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Fri 23rd May 2025 03:43

Scale Broken

by Tristan el'Mer

About halfway through our journey to meet with the Metallic dragons our dragoness ride stopped in a remote mountain location so we could rest for the night. She then took off on some other errand or other. In the middle of the night we were set upon by the cult.
 
There is no telling exactly how they were tracking us. It requires exceedingly powerful magics to locate a person from any real distance but track us they did. I do not even recall who was on watch when it happened, but by the time I awoke the bag oh holding that was on the sleeping Conrad had somehow been magically ripped from his sleeping body and was rapidly flying toward the Red Wizard, Rath Modar. I could already see the cowardly wizard’s plan as portal opened next to him courtesy of one of his underlings.
 
Sven was racing towards our attackers, Virgil and Nuri were trying to slow them down with magic. Before any of us could actually do anything at though, the bag of holding containing the black dragon mask, not to mention a considerable number of other valuables, was just simply gone. No doubt our best chance of preventing Tiamat’s return vanished, and before most of us were even awake.
 
The following fight was brutal, desperate. Even after two of the red wizards had fled we had to contend with a young red dragon, the last remaining red wizard, three half dragons of considerable skill, and a half dozen higher ranking cultists. The Scale Breakers survived the ambush but came out of that battle the Scale Broken. Our bodies and our spirit shattered.
 
The next day we met with the goodly dragons. We were all somewhat taken aback by just how indifferent many of them were to the threat. Convinced that their might, or the might of their god Bahamut, would deal with Tiamat if needed. In the end Nuri’s persuasive skill prevailed, and with the promise to right a number of perceived wrongs that had wounded the metallics’ pride, we convinced them to help the lowly humanoid races in their fight against the cult.
 
We then returned to Wyvern’s Watch to lick our wounded pride and check in with Gimlet. Our stay was short as we received word that the council would be meeting again soon. This council meeting was frustrating and awkward. We had to ask more than one council member for things that could potentially embarrass them in order to hold up our end of the bargain with the metallic dragons. Additionally, yet another dragon mask was rumored to be away from the Well of Dragons and potentially within our grasp. I want to hope, but am extremely skeptical. Leosin met with us privately to try and convince us that the mask in question truly would be the real thing. I am still skeptical, but having just lost the only mask we had secured, there really was not much choice. Off we went to try and find the double agent claiming to have the mask.
 
The double agent was located in an ancient wizard’s tower that the cult apparently had taken as their own. Getting into the tower appears to be a most difficult thing. Protected by potent magics that require visitors to navigate through an enormous hedge maze we have already depleted some of resources before even getting into the damn tower. At one point we saw what we presumed to be our double agent. Standing at the top of the tower he shouted something, threw what we guessed to be the mask off the tower, and then disappeared as a swarm of cultists came after him.
 
Hopefully we can sort out the riddle of this maze soon. My frustration grows with each dead end turn and each completed task that always takes us back to the same strange pillar. At the end of it all we will still have to contend with cultists and likely the Ancient blue dragon Lenithon.

Continue reading...

  1. Goblins and Wargs and Minotaurs, oh my!
    16th of Flamerule, 1486
  2. To Greenest
    17th of Flamerule, 1486
  3. Greenest is the Blackest
    18th of Flamerule, 1486
  4. On dragons, monks, and shite
    19th of Flamerule
  5. Ethereal Me
    20th of Flamerule
  6. Revelations
    21st of Flamerule
  7. The Cave of Triumph and Terror
    22nd of Flamerule
  8. Liches Give Stitches, and other Horrors of the Dark
    22 of Flamerule
  9. The Long Road Ahead: Part I
  10. The Long Road Ahead: Part II
  11. The Long Road Ahead: Part III
    Midsummer
  12. Sleeping on Splinters
    Mid Uktar
  13. The Convergence of the Bizarre and Unlikely
  14. Castle Capers: Part I
  15. Castle Capers Part II
  16. Castle Capers Part III: Shadows of Darkest Light
  17. Castle Capers Part IV: Visions of the Past & Hints of the Future
  18. Mountain Dream Houses and How to clear out the vermin you find when you arrive:
  19. Through the Woods, and into the Air, to Blathokus’ House We Go!
  20. Castle in the Sky, I Can Fly Twice as High
  21. The Ice is on Fire
  22. The City of Splendors
  23. The Journal Entry’s title
  24. City of Splinters
  25. Faces, Masks, and Catnip
  26. Doppler DupliCity
  27. Amorphisms
  28. High in the Skies and Deep in the Ground
  29. Aberrations and Apparitions?
  30. Of Temples, Tombs, and Secrets
  31. The Journal Entry’s title
  32. Whispered Revelations
  33. Varam the Whipped
  34. The End of Many Ages
  35. Fridgid Waters, Fidgety Gnome
  36. Into the Lion’s Den, ehrm.. Dragon’s Den
  37. Severin’ the Snake’s Head
  38. Ghosts, Ghouls, & things that go bump in the night
  39. Black & White; Green & Grey
  40. Ancient Future
  41. Pig’s Pearls
  42. Jade Herrings, Elven boots, Hidden Ruins, Concealed Silver
  43. Scale Broken

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.045 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 00:53, Jun 3 2025