Pregame [Meta] Most obvious options for bringing Cassius back are Taking him to Shonn (500+ gold) which will take lots of time Using Reincarnate (1000+ gold) Another thing After the Fight Urd gets a message from Olzion “Scattered the guard drakes, killed all of their humans, are hunting them down right now. Will be back soon.” Found treasure including: 1000 cp, 3000 sp, 1900 gp, 90 pp, Onyx (50 gp), 2 x Quartz (50 gp), Sardonyx (50 gp), 3 x Star rose quartz (50 gp), Zircon (50 gp), Potion of Gaseous Form (rare, dmg 187), Potion of Superior Healing (rare, dmg 187), a dozen holy symbols of Tiamatt (worth 10 gold each) [Total of 3630 gold worth of treasure] The place has been “decorated” with what look to be the insides and outsides of Yuan-Ti. The inside of the cave is a bloody mess. There is an altar of Tiamatt that has been set up in the middle. Near it is a note written in the cipher that Ron & Rurrick decoded, it simply says, “It is done. The false followers are dead.” the note seems to be written in Jamesyth’s handwriting, but has no signature. Another note written in draconic says, “Our allies in Giskaine will be ready soon. Thrinegrove will attack the northern border in just a few days once the wyvern reinforcements arrive. - Jamesyth” In a tent is a Spell book: chromatic orb, expeditious retreat, mage armor, alter self, hold person, knock, blink, fireball, slow, polymorph, stoneskin, telekinesis There are some ashes in the corner of the cave [investigation check]. In the tents outside are individual coin pouches of the archers and wizards (32 gold worth of mixed coins). All of the gold and silver is from Elfsett. The party did some investigation, and uncovered the following: [Investigation checks] there are ashes in the corner. Piecing them together, there are two notes written in the cipher, the following is legible, “dwarf worshippers… Trymmond… hobgoblin raiders… soon… traitor Viznefkain” “The tomb of our hero Drallen Galefoe is nearby, you should search it for…” [Investigation Check] There is a small chest buried in the ground inside of a tent. It is a lockbox with 122 platinum stamped with the crest of Guilds’ Town. The Warlock of Tiamatt was the leader. While taking a short rest, Rurrick used healing spirit and Madormi and Olzion came back to camp, they found what they believe to be an entrance to an underground tomb or structure, which is warded against dragonkind. Ron used the necklace of prayer beads to try and summon Hayliel, a Ki-Rin, with whom he has a close relationship. However, he warned he might accidentally summon something else instead. Which he did, another Ki-Rin Malchediel showed up. Appearing as a Ki-Rin with lightning around her, Malchediel said she was currently arbitrating a diplomatic discussion between Aarakocra of the mortal realms and those from the elemental plane of air. She agreed to bring back Cassius as long as the party agreed to donate items worth 25,000 gold to the temple of Bahamut within 10 days. The party agreed. She brought back Cassius with an hour long ritual, then bid the party well and departed. Ron sent a message to Feng, “Found tomb of Drallen Galefoe - warded against dragons? Tiamat worshipper? Exploring. Who is Trymmond traitor Viznefskain.” Feng responded with, “Drallen Galefoe not follower of Tiamatt, those were Dree lies. Drallen was last descendent of Dravens. I remember Viznefskain, was a general of Kiernard.” The party made it to the tomb, and saw the bodies of guard drakes who’d rushed down the stairs to flee Madormi and Olzion but got stopped by the anti-dragon wards. The tomb itself- small and overgrown. Outside are runes, preventing dragons and those with draconic blood from entering. Rurrick went down the steps with Urd, and walked across the threshold. There was a statue of a dwarf, hand extended forward. Below the statue was an an inscription written in dwarvish saying, “Only a true child of Kiernard may enter by embracing their heritage.” Rurrick embraced the statue’s hand and failed 3 constitution saves, turning to stone. The inscription below the statue said, “As a coin is deposited in a bank, it is returned when the owner leaves in peace.” The door opened and the party moved in. Inside the old chamber they saw 12 skeleton knights of Kiernard, in their original armor. One of them was wearing mithril plate mail, marked with the symbol of kiernard, has a shield of Kiernard +1, a battleaxe +1, and a dagger+2 with a symbol of Kiernard on it. There was a 13th skeleton in peasant rags, holding nothing but an unfamiliar holy symbol, a symbol of broken sword split by a tear. Next to the door are was a pile of belongings with a staff and a book among them. A dozen dwarf ghosts appeared, instructing Ron not to have his friends remove objects from any room, that could only be done by with the blessing of the master. Below the west door was an indentation in the floor where you could place objects and written on the floor below the door was “We stand here united to defend our friend. Only a true weapon of faith will allow you in further.” Cassius took the broken sword & tear symbol, placing it in the indentation and the door opened. He attempted to put the symbol back and discovered that he could now trigger the door to open by moving within 10 feet of it. The party moved forward, discovering a caved in hall to the north. Ron rolled a critical to investigate it, realizing that it was just a pile of ruble. Moving forward there was another chamber. Scattered about the floor are dozens and dozens of holy symbols of Tiamatt, all shattered into pieces. In the middle of the chamber is an anvil with a hammer on a nearby bench (warhammer +2). Hanging above the anvil is a basket with exactly 3 symbols of Tiamatt. Next to the anvil is floating sphere that emits light and radiates extreme when touched. There are several alchemy tables. The extracts there are old and dusty, but have been properly sealed. On one of the benches is a book of alchemical recipes. In the back chamber are barrels, crates, alchemical supplies, and an alchemy jug. The next chamber’s door has an inscription, “As the idols are broken, let their corruption be dissolved.” Ron showed off the alchemy jug by using it to summon water. The party then experimented with destroying the 3 holy symbols of Tiamatt [I won’t recount the whole ordeal but there were humorous moments]. There was a table of maps seeming to be of the Kiernard war and indicated troop movements. Ron used his cartographer’s kit to note locations to the Kiernard Underkingdom on his own paper. Cassius destroyed 2 holy symbols. After failing a couple of rolls, dwarf ghosts started appearing in the room to look disapprovingly of the party, but Urd managed to destroy the last symbol and the door to the south opened. In the third chamber is a sickly green dragon, its flesh is rotting. It lies dormant in the middle of the room and doesn’t move or breathe. In the chamber are 4 treasure chests, all open. One contains 2000 platinum, one contains several bottles of holy water and a prayer written in draconic, one contains a pair of boots floating just off the bottom of the chest (boots of levitation), one is a scimitar with minuscule flames coming off of it (flametongue scimitar) The inscription reads, “Death is mercy, but but only for the willing. Undeath is the ultimate cruelty.” The party found out the dragon’s name was Xuddreon, the Skinny One. After some interactions with the dragon, he seemed indifferent to the party’s presence, although would get irritated and defensive if they mentioned killing him or him committing suicide. He showed no other aggression towards them. Fun RP moments with Xuddreon The entire chamber smelled of rotting dragon. When he questioned what the party was there for and they said “To explore” he said, “Carry on then” When he roared and spread his wings, to intimidate Urd one of his teeth fell out. When he talked to Ailekk, he referred to him as “Something that once would have looked tasty” Laying in his pit, Xuddreon shifted uncomfortably often, as though he could never quite get comfortable When Cassius mentioned Nivicras being dead after siding with the dwarves of Kiernard, Xuddreon seemed surprised that his brother Nivicras would turn against their father Shrave (Cassius rolled a nat 20 on the deception check). He confided in the party that unlife was no picnic, and he yearned to join his brother and Drallen on the “other side”. He blamed their father for doing this to him and wanting to do it to other dragons as well. Cassius fessed up that he had lied and that they killed Nivicras. Xuddreon took the news okay, and asked of the dwarves of Kiernard. Cassius told him that they lost, and Dree was now helping Shrave try to take over everything. Xuddreon seemed sad, but not like he wanted to do anything about it. He laid back down in his pit. After some discussion, Ron flew over Xuddreon and poured all dozen vials of holy water on him. Xuddreon said, “You’ll never defeat me, I am a mighty dragon. Even as he lied there, unmoving. With the party going over and helping finish him off after which Cassius read the “resting prayer”. Xuddreon whispered “thank you” to the party as he died the final death.
