true self, offered to see the God of Death, Lorressa to see if the half-orc was more interested in what he was all about.

So he was transported over to a vast meadow with a pile of skulls in the center. There, the frail, wispy Lorressa came out and whispered weird stuff and offered to bless Elizagerth as a Harbinger of Lorressa, but under the condition that he die first. Elizagerth agreed, but only if he could die in the heat of battle, and only if he could face off with the God of Death himself. After a wry smile, Lorressa agreed and proceeded to battle with the barbarian. Elizagerth dealt multiple horrific blows to the frail deity but seemed to do no serious damage, despite the his profuse bleeding. After casting some lesser spells, Lorressa cast power word: kill on the half-orc and finally slew him. Immediately afterward, Lorressa teased out the spherical soul of Elizagerth and ingested it. After saying some archaic, mystical words, the God of Death slowly breathed out Elizagerth's soul which wound its way through the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth of the half-orc. Elizagerth immediately woke back up from death itself and rose anew as a Harbinger of Lorressa with his blessing.

After the two received their blessings, they were transported yet again to what seemed to be the council room of the Svar-tu gods. There, Umer and Elizagerth, despite just being blessed by two of them, decided to berate the deities for their lack of influence upon the mortal issues plaguing the region of Nack, namely the domination of the Empire over all others in the airborne region. Nonetheless, the gods basically told them that there reasons for interfering or not interfering are first their own and second beyond any mere mortal's comprehension. With that said, they were transported back to the mortal plane, where they woke up in their separate beds.

What a craaazzy dream!

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Campaigns: Slaadi Invasion | Northern Strife | Heroes & Traitors | Hollows | Black as Pitch | Air Islands of Nack | BUFD Wars

Air Islands of Nack: Flight of the ElectroZephyr | Malevolence in Pursuit | Rousing the Dragon | Betrayal at the Dragon Temple