Dragonsgate
It’s been an age and three fourths since I updated this campaign journal. Thankfully, the party has progressed much further than I would have thought:
1. The party successfully vanquished the Tiefling swordsage Eirklaon and her partner Chandrakali. It took quite a while due to their inability to really land a solid hit on the AC 30 swordsage, but Alioth eventually whittled her HP down while the others took on the Rakshasa. Eirklaon died much faster than the Rakshasa, but Chandrakali survived due to her DR/Good and silver. Eirklaon managed to cast darkness before she died, through which Chandrakali escaped.
2. Knowing that the Zhentarim were indirectly implicated in this and seeing that Viram Eldershade is increasingly suspicious, the party goes consult Princess Alusair. They are sent off back to Red Spires, where they relax for a bit, only to receive a summons to Suzail once more—a grand council meeting.
3. The meeting is immediately strange. They see Eldershade, and his female knight companion, a tall, stoic, strawberry blonde. As the proceedings go underway, Eldershade is able to dominate Alusair and force her to act to sign a treaty with Sembia and Westgate. While this gravely weakens Cormyr’s national security, it allows Zhentarim agents (disguised as Sembian merchants) to infiltrate the country with impunity. The assembly erupts into an outroar, and an angry mob (enchanted by Eldershade) forms outside.
4. With the creative use of the silent image spell, Azareth is able to disperse the mob. However, a meeting with Caladnei reveals that she is highly suspicious of Eldershade’s actions.
5. The party is then attacked by Fire Knives assassins. A connection is quickly made: Eldershade is behind these attacks. His real name is Voltemand Cormaeril, and he seems to be assembling a very suspicious crew.
6. The PCs go off to investigate Dragonsgate by traveling by sea. The waters of the Dragonmere are now infested with pirates, and they are attacked almost immediately. The pirates are annihilated by their own stupidity and the party’s might.
7. Finally landing and forging north towards Dragonsgate, the PCs travel through the swampy area and encounter nothing less than an adult black dragon–Aszaufvorax. Almost getting slaughtered, the party manages to hang on until Alioth gets lucky and cleaves the dragon’s head in half.
8. Now emboldened and enriched by looting the dragon’s hoard, the party continues the trek to Dragonsgate.
9. The PCs come to a small village close to Dragonsgate named Blackwater Bend. Blackwater has been suffering strange attacks that have been drawing off their militia via strange howling sounds at night. The PCs learn that this is caused by the Blackwater Hollow, which they discover is a Night Twist—a terrifying tree that lures in its victims with haunting songs before thrashing them to death with its limbs. The PCs are able to destroy the wicked tree, and retrieve a lost weapon held by a hero of Blackwater: the sentient elven blade, The Last Winged Unicorn.
10. The village folk are jubilant at the destruction of the Hollow, and treat the PCs to a free night at the inn. However, the PCs wake up the next morning to realize that they are under attack. Ogres, dragonspawn, and hobgoblins raid the town. While the party puts up a formidable show and neutralizes the ogres and hobgoblins, a wyvern-riding redspawn Arcaniss sets the village hall and granary on fire.
11. Although Azareth had protected the village elder via resilient sphere, a sniper shot him in the back as soon as the sphere ended. Rushing to investigate the sniper, the party finds several Greenspawn sneaks camped out in an abandoned building. Alioth attempts to interrogate the sniper but fails to say anything, while Azareth resorts to using charm person to get answers out. Unable to convince the sneak to work for them, they end up executing the three dragonspawn.
Now the party is trying to figure out just how to get into Dragonsgate. The castle is a formidable work of defense, built on top of a 200-foot block of basalt, with 60-foot walls, trebuchets, and God knows how many soldiers. Rumors of the blue dragon Al’Lashvahazred are also sending chills down the PCs’ spines.
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