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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pour" data-source="post: 4420974" data-attributes="member: 59411">Session 4: RevelationsBehold! PaledoomLike a cat stalking a clutch of mice, the white dragon slipped into the chamber with supernatural grace and circled the group. Being so near his body was unbearable to all but the cold-warded fighter, and hypothermia quickly began setting in. In a display of power, he launched his polar breath against the warlord and the warlock, pinning them to the wall in icy sheaths.Paledoom, as he was called, was convinced the group was sent by the bold death cult to finish him off like they had his son. They quickly denied such allegations, which the dragon sensed true. He spoke, then, of the great offense committed against him for all the killings of kobolds and kin. He would consider sparing the pathetic pawns before him, even spare Winterhaven and leave this land, if they would agree to do him a favor.With little choice but accept or fight this blizzard-made-flesh, the group agreed, and was charged with going to the burial site of Paledoom's father (the same burial site Lord Paldraig had marked on their map) and collect an ancient relic, looking like a crystal demon skull. They had till nightfall, precious few hours away, or else he would kill the two group members stuck to the wall.The warlock weakly shivered "H-Hurry..."The Risen Claw of TiamatHowever, their numbers so thin, they cradled the dwarf's limp body and severed head, calculating a stop at Winterhaven before the burial site, then a fight and returning, may take too long. Paledoom said he could return such a weakling to life, but it would come at a price only the dwarf could pay.The dragon took the pieces of the cleric in his claws and breathed a silvery mist, which fused the dwarf whole again. It also twisted his armor to reflect scales and horns, paled it to white, bleached his beard and injected a blue tint to his skin. When his eyes fluttered open, they were a glowing blue.Placing the cleric back down, the dragon spoke, "Rise, Claw of Tiamat!"And so he did, no longer loyal to Pelor, but Tiamat, five-headed goddess of chromatic dragons. Edgier, darker, perhaps a bit more bloodthirsty, he turned to the group and grinned. He then turned back and showed proper respect to the dragon, who gave his blessing and reminded they had little time left.Burial SiteIt took little over an hour to reach the burial site, the group coming upon a sunken excavation amidst a clearing in the woods. A grandiose dragon fossil peeked half-exposed in the dirt. It seemed they were too late, for a collection of human rabble, two black-scaled guard drakes, a halfling slinger and one wiry, bowed jester gnome in soil-stained motley were already within. In the gnome's gnarled grip glowed the crystal demon skull.A middle-aged man, balding and overweight, squirmed beside an open treasure chest, screaming for muffled help.The Bane of DragonkindThe cleric immediately knew of the relic in a sort of epiphany, likely brought about by his conversion to Tiamat. One hundred years ago white dragons lorded Winterhaven. The young, desperate Valthrun made a deal with demons, specifically Orcus, to rid his town of their masters. Orcus gave him the Bane of Dragonkind, a crystal demon skull, which could ward and even slay dragons given the proper sacrifice. Valthrun felt so guilty after using it to free Winterhaven that he buried it with the dragon he slew, hoping to never again have to deal with dragons, demons, relics or the consequences of his decisions. However, one cannot bury the past forever...Undoubtedly, Paledoom wanted the relic in order to destroy it and rid the world of such a potent weapon against his race.Quick, Bloody WorkThe group had little trouble dealing with the slinger, rabble and simple-minded guard drakes, slaying them in a speedy, brutal fashion. Of the incompetent gnome, the wizard froze him in place, to stand and watch his doom fast approach.The Vengeful PirateIn a moment of sadistic glee, the wizard sought the end of a fleeing rabbler, a pirate by the looks of him, though fate saw that he escaped into the deeper woods, crying "Argggh! I shall seek me vengeance one day!"Cruel QuestioningThe half-frozen gnome shivering at knife and spell point promptly wet himself, which then froze on his leg, spawning a mad cackle mixed with a desperate sob. Keka, as he called himself in his ramblings, was quite insane, as jester gnomes tended to be. With the grim dwarf throttling the wretch, the group learned that he was sent by the death cult to retrieve the relic and keep the dragon at bay while they finished their rituals in the keep. He also revealed his master was Kalarel! The bumbling apprentice was in fact a death priest of Orcus, the wizard having always been suspicious of his act. They also learned Ninalya was a member of the cult as well, and that within the keep they thought to open a doorway to the demon lord. They had two of the three scriptures in their possession and the stage was nearly set.When he revealed that he knew exactly where the third scripture was, in the ranger's boot, the entire party was shocked. Questioned how he knew, the crazed, frightened, impulsive gnome answered simply, "Because I'm the <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />ing <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />!"Having had quite enough, the dwarf took his hammer and slammed the gnome's neck until it turned to jam and the head separated from the body. The Archaeologist from Clover FieldIn all the excitement, they'd nearly forgotten about the man gagged and tied behind them. While he had been crying for muffled help before, he looked quite frightened, especially of the cleric. Un-gagged, he was questioned in much the same manner as the gnome.He revealed himself as Douren Stahl, whom some in the party already recognized. He was an archaeologist out of Clover Field hired by Kalarel to excavate the dragon burial site. Before he could even identify the crystal demon skull he uncovered, he was ambushed and captured. He knew nothing else of his employer's plots or intrigues, or the group's, and wanted to know nothing else, begging to be spared.The group ultimately kept his hands bound, re-gagged him, and took him with them to the dragon's lair before their deadline was up.Paledoom's DelightThe group returned, Douren in tow, just minutes before nightfall. The dragon released his hostages after seeing two severed enemy heads. The dragon cleric presented the most important head of all, that of the relic, Bane of Dragonkind, which provoked a deep, pleased laugh. He took the crystal skull in his claw and crushed it into sparkling powder.The group then asked if Paledoom knew of Orcus, which he did, as well as the scriptures that were needed to open a rift to him. He did indeed. The ranger posed a hypothetical what if we had one of the scrolls, how could we hide it, to which the dragon smiled in answering that his lair is properly shielded from magic prying. After some debate, the group decided to give the Third Scripture of Orcus to Paledoom to keep safe in his hoard, a mighty addition to his collection which earned them great favor (and actually spared them, as the dragon thought to kill the murderers of his son up until that point).He informed the group that because this lair had been compromised, he would be moving elsewhere in the region, taking his hoard with him, and so would keep it safe even from themselves.To Call, Collect (Heads)The ranger asked if there was any way they could reach the dragon now that he was leaving, should they have need to warn him or seek his aid. He said the magic cairn circle in the nearby wilderness could call him after one day and one night, granted there was a blood sacrifice, or if 7 heads were ringed around the stones. The dwarf's eyes lit up.An OfferingBefore leaving, they asked the dragon a bit of advice on what to do with Douren, who knew too much about the relic, the scroll location, and their plans. Chuckling, Paledoom said he would accept the offering, which was certainly what he thought was implied.The morally-challenged ranger could not bare to watch as his group offered the man up, leaving the lair. In a violent fling, the dragon spun Douren in the air and bit down on his midsection, popping his head off for use on the cairn and swallowing the rest. Then he began preparing to move lairs.The changed dwarf gleefully collected his three heads and plopped them on the cairns before leaving, promising five more soon enough.Return to WinterhavenReturning to town an hour after dusk, they found Winterhaven strangely quiet, but for a little noise and lights out the inn. There was a noticeable pall on the place, a silent menace.Speaking to the inner gate guards, who looked very relieved to see the Heroes of Winterhaven alive and well, they said the town was in knots over the lights up at the old keep. They feared it something even worse than the damnable kobolds.They cheerfully allowed the group to pass, as did the manor guards, and the group returned once more to Paldraig's study, complete with its new mounted dragon head. The lord was very pleased to see the group, even more with news the kobolds were no more. However, their suspicions of the death cult and Ninalya and Kalarel's definite involvement quickly dampened his spirits. He pledged every single regular to bringing the stone tower to justice. He also gave each group member a sizable sum for their troubles.The group split then, half heading to the temple to check in with Sister Linora, and the others visiting Ron at the warrior's guild to collect the needed soldiers for an assault on Valthrun's home.Scouts vs. RegularsApproaching the warriors guild to inform Captain Ron of all that had transpired, the cleric and the fighter heard a battle going on behind the closed door. Thinking nothing much of it, it being a warrior's guild after all, they decided to draw their weapons before entering just the same.What they found was a desperate battle between the scouts and the warriors, split down the middle of the expansive room, archers and two-weapon wielders on one side and shield-bearers and two-handed weaponers on the other. In the far reaches an epic struggle raged between the lithe, lethal scout master Ninalya with her blurring blades and the wolf-helmed Captain Ron bearing down with a sword of fire and another of ice. Several combatants from both sides laid scattered, disemboweled, pierced, slashed or otherwise dead.The Death of RonThe group members fought alongside the warriors, the cleric casting a powerful boon which weakened Ninalya and healed the warriors. Likewise, the fighter threw two missed javelins aimed for the scout leader's head. In his eagerness to help, the dragonborn also released his potent acid breath, which accidentally hit the old, rotten rafters. They sizzled and burned through, causing the entire roof to depress and threaten to fall within several seconds!The dwarf called for the warriors and Ron to get out, dashing out himself and inciting a stampede of scouts and warriors fleeing for their lives. The dragonborn called to the captain one last time before leaving, who called back, "Go now! Save yourselves! And save Winterhaven!"The fighter clear, in a great splintering, whoosh and final crash, the roof caved and the entire building collapsed. A radius of dust kicked up which masked the already darkened area. The alerted ranger and wizard quickly rushed onto the scene.Battle of Market SquareThe surviving scouts spilled out into the street, followed by the surviving warriors. In a quick and brutal battle amidst the cloud of debris, the group and the regulars ran down and slew the traitorous elves before they could flee to the shelter of the tenements, where they'd likely have taken innocent hostages as shields and bartering tools.Searching the rubble, the group found the crushed, mangled remains of Captain Ron, several scouts and several warriors. Ninalya was no where to be seen. The ranger managed a remarkable feat of tracking which led him to Valthrun's, while regulars dispatched to deliver Ron to the temple and news to Lord Paldraig.The Wizard's Message Unsure of Valthrun's allegiance, especially since the ranger tracked Ninalya's blood trail to the back door of the stone tower, the wizard decided to send a bird messenger with news of their death cult findings. The sage's response would decide much, though the half-elf had a hunch and a wish that Valthrun was an unwitting pawn.Missing SisterDuring their waiting for a response, a regular returned to the square and informed the group that Sister Linora was missing, her private chambers and library in shambles, but that a temple attendant would care for Ron's body until the priestess could be found and the captain returned to life. High Alert Another regular came to the square not long after with a message from Paldraig asking the party's aid in migrating the populace behind the inner gates and into the barracks for a town meeting and subsequent enlistment into the militia until the evil had passed. The warlord and warlock volunteered, while the rest watched as the messenger bird landed on the wizard's finger.Valthrun's ResponseThe sage spoke of their news as grave indeed and that his apprentice, elf ally and serving girl had fled, taking many scrolls and books with them. He wished to see the group immediately, to impart their gifts and tell them of the Keep. A suspicious four group members eventually judged the ancient half-elf to be telling the truth and went to meet him.The Giving of GiftsA worried-looking Valthrun waited in the first level foyer, his promised gifts prepared along with a curt greeting. Ever courteous, he invited the group to sit, where hot venison and warm cider waited.The sage hobbled to each group member in turn and bestowed on them their promised magic item, assuming the kobolds finished, and now worrying about the wizard's message. Of all the gifts given, the first alarmed the sage the most, for it had been a holy symbol of the Great Church, but when taken in the dwarf's hands twisted into a five-headed dragon symbol of the goddess Tiamat. He gave the cleric an alarmed look, but said nothing more, continuing his distribution.With much still needed to be said, the venerable half-elf rested heavily on his golden staff, standing before the flickering fire, about to regale the group with the harrowing tale of the Keep. Perhaps some detail would save their lives, or reveal the means in which they'd lose them...</blockquote>

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