Hoard of the Dragon Queen: Aftermath - Episode VII - How The Mighty Have Fallen

A great victory must also be followed by a great undoing. Or, so it seems. You see, the party decided to go and search V's lair to see what loot may have been left behind. When they arrived there, they parked the castle about a quarter of a mile out from the lair's entrance. The marshy ground below was covered in a thick fog.  No problem, Kaelthiros thought, Dain and I can scout ahead moving stealthily through the dense haze. After all, I am a master of stealth. What an idea! An awful idea! The grinch elf got a wonderful, AWFUL idea!

Well, so the tragedy began to unfold. There, Dain and Kaelthiros crept, moving towards the mouth of the former dragon's lair. And then it happened. No more than 400 yards ahead of the party, the pair - isolated from any assistance - encountered several lizard men. Oh yes, some of which were shaman that could summon several crocodiles at a time. And let's not forget the two giant lizard creatures and the big black lizard man! Needless to say, the were very quickly outnumbered.

Their screams were unheard by their distant companions - and there was no way to win the battle against such a great horde. At that moment, Kaelthiros knew he could run. He alone could make it back to the party. There was no hope for Dain. But, what happened then? Well, in the Mere of Dead men they say, the Wood Elf's small heart grew three sizes that day. The ranger ran towards the combat - knowing it would be his demise. He would not allow Dain to die alone.

Furiously, and frantically, he fought, firing arrows into the flesh of the foes that surrounded Dain. But, it was to no avail. For only moments later, Kaelthiros would fall to the ground - the life slipping from his body. It was then that he remembered Mullyn's recent telepathic message: "Kaelthiros, before death descends on you, let our companions know that the restored Farseer may be delivered to me in Candlekeep. Goodbye, my friend." With that last fleeting thought, death made it's final descent. Kaelthiros was dead.

Hoard of the Dragon Queen: Aftermath - Episode VI - Voaraghamanthar's Demise

After arriving at the Roadhouse, our heroes find their former acquaintence, Boglock. He was at first quite reluctant to divulge any information; however, after some "mild persuasion" he readily declared what he knew of the cults plans. They were headed to the North under the leadership of none other than Favrik! Now, as Baglock was discovered to be in cahoots with the cultists, he was taken to Castelino for a public execution. Such is the fate of any who betray our heroes!

The old Bollywug fortress was their next target. The Farseer needed to be retrieved and taken to Mullyn in Candlekeep. Upon arrival, the Farseeer was immediately located. Of course, whilst working on its retrieval, our group suffered several taunting attacks from the black dragon, Voaraghamanthar.

Much loss was suffered, but finally our adventurers were able to engage the dark menace in direct combat. The much-dreaded moment was upon them. Voaraghamanthar had come to recover Sunder - and to end the life of the one who stole it! Thankfully, things did not go nearly as poorly as they could have. Before you could say "Voaraghamanthar," (trust me, it takes a while to say - especially for certain DM's) the foul beast was dead. His corpse lie lifeless, pierced by arrows, full of gashes, and shredded by his own Sunder.

Hoard of the Dragon Queen: Aftermath - Episode V - Dwarven Bachelor Party

The golems were fixed and some new spells purchased, so what time was it? Time for the Dwarven bachelor party of course! So much to say about that - or rather so much better left unsaid. Thankfully, the first rule of DBP is that you do not talk about DBP. So moving on . .

Dain's wedding was amazing - an appearance by the king of Mithril Hall, an incredibly powerful lightning javelin gifted by Oloril's father, and - oh yes - acid in all the drinks! The culprit (hired by Lord Diamond) was soon found, hung upside down as nothing more than a pinata, and promptly beat to death as a wedding game. *shrugs* Dwarven weddings, what can you really say?

The wedding festivities done, more trouble arises. A hired mercenary has killed two fellow soldiers on Castelino! Although he accused them of stealing his money, the dead pair was not at fault. The money was found in another soldier's room - who of course denied taking it. And so the plot thickens . . yet again. Now, to find the Black Dragon . . . or be found by him . . .

Hoard of the Dragon Queen: Aftermath - Episode IV - One Wedding and a Few Resurrections

Much was accomplished by our party in the few weeks after arriving at Scornubel. They resurrected their fallen friends - Bardu, Mullyn and Nulara. It will be noted that Mullyn came back somewhat . . . um . . . lacking. In any event, the gnome kept muttering something about his mission, a great cog in the sky, and how his path would cross the party again in the future. Though he would go his own way, he requested that the party retrieve from the Mere of Dead Men the strange astrological device they had once seen there. It was key to the success of their quest against the cult. He was certain of it.

Bardu and Lucien also exclaimed they that must part ways with the group in a hunt for the Great Deceiver. So, after saying their 'goodbyes', the remaining group hired on dozens of fighters and workers to defend and maintain their floating fortress. In fact, they even installed a casino!

In the days that followed, Leosin and Onthar- to whom the party had sent word - met them in Scornubel where they discussed the next steps of their plan against the cult. They would take their fight to the Mere of Dead Men - where last they had seen a black dragon, Voaraghamanthar. Kaelthiros subsequently sent word to his Elven kin and to the gold dragon, Tarlacoal, to alert them of the cult's plan and request their aid.

Before making their final preparations, Dain is reunited with a long lost love who informs him that he is to be a father! A wedding is to be held the next day!

Hoard of the Dragon Queen: Aftermath - Episode III - The Vampire Queen

It was inside the top of the cracked tower that the party engaged the last of the castle's threats - a vampire queen and two of her minions. The battle was hard-fought, but with teamwork and the use of some new-found abilities, our adventurers were able to best their foes.

Following the skirmish, Lucien escorted the group to Escalarta, who wanted to verify that everyone was loyal to her and her goal of eradicating the cultists. All present voiced their agreement. Satisfied, Escalarta propelled the castle onward through the sky. Soon, it seemed, the city of Scornubel would be within sight.

Hoard of the Dragon Queen: Aftermath - Episode II

Talis is brought aboard the castle and, in the company of Lucien, meets with guardian spirit of the castle, Escalarta. The cult leader and Escalarta reach an agreement that they believe to be mutually beneficial. In exchange for her help, Escalarta insists that Talis kill all but her most trusted guards.

And so, Talis tasks the party with eliminating the four cultists and three trolls that had accompanied her onto the castle. Now, I'd like to say our heroes made quick work of these foes, but such is not the case. It took our brilliant adventurers quite some time to use the fire on the trolls required to keep them down.

But, the battle behind them, they escort Talis off the castle so she can return to the hunting lodge. They then set off in the castle for Scornubal where they would resurrect their fallen allies. That night each member takes their watch. Kaelthiros experiments with his golems during his shift. The buggers are apparently rather daft!

Morning comes and Kaelthiros makes known that his coin purse is missing. Odd. That aside, the group continues to explore the untouched regions of the castle. In Rezmir's room Oloril finds some notes with the passwords to the teleportation circles. Additionally, they discover a chest that contains a dark draconic helmet. Mysteriously, this disappears the very instant Kaelthiros reaches in the chest. Another oddity. Murry uses the gem of trueseeing to locate the helmet, but it is nowhere to be found. Of course, Kaelthiros insists that Murry look at him through the gem. And yes, Murry sees the young copper dragon that is Kaelthiros' true form.

After some jestful conversation between the ranger and sorcerer*, the members of the party occupy themselves as they see fit. Finally,as the castle continues to travel, the group decides to explore the one remaining place in the castle they have not yet accessed - the cracked tower. Murry turns Oloril into a gaseous form and the dwarf slips inside . . .

__________

*Kaelthiros is thoroughly convinced that Murry is part genie, and is expecting his three wishes!

Horde of the Dragon Queen: Aftermath

After dealing with the remaining threats in the castle, Escalarta sends the group of adventurers to take out the cultists at Parnast. Unfortunately, cultists are not the only opposition they face there. The cultists send waves of villagers to eliminate our heroes.

For better or for worse many in the party willingly kill the villigers along with the cultists. After the cultists are destroyed, Kaelthiros has a crisis of conscience. Though he did not intentionally injure any of the villagers, he felt responsible.

In an effort to make amends, he found a surviving young village boy named Elros. Surely, here was a chance to nurture a life. He picked up the boy and began walking into the castle. He would raise the boy as a son . . . or not. For as soon as he broke the plane of the castle's entrance, lightning struck the boy in his arms and killed him. Escalarta, the castle's guardian, would not suffer the boy to live!

Heartbroken and despondent, the ranger fell to his knees and wept. Surely, Bahamut knew he only meant the best. Such good intentions - such tragedy. He headed inside the castle and engaged Lucien for guidance and comfort. However, he would not be permitted much time for reflection or rest. Escalarta was now taking them to the hunting lodge to eliminate Talis and the other cult member who made residence there . . .