Ep. 118 Tales of the Ancients Chapter Four

## Listen

Ep. 118 Tales of the Ancients Chapter Four

—An excerpt from *Hunting Dragons for Food and Profit*

Beric's Truesight reveals Barasha as an actual silver dragon, and the party confronts him. Oargev teleports into the room and shares that he's also a dragon, and he and Barasha have been working for millenia to find and protect the Destiny Arms. The two dragons don't want them used on Dal Quor, believing that it would destroy the plane and therefore destroy all the planes. After a long debate and both sides making compromises, Barasha and Oargev leave to confer with the Chamber about sending our heroes to Dal Quor, and Beric, Booyah, Dex, and crew head to Aundair to kill a dragon who's posing as Prince Adal.

## Synopsis

Barasha stands before Beric, Dex, Booyah, and Oriana, having just been outted as an actual dragon. He sighs and realizes there's no point in hiding it anymore, and transforms into his true form. While he does, Beric quietly tells Oriana to get the spear, and she runs across the room and grabs it. Barasha's eyes close for a second and Oargev teleports into the room.

They admit that they were never lost. The Destiny Arms have caused damage to many people, and they've been searching for them for millennia. Oargev died in the Mourning, and the dragon has been taking his place since. They were there when the giants fell. They were gifted weapons by the dragons that they weren't ready for; when they used them they wiped out half a continent. Now the dragons aren't sure what Beric, Dex, and Booyah intend to do with the weapons, but they don't want them used on this or any plane.

The two sides argue over whether using the Destiny Arms on Dal Quor will have an impact on all the planes. Oargev and Barasha believe it will upset the balance of the planes and destroy every sleeping person in Dal Quor, but Beric and Dex don't see an alternative solution; their plane is going to be overrun by the Quori, and they have to do *something* to prevent it, and this is the only option they know of. Oargev is dismissive. Every nation is invaded by another and people die. The goblins died, the elves died, and the giants died. The dragons are worried about the *world* dying. Oargev doesn't trust that Jaela knows what she's doing. He wants to bring the fight to the Riedrans.

*"We're not your pets. We're not your children."
—Beric*

Finally Oargev suggests an alternative to using the Destiny Arms. Every so often Dal Quor has an apocalypse, which is what happens for an individual when they wake up from a dream and can't get back. That's on an individual basis, but occasionally it will happen to the plane as a whole. The Khyber Crystals being mined on Xen'drik are being used to prevent a reset. The Dreaming Dark on Dal Quor are using an Eldirtch Machine to accomplish this, and if it can be destroyed, the reset will continue.

Beric requests that they be sent to Dal Quor to stop it, and Oargev agrees to confer with the elders to find out if that's possible. The Quori haven't been able to get across to Eberron physically, but they've been able to send some of their ascended individuals, including Strent, Chance, and Connor.

After some discussion they settle on a deal that everyone is mostly happy with. Oargev and Barasha will go confer with the Chamber about sending them to Dal Quor. However, they were on their way to deal with a dragon, Thoralar, who's gone rogue in Aundair, and the party will have to deal with that, since he can't go unchecked. Once that's been done, they will meet up once again, the party will hand over the three weapons they have and give them the location of the fourth. Oargev and Barasha will share all the information they have on the Eldritch Machines and transport them to Dal Quor.

The party takes a moment to confer. Beric is pretty sure they're going to die on this mission, and Oriana's solution is to write everything down, that way if they do, someone else can take care of it.

The deal is agreed upon, and the party boards *Borrowed Time* once again. Two dragons fly south towards the horizon.

End of episode.

## Quotes

"I've always considered you . . . uh, more than acquaintances."
"Useful?"
"You know what Drakir would call it."
"There's an old drow word. Y'all wanna see Dex stab a dragon?"
*—Oargev, Dex, Beric, and Eric 0:49:31*