Tinkles and Dania made it to the top of the ancient city using their magic and shapeshifting. The rest of the group searched for a way up from below and eventually found a secret staircase. As Dania and Tinkles explored, they came upon a guardhouse that they heard noise from. After a tense standoff, they found the occupant to be none other than Grigtung!
As the rest of the group caught up, they heard Grigtung’s account of faking his death and coming to the ancient city to also seek the dragon’s death. Unfortunately, trolls wandered the city and managed to kill some of Grigtung’s forces, forcing them to hole up.
The group then made a plan of action to lay a fire trap for the trolls in an alleyway, and were successful in killing a large force of them with a well-laid trap using Dania’s Wall of Fire.
After scaring away the trolls, the group made their way to the ziggarat at the center of the ancient city, narrowly escaping another set of trolls as they descended into the darkness of the interior, where Grigtung said was rumor of a portal to the dragon queen.
As the group adjusted to the low light, they came into a chamber filled with water and a lone path to a platform with a portal and mounds of treasure on it. Griff, being the runner he is, bounded forward to the platform to check it out, leaving the group left to catch up behind him. As he was occupied on the platform, it was revealed that a creature of some sort was hovering above it, and it turned to reveal it grotesque eye with slithering eye stalks….a BEHOLDER!
The Heroes of Wickshire then faced one of their hardest fights yet, pitting all of them against a magical powerhouse that could attack from everywhere, seemingly without weakness, and nearly completely cut the party’s magic capability with its antimagic field. It was grueling and strenuous, especially with the addition of trolls and a juvenile black dragon in the mix. Finally, when the group had nearly won and with half the party down, they went to save Callie and Tinkles. With her necklace, at least Tinkles was safe, but Callie held her last breath as the path finally cleared to her and everyone was mere feet away from saving her.
With hearts heavy and options exhausted, Flint made a prayer to Moridin to spare the last Aasimar so that the world may survive what’s to come. Moridin acted, but not without sacrifice from Flint, as he saw his all-powerful new axe dissolve just as Callie returned to the world of the living. With the group exhausted and beaten, but alive, they look on at the ominous portal leading to the ancient black dragon’s lair behind the corpse of the beholder.
As the rest of the group caught up, they heard Grigtung’s account of faking his death and coming to the ancient city to also seek the dragon’s death. Unfortunately, trolls wandered the city and managed to kill some of Grigtung’s forces, forcing them to hole up.
The group then made a plan of action to lay a fire trap for the trolls in an alleyway, and were successful in killing a large force of them with a well-laid trap using Dania’s Wall of Fire.
After scaring away the trolls, the group made their way to the ziggarat at the center of the ancient city, narrowly escaping another set of trolls as they descended into the darkness of the interior, where Grigtung said was rumor of a portal to the dragon queen.
As the group adjusted to the low light, they came into a chamber filled with water and a lone path to a platform with a portal and mounds of treasure on it. Griff, being the runner he is, bounded forward to the platform to check it out, leaving the group left to catch up behind him. As he was occupied on the platform, it was revealed that a creature of some sort was hovering above it, and it turned to reveal it grotesque eye with slithering eye stalks….a BEHOLDER!
The Heroes of Wickshire then faced one of their hardest fights yet, pitting all of them against a magical powerhouse that could attack from everywhere, seemingly without weakness, and nearly completely cut the party’s magic capability with its antimagic field. It was grueling and strenuous, especially with the addition of trolls and a juvenile black dragon in the mix. Finally, when the group had nearly won and with half the party down, they went to save Callie and Tinkles. With her necklace, at least Tinkles was safe, but Callie held her last breath as the path finally cleared to her and everyone was mere feet away from saving her.
With hearts heavy and options exhausted, Flint made a prayer to Moridin to spare the last Aasimar so that the world may survive what’s to come. Moridin acted, but not without sacrifice from Flint, as he saw his all-powerful new axe dissolve just as Callie returned to the world of the living. With the group exhausted and beaten, but alive, they look on at the ominous portal leading to the ancient black dragon’s lair behind the corpse of the beholder.