Heritage

July 10, 2007

The group of eight is quite unhappy. They wake up in their rooms in Daerlun and the events of the previous day hit them. The morning meal is somber, only broken by Tequesta and Marcus eating as if there is no tomorrow. They discuss their options and realize that they can't let this dragon run free. They have to do something about it. They are still haunted by the vision of it flying away from the temple, shadows streaming out behind it, afraid of the chaos it could create.

Malcolm and Tequesta decide to head back to Arabel to see if they can talk to people there and track the dragon and what it did. Azle and Aurora say they will go to their people and see if they know anything. Duece, Lisha, Reece and Marcus are going to head to Suzail to start there and if they don't find anything, eventually get back to Arabel, talking to people as they go.

The next two ten-days are mostly uneventful. Malcolm is doing his research and finds out that Shadow Dragons aren't "natural" dragons. They are dragons that either use too much Shadow Magic or have spent too much time on the Shadow Plane. Given that this dragon said it had been trapped for almost a thousand years, they figure it is some other kind of dragon. It would be able to pull upon all of its former abilities as well as abilities of Shadow. That doesn't comfort anyone, for some reason.

The group, including Lisha and Tequesta, went on a few trips to track down rumors during these ten-days but they weren't anything. Lisha and Duece start a tentative relationship, spending some time together. However, Deuce is busy carving a staff for Reece, so anything between him and Lisha doesn't progress very fast. Marcus makes several potions to replenish the ones they used as well as doing a few other things.

They are together, except for Aurora and Azle who haven't come back yet, although no one expected them so soon, when they hear rumors of a black dragon in the King's Forest. Marcus, Reece, Deuce and Lisha decide to head out the next morning to see what would come of this. They stop at an Inn on the way and hear more rumors, thinking that maybe it could be a "normal" black dragon but still decide to check it out. It was seen near some elvish ruins.

The next morning, in the bright sunlight of Mirtul, they head to the ruins. When they get close, Deuce manages to find out that the dragon isn't there with Shadow Reveal but a portal is. And it was used recently. Further, the dragon left behind a message. They go closer to the ruins, which are just slabs of stone covered with plants. It's tough to see the ruins through the forest but a few areas are too level.

There is a wall about two feet high, covered in vines, that has had some of the vines cleared to reveal elven. It talks about how the portal connects to their brothers in Illefarn and their allies of Clan Melairkyn. The draconic says, "Now I will have my revenge." As Deuce is figuring all of this out, Reece is just staring at the wall. He senses a lot of magic there and isn't sure what to make of it.

The wall glows more fiercely and an aura washes over Reece. In his head, he hears, "You who are descended from me, Ioulaum, shall now receive your heritage. While it will help you with the task you have set for yourself, there will be an even greater need for it." With that, the knowledge of Netheril floods Reece's mind. It is too much for him to take all at once and he passes some of it onto Marcus and Deuce. Lisha can only watch as it happens.

When it is over, all of them are reeling a bit, except for Lisha, who couldn't receive anything. They certainly know a lot more about magic and some of their abilities have improved as well. Marcus wants to go back and try some things in his main lab but Lisha reminds them of why they are there. They go back to studying the ruins.

The portal seems straight forward now. They are able to look at it and figure out that it goes to Undermountain but not where within that graveyard. They activate it and step through into the dungeon. The stale air and coolness of the underground is shocking compared to the early summer day they had been enjoying. They are in a room with several doors and hallways leading out of it. There are some comfortable chairs here along with a shelf of scrolls. As they move toward the scrolls to check them out, they notice the drow. One snarls at them, "We have claimed this place."

Notes

• We didn't play last week due to the holiday.
• I try and work in some history to the gaming. Short snippets to explain more about FR. In this one, I had to explain about Netheril and who Ioulum was but I think it worked.
• The heritage was a cliche for Reece but worked and the player didn't mind either, so I went with it. It will help with some things later on in the campaign.