Timeline of Campaign Events – The Realms of Josnik

Index

Session Thirty Six

Subduing and tying up Neronvain the party began to rest, during the watches Neronvain tried to wriggle free from his bonds and was then trussed up and raised to the ceiling on the end of a rope so that even if he were able to slip his bonds he would drop at least 20 feet onto the unforgiving stone floor. Even so he tried to get out of the bonds, nearly succeeding. After he tried to bolt in an unguarded moment Gianna cast a spell on him that compelled him to do her bidding or face terrible psychic damage.

Once they were well on the trail, Neronvain used his ability to generate noxious gas in a rather large area around him and bolted for the treeline. Although everyone was adversely affected Eloen managed to trip him up with her glaive and sat on him until the gas dissipated. The party quickly decided that for the rest of the trip he would be lashed to a pole and carried, trophy style.

The party made their way back to Altand where the split ways with the elves and then they made their way back to Jendar City, prize in tow. The council, with the notable exception of Melandrach, was overjoyed to see another high ranking member of the Cult brought in alive for questioning. The party retired to their townhouse and Gianna used the feather token to create a massive oak in the yard as part of making a consecrated grove. Soon the council called again as there was an unusual ambassador that had unveiled herself. One of the minor nobles that sat in the council chamber in an advisory capacity.

She revealed herself as Otaaryliakkarnos an ancient silver dragon and member of the council of Metallic Dragons. She wished to take a number of representatives to the Dragon Council to see if an accord could be struck between the dragons and humanoid races to combine forces against the cult and the eventual return of Tiamat.

Much arguing later the council (steered by Leosin and Onthaar) came to the conclusion that a trusted third party empowered with ambassadorial leeway be sent to represent the humanoid races, all eyes turned to the Dragon Poachers as the decision was made.

Otaaryliakkarnos gave them the boon of riding on her back for a two day trip back to the Nether Mountains (a journey of 600 miles which would otherwise take months). During the trip she talked with the party and gave them some information on what to expect and how to act during the council.

The meeting with the Council of Metallic Dragons went smoothly, several small concessions and guarantees of apologies on behalf of the dwarves and the elves cemented the cooperation of the metallic dragons and the party returned to Jendar City, this time by Gianna casting word of recall to the grove surrounding the townhouse.

The Council was largely happy to hear about the dragons, Mellandrach and Brawnanvil seemed to be less than best pleased about the concessions that had been negotiated on their behalves but grudgingly agreed that it was better to have dragons on their side when going against dragon cultists.

Another period of time passed and a strange misshapen shadow moved across the front of the townhouse, in its wake a package containing a letter from a being claiming the name Iskander and the position of second in command at a mage tower that had been taken over by the Cult of the Dragon. Requesting to be rescued he details the wrongs of the cult and the cherry that he had the blue dragon mask in his possession and offered it up as a trade should the Dragon Poachers come to his aid. Zoltan cast scry using the letter as a focus and got a vision of a tall, thin, dark skinned human walking through a tower talking to other people and a scene outside of a wild and tangled hedge maze and a large blue dragon flying though the sky.

Session Thirty Seven

After the revelations the Poachers made ready to take the journey to Xonthal’s Tower when Gianna hit upon an idea and cast a prayer to Eldath, beseeching her for intervention in getting to the tower in a timely manner. Not receiving any aid they proceeded with horse and carriage. There were few interruptions on the road but for a travelling merchant and his guard and an arcane tempest that blew up. Finding shelter in good time ahead of the Tempest the Poachers were treated to a lightning show that few have witnessed.

Upon their arrival at the village surrounding the tower the Poachers waited until nightfall to obscure their movements and proceeded to the tavern for a round of food and drink and some gossip.

The townsfolk were friendly enough even when asked about the tower but something seemed off, they were a little guarded when pressed about the tower but still offered several theories behind the renewed activity at the tower. When asked about the hedge maze they were unanimous that the maze was terrible bad ju-ju and that they should not go into it if they valued their sanity or their lives.

Waiting until 4am the Poachers entered the maze where they came to a sundial which had a shadow pointing directly north which seemed a neat ability as there was currently no sun to cast a shadow. Interpereting that they should go in the direction of the shadow they walked in that direction for several minutes and came to a second sundial. This one casting two shadows one to the north and one to the east.

Going in the same direction as the first shadow they ended up in an area full of old armour and 6 statues of armoured warriors. Entering the area two of the statues came to life and began to attack. They were easy enough to destroy but two more sprang to life as each was cut down until all six were engaged with the party. Every so often when one was destroyed a fist sized bloodstone gem rolled out of the helm before it pulled back to its plinth to be reconstructed.

Seeing that the fight could be endless the poachers grabbed as many of the bloodstones as possible and backed out of the area. They re-emerged at the second sundial. They tried east this time, the direction that the second shadow was pointing. Several minutes of wandering later they emerged back at the sundial. They then tried the south-west passage.

They emerged on a large pasture where there were sheep and birds and two cyclopes tending to the farm all frozen in a bucolic landscape. Sending Samy in, the moment he broke the plane of the area the scene came to life and the cyclopes began to chat with one another as they tended to their flock. Gren, using his Helm of Understanding, gathered that the two were brothers and that they had an idyllic existence here. They noticed the party and began to play a game with one another. One obviously lost as his shoulders slumped he moved towards the party and casually grabbed a two foot boulder turned his back to the party and heaved the boulder 100 feet downrange. His brother, meanwhile explained that the party could leave if they could throw another boulder past the one that had just landed.

Gren used his rune magic and a potion of enlarge to make himself as large as the cyclopes and hefted the boulder suddenly fist sized for him and he took a step and heaved the boulder well past the one thrown by the cyclops. As his boulder passed the plane of the other boulder the one on the ground disintegrated leaving a large topaz lying on the ground. The party went downrange and picked up the topaz and walked out of the scene. After a minute they emerged at the second sundial. This time they took the north-east path and after wandering for a while they came to a third sundial this one with three shadows one pointing north, one south-east and one south-west. The party pondered this for a moment and took a random direction.

This time they entered an area with a boulder and a pond with a pagoda in the middle. In the pagoda an oriental seeming human bade them enter the pagoda and sit on the cushions therein. He began to brew some tea from a pot that apparated from the ground. Gianna, knowing her tea and herbs, noticed that the “tea leaves” being loaded into the pot were in fact drake’s wort, a potentially lethal poison, she exclaimed her alarm. Gren used his decanter of endless water and spoke the word geyser knocking the teapot over and skittering it to the edge of the pagoda wall. The tea brewer took this as an aggressive action and prepared to attack the Poachers.

Back to: Campaign Specific Pages