NPC:


"We've lost those Draconian commanders," Feroz growled as their ship rocked gently on the sea.

"Where do we go from here?" Tharrom asked, pacing back and forth.

"We should proceed with our original plan," Arrigus said. "We go to Blödehelm and see if we can find this Irda, Aushley." (See Session 06)

"You believe this Irda exists?" Feroz asked. "And that this, perhaps, isn't some elaborate trap set up by your moon god?"

"I am positive," Arrigus assured Feroz. "Last I'd heard she'd been captured by the Ogres of Blödehelm. She was there spying, trying to learn what the Black Dragon Amy there was up to. And she was looking for someone there for something."

"What is so special about this Irda?" Ronalyn asked.

Arrigus turned, his eyes flickering as he stared at Ronalyn, "Besides the fact that she is an Irda?"

"Why are you so interested in her?" Ronalyn persisted.

"As I said before, she will help me gain power," Arrigus admitted, "and whatever she's learned, spying here in Blödehelm and what she's learned about the Black Dragon Army's presence here, may help you. I learned that she was looking for someone here also, so that person may prove mutual beneficial against the Black Dragon Army."

"Black Dragon Army," Tycus asked. "Didn't we just deal with a Blue Dragon Army? How many of these armies exist?"

Arrigus looked at the half-elf, "Takhisis, the mother of all chromatic dragons has a blue, red, black, white and green head. Stands to reason each of those heads is represented by an army. Which means there may also be a black dragon present."

Ketharion sat down, feeling overwhelmed. He'd only sought to find his friend and somehow now found his fate tangled with adventurers who were facing off against creatures of legend - Dragons. All he had wanted was to find Kolvar. He'd felt responsible for his friend's abduction, it gnawed at his soul that perhaps something terrible had happened to him. Ketharion, through blurry eyes that brimmed with tears of frustration, muttered, "How do we fight a Black Dragon Army?"

"We might not have to," Arrigus explained. "It may have proven fortunate that we have stolen one of the ships of the Blue Dragon Army. Below deck, it's loaded with armor and weapons. When we said to Blödehelm, we tell them that we're a part of the Blue Dragon Army, and that a coordinated attack against our forces on Schallsea." Arrigus eyes looked at everyone.

First he settled on Ronalyn, "You are to be a hired assassin, if they ask." His eyes drifted to Feroz, "You will be difficult. Ogres and Minotaurs have a history of bad blood. You will be my personal bodyguard. They won't dare touch you if your master is a Black Robe." He turned to Tycus, "You, half-elf, you are a betrayer to both human and elf heritage, outcasted by both, and headed to Blödehelm as one of the Dark Queen's primary engineers." His eyes settled on Breara, "You, you will prove difficult, as will you," he turned his gaze to Ketharion. "Both of you are to be betrayers to your people - you," he gestured to Breara, "a traitor to the Qualinesti while you," he looked back at Ketharion, "a betrayer to the Kagonesti. You," he pointed to Thalia, "you are to be my pet and my guard." Thalia's hair bristled at the idea, but she knew it would be realistic, as that had been what she was originally captured to be - a pet. "And you," he pointed to Tharrom, "hide your emblem. You are a priest of the Dark Queen. It is important, none of you, at no time while we are around these Ogres or humans of the Black Dragon Army, under no circumstance, are to cast any form of healing. Such magic is not yet known to the Dark Queen - if you do so - you betray us all and sentence us to death."

Arrigus' eyes settled on Braid. "And you, Kender. You must stay on the ship."

Braid nodded. "I understand."

"I am serious," Arrigus emphasized.

"I said I -," Braid began to repeat.

"I will incinerate you if I see you off the ship," Arrigus fumed.

"I've never been incinerated," Braid said aloud. "At least, I don't think so."

Arrigus sighed. He cursed himself for not yet mastering polymorph and turning the kender into a toad; though there were rumors that because of the Greygem's creation in Kender, that even such spells could fail against Kender. He once again turned to face the others, "The Ogres will be slow to trust us. They may never trust us. The humans of the Black Dragon Army will be slow to trust us as well, but they will be the ones whose trust we will earn faster. It is important to remember, that we must move slowly to learn what we must about the Irda and where she is, if she is still alive. They will not freely and quickly give us information about such an important prisoner. We may even be asked... to do things... to earn their trust."

Several hours later, from the crow's nest, Ronalyn sees the port city of Blödehelm, and his eyes widen in despair. This is no small village, this is a massive town, with walls and ballista and smiths and furnaces, lumber burning, and it seemed from here, that hundreds of people were moving about; just as Arrigus had warned, ogres and humans. Ronalyn scaled down the mast and reported to Feroz who'd been steering the ship what he saw.

As the ship came to dock, Feroz turned and saw a dwarf. "You. What's your name?"

The dwarf looked at Feroz. "Me? My name is Bedlam Mayhammer."

"Keep an eye on him," Feroz pointed to Braid. "Make sure he stays on this damn ship."

The dwarf named Bedlam heaved a deep sigh. Keeping an eye on a kender - especially one that was bound to get bored - was nearly an impossible task.

Feroz looked at Tycus, "And you stay here with him."


As Feroz and the others disembarked, they were greeted by a human adorned in the Black Dragon Army armor, followed by several other humans and three Ogres. His hair was long and brown and seemed to flow with the wind and with a charismatic smile, he said, "Welcome to Blödehelm, my name is Captain Rel Twomoon. May I ask what business members of the Blue Dragon Amy might have here in this mud pit?" He chuckled, hearing several ogres behind him give a low growl.

Arrigus stepped forward, "Captain Rel Twomoon. My name is Arrigus, this here is Feroz, he is my anointed bodyguard. The human here is Ronalyn, and he is my personal assassin should I ever need someone disposed of. Tharrom here is a Cleric of the Dark Queen, here to ensure that my mission succeeds. The two elves are Breara and Ketharion, traitors to their kind, Qualinesti and Kagonesti, for which the Dark Queen has learned much about the Elves defenses, so that when we launch our assault on them, they will be crushed under her dark shadow. And this one is Thalia, she is my domesticated Tabaxi and my pleasure pet."

Captain Rel Twomoon's eyes seemed to focus on Ketharion and Breara, "Two elves, who betray their kin..." His mind seems lost for a moment, and it's unclear if he's speaking of Breara and Ketharion, or something else. He then smiled, whatever he had been thinking, washed away in a quick moment, and turned to Thalia. "Ah yes, the Ogres have brought many of your kind here as prisoners to work the mines and harvest metal. Your kind are good for using claws to dig through stone when the Ogres apply enough pressure. Saves on buying picks."

A low rumble rose from Thalia's throat, but a stern look from Arrigus silenced her.

"As you can see, she knows who her master is," Arrigus said.

As Captain Rel Twomoon led Arrigus and the others into town, with the Ogres filing behind them all, cutting off their return to the pier, he asked, "What brings the Dark Queen's Blue Army soldiers here to this mud pit?"

"The rebels on Schallsea, which our Dragon Highlord resided had managed to sneak into her chambers and slit her throat," Arrigus lied. "Once the Blue Dragon discovered this, he left Schallsea."

Captain Rel Twomoon laughed, "Skie never cared for his Dragon Highlord from what I saw before. But that doesn't explain why you're here?"

"The Draconians," Arrigus spat the words out. "Once our Highlord was slain, they went to war with one another, trying to take command of the goblins and ogres. It was sheer chaos. We tried to quell the rebellion, but it was too much. The rebels took advantage of the chaos and began mounting assaults. It was hopeless trying to get those Draconians under a command without a Dragon Highlord."

Captain Rel Twomoon nodded, "As much as I hate being in this mud pit and dealing with their kind," he gestured to the Ogres following them down the pier, "I'd much rather deal with them than Draconians. So I am thankful there's none to be had here in Blödehelm."

Arrigus, having served with the Dark Queen, knew all too well the distrust the humans of Takhisis had felt about the draconians; they were unstable, brutish, untrusting, and being around them there was a relentless sense of unease that made all humans feel uncomfortable. As an agent of Nuitari, the dark moon, deity of dark magic, if what his god shared with Arrigus was true - the Dark Queen was willing to go through any lengths to succeed - and what she asked of Nuitari helped shape the creations of the Draconians, the truth would surly make the metallic dragons who had all gone missing, return. Arrigus was sure of it.

Thalia followed and quickly stifled a gasp as she saw, passing one of the buildings that had obscured the horror before her, several Tabaxi, who were carrying lumber to the mills; their fur was matted or missing, welts, cuts, bruises and blood dripped from their flesh and feet, as a line of Ogres whipped them as they carried the lumber. Captain Rel Twomoon turned to Arrigus, "I assure you, I do not approve of the Ogres actions. They rely on sheer brute force, wanting to dominate everything. Between us," he looked at Arrigus more sternly, "and them, there is a great amount of tension because of that kind of behavior. There's cause to whip someone if they misbehave, but the Ogres do it because they take great pleasure over showing their dominance," he whispered.

Already Arrigus was learning much from Captain Rel Twomoon; there were no Draconians here, and the tension between the humans and the Ogres of Blödehelm was palpable. Upon reaching the center of the port city, the division between Ogres and Humans became physically visible. On the Western side of this major street was a large tavern, populated by humans exclusively, some of whom were drunk and shouting across the street to the Eastern side of the street, where there was another tavern, exclusively populated by Ogres, who returned slurs and insults, and yet despite the mounting tension, neither side seemed to do anything. There was an occasional fist fight between Ogres and humans, but no one drew weapons, though that didn't stop the fights from sometimes being very bloody.

Captain Rel Twomoon pointed to, perhaps the largest Ogre any of them had ever seen, standing on the Eastern side. "That's Bloodmaul, chief of the Ogres here in Blödehelm. The other Ogre next to him, adorned in skulls, is his Shaman and his advisor, Bleakstar. Be vary wary of that one," he nodded to the Shaman, "he possess great power. I've been around evil," Captain Rel Twomoon said, "and that Shaman is ... more terrifying than anything I've ever encountered. There's only one thing more terrifying than that Shaman, and that's Coal."

"Coal?" Arrigus asked.

"You'll meet him soon enough," Captain Rel Twomoon said cryptically. 

Arrigus cast an uneasy glance to the others.

Captain Rel Twomoon led everyone inside the unnamed tavern for the humans and gestured to a table. Several men moved and opened the table for Rel Twomoon's guests. "Please, have a seat. Relax. I will see about getting you drinks and a room here." With that, he bowed and left to speak to the tavern keeper, gesturing behind him to the table.

As they had sat there, Feroz heard several humans at a nearby table saying, "... we handed him to the Duergar. He's as good as dead now."

"I never trusted elves," the other human said, as Feroz looked over his shoulder, he could see the two humans staring at Breara and Ketharion.

Feroz leaned forward, "Gaining the human trust isn't going to be easy," he muttered. "It would seem that there was an elf here, and he was brought to the Duergar. And it would seem that they don't care for your kind," he gestured to Breara and Ketharion.

"There was an elf here?" Ketharion's eyes widened. "The reason I left Southern Ergoth was to find my friend. What if that was him?"

"Remember what I said," Arrigus warned. "Do not seem too eager. This could be some kind of test."

"I can't risk it," Ketharion said and stood up, marching over to the bar, with Tharrom quickly following behind to ensure that Ketharion did nothing hasty. 

"The fool may cost us," Arrigus growled. "We've not even been here an hour."

At the bar, Ketharion nodded to the human tavern keeper. "I'd like to buy a round for everyone," he said.

"That will cost you two steel, elf," he spoke the racial name with thinly veiled hatred and distrust. 

Ketharion, unaffected, placed two silver on the counter. "Give me your strongest."

The bar keep placed several tankards on the counter.

Ketharion grabbed two of them and made his way to the table where the humans had been speaking about the elf. He placed the drinks down on the table with force, spilling some of their content onto the stained table. "I did not mean to eavesdrop, but I heard you don't like elves?"

The human looked at Ketharion, "You wear her Dark Majesty's armor," he smirked, "I suppose you're fine. The one we were speaking of was a weakling. Our Captain was able to break him and get all the information he needed about the Kagonesti." Ketharion's fists clenched around the handles of the drink.

Tharrom, with his own symbol of Gilean hidden by the symbol of the Dark Queen, saw his friend's hands clench tightly. He placed his hand on Ketharion's shoulder, "Indeed my friend is true to the Dark Queen." Tharrom's eyes drifted up and looked through the dirt stained windows, across the street, "But those Ogres," he shook his head. "I never could abide by their kind. Ignorant and stupid, they're nothing but fodder for the Dark Queen."

The human took the drink from Ketharion's firm grip and drank deeply, looking up at Tharrom. "I agree. They're brutes."

"This elf you mentioned," Ketharion persisted. "There was one we'd been chasing. A prisoner of ours who escaped. Can you tell me about this elf you have? I wonder if it's the same one we'd been chasing?"

However, before the human could answer, a towering Ogre swung upon the door and rapped his staff on the floor twice, and everyone went silent. "It is time to go to the Arena," the Ogre Shaman, Bleakstar said, and without waiting turned around and left. Ketharion saw everyone take their drinks, and down as much as they could, wipe their mouth, gathering their belongings and begin to file out the door.

Arrigus exchanged a worried glance as to what the Arena might be, but he, along with the others followed behind the human soldiers.

It was then that Arrigus realized he'd lost track of Captain Rel Twomoon during his concern about Ketharion ruining their plans, and he cursed to himself. Dark energy rippled around the Ogre Shaman.

Following everyone, they venture north, deeper into the port city, arriving at an area that's been dug out like an arena pit, and chained in the center is an Ogre yelling that he'd done what he could. Bleakstar takes a position next to the Ogre chief, Bloodmaul.

Raising his hands, all go silent, as Bloodmaul looks down to the shackled Ogre. "What have you to say?"

"I tried -," the shackled Ogre began.

"Catoblepas elude you! You are weak! You failed!" and without hearing anything more, Bloodmaul raised a horn and blew deeply.

Behind Arrigus, Captain Rel Twomoon's voice whispered, "As I said, you'd meet Coal soon enough." Arrigus despised that he'd lost sight of the Captain, but was thankful to discover that the Captain had not planned something for them.

A sweeping sense of dread filled the air, one that they'd all been familiar with - it was Dragon Fear!

Then, they saw it, through the soot and smoke in the air, a large black dragon descended onto the arena and roared. It stared at the Ogre, then unleashed acidic breath from its mouth, that reeked of sulfur. The imprisoned ogre's scream are dreadful to hear, sure to haunt all of those who are not used to such sounds. The ogre's flesh peels away in seconds, then the bones, and soon there is nothing remaining but the bubbling green acid left behind; even the steel chains are gone. Coal, the black dragon, peered. "I see Blue Dragon Army among you - they arrived on the ship. They are next to hunt the Catoblepas, or be next to stand before me in the Arena." And with a mighty swoop of their wings, Coal launches into the air, disappearing in the polluted skies of Blödehelm.

"Well, that's unfortunate," Captain Rel Twomoon sighed. "Coal has selected all of you to prove yourselves, it would seem. He's untrusting, so I can't say I am too surprised."

"What is this beast Coal is asking us to track down and kill?" Arrigus asked, unfamiliar with the Catoblepas.

"The damn Ogres, when they were on Taladas, captured this thing in the swamp, brought it here," Captain Rel Twomoon shook his head, not hiding his disdain for the Ogres and their forethought, "and it got loose and now it's in the swamp. It comes from her native land," he gestured towards Thalia.

"Pet of mine," Arrigus said, seeing Thalia's fur bristle then subside. "What do you know of this beast?"

Thalia shook her head, though her homeland was mostly swampy areas, she knew only to avoid the Catoblepas on her homeland. Several stories surrounded the origins of the beast and what it could do, but it had long become too muddled to learn what was truth and what was fabrication. From what Thalia remembered from the story-tellers of her Prowl, was that the Catoblepas was once a wildebeest, changed forever by the passing of the Grey Gem through Taladas, changing the wildebeest into a dreadful creature; the legends that surfaced spoke of an elongated neck that could wrap around someone like a constrictor, to its ability to spew swamp gas like poison, and some even said its gaze could immediately freeze someone's heart and cause immediate death. Thalia finally spoke, "I have only heard stories of them. I've never seen one myself."

Captain Rel Twomoon then looks at those around him, chosen to hunt this beast. "Perhaps if you take an Ogre with you, you may be able to earn some of their trust. If they see you can fight, they may speak highly of you since all they care for is a show of strength. Naturally, the Ogre would need to survive... if he dies while he's with you, that's sure to further break any trust they'd have with you."

Thalia looked around, and as the Ogres left the Arena, not a single one of them seemed remorseful that one of their own had just died a horrendous death; they were all celebrating that a weak link has been severed. Thalia shook her head in disgust; though she was a barbarian and had traveled much of Taladas on her own, leaving her Prowl behind, she would murder anyone who dared harm any of her Prowl. She would never celebrate a weakness being murdered in such a gruesome manner. A new, burning rage, surged within her again - the same rage she'd felt in Schallsea, a divine sense of purpose fueled the rage burning in her now, like it never had before.

Feroz could see that Thalia's anger was barely contained. He placed a firm, strong hand on her shoulder. "Keep yourself in check," he whispered.

Thalia shook her head. "There's something inside of me," she hissed. "Ever since I saw the Blue Dragon... and now this Black Dragon.. the way the Draconians and these Ogres behave... there's... an uncontrollable change," she growled, her words coming out almost more feline than Common tongue.

"Save it for when it matters," he said, not realizing how her insides churned. "We will need to earn the Ogre's trust. There's some of there, I am going to ask if any would join us."

Feroz marched over, followed by Thalia and Tharrom. "Would any of you be so bold to join our hunt that Coal has deemed us worthy for?"

"To be a hero to Coal," Thalia growled, barely speaking Common now.

"Join us in the Dark Queen's glory," Tharrom added.

A large Ogre stepped forward, pounding his hand on his chest, "My name is Sven. I will join you. Though I must ask why you travel with two such as them?"

The Ogre pointed to Ketharion and Breara.

Breara smiled, "Because we have proven our worth." She closed her eyes and summoned  Indarna, who took the form of a blue dragon drake.

Ketharion used his magic to produce flame in his hand.

Sven smiled, looked at Breara, "Well, a dragon pet will be nice to have." His eyes then fell on Ketharion, "You, we can use to light the torches when we enter the swamp." He then turned towards a stable, where an enslaved gnoll, beaten down by the Ogres, brought forth another animal.

Arrigus and the others stared in horror at this beat that was as large as a horse, but had the face of a disfigured human. "What is that," Arrigus asked, the words falling from his lips before he had realized what he said.

"A leucrotta," Thalia growled. "Native to my lands and my swamps. They're vile and hated by everyone and everything. They hunger is relentless, and they despise all living things. It is said, even the mating ritual between male and female Leucrotta, is so violent that often times, one of the mates will perish before the mating ritual is complete. They possess the ability to..."

"Mimic sounds of humans or animals in distress," Sven smiled. "We found them on Taladas when we were rounding up slaves and recruiting goblins and hobgoblins and even their ilk," he gestured to the beaten gnoll, "into the Dark Queen's army. We will use the beast to lure the Catoblepas to us."

Arrigus looked at the whimpering gnoll, who looked more hyena now, than a humanoid, reduced down after relentless beatings. "Such creatures came from goblins, and the Grey Gem's creation," he muttered.

Thalia whose feline ears heard Arrigus' whisper shook her head, "Story Keepers from my Prowl speak that gnolls were hyenas changed by the Grey Gem, and that the leucrotta come from a twisted mating between gnolls that gave birth to this horrific beast. Our Story Keepers say, that every so often when a female gnoll gives birth, her child is born a leucrotta."

Feroz approached the reins of the leucrotta, and immediately was overcome by its retched stench. His stomach churned and twisted and his mind swam as the beast's natural, pungent aroma made him sick. Sven smiled, watch Feroz try to stay on his feet as his head spun, his natural hatred for Minotaurs from a war in the distant past, since coursed through his bloodline.; Minotaurs had been an oppressed race for much of their early history having spent many years as slaves of ogres, and another long period as slaves of mountain dwarves. They were enslaved by the Istar Empire until the onset of the Cataclysm, which the minotaurs saw as divine intervention on their behalf. Sven took pleasure in seeing a Minotaur buckling.

Feroz covered his mouth and nodded to the others to do the same. As he stood next to Thalia, he muttered, "You could have told me about their stench."

"My people stay far away from them," Thalia said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Never got this close to realize how badly they stink."

Ketharion looked and saw a human apocathary and decided to go there, followed by Ronalyn. Inside, he saw a young human woman, no older than eighteen years of age, adorned in the Black Robes. She looked up from her studies. "What do you want?" she asked impatiently.

"We're going to go hunt the Catoblepas," Ketharion explained. "I was wondering if you might have any advice?"

"A strong blade," she answered and returned to her studies.

Ketharion looked at Ronalyn who then shrugged.

"Do you have any herbs that might help against poison," Ketharion asked.

The young woman raised her head in frustration. "I suppose," she answered in exasperated tones. She moved several vials around. "Here. This will help should you become poisoned. It tastes like swamp water, comes out like thunder," she said matter-of-factly, "but it's the quickest way to cleanse the poison from your system. It will cost you seven steel."

Ronalyn looked, "Do you also happen to sell poison?"

Now she looked up, more interested, "Yes, I do. But I am almost out because the last Ogre who Coal incinerated purchased most of my stock, for all the good that it did him." She slid one vial forward. "Four steel and it's yours."

Ronalyn reached into his pocket and slid four steel across the counter as Ketharion slid seven steel for the poison cure.

Back outside, Breara, who is normally good with animals, realizes the aberration will have nothing to do with her. Thalia pushes Breara aside and snaps the reins and quickly, the animal falls into line as they venture into the swamp.


Trudging through the swamp, Feroz's weight quickly sinks him into the swamp, bringing some exhaustion to the minotaur who struggles. Sven, who is behind him, also struggles in the swamp. The swamp is dense, with insects everywhere piercing and biting any exposed flesh; but nothing flies near the leucrotta, it's natural scent a repellent against such insects. The air was thick, breathing the gaseous air was difficult, made by the mixture of rotting plants and mildew. Each step drained their strength as they went deeper and deeper into the swamp. 

The swamp was unnaturally quiet. "We are close," Sven whispered. "Tie up the leucrotta."

Feroz tied the beast to a tree, and quickly everyone found a place to hide in the swamp.

The leucrotta began to wail like a woman in distress, crying for help.

Surprisingly, it is not until the beast is upon them, that the massive, eighteen foot long Catoblepas appears with silence and death. It's massive maw lock on the leucrotta, and with a snap of its serpentine neck, breaks the leucrotta's neck. It is now, even under the dense swamp, that they now see the beast - nearly eighteen feet long from its mace-like tail, to its horrifying head, which had an assortment horns, assorted in a chaotic manner, bloodshot eyes, and spewing putrid breath. It's fur was orange and mangey, almost perfectly blending in with what looked to be fetid moss on rotting wood, it's exposed flesh beneath it, almost looking like bare bark wood.

"Avoid its gaze," Sven shouted, "it can spell death if you gaze upon it!"

"Now he tells us this," Ronalyn shouted, as he dodged one of the creature's attempts to swipe him with its tail.

Sven had withheld the information for the last moment, on purpose. He wanted to see how these soldiers of the Dark Queen's blue army would fight, not well prepared, but given information at the very moment, under duress. Much like the assortment of horns on the creature's head, the Catoblepas' attack was random and chaotic, thrashing wildly. It uses its head to slam into the tree that Breara was in, and even as she aimed, she was forced to drop her arrow to grab the tree. She cursed, grabbed another arrow, and fired a shot, striking the beast directly in the back of the neck. 

Feroz used this opportunity to leap from the brush he'd been hiding in, bring down his sharpened axe on the Catoblepas' neck, driving his axe directly next to the wound that Breara had done. The beast roared and slammed its horns into Feroz's abdomen, then upward, catching Feroz with one of its horns and drawing blood. Ketharion uses his magic, focusing on the fireflies, to swirl around the beast, lighting him up, making him easier to hit.

Thalia unleashed her rage and leapt on the back of the Catoblepas, and raked her claws deep into the creature's back, drawing lines of oozing blood upon its spine. 

The beast reared its head and once again saw Breara in the trees and turned its gaze to her and locked eyes with her. Breara peered into the depths of its bloodshot eyes and felt her soul shiver, her body grew cold and suddenly she lost her focus as she slid off the beast, feeling as if death itself had touched her soul, and she tumbled out of the tree.

Tharrom ran up to the beast and knowing he could not heal, reversed the spell, and inflicted wounds on the beast, and wounds opened and began to bleed from all the damage it'd already taken. Feroz, focusing on the blood spewing from its neck, delivered another hit to the neck. Feroz's gaze looked to Breara, who he could see that she was bleeding, holding her waist.

Kethorian ran to her side, and placed his hand on her and whispered a prayer of healing.

Feroz noticed that the skull Sven wore glowed, he did not know why.

Sven brought his broadsword down on the Catoblepas, his raw strength cutting in deep. Arrigus exhaled and launched several fire bolts at the Catoblepas who roared in pain. Tharrom remained at the creature's side and extended necrotic energy through him, surging the dark energy through the beast, enough energy to kill it; and as death claimed it, the large beast, fighting the death, it finally tumbled upon Thalia, pinning her ankle briefly.

As the beast releases its final breath, Sven wiped the blood and mud from his face. "You all fight well. We should severe the beast's head as evidence."

Feroz stared at the Ogre, wondering what the glowing skull had meant.

As Feroz severed the beast's head, Feroz could not shake the feeling that the skull the Ogre wore glowed for a reason.


Upon returning to the port city of Blödehelm, Sven announces their victory and Feroz raises the Catoblepas' head. They are circled by both Ogre and Humans and congratulated. Back at the tavern, Feroz waited until he and Arrigus were alone to mention that he'd seen the Ogre's skull necklace glow for a brief moment. Arrigus hissed, "It's a detect magic object," he growled, "designed to track specific magic." He looked to the others, keeping his angered whisper barely in control, "Did any of you use healing?"

Ketharion cleared his throat. "Breara was badly hurt."

Arrigus' knuckled turned white as he clenched his fest. "You may have just issued us a death sentence," he barely kept his anger in check.

Later that night, it became clear that the Ogre Shaman, Bleakstar, now watches Ketharion very closely, as is Sven and Bloodmaul. Distrust burned in their eyes.


The following morning, the all too familar sound of the horn that summons Coal, resounds throughout the port town. Everyone quickly masses at the Arena, as Coal lands. Bleakstar moves down the Arena steps and speaks softly to Coal. It is this time, early in the morning, that Thalia takes notice to creatures stabled, native to her land - the Dragonnel, named so as it meant false dragon in the ancient tongue native to Taladas, now almost long forgotten after the events of the Cataclysm. They must have been out at night, doing patrols, which is why she hadn't noticed them before; but the presence of Coal, the Dragon Fear he emitted, affected them as well. 

After Bleakstar speaks to Coal, the Black Dragon's gaze locks on Ketharion. "I will need the soldiers of the Blue Army to perform one more task for the Black Dragon Army, to seal your trust with me. You are to go on a hunt and take Ogres with you. Sven spoke highly of your ability, but he is selfish and easily bought. Impress others and I will see to it you have free reign here in Blödehelm."

"And if we refuse?" Arrigus asked, suspecting this was a trap.

Coal seemed to smile. "You witness how it is to die by acid," Coal grinned, "you will experience it yourself."

"So you leave us no choice then?" Arrigus asked.

"There is always a choice," Coal roared, then took to the air again. "Ensure you choose wisely."

"This is a trap," Ketharion whispered.

"I know it is," Arrigus snapped back in anger, his voice barely contained. "Thanks to your foolishness. We must do this hunt - at least that buys us some time to find a way out of this mess you've gotten us into, elf."


Out in the swamp, one of the four Ogres traveling with the adventurers, a large club slung over his shoulder, "Now with the Catoblepas gone, we can freely hunt."

Suddenly Ronalyn hears, Come to me.

Ronalyn paused and looked around. He stared at the others, and none of them indicated they'd heard anything.

Where are you? Ronalyn thought.

To your left, the female voice replied.

Ronalyn turned his head, and there he saw a woman whose beauty reminded him of Nelakne. (See Session 08: Rebellion and War) She handed Ronalyn boots and handed him a gem. Use this to imprison the dragon... my name is Kaleen, may these gifts free this land from the terror of the skies... And with that, she stepped back and seemed to disappear into the tree she'd been hiding behind. Ronalyn quickly rejoined the group, explaining he saw some animal tracks, but turned out to be nothing.

It's only a few moments later, it is just as they expected - the Ogres draw their blades and attacked - the trap had been sprung.


However, being well aware the trap was coming - Ronalyn used the darkness of the night to his advantage, seemingly stepping in and out of darkness, with his newly equipped boots. Feroz brought his magical battle-ax down on his people's foes with deadly accuracy. Breara, all too familiar with Ogres, remained at range, and unleashed a rain of arrows. Tharrom called upon his deity to drop spell after spell, with Ketharion following suit - there was no need to hold back. Thalia, seeing her people taken as slaves, seeing the Tabaxi who had been whipped and broken in Blödehelm, allowed her body to be consumed by the zealot energy that had been festering inside of her, and her claws and fangs found their mark - she tasted blood, but so consumed by her fury, she did not care.

It minutes, the battle was over, and four dead ogres lay at their feet.

"We should get out of here," Tharrom said. "They're onto us. They won't trust us again."

"We can't get back to the boat," Breara warned. "They will be guarding it, expecting us to return there."

Arrigus sat on a log, exhausted both through the use of magic, and how the bog had clung to his robes and increased their weight dramatically, and muttered, "We have to go back to Blödehelm. We have to find the Irda."

"Are you insane?" Feroz roared. "Like Tharrom said - our ploy is revealed. We need to find a way out of Blödehelm... when these four don't return, they will begin sending search parties to track us down. I want nothing more to go kill every damn Ogre in that town, but I am more realistic than that."

"We may have a way back," Arrigus said, his voice devoid of tone or emotion. "We just need to kill him," he pointed to Ketharion.

"He's done some idiot moves," Feroz growled. "But he is an ally. I won't allow you to murder him."

"We may not have to," Arrigus said, pulling himself up. "We lie. We say that we killed Ketharion, because he was a spy. He attacked the others and got the drop on all of us. He knew that he'd been detected and lied to all of us. We are all wounded - but we will need to be wounded by magic - himself, Tharrom and I can use it to wound us further. Make it look like the attack on us was magical in nature. You, elf," he looked at Ketharion. "You can assume the form of an animal, yes?"

Ketharion now saw where Arrigus was going. "Yes," he said.

"Take an animal form and remain hidden that way," Arrigus said. "If they ask, we left his corpse to rot in the swamp so that wildlife could rip his remains apart."

"This might work," Feroz admitted. "You lie very well, Arrigus."

The wizard smiled and gestured to his black robes.


Returning to the port city in Blödehelm...

Feroz and the others share the story of the betrayal by the Kagonesti elf. As Arrigus suspected, Bleakstar examined each of them, and saw evidence of magical damage upon them - something the four Ogres would not have been capable of. Bleakstar remained dubious for a moment, before raising his staff, "They speak true. Our Ogre brethren fell before Kagonesti elf - but they were weak. We will not have our vengeance upon the Kagonesti in their name, but we shall bring the Kagonesti destruction with all we have learned from the other - because they are weak and worthless and will bow before us," he paused, "and the Dark Queen."


The rest of the night, several Ogres seemed to keep watch on their every movement, but said nothing else - it was clear that despite the appearance that Ketharion had been slain, the Ogres still lacked any trust. The following morning a knock came to their door, and Captain Rel Twomoon was there. "A shame about the one who traveled with you," he said, matter-of-factly. "Only one of their kind, it seems, would be willing to betray their own." Just then an explosion sounded in the distance and Captain Rel Twomoon was taken out of his thoughts. "And that, is why I am here. That sound you just heard? It's Tinker Gnomes. They live in the mountains east of here. They were originally slaves, but a handful broke free, escaped into the caves. Tensions here are high, because the Ogres suspect you've allied yourselves with me, so I need my men here to keep the Ogres in line. You could do us - my men and the Ogres - a favor by dealing with the Tinker Gnomes. They keep destroying ballista and catapults we've created for the war with their explosive devices."

"When you say 'take care of them'," Feroz asked.

"You know what I mean," Captain Rel Twomoon said.

"We will take care of it," Feroz agreed.

Arrigus smiled, "Go on ahead. Rel, would you mind if I stayed and spoke with you?"

"Of course," and together Arrigus and Rel walked off.

"I don't trust that damn wizard," Tharrom growled.

"Neither do I," Feroz admitted, "but he's not betrayed us yet. He had ample opportunity so far. Let's go look into this Tinker Gnome problem..."


to be continued...