(Whoops -- I had mentally categorized spirit guardians as a bonus action, for some reason. Yes, let's go ahead and call that an action surge.)

Emmy will just taunt them -- "Hey, where are you going? We were just getting started!"

The cleric sighs as he dismisses the flaming orb in his palm. 

"That should hopefully buy us a few more days before we're attacked again," he says as he touches back down on the cloud-ground of the castle. "Thankfully this group of foes chose retreat rather than fighting to the death. I don't think anyone was seriously hurt, either; that's good."

"A few harpies won't be getting home to their chicks." An elderly man's voice says, and, glancing around, the group would see an old man sitting on the edge of the cloud that holds the castle, his legs dangling over the edge. He was simply not there a moment ago, even the dragons would agree to that, their blind sight having seen nothing. The old man has a pipe in-hand, which he waves towards the departing harpies. "Yes, some families will be without their parents now, but, I for one, can't say that is truly a bad thing." The pipe is slipped back into its owner's mouth and he puffs on it for a bit, looking at his ease.

Kierro pivots a bit, blinking twice as he registers this new arrival. There is a sense of surprise - how had this man been able to make it up here without anyone noticing? Then, a sense of relief - this man was the first being that they'd encountered on their flight through the skies that hadn't tried to kill them.

Even still, he cautiously stops a short distance from the man as he walks toward him, stowing his shield. He allows the pause that the man was taking to hang in the air for a moment, taking in the vast sky in front of them. "I suppose you're right. Might I ask: what is your name, sir? What brings you here?"

(Do Honor or Emmy recognize this man?)

A bit disappointed that the harpies were able to fly away after their indiscretions towards the group, Leto simply looks back to the castle from the air and appears back on the roof near Saint, looking over the statue of a dragon with a grin, and floats towards the old man who just appeared. "They are lucky that as many of them will return to their homes as are. Welcome to our castle. Where exactly did you come from though? There obviously isn't much up here."

(Honor does not recognize the man. The dragons likely have some idea though.)

"I am known as Elmenster of Shadowdale." The elderly sage says with a glance to Kierro and Leto. "I go where I am needed, and where I should be." He shrugs as he puffs on his pipe, then he holds it in his hand again as he pushes up to stand on the cloud surface with the rest of you. "As to why I am here? That is a bit more of a problem." He glances around at the castle and the various dragons with you. "You are not overly easy to find you see. Most of those seeking you only know you are out here somewhere, but not exactly where. They have minions searching all of the Sea of Swords, and, like those harpies, trying to stumble across you. Most expected you to go straight southeast, and not come back East instead." He slips the pipe back into his mouth, puffing on it again as he lets his words so far sink in.

Kierro steps forward once Elmenster has introduced himself. “My name is Kierro. Pleasure to meet you, sir.” He replies, bowing. He hears him out and responds:

”I see. I’d assume that most, if not all of them are seeking us out in an attempt to kill us. Which is troubling, since we have no desire to harm or conflict with them, only to return home to our own world.”

(Yeah, Honor was probably not paying much attention to lessons at the orphanage)

Honor will look around to make sure Caradran is also still in sight before encouraging Emmy to fly back to the castle.

Latrius will stay invisible, waiting for a sign of whether he might be hostile or not.

"Oh aye, I'd say a good number are looking to stop you at whatever cost." Elmenster agrees with a nod to Kierro. "Not like much out here can harm you though." He says with a glance around, eyes clearly spotting Latrius without difficulty, and moving over the other Dragonlords as well. "No, I'd dare say not much out and about can harm the likes of you." He nods to the dragons though. "Them though, they can be hurt, and a few others with you as well. People, flesh and blood, and not impervious to weapons like the lot of you." He shrugs, eyes moving back to look out towards the open sky ahead. "Seems like a lot of effort, even with little danger to yourself, to be put into seeking to regain power."

"Oh aye, I'd say a good number are looking to stop you at whatever cost."

"One thing that hasn't been cleared up is why. We subdued one of the storm giants and attempted to ask them after they attacked us, but they were lifted away into the sky by some divine force." Kierro replies sadly. "Would you happen to know?"

 He nods to the dragons though. "Them though, they can be hurt, and a few others with you as well. People, flesh and blood, and not impervious to weapons like the lot of you."

"That is very much a concern. With how we're able to defend ourselves, as we get stronger we're able to shoulder more of that burden from them. And I look out for Chysen as much as I know he looks out for me." He nods to his gold-dragon companion across the castle-compound.

"Seems like a lot of effort, even with little danger to yourself, to be put into seeking to regain power."

The aasimar nods in acknowledgement. "We all have our reasons. I can't speak for the others, but I know that a lot of people that I've been helping back in our world still need my aid. Not to mention, I encountered a member of the Watchers in Neverwinter, and he emphasized that we ought not to be in this world as not to cause it undue harm. I'm inclined to agree."

Kyrian lands back on the castle with the group. "The MOMENT I go to kill them, they run away. Now I want to fight something, and there's nothing to fight." 

Glancing over at the new arrival, Kyrian cocks his head "Who's this dude. He looks weird. Can I murder him? Will he run as well? How long till we get to Neverwinter again?" 
Kyrian sits down cross legged and looks bored, obviously not waiting for an answer.

Leto looks to the man carefully, clearly discerning that this is an entity of great power, and says, "And who exactly are you? What do you know of who we are?" As he does so his staff glows momentarily as he regains a spell slot.

"At the moment, I'm here for answers firstly," Honor says. "Seeing as I still don't remember the full circumstances that brought me here."

"What you are, and your history, that I cannot answer." Elmenster says with a shake of his head. "They have not dained to give me that information, and, frankly, i don't believe they know it themselves." He nods towards the sky above the castle as he speaks this last. "I can show you what they are showing those they set against you though, if that is of aid to you..." He puffs on his pipe again, this time a large cloud of dark smoke soon fills the space over his head. In that smoke a scene starts to play out...

The world, not the one you are on now, but another, is shown racked by fire, lightning, acid, poison, and much more. Great shapes swoop and fly, stomp and crush, while powerful beings ride on the winged shape's backs. The winged shapes are shown to be dragons, great and powerful beasts, with even a five-headed one, many of you would realize as Tiamat, being ridden and controled by one of the riders. Another massive, silvery dragon, is ridden by another, the two the center of the devistation ravaging the world. Those dragons though,as fierce and powerful as they appear, are nothing compared to the figures that ride them, and control them. The air warps and ripples around the riders, vibrating and sundering where the rippling fields of one rider meets those of another. Power explodes from riders, ripping and tearing at each other, and at beings of power that rise up against them. These others are radiant beings, there is no doubt that they are divine, gods and goddesses of power, both dark and light. They are smashed and thrown down though, as not even they could stand to face those who ride the dragons.

As you watch the world itself is consumed in a conflagration of power. The riders turn their mounts away from the destruction they have wrought, and seek to move onward, to find a different world. They battle even as they move away, dragons falling from the sky like rain. One single being moves to bar the rider's from leaving this world. He appears as a wizened old man, looking tired and sad, as he stands before the horde of dragons, and those who ride some of them. He raises a hand and a rip appears in the very fabric of reality. A rip that turns back on the riders, sweeping them from their mounts, and sending them plummeting into a gray void. Few of the dragons made it out of the rip prior to it closing, Tiamat and the Silver amongst those who did so. Inside the rip in reality is utter distruction, power unleashed in uncontrolled vortexes of inescapable devistation.

(OOC: The wizened elderly figure is definitely not Elmenster, just to make that clear.)

"Thus the gods fear you all." Elmenster says as the vision ends. "They fear what you may become, and how you will use that power, likely against them." He shrugs, the air over his head clearing again. He turns to each of you then. "I can tell you that the world shown is still intact. It was able to recover from the ravages of that great battle, and has thrived since."

Kierro stands aghast as he watches the vision, barely able to stand the sight of their former world in carnage - and at the hand of himself and the other dragonlords no less. He stutters a moment, seeming to come to once Elmenster mentions that Exandria had recovered in the years since.

”I see. Everything seems to be making sense...thank you for showing this to us.” He gives a small sigh, then approaches Elmenster. “Is there nothing that could be done to keep that from happening here? I’ve grown rather fond of this world and its people and would rather not see it destroyed - nor do I have any desire to usurp the throne of the gods. And yet, the only way that seems possible for us to leave involves collecting the artifacts with the pieces of our souls - pieces that seem to gradually pull us toward them. This escalates our power and thus the potential for greater conflict with the gods of this world.”

He closes his eyes a moment. “Is there a way for us to return home to Exandria that doesn’t involve the remaining pieces of our souls?”

"It seems the gods here are leading us towards that final conflict." Leto says, looking around. "They already are spreading the images that it will happen, which is causing countless fools, who stand no chance, to die attempting to stop us. They are caught in their own oracle. Creating the mess they wish to prevent."

Caradran finally flies down and lands with a loud thump on the clouds. Shaking, she shifts out of her huge form and back into her normal-sized Dragonborn body. "I agree that the Gods are not going about this the correct way. But what can we do to remedy that? I'd prefer not to get ripped into another dimension again, so whatever we can do to negotiate with the divine beings could be useful." Caradran suggests with a shrug.

„This Vision, assuming that it is real, looked as if we were fighting each other and judging by how difficult we are and how powerful we can be, it seems plausible to me. I think we all agree that we want our memories back and most of us would like our powers for whatever reasons. But what should we do after that? If we stay together in one world we would just cause another calamity like the one we saw. Maybe it would be wise to split up into smaller groups of two or three and spread over different realities…“ Nadariel adds to the discussion before settling down near Kyrian.