The Lady & The Wyrm Session 9

Making their way through into mountains of old, the party comes upon a discovery that will change their entire adventure from here on out…

The sun is shining nice and bright on the party all today. It provides them with a feeling of calm, as too does it for their horses. And to most, that is a good thing as horses are not meant to be this high off the ground. Their magickal wings flapping against the cool air below, propelling them and their riders forward much faster than if on foot. The air up here is certainly much colder than on the ground. And from what the Halfling woman told the group, it will only get colder from here. They do feel the emotional relief of the direwolf cloaks as they bundle them up around the best they can while holding onto their steeds. The wild lands and waterways of Amn sweep past below. The Cloud Peaks coming into view, while a smaller range of mountains, are no small rocks as they jut high into the sky in the distance ahead, reaching some 14,000 feet at certain peaks.

The western edge view of The Cloud Peaks

It doesn't take long for the party to see what Roselle had reported. In the distance, on the western end of the range, about two thirds of the way up on the snow-covered mountains, there is a huge hole in the face of the mountain. From this distance its hard to measure but it is clearly big enough that they could believe something as large as the Wyrm created it and went inside. How deep into the mountain it went, that is unknown. From their readings over the years, and what they were taught about dragons so far, one that burrows in this fashion just doesn't make sense. Another part of it's overall ambiguity. Once they get close enough to see the detail of the surrounding mountain landscape, there really is nowhere safe to land except a lightly wooded clearing about two hundred feet below the hole.

The horses glide down, dropping their riders off, and they themselves take off to graze. The environment here is lightly wooded. And it is bitterly cold. Needles and leaves and small berry-filled shrubbery and mosses blanket the snowy forest floor. Itself frozen with year round cold, snow, & ice. Also spotted about are some very attractive flowers. There are rocks protruding at random in varying sizes from small to large boulder. Some look as if they possibly just landed in place. The trees are tall, with thick trunks that thin out as they rise anywhere between fifty to one hundred and twenty feet above. They are spaced about anywhere from ten to thirty feet apart. They do hear, and once in a while see, the local fauna(birds/insects/small mammals & lizards, etc.) scattered about. Nothing harmful that they can tell. And from the days when they all were younger, the universal rule exists here too, even up this high. When everything suddenly goes quiet, that is when you listen the hardest.

After discussing their best options of how to enter the mountain, Sendak took point. He tied all four of their fifty foot ropes together, and only as a skillful Goliath can, easily made his way up the mountain face until he reached the new opening. He anchored the rope around himself, and signaled the rest of the party to make their way up. Everybody managed pretty well, except for Alystn who thought climbing the rope via his teeth was the best option. The rest of the party shaking their heads, regathered once they were back together at the lip of the hole. They all gazed into the enormous opening before them. Inka showered her party with the gift of Darkvision. They all looked at each other knowing they had NO idea what was before them, but forward was the only way. So forward they went, into this new maw of the mountain.

The breeze blowing in from the outside was still bitterly cold, and fills the now empty space inside the mountain. It bites their appendages as they huddle themselves up in their cloaks once more. The breeze coming from inside of the mountain caused by the new cavernous opening is chilly but also…unsettling. Regardless of it's temperature, it's source is what worries them all the most. And the smell. That awful odor they encountered the morning after the attack on Darromar is prevalent in the air here. And that all but certifies they are in the right place. At the right time. The late morning light fills the cavern they are in now, but it only reaches so far. Deeper in, the darkness prevails. Deeper in, where they must tread. This space still carries an enormity to it as they now know the dragon somehow made it's way through here. At times there is water leaking out of the walls, & in one case, a small stream makes its way across their path. They're guessing that wasn't there before. In this scenario, they are not able to tell if they are walking straight ahead, downwards, or upwards. They are just set in moving forward. Eventually there is a clear turn to the left as they make their way. It now feels to have gotten warmer this far into the Peaks as they feel the heaviness of their cloaks upon them. The interior breeze relented a bit ago, and the air is now warmer, and stale with the pungent odor of an unknown doom.

Just when they think they cannot possibly walk any further through the mountain without popping out the opposite side of it, they arrive into an opening that finally comes to an end. A sheer wall of rough hewn rock lies before them about one hundred feet away, and unknowingly tall. The ground at it's bottom angularly rises into a small hill like structure made of large pieces of rubble, mostly from the collapsed area where the dragon seemingly stopped burrowing. Yet, unless it had the powers of invisibility, there is no wyrm here. And that is because upon the top of this rocky cairn, there indeed lies a body on a large flat piece of stone. It is a small body. Resembling that of a human from this distance. It is lain on its side in a fetal position and facing the back wall of the mountain room. The party can see a mop of dark colored hair covering the head. You see that it is covered in tattered clothing of colors dirtied by the mountain interior. And then you see the legs move, stretching outwards as of someone in a deep slumber. Yet this being does not slumber. It realizes…

The Princess raises her head and turns to the ruckus that woke her. Her hair falls down in front of her face which from here is not very discernible. The first thought that would cross most minds upon seeing the girl is that "she's alive!" Yet that may not have been the party's first thought right now as they look upon the girl. She scrambles to her hands and knees and pushes herself up against the back wall of the cave area. Instantly her hands reach up and start to claw away at the rock wall before her. Of course, not much happens except her hands recoil in obvious pain as she is not particularly built to burrow. Especially through the rock of an ancient mountain. Yet her pause and looking at her hands makes one wonder if she thought she actually could at some point. The young lady then rises to her feet slowly, stretching her full petite frame until she stands still, looking down upon the party. And that is when they see for the first time, the very much alive, The Lady Meylara Eurestel, Princess of Tethyr!

The Lady Meylara Eurestel, Princess of Tethyr looking a little worse for wear

The Princess stands frozen in place, seemingly in shock to see others near her. Especially this varied gaggle of beings. She then shakily says, "Who…who are you?" with a hint of defense as well, as she leans down a bit to get a closer look at them all. After all, its not every day two Elves, a Firbolg, & a Goliath traipse through the actual inside of a mountain that wasn't an inside of a mountain until very recently. And if there was a Wiseman among them, he would tell them this…The Princess is wary of them all. She does not fully understand what has been & is happening to her as of late. As educated, snobbish, rebellious, and spoiled she may be as a teenage Princess, she is in this moment a very scared and lonely little girl with a solid mountain behind her, and a party of four exotic strangers in front of her.

Pip began introductions and including very sincerely how happy he was to see the Princess alive. Sendak and Alystn stayed silent, but watchful as Inka also remained silent, yet held up The Sun's Rest in full view. This captured the young lady's attention very quickly. Upon a further look over, Sendak noticed some things about the Princess that were clearly "wrong"(he tries to abstain from being TOO judgmental due to his recent actions that have him thinking a lot deeper than he usually does.) about her appearance. Yes she was dirty and ragged, but it was her features that disturbed him. He saw that her ears were unnaturally pasted to the sides of her head. Her nails were longer than normal and dead looking. Lastly when she spoke, he saw that her tongue was blackened. He wasn't sure of the concern level to all this, but he felt concerned nonetheless. The party members each tried questioning the young girl to get any pertinent info they could. Mostly she answered as expected. Sendak thought to use his Detect Thoughts ability on the girl, yet all he could see in her mind was a raging storm of nothingness. She didn't know where she was, why she was there, or what she should do next. Inka and Pip made it clear to the party what should happen next. Get the tiara on the girl's head and get themselves out of this mountain.

Realizing any further discussion would only delay them, the group worked on making sure the Princess knew they were here to get her back home to her Father, the parent when questioned, she seemed most alert to. Now that discussions have been had, and the tiara safely in place upon the young lady's head, they begin to lead the Princess out of this cavernous structure and back to the opening, the first step to home. This is quicker going for them on the way out than it was on their way in. Maybe because of the relief. Maybe because of the excitement. Or maybe it's because of the bats. Most can't blame a bat for showing up in such a glorious new cavern like this. It's perfect for them. And these aren't your ordinary bats. These are a bit larger. They are also covered in a white fur. And their claws which shine like ice, can be seen from almost any distance above. At first there was just one or two, but as they hurriedly progressed, they notice there are more. A lot more, as they look up and see upon the ceiling of this particularly large area they are currently in, roosting upside down, seemingly relishing in the frigid wind blowing through the area from the newest mountain opening, dozens and dozens of the bats. And without warning, they swoop down and begin to swarm mere feet above you. The Princess screams. The bats screech. It is quickly becoming much more of a chaotic scene than they need it to be right now.

Bats in a cave is fine. When they are giant ice bats, that's when you run.

The party adjusted their positions and surrounded the princess as they ran. They all try and maintain the same direct route back to the entrance they took on the way in. Alystn In the chaos, runs into the Princess. Her hands grip his shoulders much harder than he would expect a young lady to do so. Its gotta be the adrenaline. He then looks to her eyes. The irises are still the green speckled golden yellow they were before. But this time he notices the pupils. They are unnaturally vertical. And then all of his worst fears are realized, all at once. As he looks upon her head, there is no tiara. He for some reason instantly looked upwards and sees one of the ice bats flying away with The Sun's Rest in its claws. He, and the rest of the party who now paused as well, look to at the Princess. Her face shows an indescribable look as she lets Alystn go, and falls to the ground. Her young hands and knees impacting the ground with great force. The Princess lets out a yell that could've been a roar, as it echoed through the cave. Everyone freezes in their tracks at the terrifying sound. Even the bats flew upwards and away. They all look to see these smoky black swirls begin to form around her. And then her head arches up and there is no argument this time. The roar this time is deafening, as the Princess in front of their eyes begins to change. Her skin goes from milky white to black. Scale like features begin to form as her hair begins to recede into her now scaly head. And she begins to quickly grow in size. Her roars increase as her joints twist and lengthen to unimaginable lengths. Her head expands and begins to grow upwards and outwards. Large scaly wings sprout from her back. She continually grows and grows, her neck inexplicably long, until she nearly takes up the entire space they're all grouped in. And there now before them, stands The Wyrm. Which for the first time, and now forever, leaves absolutely no doubt in their minds, The Lady IS The Wyrm!

Once a Princess, now the mighty Wyrm, in all of it's evil, destructive glory

The mighty dragon rears its head up and unleashes its lightning and steam breath in an arc up and across the roof of the cave. It takes no more than a moment for it all to start to crack and break apart as the party are caught in the cave-in brought forth by the beast. The last thing they see before being buried alive by rubble is The Wyrm, turning and making its way for the entrance. And then, there is nothing but the horrible sound of a mountain imploding upon itself from the inside, ending with a crumbling, silent darkness...

Untold time passes until when each of the party awakes to the sounds of 'BANG CLANG BANG CRACK BANG'. Small bits of rubble and dust shower down around their heads and faces as they see firelight appear above them through the newly made cracks. Then they hear a gruff voice yell out "I've got one over here! Come here, help me with this!" Large rocks and debris is pulled off of each of them in succession. And then a hand reaches down to them. A dust-covered, leathered, & meaty hand. Each party member in turn instinctively grabs it, and like a fish on the end of a line, they are hoisted up and out of the rubble, allowed to stand back on their own two feet, together once again and alive. And standing in front of them is a Dwarf. He has a gloriously long and thick black beard. Once their vision clears they see a whole company of dwarves with them. They in their various outfits, and their mighty hammers in those meaty hands of theirs. Then, an all-too familiar voice rings out. They follow it up to the top of a pile of rubble where Fissok Sherstryk, leader of The Frackfall clan stood. Smiling wryly he says, "well what are you doing just standing around? We've got work to do!" He points his fingers in the direction of the entrance. And then the unmistakable roar of the Wyrm rings out. It is not in the cave, but it is nearby.

Once they are all dusted off and patted down by the fellow Dwarves to ensure they've all got their bits and pieces in order, Fissok calls out. "Oy, you might be needing this, ey?" In his hand Is The Sun's Rest. "I figured they not be needing it as much as ye." He thumbs behind him and then they see, although not as spectacular looking as before because of all the dust and debris, a pile about six feet high and ten feet round of dead ice bats. Every single one of em. Fissok adds one last thing to prepare you. "I need ye all to keep ye wits about ya. For what you're about to see…!" He heartily chuckles as he and his company march ahead of the party, all in formation two by two, leading out of the cave. Their very own Dwarven escort!

Once they finally see daylight as the entrance arrives, the roar of The Wyrm is now unmistakable. They also feel slight tremors at their feet as if something is shaking the core of the mountain itself. They all step forward, now standing at the lip of the entrance. The sun shining down on their faces. The cold bitter wind equally stinging it. And then The Wyrm's roar draws their focus down to the forest clearing below. And there they all see a sight they will never see again. On the ground is The Wyrm. It is on it's back, body squirming and struggling. It's wings pinned beneath it. It is being held down in place by another dragon! This silver dragon presses its colossal sized clawed foot into The Wyrm's chest. They follow it up its leg and to its gargantuan size length body(about eighty-five feet in length) and wings, and finally its massive frilled head as they are now looking upon what few have ever seen before. Eacoathildarandus, The Silver Echo of The Cloud Peaks.

Eacoathildarandus, The Silver Echo of the Cloud Peaks, a colossal-sized ally of mankind

The Silver Echo turns it's head up to look at them all. And then in a gentle almost joyful voice, it speaks out. "Ho ho my fellows. Do not be alarmed. This one is not going anywhere." It looks down to The Wyrm which seems to be weakening as its roar and thrashing have lessened. Light puffs of steam escape its mouth, but no lightning seems to be making its way out, just barely crackling down deep in its maw. Its head twisting back and forth looking at the predicament it is now in. It is suddenly not the biggest dragon in the room anymore. Matter of factly, it is dwarfed in size compared to the mighty Silver Echo. It itself a resident of these peaks for more years than you could count in ten lifetimes some say. And the recent activity by The Wyrm, awoke it from its most recent frigid slumber. And with the ability to sense such evil, it instinctively responded on the behalf of all that is good. Then The Silver Echo continues. "I reckon one of you has something," it turns it's head towards them all, its long silver neck beaming shards of sunlight off it. It seems to sniff the air and continues, "something that will help quell this mighty beast, hmmm?" it asks quizzically but purposely.

In the time it takes them all to cover the two hundred or so feet space to the clearing, The Silver Echo had reared back and unleashed its cold breath upon The Wyrm. This little extra safety measure impressively covered The Wyrm's eyes and sealed closed it's mouth in pure white ice. As they approach this unimaginably wondrous scene, The Silver Echo assures them its OK. "Go ahead little ones, you are OK now." It's eyes point them to the few spines on The Wyrm's head, one of which is small enough for The Sun's Rest to be placed upon. The moment they do, The Silver Echo releases it's hold on The Wyrm as they all, the party, the Dwarves and The Silver Echo, watch as The Wyrm magically transforms back into The Princess. The party all instinctively approach her, ensuring the tiara is comfortably, but safely rested upon her head. It is decided it should be tied to her head using small lengths of rope and her hair. She weakly looks up at them all, and at The Silver Echo. She first gasps and scuttles backwards, right into the arms of Fissok. He assures her as would a Grandfather. "Easy now my young Lady, that is an old friend. You don't need to be afraid." The Silver Echo then brings its colossal head down to the entire group, focusing its gaze upon the girl. "Be at rest my young Tethyrian." it says in a very soothing and deep voice. "I sense things in you that should not be, yet I also feel the warmth of your heart. The tact of your young mind. Use these to your benefit. Use them to overpower this wrong that has been done to you. Allow your friends," as it turns its gaze to the party and the Dwarf, "to bring you home. From where you shall never suffer another day of malcontent, this promise I give to you my dear."

The Silver Echo then addresses the party, as Fissok wraps the girl up in his cloak to observe this part of the ordeal from afar. The dragon speaks to them all. "I know of you all, my fellows. You of the mountains and lakes and forests below. I sense the good in each of you. I can feel your anguishes and your troubles. I sense the losses abound from whatever this evil is bringing forth in this world. The skies and winds they talk to me. Most of all I can sense your determination and your hope. Use that unfailingly. Help the young girl. Help those below end whatever evil this is you have stumbled upon. I know not the fate of the world, I only witness it from afar, out of the reach of things most common. Yet I feel there are plenty more days made to come, thanks to the efforts brought forth by the likes of you. Go now, find your way home. Allow the girl to rest. She has a darkness over her I am not aware of in detail. I see your horses are of the winged variety. That is a funny magick, isn't it?" The dragon chuckles a bit, almost in a sign of possible recognition of that very magick. It then brings its face down to nearly ground level with them all. "As you go forth, go forth with this." The dragon's eyes turn into icy spheres, as from them they're guessing are its tears, roll down the dragon's maw to the ground in front of them. Four large spheres of ice lay in the snow. "Take with you a mote of my essence, the coldest waters of the highest peaks that I call my home. May their magick keep you safe, and full of my vigor!" And with that, the mighty Silver Echo turns and makes his way back up into the mountain, eventually disappearing into the cloudy peaks that they all now know houses one of the legends of this world. Imagine the stories they could tell…

After gathering themselves up and preparing to leave, a plan to return home had to be made. They had the most precious of cargo with them, and it was their agreed, their instinctual, duty to return the Princess home. And home was far away. They realized then, it seems they weren't going to have the direct help of Odyeus this time as he had not made an appearance. That left them concerned about the state of things back home. But in front of the Princess, they were a rigorous bunch, plotting out and mapping out in their discussions the best flight path home. So they decided it would be best to fly to the Amnian/Tethyrian border where they were dropped off by Odyeus before their time in Esmeltaran. Remembering the rule about incursions into foreign lands, they felt it safest to make their way back the exact same way they came. All while under caution as now they had The Princess with them. And with The Wyrm held back, who knows who may be after her or them, or both. With these thoughts in the front of their minds, they decided The Princess should ride with Alystn, he being the most fortified of them all just in case.

They all flew across the open lands in the late afternoon air. Alystn, getting slightly better at maintaining control of his flying steed, kept seeing The Princess look with excitement all around her as they soared through the air. Her tiara and its jewels sending glints of shine through his eyes. The group did now feel some actual relief. More so than they had before. They were able to rescue The Princess. They were able to quell the evil magicks of The Wyrm. And they met an actual dragon that didn't want to kill them! This was something they would take with them the rest of their lives. This good mood stayed with them for most of the flight. Things soured a bit as they approached what they remembered to be the border area they arrived in Amn at. The guards they were met by were also there, down in the grass. Yet this time, they were all lying down instead of on their own two feet. This caused a silent but immediate concern as the party members all shot each other a look between them from their horses. Inka with her new glasses that let her see incredible detail at distance, saw the guards were apparently asleep as they lay as if they fell where they stood. The group decided now would be a good time to "take a break" and check the scene out. They landed some distance away in a line of woods and slowly approached the group of sleeping guards. It would almost be ironic as you can enter most towns & cities in Faerun and you would be a safe bettor finding at least one guard asleep on post.

Yet, when the party approached closer to the men, they then saw they weren't sleeping to wake up again. They were asleep forever. Their necks all broken, leaving their heads laid out in unnatural positions. Alystn moved the Princess gently back behind him in an instinctual defensive move. And it's good that he did, as both he and Sendak suddenly felt something was VERY wrong, and each quickly took a step backwards. As they did, a javelin came flying at high speed, landing with a "thunk" into one of the dead guards. If they had not moved, one of them easily would have been impaled on the spot. The party instantly went into defensive formation, keeping the Princess out of the way as much as they could, all while still keeping her defended. And seemingly out of nowhere, they then saw the one who had thrown the javelin. Each party member in their own way gasped as they saw a face they had recently forgotten about. Approaching them from the south on foot, a large sword in two hands, a spear across its back, a snarling, large face stared them down. The Bounty Hunter had found them!

Not since the party back at Fellroy's had the party seen The Bounty Hunter. And this time it had its mark in its sights.

The battle was furious. This proud & monstrous being had skill and strengths unknown to the party. Weapons didn't seem to do too much. Any time a spell was cast, The Bounty Hunter knew how to evade it, or at least lessen its impact. Every move it made, every step it took, was directly towards The Princess. Even Inka's plan of using her innate magicks of Disguise Self didn't fool the monster when it looked right at the Firbolg and said "I will gut you first, blue one!"(Inka the Firbolg is one of Faerun's most unique appearing Firbolgs with her beautiful and gleaming dark blue hued skin). Thankfully on this day, the sheer numbers advantage was finally the last and only thing left the party had in their favor that held the monster at bay. Over numerous attempts at taking the creature down, it was Inka and her magickal Spiritual Weapon, affectionately named 'Bonk-Bonk' that was the key to victory. Having her fellows distract the beastly Hunter with their attacks, which eventually ended up getting the hulking Hunter to drop its spear, she used the time to focus, deeply. To bring forth all the suffering she had witnessed and that of herself had felt up to this point. She steadied herself, with a look to the Princess, and another to the skies, she cried out "My true God, Ilmater! Take within me the broken power of your might, and bring forth your wrath, for here be Bonk-Bonk!!" With a flash, the mighty spiritual hammer appeared, about twenty feet above the Hunter. The remaining party, trying to catch their breath, while constantly moving and parrying the Hunter's mighty sword attacks, saw exactly why the weapon had gained it's nickname. The hammer, enveloped in a holy light, spun in place until it was indiscernible in shape. And as if the invisible hand of The One Who Endures himself rendered it high, the hammer came down on the Bounty Hunter's head with unimaginable speed and force.

Well that was a sound the party, and The Princess, would not soon forget. The sound of the hammer meeting its target, cracking open the Bounty Hunter's skull, felling her in place forever. Everybody coiled down defensively, ensuring the effects didn't branch out to them or The Princess. Thankfully it didn't. The hammer simply dissipated into thin air, as most magickal weapons do of course. Sendak searched the body looking for any clues as to how exactly the Bounty Hunter had found them. All he found was this curious looking opaque sphere, hand held size. It appeared to have a tiny rounded bit of ruby embedded into it, just slightly raised past the sphere's surface. Oddly he felt connected to this object somehow, yet he didn't have an answer as to why. "Hmmm," he thought to himself, as he placed it in his pack. The rest of the party started sending healing and assurances to each other after that surprisingly tough fight. Recently, any battles they had gotten into, obstacles placed in front of them, they were able to overcome at an eventual and easier pace. But this creature before them, was tough. Very tough, actually. They wondered if from here on out, would that be the case moving forward. Things did seem to be ramping up lately. From where they went, to what they saw, and to what they learned. Never before had the title of hero felt heavier on their minds. Their Darromar Agent badges pulling heavier on their clothing. Yet, as they all met each other's gaze, and then to The Princess, that was the strength that kept them going. Being as one, taking on all responsibility and adventure placed before them by Fate itself. And with this, they gathered up their horses, and with The Princess securely in tow, flew across the border into their de facto homeland of Tethyr, to make their way back home to Darromar.

FIN