Jade attempts to lunge for the bone, but there's simply not enough time for her to get it before it is whisked out of sight and towards the bones laying on the seafloor in front of you. As the bone reaches the skeleton, it slots nicely into the mass of bones beneath, completing the dragon skeleton
For a moment, you all stand there in total silence, waiting for something to happen, and the air remains calm, nothing seemingly triggered by the arrival of the final bone. Just as you all begin to relax, the water you are still floating in turns so opaque that is almost appears black, and the waves force you all down onto the seafloor and out of the water. Standing on the seafloor, you can now make out that around the dragon skeleton lies a small group of skeletons in cultist robes, likely members of the Cult of Myrkul that drowned here when Talos' conquest caused the swamp to flood. Their bones are pristine and the cloaks undamaged, and all of their flesh is missing. In short, they look nothing like what you would expect from decaying drowned corpses
The seafloor begins to shake, and the now almost entirely black water swirls into a whirlwind, pelting the group with powerful winds and it quickly changes from four walls into a whirling cyclone. The wind is strong, but you are all able to maintain your footing. Sea spray from the whirling water lowers your visibility, but the dragon skeleton rising and unfurling its bony wings is far too obvious for that to obscure.
Just as quickly as the skeleton rose, it instantly turns to dust, although the skeletons of the cultists remain intact. The water's color returs to normal, although the walls are still rotating, creating an empty cylander of water with the part at the base. As the winds settle and the spray clears, a floating black shade hovers a few feet off the ground, forming itself into the shape of a small dragon. Despite it lacking any clear eyes, you all can feel it staring at you, and all almost instictively know that this is the dracolich Ebondeath Elandra told you all about in her take. You all are the first to see him in his true form in centuries, and the first to see him at all since Talos took over. In a voice so booming it almost forces you all back, you hear the spirit begin to speak
"The curse is broken! Talos's magic can hold my spirit in that corpse no longer! I am reborn! His curse only stalls my ressurection, and his scattering of my bones only delays my revenge! I shall crush his cult and smite the god where he stands!"
With that, Soloth, you feel his gaze tighen onto you speficially, and he continues to talk "Dragonborn...intersting...the faith of Semuanya's worshipers runs through your veins as if it were your blood...not one of their kind, yet the lizardfolk hold you up as their champion......"
He stops for a moment, almost staring into Soloth's soul before continuing: "I shall augment your power further...you shall be my new host!"
With that, Ebondeath turns formeless once again, his shade flowing into Soloth's body as if it was merely air as he fuses with Soloth. Soloth's eyes flash black for a moment as if Ebondeath is attempting to dominate his mind, but they quickly revert back to their normal color and he begins to speak, though his voice sounds like Ebondeath's and not his own, saying "Interesting... even great dragons have been unable to fuse with me without losing their mind, yet you remain in command... we shall be a powerful pair indeed!"
@Soloth, even with Ebondeath now inside your body and mind, you feel not only more powerful than you've ever been, but still in control. Clearly, Ebondeath can speak through your body if he wants to, but while his presense is felt, for the most part it seems your body remains your own. How do you react to the fusion?
In additon, as Ebondeath fuses with your mind, you begin to feel his memories become yours as well. Make an insight check with advantage
@All except for soloth, as the dust settles and soloth stands there attempting to comprehend what has just occurred, how do you all react to this chain of events?
Koric stifles a scream as the dragon rises then dissipates, then watches in horror and fascination as the shade merges with Soloth. He swims around Soloth/Ebondeath, looking for physical changes, making mental notes to record later.
"So...you will help us against Talos, yes? And...will you release our friend soon?" He swims timidly back a little, peeking out from behind Jade.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
@Koric
Soloth turns to you, again speaking in Ebondeath's voice: "You also seek to punish the storm god?"
He stares at you, and you can feel his gaze penetrating deep into your soul whispering "Mystra's magic runs through you...", and as he turns to each of the party's members he rattles of the names of your patron gods. "The gods align to end the storm! I will add Myrkul's power to the cause!"
Turning back to you, he says "Your friend and I are one and the same mage. Together we wield the blessing of both life and death! I will not stay forever though. I'll procure a true dragon as my host once the fight is done"
@Soloth - I'm going to roll again here for you for advantage since you only rolled once and then go from there on my next post: 17
Becoming one with this ancient entity, you tap into his memories as he becomes one with you. Your minds melding together, you see Ebondeath in the form of a black dragon, and you quickly recognize this as the story Elandra told you all about the black dragon that fought as part of the original war against Talos, confirming this was infact ebondeath. You watch as he razes hordes of Talos's cultists, from humans to kraken briest to cultists that could shapeshift into boars. Eventually, he is taken down by two kraken priests, clearly more powerful than the rest, and they incinerate the dragon's body. He falls from the sky just as Talos appears out of the sea, manifesting himself onto the realm as his power grows. With a simple spell from the storm god, the dragon is dealt a finishing blow and his bones scattered to the wind
You continue to pour through Ebondeath's memories, watching as he is trapped in the skeleton of his last host. Over time, cultists of Myrkul appear through the very same protal you all used, bringing the bones to the area on the seafloor where you found them, but they dissapear before retreiving the final bone. It's this one that you all brought with you and used rather accidentally to free Ebondeath from his prison
As the merger becomes complete, you begin to become more familiar with how this effects you. Here's what this results in gameplay-wise
Negatives: -Your max health decreases by 10 -You gain a weakness to radiant damage -You lose 1 strength and 2 charisma
Positives: -You can cast Detect Magic and Detect Thoughts each once per day, ignoring class restrictions and without using a spell slot -Your Wisdom increases by 3 -As a bonus action, you can become incorporal. While incorporial, your movement speed increases by 10, melee attacks have disadvantage against you, and you can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. You take 1d10 force damage if you ends your turn inside an object. However, while incorportial, you roll attack rolls with disadvatage. You can revert to your normal form as a bonus action
I've added this to your character as a feat and I've made all the stat/max health changes in your character sheet already.
Jade watches in stunned silence as everything transpires before her eyes. She doesn't know what to do or say as the dragon becomes part of Soloth. At least we all have the same goal, she thinks to herself and the fact that Soloth appears to be alright and that the dragon does not appear to want to stay, just help them with their cause. Maybe this was a good thing? She isn't sure yet.
Koric looks blankly at Soloth for a moment before peaking tentatively.
"We seek to overthrow Talos. Does he have...ah...any...ah...strongholds or places of power nearby? I'm really not sure what it is we seek...specifically, that is."
Again speaking through Soloth, Ebondeath seems to project his mind outwards for a moment, and then he responds to you:
"Talos draws power from both the elemental plane of Air and the elemental plane of Water, and he's opened portals to both in this realm. While they remain open, we stand no chance at banishing his manifestation from the realm. I can feel the portal to the Plane of Water is not far off. My acolytes shall locate the exact location and guide the path. Arise!"
Upon this command from Ebondeath, the skeletons of Myrkul's cultists immediately begin animated, any scattered bones flying together as the skeltons re-form, animated by the magic of the Ebondeath's patron Myrkul. In a lockstep reminiscent of a highly trained infantry, thet walk towards the walls of water. Scattered bones from the seafloor begin flying around, forming into a circular ring that lights with the dark purple magic of the death god, and the reanimated cultists vanish through the portal, seeking the portal so that you may all close it
@All
While this is all going on, everyone, make a perception check. Soloth, roll yours with advantage
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Liri looks back and forth between Soloth and where the dragon skeleton had previously lain, horrified at what has just happened. Then, as Soloth speaks, she realises it is not him that is speaking, but rather the dragon speaking through him. Despite the dragon stating that Soloth is still present, she eyes the dragonborn anxiously as she has yet to hear from Soloth himself.
"Soloth, are you still in there? Tell me the names of those who accompanied us recently if so."
She feels uncertain about aligning with Myrkul, Ebondeath and his undead creatures on this quest, but it is beginning to seem like they may have little choice. Is the enemy of my enemy really my friend?
No response from Lux or Elandra yet, but I will keep going
As you all stand there trying to get a read on Ebondeath and how much you can trust him, you all imeddiately see a storm brewing overhead. The sky is filled with clouds with immediately begin to unleash a heavy downpour onto the group.
As the weather suddenly worstens, how do you all react?
@Jade
You lunge towards the bone, trying to catch it before it reuinites with the rest of the skeleton. Make a dexterity check with disadvantage
Dex: 9
@All
Jade attempts to lunge for the bone, but there's simply not enough time for her to get it before it is whisked out of sight and towards the bones laying on the seafloor in front of you. As the bone reaches the skeleton, it slots nicely into the mass of bones beneath, completing the dragon skeleton
For a moment, you all stand there in total silence, waiting for something to happen, and the air remains calm, nothing seemingly triggered by the arrival of the final bone. Just as you all begin to relax, the water you are still floating in turns so opaque that is almost appears black, and the waves force you all down onto the seafloor and out of the water. Standing on the seafloor, you can now make out that around the dragon skeleton lies a small group of skeletons in cultist robes, likely members of the Cult of Myrkul that drowned here when Talos' conquest caused the swamp to flood. Their bones are pristine and the cloaks undamaged, and all of their flesh is missing. In short, they look nothing like what you would expect from decaying drowned corpses
The seafloor begins to shake, and the now almost entirely black water swirls into a whirlwind, pelting the group with powerful winds and it quickly changes from four walls into a whirling cyclone. The wind is strong, but you are all able to maintain your footing. Sea spray from the whirling water lowers your visibility, but the dragon skeleton rising and unfurling its bony wings is far too obvious for that to obscure.
Just as quickly as the skeleton rose, it instantly turns to dust, although the skeletons of the cultists remain intact. The water's color returs to normal, although the walls are still rotating, creating an empty cylander of water with the part at the base. As the winds settle and the spray clears, a floating black shade hovers a few feet off the ground, forming itself into the shape of a small dragon. Despite it lacking any clear eyes, you all can feel it staring at you, and all almost instictively know that this is the dracolich Ebondeath Elandra told you all about in her take. You all are the first to see him in his true form in centuries, and the first to see him at all since Talos took over. In a voice so booming it almost forces you all back, you hear the spirit begin to speak
"The curse is broken! Talos's magic can hold my spirit in that corpse no longer! I am reborn! His curse only stalls my ressurection, and his scattering of my bones only delays my revenge! I shall crush his cult and smite the god where he stands!"
With that, Soloth, you feel his gaze tighen onto you speficially, and he continues to talk "Dragonborn...intersting...the faith of Semuanya's worshipers runs through your veins as if it were your blood...not one of their kind, yet the lizardfolk hold you up as their champion......"
He stops for a moment, almost staring into Soloth's soul before continuing: "I shall augment your power further...you shall be my new host!"
With that, Ebondeath turns formeless once again, his shade flowing into Soloth's body as if it was merely air as he fuses with Soloth. Soloth's eyes flash black for a moment as if Ebondeath is attempting to dominate his mind, but they quickly revert back to their normal color and he begins to speak, though his voice sounds like Ebondeath's and not his own, saying "Interesting... even great dragons have been unable to fuse with me without losing their mind, yet you remain in command... we shall be a powerful pair indeed!"
@Soloth, even with Ebondeath now inside your body and mind, you feel not only more powerful than you've ever been, but still in control. Clearly, Ebondeath can speak through your body if he wants to, but while his presense is felt, for the most part it seems your body remains your own. How do you react to the fusion?
In additon, as Ebondeath fuses with your mind, you begin to feel his memories become yours as well. Make an insight check with advantage
@All except for soloth, as the dust settles and soloth stands there attempting to comprehend what has just occurred, how do you all react to this chain of events?
Koric stifles a scream as the dragon rises then dissipates, then watches in horror and fascination as the shade merges with Soloth. He swims around Soloth/Ebondeath, looking for physical changes, making mental notes to record later.
"So...you will help us against Talos, yes? And...will you release our friend soon?" He swims timidly back a little, peeking out from behind Jade.
@Koric
Soloth turns to you, again speaking in Ebondeath's voice: "You also seek to punish the storm god?"
He stares at you, and you can feel his gaze penetrating deep into your soul whispering "Mystra's magic runs through you...", and as he turns to each of the party's members he rattles of the names of your patron gods. "The gods align to end the storm! I will add Myrkul's power to the cause!"
Turning back to you, he says "Your friend and I are one and the same mage. Together we wield the blessing of both life and death! I will not stay forever though. I'll procure a true dragon as my host once the fight is done"
@Soloth - I'm going to roll again here for you for advantage since you only rolled once and then go from there on my next post: 17
@Soloth
Becoming one with this ancient entity, you tap into his memories as he becomes one with you. Your minds melding together, you see Ebondeath in the form of a black dragon, and you quickly recognize this as the story Elandra told you all about the black dragon that fought as part of the original war against Talos, confirming this was infact ebondeath. You watch as he razes hordes of Talos's cultists, from humans to kraken briest to cultists that could shapeshift into boars. Eventually, he is taken down by two kraken priests, clearly more powerful than the rest, and they incinerate the dragon's body. He falls from the sky just as Talos appears out of the sea, manifesting himself onto the realm as his power grows. With a simple spell from the storm god, the dragon is dealt a finishing blow and his bones scattered to the wind
You continue to pour through Ebondeath's memories, watching as he is trapped in the skeleton of his last host. Over time, cultists of Myrkul appear through the very same protal you all used, bringing the bones to the area on the seafloor where you found them, but they dissapear before retreiving the final bone. It's this one that you all brought with you and used rather accidentally to free Ebondeath from his prison
As the merger becomes complete, you begin to become more familiar with how this effects you. Here's what this results in gameplay-wise
Negatives:
-Your max health decreases by 10
-You gain a weakness to radiant damage
-You lose 1 strength and 2 charisma
Positives:
-You can cast Detect Magic and Detect Thoughts each once per day, ignoring class restrictions and without using a spell slot
-Your Wisdom increases by 3
-As a bonus action, you can become incorporal. While incorporial, your movement speed increases by 10, melee attacks have disadvantage against you, and you can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. You take 1d10 force damage if you ends your turn inside an object. However, while incorportial, you roll attack rolls with disadvatage. You can revert to your normal form as a bonus action
I've added this to your character as a feat and I've made all the stat/max health changes in your character sheet already.
Jade watches in stunned silence as everything transpires before her eyes. She doesn't know what to do or say as the dragon becomes part of Soloth. At least we all have the same goal, she thinks to herself and the fact that Soloth appears to be alright and that the dragon does not appear to want to stay, just help them with their cause. Maybe this was a good thing? She isn't sure yet.
She looks to Soloth, "So, uh what now?"
Koric looks blankly at Soloth for a moment before peaking tentatively.
"We seek to overthrow Talos. Does he have...ah...any...ah...strongholds or places of power nearby? I'm really not sure what it is we seek...specifically, that is."
@Koric and Jade
Again speaking through Soloth, Ebondeath seems to project his mind outwards for a moment, and then he responds to you:
"Talos draws power from both the elemental plane of Air and the elemental plane of Water, and he's opened portals to both in this realm. While they remain open, we stand no chance at banishing his manifestation from the realm. I can feel the portal to the Plane of Water is not far off. My acolytes shall locate the exact location and guide the path. Arise!"
Upon this command from Ebondeath, the skeletons of Myrkul's cultists immediately begin animated, any scattered bones flying together as the skeltons re-form, animated by the magic of the Ebondeath's patron Myrkul. In a lockstep reminiscent of a highly trained infantry, thet walk towards the walls of water. Scattered bones from the seafloor begin flying around, forming into a circular ring that lights with the dark purple magic of the death god, and the reanimated cultists vanish through the portal, seeking the portal so that you may all close it
@All
While this is all going on, everyone, make a perception check. Soloth, roll yours with advantage
Koric perception: 16 (passive 19)
Balthar perception: 16
Jade perception 21
Liri looks back and forth between Soloth and where the dragon skeleton had previously lain, horrified at what has just happened. Then, as Soloth speaks, she realises it is not him that is speaking, but rather the dragon speaking through him. Despite the dragon stating that Soloth is still present, she eyes the dragonborn anxiously as she has yet to hear from Soloth himself.
"Soloth, are you still in there? Tell me the names of those who accompanied us recently if so."
She feels uncertain about aligning with Myrkul, Ebondeath and his undead creatures on this quest, but it is beginning to seem like they may have little choice. Is the enemy of my enemy really my friend?
Perception: 13
Jade nods at Soloth's response, but the worry from her face doesn't go away. She is relieved to hear his voice though.
@All
No response from Lux or Elandra yet, but I will keep going
As you all stand there trying to get a read on Ebondeath and how much you can trust him, you all imeddiately see a storm brewing overhead. The sky is filled with clouds with immediately begin to unleash a heavy downpour onto the group.
As the weather suddenly worstens, how do you all react?
Koric looks to the heart of the storm, "Air and Water seem to be alerted. Do you have a suggetion where we might take cover?"
As he asks the question, both he and Balthar look around for anything that might constitute cover or protection from the storm.
Perception: 18
Balthar Perception: 11