Session 240 - Deceiving a Dragon

General Summary

14^th to 20^th Peonu (Second month of Spring) 725TR

The story so far

While traveling along the salt route to the wizard's Kingdom of Melderyn, the heroes stop off at the fortified outpost of Trobridge Inn. There they encounter the sometimes caravan guard and bandit Pallas. Pallas is badly wounded; while acting as guards to the rich merchant Yacof Kepit, he and his friends, Ned and Stinker, were attacked by underhanded Pagaelin Barbarians. The merchant, Ned, and Stinker were captured.
Jolanta owes Pallas, Ned, and Stinker a favor after they helped Blaine save her life.
The party tracks the barbarians and learn that the savages intend to sacrifice the merchant and his treasures to the legendary evil Dragon Blackfang. This ceremony will take place at sundown in about an hour.

This is the continuation of Session 239 - The Gods of the Pagaelin.

Location - Setha Hearth North of Trobridge Inn.

Part 1 - Interrupting an Evil Ceremony

To save the merchant Yacof Kepit and Blaine's "friends," the heroes sneak up to the misty-covered sacrificial site. They see half a dozen pagaelin warriors and a figure wreathed in dirty robes on a rocky outcrop. He is a Pagaelin Auger, a priest of the Cult of Walker on the Heath, clutching a poison-coated, unnaturally sharpened knife. Tied to a post is the Merchant Yacof, and nearby are the badly battered Ned and Stinker, also bound.

The party sneaks forward, led by Avon. He moves up to the Auger unobserved, runs him through with his rapier, and then grabs his knife, sensing dark magic on the weapon's edge. The remaining surprised barbarians are easily cut down. However, the shadow of a dark shape can be seen in the fog above.

Quickly, the characters and the would-be victims attempt to make their escape. Avon discretely pockets the bag of gems and treasures belonging to the merchant from the corpse of the Auger. They almost get away.

Part 2 - Blackfang the Dragon

Suddenly, the fog clears, blown away by great black wings, and a Dragon hovers above fleeing characters. Blackfang has arrived.

Surveying the area, he notes the dead barbarians and the fleeing adventures. "Where is my tribute?" his intimidating voice booms. Only Acheron and Avon are brave or stupid enough to engage in conversation. Jolanta wisely stays quiet at the back.

While Acheron starts talking, the deceitful Avon conceals the merchant's gems and jewelry in the mud under a tree. Acheron holds the Dragon's interest, at least for the moment. He is obviously highly intelligent but maybe a little gullible; he usually only deals with unsophisticated, craven barbarians. No human he has dealt with in centuries has ever dared lie to him, at least as the egotistical Dragon sees it.

Avon joins the conversation and successfully deceives the Dragon; "There were no treasures." When he offers to be Blackfang's representative in the Thardic Republic, he fails; as the Dragon causally states, he has his own spies and agents.

The Dragon starts to lose interest, and the party rightly believes he wants a meal; Acheron asks what he seeks. The Dragon responds by describing a silver necklace with a daisy symbol, "The Symbol of the mother earth goddess." This is the goddess Peoni. Avon tries one more deception, "We will find this necklace for you," he pledges, a bald-faced lie. The Dragon believes him, and the party is free to go, provided they fulfill this pledge.

That evening Avon, assisted by some magic from Moneypenny and Jolanta, sneaks back to the sacrificial site and recovers the merchant's treasures unnoticed. Luckily, the Dragon has flown off to somewhere far away after feasting on the dead barbarians.

Location - Trobridge Inn on the border of the Kingdom of Kaldor.

Part 3 - Subterfuge of Dragons

The heroes escort Yacof Kepit, Ned, Dwain, and Stinker to Trobridge. Avon neglects to tell the merchant that he has recovered his treasures and keeps the gems and jewelry for himself. A contribution to his future senatorial campaign.

Intrigued by Blackfang's statement that he already has agents in the government of Thardic Republic, the party asks Yacof who he has told about his travels. Yacof mentions writing to some of his colleagues from the mercantile class; however, one stands out. Senator Zanek Musbern.

The characters met Senator Zanek when he was on a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Kaldor. After the heroes saved his life, he discretely asked Avon to hire an assassin to murder his own son. Furthermore, Clan Zanek has a Dragon on its Coat of Arms. This connection with Blackfang is worth investigating when the heroes return to the Republic.