Session 36: Tempest, Tanyth 7th

 The group proceeded to the upper level of the hold, where they encountered a dwarven woman better preserved than the remainder of the undead. She appeared mummified, was capable of speaking a language unknown to the group.

She was aggressive, however, and eventually the group defeated her. The group found a number of books and other items. The books included: 

Genesis for the Survivor, a mystery story by Abbanna Myvlonaise 

Freedom's Land, an adventure story collected by Yukyssa Dichly 

How to talk to your Mother about Sorcery by Alisha McCrimsonrel

They also found recipes for potions, and had some time to explore the potential of the keep.

Armando harvested parts from the white dragon (Ugoa) with Lennie's help:

- 1 dragon skull (can be mastercrafted into a wall trophy, warhorse barding, or a ship’s figurehead)

- 1 dragon wing (can be mastercrafted into a cloak) - 9 dragon claws (each can be mastercrafted into a blade weapon)

- 4 dragon fangs (each can be mastercrafted into a lockpick, arrowhead or bolt)

- 1 thoracic rib (can be mastercrafted into a long bow)

- 4 units of dragon hide (each can be mastercrafted into a full set of armour)

- 7 dragon scales (no immediate use, but can be sold for a good price)

- 1 adult white dragon frond (can be mastercrafted into a handaxe)

The chapel will require some "things" to be dealt with first. The doors are still closed, but the party can hear noises/movement from the inside, and now that the ice and snow is mostly gone, they see small windows with thick glass panes at the base of the chapel, small enough to let through light, but not to fit a person. These windows indicate the presence of a sub-level at the chapel, like catacombs. There is a flickering blue light coming from the inside of this sub-level.

Lennie also helps Halaema and Olena in creating a teleportation circle at the hold.

Session 35: Avalan, Tanyth 7th

 The group is still fighting the horde of undead. They progressed into what looks like a war room, kitchens, and an old armory. They also determined that there is a courtyard with training grounds in the centre of the keep.

Session 34: Avalan, Tanyth 7th

 Once inside the vault door, the group determined that the door was lockable from both sides. They also found themselves quickly surrounded by a large horde of zombies and skeletons!

They made their way through an underground floor that was composed of storage/pantry rooms, as well as possible dungeons. The next floor up seemed to be mostly made of old dormitories.

The next floor up was a large dining area, with multiple tables, large stained glass windows, and what looked like the front entrance door. They are now above ground.

There is also a fire pit, still burning, in the centre of the room.

Session 33: Avalan, Tanyth 7th

Lennie delivered the finishing blow on Ugoa, with a well-placed Toll the Dead.

Once Ugoa had fallen, the party began to hear burrowing sounds coming from around Ugoa’s corpse, and five dragon wyrmlings popped out of the ground in multiple places. At first they will looked like white dragon wyrmlings (with some gray and translucent patches). They ran excitedly towards Ugoa and the party members (some party members noticed these wyrmlings looked different from the ones they saw outside, and that they seemed happy to see Ugoa dead, and to meet the party). Eventually, an adult dragon’s head popped out from the ground and said “whooooah”, and with a very positive, happy-go-lucky attitude, greeted the party (her name is Novasset, the Calm). Novasset explained that she had taken residence here some time after the dwarves had all died out, but she comes from a long line of dragons that lived in this mountain, and even aided the dwarves at some point. She was also trying to escape the corruption and keep the curse in this place from spreading and causing this place to become even more foul. But then Ugoa the White moved in and Novasset was outmatched. Being pinched between the cruel Ugoa, and the outside with corruption and other chromatic dragons, she has been trapped inside the mountain for centuries.

Novasset told the players that gem dragons have been pretty much eradicated from this world because of the corruption. The lack of balance and corruption affects them more than anyone else. She’s not aware whether other gem dragons remain, as she’s been trapped within the mountains out of fear of going out there and getting caught in the corruption. She already lost two of her offspring to it. 

The two dragon statues at the front gate were once her children that got caught in the corruption and turned into ordinary stone. The drow then brought them to Ugoa, who was happy to display them as a form of mockery. The drow earned Ugoa’s favor that way, and she helped them in a recent attack in return. The drow also placed enchanted gems on the statues that would serve as an alarm against intruders and wake the undead around the keep.

The party helped her by removing the “statues” from atop the wall, so that a proper burial could be arranged eventually.

Novasset offered the party to help “spruce the place up” if they let her stay in the cave. Resting near a crystal dragon’s lair is like nothing else, she promised. She has no interest in the hoard itself, but would love to see her crystal collection grow. She also loves animals and told the players that animals have a great affinity with her, and will thrive here if she stays. She also can keep the skies clear, now that Ugoa is gone.

Party went outside to see the after effects of the battle. There were some losses (there was a second wave of undead coming from the temple’s graveyard):

-     Monks: Oak, Birch

-     Bahamut Brigade: 2 deaths

-     Vampires: 6 deaths

-     Thieves: 3 deaths

-     Pterosaurs: Darkness, Chicken Wing, Druz’ya

The party paid their respects to the fallen, and Lennie started to melt off ice from temple alongside Garth. Garth was impressed with her power.

The rest of the party went back inside to check the hoard and the cave. At some point Ariadne retrieved Garth to join them and introduce him to Novasset. Both dragons were surprised and happy to see non-chromatic survivors.

The party found, among the treasures, a large vault door encased in ice. Upon removing the ice, they saw numerous symbols they didn’t recognize etched around a dial on the door (in dwarvish). The party asked for Novasset’s help to translate the dwarvish symbols.

• The corpse (skeleton) of a dwarf, wearing a thick, heavy golden crown, as well as clothes that look like they were once very fine and intricate. On his neck, hangs a star-shaped amulet with a large, blue glowing crystal (zafrine), any arcane casters will hear their voices whispering back to them. The crown has a sentence etched (in dwarven) on the back. It says: “may the Wind be at your Back, and your Pickaxe in your Hand”. (The combination W-B-P-H opens the large locked door that allows access from the cave to the castle dungeons).

Upon opening the door and cracking it open a little, the party heard and saw some undead inside what looks to be a long hallway with a few doors along it.

Armando read the book on harvesting creatures. Kalim spent time inspecting the magical items at the hoard: a carpet of flying, a portable hole, a figurine of wondrous power (family of goats), and a sapphire buckler. Additionally, there were two spell scrolls: Heroes’ Feast and Etherealness. They also found a potion, however Kalim hasn’t identified it yet.

The party took a long rest. Ariadne took "souvenirs" from the dragon hoard.

Session 32: Terrane, 6th Tanis

 Making their last preparations before battle, the Twilight Wings ensured to provide for their allies and get on their way to Dragon Keep as soon as the sun set on the horizon.

The hike there was mostly calm, although tensions among the group were high. With clear skies, as far as precipitation goes, the group felt reassured, until strong winds hit them, and they realized that their flying companions would have a hard time in this battle. 

As the group progressed on their way up the mountain pass, they came again upon the ice crevasse, and many among the group this time noticed the presence of frozen bodies inside the ice. As they got closer to the keep, they also noticed several partially frozen, partially eaten body parts. 

Once at the keep, the battle began, after the first group passed the main gate, and the stone dragon statues' eyes glowed and seemed to raise an army of undead dwarves. At first, the large battle on the main grounds of the hold was claimed many victims on both sides. The allies provided cover for the Twilight Wings to make it into the mine caverns where Ugoa's lair was most likely located.

Once there, another battle began, and the group now faces Ugoa the White.

Session 31: Demis, 5th Tanyth

 With the battle against the two drow now over, the party decided to take a short rest. The four monks took watch to allow the party to recollect themselves. Ariadne took a better look at the book she stole, and discovered it to be a sappy romance novel named “Soft Spring: A Classical Novel, Gold Edition”. It is a large book with a red cover, with a beautiful gold pressed spine, and a red gem inserted on the front cover, worth quite a bit of money, but perhaps not the most interesting writing style for Ariadne’s taste.

The party decided to do the dead drop just outside the Hopeful Dawn cave. The group (minus the 4 accompanying monks) went outside as stealthily as they could. Lennie noticed that same raven from a few days ago, sitting on the same tree branch just outside the cave. Kalim managed to hit the bird with a dart, and it again disappeared in a “poof”.

The group didn’t notice anyone else watching them, so Kalim proceeded as planned towards the dead drop. He disguised himself as Sarod and placed the note under the rock that had been described to him. Underneath the rock was a note already waiting. It said “Ga-Grosh For-Thaash”. Concerned that this could be code for something the group hadn’t been warned about, Lennie contacted Sarod to clarify the meaning of these words. Sarod told her that this is the name of his sister’s favourite song , so that means she’s still alive. Sarod sounded relieved and almost happy when he replied.

The group then contacted Olena to let her know they completed the dead drop and were about to do a bit of scouting to get an idea of what lies ahead.

As they approached the foot of the mountains leading to Dragon Hold, a chill went down their neck. They expected it to be a cold hike, but this somehow felt even colder. Or could it be their mind playing tricks? As they made their way up the non-existing trail, the snow got deeper, and the air hitting their lungs chillier. The exposed skin on their face felt like it was burning, almost as if cut by a thousand needles, and eventually just felt numb. The freezing air sometimes hit their lungs so hard, that it made them cough, and they had to remind themselves to take small breaths. The scarves and clothes they wrapped around their face in hopes to protect their skin became drenched in condensation, and between each breath there was just enough time to cause it to freeze into small crystals, which just reminded them with every breath that it was indeed not getting any warmer as they climbed up.

Kalim lead the hike for a while, in hopes of making the trail easier for those behind. There were no apparent trails or previous tracks ahead. Eventually Armando suggested they take turns leading the hike, just like birds do, so that everyone got a turn having a break from the hardest work. The group eventually reached the large icy crevasse. Some of the group members (Lennie and Kalim) saw humanoid bodies encased deep within the ice walls. Armando and Ariadne were unable to see them, and Kalim and Lennie decided not to disclose that information. At the end of the ice crevasse, the group felt they were close to the midpoint of the hike, so they decided to turn back, so as not to be too late getting into the cave.

On their way back, they tried their best to cover their tracks. They reached the Hopeful Dawn cave just after sunset. Upon arrival, they could smell food being prepared. The Bahamut Brigade Dragonborn and the Vampires had already arrived and were making the place a bit more comfortable for the day ahead. After about an hour, the remaining allies (Garth, the pterosaurs, and the remaining monks) arrived.

At this point, Kalim gave an inspiring speech to all of the gathered allies. The group also for the first time called themselves “Twilight Wings”. The troops were inspired by the speech.

Weapons were distributed among the vampires (19 crossbows, 7 poisoned short swords, and 11 regular short swords). The party discussed grouping arrangements for the allies to march into battle.

Ariadne decided to spend some time interacting with the pterosaurs waiting outside the cave. She fed them some fish, and they seemed to enjoy that.

Armando found 8 empty vials and containers with lids. With Lennie’s help, they collected 20 ants, which were carefully placed into a container that had its lid pierced with small holes to allow for air to get into it. Lennie helped her team mates, and also spent some time swooning over Garth.

Kalim took the time to help the monks, as well as arming the people that didn’t have weapons. Everyone took a long rest and started preparations for the march.

Session 30: Demis, 5th Tanyth

The party decided to lock up Sarod up and put two guards to keep an eye on him (2 of the thieves guild members). Sylvie continuously proceeded to irritate Sarod throughout the night.

They had Sarod write the letter for the dead drop, it says:

“They are headed towards the Seldarine. Expecting to arrive in 2 days. Ask Krea what her favourite fruit is.”

Armando was suspicious of Sarod, and Sarod angrily disclosed that his sister’s favourite fruit is honey pear.

Lennie also communicated with Hazel via “sending”, and Hazel responded with the following message:

"Arrest order rescinded, super suspicious, might get to meet your dad, just killed a drow getting into Aerie through sewers, being careful, you too".

The arrest order for the “Fang Crushers” has therefore been lifted, according to Hazel.

The next morning, the party visited the bookstore (Tome Raider) and spoke to Vinarth. They learned that the place where they are going was not always called Dragon Hold. It was once called Windcloak Castle. This was 500 years ago. It belonged to a very prominent dwarven family (the Windcloaks), who made their fortune mining Zafrine from the mountain.

But the dwarves got greedy and mined it excessively. It is believed that this infuriated the God Zafros, who cursed the dwarves to never be able to leave the mountain, even in death, and also removed the magical properties of the Zafrine in that mountain, turning it into ordinary quartz.

The Windcloaks built that castle very cleverly, so that it is well sheltered from the winds and the otherwise very cold weather of the mountains is not quite as severe in that area. However, since Ugoa the White took control of the castle, about 300 years ago, that may have changed drastically (i.e., it’s probably pretty damn cold out there). Sylvie managed to steal a book that looked valuable.

Kalim also purchased some herbs, and the party (+4 monks) then proceeded towards the Hopeful Dawn cave via a portal. They arrived in a dark secret chamber that they discovered to be hidden behind a shelf in Olena’s old room. Once they started making their way out of the room, they noticed there were two drow scouting the area. Sylvie was able to understand their language, and the group agreed to have her “look like a drow”, and try to talk to them.

The plan quickly went sideways, as the drow recognized her and began a battle. The party came to her aid, and lots of questions were raised. Sylvie torured the Drow in very disturbing ways to the rest of the party. It was revealed that Sylvie’s name is in fact Ariadne, and that she has a bounty for being considered a deserter and a traitor by the drow. She was once known as the “Executioner” in the drow army, and killed Seldarine as part of her duties. Shocked, and suspicious, the group, after a long conversation, decided to keep Ariadne at their side still, even though many questions remain unanswered, even for Ariadne. One thing they agreed on: Ariadne has to return the stolen book to Tome Raider.