Sins of the Saviors
Players present: Elora (Sally), Azalyn (Shelley), Bastian (Casey), Orden (Mike), Sirilenda (Melissa), Derani (Rachel), Kage (Arren)
Sirilenda's gored body lay clenched in the dead dragon's maw. As the group approached, they saw its massive chest slowly pulsing from the beast's shallow final breaths. Suddenly, one great serpentine eye flashed open and focused on Derani.
"Ah, Farathraxis. I should have known..." came his last words. Then nothing.
Derani did not hear her companions around her, as she recalled the name Farathraxis, the name of the dragon her father slew so many years ago. Well, at least she had believed him to be her father, until recently when he told her otherwise. Why this white dragon would know about the connection between her and Farathraxis was a mystery, for now. She spent little time dwelling on the matter, and focused on helping her fallen companion, delicately extricating the corpse from rows of foot-long teeth.
The group retreated to Sandpoint, where Orden revived Sirilenda and the rest of the party recuperated. They reviewed the notes from the Scribbler's rhyming directions to Runeforge, and plotted their next steps. According to the fourth stanza of the rhyme, they needed to climb the stairs leading from the base of Rimeskull mountain all the way to the gaping mouth of the colossal face carved in the side of the peak. They had seen the stairs previously in their trips to the area, but had been busy completing the first stages of the rhyme and so had not explored steps.
Once again they used teleport to reach the snowy mountain, and began climbing the oversized steps, starting at the bottom. Midway up the frozen path, Kage and Derani moved beyond the others to scout the area ahead. A low rumbling from the mountain put the group on edge, but the sudden appearance of three huge earth elementals caught them off guard nonetheless. Almost immediately, Kage and Derani discovered their skill at finding vital points of attack would be useless against these creatures. They maneuvered themselves to relative shelter in the midst of their companions.
Orden quickly used dismissal to remove two of the rocky behemoths, but the third began pounding on Bastian, denting his armor. Azalyn, flying, attacked from above, while Bastain unsheathed an adamantine longsword for perhaps the first time, and tried the unnaturally hard metal against the elemental's resistant body. His sword failed to make a scratch. Elora unleashed a volley of arrows, striking true. The final arrow reduced the monster to a pile of cold rocks.
The stairs continued uparward, and so did the companions. Once at the top, they discovered a long, wide tunnel leading deep into the mountain. They followed the straight path of the rough-hewn cave until the light from the mouth barely reached them. After a slight turn west, then another turn back north, they came upon a pair of large statues, arms outstretched as if in warning. Beyond the statues the path sloped downward, and a layer of ice covered the floor.
Kage gently tested the icy slope, and decided that while his ninja agility allowed him no difficulty navigating the slippery descent, his companions lacked the requisite skill to pass without falling. While the group discussed options for moving forward, including Azalyn's suggestion of riding the slope like a slide, Derani noticed a hidden path along the side of the cavern that lead down beside the slope. They followed this walkway past the point where the slope suddenly dropped off into an enormous gaping pit. The path wound around the pit, gradually reaching the floor 300 feet below.
The bottom of the pit contained seven 20-foot high pillars surrounding an eighth pillar 40 feet tall. The rune-covered pillars nestled a pile of gold, jewels, magic items, and other valuables. The heros concluded that this must be the slain dragon's hoard, and began scooping it into bags of holding. After a few days of using teleport to ferry the loot back to Sandpoint, the group examined the pillars to match the seven keys they had obtained earlier with the correct pillars.
Orden thrust one of the keys into the small keyhole at the base of its corresponding pillar, and turned it twice, just as the rhyme instructed. They waited for the result...
 |
| Farathraxis |
"Ah, Farathraxis. I should have known..." came his last words. Then nothing.
Derani did not hear her companions around her, as she recalled the name Farathraxis, the name of the dragon her father slew so many years ago. Well, at least she had believed him to be her father, until recently when he told her otherwise. Why this white dragon would know about the connection between her and Farathraxis was a mystery, for now. She spent little time dwelling on the matter, and focused on helping her fallen companion, delicately extricating the corpse from rows of foot-long teeth.
The group retreated to Sandpoint, where Orden revived Sirilenda and the rest of the party recuperated. They reviewed the notes from the Scribbler's rhyming directions to Runeforge, and plotted their next steps. According to the fourth stanza of the rhyme, they needed to climb the stairs leading from the base of Rimeskull mountain all the way to the gaping mouth of the colossal face carved in the side of the peak. They had seen the stairs previously in their trips to the area, but had been busy completing the first stages of the rhyme and so had not explored steps.
 |
| The stairs on Rimeskull |
Once again they used teleport to reach the snowy mountain, and began climbing the oversized steps, starting at the bottom. Midway up the frozen path, Kage and Derani moved beyond the others to scout the area ahead. A low rumbling from the mountain put the group on edge, but the sudden appearance of three huge earth elementals caught them off guard nonetheless. Almost immediately, Kage and Derani discovered their skill at finding vital points of attack would be useless against these creatures. They maneuvered themselves to relative shelter in the midst of their companions.
Orden quickly used dismissal to remove two of the rocky behemoths, but the third began pounding on Bastian, denting his armor. Azalyn, flying, attacked from above, while Bastain unsheathed an adamantine longsword for perhaps the first time, and tried the unnaturally hard metal against the elemental's resistant body. His sword failed to make a scratch. Elora unleashed a volley of arrows, striking true. The final arrow reduced the monster to a pile of cold rocks.
The stairs continued uparward, and so did the companions. Once at the top, they discovered a long, wide tunnel leading deep into the mountain. They followed the straight path of the rough-hewn cave until the light from the mouth barely reached them. After a slight turn west, then another turn back north, they came upon a pair of large statues, arms outstretched as if in warning. Beyond the statues the path sloped downward, and a layer of ice covered the floor.
Kage gently tested the icy slope, and decided that while his ninja agility allowed him no difficulty navigating the slippery descent, his companions lacked the requisite skill to pass without falling. While the group discussed options for moving forward, including Azalyn's suggestion of riding the slope like a slide, Derani noticed a hidden path along the side of the cavern that lead down beside the slope. They followed this walkway past the point where the slope suddenly dropped off into an enormous gaping pit. The path wound around the pit, gradually reaching the floor 300 feet below.
 |
| The dragon's hoard |
Orden thrust one of the keys into the small keyhole at the base of its corresponding pillar, and turned it twice, just as the rhyme instructed. They waited for the result...
No comments:
Post a Comment