Campaign Chronicles-22-The Ancient Dragonborn Palace
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Chapter 22. The Ancient Dragonborn Palace
After taking a quick breather (and waiting for the crater to cool), the party decided to venture into the newly opened tunnel. After a ways in, the tunnel proved to be too steep, and the party ended up sliding down the tunnel, eventually emerging into a cavern. A quick glance revealed differences between this cavern and the slither lair- the walls were smooth, as if they were purposely constructed by sentient hands, and dim light could be seen down a distance hall. It soon became obvious that this was a building of some kind... and it also became obvious that it was occupied.
A group of undead dragonborn wandered about the room, and seeing the entrance of the party, turned and attacked. Though still slightly exhausted from the fight with the queen, the party managed to easily prevail, and continued exploring the underground construct. Traveling through the hallway, the party discovered that the walls, floors, and ceilings were completely covered by tic-tac-toe boards. The group found this odd, but had no explanation for it at the time.
Finally, the group came to a door, hearing voices and seeing light on the other side. After a moment of listening, it seemed that the voices inside were arguing about tic-tac-toe games, of all things. Realizing that whatever was on the other side was sentient (and not one of the mindless undead, or potentially trapped by them) and recognizing her native tongue, Sabi knocked on the door, calling out a greeting. The voices inside seemed confused at first, wondering why the door was knocking (and how a door could knock), but finally the door opened.
Inside, the party saw a magical, flaming skull, and what looked to be a badly injured dragonborn. The occupants soon proved to be friendly, though, and the party set up a temporary camp in the room, sitting down to a magical feast provided by Bastius. The skull explained that the two were part of an ancient dragonborn kindom, which had died out from a plague. The skull had been trying to cure the disease, but had instead turned himself into a skull, and his companion into an immortal (a much dumber immortal). The two had lived in the dragonborn palace ever since, as their kingdom died out or turned into the zombies now wandering the palace.
The two were quite happy to meet new people, and the skull (named Morte) agreed to show the group to the part of the palace dedicated to the deities. Along the way, they took a short stop at Morte's old room, seeing his library (and a portal that would return a caster to the location). When asked about the picture on the wall, of a Dragonborn couple and an egg, Mprte would say no more than that he was the red dragonborn in the picture; any more questions made the head somehow hang his head in sorrow.
After the stop, the group continued to the temple room, where altars to several of the deities were arrayed. Sabi approached the altar to Melora, Ibas flying besider her... and a strong wind manifested, blowing the rest of the adventurers out of the room. The doors shut and darkness fell, trapping Sabi and Ibas in the room, with the rest of the party unable to enter- Dorina's attempts to force the door resulted only in the loss of her lockpicks, as the door disintegrated her tools. Inside, Sabi fell into a deep (and very, very troubling) sleep, as Melora transformed the ranger and her beast companion. As the changes finished, Ibas threw himself against the door, causing it to burst outwards. The party rushed in to be sure Sabi was unharmed- and found her changed. Her greatbow was gone, replaced with a gleaming halbred, and her armor had a new glow to it, inspiring a small amount of awe at it's sight. Her gauntlets had changed, looking as if shimmering waves of heat were forged into the armor, and Sabi herself seemed much, much stronger. After confirming she was unhurt (and that Ibas wasn't hurt too badly from forcing the doors), Sabi returned to the altar of Melora. In a short conversation, Melora explained she had changed Sabi for the better, and gave a few cryptic clues to her disciple. The skull, Morte, had been watched by Melora, and would provide the party with a way out of the palace. Though she didn't explain what it was, she did instruct Sabi to tell the old skull that his wish would soon come true. She also explained that in the future, Sabi may want to come back to this temple, and that Ortis would know a way back. The halfling, Dorina, would need Sabi's protection... and that Kalarel, the priest of Orcus, had returned to the world of the living, and that Sabi and her companions would run into him again.
After thanking Melora, and conveying (some) of the deities words to her friends, Sabi and the group followed Morte into a chamber even farther underground. There, a conveyor belt system supported a series of giant, crablike submersibles, which Morte explained would help them swim through the underground river up to the surface. The party pushed three of them into the next room, an 'airlock' of sorts, and Morte explained how to use and operate the vehicles- an invention of his, when he was still alive. After learning the basic operations of the machines, the party paired up into their vehicles- Ortis and Bastius in one, Dorina in another with Ibas riding along, and Sabi and Aiden in a particularly lavish vehicle. Thus grouped, Morte flooded the room, and the party set out into the underground river, seeking the surface.
The party quickly became familiar with the machines, learning their basic capabilities (such as diving, rising, and annoying the DragonStar support operator) and the more advanced ones (such as attacking a group of rampaging Sea Devils, or ramming full speed into those dangerous opponents). Though still underground, the group seemed well on their way back to the surface...
Continue on to the next chapter of the chronicles: Campaign Chronicles-23-Welcome to Burden's Peak
