#38 and #39 - The liberation of Wingsong

Two sessions are documented in this entry.

The party met with the commanders of the Drow and Eladrin forces to plot out the strategy to take on the Bahumati.  Though the Dragonborn and Kobolds outnumbered the elf-kind 2-1, the fey side had superior forces, and the element of surprise.  The commanders were confident about the coming battle, except for one thing...

A new dragon had arrived on the scene.  It camped out atop the step pyramid in the middle of the city, and flew regular patrols.  The ability to see the whole battlefield from the air would be a big advantage for the Bahumati, and perhaps negate the element of surprise that the fey were counting on.

So they arrived at this plan.  The Eladrin forces would confront the Bahumati on head-on, at the boundary of the forest and the city of Wingsong.  The Drow would emerge from secret openings from the Underdark, flanking the Bahumati.  But the lynch-pin in the attack would be for a small force to occupy the dragon long enough for the whole thing to work.

There was quite a bit of debate about the best way to engage the dragon.  Sneak through the underdark and up into the step pyramid from below?  This plan was dangerous, in that the area beneath the pyramid is likely infested with undead. Use the Crown of Trakas to draw the dragon out into the woods, and fight it there?  No guarantee that the Bahumati would send the dragon on such a mission.

So the party arrived at this decision.  Perra would disguise himself as a Bahumati officer, using clothing and insignia recovered from the group that had captured Sharpear the day before.  The elves in the party would pretend to be mercenaries.  Ritual magic was used to disguise Sharpear and Jhunter as Dragonborn soldiers.  They would walk right through the city to the pyramid. 

As they went on this march, they were occasionally confronted by Bahumati officers, asking them why they were off their posts with the battle soon to start.  Perra was able to use his Intimidate skill to get them through these situations.  For the most part, the Kobolds and Dragonborn were too busy preparing for the coming fight to be worried about a small group of soldiers out of position in the city.

The party reached the city and engaged the dragon.  Along with the young red dragon called Togaph (L7, Solo) , the party faced a Dragonborn elementalist (L8 artillery), a kobold wyrmpriest (L5, controller),  and 6 kobold gaurds (L7 minions).

The party first engaged the dragon and the wyrmpriest in conversation, trying to fool them into believe the crown of Trakas had been spotted in the forest with some drow.  But the priest was able to detect the presence of the crown in Perra's pack.  The battle began, as the wyrmpriest ordered the guards to take the pack from Perra. 

The battle could have gone either way.  Perra and Sharpear engaged the dragon directly.  The others took on the Kobolds and the elementalist.  Gevin was quite effective in the fight, taking out the wyrmpriest early on, and doing significant damage to the dragon from a distance.  Sharpear and Perra were both near death at times during this fight, both being grabbed by the dragon's claws and mouth, and having to escape.  Had the dragon been able to recharge its breath weapon one more time, this fight probably goes to the bad guys.  Sharpear delivered the final blow to the dragon.

Upon completion of the fight, the party could observe the battle below.  The fey forces flanking the Bahumati and winning quite easily. 

They journeyed through the city, encountering a group of civilian dragonborn, happy to be liberated from the cult of Tiamat.  They also made their way to the abandoned tent headquarters of the Bahumati army.  There they recovered maps and documents that will undoubtedly be useful in the future. 

The party reached level 8 in this effort.  This likely marks the end of the campaign for a while.  WE'll pick it back up in a few months. 

#37 - Drake and Dragonborn

I'm a little late with this update.

The party (without Sharpear, who had traveled ahead of them) reached the floating Eladrin tower.  The captain there informed them that Sharpear had already let them know about the treaty etc.  They had already sent off for the required troops to honor the terms of the agreement, and dispatched a liaison to begin planning the assault with the Drow forces.

They had been scouting the city of Wingsong.  Many new troops have arrived there.  Both dragonborn and kobolds had come.  Many by land, some by magical teleportation.  A huge tent city has risen on the outskirts.  Apparently the Bahumati are about the launch an invasion of the forest.

Sharpear was away with a group scouting this new larger enemy. 

Two wounded Eladrin returned to the tower, with tales of an attack by a group of Dragonborn with a Drake in the forest.  This group had captured Sharpear.

The party tracked down this group and attacked their camp, defeating them, and rescuing Sharpear.

The enemy in this fight consisted of a Rage Drake, a Kobold Wyrmpriest, A Dragonborn Elementalist, and 3 Dragonborn soldiers.

#36 - Elite Ogre Guard

The party left the sewer caverns beneath the Drow fortress.  They found a small hole in the cavern wall were they could peer out on to the open area on the far side of the castle.  There was a large field of large mushrooms, farmed by Myconid workers employed by the Drow.  Several yards from the castle was a gated wall, gaurded by Drow and a huge ogre (seen in the photo above).

While resting here a group of rats approached the party.  They were being used by the Seer of the Malathil to send an urgent message to Sharpear.  The Bahumati were raising an army, and an invasion of the forest would soon begin.  They had to move more quickly to complete their mission.  So Sharpear left the party to take the Arbiter's decree to the Eladrin while the rest of the party completed their task with the Drow.

The party moved further through the cavern and found an exit on the other side of the gated wall.  The lingered there for a time, and attracted the attention of some gaurds.  The ogre game out to investigate.  Gevin opened fire. 

The battle ensued.  The elite ogre (L7 elite brute - 600 xp), along with 6 Drow underlings (L7 minions), a drow spellspinner, and a phase spider. 

The party made quick work of the underlings.  The ogres most effective attack was to pin his opponent down with this y-shaped staff, and the cut them with his giant axe.  He was never able to land this attack.  He pinned Perra to the ground once, but missed with the axe.  Perra was able to escape the pin, and eventually slay the ogre.  Early in the battle Gevin's arrows had done great damage to the Ogre, doing over 100 points of damage, and causing and encounter-long to-hit penalty that really reduced the Ogre's effectiveness.

By the time the battle was over, a huge number of Drow soldiers had come out of the fortress in response to the disturbance.  This was the distraction that the assassin had asked for.  The party fled back to the winding cavern.

Along this route they were met by a scout for Belarcice.  They showed this scout the pass they had received from the assassin.  She took them to Belarcice's lair.

They told her they had a message for the rightful ruler of the house of Mezrylornyl, and they had helped the assassin in order to settle the war - so that they could deliver the message.  Then they waited for word on whether the assassin had been successful.  A few hours later, a celebration began.  Nathnitra had been killed, and her followers were prepared to accept Belarcice as their ruler.  The war was over.

The new baronness called for the party to deliver the message that had brought them here.  She was shocked and angered to her that she was bound to this ancient pact.  She thanked the party for their help, and promised to make good on the agreement.  But she made it clear that they were no longer welcome here. 

The party was escorted back to the surface by Belarcice's gaurds.

3200 party XP for combat and roleplay.  Perra recovered a magical rune from the ogre that transformed his +1 armor to +2 armor.  In addition the party found 850 GP.

Session #34 and #35 - Drow Assassin

Upon entering the large open chasm, the party could see the towers of a huge fortress looming in the distance.  This fortress was 40 feet tall, stretching from the floor of the castle to the ceiling.  At its face, two huge gaurd towers set at the ends of an enormous gate. 

The area between the fortress and the partys current location was an open cavern, but with many boulders and stalagmites and other obstructions rising from the floor.  This open area was blanketed with a gray mist.

While observing the fortress and plotting their next move, the party was interupted by a creature about 3 feet tall, with a bat-like face, and wings.  He introduced himself as "Finway".  The party told Finway of their adventures and their purpose in the caverns.  Finway told them that he often worked as a spy for the Drow, and could put them in touch with people on the Balarcice side of the civil war.

Finway indeed took the party to meet with such a group.  After a lengthy discussion of Drow politics, the party learned that among this group was an assassin named Chenzira.  They hatched a plan for helping Chenzira enter the fortress through sewer passages beneath it.  The party need only to get Chenzira into the building, and help her find a place to hide.  Then the party was to create a distraction somewhere outside the castle.  Chenzira has promised that when the alarm sounds and Nathnitra's soldiers scramble to response, she will spring into action and kill the would-be-baronness.

So the party enbarked on a journey with Chenzira through narrow slippery caverns beneath the castle. 

There they distrubed a nest of Carrion Crawlers.  This nest was not far from two lurking Otyughs. 

The party had quite a bit of difficulty with this enocunter.  Gevin fell, near death.  Yosh was able to revive him, and the foul creatures were defeated.  Yosh, Gevin, and Sharpear were all bitten by Otyughs, but escaped contracting "Lesser Otyugh Filth Fever". 

The party accompanied Chenzira up into a dining hall above the Otyugh nest.  They helped her find a secret passage where she could hide.  Then they left the fortress, go back down through the sewers, and planning to create the distraction that Chenzira had asked for.

For the roleplay and combat session the party is awarded 2000 XP.

Also, the party found 2 suits of magic leather armor, a pair of magic boots, and 850 GP in gems and coins.