Epilogue

The guard-towers of the Greywall Clan stand strong once again, overseeing the mountain pass. A new wall has been erected, in its center a slab of smooth obsidian will forever hold the names of the Heroes that died to protect the Sword Coast from the Tyranny of the Dark Queen.

Tarkin and Inala look at the golden dwarven runes carved in the black stone: Arrakas, Olo, Ruthinn, Rildinel. So many other names, of the brave men and women that fought against the power of a goddess. Their names will never be forgotten, but most importantly, the legend of their bravery will live forever, not only in the cold stone, but in the songs of bards and on the pages of history books.

And in the hearts of those that fight, against all odds, when darkness threatens to smother the light. Their sacrifice will be a reminder to those that fear, to those that falter. Because no matter the strength of the villains, no matter their power, even a goddess will fall, when good people unite and fight together. 

Their memory will give all that look at the wall the one weapon they need against gloom and despair.

HOPE.

Session 44

Heroes: Inala, Arrakas, Ruthinn, Olo, Tarkin (special guests: Kerrik, Rake, and Ril)

Up in the red skies, the Metallic dragons face the Chromatic consorts. Fire, lightning, poison, acid, frozen cold rain down from their maws, as they tear each other apart with claws and fangs. As the dragons fall from the sky one by one, Prothanter the Gold soars alone, ripping the throat of the mighty red triumphantly.

Beneath them, in the Temple of Tiamat, the Heroes are too late to stop the ritual. As the Dark Queen climbs out of the hellish pit in the center of the temple, Severin, the leader of the Cult of the Dragon, cackles like a madman, gloating in his success. But his euphoria is short-lived, as the dragon-heads of Tiamat open and devour the cultists one by one, Severin first. There will be no victory for humanity this day, only the beginning of the Tyranny of Dragons, a reign of terror where the chromatic dragons will reign supreme.

The Heroes do not falter in front of the goddess, and charge to attack. The terrible gaze of the multi-headed queen clutches their hearts with fear, but still they fight. It is an unfair fight, mortals against a goddess, but still they persevere. With blades and magic, they hack at her flesh, and pummel her form, fighting against all odds. The Queen shows no mercy, bathing them in her draconic breath, slashing with her claws and bite.

Old friends join the fight when Heroes fall, but still the fight rages on, as the armies of the Lord's Alliance fight an impossible battle outside of the temple. Bloodied, battered, their strength depleted, the Heroes renew their assault. Until a last strike from the Heroes mighty blades hit her form, and the Queen begins to discorporate, her material body dissolving, and her essence cast back into Hell.

Tiamat is gone. The Sword Coast, the entire Faerun, is safe once again!

Serelath the Thunderer

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Dracolich (Adult Blue)

Serelath is one of the last dracoliches created by the Cult of the Dragon, before the focus of the Cult shifted to summoning Tiamat instead of creating more undead dragons.

He spent the last few centuries wreaking havoc to the Sword Coast with his undead rider, Naergoth Bladelord.

KILLED BY INALA

Session 43

Naergoth Bladelord

Heroes: Tarkin, Inala, Olo

While chromatic and metallic dragons battle in the sky, the Heroes focus they attention on the slaves and they slavers; they kill the cultists that were channelling the slaves into the kill-zone, and then direct the prisoners to one of the exits they've previously cleared. Then they proceed with their exploration of the tunnels.

Soon they come upon the trasure chambers, where the riches stolen from the Sword Coast have been stored. But the hoard is not unguarded: the undead knight Naergoth Bladelord and his monstrous ally, the dracolich Serelath, guard the mountains of gold and jewels with their unblinking gaze. The Heroes battle the undead guardians and destroy them. With a carefully cast detect magic spell, they spot two powerful magical items: a scroll containing a meteor swarm spell, and a ring giving them the power to cast a wish spell.

Proceeding ahead, they arrive in the cave where the Drakkhorn is kept: an air elemental blows thunderous winds into the huge horn, bolstering the spirits of the evil dragons, while a stone golem keeps guard. The Heroes destroy both creatures, thus inflicting one more blow to the Cultists and their nefarious plans.

Session 42

Temple of Tiamat

Heroes: Inala, Arrakas, Tarkin, Olo, Ruthinn

 

The Heroes join the battle, charging with the knights of the Order of the Gauntlet. Battling fearsome frost giants, they make their way to the base of the volcano. While the knights cover them, the Heroes enter the Well of Dragons.  

 

Exploring the volcanic tunnels, the Heroes fight several groups of cultist and their guard drake pets, until they reach a passage connecting to the Temple of Tiamat. There they spot several red wizards performing the ritual to summon the Dark Queen. Olo manages to assassinate one mage, but the Heroes decide to retreat.

 

They end up outside of the Temple, where hundreds of slaves are being sacrificed to the five consorts of Tiamat, immense chromatic dragons with fiendish blood. In order to stop the sacrifice, Arrakas uses the magical flute given to him by Prothanter the Gold; as the consort ready themselves to slaughter the Heroes, five majestic metallic dragons soar high above, roar their mighty challenge, then dive to attack the chromatic wyrms.

Session 41

Heroes: Olo, Tarkin, Ruthinn, Arrakas

The Heroes find refuge among the ruins of the town, while the remaining cultists retreat to the main tower. The day after, together with Kerrik and a few brave villagers, the Heroes assault the tower, and defeat all the remaining villains: Thundertree is free once again!

After some celebration, the Heroes return to Waterdeep by using Ruthinn's word of recall spell. There, they attend to the last Council of the Great Lords of the Sword Coast. The final preparations are at hand, and already several armies are marching to the Well of Dragons, while others gather at the front. The Council's spies have revealed that the ritual to summon Tiamat is nigh, and they must strike soon, or lose everything.

Dragonflight!

The Heroes, together with their most trusted allies, fly on dragon-back to the Well of Dragons; there, they witness the destruction wrought by the chromatic dragons and by the Cult of the Dragon, under the leadership of the mysterious Severin, Chosen of Tiamat.

Out of the Well of Dragons itself, a fiendish temple consacrated to Tiamat emerges, reaching high into the dark sky, one grotesque spire of dark stone surrounded by five more lesser spires. Flocks of chromatic dragons circle ahead, while all around the inactive volcano, hordes of Cultists, evil mercenaries, giants, evil humanoids and even devils from the Nine Hells are ready to face the united armies of the Lords' Alliance and their supporters.

As they survey the scene from the back of the mighty metallic dragons, the Heroes realize that the fate of the Sword Coast, and most probably the fate of all of Faerun, now lies in their hands.

Session 40

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Heroes: Arrakas, Olo, Tarkin, Ruthinn

The Heroes spend a night in Neverwinter, and then travel to Thundertree. They experience first-hand the destruction that the Cult of the Dragon has brought to the landscape, combined with the magical influence of the dragon claiming the region has his lair. At the outskirts of Thundertree they face a patrol of cultist, evil men able to summon the elemental fury of the dragons they're aligned to. The Heroes take care of the cultists, and approach the town as stealthy as possible.

 

In one of the abandoned and ruined buildings, they meet of group of street urchins, hiding from the Cult forces. They show the Heroes a "shortcut" to reach the tower from where the dragon and its rider command the Cult troops. Unfortunately, the area they need to go through is infested with dangerous plants: the Heroes must destroy several shambling mounds, before getting in sight of the tower.

 

Enraged by the dragon's evil, Olo shoots an arrow from cover, killing a cultist, but alerting his companions of their presence. The cultists attack in great numbers, but the Heroes righteous fury is not to be trifled with. After an intense fight with the thugs, there's no rest for the Heroes, as Chuth and Neronvain descend upon them.

 

The Heroes, having learned a lot from their previous battles against dragons, take to the air with magic or by climbing trees, and focus their attacks first on Neronvain. When the elven prince falls, Tarkin keeps Chuth busy, blocking is way and suffering the main brunt of the wyrm's attacks. Claws, fangs, and poisonous breath assault the Heroes, but even the mighty Chuth falls when Kerrik shoots him one last time with his deadly arrows.