Tales & MythsTyranny Of Dragons - Chapter 18 (The Queen Of Dragons) |
First Published 5 May 2021 | Last Updated 25 January 2023
This article is relative to The Material Plane.
World Date: 16 Alturiak 1491
Session Date: 9 October 2020
Lennithon lunged forward snarling, but this group was not the same green and timid adventurers he had faced off in Greenest so long ago. Elia stepped forward and began to taunt the mighty wyrm, and he recoiled, shocked. The party readied themselves as they saw the familiar glow of an impending breath attack in his chest area. As he lifted his wings and opened his mouth they saw the lightning begin to spew out... but it was cut off when he let out a scream of pain. A large harpoon had skewered his back. Due to his tough hide it fell free the moment he turned to see where it came from, but it obviously hurt him enough that he was scared. Looking up they saw Sir Isteval's airship floating. Another harpoon whizzed past the dragon's head, and he decided this was a fight that would take more effort than he was willing to expend. He launched himself into the air and flew as quickly as he could in the other direction. The airship slowly descended, and a long rope ladder dropped in front of the party. "Quickly! Climb on board!" they heard from a familiar voice. Looking up they saw the face of Sildar Hallwinter looking down at them. Darius grabbed the first ladder and they all started up.
On board the airship two crew members ushered them to the galley, and the cook served them all some broth. Starving, they slurped it down fast. Sildar and Sir Isteval joined a few minutes later. They were keen to see the blue dragon mask, but were disappointed to hear it was just a fake. Sildar suddenly realised the mask was nothing more than a clever diversion to distract them. "The Cult Of The Dragon has begun amassing it's forces at The Well Of Dragons." he explained. "It seems they just wanted us distracted so they can begin the ritual to bring Tiamat from The Nine Hells to ours. This is no longer a battle for Faerûn, but for the whole of Toril. If Tiamat is unleashed our world will all be turned to ash!".
The party were shown to the sleeping quarters and got some sleep ready for whatever awaited them the following day. The airship gracefully travelled on through the night.
Alturiak 17 1491The following morning Sildar filled the party in on the situation they were in. They were surprised to find their new friend Maccarth was on board also, and she had much to add. Sildar explained that the cult had begun amassing at The Well Of Dragons, the ancient place where dragons went to die, so they must get there fast. Piecing together everything from the last few months, he explained that they finally completely understood all the Severin's plans for The Cult Of The Dragon, including bringing Tiamat here through a portal from The Nine Hells.
From the reports they were receiving Sildar expected that the magical ritual would start at any time, as everything was now in place.
Maccarth now spoke and said she had been researching the dragon necklaces they each had been given. It seemed they were created by The Red Wizards Of Thay. Although they were allied with the Dragon Cult, hoping to gain some sort of power from Tiamat's return, they still knew there was great risk involved. The necklaces were made to use in case they changed their minds and wanted an escape clause. She still wasn't quite sure of exactly what they did, but knew they would only get three chances to use them. The activation word was the name of Tiamat's great nemesis, Bahumet, and necklaces must be touching each other when it is uttered.
Sildar rolled out a large hand drawn map and said this had been given to them by one of the many (now terrified) cultists that were defecting. Sir Isteval explained the plan. The party had to infiltrate The Well Of Dragons while the armies fighting against The Cult Of The Dragon staged large attacks outside. There were two things they had to do. Firstly, the massive Drakkhorn had to be stopped. Mccarth explained how the constant sounding drove the chromatic dragons into a frenzy, and they had no chance of beating them when they were in a battle rage. Secondly, and most importantly, they had to stop the arrival of Tiamat. Although this sounded like an impossible task, it was about stopping the ritual to bring her from The Nine Hells rather than actually fighting her. Sildar reminded them "Tiamat CANNOT be defeated. She is a God. Your job is to stop those bringing her through, but try not to engage her directly! You will DIE!". Lastly Sir Isteval handed each of them a Potion Of Greater Healing and wished them luck. "The Well! All hands prepare for battle!" a crewman called.
As they approached the open plains in front of them, the devastation was immediately apparent. The large ancient volcano grew out the ground, jutting high into the sky. For miles all around was nothing but charred barren wastes. Not a tree stood anywhere, and the lands had been flattened. Hundreds of creatures charged across the wastes, engaging into battle as they met each enemy. As they flew over they saw rows of elven archers fire into packs of charging drakes ridden by kobolds. Another army of men were locked into melee with a large contingent of armoured dragonborn. In the air the battle also waged, as dragons of all sizes and breeds attacked each other. They kept their heads low as arrows whizzed past from various directions. At one point the airship lunged dramatically as a bronze dragon above them was slain by a mighty red wyrm and its huge body almost fell on them. They watched helpless as the same red dragon flew low the ground and one by one incinerated a line of allied army wagons carrying soldiers. "This is insane!" Nedda whispered to Elia. Somewhere in the ancient volcano they approach the Draakhorn sounded.
"THERE!" Sir Isteval cried. "There is the entrance!". They looked over the side of the airship and saw a small opening in the side of the looming volcano. Hordes of cloaked Dragon Cultists poured out, and allied soldiers charged in to engage. The aircraft circled a couple of times waiting for the right moment to descend, then took a sharp dive downwards. The crew threw a rope ladder over and Tharivol started down. "Remember!" Sir Isteval called to them. "Tiamat is a god! If you engage her you cannot beat her! Destroy her temple and that will send her back to The Nine Hells where she belongs!".
One by one they descended the ladder, and engaged the enemy soldiers on the ground. Many of these cultists were clearly acolytes, and it took no time at all to reach the cave opening to enter the volcano. The party charged through the ancient lava tunnels, slashing and hacking at anyone that stood in their way. The Draakhorn occasionally sounded, and down here in these tunnels the sound was so loud it was almost sickening. Occasionally they crossed paths with a hired skilled mercenary or two, or even a ranked cultist, so they still proceeded with some caution. Recalling the map they had been shown Nedda remembered there was a right turn up ahead, and they soon found the opening to a large natural cavern. Two Dragonfangs lunged at them, but even these foes that were once a danger to them didn't stand a chance. What filled the room was beyond belief. The cavern was filled with piles and piles of furniture, paintings, tableware, and all sorts of other housewares. "This must be all the stuff they have been stealing. They have been hoarding it all here!" Nedda said. Ben voiced his concern that this stuff was a prize for Tiamat, and that it should be destroyed. Elia agreed and before anyone could say otherwise set fire to it. According to the map Nedda remembered the Draakhorn was in the next room, and suggested they move fast before the place filled with smoke.
They crossed the large cavern and headed through an opening into the next, but were immediately stopped by the massive sound that rang through the room. The massive horn was suspended in the air about 10 feet above them, with the horn end poking toward an opening in the cavern room. A stone golem stood guard as an air elemental used its windy breath to blow. The golem immediately lumbered toward them. Ben and Darius ran into engage as Elia stood back and fired arrows at it. Within moments Nedda had her Spider Slippers on and was half way up the wall toward the first point the giant horn was anchored to. As she hacked away at the first of the four giant ropes, the others battled the stone golem below her. As the first rope snapped the air elemental blew again and they all dropped their weapons to hold their ears as the immensity of the sound waves hit them, sending them sliding across the floor. After a couple of well-aimed spells Tharivol managed to distract the windy creature enough to stop it blowing the horn again. Nedda finally cut the second rope and the horn now swung free on just two. She pointed above Darius at the ropes above him, and he started to climb the rocky wall to reach them.
The golem now pounded at those still on the ground, doing massive damage with its stone fists each time it connected with one of them. Tharivol cast any spell he could think of, but the lumbering stone hulk still kept coming. Knowing they would just have to keeping chipping until it finally fell, Ben and Elia continued to attack the best they could. The air elemental gathered it winds again, and moved toward the mouthpiece of the horn to blow - but at that moment Darius swung his axe and cut the rope holding the horn. The massive dragon bone horn swung free now on only a single rope and the stone golem had no idea what hit it as the horn thumped it from behind and crushed it against the cavern wall. The air element took off out the hole in the roof of the chamber. With the horn now silenced, the first part of their mission was complete - and they ran back through the smoke filled room of burning furniture back into the tunnels they had started in.
They moved quickly through the chaotic tunnels now. Some cultists attacked, but some were running for their lives - terrified in all the chaos. A few minutes later The Variegated Blades burst out into a massive open air cavern which was obviously the centre of the volcano. Rows of commoners were lined up on front of them, and they watched horrified as dozens of them were slaughtered by a group of cultists. "This blood is for Tiamat!" They cried as they slit the terrified people's throats. "Look!" Nedda shouted, and the party could now see the silhouette of a large castle gradually appearing in the centre of the volcano. The walls had not solidified yet, and were still mostly transparent. Five Red Wizards Of Thay flew in the air above them, frantically channelling magical energy into the emerging structure. The Blades knew they had to get to it, but it was a fair distance away, and an army of cultists stood between it and them.
At that moment they heard a familiar voice from behind. "We'll carve a corridor! Destroy the temple and Tiamat cannot come through from The Nine Hells!". Sir Isteval charged past them with a contingent of soldiers, and began cutting a pathway for the party. The five of them quickly followed and as the battle raged around them they made their way to the large temple starting to fully solidify.
They now stood before the massive magical temple as it faded in and out of their Plane. "What is the plan?" Nedda called out, terrified. At that moment all plans went out the window as a massive red dragon head tore through the ether inside the temple to reveal itself to them. They all lurched backwards horrified, and one by one the other heads followed - first black, then green and blue, and finally white. Tiamat walked forward now and the whole front of her body pressed through. The temple slightly faded again, and she recoiled, but there was clearly no stopping her now - regardless of the discomfort she was in. She was coming through…
As was usual with him, Tharivol cried "Attack!!!" and charged at the massive dragon-like monstrosity, sword raised. "No wait...!" Nedda screamed, but by then it was already too late. As he took a swing at the white head the red head closed its jaws on him from above. As The Blades all cried out in terror the green head came in from the side and tore his already crushed body in half. In a matter of seconds their companion was gone. "It was only a matter of time..." Elia mumbled under her breath. "Start attacking the wizards!" Darius shouted, and they charged toward them, all the while watching the five dragon heads flailing around above them. Nedda stopped briefly at the steaming pile of remains that were once Tharivol. From within the slop she lifted out his dragon necklace and pocketed it.
As they got through the doorway they saw their targets, and each of them dodged and weaved towards the floating Red Wizards. Nedda looked for a spot away from the chaos and put on her Slippers Of Spider Climbing, then ran up a wall toward a Red Wizard floating above her. Darius and Elia ran toward the back of the massive dragon queen, carefully dodging her flailing heads. Once behind her they could see the other two Red Wizards high in the air, but Elia then also noticed another dragon cultist dressed in purple robes. She could immediately see this was no ordinary Wearer Of Purple, as his robes were far more ornate and he was commanding squads of cultists. "That must be Severin! We need to get him!" she called to Darius. "We can't attack him alone." he called back "...and we need to stop the Red Wizards bringing the temple through first."
At that moment Ben called out "What did Sildar say these dragon necklaces did?". Elia called back "WE NEED TO PUT THEM TOGETHER! QUICKLY!" They all ran back to the entrance they had come from, and placing the necklaces together they could now see they were pulsing with magical energy. As the massive form of Tiamat pushed its way even further through the tearing fabric between The Material Plane and The Nine Hells Elia screamed "BAHAMUT!". The skies above rumbled and they could all feel the sudden drop in air pressure. At that moment, as if from nowhere, a meteor storm rained down on the dragon goddess. She screamed in pain and recoiled back through the hole, and it closed up around her again.
They charged off in different directions again now, intending to take down the Red Wizards. Nedda engaged hers head on now, and discovered even though his magic was severely depleted this wizard still packed a punch. As she ducked and weaved he hit her with Fireballs, but eventually she got close enough to leap at his floating body, and they both crashed down to the ground where she finished him. She then ran towards Ben who was throwing anything he could find at the one above him. She ran up the temple wall again, and brought the next one to the ground in the same way, then let Ben finish him with his sword. She could now see Severin also, barking orders at followers. He was pointing to where she had just come from and looking back she realised he was ordering a new Red Wizard to take the place of the one she had killed.
The Blades battled on, slowly defeating three more Red Wizards, but taking heavy damage doing so. Nedda has taken a particularly bad fall from high up the temple wall when a Red Wizard had hit her with a high level Magic Missile blast, and she had limped back to Ben for healing. His spell reserve was low now, as each party member had needed healing assistance and defensive spells cast on them. They now all came together behind Tiamat, and worse for wear brought their necklaces together again. As the meteors rained down on the dragon queen a second time she again recoiled back through the hole, and the temple started to fade again. They could see they were holding back the mighty beast from getting any closer to their world, but they weren't making an progress to actually push her back. Looking over to Severin commanding the troops from atop a rocky outcrop Elia realised the seemingly endless supply of Red Wizards were in a group behind him. "Look!" She called, pointing to them. Nedda immediately realised that was the way to win - destroy the Red Wizards.
The group ran at any Red Wizard within range and hit them with anything they had left. Ben and Elia headed toward Severin himself, and quickly discovered that his powers were way above their own. To make matters worse, other Red Wizards joined him to fight. "It's hopeless!" Elia shouted to Nedda, stumbling close to death. "We can't win!". Nedda stopped for a moment to catch her breath and wipe the blood from her eyes, then ran toward Elia, gathering Darius on the way. As she stood with the others, with Severin approaching with his hands raised to spell-strike, she told the others to hold out their necklaces one last time. If this didn't work, it was the end for them, and the end for civilization if Tiamat materialised. "It's no use!" Elia said. "Trust me." was Nedda's response. "BAHAMUT!" They all screamed together, and the meteor shower rained down for one last time - but instead of on Tiamat, Nedda launched it at Severin.
The Red Wizard lasted longer than most would have, but eventually he was pummelled by the rocks until dead. A good number of the Red Wizards behind him were also crushed into bloody messes. Tiamat roared as if feeling pain, and the Red Wizards circling her immediately stopped their spell casting. With Severin dead they knew they were defeated, and in what appeared to be a carefully planned exit strategy they quickly retreated with little fanfare. From that moment on it was over for the Dragon Cult plan, as without the magical energy from the Red Wizards the temple quickly faded. The party took caver as the massive queen of dragons made every attempt to push her way through closing gap, but she didn't stand a chance. The temple faded completely, and the cultists and armies stood side by side for a moment, each stunned to silence. A few moments later the battle resumed, and the party watched from a safe distance as the armies cut the cultists down with a renewed sense of purpose.
The Variegated Blades, victorious and exhausted staggered out of the massive crater as the battle raged on around them. Sir Isteval left the caldera behind them and called to them. As his airship landed, they climbed on board and watched the last throes of the giant battle play out below them. Hundreds of cultists, knowing they were beaten, ran for safety. Many were cut down by archers of various armies. Even the chromatic dragons that had fought so viciously now retreated into the distance. If their mighty queen was not materialising, there was no reason for them to remain. They sailed off toward the coast, hungry and tired, but satisfied they had played their part well.
Alturiak 18 1491They spent two weeks in Waterdeep as the guests of Lady Larael Silverhand herself, and spent most days debriefing and presenting to the members of the council.
There was little time for rest, but they did manage to squeeze some in. All involved certainly voiced their gratitude to The Variegated Blades, and there was even talk of erecting a statue in their honour.
Ches 3 1491They eventually arrived into the familiar surrounds of Phandalin, and walked into The Sleeping Giant Tap House. Grista clearly didn't even recognise them for the first few moments, as they lined up at the bar in front of her. It had been about nine months since they had seen her last, and almost a year since they set out from Neverwinter with a goods wagon for Phandalin the first time. They could never have known that taking the job for The Rockseeker Mining Company would have lead them on an adventure that eventually would make them heroes… that saved the world.
"We'll have the usual thanks Grista!" Nedda announced.
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