Chronicles of the Accursed (Group 2)

(OOC: And does Lord Akkron have a way to get the whole party from the island to Zolgu's ship?  Are we sailing out there?  Flying on the dragons / dragonnels?  Teleporting?)

(OOC: Nordaka the Green Dragon can carry four of you, and is willing to be of assistance. The dragonnels can carry another two each. Or... you can use a ship. There happens to be a fleet right here. Most of them are in battle already, but Captain Blythe's ship is currently at the harbor... a bit worse for ware, but still very much seaworthy. Also... there are now a lot of ballistae on the deck)

((Let's take the ship with lots of ballistae^^))

I'll go ahead and move us along now.

Lord Akkron steps onto the ship. Captain Blythe bows deeply to the dark figure, her eyes filled with trepidation yet also genuine respect for the powerful lich who has been central to the efforts to protect this world. The water genasi looks tired. But you can still tell her spirit is strong. Determined to fight and win against the forces of evil that threaten the world.

The two dragons rise into the air... ready to do battle with their former captors and bring an end to this once and for all.

((OOC: if anyone wants to ride on Nordaka, she will allow it... Vitarek is not as agreeable. Red dragons tend not to be...))

Jodie is interested in riding Nordaka...call it a connection with the forest, but there's the issue of the Ruinstone...

Now that the ritual is over, she doesn't need to be the one to carry it.  I wonder would Hildegard be a good protector?  She can take the ring of acid resistance if she takes the Ruinstone.

(OOC: I was thinking of having Hewelathan ride one of the dragonnels into the fight just to pay off the work he did to train them, but I've been trying to stretch his current Brown Bear form into the start of this next fight.  Might as well use those 15 THP to good use!  That works as long as it's been < 2 hours since the fight with Firion.

A bear is too big to ride a dragonnel, but once the ship's deck is clear, maybe Nordaka could at least lift Hewelathan-Bear up and plop him on the deck.  I'm not sure how else a bear is going to board an enemy vessel from Captain Blythe's ship.

Update: I realized that because of his Belt of Storm Giant Strength, Hewelathan can make a running long jump of 29-ft in any of his forms.  Therefore, as long as Captain Blythe can come alongside the enemy ship, Hewelathan-Bear shouldn't have problems getting aboard.)

If Nordaka has room for him, Kroba would also ride to the ship on the green dragon.  Eldritch Blast has a fairly long range, and he wants to secure their position on Zolgu's ship as quickly as possible.  Nordaka should be able to put them right on the deck of the ship as soon as it's clear.  Or, even if it's not entirely clear, he could help clear it.

Tamphalic takes his place on the ship, wanting to be close to be able to use his breath weapon if needed.

(regarding the ruinstone, should we maybe leave it with the priestesses? They seem to be powerful enough, and seems to be smart to not taking closer to the dragon’s body?) 

Quote from Secretfool >>

Tamphalic takes his place on the ship, wanting to be close to be able to use his breath weapon if needed.

(regarding the ruinstone, should we maybe leave it with the priestesses? They seem to be powerful enough, and seems to be smart to not taking closer to the dragon’s body?) 

 (Yes, leaving the ruinstone with the priestesses is an option... fortunately, Zolgu & Co. have no realistic way of knowing that it is there. Probably.)

Nickeline stays on the ship instead of riding a dragon, having no desire to be that high above the ground. She double-checks each ballista on the ship to make sure it is functioning properly.

As you approach the ships, you see a swarm of cultists on each deck. The massive body of Sserah lays across the three ships, mummified flesh visible through wrappings and chains.  A single empty eye socket is visible between strips of leather wrapping the enormous skull. Though she is dead, you can feel her. As if she is waiting for the right moment to rise again...

"You may rise, Servant of the Seven," Perdita says softly, lowering her head.

Hildegard grasps her lance and pushes herself back up to her feet. "How may I assist you, Steed of Tali Windrunner? We have a great evil to defeat."

"I bore you in torment while you held me back from the abyss," Perdita says. "Now I will bear you in sacrifice to send Sserah Nightbane back to the depths that Firion would have condemned me to." The white unicorn's celestial hide shimmers as she steps over to Hildegard. "The celestial bonds are no longer needed, but you may place that saddle on me. It will keep you safely." Hildegard picks up the [Tooltip Not Found] that had fallen to the ground, and reverently places it on the unicorn, fastening the girth. Then, with a prayer, she grasps the lance and vaults up into the saddle.

"To arms, heroes!" Perdita cries, and like a pure drift of snow she lightly leaps onto deck of the ship, her hooves clattering like bells against the sea-sprayed boards.

As they fly towards the ships Vitarek says "Let's lit those cultists on fire shall we" with a Dragonly grinn.

While at the ship Tamphalic looks in awe at the enormous Dragonly body that lays over the multiple ships. He tells the captain

"Let those dragons do their thing first and as soon as they fired their first salvo makes sure we can enter one of the ships."

(OOC: Is Ruby or anyone else going to use the Potion of Dragon's Majesty to turn into a dragon and help clear the ship's deck?)

Quote from Faux_Beau >>

Jodie is interested in riding Nordaka...call it a connection with the forest

Quote from Ben_Evolent >>

If Nordaka has room for him, Kroba would also ride to the ship on the green dragon.

"Come!  I can easily carry you both into the vargach against this irlym aveiar vorastrix," Nordaka says.  She slips into draconic toward the end, a noxious green smoke rising from her snout as she glares out across the sea at the cult's ships.

Nordaka crouches down to allow Jodie to climb up on her back.  The dragon doesn't really offer any assistance, but Jodie is dexterous enough that she should have little trouble finding a way up.  

Korba lurks back in the shadowed entryway of the nearest building as the rest of the party board the ship.  He takes a crystal from his days in the Underdark from his pouch and focuses on it as he leans against the wall and casts a spell, drawing the the shadows around him until he seems to melt away from view.  (Korba uses the One with Shadows invocation.)  Then he runs across the short distance to Nordaka, the sound of his boots loud on the pavement.  As he gets close, he says, "I'm here.  I'm ready."

The dragon chuckles and says, "Yes, I feel your air, drow-kin, though I do not see your face.  Aren't you a clever warrior?"  She speaks with the amused tone of an adult who praises a child for learning a simple card trick even if the adults thinks that the trick is rather simple and obvious.  Korba manages to clamber up the dragon's side and find a spot behind Jodie on the dragon's back.

With both of her riders on her back, Nordaka's claws dig into the pavement as she launches herself into the air with a powerful leap.  Her great wings stretch out to catch the breeze blowing in from the sea.  Then she beats her wings as she climbs ever higher into the sky, flattening her ascent to make it easier for the riders to avoid falling off.  Once she's several hundred feet about the sea.  She flies in lazy circles, surveying the 3 cultist ships from a distance while she waits for Captain Blythe's ship to carry the rest of the group closer.  Ideally, the little people on their ship will start to attack from a distance with their ballistae or their magic to draw the clutists' attention before she and Vitarek fly down to attack.

Quote from Secretfool >>

As they fly towards the ships Vitarek says "Let's lit those cultists on fire shall we" with a Dragonly grinn.

 

Once Captain Blythe's ship is close enough -- or once Vitarek's patience wears thin -- Nordaka joins the red dragon in the attack on the ship.  She lets angry red dragon attack first, thinking that he may draw the cultist's spells and arrows and that the defenders will mostly take cover once Vitarek's fire engulfs the deck. 

Nordaka falls into position behind and slightly to one side, drafting behind him.  She calls to him in draconic:

As they approach the ship for the first pass of their attack, she scans the deck of the ship for the most dangerous opponents.  She turns her head slightly to look back at Jodie.  She says, "I will be flying within 60-feet of the deck of the ship.  See if you can use your bow or magic to eliminate any of the cultists or prevent them from using the ballistae and catapult."  

Alright, looks like it's time to roll initiative!

Cultist Swarm 1: 16
Cultist Swarm 2: 18
Cultist Swarm 3: 2

Master Sserah Cultist 1: 8
Master Sserah Cultist 2: 6
Master Sserah Cultist 3: 10

(OOC: Will the folks on Captain Blythe's ship be close enough to participate?  Or is this just for the dragons and the dragon riders?  I'm also going to assume that the dragons are not within range of Hidlegard's Lance of Warning.)

• Nordaka - Initiative: 23
• Kobrba - Initiative: 30

Quote from Ben_Evolent >>

(OOC: Will the folks on Captain Blythe's ship be close enough to participate?  Or is this just for the dragons and the dragon riders?  I'm also going to assume that the dragons are not within range of Hidlegard's Lance of Warning.)

• Nordaka - Initiative: 23
• Kobrba - Initiative: 30

(I think just the dragons and dragon riders)

((Do we go theatre of mind, or owlbear map? Fine either way, just good to know))

Vitarek init: 32
Tamphalic (if needed) init: 12

(OOC: FYI - I worked with @Mister_Whisker to add a map for Zolgu's ship to the Owlbear Rodeo room.  I also put a 60-ft cone off to the side of the map for Vitarek's breath weapon and a 30-ft radius circle in case he fires it straight down.  I'm sure that we will want the map for phase 2 of the finale, but I'm not sure whether we need it for phase 1.  Of course, the dragons do have to get pretty close to the enemies to use their breath weapons, which definitely puts them in harm's way if any of the opponents have > 50 HP or resistance to fire or poison.)