Session 25

General Summary

6th to the 8th of Wealsun, year 595
The party and 4 company companions head to the bandit camp where they got Salinna back from just over a month ago now, and the scene before them is truly horrific. The area is splattered with blood and body parts, and anything large enough to be capable of still moving, is! Meanwhile, 3 grotesque floating brains with beaks and tendrils are flying about, picking up and tearing apart any body part they come across. While some form of "eye tyrant," a scaled and floating eye with a toothy mouth and 4 eyestalks, is floating about screeching and horrific and maddening sound that may actually be laughing. It's hard to believe there could be any survivors, except Irina notices the bandit captain, Rezena, cowering in a shadowy crevice in the rock.
Without too much trouble, the party eliminates the aberrations and rescues Rezena who comes out of a fear effect caused by the eye tyrant. Without further incident, they bind him and hand him over to the peace officers of the caravan for arrest and questioning. As promised, the party got to keep what they recovered from the decimated bandit camp.
That night as the party and their fellow "dirty half-dozen" companions relax by the fire in their part of camp, 3 dragonborn from the "Tiamat’s Children" company come over and harass the group and offer up their Raalnian ale. Wally happens to be the first to accept the growler and take a swig. He manages to not only remain conscious, but also to look reasonably unphased by it -- much to the trio's surprise. Toby takes the growler and deftly fools them into thinking he took a swig when he does not, also feigns lack of marked reaction, causing the chromatic trio to look upon the halflings with bemused respect.
But before the socializing goes on much longer, one of the trio connects the pair of halfling, tiefling, and cleric of Bahamut as wanted by the Guard out west, blamed for bringing of aberrations to their world, and also notorious for destroying the Broken Pass trade bridge. The chromatics blame the party for being more "evil" than they have a reputation for being and return to their part of camp, laughing. Toby notices during the discussion of being wanted by the Guard, their companion William seemed pointedly uninterested in the conversation.
Late that night, as dawn approached, Irina and the dwarven armorer Duli find the white-scaled dragonborn from earlier returning to their camp, behaving very odd . . . and sleepy. After some questioning, it dawns upon the party that their "pet" intellect devourer had escaped their care, followed Szacka the white half-dragon, and ate his brain. Should it be convinced to leave the dragonborn, they would have a corpse on their hands, so when the victim's commander comes by in the morning looking for him, the party convinces him that Szacka agreed to travel with them.
Later in the day's march they see the column slow as it passes something up ahead. Before long they see they are marching past the corpse of an adult copper dragon, evidently fallen in the protracted war that appears to be continuing among the awakened dragons. Many dragonborn pause to pray or leave an offering by the dragon's body. And as the rear of the column comes alongside, the party see and hear members of Tiamat's Children jeering and laughing, causing palpable tension in the ranks.
Irina has Malex teach her how to say "Show respect for your fallen foe," and mentally sends that message into the mind of one of the "alpha" half-dragons doing the jeering. Irina successfully convinces the patsy it is the voice of Tiamat herself he hears, and he drops to his knees and attempts to get his companions to as well. However, this causes even more chaos among those around, and Malex is shoved in the confusion by a black-scaled dragonborn who uses the moment to challenge Malex. Tempted to bring down righteous smiting, Malex instead slugs the churlish oaf and lays him out in a blow. He proceeds to hit him into unconsciousness, which triggers an all-out brawl.
Everyone in the party gets involved throwing and avoiding punches, Toby attempts headbutts but gets leap-frogged, and Wally sings inspiration to his friends while fending off attacks with his lute.
Then of a sudden, Wally sees a large black scale stab the ground before him and alerts his companions. malex looks up in time to dodge more scales that begin to rain down in deadly slices, and they see the form of a large black dragon blow through the clouds only seconds from hitting the ground.
With barely feet to spare, Irina uses her preternatural physical abilities to bound into the sky and with a touch, heal the dragon just enough to give it life. It writhes and rights itself in midair and flies away with the force of its wings knocking everyone in a wide radius to the ground. The event entirely mollifies the soldiers, metallic, chromatic, and non-dragon alike. In somber and reflective silence everyone returns to their ranks and officers restore order. Irina becomes the unexpected recipient of respect and approval from many chromatic half-dragon, particularly the black-scaled. One in fact gives her a religious token made of obsidian beads.
Malex as the cleric who bested a chromatic brusier with strength, and Irina as the one who saved a black dragon's life, become a pair receiving respect and awe by many, as do the halfling companions who appear to have the stamina to down powerful dragon ale... the party is met with a great deal of deference by dragonborn among them.
The last night before they reach the frontlines of the battle against the aberrations, the mood is subdued. Bandit chief Rezena walks up and joins them, informing the group that he was released on the condition that he joins the fight. And, naturally, the ragtag Troufras’ company the party and other non-dragonkin march with.
The next morning, they reach the hills that lead toward the Dragonmouth Temple, and the main basecamp where the generals are leading the battle. Thanks to the reputation which has already preceded them, the party is let into the main tent and allowed audience with Commander Irieyassa Drathtocirgok, the head commander of the assembled Delemiriv militias. The commanders are mostly metallic half-dragons, with a preponderance of gold, although a couple of chromatic commanders are in attendance as well. The Commander hears Malex out, and allows them to do what they need to taking with them a handful of volunteers (more resources than that cannot be spared). She has Captain Krexlenn, commander of the militia scouts corps, show the party where there have been reports of high-psionic activity in the area (aside from the masses within the Dragonmouth Temple itself).
The party decides to essentially travel up the handful of miles that form the protective hills around the Temple, hitting each location in turn as they need until they collect the "star-spwn" mage and seer they need for their intellect devourer to consume.

Rewards Granted

• Bandit Camp:
• variety of mundane weapons and items
• Ring of Poison Resistance
• Viscous Shortbow (+1 hit/dmg; +8 dmg when crit)
• Wand of Enemy Detection
• Potion of Speed
• Oil of Sharpness
• 40gp, 10pp, 55sp, 40cp
• 5 pieces of gold jewelry
• 8 pieces of silver jewelry
• 6 various gemstones

Character(s) interacted with

• Uromyn Parallath, a 46 year old female half-orc bodyguard
• Helewys Dlarraithar, a 90 year old male half-elf scout for hire
• Lief Cornwallis, a 41 year old male human cleric
• Donald Bladewalker, a 44 year old male human sailor
• Duli Noblebringer, a youngish female mountain dwarf armorer
• William Ashglade, a human sellsword
• Rezena, dragonborn bandit chief
• Szacka, chromatic dragonborn, now inhabited by intellect devourer, and 2 other dragonborn from the "Tiamat’s Children" company
• Commander Irieyassa Drathtocirgok, the head commander of the assembled Delemiriv militias
• Captain Krexlenn, commander of the militia scouts corps

Report Date

17 Jan 2020