Adventure 52

**Real World Date: 1/19/2020**

**In Game Dates: December 25th, 5001 M.E. - December 27th, 5001 M.E.**

**XP: 9,500 (Total: 196,851)**

## NPC’s Met This Adventure

* Pavel Netheridge - leader of the Mystic Directorate, asks party to solve the Kombray crisis
* Yuvril - one of the final rebels remaining being hunted by Dhamon, was serving on board the ship of the Pirate King
* Rabbit - Halfling cleric of Khanos, recommended by Regis to travel with the party as their healer, is naive but willing to adventure

## Summary

### Wrapping Up

The party part ways with Zuke and Erevan. Dhamon finds Yuvril hiding in the steerage of the **Astral Flyer**. He decides to spare Yuvril, saying he can never return to Daeryn or ever contact anyone there. Despite his mercy, Yuvril is still arrested for piracy by the forces of Almonte. Aust has a strange encounter with Avar Pelegrin who seems to be someone of import, but Aust isn't sure yet. Avar Pelegrin is intrigued when he's directed to find Talis Hightower and the shield and he wanders off. Wrax is visisted by General Cornelius who asks Wrax to reconsider his offer to seize the mines, as this attack by the Pirate King will only escalate fears and desperation by Almonte.

The party are faced with three options:

1. Go to Kombray on behalf of the Mystic Directorate and kill the Rakshasa Emperor to save that region from turning into a literal hellscape.
2. Meet with Talis Hightower in regards to the Shield of Reflection in order to stave off his seizure of the NBC Banks, save Velcora, and finally deal with Talis once and for all.
3. Follow up with Dhamon's beau, Zorna, who suspects the dealing of **Dragon's Blood**, the hot new drug in Almonte, is being controlled and distributed by someone powerful in the city, and might mean something more insidious than just drugs.

### Behind Door #1

Dhamon meets with Zorna and reassures her that they can't deal with the issue in Almonte immediately, but they will return. As a sign of his sincerity he leaves behind a powerful **Wand of the War Mage** for her to use to protect herself. The party shops in Almonte and Wrax manages to find and buy one of the illusive **Illusionist Bracers** in the city (DM's Note: seriously, I rolled it, it was a snowball's chance in hell, but god dammit, I rolled it). Aust has less luck finding what he is looking for.

The party then returns briefly to Fort Ostoril to stay the night and recuperate. Dhamon checks in with his sister, Cassandra and shows her kindness in offering her to stay at his tower until he finished Ardreth. Wrax promotes Rhogan to the **Lord of War** since Zuke left and checks on the defenses of the fort. They get a recommendation from Regis for another cleric to accompany them with the **Staff of Healing**. They recruit a young Hlfling cleric named Rabbit.

Aust meets with Ithrel and drafts a response to Talis Hightower to ward off his seizure of all NBC Banks, stating they will meet with him on day 89 of their 90-day deadline to pay back loans in full. He is also visited by Maris, the succubi, who asks that she be told what her purpose here is and if she will ever be let go. Aust states they will discuss and revisit this later.

After tying up loose ends, the party writes to Pavel Netheridge of the Mystic Directorate that they wish to meet and sicuss the mission into Kombray.

### Plateau of Ash

They meet in Sanye (after being given the teleportation circle in the city) with Pavel Netheridge. He tells them some of what they already know: the Emperor is a Rakshasa and he is slowly corrupting the people of Kombray. What is new is the landscape itself is now being changed to a gray, ash filled, volcanically active hellscape much like the plane of Hades or the **Gray Wastes**. Pavel believes that if the Emperor is slain then the effects on the land will at least stop, if not slowly reverse.

They are given a rock from a small plateu inside the borders of Kombray. It allows them to accurately teleport to the top of this plateau with some horses. They manage to fly down and turn themselves invisible for travel, although their horses are still visible as they go. As they travel south towards the capital they can see the ash fill the sky and fires and volcanic activity has spread throughout the land. They notices abandoned villages with large pyres of fire in the middle of them, but almost an eery quiet throughout the land.

Because their horses are visible and nothing else, they notice a large flying creature swerve down to eat their horses, the creature not realizing the party was on them. It is a large, Adult Flame Dragon, and it is caught off guard when the party suddenly appears on their horses and fights back. They take some fire damage from the creature, but manage to defeat it, with Rabbit proving his worth and keeping them alive with his staff...