Hathun, Second-Week, Fourth-Day, The Now-Year
A younger green dragon carries a dragonborn up to the mountainside monastery, and then tears her apart to make an example to the other Place-of-Scales prisoners. Among them is a quartet of Misthome-based adventurers, including Flearikz, Greech, Mamma Boe and Za'ku, who were captured by the green dragonborn ascendants some time ago. All recoil in horror at the grisly feast, fearing what might become of them next.
Backtrack, one day prior: Kymyl scales the stalactite that exits the City of the Carvers to the mountainside above, and proceeds along the path that his companions' blazed before him. He finds the mysterious dome, the broken automaton, and other signs as he tracks them across the mountain trail and to the waterfall, which he deftly begins to ascend. Above, Slakethirst and Borracho have finally finished their aerial scouting mission, when they notice the lone monk's climb, and swoop down to assist him. The three press on through the trampled jungle plateau, discovering Nexos and his sister's remains. After a brief conversation, the handsome lad decides he should leave with whatever he can salvage of her. The trio of PCs then discover the bodies above...and the stone lean-to which leads to the tunnel into the Ayrie...
The battle within the tunnel is joined by a group of dragonborn ascendant berserkers, sorcerers and trained drake pets, and it gets brutal quickly, with the sorcerers weaving magic to hinder the half-orc brothers and their companions, and the melee combatants beginning to take chunks out of them. The dragonborn escapee Noogal is taken down after valiantly standing her ground for as long as possible, but there is new hope when, unbeknownst to Yukkbutt, Un'krug and Vraal, their struggle has been heard further down the tunnel.
Meanwhile, the quartet of adventurers are forced into a pit fight against four dragonborn from the Place-of-Scales, presumably to convert them into bloodthirsty ascendants. However, they have met their match and are quickly disarmed by the veterans, even without their regular equipment! The green dragon observer is quite amused, and realizes it can use these 'guests' to further his cause, and potentially force a large conversion rate to serve his master Saurvax. The group is marched back to its cell below the monastery grounds.
At last, SlakeThirst, Borracho and Kymyl arrive to assist their allies in the tunnel brawl, and nearly too late, as they are overwhelmed and swarmed by the tactics and ferocity of the ascendant and their pets. But they don't simply lie down and die, rushing further in to face off against the casters, and are only finished off through a desperate combination of healing and self-sacrifice by the heroes. As the last of the dragonborn berserkers falls, the reality dawns upon the party of how beaten down they have come, how uncertain their near future, as their numbers are so greatly diminished...
PCs: Borracho, Flearikz, Greech, Kymyl, Mamma Boe, SlakeThirst, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt, Za'ku
XP Rewarded: 3800
Inspiration: ---
Renown: ---
