Session 67: Gives new meaning to the phrase "Clouds with a silver lining".

General Summary

The group filed into the indicated chamber, the door closing behind them. 15 minutes later a voice from the other room told them they could return, and the door opened.

Now, lounging upon the divan of treasure, is a massive, more massive than one might imagine, silver dragon. As they walk in, the dragon looked to them.

The Cold Heart of Justice : Well, I assume my old friend the Copper Bolt sent you. How is the old bastard?

The party acknowledged that they would be sent by The Copper Bolt, but had not been sent yet, because they had experienced some temporal shifts. They were both yet to leave Triliobarn at the moment, and also at their current location. The Cold Heart of Justice asked if she might contact a friend who would better understand these arcane realities; and despite some misgivings, the party agreed. The Cold Heart of Justice bent her head in prayer, and moments later an extremely loud clap of thunder sounded, as a massive copper dragon appeared. The dragons began roaring in draconic, as Ulfred translated for the group. It seemed The Cold Heart of Justice had called The Copper Bolt to provide his understanding of the situation. The Copper Bolt asked for permission to examine the situation through mental contact, to ensure that he conducted the (to him upcoming) events "correctly" to avoid some form of temporal anomaly. Boris agreed, and the dragon dredged up his memory of the previous few months in exquisite detail. The exhausting experience, despite the immense stress it placed on Boris, stress that would instantly kill an average person, enabled the dragon to explain the temporal situation and ensure the strands of time would not be further disrupted. A bit more discussion ensued, and The Copper Bolt finally took his leave, after revealing, incidentally, that this silver dragon was a noble being somehow in command of lesser dragons. After The Copper Bolt left, there was a bit more discussion, including learning that the "prophesy" from the celestial snake called "The Master" was really just information The Copper Bolt would pass along thanks to this discussion. Some additional discussion was held that rambled through many topics. They learned, based on things The Cold Heart of Justice had uncovered through The Copper Bolt, that Ulfred's former commander had not actually died, but had retired with extra drama to ensure he was not hunted by former enemies. Roisin Marshfield's nephew (twice over) was not dead (yet?), but was due in a few weeks. Her cousins were likewise expecting, due in about three months. An unpleasant and bullying couple, but would have to be dealt with in the future. They discussed where the Ki Rin might be, learning that the Ki Rin holds court on a mountaintop at the head of a magically pleasant valley well within the Korth Wall, a place of rest where heroes could go when the time of heroics were ended and the time for rest had arrived. After some further, somewhat confusing, discussion, the group asked if this powerful priest and dragon would perhaps choose to heal their deformities (magical mishaps had left two without teeth or hair, one had a tentacle instead of an arm, and one had a neck that was ten feet long). The dragon agreed; removed the curse from Jeeves to restore his neck to a proper length, and provided a magical ring for Roy to connect with. The dragon warned that Boris would be more difficult, then, with Boris' permission, proceeded to spear Boris with claw and tooth until he died, strip the equipment from the body, and eat the corpse. Shocked, the group asked what that was for, and learned that the body needed to be destroyed utterly in order for the next step to succeed, and this was the most expedient method. Roy spent an hour attuning to the magic ring, while the dragon continued to talk to the group. Roisin Marshfield learned what the dragon knew about her family, including a few disturbing revelations, and the joyful revelation that her uncle Gearold and aunt Caoimhe were actually staying with the dragon at that time (as they showed themselves, to the dragon's dismay and chiding). By the time an hour had passed, Roy was declared "ready". The dragon very carefully picked Roy up, and, with a glaive wielded like a massive scalpel, quite surgically cut his tentacle arm off without warning. Roy , after recovering from the shock and realizing his wound quickly stopped bleeding and began to heal thanks to the magical ring, asked why the lack of warning, and was informed that warned people tend to flinch, resulting in lost heads more often than not. As his proper arm began to slowly reform, Roy asked if he might have the boon of a scale from the dragon. The dragon explained that this was a great boon indeed, but that they could perhaps earn it, by performing a service to clear a monstrosity and other threats from a white dragon hoard that had been left behind when The Cold Heart of Justice killed its owner for encroaching on her territory. The Cold Heart of Justice explained there was a Behir, a monstrosity created in ancient times by giants to hunt dragons, possibly other dangers, and the hoard itself, which had become a construct due to the extreme paranoia and elemental power of the dragon over time. When Roy asked if they should bring the hoard to the dragon, The Cold Heart of Justice explained that they should not attempt to bring any of the hoard; they should leave it in place and The Cold Heart of Justice would gather it later.

The Cold Heart of Justice then suggested they spend some time with Roisin Marshfield's uncle, aunt, and cousins until the next day, then return after some rest. For the next several hours the group spent time with this large family of over forty adults and children who were Roisin Marshfield's aunt, uncle, 8 cousins and their spouses, as well as their 26 (so far) children, including a newborn. Somehow they managed to survive the roiling-boiling mass of chaos that is a big family all together in one space. Near the end of the night, after children were asleep and most adults off to separate rooms nearby, they spoke of the situation with Allred and Aoirie. Per law and tradition, crimes such as theirs (for they had done great harm to citizens and their own family alike) must be judged by the duchess. Caoimhe, as duchess, ordered Roisin Marshfield to carry out a sentence of death upon both Allred and Aoirie, as well as their fiend child, for crimes against society, nature, and The Source; and further ordered that the corpses be burned, and the ashes mixed with holy water then poured into a running river, so that the punished could not be returned, and would have no escape from their eternal plight. Having just heard a mother pronounce the harshest possible judgement upon two of her own children as a matter of law, Roisin Marshfield did not expect to sleep well that night, but agreed to carry out sentence if circumstances permitted it. Boris also learned that Alathius original surname was Greentoe, but, of course, upon being elevated to nobility he took his demesne as surname, becoming Marshfield. Nobody seemed to really take notice that Roisin Marshfield referred to Boris as Uncle, however. The group also spent a good amount of time thinking carefully about what magic to prepare as well, for their fight with the Behir and a hoard construct.

The next morning, they stood before the dragon, and the dragon asked "Are you ready?". Roisin Marshfield responded that yes, they were ready, and Roy agreed. The dragon reminded them that the named creatures might not be the only threats, and they should be very careful to finish their business quickly, and return immediately. With that, the dragon gave a couple of scrolls to Boris (including one to use for their return), cast preparatory spells on several members of the party (including a very powerful divine magic of support, adding substantial health to each of Roy , Roisin Marshfield, and Boris), then cast a spell to send the group to the entrance of the lair where they were to clear out the known threats.