Post by David on Dec 18, 2008 16:13:19 GMT -5
The heroes awoke to a pair of silvery urchins slowly sucking up the dragoness' spilled blood. The heroes pondered driving the creatures off, but ultimately chose not to. Several hours later, the giants awoke and after much debate, Idky cast water breathing on each. The heroes talked about using the bag of holding to transport the non-swimming humans out, only to discover that it was actually a bag of devouring; most of the treasure was now destroyed! Without many other options, Squattingbeaver and Torr guided the pair of giants out of the submerged cavern and to the surface.
The party regrouped. Idky lacked enough spells to bring everyone out of the dragoness' lair, so the heroes decided to settle in and rest for the day. The shaman, meanwhile, went to the back of the cave and prepared to reconnoiter the other submerged caves via a dream walk. Before Squattingbeaver could perform the ritual, however, three 20' long blood worms lurched out of the water and attacked. Naturally, the monsters were no match for the heroes, but clearly the worms had been attracted by all the blood. What's more, after the heroes dispatched the monsters, they noted that beneath the surface of the water were now nine silver urchins, all of which hungrily devoured the worms' corpses...
The shaman cast his spell and the party settle in to wait out the day. But, a quiet time is NOT what Fate had in store. Less than an hour later, while Idky and Yavin were on watch, something stirred the water. Only the cleric of Fharlanghn and Ichi noted anything amiss, the monk heading to the water's edge. That's when the invisible mate of the dragon Ichi slew burst from beneath the surface and savaged the poor monk. Nearly dead before he knew what hit him, Ichi fell. Torr drew Wyrmsbane and charged while Yavin tried to use his psionics to confound the dragon, but failed. The dragon unleashed a spray of acid on Torr and Idky just as Lowdog joined the fight. Now, however, it was time for the dragon to suffer as a both the totemic warrior and the paladin hit the monster. Nearly dead, thanks to Torr's dragon-slaying holy sword, the dragon leapt back into the water and shot out of the submerged tunnel. Thinking quickly, Torr grabbed Ichi's magic broom, Hexen, and gulped down the other half of his potion of polymorph, then assuming the shape of a dolphin, the paladin pursued the dragon.
Meanwhile, in the cave, Yavin tended to the fallen monk, saving his life. Instead, however, Ichi had a terrible scar where the dragon's claws had opened up his leg. Just as the cleric of Celestian used the last of his mental power to psychically heal the monk, Squattingbeaver returned to his body, having found the dragon's lair! Idky and 'Beaver each cast a cure light wounds on Ichi and then shaman headed out of the lair to find Torr.
The paladin, meanwhile, had pursued the dragon and caught it, but the monster turned to attack the dolphin. Not trusting his ability to finish the male black dragon in that form, Torr retreated. When Torr looked back, the dragon faded invisible and escaped. The paladin resumed human form and tried to find the dragon using Wyrmsbane's pulses, while flying over the lake on Hexen. After nearly a half hour of this, Squattingbeaver spied Torr and tried to get the young paladin's attention. 'Beaver produced fire into the air, but Torr was focused on his sword and his mission to finish the dragon. So the shaman swam up and got Torr's attention. Together, they entered the dragon's lair, only to discover, things were NOT what they appeared...
The dragon in THIS lair was a white, specifically an opalescent white...or, a pearl dragon. The pearl dragon tried to parlay with the heroes, but neither understood the language of the humans of Charn. Squattingbeaver cast tongues and thanks to that, the conversation shifted into Draconic, which Torr could understand although not himself speak. The pearl dragon, Abatha, had lived for a long time here along the shores of the Pearl River. The various caverns the heroes had found were his; the black dragoness, Zura, and her mate, Ikar, had driven Abatha out and claimed much of his treasure. The pearl dragon explained that both black dragons had been unnaturally aged by the same force that had flooded the valley -- he was, indeed, concerned for the future of the local ecosystem. Abatha was delighted to learn of Zura's death and agreed to lead 'Beaver and Torr to Ikar's lair on the condition that the "fighting-cleric"promise on his god not to attack the pearl dragon. Torr questioned the dragon pointedly about his ethics, to which Abatha explained he was not evil.
Torr sheathed his dragon-slaying sword and climbed onto Abatha's back, holding onto Squattingbeaver. The pearl dragon sped through the water, following the black dragon's bloody spoor to another cave. There, Torr and 'Beaver leapt from the water, only to be confronted by a powerful djinni, Handala. The genie explained that it was "regrettably" tasked by it's master to destroy the heroes, although Torr's paladin-aura made that difficult -- the djinni first had to conjure a roofing beam so as to attack while remaining 10' away. From the darkness, the dragon unleashed a volley of magic missiles at Torr, but his ioun stone absorbed the attack.
Handala blocked Torr from charging while the dragon grab for some treasure. 'Beaver, meanwhile, held back behind the paladin and safely within his aura. Ikar, grabbed for a flask and tossed it at Torr just as the paladin got past the djinni, suffering two blows from the roofing-beam! As the vial hurtled through the air, the shaman could see there was an entity inside and with a crash the captive spectre escaped! Torr found himself fighting both the undead spirit and the genie, although Handala gave Squattingbeaver a hint -- for the black dragon had fled leaving the djinni's magic lamp behind. Whoever held the lamp could give Handala new orders. Torr managed to destroy the spectre just as the shaman recovered the lamp. 'Beaver fumbled with his words, but managed to call off a sympathetic Handala. Then the shaman and paladin discussed the situation with the impatient genie ("you're new to this whole genie-wish-thing, aren't you?"). In the end, Handala agreed to transport the heroes to the dragon's other lair.
Surrounded by a whirlwind and bubbles, the pair sped to the other underwater lair. There, numerous toadstools began shrieking as the Torr and Squattingbeaver left the water. From the darkness, the dragon breathed acid, seriously hurting Handala and damaging Torr's magical platemail. The paladin charged and in a single blow, killed the dragon! Torr then set himself to bathe in the dragon's blood while Handala fetched the rest of the party to the new location.
THE HEROES WILL NEED TO GO BACK TO THE FIRST CAVE THEY FOUGHT THE DRAGON TO SEARCH THROUGH HIS TREASURE AS IT WAS IN THAT CAVERN. Meanwhile, the two black dragon eggs are still in the dragoness' lair.
Status:
Squattingbeaver: full (36), 15psi, cast 1st x3, 2nd, 3rd x3, 4th x2
Idky: full (41), cast 1st, 2nd, 3rd x3
Ichi: 33 of 58, 30psi
Torr: 47 of 74, 30psi
Lowdog: full (79), 13psi
Yavin: full (27)
Handala: full, 28psi
The party regrouped. Idky lacked enough spells to bring everyone out of the dragoness' lair, so the heroes decided to settle in and rest for the day. The shaman, meanwhile, went to the back of the cave and prepared to reconnoiter the other submerged caves via a dream walk. Before Squattingbeaver could perform the ritual, however, three 20' long blood worms lurched out of the water and attacked. Naturally, the monsters were no match for the heroes, but clearly the worms had been attracted by all the blood. What's more, after the heroes dispatched the monsters, they noted that beneath the surface of the water were now nine silver urchins, all of which hungrily devoured the worms' corpses...
The shaman cast his spell and the party settle in to wait out the day. But, a quiet time is NOT what Fate had in store. Less than an hour later, while Idky and Yavin were on watch, something stirred the water. Only the cleric of Fharlanghn and Ichi noted anything amiss, the monk heading to the water's edge. That's when the invisible mate of the dragon Ichi slew burst from beneath the surface and savaged the poor monk. Nearly dead before he knew what hit him, Ichi fell. Torr drew Wyrmsbane and charged while Yavin tried to use his psionics to confound the dragon, but failed. The dragon unleashed a spray of acid on Torr and Idky just as Lowdog joined the fight. Now, however, it was time for the dragon to suffer as a both the totemic warrior and the paladin hit the monster. Nearly dead, thanks to Torr's dragon-slaying holy sword, the dragon leapt back into the water and shot out of the submerged tunnel. Thinking quickly, Torr grabbed Ichi's magic broom, Hexen, and gulped down the other half of his potion of polymorph, then assuming the shape of a dolphin, the paladin pursued the dragon.
Meanwhile, in the cave, Yavin tended to the fallen monk, saving his life. Instead, however, Ichi had a terrible scar where the dragon's claws had opened up his leg. Just as the cleric of Celestian used the last of his mental power to psychically heal the monk, Squattingbeaver returned to his body, having found the dragon's lair! Idky and 'Beaver each cast a cure light wounds on Ichi and then shaman headed out of the lair to find Torr.
The paladin, meanwhile, had pursued the dragon and caught it, but the monster turned to attack the dolphin. Not trusting his ability to finish the male black dragon in that form, Torr retreated. When Torr looked back, the dragon faded invisible and escaped. The paladin resumed human form and tried to find the dragon using Wyrmsbane's pulses, while flying over the lake on Hexen. After nearly a half hour of this, Squattingbeaver spied Torr and tried to get the young paladin's attention. 'Beaver produced fire into the air, but Torr was focused on his sword and his mission to finish the dragon. So the shaman swam up and got Torr's attention. Together, they entered the dragon's lair, only to discover, things were NOT what they appeared...
The dragon in THIS lair was a white, specifically an opalescent white...or, a pearl dragon. The pearl dragon tried to parlay with the heroes, but neither understood the language of the humans of Charn. Squattingbeaver cast tongues and thanks to that, the conversation shifted into Draconic, which Torr could understand although not himself speak. The pearl dragon, Abatha, had lived for a long time here along the shores of the Pearl River. The various caverns the heroes had found were his; the black dragoness, Zura, and her mate, Ikar, had driven Abatha out and claimed much of his treasure. The pearl dragon explained that both black dragons had been unnaturally aged by the same force that had flooded the valley -- he was, indeed, concerned for the future of the local ecosystem. Abatha was delighted to learn of Zura's death and agreed to lead 'Beaver and Torr to Ikar's lair on the condition that the "fighting-cleric"promise on his god not to attack the pearl dragon. Torr questioned the dragon pointedly about his ethics, to which Abatha explained he was not evil.
Torr sheathed his dragon-slaying sword and climbed onto Abatha's back, holding onto Squattingbeaver. The pearl dragon sped through the water, following the black dragon's bloody spoor to another cave. There, Torr and 'Beaver leapt from the water, only to be confronted by a powerful djinni, Handala. The genie explained that it was "regrettably" tasked by it's master to destroy the heroes, although Torr's paladin-aura made that difficult -- the djinni first had to conjure a roofing beam so as to attack while remaining 10' away. From the darkness, the dragon unleashed a volley of magic missiles at Torr, but his ioun stone absorbed the attack.
Handala blocked Torr from charging while the dragon grab for some treasure. 'Beaver, meanwhile, held back behind the paladin and safely within his aura. Ikar, grabbed for a flask and tossed it at Torr just as the paladin got past the djinni, suffering two blows from the roofing-beam! As the vial hurtled through the air, the shaman could see there was an entity inside and with a crash the captive spectre escaped! Torr found himself fighting both the undead spirit and the genie, although Handala gave Squattingbeaver a hint -- for the black dragon had fled leaving the djinni's magic lamp behind. Whoever held the lamp could give Handala new orders. Torr managed to destroy the spectre just as the shaman recovered the lamp. 'Beaver fumbled with his words, but managed to call off a sympathetic Handala. Then the shaman and paladin discussed the situation with the impatient genie ("you're new to this whole genie-wish-thing, aren't you?"). In the end, Handala agreed to transport the heroes to the dragon's other lair.
Surrounded by a whirlwind and bubbles, the pair sped to the other underwater lair. There, numerous toadstools began shrieking as the Torr and Squattingbeaver left the water. From the darkness, the dragon breathed acid, seriously hurting Handala and damaging Torr's magical platemail. The paladin charged and in a single blow, killed the dragon! Torr then set himself to bathe in the dragon's blood while Handala fetched the rest of the party to the new location.
THE HEROES WILL NEED TO GO BACK TO THE FIRST CAVE THEY FOUGHT THE DRAGON TO SEARCH THROUGH HIS TREASURE AS IT WAS IN THAT CAVERN. Meanwhile, the two black dragon eggs are still in the dragoness' lair.
Status:
Squattingbeaver: full (36), 15psi, cast 1st x3, 2nd, 3rd x3, 4th x2
Idky: full (41), cast 1st, 2nd, 3rd x3
Ichi: 33 of 58, 30psi
Torr: 47 of 74, 30psi
Lowdog: full (79), 13psi
Yavin: full (27)
Handala: full, 28psi
