#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.