Session 16: Dangers and Dragons

As the crew of the Argo prepared to set sail from Troy, an argument broke out between Amara and Caeneus, who complained that he was sick of eating the fish Amara had caught for the crew. Caeneus went back on shore to find different food and cool off. Meanwhile, Amara noticed that Dóro was acting unusually restless in the presence of Meredythe. She asked Meredythe what was going on. Meredythe revealed that she had thrown the World-Render overboard, and during the subsequent argument, Amara jumped into the ocean and swam away, with Meredythe following.
After a few minutes, the anger and frustration building up inside them suddenly went away, and Amara, Meredythe, and Caeneus all returned to the ship. They set sail and were sailing for about an hour when they reached a strait with jagged, rocky cliffs on either side. A seagull tried to fly through, but without warning, the rocks slammed together and crushed the bird before opening up again.
The crew pondered what to do. Upon realizing that the rock trap is solar-powered, Aegis decided to intimidate the Titan of the sun, their sworn enemy Helios, into setting. Against all odds, she actually managed to succeed, sending Helios speeding over the horizon and plunging the world into complete darkness.
Calais chewed Aegis out, pointing out that they can’t sail in the dark, and flew up to the crow’s nest in a huff. The rest of the crew continued arguing until they noticed Jason standing sadly by himself. The party tried to reassure him that they just had to wait a little while and that it shouldn’t be a problem unless the quest was time-sensitive. To that, Jason replied:

“I don’t know. It might be. I grew up poor, living with my old, ailing father. One day I was crossing a river when I noticed an old lady on the riverbank. I offered to carry her on my back, and as I forded the river, she began whispering in my ear. It was Hera. And she told me if I went on this glorious quest and brought back the Golden Fleece, my dad and I would never want for anything again. So, of course, I set out to do it. But my dad’s health isn’t good, and I’m worried that if I don’t come back soon, I won’t ever see him again.”

Now that they had calmed down, the party realized that the anger and argumentativeness they had been feeling all came in bursts, and it only happened when Aegis was around. Kallos touched Jason and cast Identify. There was some kind of magical energy slowly fading away from him, one that Kallos had felt before when holding Eris’ golden apple. Amara cast Identify on Aegis and found a potent source of chaotic energy had settled into the pit of her stomach. Aegis had eaten the apple of discord, and now she caused infighting and strife wherever she went.
Remove Curse was cast on Aegis, which stabilized the situation temporarily, allowing the crew to clear their heads. Kallos cast Light so the ship could navigate to a safe coast, and the Argonauts made an impromptu camp on the beach. Caeneus apologized to Amara, and Amara and Meredythe had a heart-to-heart.
During the middle of the night, while Callidora was on watch, she noticed three female figures walking toward their camp. Thinking that they were the Fates, Callidora woke the rest of the party up and they confronted the women.
The women appeared to be a maiden, a matron, and a crone, but they all had the same blue eyes and long gray hair. A successful History check revealed her to be Hecate, goddess of the crossroads, witchcraft, and magic. She said:

“So you’re the ones I’ve heard so much about. My dear friend Persephone told me about you. Caught between the Fates and the Olympian gods—yet slowly amassing a power of your own, under the protection of the Underworld… Fascinating. I am the goddess of the crossroads, of deeds done in the dark, of hidden power. You seek the Golden Fleece, you say? Mine is the path to it—the tasks that King Aeëtes will ask you to perform are impossible without the aid of a very specific kind of magic.”

She told them to befriend Aeëtes’ daughter Medea, a witch and devotee of Hecate. She also warned them that even if they succeeded in the impossible tasks, Aeëtes would still try to kill them, so they should find a way to take him out. With that, she left.
The next morning was unusually cold, as if the sun was keeping its distance. The party arrived in Colchis, where Jason immediately told the first person he saw that he was on a glorious quest for the Golden Fleece. Soldiers arrived to escort them to the king. The crew realized that Aegis’ presence might cause Aeëtes to become angry and kill them, so they left Aegis on the ship.
King Aeëtes’ palace was magnificent, decorated with shining gold motifs of dragons everywhere. The king himself had a little lizard on his hand, which promptly revealed itself to be a baby dragon when it started flying about the room. Aeëtes seemed delighted at the arrival of the adventurers, eyeing Dóro in particular. He explained that had received many would-be heroes trying to claim the Golden Fleece and watching them fail his trials and die was a source of entertainment for his court. He took the Argonauts in as guests and asked the soldiers to escort them to their rooms. Kallos politely declined, saying that she would return to the ship.
The Argonauts were unanimous in their dislike of Aeëtes. Callidora noted that if Aeëtes had a baby dragon, there had to be a mother around somewhere. All agreed that they needed to find Medea as quickly as possible, before Aeëtes’ trials began.

Relations

Protagonists

Aegis, Amara, Callidora, Kallos, Meredythe Maegwund

Allies

Jason, Caeneus, Calais and Zetes, Atalanta, Hecate

Adversaries

Helios, Aeëtes

Plot type

Session