Chapter 8: Dragon At the Gate
After some brief discussion, the group decided to travel to Khazad-Nogaak to request reinforcements from Hogasun's dwarven allies. Recalling the giant beanstalk they had used to climb out from the great below, Jolkottr suggested he could create a portal between a tree in Hogasun and the beanstalk. Using his druidic magic, he enchanted a tree and the group stepped into it--bridging the gap between Hogasun and the beanstalk by "stepping" through the realm of Fey. They suddenly appeared out of the beanstalk, only a day's travel away from the dwarfhold.
The dwarf introduced himself as "Magni Greybeard," a paladin of the dwarven god of war Grimni. The dwarven soldiers at the gate chanted his name and made it apparent he was a well-known hero in the city. Magni revealed he was a veteran of many campaigns against orcs, giants and dragons in the mountains. After the group told him of the coming giant army, he led them inside, suggesting they should speak to the king. As they made their way to the throne room, Magni left them to wait in the throne room as he fetched the king. Alas, he returned an hour later utterly disappointed that the king would not see them that day (suggesting they wait until the morning because he was preparing for an "important feast").
They arrived at the city the next morning and found it under attack by Birgir's massive white dragon companion. The group leapt into battle against it as a company of dwarven marksmen attempted to hold it off with support from a pair of cannons mounted into the gatehouse. The marksmen's musket fire proved mostly inaffective against the dragon's scales, and the cannons were too inaccurate to strike the fearsome beast. Jawhara entered into a rage, her wild magical abilities manifesting as the ability to teleport short distances (which she used to teleport onto the dragon's back). The dragon quickly unleashed a roar that frightened all but Jolkottr, who summoned a fey spirit to attack the dragon. The dragon attempted to dislodge Jawhara from his back, but failed to do so despite raking her with his razor-sharp claws and flying into the air. Jolkottr summoned his spirit totem to heal Jawhara while Kelthar focused on his fear and dispelled it, allowing him to join the fray by flying atop the dragon using spectral dragon's wings.
As the dwarves continued to fire volleys at the dragon, Jawhara and Kelthar pelted it with blows from axe and fist as Jolkottr healed their wounds and directed his fey spirit to attack the dragon. By claw and tail, it attempted to throw its unwanted riders from the sky but they held tight. As the dragon swept down onto Jolkottr to attack him, Jawhara and Kelthar continued their assault and forced it to fly back into the air in another attempt to dislodge them. Kelthar managed to stun the creature, sending it plummeting to the ground. Finally, it managed to swipe its tail at Jawhara and forcefully dismount her before flying into the air and unleashing a cone of icy breath at her and Jolkottr. The magical assault nearly slew the pair, but Jawhara's rage kept her conscious through sheer willpower. Jolkottr's fey spirit was dispelled as he lost focus on the spell, but a loud horn suddenly blew from the gates as an armored dwarf leapt from atop the gates and teleported onto the dragon's back. The gray bearded dwarf slammed down a massive hammer atop the dragon's skull, nearly splitting it in half in a radiant smite as he called out the name of his god Grimni. Kelthar then followed up with another stunning strike that sent the dragon spiraling down to the ground once more, where Jawhara met it with a readied swing of her axe that finally felled the beast.
Though reticent to speak ill of his king, Magni revealed his disgust at the king's behavior and that the king had been "different" of late. Kelthar attempted to storm into the king's chambers and was rebuked by the king's guard, and Magni who talked him down and invited the group to join him for ale in the commons. There, he spoke in further detail about the "dragon sickness" that had cursed the king and other dwarven kings in history, driving them mad with greed (as that of a dragon). He told the tale of Kathra Fireforge, a dwarven adventurer and legendary hero who 500 years prior had returned from a campaign in the orcish badlands to find her king cursed with dragon sickness and the city in near ruin. She had organized to overthrow the king, and after a long and bloody civil war the king was slain and she was crowned Queen of Khazad-Nogaak. The current king, Magdin Fireforge, was her grandson. When Magni refused to entertain the idea of overthrow, Jolkottr suggested they might find something to convince the king to support his allies. Magni told them the tale of Scylf Dragonsbane, a Vikingr who had long ago slain a great wyrm assaulting the city and was gifted with a mithril-headed axe that became the heirloom of his tribe (the Scylfing tribe, now led by Jarl Svend Jorunson). This had been the beginning of the alliance between the dwarves and the northmen. The group decided to return to Hogasun and ask Jarl Jorunson to visit the king and show him the axe as a reminder of their ancient alliance.
Magni accompanied them as they once again traveled vast distances via trees, returning to Hogasun that very morning. They found the place busy with preparations for the invasion. The Jarl agreed to visit the king and they feasted that night. The next morning (after Jolkottr could recover from the tiring work of casting his spell), they traveled back and visited the king with Jarl Jorunson among them. The king was in a grim mood and scoffed at the Jarl's attempts to illicit an emotional response. Showing the axe did nothing to improve his mood, but when Jawhara brandished her own axe and set it aflame he gazed upon it greedily. He began to laugh, a dark and menacing chuckle. Suddenly, his chest split open and erupted in flames as a large demon crawled out from his corpse and split him in half. The demon grew wings of shadow and flame and conjured a flaming whip and a crackling sword of lightning. Battled erupted as the fabulous few joined the fray alongside Magni, who ordered the guards to protect the Jarl (after he made a showing of wishing to joint he fray himself). Jawhara and the demon clashed, fiery axe against crackling lightning blade. Kelthar soon joined her and erected a flame-resistant barrier around them as they both battled the demon, soon joined by Magni and his smiting hammer and Jolkottr's fey spirit. Though the demon nearly slew Jawhara, they vanquished it before long. As it died, the fiend erupted in a massive fireball that nearly killed Jawhara and Jolkottr (though Kelthar simply leapt away to safety).
With the King dead, his son Meradin Fireforge would be crowned king before long. Merely a child among dwarves at 36 years old, he would need a steward to guide him. Kelthar tried to suggest Magni should be crowned king, but he quickly dismissed the idea as ridiculous. While the group rested in the king's chambers, Magni gathered the prince and the temple leadership and discovered that the king had been meeting with Duergar from the great below, where he had entered into a deal with a denizen of the Abyss (likely the Balor that possessed him). When they returned, Meradin met with the group and promised to send 99 dwarves and 2 cannon teams to Hogasun. The Jarl thanked him for his support and reiterated his desire to maintain their alliance. Magni and the prince suggested they should visit the markets to gear up for the coming fight, and the group did so (purchasing bracers of defense for Jawhara and much-needed diamonds for use in reviving magic). When they rejoined Magni in the throne room, they asked if he would travel with them for a time and Magni agreed, having spent too much time in the city and longing to be on the road again. The fabulous few departed with a new member among them, returning the Jarl home to Hogasun before departing for Arlenport to report to Duke Lorens and request aid from Sydonia...
Comments