Charles Plemons' Blog

Game summary for March 4, 2008; present characters included Chuck Ahammer (shield dwarf master thrower/rogue/thunderthrower), Grim Firestorm (shield dwarf barbarian/battlerager/frenzied berserker/warmain), Iapetus Hasur (hu-charad giant rogue/scout/vigilante), Lady Aridarye Phylund Brokengulf (human aristocrat/harbinger/ranger cohort), Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), and Taravin Truesilver (human gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

The Mercenaries spent some time requipping themselves in Longsaddle and taking an audience with Malchor Harpell. They told him what had transpired, and he asked them their plans should Kyuss’ prison be found with Dragotha. The Mercenaries had no answer for that situation but decided to take the fight to Dragotha anyway. They used a sending to speak with Lashonna who urged haste in confronting the dracolich before he could build a new phylactery. Morak used discern location to pinpoint Dragotha and confirm he was within the Wormcrawl Fissure. The team whisked themselves via magic to the Fissure and set off within.

The downward sloping fissure proved to be a very wide chasm cloaked in mist so thick the sunlight could not reach the bottom. Within the fissure, Lyrin experienced a vision of Balakarde being tortured and rotting away into a pile of worms. Thereafter, a steady tug pulls Lyrin one direction, while Morak’s find the path leads another toward Dragotha’s Writhing Sanctum. While discussing which way to go, a dry, deep voice snarled out, “This is the last place you should have come, lover.”

The party spun about to find the green-flame eyes of Prendergast Brokengulf staring balefully upon Aridarye. Beside him stood a worm-draped wormcaller, and the writhing true form of Gazzilfek. Much to the Mercenaries’ surprise, a very much undead Filge stood behind Prendergast, black necromantic flames whipping around his body. Within a heartbeat, Filge sent waves of necromancy across the party, spiraling everyone into exhaustion. He then caused a plague to erupt, weakening and blinding several. Prendergast lunged forward, slashing a wickedly serrated dire blade and hacked into his lovely wife. With a grin of malice, Prendergast swept Aridarye’s head from her shoulders. Meanwhile, Gazzilfek moved up and slashed into Lyrin while the wormcaller walked into the air and sent a barrage of darkness rays down upon Beardfist.

The party attempted to scatter and take some defensive positions but found themselves hard pressed. Grim came roaring into the forefront, and quick-thinking Chuck hurled Lyrin to safety and then hid from the attackers. Iapetus, blinded by disease, charged into the melee, swinging wildly. Lyrin began a steady barrage of magical attacks, and Taravin started engaging the foes about him. Filge sent life-sapping magic down upon Morak, stripping him of the ability to cast the majority of his spells. Only through his fast-thinking use of a wand of restoration allowed him to stay in the fight.

The battle started to turn in favor of the Mercenaries, with the undead trying vainly to slaughter Grim in his tracks. Both the dwarven battlerager and the party paladin put pressure on Filge, forcing him to unleash a deadly keening wail. So horrid was the sound, that it stopped cold the hearts of both Chuck and Iapetus, who collapsed in heaps. Lyrin harnessed the power of sunlight and eradicated Gazzilfek, Filge, and the wormcaller, leaving only the blackclad death knight, Prendergast, standing. He took a desperate charge at Beardfist and pressured him with his attacks. Grim attempted to lay him low but found his charge met and countered. Knowing he could not penetrate the death knight’s tremendous armor, Taravin moved in and channeled his divine power into the undead madman. Green flame spewed from the death knight’s eyes, and he exploded in a conflagration of emerald abyssal fire. As the fires died out, the translucent form of Prendergast, still armed and armored, glowered at Taravin and faded into nothingness. With the last foe vanquished, Grim came out of his frenzy and succumbed to the staggering damage he had received.

With four of their own slaughtered within the first hour of entering the Wormcrawl Fissure, the Mercenaries find themselves questioning again what they are doing here. How many more such minions can Dragotha throw at them, and how terrible must the dracolich be if such powerful undead are at his beck and call? Looming like a spectre over the thoughts of the vicious red dracolich hangs the possibility that Kyuss himself waits somewhere deep in the dark of the Fissure.

Game summary for February 26, 2008; present characters included Carn Fodelfex (whisper gnome cleric), Eolas Windmaster (moon elf duskblade), Grim Firestorm (shield dwarf barbarian/battlerager/frenzied berserker/warmain), Iapetus Hasur (hu-charad giant rogue/scout/vigilante), Lady Aridarye Phylund Brokengulf (human aristocrat/harbinger/ranger cohort), Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), and Syvarius Strongbow (moon elf archer-ranger/peerless archer).

The Mercenaries were able to rest within the Citadel, and move toward the vault room, enhancing their abilities with spells as they went. Aridarye used her ring of telekinesis to insert both vault keys in the doors, but she could not turn both at once. With the looming “undead” giants on either side of the door, Grim and Iapetus sprinted for the doors in an effort to turn the keys at the same time. Both skid to a halt as a ghostly figure of a boy appeared, his fingers long and clawed, and his head lolling to one side on his broken neck. The spirit, Alastor Land, called out to Lyrin and told him how both were descendants of ancient guardians the Djinn had set to protect the Whispering Cairn. Alastor helped Lyrin delve into the memories of his ancestors and awaken the ritual of opening. As Alastor faded back into the netherworld, Lyrin began chanting in Druidic, and the party helped him fling the doors wide.

Within the vault rose a platform adorned with a large draconic statue. Resting inside the dragon’s exposed ribcage lie a glowing ruby orb—Dragotha’s phylactery! Immediately, Grim flew across the room to chop at it with his axe while Lyrin battered it with spells. Nothing seemed to harm the stone, and when spells slammed into its shimmering facets, smoke poured from the eyes of the statue. Iapetus examined the statue and found no traps, but he warned the party that the sharp ribs of the statue would be the perfect place to put a trap he may not have discovered. As the team began puzzling over the phylactery, the room began to quake, and a large crack ripped across the floor. Suddenly, light spilled through as a third of the room plunged into the gorge below, riding atop a mudslide. Dust filled the air, which was quickly driven back into the room. The Mercenaries caught sight of a massive dragon winging its way up to the opening just as its horrendous, burning breath filled the room.

The dragon filled part of the room with a mind fog, which destroyed Syvarius’ ability to resist mental influence, and he found himself magically compelled to stay within the room for the next 15 hours. Grim flew out of the vault and assaulted the dragon, only to find himself driven insane by the dragon’s magic. Lyrin, noticing Gazzilfek moving into the room, surrounded the spriggan with a blade barrier. Eolas peppered the dragon with alternating dispel magic and polar ray effects, with tremendous results. Aridarye tried repeatedly to pull the phylactery to her with telekinesis, to no avail. To protect the gem, Lyrin surrounded it with curtain after curtain of blade barriers.

With the insane Grim flying about haphazardly outside, and Syvarius’ arrows only landing a few true strikes, Iapetus felt he alone could bring the fight right to the dragon. With no thought of his own safety, he quaffed a potion of flying and hurtled toward the dragon. His early assault did little, but he pressed the wyrm every time it cast. The dragon unleashed a mass suggestion, which caused Syvarius to cluck like a chicken continually; fortunately, Eolas and Carn avoided the compulsion. The massive winged lizard failed to drive Carn insane and continued to suffer under the arrows of Syvarius, the spells of Eolas, and the biting blade of Iapetus’ legendary Striker.

Eolas, the elven duskblade, successfully stripped the magical defenses from the dragon, leaving it vulnerable to the party’s assault. Brave Iapetus, still battling toe-to-toe (or wing-to-fly, as it were) with the dragon, grabbed the monster (suffering a horrible bite in the process) and pulled himself up astride its neck. With a grunt of effort, the giant vigilante drove Stalker deep into the neck of the dragon, spraying blood high into the air and eliciting a ground shaking roar of rage. With its head thrown back in agony, Eolas saw his opening. His rapid elven magic flowed from his fingers, striking the wyrm in its neck with double polar rays. So precise were the strikes, that part of the dragon’s throat froze and burst, spraying flaming gore and blood into the air. Iapetus lithely leaped away as the carcass plunged into the gorge, thousands of pounds of dragon all but exploding upon impact, spraying gore and entrails hundreds of feet.

Soon, Carn was able to recover Grim, while Aridarye pulled the phylactery from the remains of the statue battered apart by the blade barriers. Gazzilfek made his move, trying to invisibly grab the phylactery. Carn used invisibility purge to reveal the spriggan and darted toward the gemstone himself. Carn took a painful stab from the giant’s sword, but he was able to greater teleport with the phylactery to Waterdeep. As invisibility settled back over Gazzilfek, Iapetus (whose gaze could pierce the shrouding magic) caught a glimpse of the spriggan’s true form—a rotting corpse writhing with green worms. Gazzilfek snarled and disappeared with a tip of his hat.

Grim gathered a fortune in gems and items from the dragon corpse, while the party found a hidden cache of treasure in the vault. Using a sending from a ring found on the dragon, Lyrin called Carn back. Lyrin unleashed a disintegrate, and unprotected by the statue, the phylactery cracked into dust. A dark spirit rushed from the phylactery and darted past the party deeper into the gorge. The gnome then whisked the party away to Longsaddle, home of the loony Harpell family. What course shall Malchor steer the Mercenaries to now? With the phylactery destroyed, can Kyuss’ general be eliminated once and for all?

Game summary for February 19, 2008; present characters included Chuck Ahammer (shield dwarf master thrower/rogue/thunderthrower), Eolas Windmaster (moon elf duskblade), Grim Firestorm (shield dwarf barbarian/battlerager/frenzied berserker/warmain), Iapetus Hasur (hu-charad giant rogue/scout/vigilante), Lady Aridarye Phylund Brokengulf (human aristocrat/harbinger/ranger cohort), Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Syvarius Strongbow (moon elf archer-ranger/peerless archer), and Taravin Truesilver (human gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

The fire giants in the guardroom engaged the Mercenaries immediately, and Grim chopped one down in a moment, terrifying another. The third giant, an arcane caster, empowered a fireball and blasted a large number of the party; however, the team weathered the flames well. The giants fell back further into the room to force the Mercenaries to come to them. Meanwhile, a blast of smoke filled part of the hallway, and Kagro Thundersmiter and another of the Tiamikal Nul-Shada sergeants appeared from nowhere.

Several of the Mercenaries used ranged attacks to bring down the spellguard giant, and Iapetus moved in to engage the remaining sergeant in the room. Grim stepped up to Kagro and found him defended by displacement. Kagro injured Aridarye and brutalized Grim. The frenzied dwarf somehow remained on his feet. Eolas dispelled the displacement from the Heartkeeper, allowing Syvarius and Grim to land a series of solid blows that dropped the fire giant. Soon thereafter, the party mopped up the remaining giants and looted their corpses. Taravin dragged them all into the guardroom and blessed them on their way into the netherworld.

With Kagro’s vault keys in hand, Morak led the team into the bowels of the Citadel in search of the phylactery vault. After a moderate descent, the Mercenaries found a large room, hallway, and stairwell outside of a shrine to Bhaal. Within the shrine writhed a six-armed marilith demon! She immediately conjured blade barriers into the room, but Eolas dispelled them with ease. The archers discovered the visible marilith was an illusion, and Lyrin deduced she had to actually be in the room with them. Taravin used detect evil to locate the marilith, in the form of a spider, hiding on the ceiling. Meanwhile, Iapetus slipped down the stairway and found the vault doors flanked by massive, standing, giant corpses.

The Mercenaries traded spells with the demon for some time. Soon, blade barriers whirled all about the chamber, and charring blasts of conjured flame ripped back and forth through the area. Grim bashed open a closed door and charged in after a frost giant within. The giant dispatched Grim with a maze spell and fled by using the spell upon himself as other party members moved into the room. Meanwhile, Morak dealt a killing blow to the marilith with his conjured flames. The group quickly surrounded the location vacated by the frost giant, but he never returned.

Battered and low on mana, the Mercenaries decide to make camp in the dungeon level before moving on to the vault. Do any defenders remain in the Citadel to drive them out during the night? Can the Mercenaries open the vault doors, and what riches or horrors lie beyond? What have the hordes of dragons been up to while the team has spent days inside the Citadel?

Game summary for February 12, 2008; present characters included Chuck Ahammer (shield dwarf master thrower/rogue/thunderthrower), Grim Firestorm (shield dwarf barbarian/battlerager/frenzied berserker/warmain), Iapetus Hasur (hu-charad giant rogue/scout/vigilante), Lady Aridarye Phylund Brokengulf (human aristocrat/harbinger/ranger cohort), Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), and Taravin Truesilver (human gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

The Mercenaries, inside the front gates of the Citadel of Weeping Dragons, discover secret doors in the entrance hall thanks to Iapetus’ helm. Sneaky Chuck and Iapetus slip through and begin exploring quietly. Two routes outside are discovered along with two ways up higher into the Citadel. Chuck ascends a ladder into a ruined barracks and finds himself outside on one of the walls on the third floor. While investigating the garbage shoot, a blue dragon lands on the barracks and begins rummaging through for missed treasure. As quietly as possible, Chuck makes a break for the ladder and uses feather fall to plummet down to safety. The dragon, noticing him at the last moment, crashes into the building and blasts lightning down the ladder shaft, just missing Chuck as he nimbly rolls to safety at the bottom. He casually remarks to his allies that a dragon is up top.

The team tries the other route up and finds a hallway with several doors. Listening against one, they hear a rustling chain. Chuck and Grim fling open the doors to find a fire giant and a twelve-headed pyrohydra waiting within. Grim wastes no time laying into the hydra, but its remarkable regenerative powers heal the worst of the injuries in moments. All twelve heads unleash a blast of scorching flame that badly wounds several in the party. Iapetus slips in trying to flank the hydra, while the remaining Mercenaries slide into the room and jockey for position. The fire giant clips Iapetus with a spear and draws forth flaming axes, ready to do battle. The spellcasters unleash cold upon the monsters, and Grim manages to slay the hydra. The fire giant tears into Iapetus but is nearly cut in twain when Taravin charges and smites with the authority of Kelemvor. Following the battle, Grim’s bloodlust overwhelmed him, and he killed Lyrin before calming down.

With no means to recover Lyrin, the party begins discussing plans. The dead giant’s corpse was quickly looted and the room secured. After a time, a knock comes at the locked door and a giant shouts for “Bram”. Iapetus (a giant himself) yells back that everything is fine, while Taravin rattles the hydra’s chain. The giant bought the lie and left. The Mercenaries set up watch and allow Morak to recover his spells and pray for raise dead and discern location. With Lyrin restored, the party presses on.

Morak leads the team up another level in search of the chamber of the Heartkeeper, where the other vault key lies. In a trophy room, a ceiling door is found way above the group’s heads. Before going through, the team moves about to secure all the other exits. The northern door opens, and a group of mail-clad giants comes pouring through. Will the Citadel’s defenders get to even the score with the murderous home-invaders? What have the dragons done in all the time the Mercenaries have spent inside?

Game summary for February 7, 2008; present characters included Chuck Ahammer (shield dwarf master thrower/rogue/thunderthrower), Eolas Windmaster (moon elf duskblade), Iapetus Hasur (hu-charad giant rogue/scout/vigilante), Lady Aridarye Phylund Brokengulf (human aristocrat/harbinger/ranger cohort), Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Syvarius Strongbow (moon elf archer-ranger/peerless archer), and Taravin Truesilver (human gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

After a refreshing camp, the Mercenaries prepare to search the carrion pit for the key in earnest. Lyrin has the idea of casting elemental swarm and summoning a small army of air elementals to scour the caves for the key and wipe out the carrion crawlers. He summons over a dozen elementals who make short work of the vermin and discover a massive Mother Worm deeper in the caves. Morak shields the team with mass neutralize poison, and the elementals carry the party down into the darkness.

The Mother Worm horribly burned Syvarius with a blast of acidic spittle. Meanwhile, the air elementals surround the beast and try to batter away at it; however, its tough hide proves too resilient. It discorporates numerous elementals with its bashing tentacles. Arrows and spells bombard the Mother Worm, but she shrugs off many of the effects. Iapetus and Taravin rush forward and slash away at the beast with their blades. The Mother Worm fights back and severely injures Iapetus and beats Taravin into unconsciousness.

Syvarius pulls out the stops and takes power shots with his bow, while Morak continues battering away at the creature’s spell resistance. Eolas finds the monster at least partially vulnerable to cold and unleashes a barrage of polar rays. Aridarye casts a number of spells to aid allies and attempts several offensive effects against the crawler. With the assistance of Gazzilfek, Chuck makes an effective series of well-placed hammer throws. Finally, Lyrin’s magic breaks the last bit of strength held by the writhing worm, and she dies a horrendous, gore-soaked death.

After the battle, Iapetus uses locate object to find the vault key in the stomach of the Mother Worm. It takes a while, but the Mercenaries cut their way into the center of the worm and extract the key. They quickly exit the carrion pit and head toward the Citadel of Weeping Dragons. Once there, they send a magically cloaked Chuck over to scout. After hearing his report, the party moves up to the battered gates and slips inside. The only signs of giants so far have been the cooling pools of blood outside the Citadel. Is anyone home? Is Dragotha’s phylactery locked away safely in the vault, or have the dragons already retrieved it?

Game summary for January 22, 2008; present characters included Grim Firestorm (shield dwarf barbarian/battlerager/frenzied berserker/warmain), Iapetus Hasur (hu-charad giant rogue/scout/vigilante), Lady Aridarye Phylund Brokengulf (human aristocrat/harbinger/ranger cohort), Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), and Taravin Truesilver (human gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

After a few minutes of consideration, the Mercenaries return the items taken from the dead giants, and Morak goes about using raise dead upon them. They are then able to convince the giants to let them speak to someone in charge. Within a few minutes, the party finds itself addressing Kagro Thundersmiter, the Heartkeeper. They relay to him the tale of Dragotha and his phylactery, but Kagro dismisses it all as a ploy to get to the heartstone. He warns of the dangers of the siege and takes his leave of them.

Using magic and gold, Aridarye bribes the outer guards for information and learns the Citadel of Weeping Dragons contains a vault, and that is where the heartstone lies. She also finds that it takes two keys to open the vault, and one was stolen by Charlgar of the Rift Crawlers. Meanwhile, Morak communes with Moradin to narrow their search for the phylactery. Armed with this new information, the Mercenaries set off with Broogle the bugbear back to the Undercity to find Charlgar. After speaking with some other bugbear slaves, they discover Charlgar was last seen fleeing into the carrion pits. Wasting no time, the party pursues.

The pits are sealed off with a massive door, which Grim busts open with his prodigious strength. Within, several Mercenaries are trapped when adamantine bars fly down from the ceiling to form a cage. Then, crude nozzles spray poison over the group. Iapetus is nearly paralyzed, but fate and divine intervention prevent it. Grim begins breaking the bars (and his crowbar) until Iapetus can slip through and find the release lever.

The team investigates one room and finds it full of terrified troglodytes who don’t seem to want trouble. The party agrees to leave them alone. They head down another corridor and find a door. Moving through, Grim is snatched up in a cleverly concealed snare trap and finds himself dangling by his ankle fifteen feet above the ground. Within the room, a fully armed and armored Charlgar roars to attack. Grim quickly takes his massive axe and tries to sever the cord about his ankle, but his luck is poor, and he instead severs his foot! With a crunch, Grim slams back into the ground. The Mercenaries swarm through the doorway and begin an assault on the giant. To his credit, Charlgar fights with furious skill, battering the downed Grim to the verge of death. Several return blows from the dwarf, a vicious stab from Iapetus, and the magic of Lyrin proves too much for the chieftain. A search of the body and the room reveals no key.

The next room discovered is actually a massive cave filled with hundreds of carrion crawlers. A large cage suspended over the cavern provides a means for the giants to get to the crawlers and harvest their poisons. Unsure how to proceed, Iapetus uses speak with dead to discover Charlgar hurled the key into the bottom of the crawler pit. The Mercenaries decide to hole up and rest so that they can be at full strength and allow the dwarven priest to prepare spells to protect them from the paralyzing touch of the crawlers.

Game summary for January 8, 2008; present characters included Chuck Ahammer (shield dwarf master thrower/rogue/thunderthrower), Eolas Windmaster (moon elf duskblade), Grim Firestorm (shield dwarf barbarian/battlerager/frenzied berserker/warmain), Iapetus Hasur (hu-charad giant rogue/scout/vigilante), Lady Aridarye Phylund Brokengulf (human aristocrat/harbinger/ranger cohort), Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Syvarius Strongbow (moon elf archer-ranger/peerless archer), and Taravin Truesilver (human gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

After nursing their wounds and raising their dead, the Mercenaries again set out into Kongen-Thulnir, at approximately 8:30 in the evening, 11 hours into the siege. They pass through some shattered gates and find the palace of the giants in ruins; however, the large citadel on the outcropping still stands.

The party moves unto the bridge and begins their journey to the citadel. After about fifty feet or so, a massive arrow or spear slams into Aridarye, hurling her over the edge and two hundred feet down to the rocks below. Grim immediately used his flying armor to plunge into the darkness to rescue her, or retrieve her carcass. The rest of the team advanced and found themselves under a hail of arrows. The group tried to remain non-hostile and use diplomacy to reason with the giants. The giants halted their fire but warned the team to fall back. Then, Lyrin blocked the view of one giant with a wall of fire, and other party members advanced up the stairs of the citadel. Right as the giants resumed their attack, a massive blue dragon surprised everyone by breathing electricity across the Mercenaries on the bridge.

A new battle was joined, with giants on one side and a dragon on the other. Chuck, Syvarius, Lyrin, and Morak worked over the fire giants. Taravin quaffed a potion of fly and went after the dragon, while Eolas dropped dispel magic repeatedly to get rid of the greater invisibility the dragon had warded itself with. Iapetus bravely attacked the invisible dragon but with little effect. Grim returned with Aridarye and flew out near the dragon. Eolas succeeded in making the dragon visible, which causes Aridarye and Iapetus to panic and run away. The dragon breathed again, and Grim died from the trauma of the electricity shooting through his system.

Two giants fell to half the party, while the rest threw everything they had at the dragon. Taravin pressed his advantage with some tactical aerial maneuvers that prevented the dragon from executing its desired attacks. Instead, it had to improvise and try to shred the flying paladin. Things seemed to be going well for the party. Then, Eolas landed a devastating polar ray, which froze the heart of the dragon, and its dead corpse plunged into the ground. The party quickly stripped the corpses of valuables and stand ready to enter the citadel. Will a handful of defenders await within, or the bulk of the giant forces?

Game summary for January 3, 2008; present characters included Chuck Ahammer (shield dwarf master thrower/rogue/thunderthrower), Eolas Windmaster (moon elf duskblade), Grim Firestorm (shield dwarf barbarian/battlerager/frenzied berserker/warmain), Iapetus Hasur (hu-charad giant rogue/scout/vigilante), Lady Aridarye Phylund Brokengulf (human aristocrat/harbinger/ranger cohort), Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Syvarius Strongbow (moon elf archer-ranger/peerless archer), and Taravin Truesilver (human gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

The party’s sudden, invisible, appearance on the ledge was instantly noted by an equally invisible fang dragon of immense proportions. It moved toward the party and blasted everyone with chain lightning. Thinking quickly, Lyrin blocked its progress with a prismatic wall. The dragon surprised the group, however, by using teleport to end up pinning them between the wall and itself. Lyrin dismissed the wall.

Aridarye attempted to bolster her allies with a good hope, but she was too close to the dragon, and it landed a critical bite. In addition, its bite appeared to drain her life force away, leaving a tattered, discarded carcass on the ground. Eolas used dispel magic to drop the invisible cloak the dragon had thrown over its form. Iapetus, Grim, and Taravin bravely surrounded the dragon and worked to batter at it, but its defenses of mirror image and displacement, as well as its tremendously strong scales, proved too much for them to regularly overcome. Syvarius laboriously plinked away with arrows, landing one or two here or there. Eolas began a serious regiment of dispelling attempts, slowly whittling down the dragon’s wards. Meanwhile, Lyrin and Morak cast spell after spell; although, they proceeded cautiously after seeing Eolas’ polar ray turned back on him. The dwarven rogue, Chuck, steadily bashed away with his throwing hammers. Although he did not deal much damage per hit, he consistently harmed the dragon.

The three melee fighters found themselves in a difficult situation. The dragon sundered Grim’s axe, and he had no backup weapon. He spent the remainder of the fight in a frenzy trying to punch the beast. All three were repeatedly caught by the dragon’s claws and tail and hurled violently to the ground. Eventually, they managed to flank the dragon, which allowed the rogues to land a couple of serious shots. The spellcasters remained frustrated due to all the dragon’s wards and its ability to evade area of effects. They still hammered at the creature, but the process was slow.

The party thought for a moment they had driven the dragon off when they recognized it was casting a teleport. Much to their surprise, it used the spell to position itself in the midst of the casters. They scattered and fell back, and Lyrin found himself isolated from the group. The dragon quickly took advantage and charged the warmage. A critical hit from the wyrm’s bite killed Lyrin instantly. Now some distance from the group, the party prepared for the dragon to pivot around and charge back toward them. Curses erupted from the team when the dragon instead snatched up Lyrin and fled via magic, taking the simian’s magical horde for its own.

Battered, bloodied, and down several allies, the Mercenaries retreated into the cover of a giant dwelling and walled themselves in. They now seek to rest and gain the prayers needed to bring their fallen back from the dead. What will transpire in Kongen-Thulnir during their 8-hour “time out”?

Game summary for December 27, 2007; present characters included Carn Fodelfex (whisper gnome cleric), Eolas Windmaster (moon elf duskblade), Grim Firestorm (shield dwarf barbarian/battlerager/frenzied berserker/warmain), Iapetus Hasur (hu-charad giant rogue/scout/vigilante), Lady Aridarye Phylund Brokengulf (human aristocrat/harbinger/ranger cohort), Syvarius Strongbow (moon elf archer-ranger/peerless archer), and Taravin Truesilver (human gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

The party headed toward some of the giant dwellings and came under fire from the inhabitants. They yelled out their intentions, but the barrage continued. From within one room, a bugbear motioned for them. The stinking slave, Broogle by name, begged the party to take him from the city. They agreed they would do so if he would help them find the object they seek. They described the phylactery of Dragotha, but the slave had never seen or heard of it. He helped them find the way down to the Undercity to investigate further.

As they approached the ladder down, they watched five green dragons and a tremendous red dragon assault a fortified giant position. With haste, the Mercenaries attempted to scale the ladder, but Carn and Iapetus plunged into the depths of the gorge. Carn’s magic mended their terrible injuries and was able to fly them back up to join the party. They arrived just in time for an assault by four green dragons. The terror of the wyrms’ approach drove Syvarius, Gazzilfek, Carn, Aridarye, and Broogle into hiding inside a building. Meanwhile, stalwart Taravin, frenzied Grim, and stoic Eolas stood their ground.

The dragons opened their gambit with blasts of flesh-searing acid breath. Eolas unleashed deadly spells, and Taravin and Grim swung biting steel that tore through the draconic scales. One dragon attempted to weaken the two warriors with rays of enfeeblement, but it was too little to make a difference. Within a few moments, the heroes had slain three of the dragons and driven the fourth into a hasty retreat. Soon, the rest of the party emerged from the buildings and returned to the side of the warriors.

Grim nocked an arrow and fired it at the dragons assaulting the giant strongpoint, drawing the attention of the enormous red dragon. It flew overhead, roaring in rage, and most of the party again panicked and ran away. For some reason, the dragon did not engage but instead flew off with the green dragons further into the gorge.

Aridarye began a parlay with the giants in the fortification, and they indicated the dragons had only been sieging the city for a few hours. Aridarye attempted to explain that many dragons would continue to assault the city, but the giants seemed unafraid. He told her the stronghold of the Tiamikal Nul-Shada (hunters of Tiamat’s children, in giantish) was not named Citadel of Weeping Dragons in vain. Aridarye left a message she asked be delivered to King Achaime Silvereye and then rejoined the party. Meanwhile, the group noticed the massive bladed tail of a fang dragon disappearing over the ledge of the upper city. Eolas had heard of such dragons, but had not encountered one. He indicated one that large must be at least a wyrm in age.

The Mercenaries spoke to Broogle to find out where the palace of King Silvereye sat within the city. He indicated it was near where the fang dragon had just gone. With no further ado, the party had Iapetus render them all invisible and Carn teleport them up to the ledge they had just seen. Will their instant transport put them nose to snout with a massive, ancient dragon?

Game summary for December 20, 2007; present characters included Chuck Ahammer (shield dwarf master thrower/rogue/thunderthrower), Eolas Windmaster (moon elf duskblade), Grim Firestorm (shield dwarf barbarian/battlerager/frenzied berserker/warmain), Iapetus Hasur (hu-charad giant rogue/scout/vigilante), Lady Aridarye Phylund Brokengulf (human aristocrat/harbinger/ranger cohort), Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Syvarius Strongbow (moon elf archer-ranger/peerless archer), and Taravin Truesilver (human gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

After a short bit of fact-finding, the party decided they needed more information via magical spells to locate Kongen-Thulnir, so they used secure shelter to make camp on the edge of Skull Gorge. During one of the watches, the group discovered they were being watched by Gazzilfek, the Ominous Fabler they had met back in the court of Tyrant Tarnheel Embuirhan, in Mintarn. He presented himself as a bard spriggan on a mission for a stone giant chieftain. He indicated he sought information on the Age of Worms as well and wanted to accompany the party and document their adventures. The party knows there is something shifty about the Fabler, but they agreed to allow him to come with them for now.

Morak used find the path to locate the giant city of Kongen-Thulnir and lead the party in that direction. After a few days of travel, the Mercenaries found the cliff side city of kings under siege from dozens of dragons. Wyrms of green, black, blue, and even red scales flew about belching fire and acid and otherwise ransacking the city. For their part, the giants were doing an able job defending the city, with many dragons already dead or badly injured. The Mercenaries decided it was a prime opportunity to slip in under the cover of invisibility. It took some time and effort to descend down to the city and slip through the smashed gates, and their magical cloak faded soon after moving within.

No more than a few dozen paces into Kongen-Thulnir, and the Mercenaries suffered their first attack. A massive, hellish green dragon swooped down from hiding on a tower and breathed acid across the group. It landed nearby and prepared to assault the front lines. Eolas wasted no time unleashing a pair of disintegrate rays at the monster. Grim activated his magical boots and moved close to the dragon. He entered a mindless battle frenzy and brutally assaulted the creature. In desperation, it was able to grab him in its mouth and fling him off of the cliff side down 200 feet to the rocks below; however, his stubborn dwarven skull refused to crack, and he dragged his injured self back to his feet. With terrible wounds and an entire party of adventurers facing it (minus Syvarius and Gazzilfek, who had both fled in terror at first sight of the wyrm), the dragon decided this was more than it could currently chew. It slid off the edge of the cliff and began flying away.

Several of the party members leaned out over the cliff to take parting shots at the fleeing dragon; meanwhile, Grim dusted himself off, calmed down, and activated his flying armor to return to the group. As he ascended, a dozen hill giants burst forth from a building and tore into the Mercenaries. Their clubs landed several bruising shots, and Lyrin was hurled into the chasm. Fortunately, he had feather fall to protect him. Morak and Aridarye began blasting away with fire and sonic spells, and Eolas began gutting giants. Chuck used his acrobatics and stealth to get the drop on several as well. Iapetus appeared in bad position, surrounded by giants, but he was able to withstand the onslaught and land some telling blows of his own. Grim, returned from his rock-slam vacation, tore into the giants while Lyrin used his own magic to make his ascent back up the gorge.

Taravin, the group’s knight in tarnished armor, continued urging for diplomacy, and finally the giants (the last two standing) relented. They knew they had been beaten and were eager to find a way to spare their lives. The dumb brutes were not incredibly informative; however, they were able to tell the party of two groups of giants in power in Kongen-Thulnir, the Riftlords and the Rift Crawlers. They indicated the leader of the Rift Crawlers, Charlgar, was trying to overthrow King Silvereye. Unfortunately, they think Charlgar may have gone down in the initial dragon assault. They have not seen the body but are sure their leader would come to organize them if he were able. The Mercenaries let the giants live, and they promptly fled back into a tower.

Now the Mercenaries find themselves in a besieged city of wicked giants. If the dragons were not enough of a problem, the giants seem to be in some kind of civil war. Somewhere in this chaos lies the phylactery of Kyuss’ general, Dragotha. Somewhere else, a hellish green dragon knows of the party’s arrival and will certainly muster her allies for a second confrontation. No matter where the Mercenaries go from here, violence is almost assuredly imminent.