Characters: Randal, Grim, Anthony, Terus, Nomin, Julian, Samael.
NPCs: Yimluth Elkmoon: The Elk Father (Druid of Silvanus), Kynwras Firsul: The Watcher of Suzail and Grand warwizard of Cormyr, Lord Illance, Felicia Illance, Candlekeep Monk, Ulraunt: Keeper of the Tomes of Candlekeep, Myrrim: Great Wrym Deathless Silver Dragon, The Knightswood Nine, 4 Marble Colossus of Myth Tarna, Avazgourlchaeril the Guardian of Elhold.
M 16 Mirtul 1374 - L 16 Mirtul 1374
5600 XP
The party drew near the two bodies they had found in the Sibilant Shade’s den. Terus and Nomin recognized one as the skeleton of an elf, and the other a human. Upon close examination of the bones, Julian noticed that the same dark effect had struck each victim dead. The human however, had been subjected to the power for days, whereas the elf’s bones showed a much faster rate of decay. The party cringed, for the thought that this elf was their comrade Balin was obvious. Grim stepped back from the darkness and invoked a powerful Hindsight.
In his wizardly vision Grim saw the events of the past few days that transpired in this very cave. The visions started with Aurgloroasa meeting with a group of five epic dragonslayers called Tiamet’s Talons. They had just brought Aurgloroasa the body of an adult Copper Dragon in exchange for a sizeable sum of gold from the dracolich’s hoard. Grim also witnessed the timeline of Lord Huntsilver’s last few living days. Huntsilver was initially brought into the cave by the Cultists of the Dragon, it was then they had found the decoded Anointment Anagram on Huntsilver’s person. They had the information they sought, but for days continued to torture the Knight Draconis for pleasure. Aurgloroasa had cast a terrible necromantic decay upon Huntsilver whom slowly wilted more with each passing day. The most disturbing vision however, was that Aurgloroasa had also been corresponding with another individual, known only as the Lost King. It seemed their destruction of the Great Dracolich would not be the end of the Cult of the Dragon’s influence here in Cormyr; the remaining Knights Draconis and the Crown Prince remained in great danger. At last Grim viewed the most recent events; Balin’s incapacitated body being dragged into Aurgloroasa’s personal den by Cult Magi, and Aurgloroasa finally dealing a death blow to bodies Huntsilver, and Balin.
Grim retold the chilling tale to the rest of the party, whom had already begun to disperse in search of more clues to unravel this mystery, and unique treasure within the hoard. Randal found a number of holy relics plundered from various churches and clerics. Anthony found a series of letters and lists. Each of them with directions, names, and places concerning the most recent Knight Draconis abductions, as well as trade routes for the Dragoneye Dealing Coster which recently came under heavy raiding. The sender’s name on these letters… The Lost King. He also found correspondence between the late Lord Szwebtil Idool, and the Sibilant Shade, once again confirming his connection to the Cult of the Dragon. Finally, Anthony found the missing solved-form of the Anointment Anagram. The old one which they had begun their great searches for previously read…
Glory Undo,
with Aleron’s Ivy,
Sees bold bet,
Myth bore
a Lance I
Heed turn,
Went very raw
in
Last Cry!
The wrong
O Elk! turn not I, an Elk foe!
The solved form however, read quite differently…
Young Lord,
with royal veins,
to be blessed
by mother,
Caelina,
under the
Wyverynwater,
in
Crystal
Grot when
Loke turn into Faenloke.
So the party finally realized, that their investigations of Aleron I’s famous Ivy, the artifact lance Last Cry wielded currently by Baron Thomdor, and the legend of Yimluth the Elkfather seemed to have been for not. But then Yimluth reminded them of the great deeds they had still done and the friendships they had made in the process while searching through these legends were still worth their trouble. Not to mention that they were just half a step behind the Cult of the Dragon even with the diversion. Most of all, the party now knew what the purpose of the Knights Draconis meetings, poems, and disappearances had been for. The Knights Draconis or whoever was left, are planning to have a figure named Caelina re-anoint Azoun V Obarskyr in the Crystal Grot under the Wyvernwater Lake when the Loke constellation turns to Faenloke. There was not much time, but at least the party now knew where and when they must be to protect the ceremony from the many threats of the Cult of the Dragon, Tiamet’s Talons, Obold’s Army, the Eye Rippers, the Lost King, the parliamentarians, and whoever else would seem to benefit from the weakening of the purple bloodline.
The party then began to search through the great treasure pile with eager eyes finding a number of magical items of great power and intrigue. Before the party could discuss how the vast amount of coinage would be divided, Julian sprung upon the pile and gloriously proclaimed to have the solution required. “Witness my great spirit army of treasure counters!!!” Julian shouted, and with a small puff from his finger a single small spirit appeared before him awaiting instructions. The party nearly suffocated in the damp cavern from their tremendous laughter. Julian’s face grew red; he turned and ignored the party as he cast 4 additional Unseen Servant spells to bring the spirit numbers up to the appropriate size of roughly 150. Along one of the great walls of Aurgloroasa’s lair sat 11 heavy trade wagons; their tops still covered in torn purple cloth adorned with the familiar heraldry of Lord Illance’s Dragoneye Dealing Coster. Inside each wagon were many great chests filled with precious metal ingots, rare spices, silk, and other valuables worth upwards of 3 million Cormyrian crowns. Although Julian and Terus gave some piercing looks at the treasure, the party agreed to return it to its rightful owner.
Tulgar had made his way deep into the cave toward the back wall in a dark rocky nook. As he pushed through the coins he noticed they were chilled at first, as then nearly frozen solid. He pushed as much as he could of the cold coins away from the corner leaving a large half-sphere of piercing cold coins, locked together in ice. Tulgar called the rest of the party in to investigate. Grim attempted to see into the pile with his arcane vision but could not penetrate the thick shell of gold metal which surrounded whatever power magical aura was at its center. Yimluth recommended dispelling the effect, but attempts failed. The spell casters deduced that whatever was at the center of this pile of frozen treasure was an artifact of epic icy power. They chiseled out as much of the not-so-frozen treasure away to reduce the size and made numerous other magical and mundane attempts to break through, but all failed. Finally, they lifted the pile of gold and ice away from the wall telekinetically and locked it within a portable hole.
With their investigation and looting now complete, the party agreed to Teleport back to the Gardens of Suzail and seek council with the next best sage on Cormyrian magic and lore since Alaphondar Emmarsk was still missing; Kynwras Firsul: the Watcher of Suzail and Grand Warwizard of Cormyr. The party’s warwizard pins allowed them to teleport directly into the Gardens of Suzail where they were greeted by a number of Purple Dragon Knights whom escorted them directly to the highest eastern tower in Obarskyr Castle. The Grand warwizard’s tower rose high above the castle itself with great gothic columns, arcane runes, and monstrous dark stone carvings at every turn. At the top Kynwras Firsul was waiting in the midst of his moderately disheveled study. His study was filled with battle maps on Suzail’s defense, shelves of magical tomes, and a vast collection of Azoun V’s toys (Kynwras was the first to notice Azoun V’s innate magical talents and has been acting as his personal magical tutor in addition to his usual duties).
The party informed Firsul of the recent events regarding the Knights Draconis, the Cult of the Dragon, the anointment of Azoun V, the Faenloke, and of the references to the Lost King they had found in Aurgloroasa’s lair. Firsul stated that he was entirely unaware of the plans to anoint Azoun V and promised that so as long as he was the Watcher of Suzail, Azoun V wouldn’t leave his guard until the threats of civil war and the orcs were through. Firsul was frustrated and disturbed by the recent events told to him by the party. He also answered their questions regarding the lost King by telling the party that apparently in 752 DR a powerful renegade captured the crown of Cormyr for a from the Obarskyrs before being battled back a few days later and disappearing into obscurity. His thoughts were that perhaps this individual was the secret leader of the Parliamentarians, if of course he could be proven to actually exist. Kynwras also said how unfortunate it was that the High Sage Alaphondar was still missing, because he would have been perfect for these sorts of questions. After some more discussion, the party left the Grand warwizard’s tower and made a quick stop at the Illance Manor in Suzail’s Gardens.
They once again set their eyes upon the Illance Manor’s high turrets, large windows, white-washed stone, and powerful patches of Ironvine. The party was immediately welcomed into the Manor by the housestaff whom informed them that Lord Illance and his daughter were taking some later afternoon tea outside the atrium. After many greetings from the family the party finally managed to get a word in that they had brought something else of great value back to Lord Illance, the cargo of his missing caravans. Julian stepped forth again and this time successfully called upon his Unseen Servant Army to carry the chests into the manor unassisted. Lord Illance and his family gave their eternal thanks once again, but the party could stay no longer. The words of Grand Warwizard Firsul still resonated in their minds; they must return to Candlekeep.
With Grim’s help, the party Teleported to a location which neared the rocky crags of Candlekeep. The bitter cold, salty Sword Coast air slashed across their faces as the party stumbled up the rocky pathway toward the keep. At the great wooden door the party was told they couldn’t enter again for at least another month according to the strict rules set by Keeper of the Tomes, Ulraunt. The party did manage to receive a visit from Ulraunt himself through some epic negotiations with the blinking candle. The party explained to Ulraunt their dire situation and offered the entire black library of the Cult of the Dragon they had found in Aurgloroasa’s lair in return for just one more visit. Ulraunt finally accepted stating to the party that even so their services here at Candlekeep may not be enough to give them the knowledge they require. The old Keeper of the Tomes did have one idea however. The party sat in the warm dry air of Candlekeep observing the floating candles and endless bookshelves, and enjoyed some monk cheese and bread. Just as sleep was about to set in the party was awoken by a circle of 7 candles that lured them down deep into the mountainside of the keep, and finally, into the very foundation of Candlekeep itself.
The party now stood in a pitch black cavern of unknown dimension, the circle of 7 candles their only light. Then a great gust of cold air swept over the party temporarily extinguishing the candles. They choked on the dust cloud that surrounded them of what seemed like ten thousand ancient books slamming their covers all at once. When the haze partially cleared they found themselves standing next to the great head of a colossal translucent dragon. Randal recognized it as a Great Wyrm Deathless Silver Dragon. She announced herself as Myrrim the great ghost dragon of Candlekeep, and expressed her curiosities about the group’s recent interests in Cormyrian history. After some more introductions, the party asked her to tell the tale of whom “Mother Caelina” could be and her opinions as to what the anointment of Azoun V could be for. Myrrim said…
“Long ago in the early days of the northern human race, most settled lands were in the control of the powerful Elven Houses. The marauding threats of goblinoids, giants, and dragons were serious threats to the early enclaves of man. Through some great act of magic, a unique and powerful dragon named Caelina was called from the planes to act as a protector for these early humans. Her scales gleamed with a purple hue and so she became known to the northern human enclaves as the Great Purple Dragon. With this new protector the humans were able to slowly battle back the evil races from their lands, and also reclaim territory for the Elven Houses. In the last battle between the humans and the goblinoid races the bravest and most noble warrior of the northern human enclaves rode with the Purple Dragon and led them to victory, solidifying centuries of prosperity for the early race. After the battle the Purple Dragon bestowed her own blood into the noble human warrior, anointing him as the first ruler and Trueblood of the northern lands (Aleron Obarskyr I). In the aftermath of the Great Battle a number of human enclaves united together and returned their gratitude to the Purple Dragon through reverence and protection. These Purple Dragon enclaves prospered and grew with their devotion to the Purple Dragon’s ideals. Eventually, these humans would grow powerful and founded the human country of Cormyr under the leadership of the Truebloodine. However, after hundreds of years of prosperity, the Cormyrians forgot their reverence for the Dragon, and the Truebloodline became diluted. With the death of King Azoun IV, the Truebloodline was deeply weakened. Sightings of the Purple Dragon have become scarcer in recent times, as she has most likely entered a slumber to conserve the last of her energy. As the Purple Dragon’s strength is intimately tied to the people of Cormyr’s belief in her, it is likely that she is weakening along with Cormyr at this time. It seems the strength of Cormyr now lies delicately between the reverent Cormyrian people, and their exceptional Purple Dragon.”
After the tale, Myrrim let out another deep dusty breath as if she had just closed a massive tome. The party thanked her for the knowledge and then asked her about the Knights Dragonis and the details of their role in all of this. Myrrim answered…
“This secret society was founded by Aleron Obarskyr Trueblood, around 26 DR. Originally, the society was composed of King Obarskyr’s most trusted knights and mages. The Knights Draconis serves the following important purposes in Cormyr to this day. First, they actively attend to the Purple Dragon in Her lair. Second, they serve to guard the most precious resource of wealth in Cormyr, the Crystal Grot. Third, they serve to continue the Cormyrian people’s belief in the Purple Dragon Bloodline so that the Purple Dragon will remain strong and thus strengthen Cormyr. Knights Draconis members are chosen by those of the inner-sanctum because of their exceptional belief in the Purple Dragon. Many of the secret order’s members are Cormyrian officials, leaders, and figures of large influence in organizations such as the Purple Dragon Knights and the War Wizards.”
“The Knights Draconis is divided into two tiers of secrecy. The most loyal and trusted Inner Circle is comprised of those whom act as both lair sentries, stewards to the actual Purple Dragon and magical miners within the Crystal Grot. The four highest ranking members of the Outer Circle serve as Key Guardians, holding the magical keys necessary to travel through the portal into the Crystal Grot. Others in the Outer Circle are often only partially aware of the organization’s true nature. The Outer Circle is largely a testing ground for those whom have shown higher than average connection to the Essence. Living within the Crystal Grot and serving Caelina is considered a great honor within the Knights Draconis. However, the highest honor considered in the organization is to be consumed by the great dragon, and thus become part of the immortal spirit of Cormyr.”
“Long ago, the four most important members of the Knights Draconis were each given a single scale from the great purple wyrm Caelina. The fifth and leader of the outer circle of knights was told the secret location of the portal which linked Cormyr to the Crystal Grot. By receiving a blessing from each of the scale bearers the outer circle knight could enter through the portal into the Crystal Grot for a limited period of time.”
Once again, the party thanked Myrrim for her vast knowledge concerning Cormyr’s history. Long ago she was a silver dragon born from the Thunderpeaks. The party then asked Myrrim about the Palaghard I Council Texts and the possible whereabouts of Alaphondar. Myrrim said that neither she nor anyone other than the highest members of the Knights Draconis had ever seen or knew where the actual Palaghard I Council texts were. She considered herself lucky to know as much as she did about the subject of the Knights Draconis, but did offer a few suggestions. Myrrim stated…
“Some popularized locations for the Palaghard I Council Texts include: In King Palaghard I’s actual tomb, lost in a magical Refuge created by the Sword Heralds, or sealed within the heavy marble stones of the extension that Palaghard I ordered of the royal court on one unusual summer night.”
Her personal opinion though was that these locations were too obvious and have never turned up any solid evidence. If she were to look for them, she would start at a place known only as Elfhold, a great temple within the ancient city of Myth Tarna.
“Tarna was once an elven Mythal city rivaling even Myth Drannor in power amongst the Cormynthor Kingdoms. However, it eventually collapsed and remained forgotten for thousands of years. It was rumored to be just west of the Thunderpeaks, and it may be in what is known as the Vast Swamp.”
Nomin then remembered that recently, an adventuring group known as Moon’s Twelve ventured into the Vast Swamp and supposedly discovered the ruins of Myth Tarna. The only survivor, a ranger named Sylara made claims of being hounded by mind flayers and beholders. She died of consumption one week after returning from the swamp. The party agreed that the Cult of the Dragon is most likely going to desire the Palaghard I Council Texts in order to find the Crystal Grot. Thus, they must find the Palaghard I texts first and protect them at all costs. Worse, the Cult of the Dragon has known about this for days already and could have already been to Elfhold and found them. The party began to make preparations to return to Cormyr at once.
Julian spoke to the ghost dragon of the forest in which he must plant the father seed given to him by the Avatar of Corellon. Grim also spoke to Myrrim about his quests to avenge the Twin Sorceresses; however Myrrim merely laughed and promised that someday Grim could return and ask her again. The party then wished the ghost dragon of Candlekeep well and left back up the winding stone staircases and Teleported to the Vast Swamp in search of yet another great elven mythal, Myth Tarna.
The moon was now high in the dark sky of the 16th of Mirtul as the party appeared in a flash within the Vast Swamp. Croaks and howls filled the musty swamp air as large black flies buzzed past their ears. Those whom could not passively fly were stuck trudging through deep mud and boggy peat. Almost immediately the party felt many eyes upon them as they cut their way through the damp underbrush. Tulgar helped the party get oriented initially; as they waited Samael could have sworn to have seen a large yellow eye like that of a beholder looking out beyond a fallen treestand, just watching…
The party moved forward despite the unnerving feeling of watchful eyes all around. Julian was on the lookout for 5 eyed creatures in particular. Even though he now possessed the black soulstones, Julian gripped firestorm hoping this would not be the time they would strike. After hours of searching the party found the first sign of Myth Tarna, a great stone pillar rising from the watery ground. Even though it was 15 feet tall, the pillar was covered in Spanish Moss and must have been sunken down under the swamp tens of feet at least. This was an unfavorable discovery, for the excavation of elven ruins was not something they had time for. The party continued onward finding a number of other mostly ruined structures with elven runes. The more intact the structure generally the more powerful the magical runes they found upon it. Always they were abjuration runes standing to hold the destructive powers of time and the swamp at bay. At this point nearly all of the party had witnessed the occasional beholder, or hobgoblin following them at safe distances. None of these evil creatures dared approach to threaten the party however, for they saw the way these adventurer’s from Pinehill navigated the Swamp with ease due to their epic skill and powerful magical auras.After what seemed like an eternity, the party came upon a portion of high ground within the swamp which had been maintained by the extremely well-preserved elven structures adorned with blindingly powerful rune magic. The constant sound of swamp-life was replaced by an unnerving silence. The party felt as though they had just stepped back in time thousands of years. Grim looked toward one of the many great structures before them; its architecture reminded him of a number of other elven temples he had seen in his many adventures. This one had at its highest point a partially preserved marble relief of two beautiful elven maidens holding a great orb towards the sky. The thought that these could be the Twin Sorceresses he was to avenge pulled Grim toward the structure for a closer inspection. The rest of the party set their eyes upon the immensely powerful rune magic carved into the temple. Its shape was that of a great roof, being held upwards against the sky by 4 ancient silverbark trees and four 120 foot tall columns carved to represent elven knights in full platemail.
The party drew closer and closer, seeing the rune magic glow brighter as they approached, then suddenly they felt a gust of crisp wind circle around them. Voices from all directions called out to them in many languages and asked that despite their quest and power they should not pass any closer. The temple guardians would have no mercy for good or evil creatures. Anthony called out to the voices and stated that they were on a quest to stop an evil power called the Cult of the Dragon and that their goal was to protect the lands of Cormyr and the young King Azoun V. The voices once again warned that no matter what good they thought they could do by breaking into this temple, they would cause more evil in the process but unleashing its secrets within. The party halted and briefly shouted their options to one another in the gusting cyclone and decided to push forward. Upon their next movement forward a thunderous rumble from the temple shook portions of its marble façade to the ground, and many birds from the trees around into the air. Two of the four great marble columns slowly sprung to life and stepped forward to crush the party. At the same time a wave of yellow light originating from the elven rune magic adorning the Colossus’ blasted the party. All but the most epic of their magical items was suppressed under the great wave of power. Grim clenched his arcane fist born of pure weave energy, and willed it to remain despite the dissonant Antimagic fields.
Julian leapt forward first and positioned himself between the two great Colossus’ to distract them from the rest of the group; hoping he could dodge their great blows faster than they could deal them. Grim moved back and out of the glow of the yellow light, then he called forth a great ball of force energy and hurled it into the Colossus crushing much of the stone it hit. Julian seeing this Replicated the effect just in time and another blast of force sent stone fragments flying off the great Colossus. Anthony and Nomin charged forward dealing considerable blows near their enemy’s feet. Terus focused his psychic energy and blasted away at the Colossus. But by this time the Colossus’ were ready and bashed into the party with their great stone longswords. As they struck the Colossus’ let out an epic roar and every bit of glass, gem, and crystal was Shattered at once in a deafening blast.
With dripping potions and cracked crystals covering their clothing the party struck back at the Colossus’ again with the same strategy as before. Grim and Julian’s force blasts had finally tore one of the two Colossus’ to the ground in an avalanche of marble. The remaining Colossus struck again into Terus knocking him nearly to death, however Anthony Manton Revivified the unfortunate psion just in time. Nomin struck again into the Colossus and with the aid of his fearless warhorse the Colossus was destroyed. With the dust of battle still lingering in the air, a new voice called out to the party from within the temple; an aged voice of thousands of years which cracked with sorrow over the recent sight.
“Stop at once! Do not go any further, for you have greatly weakened this bastion of power already. I shall attempt to help you if I can, but if what I offer is not enough, I shall not hesitate to avenge the great architects whom built this holy place.”
