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Epic Post-Vacation Episode: Elminster and the Dragon

The great band of adventurers, when last we left them, were fighting off a group of golems and a mad dwarven wizard dude.  The five PCs (River, Felix, Corrail, Ally, and Don) with their animal companions (Dog and Tiger) had joined forces with a cleric-rogue Pyreveus to go after the golems that were staggering through a great dwarven hall in an underground ruin.  The golems were quickly defeated and fell to the ground, shattering and the disappearing (sorry, no pile of adamantium for the rogue).  A search of the nearby rooms gave cause for worry:  a machine was automatically fabricating the golems and Ally and Pyreveus had to each work to disable it.

Meanwhile the dwarf known as the nightwatchman disappeared and even with listening the group could not locate him.  They found an office with a letter and spellbooks.  The found a room with various treasures.  Felix found a room full of hanging sheets and rugs and was attacked by a large monkey with a sonic sledgehammer.

The group barely defeated the gnomish magical golem-making contraption in time.  The dwarf reappeared and attacked.  A fireball and bolt of lightning nearly fried the party.  The dwarf became adjitated and cast a spell bring a fiery steed into being.  He fled the dungeon, opening a hidden or magical doorway to the outside.

In fleeing, a necklace, similar to the one he and the bard wear, dropped out to the ground. Pyreveus went for it after it fell, but instead tripped, and smashed the necklace with her bladed hand.  There was a huge explosion that blinded the party for a moment.  When they regained vision, Pyreveus was gone (presumed dead), and a large portal was sucking them in.

The party saw the hopelessness in escape and dove into the portal.

For a moment they appeared in a bubble, with an old gray wizard maintaining the bubble while a girl, friend of Ally's tried to speak to them.  She told them to run away when they arrive and to come to Candlekeep.

The bard knew the old wizard and the room.  They were in an upper casting chamber in Candlekeep and Elminster himself was holding the bubble.  The bard panicked.

The old man advised them that they would be gone from candlekeep when they arrived.

The party tried to get more but the bubble phased in and out and then flickered them into a new location.

They were met by two kobolds, one in robes, one with wings, who pointed behind them. Turing about, they found themselves face to face with a Great Wyrm dragon.

The bard knew that this was Shardosferin, a great quake dragon wyrm from the shadow realms.  The hall he did not recognize, but it clearly wasn't the shadow plane.  He knew that this was a number two to Shar who had recently been imprisoned in the Shadow plane by Mystra.

The kobolds called the dragon "The Peacebringer" and the party wisely addressed him as such.  The dragon became annoyed with the jabbering of the sorceress and puffed at her to knock her down.  The dragon told them that they would go to Secomber and deal with red wizards that were stealing his magic.  He asked the name of their party so that they could avoid the cleansing to be completed by his armies.

The group struggled for a moment, both wanting a good name and yet something they could tell the dragon without upsetting him.  They settled on the Shadowrunners, thinking the name might please the dragon.

The dragon informed them to give that name to any of his armies and they would let them pass.

A kobold wandered through the cavern and dropped what was easily recognized as a level 1 magic missile wand.  It shot out over a hundred missiles and the dragon, who easily shrugged them off.  The kobold carefully picked the wand back up, wrapping it in cloth.

The sorceress and bard knew what this meant:  the chamber they were in was a hypermagic field with a hundred times amplification.  That made this great wyrm a ticking timebomb.

He told them that Secomber was on the way back to close out their previous mission.  The kobolds then escorted them out.

Out of the castle, the bard started to realize their location.  This was the Darkhold, with a new chamber above it for the dragon.  The lush green of the darkhold's surrounding mountain was replaced by ash and soot and obsidian shards.  Kobolds manned the fort and its siege weapons.  The Darkhold was in good repair, recent, and was ready for battle.

The group noticed a cavern of giants.  The same players were at the Darkhold that the bard expected except the Zentarim were replaced by this dragon and his army of kobolds.  Upon reaching near the exit of the group spoke of whether or not to go to Secomber or to see Elminster.  Meanwhile, Corrail, the ranger, befriended a white wolf beaten down by one of the giants.

The party debated his inclusion in the party along with the trip to see Elminster.  But they were not out of ear-shy of the dragon.  With epic flaps of wings the dragon appeared before them again, crushing the ranger's dog as he landed (leaving him badly hurt), and advising them to go on to Secomber and not to go near Elminster.

The party arrived below at the village below the Darkhold and set out their next plans ahead.

---

Upon giving XP for the previous adventure, the party is now ready to level up for next time.  Also, a new player is preparing to join the group so they again will have 6.

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