Hammer 17, 1489
Dre'zel my love,
After gathering our things, we departed Sunblight Fortress and prepared to mount Vellynne’s two sleds. Even with Steve remaining behind, there wasn’t enough room for all of us, so Vellynne commanded her servant, Graven, to stay behind. The pathetic, grey-skinned kobold seemed too eager to explore the carnage we’d left in our wake.
After pushing the sleds as fast as we could for two hours, we were near the nautiloid when an avalanche cracked above us. Leaping off the lead sled, Rowan transformed into a giant elk, grabbed the harness in their mouth, and began pulling a sled. Ambrose leaped off the rear sled and sped past us. JoJo transformed into a bear, leaped off the rear sled, and pulled the dogs faster. Jumping on Princess Skullcrusher, Taimen yanked Vellynne and her onto her mount and raced onward. With everyone safe from our sled, I ran ahead, having cast Longstrider.
As we dashed, the avalanche crashed down behind us, and we were all safe.
A short while later, we rounded a bend and reached the furrow where the nautiloid had been, but it was nowhere to be seen. Searching for tracks, I found the nautiloid, cloaked in invisibility.
Vorrin and Dredavex greeted us, and we abandoned our sleds to board the invisible nautiloid. They confirmed that the nautiloid was operational, and that they could take us to our destination after we had rested in their sleep pods.
Saritu announced she was staying with the gnomish-illithids, which triggered many emotional responses and long goodbyes. Speaking with Saritu privately, I apologized for the scrutiny and distrust I had maintained toward her when she had donned the illithid psi-crystal and expressed my appreciation and admiration for all she had done. Thanking me and wishing me well, she gave me her Slippers of Spider Climbing, adding that I would probably need them more than she would traveling through the astral sea.
I was quite nervous as we entered the sleep pods, but I was comforted at the sight of Saritu watching over us. As I drifted off, I could feel you there with me, caressing me, body and mind, as you probed my thoughts.
With a slight bump, you were gone, and I was awake in the nautiloid. An hour had passed, but we were all fully rested. Our hosts had armored Taimen’s tentacle with a strong, flexible metal.
Talyth cast Sending to Captain Arlaggath of Easthaven, asking about the dragon. Captain Arlaggath replied that the dragon was approaching fast, and people were evacuating.
We gave the nautiloid crew instructions to bring us to Easthaven, and they pressed on a strange panel filled with knobs and levers until the mountains disappeared around us and, with a pop, we found ourselves hovering over Redwaters.
Far to the northeast, we could barely see the dragon’s radiant breath strafing Easthaven!
With a final goodbye and thanks, we grabbed the Rope of Climbing and leaped from the nautiloid. Taimen cast Feather Fall as Talyth began to fly and pulled us to the shore as we descended.
Taimen and Vellynne mounted Princess Skullcrusher, and Rowan transformed into a giant elk to carry the rest of us.
The sun was disappearing as we reached Easthaven, and Talyth granted everyone far darkvision.
As we approached the city, we saw dead bodies littering the streets. Axe beaks and other large animals were impaled on trees, having been dropped from high above. Many buildings were already destroyed, and some were being looted. In the chaos, many people seemed to be fighting among themselves.
We found Captain Arlaggath directing refugees out of the city but warning them to stay clear of the roads. Upon seeing us, she was grateful for our arrival and told us how the dragon had strafed the roads to Bryn Shander.
We made our way to the Town Hall, the largest building in town. As my companions entered through the door, I ran up the wall to the roof.
The dragon was still far from us, destroying everything in its north-south fight to the east. I shot a flaming arrow in its direction to get its attention.
Just then, JoJo shouted, “Duergar!” I ran back down the wall and through a window on the ground floor. Peeking through a door, I saw two duergar turn from were-JoJo to attack the civilians who had been hiding downstairs. The first Duergar had just enlarged when I shot him twice in the head, knocking him onto his smaller companion, and they both fell down the stairs.
I ran back out of the window and reached the roof just in time to see that the dragon was approaching us fast.
Yellow strips of magical energy sprang from the ground and looped around the dragon, but the massive construct shrugged them off and continued toward us.
Standing on the wall on the side of the Town Hall, I cast Magic Weapon as the dragon closed in on us and struck it with two arrows.
Talyth, who had been hovering in the air over the Town Hall, with Ambrose hanging below her from the Rope of Climbing, dropped down as the dragon reached us. She swatted the dragon’s tail, but fell into the snow.
More yellow strips of magical Earthbind energy sprang from the ground, but the dragon shrugged them off again.
Ambrose landed on the dragon and hung on tight as the massive construct sliced through the Town Hall. It’s wing nipped me, knocking me off the wall.
Taimen snagged it in a Web from her new wand, and I shot it again as it crashed into the ground.
The Chardalyn dragon flexed its stone limbs and broke through the webs and shrugged off another Earthbind attempt.
I shot the dragon again as JoJo ran up onto the dragon’s back…and attacked Ambrose! It seemed that the dragon’s malevolent gaze could drive people to fits of violent madness, but JoJo quickly shook off the effects and resumed his attacks on the flying construct.
Rearing back, the dragon blasted Talyth and Taimen with its radiant breath, disappearing Princess Skullcrusher.
Rowan, as a giant elk, charged and rammed the dragon as it leaped into the sky and took flight, carrying JoJo and Ambrose on its back.
At Talyth’s beckoning, the giant elk heaved Talyth high into the air, and she grabbed the rope dangling from the dragon.
Vellynne hit the dragon with magic missiles, and Taimen hit it with a chromatic orb of fire.
Meanwhile, Talyth climbed up the rope and onto the dragon, where Ambrose was ripping its scales off. I shot it again as Duergar Hammerers emerged from inside the construct.
JoJo kicked two of the Duergar Hammerers off the dragon, to their death. Then two more grabbed JoJo and pulled him off the dragon. Together, the three of them fell. The Duergar broke apart as they hit the ground, but JoJo seemed to suffer only minor scratches.
Ambrose hung on tight as the dragon swatted him with its tail. Meanwhile, Talyth used her divine magic to break the dragon’s form. As it began to spiral out of control, I sank two arrows deep into its chardalyn hide.
As the dragon crashed into the icy waters of Lac Dinneshere, Rowan charged toward it, sliding on the ice, but spun wide and fell into the water, where they transformed back to a goliath.
The dragon’s chardalyn head emerged from the ice and blasted Taimen with its radiant breath. Still standing somehow, and enraged, Taimen blasted it with a chromatic orb of fire, and the construct slowly sank into the depths of Lac Dinneshere.
Talyth dove into the water and emerged soon after, dragging Ambrose’s corpse. Talyth was struggling to reach the frozen shore, so I tossed a rope and cast Rope Trick, but it was for naught as Rowan cast Water Walk, and they all made it safely to the icy surface.
Talyth cast Revivify on Ambrose, but though he was still a myconid creature, he was changed somehow.
As we returned to shore, we were greeted by Captain Arlaggath, but to my shock, people began blaming JoJo for turning away from them. Did these fools not realize the sacrifice he had made for them? That they would have no town, and would all be dead if it weren’t for us? Meanwhile, JoJo accepted his plight with utter humility and told Captain Arlaggath he would be leaving at once.
As we headed toward The Eastway, Vellynne expressed how impressed she was with our victory and said she thought we were ready to try and break Auril’s Rime.
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