3x26: The Battle for Kanko

The party sat down in the Sunkissed Tavern to plan their next move. Lupin informed them of a possible attack on Kanko in the coming week, and they decided to return to the island to protect it and their allies there. First they went outside the walls to take out one of the Veil commanders running the siege of Westruun. They party snuck through the underwalk, disguised as a still-influenced Lupin and his two previous veil companions. They convinced the soldiers that Lupin’s mission had been a success, and were escorted to the staging tent where general Gereth Mournguard “the Lichbreaker” was stationed. They surprised him with a flurry of attacks, cutting the inquisitor paladin down in front of his men, proclaiming that westruun would remain free, giving hope to the people watching from the walls, who proclaimed them as heroes of the revolution.

After this, the group traveled to Kragghammer to stock up before making the journey to Kanko, agreeing to use Sovelis’ connections with the ashari villages to arrive at the town before the attack. They stocked up on potions at the Value of Valor, and then traveled on horseback to Terrah, where the headmaster greeted them kindly. He sent them through druidic magic to the water ashari of Vesrah, where they met a young triton man named Yulan who guided them through the watery streets on his water strider. They met with the Heart of the Tides who told them that he could send them to kanko on the gerridae, creatures that could run swiftly along the top of the sea, if they helped kill an ancient evil sea creature that had escaped the elemental rift and fled to kanko years ago.

Upon arrival in Kanko, the group reunited with old friends, and then met with the pirate lords who had been told previously of the attack and were planning a defense. They said that the dragon who rules kanko, Vuregos, may be able to assist in the fight. The group set up their best plan, and waited for the veil ships to roll in. As the enemy fleet approached, both on the sea and the flying skyships in the air, the pirates’ cannons began to fire off towards the ships, but were caught up by some sort of defensive spell coming from inside the lead warship. Holly and Iselda snuck onto the ship, flying in invisibly while the rest of the group followed behind on a small boat under cover of the chaos of cannons and smoke. Holly and Iselda found a topaz dragon below deck who was being used against his will by a magical cage to block enemy projectiles towards the fleet. They freed the creature and it bolted out the opening towards the fun, but then the two adventurers were accosted by the veil soldiers and their general. Before anyone could see what had happened, Iselda changed into the general and persuaded the soldiers that she was the real leader, and to shoot the other general. The soldiers followed her lead, and turned their ballistas on their captain while the other two took him out. They went back up to the top deck where Iselda ran into Dirtram Vinewrath, and he saw through her deception, calling out to his men to fight on the deck.

After this, the rest of the party landed aboard the ship, and saw the gargantuan opal dragon heading for them, Orchalion, the creature that had once taken the visage of Felrinn Derevar in Emon. They fought aboard the ship as the cannon fire and ballistas were firing off between galleons all around them. One of the transport ships was sunk by a wall of force and fire from Tannin, another one pummeled by the cannons aboard the Jewel of Emon, and on shore. Sovelis used his ancestral pendant to blast veil soldiers off of the ship, Lupin fired the ballista at the dragon, Holly cut down captain in the light of a flash of lightning, exalting the galebreaker. Iselda was knocked out by a psychic blast from the gem dragon, and then Vuregos the blue dragon rushed in to blast it with lightning, almost killing Lupin in the crossfire, but he called upon his last bit of luck to dodge out of the way, exalting the kiss of the changebringer. With the combined power of the blue dragon, their spells and swords, they managed to kill the giant gem dragon, Lupin jumping on top of it and plunging his sword of ice into its skull.

As the fight aboard the flagship progressed the cannons shot down the airships, gaining help from their blue dragon ally. One of the ships crashed down into the “Library” on kanko, exploding as it collided with the brothel in the center of town. The other ships were destroyed and held back from impacting the town by another wall of force, covered in acid. One final veil ship was able to make it to the shore, and a fight on the ground commenced, with the Saints rushing in to join the fray. The riflemen and spellslingers fired off volleys into the oncoming invasion force as pirates rushed in with tabaxi refugees standing beside them. Massive arcane explosions of fire, ice, and psychic energies impacted the ranks veil soldiers, and the ballistas were turned upon the fight. Sovelis leaped off the warship and led a force of hobgoblins alongside Zundak, the exiled prince, who fell during the battle, but was healed and saved by Red. At the end of the fight, the defenders claimed victory, and Iselda and Lupin rushed off to chase down the fleeing veil soldiers, not to let them escape.