Dragon Fear

January 14, 2020

Dio tries to reason with the dragon.  Dio isn't sure if it's working as the dragon tells him to come closer.  The dragon says it doesn't want to talk to a voice.  Dio steps out and says more.  Dio can hear his friends spread out.  However, it's not working and the dragon breathes on the group!  The dragon's breath is freezing cold, even containing snow and ice in it!  The group reels from this.  Rolen shoots at the dragon but then says to retreat.  And the group does retreat toward the dragon.  The floor is slippery and they fall from time to time but they get closer to the dragon and attack!  Rolen can't believe it.  The dragon bites and claws and they are nasty hits.  

Rolen shakes his head moves forward and casts a spell at the dragon, making him afraid of Rolen.  The dragon does retreat!  Even Rolen seems emboldened by this and the group pushes forward.  The dragon may be griped in the feat of the spell but still attacks those who are close to it, getting in some hits here and there.  Gorstag and Dio keep pushing forward, at least getting one attack on the dragon, even if they have to charge across the icy floor and fall at the end of it.  They don't want the dragon to regain it's balance.  The dragon manages to get around a column and Rolen, the subject of the dragon's fear, goes out of sight.  As that happens, Dio and Gorstag can tell that the dragon has slipped the fear spell.  It has a lot of wounds, though, and instead once again sends needles of ice at them, which cutting or pierce into them.  The dragon then goes and drinks a potion.  Dio and Gorstag watch in horror as most of the dragon's wounds scab over and the dragon looks better.  Plus there are more potions!  

Kaji didn't like this development.  He reached deep into him and called up Kossuth.  He had used a fire spell but the dragon was far enough away that several hit the column it was behind.  First, Kaji turned his body to smoke, and drifted closer, seeing the dragon better.  Then he pulled on the fire within him.  A nimbus of flames surrounded him and he once again unleashed a torrent of flaming spears at the dragon!  This time four of the five hit solidly.  The burns that had just healed on the dragon were scorched again and the dragon looked even worse.  Dio and Gorstag rushed forward and between them both, managed to cut the dragon down.  

While they do notice the chests in the corner of the cave where the dragon had retreated, some of the ice was melting and revealing a passageway.  The group paused enough to heal but then went down the passage.  It ended at a wall but they could hear the chanting and looked at the wall carefully.  Eventually, the secret door was found and they burst into the room.  The room is filled with profane idols and the Sisters!  The women of the group are chanting at the altar while the men have weapons out and attack!  

Gorstag sees Troy and the rematch Gorstag wanted begins.  Sadly, it's over quickly because Troy may dominate with his fists but Gorstag, raged and with his glaive?  It's no contest.  

Kaji and Rikard blast the women and the ritual is cut short.  

The men do keep fighting until the last but soon it is over.  

As they look at the altar, Dio is worried.  They were using various bronze pieces in some ritual that Dio doesn't recognize.  The best that Rikard can tell, it's some advanced ritual of the goddess of loss.  Probably meant to alter or remove something that happened.  Given that the group recognizes the bronze pieces as from the Hammers, they wonder if it worked.  Dio doesn't know for sure and is worried.  How do you know if you have lost something?  

They go and find the treasure of the dragon, two chests, and the huge potions.  To the dragon, it was as if it were a flask to them.  To them, it's several gallons of potion!  

The chests prove tough as none of them are able to open locks.  The one chest has an exterior lock and a few hits from Dio's hammer and it's open, revealing a lot of coins!  The other one takes some time.  The lock is inset and it is reinforced with more iron.  Eventually, Kaji calls upon Kossuth and pumps heat into the back hinges.  Soon, they are glowing red and between Gorstag and Dio, they are able to snap the hinges and open the chest.  Inside are an axe, a sword in a leather sheath, and a dagger in a metal sheath.  The axe is well made, and appears like a dragon wrapped around a wooden tower, with wings unfurled.  The wings are the blades of the axe.  The sword is of some grey metal and the hilt looks like a tower.  The dagger?  Other than a simple hilt, the metal sheath has claws that come up and over the cross guard of the dagger, not letting it out.  

They go to sleep and ponder all of this.  

Rolen comes out of his trance and something is wrong.  His head won't clear, as if he had too much wine.  Rikard is bent, unnaturally, over his book muttering.  When Rikard tries to take the book and get Rikard to talk, Rikard blasts Rolen across the camp, summons the book back to him, and again bends almost into the book, muttering.  That wakes up the rest.  Most notice Hannah is gone.  

Dio starts trying to dispel whatever it is that holds Rikard while the others go back inside the cave.  It appears they missed a secret area!  Inside of it, another altar of offering, dominated by more profane figures.  Another sister, one they realized was missing from the group they fought, is dead, sacrificed to the idols.  

They wonder what happened.

6750 xp 

GM Notes

• Dragons in 5E have some good abilities but I also think some cheap ones.
• They have legendary actions which let them shake off effects.  I think to me it would be better to either give them better saves or straight up immunities.  Maybe a vulnerability?  
• I do like their lair abilities, which is what the shards of ice attacks were
• I wasn't great with accents.  The dragon just had a funny voice.  Again, I think it makes a difference.
• We did get very far with regards to plot but at least we did resolve the cliff hanger of the dragon! 

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