Rise of Tiamat - Episode VIII - Vision of Death

Another enemy has evaded defeat. Skywalker assists the party collect Jolnur's treasure, and the party escorts Skywalker and the villagers through the portal - following closely behind. On the other side, at the Hunting Lodge, the party is greeted by the sight of the Farseer.

Immediately, they prepare themselves to take the Farseer through the underwater path to the tower. Oloril and Myllyn transport the Farkeeper to a sanctuary where they are able to determine the location of the impending cataclysm - Alvator's Hidden Sanctuary, under the Sea of Swords near Candlekeep.

Killian and Dain return to Waterdeep to report and to the Council and witness the birth of Fal'lel Battlehammer, Dain's son.

The party regroups at the lodge and enters the icy teleportation circle to discover several dragons circling the Palace of Burning Ice. Wisely, they quickly teleport out and return to base. They send a message to Bardu alerting them to this information, and then teleport to Candlekeep. Hiring a ship and crew, they set out on the Sea of Swords.

They find their mark, Killian detecting a half-elf and man made structures deep below the surface. Down they go. On the bottom they make passage through a large opaque wall into the presence of a large undersea castle. They enter. And meet Alvator, the half elf. Welcomed warmly, they rest the night in the submarine abode.

In the morning he suggests that the party needs to work to unify the counsel. Mistrusts must be overcome. Alvator allows the party to scry through an orb - which allows them to see the well of dragons. They see a caldera in a temple. The Greypeak mountains are blighted.  Dragon flights, patrols of hill giants, legions of devils, encampments of mercenaries, cultist troops, red wizards guard the temple. It is a bleak vision. Alvator explains that the party will die, but they can use this to their advantage.

With this in mind, the party returns to base.

Rise of Tiamat - Episode VII - Jolnur the Elusive

 The party finds itself with a dead companion and a burning hatred for the elusive blue dragon, Jolnur. The first step they take is to search for traces of their enemy. Along their way they encounter a large group of over-sized scorpions in a large cavern. With Killian leading the assault, the group engages in heated battle, Without issue, the arachnids are slaughtered.

The room now cleared, a shaft is visible 40 feet above. Light shines down. With the help of Oloril's magical tower and some rope, making their way out is a simple task. Above, no sign of the dragon can be detected. They climb to the top of a nearby mountain, but still gain to indication of their nemesis.

They do, however, see a vulture fly towards them, and transform into a genasi. The genasi introduces himself, quite arrogantly, as Skywalker. Returning to the cave, Skywalker prepares a feast (from somewhere) that greatly strengthens the heroes. Still no sign of the dragon - even after many hours of searching.

Finally, Mullyn casts a spell locating the dragon. It is less than 1,000 ft away in the direction of the village. They march forward . .  and meet it. Then, taunting the group from the mountain, the dragon then disappears and appears behind them - spewing lightning breath on Oloril! The battle commences!

The battle is grueling. The party attacks fiercely, slashing away at the dragons strength. But the dragon flees to its lair, summoning air elementals and ahnkeg in its wake. A skirmish ensues, wasting precious time.

They clear the hoard and re-engage the dragon . . . who escapes, yet again.

Rise of Tiamat - Episode VI - The Blue Dragon

So, what have our heroes been up to? Well, they made it back to the Council (sans Varam) and reported what knowledge they had discovered. Whilst with the Council, they discovered a traitor in their midst - a relatively unknown little fellow named Pip. Pip, however, killed himself as soon as he was discovered. Do other traitors to the cause of righteousness infect the Council? Perhaps even those close to the party? We shall see.

In the meanwhile, the party is given various tasks to thwart Tiamat's plan. They return to the Lodge to prepare the way, and free villagers from the grasp of the cult. Once that is done, they set out to test the remaining unexplored portals.

The first portal takes them to a sand village filled with cultists. The party artfully eliminates all the opposition, and receive gifts (and wives) from the grateful tribesman. Then, hearing of a blue dragon, our group hunts it down and engages it in battle. While they did manage to severly wound it, the dragon escaspes their grasp - and not without a price. Poor Roscoe, is dead.