Poljen emerges from the waves, bearing his lost axe. Elia and Unnirth do the same shortly afterwards, pushing before them the still form of Protanther. They are barely able to get the huge mass into the shallows enough for it to stay, but they manage. With a sorrowful expression, they resume their human form and rejoin the others.
In response to Velon's question, Elia states, "Now, most likely, we will be going with the approach Protanther originally wanted us to take. Discern the true mask's hiding place and take it, by whatever means necessary. This is my fault. I persuaded the council to give negotiation a chance, and now..." She looks to the still form of her fellow member of the dragon council.
Despite the dragon's bulk, and having two other dragons already trying to drag it from the surf, Poljen does what he can to assist in beaching Protanther's corpse. "Lia," he says, "you have brought members of the Blaze back before. Can you return this dragon to life?"
Regardless of Lia's answer, he says to Elia, "It was a noble effort. But the Zhents are experts in dodging and lying." He shrugs. "If you figure out where they are hiding it, and maybe your new servants will be able to help with that, and you need some assistance in getting it, I for one would look forward to doing it. Getting that bloody mask AND giving the Zhents a black eye sounds like my kind of fun!"
Lia shakea her head sadly. " I could Poljen... he is missing a limb unfortunately. I could restore him to life but he would still be missing it. It would be better to use a higher sort of spell that could restore him whole. " She looks over at Ella. " Do you wish me to summon Sune's power to return him to life or do you have something else in mind?"
Mari continues rushing to their home. She is afraid for their friends that were aloft in the castle.
Elia shakes her head, "I'll bring him back, and in the morning I will be able to restore his limb, along with Ziervess' wing. I am a priestess of Bahamut."
The flames dancing on the former Zhents' heads finally die off, and they slowly stand, Darressa speaks, "Do not think this..." "Direct order, shut up." At that simple statement from the Harper leader, Darressa's mouth snaps shut, and she glares furiously at him. "Good, it works. Direct order, I retract my previous instruction. Direct order, get your people to unbeaching that ship. When we have time we will have questions for you, and then we will discuss how best to make use of you in correcting this mess. Now go." Darressa's posture screams defiance, but she goes without delay.
To Lia he states, "I'm not one to waste a resource through abuse, but that one does not deserve your sympathy. She may not have been the one to renege on this particular bargain, but we have plenty of other crimes to lay at her feet in particular. Darressa is a prime figure in the Zhent's slave trade. She's given a lot of elves just like you to the drow and the Thayans."
---
Mari and Cratol reach the downed castle. They find that the castle itself is largely intact, thanks to the soft sand and the low speed of impact. There is a large crack running up one of the side walls, but no other visible damage. Captain Callahan greets the pair as they arrive. He is favoring one leg slightly.
"I'm sure you saw what happened. It was a rough landing, but it could have been a lot worse. Most people were hurt when we hit the ground. Mostly bruises and shallow cuts, but about a dozen with more serious injuries, and two fatalities. Poppo says we can't take off again right now, something about there not being enough lift. Apparently we need to get more of that stuff the dragon tore off, or to reduce the weight, which I suppose means ripping off pieces of the castle and ditching it."
Looking around, you can see Sinternal's head poking out of one of the castle windows, she seems to be staring at where Hoondarrh had disappeared.
Once the dust of various kinds had settled, Lawrance gathers Gamliel again and heads back to the castle, sad to see it's clipped-wing state. Wishing to find a solution to get thier home airbourne again, he looks up into the sky, seeing a few small dots of the substance that the mighty dragon ripped from the base. Pondering for a few moments, he enters the slightly tilted courtyard, helping the inhabitants where he can. Once that's done, he'll forward some ideas to the group as they meet.
"Poppo's right - either we find a way to replace the base material and make us buoyant again, or we reduce the weight it has to carry. By far, it'd be easiest to remove areas underneath the castle and replace it with Walls of Stone, making large empty areas in our basements, or removing some of the walls and towers up top. The floating material comes from the elemental plane of air and bringing it back is beyond my power, although possibly not beyond the Harpers. Myself, considering the advantage of our mobility and such, favour opening caverns in our base that we could later fill with floating material when we can get it. Also, I thinking we should reinforce the other shell of our basement to prevent this from recurring in the future. a few inches of stone would be a good start. Our dwarven friends would be invaluable in making such changes structurally sound. "
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Velon thanks the dragons and the Harpers, asking the former if there is anything they would ask of the Blaze regarding next steps.
Upon returning to the castle, Velon makes his rounds inspecting damage, talking to Callahan, Poppo and the crew, and visiting the injured. Listening to the wizard, Velon agrees "well I can do nothing to restore this floating material, so yes the plan of carving out some of the solid stone and reducing weight seems best." "I like the idea of reenforcing the remaining floating material as well. Perhaps it is time for a remodel? We don't truly need tall spires. Improved defenses would be a worthy trade off. We are a bit far from a large dwarven work crew, however."
Lawrance nods at Velon "Poppo and I can handle changing the stone with magic, to a certain extent. If we could spend some time planning it out, we can top off the taller towers and excavate the rest of the mass we need to remove. It may take a week of work, though."
OOC - Uses for Wall of Stone, Stone Shape and Fabricate to make changes needed should be all that's needed.
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“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Mari will rush about checking on everyone. By the time Lia arrives as well Mari has the casualty list for her.
" Thank you Mari. Things must be made right here. " Lia frowns and then walks amongst the injured. She will gather all of the injured together and use her healing abilities to relieve their pain. The cleric will go visit Sinternal as well. " Are you okay Sinternal? Sorry that we were away when this happened. "
Mari checks on the wyvern and their trainer. She will see about taking one out on a test flight to watch out for signs of danger nearby.
Lia will use raise dead to return to life the 2 that perished. That is if we handwave the diamond cost. Otherwise, she will need to gather a diamond or two from her friends.
Poljen has ridden a wyvern once before, and decides to do so again. He is willing to offer money or a diamond to bring back their lost people. He also says, "I may not be able to do anything to help fix the castle. But maybe our giant friends can help. After all, their kind created it in the first place."
After visiting all of the injured and Sinternal as well as discussing redesign ideas with Lawrance and Captain Callahan, Velon goes to the control room. He tries to contact Irdeith and Chasorth to update them and see what other news they might wish to share.
On the beach, Elia begins to prepare the ceremony to bring Protanther back to life. The other dragons have gathered around, working together to arrange the body into a pose that is a little more dignified.
The harpers are taking care of their own fallen as well, wrapping the trio of men who had apparently had their brains tampered with in shrouds. Their services no longer required, the spell binding the contract devil and the lantern archons is ended, the planar witnesses fading back to their respective planes.
The newly enthralled Zhents are busy moving things in position to drag their ship off of the shallows it had embedded itself in, using the other ship to provide much of the needed force. The ruined pinnace they had used for bait is left behind.
At the castle, Sinternal does not appear to be injured, but is visibly shaking as she watches the waves, "Is he coming back? Please tell me Hoondarrh is gone."
When Velon contacts Irdeith and Chasorth, they are quite disturbed by recent events, after digesting the news, Irdeith speaks up, "I am glad you called, there's a situation that needs dealing with. The cult's still stirring up trouble. We got word that this time around they cleared the way for a bunch of demon worshippers to set up in the sewers underneath Waterdeep and start some manner of nasty ritual. Its nothing more than a distraction as far as the Cult's concerned, but oddly enough I don't think its a distraction we can ignore. I'll meet you there if you're willing to lend a hand."
Mari and Poljen get saddled up on a pair of wyverns and quickly survey the area. They eventually spot a group of what appear to be werewolves behind the treeline, but the figures appear to simply be watching rather than taking action.
"Well we could come immediately by way of teleportation scroll if it is urgent. That would leave the castle and her crew largely undefended however, with Hoondarrh's whereabouts unknown. I would not leave them in such a state unless I absolutely had to. Otherwise it could take a week or more to get her flying again. I'm not sure I can ask the dragons to stay and defend the castle, even if they revive Protanther."
Irdeith looks thoughtful. "It is urgent, but I cannot ask you to simply abandon those in your charge. The issue is a weight problem correct? Could the castle be moved if it had a little more lift? Protanther and the others probably could not move it far, but they could likely get it to a nearby, and safer, location."
Poljen says, "This castle and those on board are our responsibility. If it will take a week to magically remove enough stone for it to fly, then it takes us a week, I say. If we can move away from the werewolves first, wonderful. But then we get it flying again."
Velon nods at Poljen's words. "Yes any help would be appreciated, and then we can aid you that much sooner. I'm sure the wizard would be most pleased if anyone knew where to get more of that floating stone, but help from the dragons should do the trick for now." The paladin scratches his beard a bit and asks "how would that work, exactly?"
Lia listens thoughtfully to the discussion before weighing in. " I think we take the dragons up on their offer They will move it somewhere safer and it is defensible. Hoondarrh might be a problem... by the time he surfaces he will not be likely to search the island for any reason. The mask is gone. With him in a weakened condition he will wish to be restored to full health and probably seek out the mask again. " She shrugs. " We can't leave Waterdeep to it's fate. At least some of us should go to aid Waterdeep. It can't be abandoned to it's fate. "
"Sounds like the best plan. We can call Poppo to open a Teleport circle so we can easily come back, too. Let's get setup for moving day."
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“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Presently enough, the mess from the day's fights are cleaned up, the wounded tended to, and the lives of two men and one dragon are restored to them, Elia bringing Protanther back, and Lia working to restore the lives of the two fighting men killed in the task of defending the castle.
The rest of Callahan's men watch in awe and gratitude. It is clear they are not accustomed to such generosity from their employers.
Soon enough, the Blaze and the dragons are speaking of what is yet to come. Protanther's human form is missing an arm, but he seems hautier than ever. "I told you that the younger races were unlikely to pull through Elia, and now my words have been proven true."
When the topic of moving the castle is brought up, Protanther shakes his head, "You would use us as beasts of burden? We have other tasks to attend to." Elia objects, "Whatever else you think of them, they came to aid OUR cause and shed blood for that, and this is far from the first time they have done so. They will have a very difficult time defending against the werewolves, who even now are eyeing us. Honor obliges us to help get them to safety, or defend them where they lie. Which is more wasteful, a few hours of labor? Or at least one of us spending weeks watching over them?"
Protanther grimaces, then looks to where the castle lies tilted in the sand, "Fine, we might be able to hop it over to Gwynneth. As long as they stay out of Winterglen, and don't bother the fey there, they should be quite safe until repairs are complete." Elia nods, "Yes, Myrloch Vale I think, there's a clan of firbolgs there that owe me a favor."
Cratol listens to all of the options and then says, "I know I for one would feel a lot better about going to Waterdeep with our skycastle in a safe place while repairs are made upon it. With it being out of danger I am sure many of us will feel much better about moving on."
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Poljen emerges from the waves, bearing his lost axe. Elia and Unnirth do the same shortly afterwards, pushing before them the still form of Protanther. They are barely able to get the huge mass into the shallows enough for it to stay, but they manage. With a sorrowful expression, they resume their human form and rejoin the others.
In response to Velon's question, Elia states, "Now, most likely, we will be going with the approach Protanther originally wanted us to take. Discern the true mask's hiding place and take it, by whatever means necessary. This is my fault. I persuaded the council to give negotiation a chance, and now..." She looks to the still form of her fellow member of the dragon council.
Despite the dragon's bulk, and having two other dragons already trying to drag it from the surf, Poljen does what he can to assist in beaching Protanther's corpse. "Lia," he says, "you have brought members of the Blaze back before. Can you return this dragon to life?"
Regardless of Lia's answer, he says to Elia, "It was a noble effort. But the Zhents are experts in dodging and lying." He shrugs. "If you figure out where they are hiding it, and maybe your new servants will be able to help with that, and you need some assistance in getting it, I for one would look forward to doing it. Getting that bloody mask AND giving the Zhents a black eye sounds like my kind of fun!"
Lia shakea her head sadly. " I could Poljen... he is missing a limb unfortunately. I could restore him to life but he would still be missing it. It would be better to use a higher sort of spell that could restore him whole. " She looks over at Ella. " Do you wish me to summon Sune's power to return him to life or do you have something else in mind?"
Mari continues rushing to their home. She is afraid for their friends that were aloft in the castle.
Elia shakes her head, "I'll bring him back, and in the morning I will be able to restore his limb, along with Ziervess' wing. I am a priestess of Bahamut."
The flames dancing on the former Zhents' heads finally die off, and they slowly stand, Darressa speaks, "Do not think this..." "Direct order, shut up." At that simple statement from the Harper leader, Darressa's mouth snaps shut, and she glares furiously at him. "Good, it works. Direct order, I retract my previous instruction. Direct order, get your people to unbeaching that ship. When we have time we will have questions for you, and then we will discuss how best to make use of you in correcting this mess. Now go." Darressa's posture screams defiance, but she goes without delay.
To Lia he states, "I'm not one to waste a resource through abuse, but that one does not deserve your sympathy. She may not have been the one to renege on this particular bargain, but we have plenty of other crimes to lay at her feet in particular. Darressa is a prime figure in the Zhent's slave trade. She's given a lot of elves just like you to the drow and the Thayans."
---
Mari and Cratol reach the downed castle. They find that the castle itself is largely intact, thanks to the soft sand and the low speed of impact. There is a large crack running up one of the side walls, but no other visible damage. Captain Callahan greets the pair as they arrive. He is favoring one leg slightly.
"I'm sure you saw what happened. It was a rough landing, but it could have been a lot worse. Most people were hurt when we hit the ground. Mostly bruises and shallow cuts, but about a dozen with more serious injuries, and two fatalities. Poppo says we can't take off again right now, something about there not being enough lift. Apparently we need to get more of that stuff the dragon tore off, or to reduce the weight, which I suppose means ripping off pieces of the castle and ditching it."
Looking around, you can see Sinternal's head poking out of one of the castle windows, she seems to be staring at where Hoondarrh had disappeared.
Once the dust of various kinds had settled, Lawrance gathers Gamliel again and heads back to the castle, sad to see it's clipped-wing state. Wishing to find a solution to get thier home airbourne again, he looks up into the sky, seeing a few small dots of the substance that the mighty dragon ripped from the base. Pondering for a few moments, he enters the slightly tilted courtyard, helping the inhabitants where he can. Once that's done, he'll forward some ideas to the group as they meet.
"Poppo's right - either we find a way to replace the base material and make us buoyant again, or we reduce the weight it has to carry. By far, it'd be easiest to remove areas underneath the castle and replace it with Walls of Stone, making large empty areas in our basements, or removing some of the walls and towers up top. The floating material comes from the elemental plane of air and bringing it back is beyond my power, although possibly not beyond the Harpers. Myself, considering the advantage of our mobility and such, favour opening caverns in our base that we could later fill with floating material when we can get it. Also, I thinking we should reinforce the other shell of our basement to prevent this from recurring in the future. a few inches of stone would be a good start. Our dwarven friends would be invaluable in making such changes structurally sound. "
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Velon thanks the dragons and the Harpers, asking the former if there is anything they would ask of the Blaze regarding next steps.
Upon returning to the castle, Velon makes his rounds inspecting damage, talking to Callahan, Poppo and the crew, and visiting the injured. Listening to the wizard, Velon agrees "well I can do nothing to restore this floating material, so yes the plan of carving out some of the solid stone and reducing weight seems best." "I like the idea of reenforcing the remaining floating material as well. Perhaps it is time for a remodel? We don't truly need tall spires. Improved defenses would be a worthy trade off. We are a bit far from a large dwarven work crew, however."
Lawrance nods at Velon "Poppo and I can handle changing the stone with magic, to a certain extent. If we could spend some time planning it out, we can top off the taller towers and excavate the rest of the mass we need to remove. It may take a week of work, though."
OOC - Uses for Wall of Stone, Stone Shape and Fabricate to make changes needed should be all that's needed.
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Mari will rush about checking on everyone. By the time Lia arrives as well Mari has the casualty list for her.
" Thank you Mari. Things must be made right here. " Lia frowns and then walks amongst the injured. She will gather all of the injured together and use her healing abilities to relieve their pain. The cleric will go visit Sinternal as well. " Are you okay Sinternal? Sorry that we were away when this happened. "
Mari checks on the wyvern and their trainer. She will see about taking one out on a test flight to watch out for signs of danger nearby.
Lia will use raise dead to return to life the 2 that perished. That is if we handwave the diamond cost. Otherwise, she will need to gather a diamond or two from her friends.
Poljen has ridden a wyvern once before, and decides to do so again. He is willing to offer money or a diamond to bring back their lost people. He also says, "I may not be able to do anything to help fix the castle. But maybe our giant friends can help. After all, their kind created it in the first place."
After visiting all of the injured and Sinternal as well as discussing redesign ideas with Lawrance and Captain Callahan, Velon goes to the control room. He tries to contact Irdeith and Chasorth to update them and see what other news they might wish to share.
On the beach, Elia begins to prepare the ceremony to bring Protanther back to life. The other dragons have gathered around, working together to arrange the body into a pose that is a little more dignified.
The harpers are taking care of their own fallen as well, wrapping the trio of men who had apparently had their brains tampered with in shrouds. Their services no longer required, the spell binding the contract devil and the lantern archons is ended, the planar witnesses fading back to their respective planes.
The newly enthralled Zhents are busy moving things in position to drag their ship off of the shallows it had embedded itself in, using the other ship to provide much of the needed force. The ruined pinnace they had used for bait is left behind.
At the castle, Sinternal does not appear to be injured, but is visibly shaking as she watches the waves, "Is he coming back? Please tell me Hoondarrh is gone."
When Velon contacts Irdeith and Chasorth, they are quite disturbed by recent events, after digesting the news, Irdeith speaks up, "I am glad you called, there's a situation that needs dealing with. The cult's still stirring up trouble. We got word that this time around they cleared the way for a bunch of demon worshippers to set up in the sewers underneath Waterdeep and start some manner of nasty ritual. Its nothing more than a distraction as far as the Cult's concerned, but oddly enough I don't think its a distraction we can ignore. I'll meet you there if you're willing to lend a hand."
Mari and Poljen get saddled up on a pair of wyverns and quickly survey the area. They eventually spot a group of what appear to be werewolves behind the treeline, but the figures appear to simply be watching rather than taking action.
"Well we could come immediately by way of teleportation scroll if it is urgent. That would leave the castle and her crew largely undefended however, with Hoondarrh's whereabouts unknown. I would not leave them in such a state unless I absolutely had to. Otherwise it could take a week or more to get her flying again. I'm not sure I can ask the dragons to stay and defend the castle, even if they revive Protanther."
Irdeith looks thoughtful. "It is urgent, but I cannot ask you to simply abandon those in your charge. The issue is a weight problem correct? Could the castle be moved if it had a little more lift? Protanther and the others probably could not move it far, but they could likely get it to a nearby, and safer, location."
Poljen says, "This castle and those on board are our responsibility. If it will take a week to magically remove enough stone for it to fly, then it takes us a week, I say. If we can move away from the werewolves first, wonderful. But then we get it flying again."
Velon nods at Poljen's words. "Yes any help would be appreciated, and then we can aid you that much sooner. I'm sure the wizard would be most pleased if anyone knew where to get more of that floating stone, but help from the dragons should do the trick for now." The paladin scratches his beard a bit and asks "how would that work, exactly?"
Lia listens thoughtfully to the discussion before weighing in. " I think we take the dragons up on their offer They will move it somewhere safer and it is defensible. Hoondarrh might be a problem... by the time he surfaces he will not be likely to search the island for any reason. The mask is gone. With him in a weakened condition he will wish to be restored to full health and probably seek out the mask again. " She shrugs. " We can't leave Waterdeep to it's fate. At least some of us should go to aid Waterdeep. It can't be abandoned to it's fate. "
"Indeed, let's move it to a somewhat safer location and then be off to Waterdeep right away. We need to let our team rest a bit anyhow."
"Sounds like the best plan. We can call Poppo to open a Teleport circle so we can easily come back, too. Let's get setup for moving day."
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Presently enough, the mess from the day's fights are cleaned up, the wounded tended to, and the lives of two men and one dragon are restored to them, Elia bringing Protanther back, and Lia working to restore the lives of the two fighting men killed in the task of defending the castle.
The rest of Callahan's men watch in awe and gratitude. It is clear they are not accustomed to such generosity from their employers.
Soon enough, the Blaze and the dragons are speaking of what is yet to come. Protanther's human form is missing an arm, but he seems hautier than ever. "I told you that the younger races were unlikely to pull through Elia, and now my words have been proven true."
When the topic of moving the castle is brought up, Protanther shakes his head, "You would use us as beasts of burden? We have other tasks to attend to." Elia objects, "Whatever else you think of them, they came to aid OUR cause and shed blood for that, and this is far from the first time they have done so. They will have a very difficult time defending against the werewolves, who even now are eyeing us. Honor obliges us to help get them to safety, or defend them where they lie. Which is more wasteful, a few hours of labor? Or at least one of us spending weeks watching over them?"
Protanther grimaces, then looks to where the castle lies tilted in the sand, "Fine, we might be able to hop it over to Gwynneth. As long as they stay out of Winterglen, and don't bother the fey there, they should be quite safe until repairs are complete." Elia nods, "Yes, Myrloch Vale I think, there's a clan of firbolgs there that owe me a favor."
Cratol listens to all of the options and then says, "I know I for one would feel a lot better about going to Waterdeep with our skycastle in a safe place while repairs are made upon it. With it being out of danger I am sure many of us will feel much better about moving on."