The Undying Dragons - Campaign Thread

As K flies away, Jan will try to calm herself and make sense of what her next move is.

Vonth...

     “I wouldn’t go so far as to call him fat,” Vonth replies, slightly taken aback. “Vertically challenged, maybe…”

     The door is already swinging open, however, and the kobold beyond it is already nodding, apparently uninterested in continuing the debate.

     When the small creature says, “Leaves yours gear here then come,” Vonth glances back at Avaria and offers a curious shrug.

     For the sake of politeness, he slides his sword back into its sheath—but he has no intention of stripping out of his armor before walking into what could easily be hostile ground.

     He watches Avaria closely to see whether she leaves her weapons behind.

     He does not no matter her choice.

Solomona returns Soren's jibe with a pained look. However, as Talis turns to converse with the kobold, two candlesticks from the entrance hall appear from beneath the table and are placed gently at arm's length. Sol picks up his spoon and continues scraping the bowl until Talis resumes the conversation.

Dragons, eh? He pushes the empty bowl away and leans back, but continues to lick the spoon.

Big topic that. Never met one myself, but heard plenty of stories. Sailors talk about em. But the way they tell it, they don't sound like beasts. More like forces of nature... real smart ones.

He rubs his belly thoughtfully and adds: Anything that big and powerful... well, seems like the sort of thing you show respect to, I reckon. At the very least . And with a chuckle he adds: And you probably wanna be on their good side.

Solomona thinks for a moment, then cocks his head and asks: Why? You expecting one to show up?

"No." Avaria tells the kobold, but sheaths her weapon as well and starts walking down the hall towards the sound of Sol's voice.  She is trying her best to contain her anger as she marches, she will shake the kobold from her if he tries to stop her.

If she is able to enter the dining hall, her eyes will go straight to Soren, but she will stay put.

The kobold looks back at Avaria and Vonth and shrugs.

"Yous should really leave weapons in hall and leaves yous attitude too," the kobold says, already across the room.

This central hallway has stairs, large wooden doors, and a set of fine plate armor. Flanking the main entrance are two freestanding suits of elven plate armor, both coated in chipped green paint. Man-sized demonic statues stand near the base of the stairs.

The heads of the demonic statues swivel and look at Avaria and Vonth.

"They don'ts like angry guesties," the kobold says.

((Are Vonth and Avaria continuing after the kobold?))

((Can we hear Sol?))

Vonth...

     Vonth eyes the demonic statues warily. He does not like the way their heads swivel toward him and Avaria, nor the kobold’s implied threat. The movement unsettles him—too deliberate, too aware. And there is no telling what other magic they might hold.

     He pauses.

     For a moment, it seems as though he is weighing his next move—but instead, he lowers his voice.  “Morc flild na dha sdlalfdh du sovval vuuls ilt dleils olkluvl,” he murmurs.

     The words are low, heavy, weirdly formal even to those who do not understand them. A prayer, or something like one.

     Vonth lifts a hand to his face, fingers brushing across his brow, then draws it slowly down to rest over his heart. The motion is deliberate, practiced in its own rough way. Not ornate. Not showy.  Solemn.

     A quiet anchoring. (A casting of Cure Wounds for 8hp.)

     Then his hand falls away, and his eyes return to the statues—steady once more.

     “Who’s angry?” Vonth asks, attempting a small chuckle.

     “I’m just confused,” he continues. “You opened the door. Invited us in. I was raised that you accept guests as they are.”

     His gaze settles on the kobold.

     “Are we not guests? Or is it your custom to threaten all you welcome into your house?”

     He makes no move to push past the creature, but he does shift just slightly closer—within reach. If the kobold bolts or makes the wrong move, Vonth intends to be ready.

     “If we’re no longer welcome,” he adds evenly, “we can step back outside.”

     A faint pause.

     “Return to hunting the local wildlife.”

_____

(More wordy and chatty than I like Vonth but he's not exactly ready for another fight at the moment...  but not looking to give up his weapons either.)

If he can do a second action before anything goes down, it's holding a grapple vs the kobold if they try to run or some kind of fight starts.  He wants the critter as a human shield... so to speak.

((Avaria and Vonth cannot hear Solomona. There are least two closed doorways and part of a hallway between the pair and the monk.

Vonth cannot get with Lin grappling range of the kobold unless he moves past the statutes.))

”Yous not guest. The bard brought you here. Do whats you want. You wants weapons keep weapons. I don’t gives a scaly scab. But thens you stays here.”

Avaria and Vonth notice other sets of eyes watching them from the top of the stairs. More kobolds.

Vonth...

     Vonth finds himself at a loss.

     He does not want to press the issue with the statues—whatever they are capable of, he has no desire to learn the hard way. But neither will he surrender his weapons and walk willingly into what may well be hostile ground.

     He turns to Avaria, offering a brief, exasperated look and a shrug. The situation sits poorly with him.

     Then he acts.

     “Solomona!” Vonth calls, his voice suddenly booming—three times louder than it should. “Are you here? Everything alright?”

     The sound carries, filling the space. Perhaps enough so to reach his ally.

_____

Thaumaturgy used to boom his voice so loud...

Avaria looks to the statues and then to the gathering kobolds.  What a frustrating situation all of this is.  She debated, as she could fight just fine without her weapons if she needed to, but it seemed her new partner was very much against it, so she wasn't going to leave him in a bad situation and hangs on to what is hers.

Then the goliath well... booms.  She is so surprised first, by all the words tumbling out of him, but then the volume.  It takes her a moment to collect herself, and finally to the kobold that has been addressing them, "Fine.  We'll stay here, let the fancy lady know we are here and our friend.  Though, he probably knows by now."

The kobold squints his eyes when Vonth bellows, and then nods his understanding of what Avaria has said.,

"We's is inside now, you knows?" he says to Vonth gesturing around at the room. "The roof and walls. Maybe yous not used to that. Don't needs to shout so loud."

The kobold quickly disappears through the doorway.

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In the kitchen, Talis smiles at Solomona's question about her expecting a dragon to show up.

"They are beautiful beings but they could be so much more than what they already are. Once the Undying Queen returns, they will reach their true potential. But we still have much work to do to pave the way for her." Talis says. She looks at the cooks in the room, who have now lost some of their surly demeanor as Talis speaks. "But there are some in power that lack the vision to do what's necessary. You could help --"

Before she can finish her thought, Solomona hears a bellowing coming from the direction of the earlier loud knocking "Solomona!” Vonth's unmistakable booming voice calls, so loud it's as if he's in the room with Solomona already. “Are you here? Everything alright?”

A moment later, the kobold from earlier pops his head back into the kitchen, "I gets them but they keeps their weapons so they stays in the hall."

The kobold very carefully stays well out of arms reach of all of the humans in the room.

Talis stands and nods. "Come. Let's go see your friends." 

She waves a hand at Soren as well. "You too."

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((Assuming Solomona comes along))

The kobold is not gone long before the same doorway opens and Talis, Solomona, and Soren emerge.

"Solomona and I were just having a lovely conversation over some food," Talis says. "Are the rest of you hungry? We have plenty."

She looks at the statues and waves her hand, her fingers moving in a controlled pattern. "As long as their weapons remain sheathed, they are welcome." Talis intones.

"There, that's better." she says. "Come, come."

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Full darkness has come to the woods. Marrin's trance like state continues uninterrupted, though she does hear the nosing about of a couple of wolves at the bottom of the tree. But after a few moments, they move off in search of something easier to get a hold of.

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K' continues his flight towards the mountains.

Hi guys, Solomona waves to Avaria and Vonth from behind the woman. He walks out to show nothing is wrong and that he isn't a prisoner... his face is flush and his smile is wide, and there are fresh food stains on his smock.

You can yell pretty loud, Vonth! and then in only a slightly softer voice adds: I think Talis almost wet herself. Then back to normal. Anyway, this is Talis the White. She says they are getting ready for a queen who will help dragons become more beautiful. And the stew is yummy!

He gives a little wink that only Vonth and Ava can see, then beckons and turns to follow Talis, adding finally:

Like they always say: "You catch more flies with honey than with carrying a big stick".

Vonth...

     Vonth’s eyes snap to the movement at the doorway as figures return inside. He recognizes the one who first tried to draw them in, and his gaze hardens. The kobold he dismisses entirely.

     Then Solomona steps in. Vonth eases—slightly. Enough to breathe. The wide one begins speaking, but the words barely reach him.

     Then Soren.

     The traitor.

     Vonth goes still. Every muscle in him tightens, coiling with sudden, violent intent. For a heartbeat he sees it clearly—closing the distance, cutting him down, ending it here. Steel, blood, silence. But Vonth is no fool. He forces the moment to hold.

     There are too many unknowns. The statues. The kobolds. The woman of the house—Talis—and whatever power she commands. And Soren himself, who has already proven he does not fight fair.

     The desire does not fade.

     It waits.

     Every part of Vonth wants Soren dead.

     But now… is perhaps not the time.

     Perhaps.

     "Dragons?" he asks in reply to Solomona but his eyes do not leave the traitor.  

Avaria raises an eyebrow but doesn't take her hand off the hilt of her sword that is sheathed at her side.  "Make dragons more beautiful?  What is the point of that?  And what queen?"

Then she glares at Soren, "Why did you bring us here?"

Talis looks at Solomona with amusement and at first doesn't seem to register the simmering hostility towards Soren.

"Questions, questions, questions," Talis says but then gestures at the hallway and stairs "I'm all for answering them and more but this is an awkward and uncomfortable spot for all of that."

She then points towards a doorway in the southeasten wall of this foyer.

"We'll be more comfortable in the parlour."

Talis then walks confidently across the hall, Soren staying quite close to her. She opens the door and heads inside.

The heads of the demonic statues pivot and follow her, and the group (if they follow Talis) but they remain otherwise motionless.

If they follow, Avaria and Vonth (as well as Ula, Hammerdasher, and Geffroi) find themselves moving through a small but empty guard post - the other side of the two arrow slits Avaria spotted early are more easily seen now.

They then move through another doorway and into a large parlour, some 35' - 40' by 35'-40' square. Windows look out of the southern wall and give views of the clearing where the group had arrived. Vonth notices what looks like about 10 kobolds, maybe 12, outside dragging the body of one of the dead trolls around the side of the lodge.

Through the windows on the eastern side of the room can be seen two smaller out buildings. The kobolds appear to be heading to the larger of the two.

Inside the room itself, the stout beams overhead are stained black with smoke, possibly from the fire place along the southern wall, but that does seem quite right. A comfortable table and chairs, a small wardrobe, and a suit of dull black armor stand in the room. A large tapestry shows three hounds dragging down a white boar, and it shimmers with strange light.

Talis settles into one of the chairs, Soren takes up a spot beside her, but remains standing.

"Bring us some drinks," Talis says to the kobold, who takes off back the way they came.

Soren finally addresses Avaria.

"I was paid to," Soren answers.

"Well that's not quite true," Talis says. "Soren here was hired to retrieve the chest but failing to accomplish that he seems to have decided to bring the lot of you here."

Talis appears to briefly roll her eyes.

"Your gourmand of a friend here may have misunderstood some of what I was telling him earlier. We're not trying to make dragons more beautiful. We're trying to help them reach their full majestic potential. And to do that, we must prepare the way for the Undying Queen."

A loud bang from outside draws her attention briefly.

From his advanced height, Vonth can see that the kobolds appear to have banged the dead troll into the doors of what might be a stable.

"But," Talis continues with a sigh, "there are those who want to bring dominion for their putrid dark master. Soren says you've had run-ins with some of their group. The Rotting Man. And that foul prick, Godrick Greger. At least you kept the chest safe from them."

Avaria stands and looks around at her situation.  As Talis starts talking, she looks to Ula as her head starts swimming.  She really wishes Marrin and Jan were here.  "Undying Queen?  That sounds... well a bit foreboding.  And Godrick Greger?  That was the name of that guy stuck in the rotting tree?  Well, yeah, we aren't just going to hand over that chest to anyone.  What is in it anyways?"

Vonth...

     Vonth follows Talis and the traitor Soren closely. He has no intention of losing sight of that one again if it can be helped.

     As they move through the compound, he notes the empty guard post with some relief. There are already more enemies than he cares for. Outside, he spots a cluster of kobolds tending to the troll corpses.

     Good.  Outside is where they belong.

     Talis keeps things… cordial. It unsettles him more than open hostility would. She speaks of an Undying Queen and a Rotting Man—perhaps named Godrick Hargrove. The titles mean nothing to Vonth, but they do not sound like honors earned in any way he respects.

     Avaria has questions. Vonth waits while Talis answers though he does not expect she will do so fully, or honestly - likely just enough to keep things moving.

     Vonth waits for a gap in the conversation.

     “Our…” he begins, then stops. He had meant to echo her word—gourmand—but lets it go rather than risk a misstep in pronunciation.

     “Our friend mentioned stew,” he says instead. “Is there more?”

     It is not proper, perhaps. A guest should not need to ask.  But Vonth is not here for manners.

     He is buying time.

     Time to breathe.  Time to gather strength.  Time, if needed, to decide who dies next.

((Time enough to get a short rest in, if at all possible!))

((Oops - was reading something else while writing - that should have been Godrick Hargrove. Avaria remembers the decaying tower in the forest was occupied by a half orc named "Mak'ral Blackroot" who was likely the Rotting Man)).

Talis smiles at Avaria and her questions.

"Foreboding?" Talis muses. "Perhaps to her enemies."

She looks to Vonth when he mentions food. 

"You're coming around, I see," Talis says. 

At that moment, the original kobold returns with glasses and bottles. He pours out wine for any who want it. Talis takes some and drinks.

Then she orders him to get food for their guests.

The kobold goes to the door and barks and yips. More muted voices answer back in a similar language. Clearly, not all the kobolds are outside.

"Now as to what's in the chest, well, that might be best if you didn't know that. What you don't know can't hurt you." Talis says. She looks to Soren and then back to the group. "But I take it that one of the other two of your group have the chest with them. That's unfortunate. This is a big valley. It could take days to track them down. And from what I have heard, time may be of the essence. Godrick and his group may have found a way to access a chamber rumored to have another of the ancient artifacts we seek."

Food is brought. Lots of it.

"In the morning, perhaps you could help with the search for your friends. It would help keep harm from coming to them. Then I think our interests might align. I can then assist you on getting ahead of Godrick again and getting on your way to help us get what he's after."

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Jan generally can't feel what's happening outside of his inner sanctum, but he can sense some movement and K must be rising and dropping with some regularity. Jan almost gets the sense of being on a ship again.

Whatever is happening, the journey continues.

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Marrin hears an owl nearby hooting. She almost gets to the point of wanting to do a way with the bird when it finally spots something in the woods and flies off, diving down in a clearing, looking for breakfast.

     “Water, perhaps? Warm. And a towel?” Vonth asks once the food is set before them.

     He offers a small smile and a shrug, as if asking a simple indulgence. “My people’s custom is to wash before a meal. An indulgence I was… often denied, recently.”

     He sits, but does not eat. Not yet.  When talk turns again to the chest and ancient artifacts, Vonth remains silent, letting Avaria take the lead. He knows nothing of such things. Better to listen.  But when the subject shifts to hunting down the others in the morning, he speaks.

     “Friends is a strong term,” Vonth says evenly. “I barely know them.”

     He watches Talis closely.  Soren more so.  Always.

     “I do not understand how helping you find them keeps them from harm. Your people attacked them. Are still hunting them, yes?”

     A slight tilt of his head.

     “You offer them safety, then?”

     His tone does not change, but the question sharpens.

     “Does the four-armed troll know that? The drakes? Those things in the sky?”

     He lets the questions hang.  He still does not reach for the food..

((Jan can hear as if she were in the ring's space. I don't think her Terran studies are quite to where she'd be able to understand K fluently, but they may be able to convey simple things?))