Chronicles of the Accursed Campaign Thread (Group 1)

I would suggest betting everything on our frightening speed (also considering that while we are in cloud-like form we can't do much other than move). We identify a point where a moment of calm has been created in the battle (potentially waiting a few minutes, if necessary, for it to be created) then we launch ourselves at maximum speed and enter through a castle window or slit.

(Can we not teleport through our safe talkative gnomes item)

With a consensus reached to simply continue, you zip across the now-scorched ruins, your ghostly forms blending in well amongst the actual ghosts haunting the ruins.

In a few minutes, you reach the fortress. Here the fight is thickest... you count three dragons lying dead on the ground; they appear to be young black draons. Above, you can see an adult black dragon and two more young black dragons assaulting the fortress, trying (and mostly failing) to dodge powerful surges of magic that crackle through the air from the top of the tower... you can guess that most likely Lord Akkron is the source of this arcane power, possibly along with Bridgette, keeping the dragons away from the soldiers fighting on the ground.

Meanwhile, the ground forces are doing their best to hold back what seems like a never-ending horde of cultists various fiends which have allied with them. At this point they seem more like an army than a mere cult. Meanwhile, the defenders' forces are also bolstered by ghostly warriors like Marlin, who even in death have not forgotten their duty to protect this land from those who would dare to do its people harm, and hardened battle mages do their best to protect their comrades from the cultists' necromancy.

The best entrance point would be an arrow slit high up the wall... the defender inside recognizes you and steps aside to let you enter the fortress.

Quote from ZelocktheDragon >>

(Can we not teleport through our safe talkative gnomes item)

 (Duwamilly's cube only works for travelling from one plane of existence to another; it does not allow for teleportation to other places within the plane you are currently on)

Duwamilly sighs with relief: she and the Accursed managed to enter without damage... She patiently waits for Lord Amir to slowly return everyone to material form, trying to put her thoughts in order to report to Matic. Given how the situation is, perhaps he could still benefit from the Accursed's help in repelling the attacks of 'scamp's army' after all.

Lord Amir does indeed return the accured to their solid forms. "You should not stay here for long mortals, there are worse things than that Deep Dragon attacking the fortress, I am certain the Lich will understand if you leave and would prefer if you simple kept the cursed items out if his hands rather than risk your lives at his side. If he truly wanted you there he would not have sent you down in the catacombs, don't you think." The massive djinni lord says with an almost scolding glare. "Just say when you are ready to depart and I will see to that." He adds, not seeming pleased at all with the accursed heading back into danger. 

"I have no intention of endangering myself or the kids unnecessarily, Lord Amir!" Duwamilly assures "But before we leave it is right that we at least warn Lord Matic Akkron of the fact that we failed to kill a Deep Dragon in the catacombs... Perhaps he will be able to make sure that the undead recognize it and eliminate it - but if no, he better not be caught by surprise when the monster realizes that we have escaped it and comes out again".

The ex-preceptor then tries to reach the powerful Lord of Shaded Isle (possibly asking for directions, if it is not obvious where he is) and, once she finds herself in his presence, waits for him to have a moment's respite, then she mercilessly attacks him with a barrage of words as only a gnome can do: "We fought against a good number of forces of the exalted scamp, in the Catacombs, my Lord! Various waves of cultists, Hounds of Judgment, a Flesh Golem, a Dao... We have 'taken out of the picture' them all, my Lord! There is just one final opponent that we could not eliminate: an Adult Deep Dragon... That beast did not come to face us, not even at the end of our battles, when they were already at the limit of our resources... It was waiting, hidden in the Catacombs, for Lord Amir to finish his stay. I hoped to be able to make the Undead present in the Catacombs recognize it, my Lord, but I didn't succeed... so the beast remained there. It probably won't have time to make a big contribution to the battle, but we wanted to warn you, so that you can eliminate it, if an idea comes to mind... or at least so that you don't get caught by surprise".

"I must admit that the kids and I are now at the limit of our resources..." the gnome cleric concludes "There are maybe just two last things we could do, if think they help you further. The first: we could try to contact Firion with the Sending Stone we have... perhaps inducing him, when he discovers we are alive, to send other forces to our search - thus lightening the pressure on the fortress - or in any case perhaps taking away his clarity... You know, perhaps mocking him a little... I think I could do that... The second: before I leave, I could download this" she waves the Preceptorial Wand "at the attacking Cultists, below... With a bit of luck, I might be able to wreak a last little bit of havoc and thus help you resist better. After that, I think the kids and I should do an extraplanar trip to secure ourselves... and what we carry. What do you say, my Lord? And how's the battle going anyway?"

Lord Akkron isn't especially difficult to find... but... he's currently on top of the fortress shooting beams of necrotic magic at the three dragons, with Bridgette and some wizard (he seems to be an abjurer wizard, most likely a member of Baron Ryder's army). Several archers are firing at the dragons from behind turrets, desperately trying to avoid the streams of acid that are slowly melting away the stone...

Both the mortal wizard and half-orc warlock are looking noticeably beaten down at this point... and though it's harder to see thanks to his undead state, even the lich is starting to show the strain of the drawn-out battle; his ancient bones sizzling where he has been hit several times with streams of acid. Still, it seems three dragons have already learned the hard way that a lich is a legendary creature, not to be trifled with lightly... especially not when you happen to be fighting in his realm.

The ancient undead turns his head slightly to look at you, while at the same time shooting a bolt of lightning towards the dragons... before Duwamilly can launch into her tirade, he speaks.

Flee! he says, his voice quiet yet commanding. Do not risk your lives here... and do not allow what you possess to fall into Firion's grasp!  I will send you a message as soon as the battle is over!

And his advice seems to be quite wise... for as soon as you poked your head through a trapdoor to speak to the Lord of the Shaded Isle, one of the dragons immediately set its sights on the party, diving towards you with a roar...

Ok, Duwamilly gets back down to safety (speaking at incredible gnome-speed as she does, so that lord Akkron knows of the dragon in the Catacombs).

She uses the last charge of her cube to open a Gate to Mount Celestia: "Come on, kids. Time to go now".

As soon as all are safe, she also comes  inside and closes the portal.

Still being inside the tower under the trap door, Yasmina and friends swiftly move through the gate to the other side, hoping it would close before enemies could follow.

Duwamilly's gate snaps shut behind you, leaving you on the tranquil hills of Mount Celestia... where a familiar teddy bear angel is on duty.

"Welcome back to the Holy Mountain," Karael says with a smile. "I have seen the trials that you have faced... now rest in peace and forget your troubles for a time."

(You now have the opportunity to take a Long Rest, safe from Firion's cultists and the various monsters in his service)

[[ OOC: Oh, level-up time then 😀 ]]

Quite weary after the prolonged battle with numerous dangerous adversaries, the red-haired Half-Elf slumps down into the soft flowery grass, finally being able to rest and recover on this peaceful mountain, the massive djinni lord bidding the brave mortals farewell for now before returning to his luxurious demiplane palace together with Al-Asfeh.

"Karael!" Duwamilly is happy and relieved to have a friendly meeting again "If you knew how much I thought of you... Did you really watch over us?" the little mouth opens wide in wonder "Do you know that I was thinking of summoning you, when no one could find the dragon? I thought maybe you would be able to locate it ... You're such a cute and resourceful Archon... Could you have found a Deep Dragon polymorphed into an undead? I bet you could have!"

"Anyway," the ex-Preceptor shrugs "in the end I preferred to save the last magical energies of the cube to ensure a safe retreat for us all... But next time I'll summon you if you confirm that you would have been able to discover that dragon who was playing hide and seek! Is everything okay here, anyway? You know, unfortunately I had no way to watch over you... Did you have to face any invasions? Pesky intruders? Or all fine?"

"Do you know, Karael, that there is a war going on on Shaded Isle where good people are dying from the assault of scamp Firion's troops?" the gnome cleric takes on an unusually serious and worried look "Couldn't you... maybe... send someone? I'm sure the population of the Shaded Isle would be very pleased! They've already suffered so much..."

Zander walks up to Karael and asks to seek his wisdom and advice. 

Karael gives Duwamilly a smile.

"My place is here...though... yes, I could easily have uncovered the dragon in its false form," he says. "The Heavens are still at peace; here you shall find tranquility. But... though I wish it were not the case, there is little I can do for the Shaded Isle. Even if I were to send a legion of angels to the blighted shores, they might be unwilling to put aside their desire to destroy the undead when the dragon's cultists have been dealt with. Or worse, the dead might find themselves overcome with fury when they see angelic light and entirely forget the task of stopping the dragon cult in favor of fighting those who would aid them."

He then turns to Zander.

"What help can I offer you, dear child?" the angelic bear asks the young warrior.

Duwamilly, making a mental note of Karael's abilities, in case one day she has to play hide and seek with a shapeshifter again, resigns himself to leaving the fate of the Shaded Isle in the hands of Matic, his other allies... and the her beloved Garl Glittergold, to whom she promptly addresses optimistic prayers.

The supernatural cunning and benevolence of the gnomish god soon pervade her and the gnome cleric finds all her usual serenity, together with the absolute certainty that in the end it will be her, the kids and those she would like to protect, who will laugh.

The ex-preceptor rests, amused by the jokes that Garl Glittergold inspires in her during prayer and finding herself dreaming, when she finally rests her head in the serene nature of Mount Celestia, of the flowers that Lord Amir had given her. Those flowers then make her dream, by association, of the Feywild and of the countless excursions she has already made there... and, when she awakens, she discovers that her dream has awakened something in her. Like a spark of Feywild power. A spark that, nourished by her positive emotions, in turn nourished her magic.

Zander asks Karael if he knows a way to satiate Snicker and his desire to go after any dragons. "Since I walked away from two dragon encounters Snicker has thrown a tantrum and has canceled his Attunement" 

Delvindra finds herself a place apart from the others, and notably distant from Karael, her normally active tail laying limply beside her as she becomes lost in her thoughts.

Karael sighs at the mention of Snicker-Snack's notorious temperamental nature.

"I see... that... sounds about right," the Celestial says. "I can talk to him..."

The bear places a mighty but gentle paw upon Zander's shoulder, and speaks directly to the sword on the young warrior's back:

"Noble Snicker Snack... I understand that you feel your purpose is being ignored. But sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor. If the young man had stayed to fight against the dragons that you faced, he would almost certainly have been slain, and you would have fallen into the clutches of one who would use you to unleash one of the most dreaded dragons ever to exist upon the world. Perhaps you wish that he was a stronger warrior, better suited to defeating these foes, but that is something which will come in time. If you wish to see your wielder become a renowned dragon-slayer, he must first live long enough to obtain that level of skill. Do not begrudge him the desire both to preserve his life and to protect you from the evil forces that seek to use you for evil ends."