Ancients in the Sky

Clash of Bahamut and Tiamat illustrated by Driver\_kid

**Ancients in the Sky** is the 49th session of the first WGA campaign. After being directed to the Rifenmist Jungle in Tal'dorei, the Red Thread prepare to teleport across continents, hoping they end up remotely in the right area.

### Clash of gods

Sarven prepares to cast teleport. Since he is not familiar with the area, it is up to chance to see where the party lands. They teleport into a jungle, and while they aren't exactly in the correct spot, after some scouting by Eagle Arabella with Agatha on her back, they are not far off. Moving suddenly from a cold climate to the hot and humid jungle is unpleasant.

They spot a ruin, and the party head toward it. Right on the outskirts, Blitz is gifted a vision. They are in the same place, but the ruins are no longer ruins. A great city spans around them, pre-Calamity. Above, with waterfalls cascading down, is a huge floating city. A voice speaks to Blitz, and names the floating city Uthtor, and the ground-borne city Fendra.

The city is in an uproar, fighting and destruction all around. In the air, far above, a five-headed dragon rains down destruction. As Blitz watches, a platinum dragon arrives, clashing with Tiamat. A disembodied voice speaks to Blitz, questioning why they follow their order without knowing of its origin.

Blitz climbs a still-standing pillar, sitting to watch the end of the world around them. As Tiamat and Bahamut plunge toward them, Blitz blinks, and is suddenly in the place where their mentor found them as a child. The voice asks, "Do you wish to walk in equilibrium?" and Blitz responds that of course they do. They blink, and return once more to the present.

### The two ancients

As the party enters the city, they see piles and piles of gold around them. In the center is a large ruined building that Blitz recognises from their vision, and atop it sit two dragons, a red and a gold. Blitz has been searching for these legendary beings as part of his pilgrimage, and had never expected to actually find them. They stir, but are not hostile. Jetu, the gold dragon, explains that she created the mirage for Blitz to show them the truth of their order.

The city the party stand in was once an oasis, a place for the chromatic and metallic dragons to live together in harmony. During the Calamity, Tiamat, newly freed, increased her influence over her worshippers in the city. These worshippers grew violent, and civil war broke out across the city, eventually destroying it. Jetu and Fray fled to Wildemount, and established the Abbey of Equilibrium. The party are given leave to rest, and collect some gold.

### Archfeys and parting ways

Kalypso, exhausted from the day's events, simply wants to take a nap. Artagan finds this amusing and decides to bug her, sitting on top of her. The party see this and decide to intervene, with Kismet casually casting *Create Food and Water* to dump forty-five pounds of foodstuffs on top of the Archfey. Agatha manipulates the water to frizz out Artagan's hair, and Florian helps Kalypso get up. Artagan gets in Kismet's face, having to lean down quite a lot, and informs him he's very much like to strangle him. Kismet replies that he wouldn't be the first person who has wanted to.

Meanwhile, Blitz has walked away from the party to process all they have learned. Valac, after proclaiming that he "is the buddy system", casts *Fly* on himself to follow. Descending from the sky, Valac asks the dragonborn if they found what they were looking for. Despite it not being what they expected, Blitz is satisfied.

Valac asks them what they're going to do now and if they'll return to their family, casting *Detect Thoughts* in the process. He expresses that Blitz's place should be with them, taking care of them, instead of getting into trouble with The Red Thread. Blitz's mind is surprisingly chaotic, many thoughts happening at once. There is underlying sadness, but also deep contentment. Valac then warns Blitz not to try and poke at him with the intention of figuring him out. Blitz does it again, and instead of retaliating, Valac simply tells them they are repeating old mistakes. Blitz says that Valac should know them well enough to know that threats have never stopped them doing what they think they should. Exasperated, Valac takes off with fly again, telling Blitz to shout for him if there's danger while they rest.

### A clear mind

Back at camp, Kismet is pretending to pick up firewood to avoid talking to people. The sticks he collects are too damp, and Arabella points this out. He says they are for a different thing, but agrees to go with her when she wants to pull him aside. While they walk into the woods to find dry firewood, Kismet surreptitiously drops his damp kindling.

After finding a clearing, Arabella tells Kismet about what she has discovered of her own mind from Yudala and Essek. It's possible that the gaps in her memory and the inconsistent thoughts are there because of some powerful spell or curse. She was told that a cleric might be able to remove the fog, and Essek even offered to help. She tells Kismet that she refused Essek's offer, as she would rather someone she's more comfortable with do it. She asks Kismet if he'd be able to help her, if he knows the spell.

Kismet is surprised. He had thought Arabella's trust in him to be irrevocably broken, but her reaching out to him for help means a lot. He tells her he knows what it is like to live in the safety of a lie. The first time he removed his ring, he needed Valac's help to do it. He'd be happy to take off her ring for her, so to speak. He reassures her that no matter how this changes her, he's considered her a friend for a long time and will continue to do so.

Florian, at the behest of half the party, is convinced to send a message to Maynard. They run off while no one is looking in order to send the message, and receive a cryptic response. "Commencing Horizon Test in three...two...one." The spell cuts off. Distressed, he returns to camp and informs the party. Worried they may be compromising May on his mission for the Cerberus Assembly, ultimately the party decides not to send another message.

### Goodbye, sweet lizard

After resting, the Red Thread return via Sarven to the Abbey, and prepare to say their goodbyes to Blitz. Florian gives them a sending stone they had found in the ruins so he can contact them every day. Tillian steals it almost immediately. Blitz pulls Kismet aside, returning to the high point of one of the buildings where they had their conversation the previous day. They offer advice, reaffirming that they firmly believe that Kismet has what it takes to burn down what must be burned in order to save what must be saved.

Tillian appears, little rogue, and Blitz sweeps him up onto their shoulders. Kismet knows that the weight of all he must do is nothing compared to the weight of what rests on Blitz's shoulders in that moment. Blitz sees this understanding, and tells Kismet that no matter his past, it's what Kismet does now that matters. Kismet tells them that he's glad they are staying here to raise their son. It's the right choice, and one Kismet wishes he could've been brave enough to make. He tells Blitz that they are a good parent. Blitz is quick to say that despite what he thinks of himself, Kismet would make a good father.

### We're going on a beacon heist

Returning to the Marble Tomes in Rosohna, the party meet once more with Essek. He explains that his research has progressed, and he's discovered that there could be a way to retrieve a beacon's counterpart from another timeline. He asks the party if they would be willing to help him, and Agatha immediately agrees. Kismet and Valac are also quick to offer their help. Essek asks why Agatha is so eager, despite her dislike of the Shadowhand in the past. She tells him that Kismet and Valac trust him, and she trusts Kismet in Valac, therefore she trusts Essek.

There is one problem - Essek has no beacons. In this timeline, whoever handed off the beacons to the Assembly was not Essek himself. Essek tracked the transport of a Beacon through the Pearlbow to the Vergesson Sanatorium some time ago. This coincided with the Red Thread retrieving the book on Aeor from the Black Diamonds' hideout. Sarven hadn't been nearby idly - he had been helping track the beacon.

Essek tasks the Red Thread with a dangerous mission - infiltrate the Sanatorium, steal a beacon (or three), and return them to Essek without getting caught. In that moment, a letter arrives for Agatha.

> “Florian made an attempt to speak to me.
>
>
> Izvinite. Must follow protocol. Maintain.
>
>
> Status Stable.
>
>
> I cannot come to you.
>
>
> But you can come to me.
>
>
> North of Rexxentrum.
>
>
> Pearlbow Woods.
>
>
> Close to Denrock Mountains.
>
>
> Vergesson Sanatorium.
>
>
> You may not find me
>
>
> But I will find you.
>
>
>
> M. C.”
>
>

Eager to reconnect with their Volstrucker comrade, the Red Thread prepare to teleport to the Pearlbow Wilderness.