TOPIC: Odyssey of the Dragonlords

Don't forget some mischievous cretin. Gods knows who, shaved half of the minotuars epic face hair off

ROTATION TWO

SESSION FIVE

Dirty Deeds aboard the Ultros
The find themselves as part in a dreamworld aboard the Ultros. Estor Arkelander is looking to appoint a new captain. First he tasks you with removing the traitorous threats amongst his crew. Some of you are reluctant, but not everyone shares the same morals. Three dead crewmen later and you each swear fealty to the Ultros. Arkelander chooses Ezrael to be the new captain of the Ultros.

A New Captain
You awaken and continue the journey under sail to Mytros. The ghostly crew now apparently departed. The city greets you. King Acastus arrives on the back of a silver dragon and hails your success – as his own. Queen Vallus keeps some of the heroes from committing any faux pas by confronting Acastus over his superior attitude; he is after all the most powerful king of Thylea.

Mytros
A feast is held in your honour. By next morning you are being urged to set sail to confront the titans. The Oath of Peace expires in sixty days. You must force a new oath or, if possible, defeat the titans once and for all. A crew for the Ultros is assembled from some of Mytros’ proudest fighters, sailors and athletes. Also joining the crew are Kyrah (who always inspires confidence), Pythor (lock up the alcohol stores), Versi (who is reluctant to let Ajax out of her sight for too long) and Loreus (the satyr rescued from the Mossy Temple).

Departing Gifts
Gifts and stores are presented at the dockside – goats, cows, food, wine, beer, a quiver of ten +1 arrows, six potions of healing, four potions of climbing, four potions of resistance and a strange bronze artefact – the Antikythera. To Duane, Vallus sneaks a secret gift – a bronze casket within which she has smuggled out a dragon’s egg from Acastus’ heavily guard hatchery in the city’s dragon eerie.

Setting Sail
The Antikythera has been sabotaged. Vallus suspects Gaius who has recently fled to the Order of Sydon’s headquarters on the Isle of Yonder. A cog has been removed which prevents certain constellations being set in the Antikythera. Without this cog the heroes will not be able to sail safely in the Forgotten Sea. Other passages may still be set. The heroes set the Antikythera to the first constellation of their choice – the Gygan. The Gygan allows the Ultros to be navigated to the Isle of Yonder.


The Isle of Yonder
Three days out from Mytros, the Isle of Yonder is seen on the horizon. Yonder has been associated for centuries with the race of six armed giants known as the Gygans. Even before the advent of the First War, the Gygans were allies and adherents of the Stormlord, Sydon. The most suitable spot land is a low beach, above which on a hillside is constructed a great tower.

The Battle of Yonder Beach
Ezrael wastes no time in launching an assault; flying straight toward the tower before the Ultros had even been beached allowing his allies to join battle. The guardians of the citadel include Gygans and human cultists of the Order of Sydon. All fall beneath the magics and cold steel of the victorious heroes.

ROTATION TWO

SESSION SIX

The Plains of Yonder
The heroes take to the high ground to spy out the island. There is a plain to traverse in order to reach a citadel built upon a high tor. Within the citadel is the Forbidden Library, a repository of lore greater than anything in continental Thylea. On the plains the heroes are approached by an enemy party of humans and giants. At the head of which is a fierce warrior of the Order of Sydon mounted upon a large bull that is completely encased in armoured scales. The heroes win a grand victory at the end of which Bidderus and Xander have been (temporarily) turned to stone and Castor has apparently gone for a lie down – hidden beneath a Gygan carcass.

The Citadel Tower
On ascending the path to the citadel, the heroes engage with sentries atop a sixty foot high guard tower, which ends with most heroes on top of the tower and all the sentries at the bottom. While Duane tries to smash his way through the enormous double gates that bar the entrance to the citadel, a beautiful song is heard that completely enraptures Ezrael. The colossal stone statue of a Gygan, with a cage where its head should be, steps down from its plinth. The song originates from within the head-cage.

The Stone Colossus (Thank the Gods for Castor and Xander’s Final Farewell)
The heroes battle it out with the colossus that rises as high as the tower upon which most of them stand. Xander leaps across the void and smashes into the head-cage, inside which are two ugly winged female creatures – all leather, fangs and talons. The fight is brutal with the protagonists swapping huge amounts of damage. Finally Castor’s bow sings and the colossus cracks and breaks apart. The head-cage slides away and crashes with its occupants to the ground beneath the falling debris from the tower and the broken stone colossus. Thus endeth Alexander the Suicidal.

ROTATION TWO

SESSION SEVEN

A Courtyard full of Cultists
The heroes (joined by Ultros crewmates, Leonidas and Marcus) are forced to fight their way across the citadel courtyard through a heavy defence of soldier-cultists, gygans, harpies and steel-clad bulls with bad breath.

The Quarters of Commander Gaius
Ransacking buildings the heroes enter the private quarters of Commander Gaius, the head of the Order of Sydon. Gaius is not here. Scrying for his dragon reveals that Gaius’ silver dragon, Argyn is out at sea - some five or six miles from the island. There are lots of incriminating papers here, including a recently penned letter that Gaius is yet to send to his master, Sydon, revealing imminent plans for the invasion of Mytros as soon as the Oath of Peace expires. The letter also gives an insight to the effect that, though the twin titans are a double threat, the followers of Sydon and Lutheria do not represent a united front.

From a mounting on the wall of Gaius’ private suite Ajax reclaims his dragonscale armour that was stolen from him so long ago.

The Forbidden Library
Entering the great library, there are half a dozen acolyte-librarians and two gygan sentries. Ezrael’s shield sings with the melody of the harpy to herald a battle. The gygans are cut down and the librarians scattered. Ajax realises how weirdly Ezreal has been acting these past few days – wielder than normal that is; taking his captain’s role far too seriously and acting with a blood-lust for combat. The heroes begin to suspect that Ezrael is in some way cursed since swearing his oath to the former captain of the Ultros – Estor Arkelander.

Library Lore
The library contains thousands of books and documents; many of them rare and valuable. You don’t have time to make a study of anything but do learn from looking at one tome that, though the great dragon Balmytria died, the fate of other dragons of the dragonlords remains uncertain, though all were presumed dead after so many centuries have passed. Hand written notes in the tome suggest one scholar at least believes that the dragons were not killed, but transformed into something else.

Chondrus
In the private rooms to the rear of the library the heroes find Chondrus. The adherent of Lutheria they first met in the throne room of King Acastus at Mytros. Scrying for magic determines that Chondrus has some magical item on his person, that the nearby chest contains magic and the bowl of water on a pedestal detects as magic too. Braving the vicinity of the demonic creature by the pedestal, Ezrael brazenly washes his hands in the bowl of water.

Striking a Deal with the Devil
Rather than fight, Chondrus proposes a deal to satisfy their mutual interest. Chondrus seeks passage off the island. In return he promises to guide the heroes to Hypnos to an audience with Lutheria. Chondrus will plead your case to keep the peace before the Lady of Dreams. As part of the bargain, Chondrus will allow the heroes to keep the missing piece of the Antikythera that Leonidas has just pilfered from the chest. The heroes question Chondrus of the whereabouts of Gaius. If he’s not in the citadel he’ll be abroad upon his dragon – he may return at any moment. The ballistae on the Ultros may be the best defence they’ll have against an aerial dragon.

Deal reached (though no element of trust is reached), Chondrus picks up the bowl from the pedestal, empties the water on the floor, and thrusts the bowl beneath the safety of his robes. He then confidently strides out of the room leaving the demon behind.

To be continued... .... .....

I'll do a catch up of our first two/three weeks soon.

In the meantime, I'm back from foreign parts (Lincolnshire coast) and will be at club as usual tonight.

ROTATION 3


New Heroes
On Yonder the heroes meet Ryu (elf, rogue) an outsider who has hidden himself away from the Order of Sydon on Yonder for many months. He reveals himself to the heroes in the hope of escaping the island – as a new member of the Ultros crew. As Duane takes a step backwards to nurse his new dragon egg, another of the Ultros crew steps up to become a hero – Darden (elf, ranger).

Gaius and Argyn
No sooner has the UIltros put to sea than spotters cry out. Gaius, commander of the Order of Sydon, is approaching; riding on his silver dragon, Argyn. The ballistae are put to good use and the arrows of Darden sing – striking true between the dragon scales. Bidderus is almost frozen to death by the dragon’s icy breath and is blasted overboard. Eventually, the wounded dragon reels away and flies off. Its rider, Gaius, is tipped from the dragon’s back and plummets into the wine dark sea, far off from the ship.

Removing the Curse of Estor Arkelander - Failed
Estor Arkelander continues to possess Ezreal and is slowly asserting his dominant nature. Bidderus attempts to exorcise Arkelander, but the effort fails.

The Island of Fates
Charting a course for the Island of Fates, it takes four days and nights to sail to the forbidding island with its tall craggy cliffs. Only a single inlet offers shelter within which to run the Ultros onto a narrow shale beach. A strange four-legged cat-like creature greets the heroes and leads them down a dark passage that eventually leads to the lair of three old crones. The crones are eating alive a large larvae-like creature with a human face. The victim screams as it is being devoured. The eldest of the crones, named Morta, wipes her mouth of fresh blood and greets the heroes with an evil cackle.

Manticore Hunt
The Fates will give no divination without payment. There is a manticore nest on the high peak of the island’s only mountain. The heart of a manticore is the price to be paid. The climb is perilous and the battle tough and dangerous. Ezreal’s hat is pierced by a wayward arrow and Estor Arkelander’s outraged and blood-thirsty personality grips Ezreal entirely. The manticores are slain. Of their hearts - one of them is dedicated to the Gods, the other is taken to the Fates.

What the Fates Say
The Fates reveal to Bidderus (the Doomed One) that he is destined to die three times for Lutheria. They also reveal information concerning the dragons of the Dragonlords. Though Balmytria, the dragon mount of Xander, was slain in the First War, the other dragons did not die and should they be found, may yet prove to be valuable allies in the struggles to come.



More to come... ....