This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
18. Arisa arcana check:
Plus guidance 2
saying a silent prayer to her goddess she studies the dragon to see what she remembers. She had read quite a bit about dragons, even was fluent in draconic (although since she had never talked to a real dragon she didn’t know how correct her pronunciation was).
As Arisa looks up, she catches a glimpse of the pronounced, ribbed crests that define the sides of the dragon's head and the curving black horns that extend from the ends of each of these thick spines, and on the bottom of the dragon's lower jaw and chin. It's hard to discern the exact color of the scales at first, since its body is largely silhouetted against the sun. However, from the defining characteristics of its face and head, she's fairly certain that it's a bronze.
As you all watch, it passes overhead and appears to be descending towards a point in front of you. From the flared wings and the forward placement of its back legs, it seems to be coming in for a landing, and now that it has passed overhead, you can indeed see that the scales have a dark, rich bronze tone.
“Good news, I hope. It is a bronze dragon, if it is true to it’s form. Coastal dragons who like to feed on fish, patrol the coasts, and occasionally help with good causes . Bronze dragons are creatures of Good and respect the law. “ Arisa seems relieved. She steps forward and lowers her hands to show peaceful intentions.
"Oh lovely!" Zyllith said, clearly excited at the prospect of meeting a dragon, "If it's tha' friendly type as ye say, than I'm lookin' forward ta' this." She took a few steps forward as well to be at the same level as Arisa, both in the hopes of getting a good look at the creature, but also to be able to help in case this didn't turn out to be one of those friendly dragons.
You watch with cautious excitement as the dragon continues to descend, gliding majestically in preparation for landing. However, when it's about 30 feet above the ground, one of its large clawed feet catch one of the branches on a broad cottonwood tree, which snaps off the limb and completely throws off the creature's balance. The dragon begins quickly flapping its wings and twisting its body to try and right itself, but with the sudden momentum change and loss of lift, it cartwheels towards the earth and crashes into the dirt with a clumsy and rather chaotic fump. The impact sends up a large blast of dust, which ends up covering much of your face, hair and clothing in a layer of fine dirt.
Zyllith stood by while quietly shaking off the fresh dirt and leaves off her face and body. Not exactly the majestic display she was expecting.
For the time being it seemed Arisa had handle on things so the tiefling was content with letting the cleric lead the conversation while she tried to brush the dust out of her hair.
When the dragon untangles itself from his own carnage, he shakes his head and flaps his wings to try and fan some of the dirt off of his own body, which of course sends more dirt your way. He then looks at Arisa and replies in the common tongue.
"Well, that's a fun surprise, you speak my language. Yes, I'm OK, thank you for your concern, friend. Nothing broken, just a bit of a tumble. Not the first time that's happened, I'm afraid to say. It's always a bit tricky flying when it's hot out. For some reason, the air doesn't hold as much lift under the wings, and I've never quite gotten used to that, especially away from the coast, where it tends to be warmer."
"At any rate, I'm pleased to catch up and finally make your acquaintance. You see, I've been watching you from afar and keeping track of your doings of late. Quite a tenuous little group you are, I have to say. That business with the orcs was a mighty fine display of strategy and sheer offensive force! I was very impressed."
"However, as you might have already guessed, there are more troubles than pesky orcs and goblins threatening the north right now... which is why I'm here. There is much to say, but first I should like to know your names. Who are you, my little band of would-be heroes? What do you call yourselves?"
Vernon will quickly start buffing his shield to let the symbol be seen again, then move on to the rest of himself.
(Edit since I posted without seeing the post 2 minutes before:)
"I am Vernon Garrick, Knight of Myth Drannor, Protector of the Light, Bearer of the Cheese Nobody Has Identified Yet." He will wait to pull the cheese out until the group is sufficiently clean as to not spoil it.
Belkas moves to the side. If the dragon breathes fire at them, then it will not take them all out at once. If it is fire they breathe. Or was it acid bile they spewed?
Belkas goes down on one knee and says, "It is a pleasure to gaze upon your magnificence. Truly, tales and songs fall utterly short of your enormity, o brilliant and stupendous dragon. I am Belkas and most humbly at your service."
'O brilliant and stupendous dragon? Are you practicing groveling now as well?' Crowley mocks in Belkas' head.
'Have you seen the size of his teeth? I will gladly grovel until I am out of their reach. Feel free to turn visible and speak your mind to him if you like.'
'No need to get touchy, boss. Just enjoying the show here.'
Zyllith had just finished dusting off another round of dirt from her hair when looked up, wide eyed, at the dragon with utter amazement and irreverent disbelief. Eventually, of course, her mouth caught up to things, "Oy, oy, whot's this?! A gran dragon mate jus' shows up and tumbles 'efore us, an' tha' bloke whot wants ta' know own kin an' kine. An he's talkin' like he's want ta' give us lot a quest an' everythin'. Bloody 'ells, I read these stories so many times, but nae could 'magine tha' bit happenin' fer real. Are we all sure we still no' be sleepin'? No' tha' I'm ungrateful, dear dragon, on tha' contrary, I'm rioght shocked an' amazed by tha' situation, and just wanna make sure it's still real 'fore we move on."
She paused for a moment just to clear her throat of excess dust before adding, "By an by, certainly no' one ta' be rude an fail ta' introduce 'erself. I am Zyllith, travelin' 'adventurer come 'ere by way o' tha' Sea' o' Fallen Stars. 'Tis a rioght pleasure ta' meet ye', should ye' be real an' all tha'."
Arisa bows and says,” I am Arisa, Cleric of Mystra and scholar of arcana and history. I am deeply honored to meet you.… umm- we don’t have a group name yet do we?”
(She looks at Zyllirh and Belkas- expecting one of them to come up with something.)
As the dust settles and the dragon responds to your answers, (Elion has answered that he is a budding poet, hopefully a famous one someday,) you can see that his scales have a pronounced glossy sheen, and by the size of his huge, but sleek build, you surmise that he is probably a young adult, or an adult in age.
"A Knight of Myth Drannor, a presumed spell caster, a traveler from the Sea of Fallen Stars, a scholar, although I would guess possibly not quite as humble as you say, a poet, and a cleric of Mystra! What a fun band of do gooders you make up!"
"I am called Felogos, and I am a wanderer and a seeker of, well, let's say, anything that I find interesting, and right now, I find what's brewing in the north to be more than a little curious. Having witness your dealings in Nightstone, I can tell that you are also concerned for the same thing, which is why I have decided to confront you face to face."
"There is trouble with giants...they are wreaking havoc everywhere. During the past couple of months, giants of every kind have emerged from their strongholds in force to threaten civilization in ways that I have never seen before. There are rumors that the giants are waiting war with humans, dwarves, elves and other small folk."
"It seems that something has pit the different giants against one another, and now they strive to create a new hierarchy... they call it an 'ordaining,' The different tribes of giants, hill, stone, frost, fire and cloud, are all struggling to rewrite the established order of their kind, and their outlandish acts have not only put the settlements of humans and other small folk in jeopardy but also attracted the attention of the giants’ ancient enemies — we dragons — who will not abide the rise of another giant empire. We seek to preserve this ordning, which you should also work to persevere as well."
"This is bigger than you and me, but you should know that dragons are your potential allies in this war... even chromatic dragons, which I'm sure you are aware, are not always to be considered allies. But alas, troublesome times often call for desperate solutions and unorthodox tactics."
"There may come a time when I will fight alongside you, but for now, know that I will be watching you from afar, as I have done for the past few days."
"Oh, and by the way, I ate most of your Zhentarim friends," the dragon says with a chuckle. "Ambushed them on the road away from Nightstone after you sent them away. I have a special dislike for those Zhent scum. They are foul snakes, and it especially delights me to disrupt their activities whenever I find the opportunity. A couple of them got away... maybe I let them get away, but even so, I gave them a damn good scare."
"I imagine that this is a lot to take in, so I will answer what questions you may have, and then I must take my leave again. I just wanted to take the time to introduce myself, offer you praise for your doings and some encouragement for what may lie ahead."
Zyllith looked back at Arisa as the cleric spoke of the group name, responding to the look quickly, she could only put together whatever random thoughts she had at the time, "Err... Aces of Tempest? ... aye, we still be workin' on tha'."
Afterward she listened intently to the dragon Felogos expand on matters, "Aye, so them wankers be called Zhentarim. Didnae know their full name till now. What sort 'o bloke are they? Figured them some manner of criminal guild, but never heard 'o them till Nightstone."
Arisa is somewhat stunned that a dragon would take notice of the group. She is at a loss for words at rhe tale, and finally says “ Felegos, it is a great honor. I know much of the history between the Giants and Dragons, I even am fluent in giant from my readings, but never expected anything like that to happen again- certainly in my lifetime! I still can’t comprehend what we saw in nightstone- Giants killing helpless villagers seemingly at random. Why do you suppose they attacked there? I know they stole the nightstone itself- but no one ever really knew what it was I thought. Why kill all those villagers? What do you suggest we do to stop them- or how should we prepare for this? If we need your help or that of the dragons- how would we contact you? “
she realizes she’s been asking a lot of questions in her nervousness and curiosity- so she pauses, a bit embarrassed, to allow the dragon to speak.
(OOC just FYI busy traveling week for me so my posts may be more infrequent and condensed)
Bellas agrees with Zyllith, a name for the group still needed to be discussed.
To the dragon he says, "Thank you, Felogos. We are honored. As Arisa mentioned, how can we help to protect people from this threat? While we may have been victorious against goblins and orcs, I am not sure what we could do against entire nations of giants. Thank you for dealing with the Zhentarim. I feared they might harm the villagers of Nightstone once we were not there to protect them. Was once of those who escaped a woman by any chance?"
Bellas knew that Kella was a cold-blooded murderer and extortionist and had only been friendly to him because of his charm spell, but he still hoped she had gotten out unscathed and didn't think too unfondly of him.
“Yes, those...wankers... as you so elegantly put it, are called The Zhentarim... the Black Network. Mercenaries, smugglers, criminals, strong-arms, and opportunists...I’m sure you know the type, and of course, greedy crime lords at the top. Gangsters, really, always seeking power and influence in whatever underhanded way possible. I’ve long hated them. And yes... that girl was one of the two that got away.”
“I know not what spark has been ignited that has caused this uprising. As for what you can do... that a question I don’t have a direct answer to... at least not yet. I’m still trying to learn what’s behind all this. My best advice at this point is to follow fate and trust your instincts. They have served you well so far. And as I said, I will be watching you... when I am able.”
”I am not sure what one dragon can do against an entire faction of giants either, friend, but if we each carry forward with strength, smarts and resolve, then the courage will come, and with it, the skill to win battles. Win enough battles and we win the war.”
”So go forth and protect the people of the north, as you have done already. And fear not. If you can defeat orcs, you can defeat giants, for some of them barely have half the brain of an orc. Fight smartly and watch out for their clubs and rocks. That’s how you win.”
18. Arisa arcana check:
Plus guidance 2
saying a silent prayer to her goddess she studies the dragon to see what she remembers. She had read quite a bit about dragons, even was fluent in draconic (although since she had never talked to a real dragon she didn’t know how correct her pronunciation was).
Vernon will steel himself with a quick "Ikkileim," casting Resistance on himself.
Osmord slowly raises his shield as he watches the dragon descend.
DM - Warlock of Firetop Mountain
As Arisa looks up, she catches a glimpse of the pronounced, ribbed crests that define the sides of the dragon's head and the curving black horns that extend from the ends of each of these thick spines, and on the bottom of the dragon's lower jaw and chin. It's hard to discern the exact color of the scales at first, since its body is largely silhouetted against the sun. However, from the defining characteristics of its face and head, she's fairly certain that it's a bronze.
As you all watch, it passes overhead and appears to be descending towards a point in front of you. From the flared wings and the forward placement of its back legs, it seems to be coming in for a landing, and now that it has passed overhead, you can indeed see that the scales have a dark, rich bronze tone.
“Good news, I hope. It is a bronze dragon, if it is true to it’s form. Coastal dragons who like to feed on fish, patrol the coasts, and occasionally help with good causes . Bronze dragons are creatures of Good and respect the law. “ Arisa seems relieved. She steps forward and lowers her hands to show peaceful intentions.
"Oh lovely!" Zyllith said, clearly excited at the prospect of meeting a dragon, "If it's tha' friendly type as ye say, than I'm lookin' forward ta' this." She took a few steps forward as well to be at the same level as Arisa, both in the hopes of getting a good look at the creature, but also to be able to help in case this didn't turn out to be one of those friendly dragons.
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
You watch with cautious excitement as the dragon continues to descend, gliding majestically in preparation for landing. However, when it's about 30 feet above the ground, one of its large clawed feet catch one of the branches on a broad cottonwood tree, which snaps off the limb and completely throws off the creature's balance. The dragon begins quickly flapping its wings and twisting its body to try and right itself, but with the sudden momentum change and loss of lift, it cartwheels towards the earth and crashes into the dirt with a clumsy and rather chaotic fump. The impact sends up a large blast of dust, which ends up covering much of your face, hair and clothing in a layer of fine dirt.
Are you Ok, great one?
brushing the dirt from her face and clothes, Arisa calls out in concern. In Draconic spoiler.
Zyllith stood by while quietly shaking off the fresh dirt and leaves off her face and body. Not exactly the majestic display she was expecting.
For the time being it seemed Arisa had handle on things so the tiefling was content with letting the cleric lead the conversation while she tried to brush the dust out of her hair.
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
When the dragon untangles itself from his own carnage, he shakes his head and flaps his wings to try and fan some of the dirt off of his own body, which of course sends more dirt your way. He then looks at Arisa and replies in the common tongue.
"Well, that's a fun surprise, you speak my language. Yes, I'm OK, thank you for your concern, friend. Nothing broken, just a bit of a tumble. Not the first time that's happened, I'm afraid to say. It's always a bit tricky flying when it's hot out. For some reason, the air doesn't hold as much lift under the wings, and I've never quite gotten used to that, especially away from the coast, where it tends to be warmer."
"At any rate, I'm pleased to catch up and finally make your acquaintance. You see, I've been watching you from afar and keeping track of your doings of late. Quite a tenuous little group you are, I have to say. That business with the orcs was a mighty fine display of strategy and sheer offensive force! I was very impressed."
"However, as you might have already guessed, there are more troubles than pesky orcs and goblins threatening the north right now... which is why I'm here. There is much to say, but first I should like to know your names. Who are you, my little band of would-be heroes? What do you call yourselves?"
Vernon will quickly start buffing his shield to let the symbol be seen again, then move on to the rest of himself.
(Edit since I posted without seeing the post 2 minutes before:)
"I am Vernon Garrick, Knight of Myth Drannor, Protector of the Light, Bearer of the Cheese Nobody Has Identified Yet." He will wait to pull the cheese out until the group is sufficiently clean as to not spoil it.
Belkas moves to the side. If the dragon breathes fire at them, then it will not take them all out at once. If it is fire they breathe. Or was it acid bile they spewed?
Belkas goes down on one knee and says, "It is a pleasure to gaze upon your magnificence. Truly, tales and songs fall utterly short of your enormity, o brilliant and stupendous dragon. I am Belkas and most humbly at your service."
'O brilliant and stupendous dragon? Are you practicing groveling now as well?' Crowley mocks in Belkas' head.
'Have you seen the size of his teeth? I will gladly grovel until I am out of their reach. Feel free to turn visible and speak your mind to him if you like.'
'No need to get touchy, boss. Just enjoying the show here.'
Zyllith had just finished dusting off another round of dirt from her hair when looked up, wide eyed, at the dragon with utter amazement and irreverent disbelief. Eventually, of course, her mouth caught up to things, "Oy, oy, whot's this?! A gran dragon mate jus' shows up and tumbles 'efore us, an' tha' bloke whot wants ta' know own kin an' kine. An he's talkin' like he's want ta' give us lot a quest an' everythin'. Bloody 'ells, I read these stories so many times, but nae could 'magine tha' bit happenin' fer real. Are we all sure we still no' be sleepin'? No' tha' I'm ungrateful, dear dragon, on tha' contrary, I'm rioght shocked an' amazed by tha' situation, and just wanna make sure it's still real 'fore we move on."
She paused for a moment just to clear her throat of excess dust before adding, "By an by, certainly no' one ta' be rude an fail ta' introduce 'erself. I am Zyllith, travelin' 'adventurer come 'ere by way o' tha' Sea' o' Fallen Stars. 'Tis a rioght pleasure ta' meet ye', should ye' be real an' all tha'."
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
Osmord steps forward lowering his shield.
"Truly amazing. I am a humble scholar... I am named Osmord." he gives a small bow as he speaks.
DM - Warlock of Firetop Mountain
Arisa bows and says,” I am Arisa, Cleric of Mystra and scholar of arcana and history. I am deeply honored to meet you.… umm- we don’t have a group name yet do we?”
(She looks at Zyllirh and Belkas- expecting one of them to come up with something.)
As the dust settles and the dragon responds to your answers, (Elion has answered that he is a budding poet, hopefully a famous one someday,) you can see that his scales have a pronounced glossy sheen, and by the size of his huge, but sleek build, you surmise that he is probably a young adult, or an adult in age.
"A Knight of Myth Drannor, a presumed spell caster, a traveler from the Sea of Fallen Stars, a scholar, although I would guess possibly not quite as humble as you say, a poet, and a cleric of Mystra! What a fun band of do gooders you make up!"
"I am called Felogos, and I am a wanderer and a seeker of, well, let's say, anything that I find interesting, and right now, I find what's brewing in the north to be more than a little curious. Having witness your dealings in Nightstone, I can tell that you are also concerned for the same thing, which is why I have decided to confront you face to face."
"There is trouble with giants...they are wreaking havoc everywhere. During the past couple of months, giants of every kind have emerged from their strongholds in force to threaten civilization in ways that I have never seen before. There are rumors that the giants are waiting war with humans, dwarves, elves and other small folk."
"It seems that something has pit the different giants against one another, and now they strive to create a new hierarchy... they call it an 'ordaining,' The different tribes of giants, hill, stone, frost, fire and cloud, are all struggling to rewrite the established order of their kind, and their outlandish acts have not only put the settlements of humans and other small folk in jeopardy but also attracted the attention of the giants’ ancient enemies — we dragons — who will not abide the rise of another giant empire. We seek to preserve this ordning, which you should also work to persevere as well."
"This is bigger than you and me, but you should know that dragons are your potential allies in this war... even chromatic dragons, which I'm sure you are aware, are not always to be considered allies. But alas, troublesome times often call for desperate solutions and unorthodox tactics."
"There may come a time when I will fight alongside you, but for now, know that I will be watching you from afar, as I have done for the past few days."
"Oh, and by the way, I ate most of your Zhentarim friends," the dragon says with a chuckle. "Ambushed them on the road away from Nightstone after you sent them away. I have a special dislike for those Zhent scum. They are foul snakes, and it especially delights me to disrupt their activities whenever I find the opportunity. A couple of them got away... maybe I let them get away, but even so, I gave them a damn good scare."
"I imagine that this is a lot to take in, so I will answer what questions you may have, and then I must take my leave again. I just wanted to take the time to introduce myself, offer you praise for your doings and some encouragement for what may lie ahead."
Zyllith looked back at Arisa as the cleric spoke of the group name, responding to the look quickly, she could only put together whatever random thoughts she had at the time, "Err... Aces of Tempest? ... aye, we still be workin' on tha'."
Afterward she listened intently to the dragon Felogos expand on matters, "Aye, so them wankers be called Zhentarim. Didnae know their full name till now. What sort 'o bloke are they? Figured them some manner of criminal guild, but never heard 'o them till Nightstone."
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
Arisa is somewhat stunned that a dragon would take notice of the group. She is at a loss for words at rhe tale, and finally says “ Felegos, it is a great honor. I know much of the history between the Giants and Dragons, I even am fluent in giant from my readings, but never expected anything like that to happen again- certainly in my lifetime! I still can’t comprehend what we saw in nightstone- Giants killing helpless villagers seemingly at random. Why do you suppose they attacked there? I know they stole the nightstone itself- but no one ever really knew what it was I thought. Why kill all those villagers?
What do you suggest we do to stop them- or how should we prepare for this? If we need your help or that of the dragons- how would we contact you? “
she realizes she’s been asking a lot of questions in her nervousness and curiosity- so she pauses, a bit embarrassed, to allow the dragon to speak.
(OOC just FYI busy traveling week for me so my posts may be more infrequent and condensed)
Bellas agrees with Zyllith, a name for the group still needed to be discussed.
To the dragon he says, "Thank you, Felogos. We are honored. As Arisa mentioned, how can we help to protect people from this threat? While we may have been victorious against goblins and orcs, I am not sure what we could do against entire nations of giants. Thank you for dealing with the Zhentarim. I feared they might harm the villagers of Nightstone once we were not there to protect them. Was once of those who escaped a woman by any chance?"
Bellas knew that Kella was a cold-blooded murderer and extortionist and had only been friendly to him because of his charm spell, but he still hoped she had gotten out unscathed and didn't think too unfondly of him.
“Yes, those...wankers... as you so elegantly put it, are called The Zhentarim... the Black Network. Mercenaries, smugglers, criminals, strong-arms, and opportunists...I’m sure you know the type, and of course, greedy crime lords at the top. Gangsters, really, always seeking power and influence in whatever underhanded way possible. I’ve long hated them. And yes... that girl was one of the two that got away.”
“I know not what spark has been ignited that has caused this uprising. As for what you can do... that a question I don’t have a direct answer to... at least not yet. I’m still trying to learn what’s behind all this. My best advice at this point is to follow fate and trust your instincts. They have served you well so far. And as I said, I will be watching you... when I am able.”
”I am not sure what one dragon can do against an entire faction of giants either, friend, but if we each carry forward with strength, smarts and resolve, then the courage will come, and with it, the skill to win battles. Win enough battles and we win the war.”
”So go forth and protect the people of the north, as you have done already. And fear not. If you can defeat orcs, you can defeat giants, for some of them barely have half the brain of an orc. Fight smartly and watch out for their clubs and rocks. That’s how you win.”