PAHWG-Online Game-Dragon Tales

[Lady Winter Wolf]

This is a lore building adventure for Seamus McPhee which I hope we can get wrapped up before we meet in person for our next game.

The events of this adventure will take place shortly after the battle with the Horned Devils, and their rage drake pets, yet before we reach the black tower.

The Cast:
Seamus: For obvious reasons.
Aramil: To setup a link for the story.
Extras: Anybody else that wishes to participate but keep in mind that I would like this to be wrapped up before our game. So posting regularly (daily or every other day) is a must.

Enjoy!

[pigdish]

After the defeat of the devils and rage drakes, the party begins to search for treasure and recuperate from battle.

Seamus you fall to the hard packed sandy ground feeling overly exhausted. You have had this strange feeling of uncertainty and dread since meeting the first rage drake and the events that followed. You replay the event in your mind.

After defeating the rage drakes the party turns their eyes to the heavens.

Far off in the night sky, it's difficult to determine exactly how far, you catch sight of a shooting star, but something about it isn't right. While a small stream of shimmering light trails its descent, the star itself is so dark that it stands out against the already darkening night sky, a rip of midnight trailed by fire. Its descent seems to gather speed as you watch, and its writing wake of light grows more and more brilliant. Only a few moments later, the star's fall comes to its inexorable end.
For a brief moment, there is only blinding light. A blast of white and red pulses outward as a distant hillside is engulfed in a ball of terrible fire. As the hill itself seems to bloom and rise like a malignant mushroom of fire, a few moments of eerie silence dominate the plains. Then, a terrible blast of sound tears the night apart and the ground rolls and trembles with a deafening roar that would drown out a dozen thunderstorms.

The shockwave soon follows doing Fire, Sonic, and physical damage.
Fire:
[dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6] = 15
Sonic:
[dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6] = 21
Physical:
[dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6] = 15

Total: 51
Reflex Save for HALF: 25

Thanks to Solinar's healing and protections the party survives albeit with a few burns and bruises.

The new party member (Maria) tells the party that she approximates the location of the impact to be near a trading city she had visited. Mistmour, Solinar's raven companion, also brings news which Solinar relays to the group describing the composition of the distant battle. Drow, and lots of them.

Shaking your head to clear it of the events of the past day, your thoughts turn to a particular time back in your days with the clans when you were an early warmage adept.

Your group of six adepts were out in the far outlying mountain ranges where the network of caves provided a haven for foul creatures such as undead and those from the dark land below. Word had come to the clan elders that the raids, upon the villages, from the dark skinned people, were becoming frequent and moving further and further out from the caves.

In a hard fought battle your party was slain and you were taken captive by the Drow and their illithid commander. After being tortured for hours you were broken. All they kept asking was,

"Where is the staff!" "Where is the staff!"

You had learned that the staff they were looking for was the Staff of the Magi. You had also learned that they belonged to a group known as the Black Covenant. The illithid had put something in your eyes that caused such intense pain that you were forced to keep them open and use the last of your willpower to stop them from blinking. When you did blink you screamed but there was no sound. Your throat had lost the ability to make any noise, apart from some gurgling noises, from the hours of screaming.

When all hope was lost aid came from the skies. Your eyes were too badly dry to make out more than a shape. And what a shape it was, large and looming. The deathly screams of the Drow filled the air and then silence fell. Large claws carried you through the sky returning to your clan.

Later you would learn that it was a gold dragon that was known to roam and guard the clan lands that was your rescuer. The dragon was not well and had taken on some terrible wounds from past battles. It had marked you as a dragon friend and set you on a mission of great importance.

My child, I have marked you with my mark. In time you will come to know its purpose. Great danger comes. You must grow stronger and find my children. Together you shall have the power to defeat the black ones. The Black Egg must not be allowed to hatch. Great evil it shall bring. I have given you some of my healing to aid in your quick recovery. The voice was a kind, motherly voice.

After weeks you had recovered from your injuries but the scars of the ordeal remained with you. Then the news came like salt on your wounds that the clanhouse which harbored the Staff of the Magi had fallen into the ground and burned. The Staff of the Magi...stolen! Many lives were lost defending the Staff at the hands of the Drow and their large spider beasts.

You blamed yourself for the loss of lives and the Staff. The dragon's words echoed hauntingly in your mind.

Black Egg...Great evil it shall bring.

With a heavy heart and determined to succeed you set out to find your destiny and make things right.

With your prompting the party decides to take a slight detour towards the fallen star. Hoping against hope that it was just a falling star.[rand=081279832832940938649742359996656614429090709082916521171035731141]

[Davey]

Aramil's tail is swishing back and forth slithers up to Seamus. Aramil flicks his tongue at Seamus.

"So I never noticed that scent before. Why do you smell like a dragon?" Aramil moves back and forth rhythmically. "Also, you know what that thing was that fell don't ya. Don't ya, come on at least tell me what it is. I have a strange feeling about it. Oh, and speaking of strange feelings can you sense that? That other scent here?"

[soodowyvern]

reflex save

[dice=20] + 8 = 28 (if I make the save, i also have a ring of evasion ... which if i am right, i take no damage).

Slumping to ground from exhaustion but not totally knowing why because he didn't spend that much energy during the last battle. Seamus looks to the sky. Not totally knowing what he's looking at but at the same time he knows what it is. Watching the impact and during the eerie silence that followed, Seamus know he needed to seek cover and FAST. He gathers all the energy he can and makes a mad dash to the interior of the cave that the horn devils and rage drakes were just guarding. Those who would have seen Seamus run would have noted the speed in which he moved. Almost seemingly with the speed of a rage drake on this desert sands.

After the shock wave has past and all have been account for and receiving any healing they need, Seamus turns and looks at Aramil.

"My friend Aramil, I have almost forgotten about that mark."

Seamus approaches Aramil and puts a hand on his massive shoulder. One to comfort Aramil and to thank a concerned friend.

"Would you mind giving me lift and I will tell you all about it. I just hope it was just a falling star."

Seamus state the last part with a heavy heart.

"And yes Aramil, I am sensing it too. Just don't know what to make of it yet."

OOC: If Aramil agrees to give Seamus a lift and the group is ready to move on, assume that Seamus relays his past encounter with the Drow. BUT he leaves out the bit of breaking and telling the Drow the location of the Staff of Magi.[rand=999916013134692906546499811791467433388679804218668315945276592]

[Davey]

As they walk along, Aramil says to Seamus,

"My new form takes some getting used to. Yet it feels true. My senses are heightened. I can smell things I have never been able to smell before -a shadow, a soul, even fear. My sight is more keen then a hawk flying high on a clear spring day. With every step I feel the strength, the power and the ferocity of my new body. My potential is unlimited. I think I am going to enjoy this very much. And with my new form comes the need to bond to another and become a combined fighting force. I can feel the beast within. I feel a rage growing inside me as vast as the sky above and as deep as the great oceans. I will need someone to help me in my new form. A presence of mind, and a guide for me in my animal state. I will need a rider.

[pigdish]

Seamus and Aramil enter the cave. The floor is littered with bones and filth from the devils and drakes, the smell is stifling. Torn bits of cloth, armour, and broken weapons are also strewn about. After going in about eight feet you (Seamus) start to get a feeling of dread. Aramil licks his lips and his tongue is frantically moving back and forth.

"Mmmm, we eat more eggsss now." Aramil says in a raspy, reptilian voice.

After a few more feet Seamus falls to his knees at the horror before him. A cluster of four large golden eggs two of which are broken and the remains of the contents splattered around.

[Davey]

"Delicious, they were."

[soodowyvern]

Glancing sideways at Aramil and giving a slight smile ...

"It would be my honor to assist you in anyway possible with this new form of yours."

Upon reaching the remains of the golden eggs and dropping to his knees ... Seamus lowers his head as if in prayer and silently weeps for the innocent ones that never had a chance at life.

Upon hearing Aramil's comment about how delicious they were ... Seamus moves with lighting reflex and backhands Aramil across his snout.

"If I EVER catch you ENJOYING yourself on eggs like these ... you will be lucky if that is all you receive." Seamus states with a tone dreadful warning.

Seamus turns to the other two eggs that seem to be untouched and inspects them. Picking them up to place in his pack for safe keeping.

[Davey]

My apologies Seamus, that was the inner beast. I would never knowingly dine on eggs like these.

[soodowyvern]

Seamus relaxes his posture and smiles back at Aramil ...

"And that was just instinct to protect." Seamus gives a wink of understanding. "Now shall we gather these last two eggs and be on our way. There is a city that may need assistants against the Drow."

[pigdish]

Aramil's reaction to the eggs was due to remnants of memory. His voice even sounds less reptilian when Aramil is in control.

Seamus you pick up the two remaining eggs and notice that there is something odd about them. One of the eggs quickly turns a dark grey and then purple and soon crumbles into dust. From within a shriveled corpse of a hatchling dragon falls to the ground and breaks into pieces. Upon examination the other egg also shows similar signs and crumbles but the hatchling within is not dead. Although it looks to be in very bad shape.

The hatchling is a sickly color having none of the radiance of a gold dragon. It reaches out to touch your hand and you hear a frail voice in your mind..

Save...sister. Taken by...dark ones.

After saying those words the hatchling collapses and dies.

[soodowyvern]

Upon hearing these words from the hatchling before it died, speaking in Draconian to Aramil ...

"No time to waste."

Seamus does not wait for permission from Aramil to climb on his back and mounts Aramil at the shoulders. Then Seamus digs his left heal into Aramil left shoulder/neck area to get him to turn around and then both heals to get him moving. Leading him out of the cave and toward the last known position of the Dark Ones that Solinar's ravens had reported. Which was in the direction of the town of Mistmour. Where Seamus fears that the Staff of Magi was used to call a meteor down from the heavens.

[Davey]

Aramil digs his talons into the earth spraying earth in his wake as he charges forward, powerful muscles flexing as we sprint with purpose and intent.

[pigdish]

The party quickly gathers their belongings and follows Seamus to where the star fell. After traveling six hours you are near the crest of the impact zone. Thick black clouds streaming with jagged bolts of crimson lightning hang over the horizon; they swirl and churn above like an angry, living swarm. A cold and bitter air sweeps in from the north, carrying charnel smells of fire, acid, and decay. Fires burn on the windswept plains, and between the rising plumes of smoke, wagons and trading caravans flee towards safety.

As the caravans drawn near (60 feet of the party) you can see the small band of about a dozen refugees, their skin blistered by fire and limbs wrapped in bandages and makeshift splints, staggers along the buckled ground toward you. Suddenly, two figures appear at the edge of the refugees with a flash of light; these two women stride purposefully into the midst of the group. Most of the refugees panic as the women bark out threats, but one refugee stands his ground. One of the women spots this refugee, points him out with a cry, and suddenly a huge gray giant appears out of nothingness to grab her and keep her from fleeing.

In Solinar's hand the beautifully crafted weapon known as Vorlundir glows a dull orange. He flatly states to the group, "There is an outsider here. Let us defend these downtrodden folk." Solinar dismounts and shifts into his hybrid bear form.

Initiative:
Solinar: [dice=20] + 4 = 14
Adversaries: [dice=20] + 3 = 18

OOC: Thanks James, I should have clarified the situation a bit better given where we are. You have not yet cast that transformation spell yet. Right now the party has traveled back near the first shimmering curtain, which means magic is like normal or it may have some odd effects. Nothing too extraordinary will happen though, just during special situations. You guys are going to need all your magic and strategy for this adventure. Good luck!

Post your Initiatives and Actions for ROUND 1 please.[rand=47273274740404103321883737990440230573512322409488467213157135591298]

[soodowyvern]

OOC: refresh my memory. we are within the magic dead area and am i still under the affects of my last spell? tensor transformation which i can't use spells and basically became a fighter.

Int (round 1)

[dice=20] + 8 = 17

Upon first seeing the caravan, Seamus slows Aramil as to not startle the group.

"What do you make of this Aramil?"

With the sudden appearance to the two females and then a gray giant, hearing the words of Solinar ... Seamus follows the lead of Solinar by dismounting for Aramil's back and readies himself for battle. Shield on his left and mace on his right. Then continues to advance toward the refugees.

OOC: my actions remains the same.[rand=44087781825127772182272535317493209368792763027084839628996691828]