This Might Not Be Our Dragon - 6/24 session recap

Thoric started a theological discussion with Kylian, and the party relocated to a tavern called O'Connors on the south side of town. Instead of burgers and grits, Xakoraki was able to get lamb schwerma and some sort of rice cous-cous. Boreas performed a Sending to Vrisana to tell her that they were ready for this evening.

As twilight approached, Ander changed clothes and slipped out of town. He was the first to see the distraction. A red dragon flying low from the south swooped upon some wagons straggling into town before sundown. They were about a half mile away, but Ander could see the wagons engulfed, and running human figures on fire. The dragon picked one up and bit it in half as it was fleeing. Ander ran up close to the wall and made his way to the side of town opposite the spectacle.

After a couple of close calls, Ander snuck into the keep and found Caelebhan's quarters. He uttered the magic password, and stepped into the room. Minutes passed as he scanned for the journal, and he was starting to get worried when he finally spotted it on a low shelf. It looked as if it hadn't been touched in weeks, so he carefully lifted it and substituted the fake without disturbing the dust too much. He then made it out on the heels of two guards who stepped outside briefly to catch a glimpse of the dragon attack. Soon he was over the wall and making his way to the rendezvous at the teleportation circle.

In town, the rest of the party heard the roar of a dragon overhead and the screams of people on the street. Figuring that they'd be able to slip outside with the fleeing crowds, they began to move down the road towards the south gate. They were somewhat surprised, then, to find that the gates had been shut, and that no one was trying to get out of town. After a few minutes of discussion, Kylian rode up to the gates with the rest of the party behind him, and he demanded that they let him out to fight the dragon. The guards asked if he was suicidal, but eventually relented. The gates were open just long enough to let them out, and then it was barred behind them.

As they moved away from the wall, the party was able to see the dragon in the field of boulders to their north. A couple of guardsmen were running out from the walls of the town, apparently attacking the dragon head on. This definitely seemed curious and suicidal. The dragon blasted them with flame, and devoured one.

Xakoraki said, "Oh, shit. This might not be our dragon." The dragon turned and noticed them, whereupon it beat it's massive wings and started to circle for altitude. "Run for the river!" Thoric took up the cry as well, and Kylian followed through with it. He lifted Thoric by the scruff of his neck and deposited him on his horse before spurring it towards the river. Xakoraki was left to run behind. Boreas, seeing the futility of running at this point, stood his ground and prepared to teleport to one side if the dragon attacked him. Sure enough, the dragon dropped, gained speed, and then leveled out on a direct course for Boreas.

As it drew alarmingly close, Boreas saw it wink at him. The blast of air almost knocked him over as the dragon passed overhead, and flames erupted all around him. He was not harmed however, and he held his staff up high in a warding gesture. He then used prestidigitation to simulate minor charring of his clothes, and he mimed patting out small flames on his sleeves and shoulders. The dragon rose out of it's low pass and flew steadily off to the southeast.

After reaching the river, Kylian looked back, and seeing the dragon flying away, turned his horse and headed for the teleportation circle south of town. Boreas and Xakoraki joined up a little way down the road and followed after them. The sun set, and a little while later everyone regrouped at the circle.

Ander pretended that he had forgotten to get the journal, but then showed them that he had been successful. The party almost decided to teleport to Vrisana's tower or the cursed mesa before someone realized that her distraction would be taking place in one or both of those locations. Rather than make things more complicated, they opted to teleport back to Orvalion's den. He met them with sword drawn, but after seeing who it was, he sheathed his blade.

Orvalion took a couple of hours to read the journal, and he eventually found what he had been looking for. To harness the destructive power of water, he would have to construct a combination warding and teleportation circle that would be powered by crushing pressure. Casmet mentioned the construction of such a device in his journal. Orvalion said that he would start creating one, and that afterwards, the party was welcome to join him in his trip to the southwest. He planned to teleport close to the coastline, then hire a ship to take them out into deep water. The party said that they were prepared to accompany him.