Wings of Aundair

## Introduction

The Foundation’s finest have gathered to meet their client in a quiet room of a cheap Ghallanda tavern at the outskirts of Passage, Aundair. Though you try to relax in the den, perhaps with a glass of Aundairian red or a tankard of passable ale, you cannot escape the thrums of arcane industry from the city at the heart of the Lightning Rail. Even indoors, the smell of ozone hangs in the air.

The brief delivered to the Wayfinders seemed a simple one: journey south to the Blackcaps, retrieve a delicate treasure from its mountain home, and return it safely to the client. All in a day’s work.

Right on time, a woman lets herself in and hangs her embroidered cloak. She’s human, slightly greying and has the weathered skin of an outdoorswoman. Though her bob conceals most of it, an iridescent line pattern curls out from behind her ear. With a clatter, she sets a metallic brazier at the floor beside your table.

“So...How are you all with animals?”

## Expedition Summary

The woman, Sylvia d'Vadalis, has a simple request. Get her a dragonhawk egg from the northeastern Blackcaps, where a dragonhawk has been spotted flying nearby over Lake Galifar. She also warns of possible interference from the nearby Norblack estate, who may attempt to take the eggs for themselves. Indeed, she confirms that a scion of the Norblack family, Jean ir'Norblack, is already present in the small camp at Miner's Pass, so it's likely that he's after the same prize.

Their patron acquires them some magebred mounts on the condition that they be left in Lakewatch, a fair distance from the camp, but most of the way from Passage. They stop for the night in the village of Arcanix, below the mighty floating towers that give it it's name. Quarion, having attended school here before the Last War, is somewhat familiar with the procedures required and suggests that they talk to the mayor to arrange transportation to the floating towers. In the morning, they split the party, with Cade and Quarion heading up to the Towers and Vivien, Séula and Hench staying firmly on the ground, keeping a close eye on their valuable mounts.

Quarion recognizes the woman behind the reception desk as a descendant of the founder of Arcanix itself. She recognizes him, and gives him access to the natural history section of their library, though she warns him that one of the Deans here is a personal friend of Lady ir'NorBlack, and there's been talk of taking a beast of an egg back to Arcanix for study. He manages to convince her to keep their visit secret, and she agrees. He manages to uncover a large amount of information on dragonhawks, and is pleasantly surprised, but learns that raising a dragonhawk is against Aundairan laws unless you're a certain nobility or the royal family, which is a source of endless frustration for Vadalis.

Séula, guarding the horses, is accosted by a gentleman looking to purchase their magebred horses. While he assures them that the horses are not for sale, the man insists. Vivien comes out to see what the matter is, and speaks to the man, who reveals a himself as a changeling when he spontaneously manifests a mark of passage. Hench, meanwhile, sneaks out back to get a different eye on the situation, runs into an accomplice of the man, who confirms the ambush. Once the changeling realizes that they're outnumbered, him and his accomplice slink away, not willing to force a fight over some magebred horses.

They head to Lakewatch after they reunite, but discover a fire in the road just before the town, with a dozen humanoid bodies strewn about. Quarion spots movement coming form the lake, and a pair of tentacled worms slide in combat. They defeat the carrion crawlers handily, and a closer inspection of the bodies by Quarion reveals that the bodies were bandits, and likely killed by the dragonhawk. They proceed to the Vadalis stables afterward to return their horses, and notice a large group of humans and khoravar wearing Norblack livery putting together a wagon full of goods and supplies. They wagon leader, a khoravar confirms that Jean ir'Norblack is leading another expedition out the mountains. The party sits down in a local teahouse to figure out a plan of action. They eventually settle on sabotage, and send Cade as a distraction while Hench does the sabotaging. Their sabotage is quickly discovered, but it delays the wagon's departure by a day anyways.

The Wayfinders, working together, manage to climb the mountainside with little issue. They make it halfway up the slope before an ankeg bursts from over a ledge, forcing the Wayfinders to fight on a vertical surface. The storm that had been brewing all day finally lets loose with a mighty bolt of lightning, showering the beleaguered with debris from the cliff above them. They finish the fight, regardless and make it to the top of the cliff. They ascend a little further, before the sharp eyed quarion spots a spur of metal in the mountainside wall. Hench claims it, and they discover that it magically attracts lighting, which they assume means that the dragonhawks have something watching out for them.

They continue their climb throughout the day, and soon come upon a dead man torn to shreds wearing Norblack livery, though he died with a smile on his face, likely due to the four foot long dragonhawk feather that he has clutched in his hand. They estimate that the body has been dead for no more than a few hours, so they must be getting close. They're surprised by a trio of harpies, however, Cade manages to negotiate their safe passage through by giving them advance information about the Norblack caravan coming through after them. They make it past the sisters easily enough after the tense negotiations, and Séula's expert outdoorsmanship leads them directly into the heart of dragonhawk territory. They camp for the night on a high but hidden ledge, keeping an eye out for the male dragonhawk to leave his nest to go hunting while they confront the female and claim an egg.

Cade volunteers to place the bait, to try and draw the female away from the nest, while Hench is off to get the egg. Séula is on lookout, while Quarion stands by to lend support. Cad emanages to make it halfway to the point where he was to drop the bait when the dragonhawk notices him. the plan quickly falls apart as Séula throws himself into the line of fire to protect his teammates while Hench grabs the egg. They concentrate their fire on the mighty bird, and eventually drive her off, only to have her drive herself into a cliff not too far off and finish the fight herself, too exhausted to move a muscle.

The Wayfinders decide to let Cade negotiate between the harpy sisters and Sylvia. If the Vadalis heir isn't on the level, they'll leave the heir and the egg with the harpy sisters and not look back. If she is honest, though, they'll negotiate between them to get aid for the mother dragonhawk and let Sylvia learn what she needs to keep the chick healthy.

The harpy sisters are willing to oblige them, if the Wayfinders can help them secure the ability to live in the lowlands. They make it down the mountains with no difficulties, and make back to Arcanix, where they arrange some transportation with some less than reputable merchants for themselves and the egg. They leave Arcanix and head towards Xandrar, the Brelish port of call where Sylvia said that she would meet them after the mission. Xandrar is just coming into sight when Crestal, the most volatile of the harpy sisters, lands on the boat and attacks, claiming that they'd taken everything from her. The fight distracts them from realizing how close they'd gotten to the docks, and the ship crashes mightily into the wooden structure.

They spy their patron leaning on a nearby building, but Cade heads over to the dockmaster to try and talk their way out of the situation. He charms the dockmaster, then tries to see if Crestal can be saved, Alas, it was not meant to be. He then moves to join the party with Sylvia, and they suggest to take this meet off of the street. The meeting is tense, and Quarion almost derails the deal entirely before Cade reins him in. They manage to make the deal, and Sylvia agrees to take the (remaining) harpy sisters in.

## Epilogue

A young human man, bruised and tired, forces each foot forward as he ascends the mountain path. His ornate armour is enameled in turquoise and inlaid with three black triangles. He clutches a bandaged and bloodied hand.

Jean ir’Norblack wipes the sweat from his brow, and leans against an inviting boulder. He’s lost his retainers and his caravan to some feathered witch, but he must make his mother proud.

A tumble of rocks and a blast of warm air catch his attention. He looks up.

The dragonhawk raises its claw.

"Oh.”

# ==

Weeks later…

A countryside estate, mid afternoon, in northern Aundair. Vast farmlands stretch across the landscape, and the Starpeaks rise above the fields not far to the east. A flag flies from an oversized stables: five feathers, brown, on a field of white.

With a shake of the earth, a monstrous raptor lands beside a lone rider. Sylvia d’Vadalis dismounts her horse, and a rich but practically dressed lady climbs from the back of the dragonhawk. The two women shake hands, and leave their mounts to enter the stables.

“I have to thank the prince consort for introducing us.” The hawk rider starts. “The new arrival has a spark I’ve not seen in a while. There must be something in the spices down south.”

Inside, the pair watch a feathered woman taunt and dance with a hatchling. It’s already a match for the harpy in size.

“We’ll have to keep an eye on the aerie. I doubt Norblack will make another move, but the border across the Blackcaps isn’t as secure as I’d like. A couple more hatchings as strong as that one and we should have enough.”

Sylvia looks on in askance. “Enough for what?”

The dragonhawk rider smiles.

“Thaliost.”

## In-Character Transcript

Ping @chae in Discord when adventure is complete and she'll export & upload transcript here.