Episode 8 - "Champion" - 7.24.22
Fuming and alone, Dorugul makes his way back to the Old Tunnel with the unconcious cultist slung over his shoulder. Before reaching the tunnel, he is struck by lightning from the incoming storm, knocking him unconcious, melding his metal armor to his skin, and singeing away all but one dreadlock on the side of his head. The unconcious cultist is killed instantly by the lightning bolt. Talik, seeing his party mate, downed below, flies to his side and uses his last healing potion to restore Dorugul back to consciousness. Despite his alertness, Dorugul, exhausted from the fighting of the past several hours and reeling from the recent energy assault against his body, retreats within his own mind and goes "ragdoll" face-up into the rain. The remainder of the party encounter once again the pack of hunting mastiffs pursuing a group of cultists. As they approach in stealth, they see that two of the three cultists appear to be dead, along with one of the dogs. The remaining three mastiffs are still in pursuit of a single cultist. The party intervenes with Rowan, Furret, and Roel killing the fleeing cultist while Riggie and Drift distract the dogs with rations. Using a potion of animal friendship, Rowan charms two of the mastiffs to follow him, while Roel with the assistance of Riggie and Drift manage to entice the third dog into follow the group with the temptation of more ration treats. Soon the rest of the party and mastiffs arrive at the Old Tunnel exit to find Talik attempting to drag Dorugul's form to the water edge and into the safety of the Citadel. Drift assists Talik with dragging their companion, and once inside, Rowan leads the three mastiffs into an empty jail cell, leaving them with food and water. The group decides to seek out the stablemaster to ask that he look after the dogs until their own can be found. Along the way, Dorugul offers Talik his finally healing spell after seeing the Aarakocra stumble and lean against the stone walls from exertion. Interacting with the stablemaster proves difficult as the man speaks like a belligerent drunk. Furret writes a note about the dogs and places it in the stablemaster's front pocket, hoping that the man will find the note when in better state of mind in the morning. The group then makes their way back to the paraphet to check in with Escobert and Nighthill, only to be stopped short of discussion as a tall humanoid creature followed by a large entourage of cultists, including the dark-haired woman in purple robes, appear from the tree line below. A half-dragon who appears to be a leader amongst the cultist challenges the defenders to send down a champion to fight for the lives of three captured citizens, who the group recognizes as the family previously hiding in the barn. Realizing that the family belongs to Sgt. Rock Brodan, the citadel guard that fought alongside the group earlier in the evening, several party members rush to fight the villain. Talik immediately flies down to face the half-dragon, while Rowan and Dorugul are offered healing and assistance by Eadyan Falconmoon. Rowan is selected to receive both as the most viable defender to face the challenge as the remaining party members watch the battle above from the paraphet. Although Rowan manages to get a couple of scrapes in, the half-dragon's abilities outweigh a single defender. It's not long before the half-dragon proclaims to be tired of playing with his "toys" and knocks Rowan unconcious after several hard hits. The family members are released back to Brodan once the half-dragon and remaining cultists retreat in mass back to the tree line and out of the city towards the southeast. Dorugul manages to stabilize Rowan just in time before death as the rest of the team assembles below to help carry Rowan's body inside. Grateful for selfless acts of service, Brodan offers Rowan a family heirloom of a magical shield that recalls the memories of previous battles, and Nighthill offers the party two healing potions and coupons for services or items in Greenest. He also informs the group that he intends to send financial compensation to them once they are settled in the local inn. While the rest of the group take a short rest, Talik flies back to the Uldoon Trail at the entrance to Greenest to check on Markus Cleaborn and the caravans, only to find that the raiders appear to have found the hidden group earlier in the day. The remaining caravans are broken, horses lay dead, and unrecognizable bodies lay wrapped in sheets. There is no sign of Markus Cleaborn. Dorugul uses this hour to return to the citadel basement to speak with Dragon-Dog prisoner, who seems to respond with indifference to the cultists' objectives but delights over the additional rations offered. Dorugul then moves to cot in an empty cell, passing out immediately from exhaustion… |