Ruins of an Empire, Session 1: Trouble at Elkridge

This session started off with a little house-keeping for the Guild of Heroic Adventuring Companions. Dawn & Lethe spent some time selling many of the items of value they recovered from the Halls of Tannheim and divvying up the remaining party loot. Mike Mitchel decided to take a break from adventuring for a bit and lent his armor and boots to Dawn. He was replaced with Mongo.

Mongo had tried to follow his half-brother into the wilderness but had returned frustrated to Punjar after his half-brother's trail grew cold. The Goliath barbarian decided to join GoHAC until some new sign of Ecamirg cropped up. Mongo used some of the funds he gained from his previous adventure with Jym, Regnor, Corvus, Chiana and Aletha to purchase a new pair of boots that would help him charge into battle more effectively. He planned on doing just that when he next met his brother.

GoHAC was not able to find a buyer for the Gems of the Septych due to their curse. They decided to keep and use them instead. Dawn, Lethe, and Mongo each took one of the Septych gems and claimed them as their own which granted them each a boon, but also cursed them with various vulnerabilities. Dawn took the Garnet of Hate which merged with one of her canine teeth, turning it red, granting her bonus damage to all her attacks, while also causing her to be vulnerable to fire damage. Lethe claimed the Emerald of Drunkenness, placing it on his tongue, turning it green, increasing his fortitude but weakening his resistance to all types poisons. Mongo took the Citrine of Greed which replaced his left eye, turning the iris yellow, granting him additional accuracy with his melee and close attacks, but also cursing him with vulnerability to radiant damage. Mongo, Dawn, and Lethe know now that the only way to remove the gems and their associated curses is amputation and removal of the body part that has been replaced. The rest of the gems have been placed in a safe place for possible use by other members as needed.

Jym the warlord received a new job offer through Mina's network of contacts throughout the city. An archaeological dig near the village of Elkridge had been compromised and a wealthy benefactor wanted the situation dealt with by the capable members of GoHAC. They were to travel to the village as soon as possible and meet with a contact there to get more information. Jym rounded up the members who were available to work and gave them their new marching orders.

Dawn, Lethe, Rael, Mongo and Jym headed North and reached Elkridge 2 days later. Elkridge sat nestled in the foothills of a great mountain range within sight of the massive peak known as Wyvern Mountain. The quaint village is known for its extravagant Fall festivals when it does a healthy trade business with humans and Goliath tribes who live in the mountains before the harsh Winter sets in. History told that this area was once plagued by a series of vicious dragons who ruled from a stronghold located deep in the mountain. No dragons had been seen in the area in recent years however.

As they approached the village they noticed that the characteristic festival banners were nowhere to be seen and that the usual customary swarm of country folk who greet friendly adventures were too busy boarding up their houses to spare a glance at them. When they reached the out-lying farms they heard a blood-curdling scream split the air. The scream was followed by the sounds of a bestial screech which gripped the local peasants with fear and rooted them to the ground. The party could hear the sounds of excited flapping of leathery wings and then the unmistakable sound of claws tearing and ripping through timber planks. The party hustled toward the sounds.

When they arrived they found a trio of large dragon-like creatures assaulting a farmstead. A pair were trying to break their way into a cottage, one on the roof and the other through the front door. The third was perched on a shed surrounded by dead and dying farm animals as it chewed on a slain farm-dog. The beasts were completely engrossed in their activities and did not notice the party's arrival.

The party split up to engage each of the beasts 2-on-1. The beasts, later identified as warwing drakes, used fly-by attacks raking everyone with their claws as they passed, but they did not have breath-weapons like true dragons. The party slew the beasts quickly and saved the inhabitants of the cottage who came out to thank them. The warwing drakes were wearing what appeared to be riding harnesses, but while the party was examining the creatures a young boy came running into the farm yard calling for help, "It's got my dad! Please help!"

The boy led the party to a neighboring farm on the edge of the woods. In the middle of the yard another of the warwing drakes was pushing the limp body of a man around on the ground in a muddy patch. Something was different about this drake, since it cowered and whined instead of fighting back when it was hurt by Lethe and Mongo. Jym checked the boy's father and found that he was not dead and had not been clawed or bitten. The man had taken a disorienting knock on the head and was covered in mud, but not bloody. Dawn, sensing the creatures docility, asked her companions not to kill the creature and then attempted to speak to it in Draconic. The drake seemed to recognize her speech but was already cowed into obedience by Mongo's intimidating presence. The party gathered around the beast to examine it and found it wore a broken collar in addition to a riding harness and saddle bags, containing a healing potion and a fancy dagger dating back to the Dragonborn Empire of Arkhosia worth 250gp, which they planned to sell later and split the gold evenly. The drake also had a brand on one of its forelegs that Lethe recognized as a symbol of the of Zehir, the evil god of a snake and reptile worshiping cult. Mongo attached a rope to the collar and claimed the drake as his pet, naming him "Bingo" and the drake followed him around meekly. Bingo was generally a playful and friendly creature, if somewhat retarded compared to the other drakes. Mongo remembered hearing about such creatures from bed-time stories growing up in the kingdom of Dlanodcam. Warwing drakes were thought to be extinct. They once were used as mounts for Dragonborn knights in the days of the Empire of Arkhosia, but none had been seen since the fall of the Empire many centuries ago.

The party questioned the boy's father when he came to and determined that this drake had not attacked him, but had blundered out of the nearby woods chasing a rabbit and had bowled into him, knocking him to the ground unconscious. The party could still see the trail the drake made leading into the woods. They decided they would follow this trail later when they had time. While they were talking with the farmer and his son, a middle-aged man better dressed than the peasants and farmers in the village approached the party and identified himself as Mavros. He thanked the party for their help and apologized for the state of things in the village. As he guided them toward the village proper he told the party what he knew. Mavros was not the mayor of the village, but a historian who was leading the archaeological dig nearby. The mayor had been carried off by one of these warwing drakes in recent days and the village was in a state of panic. The plague of drakes was a recent development that had compounded the woes of the poor villagers.

The party took a short rest while being treated to a meal and drinks at the large and prosperous farmhouse Mavros was staying at. He continued his own tale, that he had been staying in Elkridge for the last couple months working on a theory that an ancient dragon was buried somewhere nearby. Wyvern Mountain was steeped in legends and lore. In the distant past an evil ancient white wyrm, Skelya, with her daughter Dvalinna, claimed the mountain as their own and made their home in the caverns there. Skelya enslaved the wyverns that lived on the mountain peaks and had countless dark elf allies skulking in the caverns below. Skelya ruled over the surrounding lands as a tyrant and became known as "the Ice Queen".

Word of Skelya's wealth and power reached the envious ears of an great red wyrm, Xhitigal, who was worshiped as a demi-god by primitive inhabitants of the region. Xhitigal had a clever progeny called Azaegal and legend tells how together they confronted Skelya and Dvalinna and defeated them, although Skelya's and Dvalinna's corpses were never found. Xhitigal had a new stronghold built on Wyvern Mountain and then turned on his son Azaegal chasing him away. Xhitigal then ruled unchallenged on Wyvern Mountain for many years.

All this changed when the Dragonborn Empire of Arkhosia decided to spread its influence to include Wyvern Mountain. The great flying citadel of Ustraternes was sent to destroy Xhitigal. A great battle ensued over the peak of Wyvern Mountain in which Xhitigal employed ancient Dragonborn enemies, Tiefling warlocks and wizards, to unravel the magic and bring down the citadel. Ustraternes was destroyed, crashing into the side of the mountain and creating a rubble strewn crater of a ruin. Survivors of the crash rallied under their leaders and retaliated, meeting Xhitigal on the ground in a final battle. The wyrm was slain and the few survivors left stumbled off into the wilderness never to be seen again.

Again, Mongo's childhood memories were stirred. He could recall one of King Dlanor's most trusted advisors, Bejik Vuthaner, telling him and Ecamirg stories of "the good old days" when the Dragonborn Empire of Arkhosia was at its pinnacle. These tales always caught the imagination of Ecamirg, more so than they did for Mongo.

Mavros finished his history lesson and then explained that he had found the burial site of Xhitigal near Elkridge and had been paying some of the locals to help him uncover the bones. Dragon bones, especially the bones of ancient wyrms, are believed to have power and he hoped to recover many of them. Things at the excavation site were going very well until one night after they had finished uncovering the complete skeleton when out of the darkness came a mysterious dark figure, robed and stinking of the grave. The workers swore that the man commanded some sort of flying creatures that chased them all away, but Marvos did not believe all of what the cowardly and frightened peasants said. They had refused to return to work after that and the site had been left abandoned.

Marvos had sent for help then and he assumed that the adventurers were here to provide that help. When asked Marvos did not think that the warwing drake attacks were related. The excavation site had been abandoned weeks ago and the drakes had started plaguing the village only days before. Mavros promised payment to GoHAC if they could go to the excavation site and clear it of any menace so he could continue his work. If they wanted to do anything about the drake attacks then he was sure the villagers would be appreciative.

Dawn wanted to talk to someone who had been at the dragon's grave site when the mysterious figure had attacked. She was directed to a nearby farm where one of the teenagers, Aaron, lived. When they got there an elderly grandfather answered the door and told them that all the local kids had gone off into the woods. A wounded drake was discovered and they had all decided to go and kill it like they had seen the brave adventurers had done. The old man was concerned that some of the kids would get themselves killed and asked the party to go and save them from harm. He pointed them in the direction of the woods where they had gone.

When the party arrived at the scene there was a mob of children carrying pitchforks, rakes, clubs and sticks. They had surrounded a large warwing drake that appeared to be in the throws of agony and thrashing about on the ground. The children were keeping a safe distance for the moment. Dawn caught snatches of Draconic as the drake writhed, "Stop... pain... no... fight".

Mongo intimidated the mob of children with his pet drake, Bingo, while Dawn tried to convince them that the wounded drake was more of a threat than it seemed. The frightened kids turned and headed back to the village. This drake was wearing a metal collar engraved with glowing runes which it claimed was hurting it. Lethe used his thieving abilities and disarmed it, but not before the party had tied the beast down, not wanting it to turn on them.

Dawn held a brief conference with the drake before they let it go. It told her that it and its brood mates had once been free and lived on Wyvern Mountain. They had been captured and forced to become mounts for some mean Dragonborn. The collars enforced the will of their masters upon them. Recently, she had managed to break some of her brood-mates free and they had been hunting since then. Dawn learned that their riders were stationed in an old abandoned graveyard some ways North of the excavation site.

The party returned to the village and asked Mavros to take them to the excavation site so they could get this over with. As night approached the group reached the edge of the site. At its center was the massive dragon's skeleton surrounded by a ring of smaller skulls which were illuminated from the inside by a pulsing ghostly light. A man in dark robes stood within the ring, chanting and performing some dark ritual over the bones. At the edge of the ring stood four figures with fleshy bat-like wings. At the edges of the pit stood clumps of blackened and dead looking trees, with impenetrable shadows beneath them.

As the party descended into the pit the figure turned and commanded his allies to attack. The four rotwing zombies, basically zombies with wings, lifted into the air on rotting wings and dive-bombed into battle. Dark creepers, small shadowy lurkers, came out from the dark stands of trees and attacked any isolated characters. The necromancer at the center of the site created a zone of skeletal hands that shot out of the ground, clawing and grasping at Lethe and Jym, immobilizing them. Mongo charged into the ring of skulls, and immediately felt his strength wane, but he fought through it anyways and closed with the bleak necromancer. Dawn was stabbed mercilessly by one of the dark creepers, and when she was finally bloodied she began to shift into her more bestial form, gaining regeneration and ferocity. Jym slew a rotwing zombie with a devastating blow, and then revived Lethe who had almost completely succumbed to the grasping hands. Mongo pounded on the necromancer, but just when he was about to kill him he missed the final blow and then ran off to help Rael battle the remaining zombies. As Jym destroyed one of the dark creepers it exploded into clinging darkness which temporarily blinded Lethe and Jym. Dawn blasted the necromancer to the ground with cosmic rays and the tide of the battle turned in their favor.

When they had finished the searched the area and Dawn found a pair of gloves that increased her arcane fire power. They then returned to Elkridge that night with Mavros to get some much needed rest.