Date At Start Of Game: 2/6/207

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 29th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

Two of the players could not make the last session. Here are events that transpired with those PC during the last session.

Kanga

• While venturing in the city Kanga enters a local establishment called Nestor’s Rest. It is a mid tier tavern that is known as a hang out for those seeking adventure and glory. While buying drinks he meets a flirtatious Ferret Kin barmaid named Risha. After a while he meets a Sheep Kin named Maharain (wheel wright) and an overweight Porcupine Kin named Sagatchi (acupuncturist). The trio have many drinks during the evening.
• As the evening draws to a close a strange Cat Kin woman in a dark hooded purple cloak looks around the bar then heads directly to Kanga’s table. As she peeks down Kanga can see a black and white Cat Kin with one ear chewed off and the other sporting a large gold hoop earring. She is dressed in a dark gray worn wool kimono under the cloak. She whispers to Kanga, “Powerful spirits act as your guide but do not reveal what is in store for you. I can tell you about your future if you so desire.” At this point Kanga agrees and goes outside with her where it is more private. The strange women then pulls out a bag of small sticks which she shakes then dumps on the floor. As she reads the sticks her eyes go up to Kanga. She speaks slowly and carefully, “I sense that you will kill a powerful spirit…one so powerful that it will shake the foundations of our world…[pause]…possibly it could be something cold blooded…AH…a Dragon!” After the reading she sulks off.

Oren

• After stowing his gear Oren is invited to a private dinner with the Empress. After starting the dinner Yotsu surprisingly does not sit down but leaves the room. After a conversation about Oren’s recent adventures and some small talk the Armadillo Kin warrior believes that the Empress might actually be flirting with him. Oren maintains an honorable stance and does not lead her on in any fashion.
• As the dinner closes the Empress confides in Oren about what really happened with the death of the Emperor. She explains that he did not die of old age as was reported. Instead she and Yotsu found him with his throat slit twice in their bedroom. After a brief discussion they decided to obscure the situation by making it appear that he died of old age. Empress Nokidara healed the wounds and Yotsu cleaned up the blood. She then asks Oren if he would please give her and Tokaji their support. Oren agrees.

The Dragon And The Empress

After all of the avatars have gathered at Meiji’s house Po explains that he and Meiji have checked on Cragspine and they fear he will not attend the Dragon Festival. Po explains that Meiji fears the dragon may be in trouble and that when he used the stick it points to the far north where they believe Cragspine has gone. They believe he has gone to a place known as the Vault Of The Dragon Kings. Po also states that Meiji has decided that he is ready to give Cillian the package from Cragspine. With that he hands a scroll tube to Cillian. The scroll tube contains a letter and a magical topaz. Here is the contents of the letter:

To The One Who Currently Uses The Name Cillian,

PS When I get back I will have to speak to Meiji about your name. It is deplorable that you would end up with such a foul moniker.

Cillian and the rest of the PC are shocked to learn that their friend is really a Dragon and the Cragspine is his father! They talk about it for a bit then they prompt Meiji to explain what he knows about Cillian. Here is the story he delivers to the avatars…

• Empress Nokidara came to Meiji in disguise one night many years ago. In her arms was an Ape Kin baby. She explained that she had twins and that this child was not a Tiger Kin and thus must be hidden from the Emperor (i.e. inferring that the Emperor is NOT the father). Empress Nokidara pleaded with Meiji to watch the child. Reluctantly he assented to watch the baby if she would make him the Court Mage. She did not give Meiji a name for the child at the time.
• Almost immediately after receiving the child the Court Mage detected something different about the baby when he ran a Spirit detection spell on an item and noticed that the baby was glowing! He ran detection spells with his magic and discovered that potent blood ran through the child. When he went to approach the Empress with the information he was stopped by Cragspine outside of his cottage. Cragspine explained that the boy is a Dragon Kin and his son. He then explained that Dragon Kin youth are extremely rare and must be guarded. Cragspine pleaded with Meiji begging him not to tell the Empress about his visit or that her son was a Dragon Kin as he did not want to upset her or compromise the security of the child. The Court Mage reluctantly assented but made an agreement with the Dragon to teach him about his race as payment for watching the child. At this point Cragspine gave the Court Mage a way to contact him using the mirror.
• Over the next year Cragspine taught Meiji Dragon Kin speech and the ways of Dragons. Meiji will remarks that he considers Cragspine a friend.
• Several months later Tokaji became dangerous due to the growing conflict that would become known as the Spirit War. Meiji feared for the life of the child as the city was now very dangerous and he was personally being called into action. At this point the Court Mage contacted the Dragon using the mirror and the two decided that until things settled down Cragspine would watch the child. Meiji dressed the child in simple peasant clothes and pinned the note “Cillian” on the child. He then told a trusted city guardsman to deliver the child to an Ape Man (aka Cragspine in his human form) who would meet him off the road to the southwest. To Meiji’s shock the child never made it to Cragspine.
• When Cragspine and Meiji followed the trail of the guardsman they found him dead with two slits across his throat. It was quite horrific. (Bilby will know that this is the calling card of the Rat Gog assassin Vesh who uses two kama in this fashion when he makes his killing stroke.) The Court Mage was devastated by the loss of the baby who he assumed had been killed. When asked by the Empress he only told her that the child was put somewhere safe (i.e. he lied). Meiji told her that the location would be secret so that she could not compromise his security. Though the Empress was upset there was little she could do about the situation.

At this point Oren returns to the palace and wakes Yotsu. He explains that Cragspine will like not show up at the Dragon Festival. Oren then works with Yotsu to devise a speech that explains that Cragspine cannot attend because he is off defending the realm. After making the speech Yotsu directly addresses Oren. He says that Empress Nokidara is the most noble ruler he has even has the privilege to work with and that he will do ANYTHING to make sure that she stays in power. Yotsu closes the conversation by thanking Oren for his support.

The morning of the Dragon Festival before Cragspine’s appearance Oren and Cillian meet with Empress Nokidara. First they explain that Cragspine will not be appearing. With Yotsu they present their speech. In private they then explain that Cillian is her son. After hearing the news The Empress is stunned. Tears begin to well up in her eyes. When she asks to see Daichi (aka the father) the PC explain that that he is really Cragspine the Dragon. After some conversation the Empress explains how things happened to her…

• While Emperor Nokidara was away at war she had a passionate affair with an Ape Kin she knew only as Daichi. He was handsome, brilliant, and wildly funny with a lute. After courting for only a few days in secret the couple consummated their romance. They courted off and on in secret over the next few months.
• When the Empress discovered that she was pregnant she approached Daichi with the news. To her surprise her suitor reacted with a look of shock then told her that he would not become her husband and left her never to be seen again. In a state of shock the Empress made the decision to have the baby in secret. Again to her surprise she had twins! One was a Tiger Kin and one was an Ape Kin. The Empress decided to pass off the Tiger Kin as the son of Emperor Nokidara but what would she do with the Ape Kin? She delivered the Ape Kin baby to Meiji where she begged him to care for the child. She would visit the baby when the occasion presented itself.
• After some time the Court Mage sent the baby away for protection. The Empress begged for Meiji to tell her what he did with the boy but he would not divulge. Meiji only said that it was for her own good and that the child would be well cared for…she should not worry about him.

For a brief few momemts the Empress and Cillian talk alone. There is no way that they can understand the other in such short time. Their simple comments are heartfelt and sincere.

The Dragon Festival

On the morning of the Dragon Festival the city of Tokaji is bustling. Food merchants have setup early and the city is a buzz with excitement. The Royal Gardens have been decked out with ribbons and decorations. At the festival Empress Nokidara addresses the crowd using the speech prepared by Yotsu and Oren. Even though the content of the speech is good her conviction and stance are shaky. The events of the day have taken a lot of her nerves. The people appear to accept the speech but there are definitely murmurs from the crowd.

That afternoon when the festival has died down a bit Oren has another meeting with Yotsu to let him know that they fear a master assassin called Vesh is in the city and that he is up to no good. To Oren’s surprise Yotsu says that he has hired the assassin to try and break into the palace to test its weaknesses. Oren cannot believe that Yotsu would do something so insane as to hire the man who is likely the one who killed the Prince AND Emperor! Yotsu’s action offends Oren’s sense of honor and his desire to protect those he feels that are under his care. He starts remembering the fallen Prince and his loyalty to the Empress. As Oren leaves outraged at Yotsu’s action he vows to crush the Crane Kin under his hammer if anything happens to any of his friends. Yotsu tries to explain that Vesh is just an asset to be used to gain information on the enemy but it falls on deaf ears. The two confidants to the Empress have very different beliefs on how to best serve the crown.

At the end of the session the PC prepare for Bilby’s mission with Vesh…

Date At End Of Game: 2/8/207

Date At Start Of Game: 2/6/207

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 28th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

Meiji’s House

As the fog clears the PC find themselves standing in a smoke filled cottage with all of the furniture pushed to the sides of the room. Under their feet is Donovan’s Mate. It is Meiji’s house! As the PC get their bearings Meiji says, “Welcome back! I’ve been waiting for you to return. So what happened?!?” With that the PC start to ask Meiji some questions. Here is what Meiji relates to the PC.

• It is evening when the PC arrive. According to Meiji the Dragon Festival is in two days. This tips off the PC roughly a week of time must have been lost while in the “genie bottle”.
• Cragspine visited Meiji last night. On his visit he left Donovan’s Mate with the command word, a strange skeleton finger necklace, and a magical short sword. Cragspine told Meiji that the rod must be used on ALL PC who want to be healed at the same time. The skeleton finger necklace aids spell casting and the sword, called Spirit Splitter, defends one against spells and has a very powerful dispel. According to Cragspine both were owned by Soza.
• The dragon seemed uneasy during his visit. When Cragspine left he mentioned that his uneasiness had to do with his “brethren” but he would not say anymore.
• At this point Po presses Meiji about the items he received by Cragspine. He asks if there is anything else. After coaxing from Po Meiji reveals that he also received something for Cillian but that he was told by Cragspine not to give them to him until he felt the time was right. When Meiji pushed Cragspine for details he told the court mage that where he was going was dangerous and that he may not return. This confused Meiji but he agreed. At this time the PC try to press Meiji but he does not want to give the item. When Cillian starts knocking over things in the cottage Meiji says that now is not the time and asks him to stop. Cillian reluctantly stops.

After talking with Meiji the PC go their separate ways. Oren heads back to the palace to update the Empress and find out if there is anyone that she wants to heal using Donovan’s Mate.

Donovan’s Last Laugh

At this point the PC decide to use Donovan’s Mate to heal themselves. Po, Cillian, and Kanga decide to get healed by the artifact. Po uses the skeleton finger necklace while sitting as his magical desk then activates Donovan’s Mate. In a flash of light and sound Po, Bilby, and Cillian find themselves standing naked next to nearly exact evil duplicates of themselves! In between them is a pile of their belongings. Kanga and Meiji are blind and deaf by the flash and fall to the ground trying to clear their senses. After a moment of stunned silence Evil Po react by jumping into the pile of gear. Good Po reacts by wrestling with his double! Evil Bilby grabs Spirit Splitter then jumps over and tries to stab Kanga thinking that he cannot get far if the archer recovers his vision. Good Bilby blocks the blow away from Kanga with a thrown knife. Evil Cillian immediately jumps out of a nearby window. Good Cillian grabs his Great Tree necklace and gloves from the pile. Good Po in a fit of strength toss Evil Po into Meiji’s open furnace! The Evil Raven Kin goes up in a black inky smoke that has skeletal birds flying up the chimney. Evil Bilby stabs Good Bilby who reels as he is not wearing armor! Good Cillian acting fast uses his winds to grab Evil Bilby and sweep him into the furnace. Evil Bilby screams and dies in the flames. When the PC look out the window Evil Cillian is gone! Good Cillian makes a remark that there is no way the PC will be able to find Evil Cillian in Tokaji. It is his home town and he is in his element. Po does some healing on Bilby then the PC go their separate ways for a bit.

PC Go Their Separate Ways

Lots of actions took place here so I will relate what happened to each PC over the next 24 hours.

Bilby

• The first thing Bilby does is to speak with Meiji and Po about making a chain mail shirt silent. Meiji and Po end up not only making his armor silent but also making it form fitting and weightless!
• Next Bilby tries to find Cillian by staking out his house. Before Cillian arrives Bilby spies the three teenage residents of the house sneaking out of the back entrance dressed like they are on a thieving run. Bilby waits and eventually spies Cillian returning home. After eavesdropping on Cillian’s conversation with the Sparrow Kin he joins Cillian to find out what his young friends are up to. (See the Cillian entry for the rest of the story.)
• On the next day Bilby is walking around town with Kanga. Kanga takes him to a an adventurer’s bar he has found called Nestor’s Rest. After entering the bar Bilby notices a Rat Kin sitting in the corner that he knows well. This Rat Gog is a master assassin known as Vesh. After some conversation Bilby finds out that Vesh is on a job. Bilby asks if he could help and Vesh agrees. The two are to meet up the next night at the bar to take on the mission. Bilby alerts the rest of the PC that he plans on tagging along as Vesh is often up to no good.

Cillian

• After his evil duplicate escapes Cillian goes to the palace to alert Oren then returns to his house.
• At his house Cillian finds only the Sparrow Kin Tachi. Tachi tells Cillian that the other three went out on a mission. He tells Cillian that Akiki thought the run was a “cake walk”. Apparently he learned of a visitor with jewels who is staying at a local residence. When Tachi shows Cillian the details and a crude map he gets nervous. The area is perfect for a setup and the job just seems too easy. With that Cillian heads out to the residence with Bilby. After carefully casing the area Bilby and Cillian spot two places where men are hiding. One set of men are in a building across a nearby alley. Others are inside the house behind a curtain wall. As the female Tiger Kin Hiyoshi starts to lift up the Krait Kin Akiki to the top of the wall Cillian comes out of hiding and loudly announces his presence! The three teenage thieves are stunned! At that moment the door busts open and Captain Ibara with four of his men emerge. As soon as the young thieves see the city guards they take off running! When Captain Ibara tries to smack one of them with his staff Cillian quick draws his sword and blocks the attack saying, “Good evening Captain…why are you harassing these youths they haven’t done anything wrong???” Realizing that he cannot really arrest anyone for merely planning a crime Captain Ibara storms off in a huff. After returning home Cillian chastises the young thieves and suggests that they be more careful next time.

Kanga

• Kanga finds a nice adventurer’s bar where he meets some interesting local color. [This scene will be played out when Geoff is back. 😉 ]

Oren

• Oren returns to the palace to ask the Empress if she needs anyone healed and to announce that he has returned. Empress Nokidara does not need anyone to be healed and seems glad to see the noble Armadillo Kin warrior.
• While stowing his gear Oren receives a note from Yotsu. The note from Empress Nokidara asks Oren to join her for a private dinner. [This scene will be played out when Jim is back. 😉 ]

Epic Tale #12 – Vault Of The Dragon Kings – Session #28

Po

• The first thing Po does is to complete his Link spell with Meiji. Once Link has been summoned he begins working on the chain mail for Bilby. While working on these spells Po finds that Meiji is distracted. Once the court mage even messes up a very simple preparatory spell. After some prompting Meiji reveals to Po that he is concerned about Cragspine’s visit. Cragspine was uneasy. For someone so powerful to be “uneasy” scares him. Po suggest that Meiji use the mirror to try and contact Cragspine. After first hesitating Po convinces the court mage that it is the right things to do. Meiji puts the mirror out on the magical desk then activates it with some strange words. First the mirror fills with smoke. When it clears it shows a steep icy mountain with a large cavern entrance. In the mouth of the cavern entrance is a huge dragon statue. As the vision in the mirror pans down the image fades to black then shows four round symbols. One if flaming, one is blue, one is white, and one is a round brown stone. In an upset tone Meiji explains that he thinks this vision represents the Vault Of The Dragon Kings. Meiji explains that he has followed Cragspine to these mountains in the past but could never find the entrance. He thinks the entrance might be magically hidden. If Cragspine has gone there he may be in trouble. Meiji begs Po to ask the other Avatars Of The Great Tree to see if they would be willing to help. Po agrees. Meiji says he will tell the avatars what he knows about Cragspine and the Vault Of The Dragon Kings after they have been gathered.

At the end of the session the group has gathered at Meiji’s house. Po also convinced the court mage to give the last object from Cragspine to Cillian. As the afternoon grows old and the sun begins to droop Meiji reaches under his tunic and pulls out a scroll tube sealed with gold bands…

Date At End Of Game: 2/7/207

Date At Start Of Game: ?/??/???

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 27th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

Inside The Wick

The PC continue to venture into the various doorways in Cizbakri’s “genie bottle”. There are four rooms left to defeat…

The Temple To The Fire Gods

The party appears on a raised granite platform that is surrounded by a lake of lava. In the center of the platform is a large stone urn with a burning flame. On the corners of the platform are four pillars. As soon as they land Po turns on his Spirit Sight spell. He notices a magical creature composed entirely of fire moving around the room under the lava. Cillian uses his stone vision and discovers that the pillars have some type of metal rod attached to the bottom that sinks into the platform. As the PC work out what to do the fire elemental raises up from the lava and blasts the entire platform severely damaging the less armored PC. With that the creature closes to attack. Oren confronts the elemental while the other players decide to start carefully knocking over pillars. They discover that this has the effect of opening a portal under the center urn. After fending off some dangerous blasts Oren knocks over the last pillar and the PC leave the room. They are a bit singed but know that they must persevere.

The Fields Of Pleasure

As the swirling mist clears the avatars are standing in a deep forest with their ranged weapons in hand. In a bush they see antlers that turn and move off. Cillian figures that they must hunt the stag and the PC start to pursue. Using his tracking skills Po discovers that this is not a normal deer. It appears to be bipedal based on the tracks…a Deer Kin? As the PC follow Cillian spots a trap in the woods. As he slows down to investigate Po is shot by an arrow and falls from the sky! Cillian and Oren move over and apply healing potions. The potion from Cillian has a near miraculous affect bringing the Raven Kin shaman back from the brink of death! After healing Po the PC proceed with more caution. Cillian and Bilby sneak up the flanks while Oren moves tactically down the center of the glade. Cillian spots the Deer Kin hiding behind a rock then uses his air powers to trip Oren when he about to get shot! After shooting the Deer Kin archer moves away from the party quickly. Oren uses the advantage to rush forward across an open field. Cillian spots the Deer Kin again hiding behind a hillside and shoots a crossbow at his position as a way to inform the other party members of his location. Oren comes out from behind cover then balls up drawing fire from the archer. This distraction allows Bilby to sneak up and stab the Deer Kin from surprise using his assassin’s blow! Now in combat with the Deer Kin Oren and Bilby find that he is a tough and fast foe. As the Deer Kin tries to pick off Bilby who is currently very injured Oren balls over him to protect him. After taking a gore from his horns and a shot from his bow Oren and Bilby press their attack. Oren grabs the Deer Kin but cannot hold him for long. Bilby takes some shots weakening the archer. With a final blow from Oren he falls. The PC are injured and nearly out of healing potions but they survived the encounter. After touching his intricately carved bow they return to the large octagonal chamber.

The Garden Of Delights

The now wounded PC then enter the next doorway. They find themselves in an old greenhouse. In the center of the room are two plant creatures who are thrashing around trying to find something tasty to devour. Cillian acts first letting loose a large cone shaped flame blast that the PC did not know he could do! As the plants cringe from the flames the rest of the PC attack. Bilby lands some blows and Oren starts pounding on the creatures. Even though one manages to grab Cillian he cannot pull him into his maw before Oren fells him. After the plant creatures are dead a green mist surrounds the PC and they appear back in the large room.

The Theater Of Humiliation

After entering the last portal the PC find themselves on a candle lit stage. The only person in the audience is a reclining Cizbakri. While the PC talk about what is going on Cizbakri heckles them, “What kind of show of this!?! Come on!!! Entertain me!!!” With that Oren tells a fantastic tale from the Spirit War. Cizbakri listen intently then claps when he finishes. After clapping several of the stage candles go out. Bilby goes next doing acrobatic flips. Po does a trick where he makes his staff grow and shrink. Cillian first tries to juggle then does a trick with balls and his air powers. Finally all of the stage lights go out and the PC find them in the main octagonal chamber…but now things have changed…

“I’M FREE!!!”

In the main room the mist that surrounded the raised platform is now spread throughout the room. The ceiling looks like the cone of a hurricane! Atop the platform Cizbakri lets out a scream, “You did it! I’M FREE!!!” After uttering this he floats up to the ceiling through the eye of the storm! As the force of the winds get stronger the PC begin to be sucked up and out of the room…

Date At End Of Game: ?/?/???