Aella, Alot, Corvid, and Craig disembarked from the Sea Ghost on the evening of their arrival in Seaton. Cai'luin had disappeared - he had left to go help his friend Oceanus rescue the sacred polyp from the koalinth.
The rest hired a carriage - one suitable for a wealthy merchant or visiting noble - to take them to the citadel. The guards at the gate waited for a herald to announce their arrival but no herald emerged from the carriage. Aella looked towards Corvid. Corvid grimaced and shook his head. She looked to Craig. The dwarf scratched his beard and spat. Aella shook her head. Aella looked towards Alot. The cold lenses of the armored automaton's emotionless visual sensors stared back at her. She sighed and exited the carriage herself.
"Please tell Duke Feldren and his daughter Lemundo that Aella, presumptive queen of Manaan, has arrived and seeks an audience."
CHAPTER 79
"THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM"
The Crew of the Sea Ghost:
- Alot Aname - Neutral Good Warforged Fighter, ancient sentinel of a wizard's fortress, spent several decades deactivated underwater, Captain of the Sea Ghost.
- Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf Outlander and Storm Sorceress from Ket, daughter of the king of the sea elves, deck sorceress and first mate of the Sea Ghost.
- Patriarch Craig "Blunderbuss" Oxworth - Lawful Good Dwarven Priest of St. Ogden (Cleric), sailor and shipwright, bosun of the Sea Ghost.
- Cai'luin Manaan - Chaotic Good Sea-Elf Bard, member of the royal family of the tribe of Manaan. Cook of the Sea Ghost.
- Corvid Ravenson - Neutral Good Fallen Aasimar Paladin of Vengeance and Divine Soul Sorcerer, sent to Oerth to avenge those who wronged his angelic "brother", Auric Ravenson. Second mate of the Sea Ghost.
The Citadel of Seaton
Aella and her entourage were escorted into the duke's manor house but were met at the entrance by Lady Lemundo, daughter of Duke Obertus Feldren, Lord Marshall of the citadel of Seaton.
Lady Lemundo was ecstatic to see her old friend Aella. Lemundo escorted Aella into the mail hall where the duke's advisors were sitting to share a meal. Lemundo introduced Aella and Alot to those present but relied upon Aella to introduce the rest for she had not yet met Patriarch Craig or Corvid.
In attendance were the military commanders of the king's navy and army stationed in Seaton as well as the priests and patriarchs of the local temples of Heironeous, Saint Cuthbert, and Procan.
Aella told Lemundo that she and her crew had come to speak to the duke about a very important matter.
"What matter is this?" inquired the bold and commanding voice of the duke as he descended the stairs from the upper floors of the manor house.
Aella and Alot told the duke of the impending surprise attack by forces amassed by the Scarlet Brotherhood, about the planned assassination of the king, and of the resurrection of the dragon Aulicus in order to attack the citadel. All of these events were scheduled to transpire on the night of the Solstice when the tides were highest and the townsfolk would be distracted with celebrations - eleven days hence.
Duke Feldren shook the hands of Aella and Alot and was introduced to Craig and Corvid. He acknowledged that he had received a messenger from Commander Fireborn in Saltmarsh informing him of this news. "These are bold claims. Do you have evidence to support this?"
Alot produced the coded correspondence between the Scarlet Brotherhood and the Serpent's Tooth. The duke nodded and said that this confirms his own suspicions. His own military intelligence told him that the Scarlet Brotherhood had been importing ship-loads of slaves from Hepmonaland into the city of Monmurg over the past several months. It was now clear that these so-called slaves were, in fact, soldiers being covertly transported across the Azure Sea and that the Brotherhood was preparing for a major attack along the southwest coast of Keoland.
The dinner became transformed into a planning session as tables were cleared and large maps were produced. Alot suggested the redeployment of the king's navy to protect the towns of Saltmarsh, Angleburg, and Redshore.
DM- There was a lot of great non-important role-playing that happened here as Corvid and Craig were introduced to the other priests and talked dogma and ritual. Lots of friendly conversation with the duke and his daughter.
Searching for Scrolls
The next eleven days were spent preparing for the battle to come. Aella and Corvid returned to Saltmarsh to visit Angela and Rosalee's Herbs, Potions, Teas, etc. in the hope of acquiring some magical potions that would allow them to fly. They needed some way to meet the dragon in the air. Unfortunately, that was not a concoction that the shop offered. The pair considered seeking the aid of the wizard Keledek but dismissed the option.
DM- The players asked about any wizards in the area. I suggested Keledek - the only wizard in the region as magic is supposed to be rare and unpopular in Greyhawk.
Alot's player asked, "Wait, isn't he evil?"
I replied, "I mean, you guys labeled him as evil but I'm not sure why. He has an agenda that was different than yours and, so far, anyone with a different agenda than you tends to be immediately labelled ad 'evil' for some reason."
Alot's player said, "Yeah, but didn't he have some arrangement with the Loyal Quartermasters of Iuz?"
And I said, "Insomuch as you all also had the same arrangement. He purchased magic items from her, same as you. Does that make him evil?"
Alot's player said, "Good point. Huh. I always just assumed he was a bad guy for some reason."
"Well, he's not exactly a GOOD guy. Like I said, he just has his own agenda."
I explained how he hired the smugglers to obtain the black dragon egg - his goal being to use the egg as a hostage or a bargaining chip in case Aulicus the dragon attacked Saltmarsh. And how, once they stole the egg and framed the smugglers, he got revenge on the leader of the smugglers for the betrayal. Oh, he also used his invisible imp to spy on people around the town. But that was the extent of his "villainy".
Aella and Corvid then spent the next week scouring shops and sellers for magical scrolls. They were able to find a map shop in Seaton that happened to have three magical scrolls, each containing a spell of flying, rolled up within a map.
The Scrying
Patriarch Craig became friends with Doran Serpentwing, priest of Heironeous in Seaton. Serpentwing was a barrel-chested man in his fifties, bald with a stout muscular frame of someone who was a powerful warrior in his prime and yet still formidable in middle age. Craig told Serpentwing how Aella had defeated Aulicus and returned later to face the cult of Tiamat that dwelled in the ancient tomb of Sakatha. He described Orgmond, one of the assistants to the high priest of Tiamat, and how he escaped death and stole the book known as the Liber Draconis.
Serpentwing, in turn, told Craig how he was familiar with the Liber Draconis and the cult of Tiamat. Forty years ago, Serpentwing was a member of an expedition into the jungles of the south that discovered an ancient temple to Tiamat. They defeated the monsters that dwelled there and returned with many treasures - including the Liber Draconis which for many decades was kept well-protected. Then, just over a year ago, one of the priests of Heironeous tasks to guard the Liber Draconis - an acolyte named Ul-Lon. Ul-Lon betrayed the temple of Heironeous and joined the cult of Tiamat. He was relieved to hear that Ul-Lon met justice in the bowels of the Tomb of Sakatha - but he was saddened to hear that the Liber Draconis was in the hands of the cult ot Tiamat.
Patriarch Craig asked Serpentwing where they found the temple. Serpentwing described a mountain-top temple deep in the jungles of Amedio. He showed him on a map.
On the seventh day prior to the impending solstice, Craig used this information to perform the scrying ritual and remotely observe the location indicated by Serpentwing. He observed Orgmond the dragon priest of Tiamat making preparations for a dark ritual in an ancient mountain-top temple fortress overgrown with jungle. He repeated the scrying ritual at midnight and observed Orgmond removing a heart from an ornate metal box. The heart was the size of a man's entire torso. It was the dead heart of Aulicus. Orgmond placed the heart in the center of a large circular altar. Craig then saw Orgmond remove a black dragon egg from another box. Orgmond placed the egg on a sacrificial pedestal. Orgmond was wearing black robes and a golden symbol of Tiamat. He caught a glimpse of Orgmond's features. The dragon priest had taken a more draconic visage - he had begun to slowly transform into a dragon.
Orgmond raised a dagger with a curved blade high over his head. He began chanting ancient words of power. Orgmond plunged the dagger into the egg, slicing it open and withdrawing the dormant dragon hatchling within. He cut out the heart of the hatchling and threw it into a burning brazier. It flashed and sparked and the smoke began magically pouring onto the ground, snaking its way towards the massive heart of Aulicus. The magic smoke enveloped the heart. The smoke took on the form of a prone dragon.
Tendrils broke free of the heart and snaked outward, forming a phantom circulatory system. Bones grew from the smoke. Muscles and tendons formed. Scales began to grow on the freshly materialized skin. Aulicus took a breath! Aulicus was reborn!
A bound and frightened Amedi slave was presented as an offering to the dragon. The dragon grabbed the offering and bit off his head. He swallowed before finishing off the rest. The dragon then collapsed, exhausted. It was weak and needed to recuperate.
DM- MAN I loved describing that scene. It was great! Very visual and sensory. Alot's player said, "Wait, we're not fighting an undead dragon?" I said, "No, just a resurrected dragon." He was sad, "Aw, I was kind of hoping to fight a cool dracolich or something. Now I'm disappointed."
Craig shared this information with Alot.
Alot cursed, "If only there was some way we could get there! I mean, we have a ship right? How long would it take?"
Craig explained that the dragon needed only four days to recuperate. It would take three days to reach the nearest port in Amedio. From there they'd have to go overland through the jungle for over a hundred miles. It took Orgmond's expedition at least a week.
Alot said, "The solstice is in seven days. How are they going to get here in time?"
Craig pointed out - the dragon would not need to return the way they came.
Craig continued scrying every day for the next week. For the first four days he saw the dragon recuperating, eating living sacrifices and regaining his strength. On the fifth day, two days before the solstice, he saw Orgmond riding the dragon like a mount, using a special saddle, as the dragon flew across the sea.
On the sixth day, the day before solstice, he saw the dragon sleeping in a city. Craig could not identify the city but there were many ships in the harbor.
The Solstice Feast
At dawn the following morning - the morning of the solstice, Craig wore his finest clerical vestments. He gathered the crew of the Sea Ghost together with the Duke of Seaton, his daughter, his advisors, and the leaders of his military. He produced a fabulous golden bowl encrusted with gems. He said a prayer to Tristin, Saint Ogden, and Saint Splug. A wondrous feast miraculously appeared before all present. They ate from the feast and were emboldened.
Towards sunset Craig performed the scrying ritual one more time. He saw the dragon flying north with a coast to the east. He was coming.
They knew from the correspondence that the attack would come during the high tide near midnight. The duke had positioned his ships along the coast. Anyone unable to fight or support the fighters were sent inland to Burle. Every fishing boat had been transformed into signal ships, ready to light signal fires to warn the towns of the incoming raiders. Armored roofs had been constructed for the towers of the citadel to protect the ballistae and trebuchets and their crews from dragon attacks from above.
Captain Alot, Princess Aella (Presumptive Queen of Manaan), Patriarch Craig - High Priest of Tristin, and Corvid - Champion of Tristin, stood on the parapets of the citadel of Seaton. The sun had finally set. It was near midnight. The tide was near its zenith.
Signal fires began to light up in the darkness out at sea. The ships of the Scarlet Brotherhood were on their way.
Somewhere out there in the darkness of the night sky was a black dragon. Aella had faced and defeated Aulicus once before. That Aulicus was old, injured, decrepit, incapable of flight, and even still managed to kill all who stood against it save herself. This was not that dragon. This was Aulicus Reborn. This was to be a dragon at full strength - with all its power.
Aella sighed, "I wish Cai'luin was here."
Patriarch Craig peered into the impenetrable darkness of the midnight sky. "Aella?"
"Yes?" she answered.
"Prepare your scrolls of Daylight."
To Be Concluded...
DM- We ended early. Cai'luin's player was absent that week and I really want him to be present for the finale. The Scrolls of Daylight reference, which Craig's player actually said right at that moment, was a reference/joke to the scrolls of Daylight she's had since the beginning of the campaign. For many months she kept offering to use it but the others said, "NO! Save them for fighting vampires!" Then, later, when they were actually fighting tough vampires, she forgot she had them.
(sneak preview)
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