Letter to Ileas 4

Dear Ileas,
 
Sorry for not writing to you sooner but don't worry, I'll add the letters to Carnwen, Petra and Krys for full context. But in short: Ravensfield had a secret laboratory nearby where the dragon cult was experimenting on captives, turing them into dragons, after meeting one of their victims called Reynis we cleared the place out but in exchange angered their boss, Vezzir, who sent Rayl, a wyvern riding commander and his army to burn Ravensfield. We evacuated the village towards Keralon and fought a battle there, barely making it out alive as the flames of Ravensfield closed around us. Oh, and our friend Robert Talespinner? He is probably in league with them.
 
So where I'll start this letter we are all catching our breath as Ravensfield burns. We saw the army (which despite losses was still numbering in the hundreds) waiting on the other side and reckoning they would have attacked us if they saw us we decided to catch up to the refugee train that was on its way to Keralon. But it quickly became clear that their headstart of almost a day would take a bit more to get to than the few hours of light we had left so we made camp. During the night something huge flew over at least three times, always north to south, likely scouting the road. Thanks to Gael getting a good second look he recognized a massive draconic figure... This did not spell good news. Fiachna also reported that the army at Ravensfield was making camp there, having no intention of moving after us. It's a relief that they're not after us, but it also makes one wonder what their next move really is. Regardless we require Keralon to send an army to handle it.
 
The next day we caught up to the caravan and Safira and Zx'ex'xm told us they found marks that seem to be from our nighttime flyer. Seeing as we still had about three to four days until we reach Keralon and we were responsible for the safety of the Ravensfielders (actually, what is a citizen of Ravensfield called?) we decided to take it carefully. That night Gael and Dadroz would stake out a likely landing place and get a good view of this creature. They reported back that this creature was a massive metallic construct of a dragon. It would land and watch the camp for a while and then fly off. This is where a conundrum hit the party: should we confront this creature or let it be? It ended up being a discussion between two camps, on one side Luke, Lil and myself argued that we should confront it to see who sent it and if it came to blows we could at least choose our battleground. The other side of Hayley, Gael and Dadroz argued for caution, that talking to a construct is unproductive and fighting it could still endanger the refugee train we were supposed to protect. Many arguments were raised, speculations about the origin of this construct, if it belonged with the army or came from some 3rd source and many more yet none of them managed to persuade anyone. For now we had decided to wait another day to see if the dragon changed its behavior. When it decidedly didn't and our impasse didn't lift it became clear that the side closest to the status quo would get their way, since neither Luke, Lil or myself would want to drag others into a fight. In moments like these your voice is sorely missed, Ileas. Not because I expect your opinion to follow mine, but because having a tie broken by a majority is more satisfying than an impasse.
 
The next day would see us wrestle with the consequences of this choice. As this was the day we'd arrive in Keralon and we were taking a small break all hell broke loose as many of us were put under some kind of magical trance that made them wildly attack each other. The refugees near me and Lil started attacking each other and myself, Luke started hitting Zx'ex'xm, Dadroz started stabbing Gael and the Mayor and Dan went for each others throat. In the chaos a few fell and even Torrin, taken by this magic, killed a villager. But then the cause of it all appeared, the giant dragon construct who then fired a beam of radiant energy through the caravan and killed both the mayor and all but one regugee that were in our vicinity. In the end we tried to take down the dragon but as it flew away, Luke unleashed a mighty fire-y explosion I've only seen him do a few years ago and Liliana blasted it with bolts of arcane power. With a loud smack it hit the forest floor a bit further up. As Hayley and Liliana looked at the villagers to see who could be saved I mounted Torrin and rode along the refugee train, ensuring people everything was okay and to see if nothing else popped up.
 
We also went to look at the wreckage of this dragon construct and found that whatever effect was confounding everyone came from its metal, which Luke says comes from the Hells itself. As it was beyond our capability to suppress the best we could do was put up some warning signs for passerby's. This was also the time the villagers took time to bury the dead. With some serenity and somberness we decided to finish our last stretch towards the city. On the way there I was contemplating if we could've prevented these deaths, and while attacking the dragon pre-emptively probably would have done that I expect the charming magic might have been more destructive to our group if we could only attack each other, as currently we left the fight relatively unscathed. and it showed it was more than willing to fly away which would mean it might've gone after the villagers anyhow. Unless the Duke of Time himself would give us a chance of a do over on it it's all empty speculation.
 
Night had already fallen by the time we reached the Foregate, which was closed. But luckily they opened up after seeing the refugee train and a quick explanation. We had to talk to a guard sergeant and fill out some forms to make sure the refugees were allowed in. There were two immediate things we had to set out for: handing over the prisoners to the briar ring to prevent them spellcasting which was taken up by all expect Hayley and myself, who set out for the Long Table's Headquarters. As you might remember we sent out messages about Reynis and needing help with a curse but we saw nothing on our way there. Quickly we were brought before Ser Callos, the leader of the circle of the long table, an obscenely huge man who despite the late hour was intently listening to our story. He confirmed he had received news about the curse but nothing about Ravensfield being attacked, which is not too surprising as that news came with the refugee train. Ser Callos went over his papers and mentioned three knights were sent out, two of the long table and one of the briar ring for their magical know how. But when we made it clear we found no sign of them along the road his eyes became worried. Maybe the construct caught them? Or some other accomplice of this cult? Anyhow he started writing letters to both the royal court about the army and to prepare a new party to look for signs of the group sent for us. With some thanks we left and met up with the others, they managed to deliver the prisoners to the Briar circle and under the responsibility of Dadroz, who held the key, they were now being held until further notice. As it was well past midnight we all decided to go home, where one more surprise awaited at least Lil and myself: and invitation to a party on the occasion of the new embassy that was being opened for the draconic state under Velora Morenthene. Peace talks were advancing at a good rate from the looks of it. Though worry starts gnawing at me (which is probably why I'm still up writing this letter instead of sleeping). Every time something is organized with the emissaries of Velora the cult takes their chance to strike. And we do have letters confirming Robert was sent here as the champion the cult 'needed'. So I am a bit worried. But this is also a chance to talk to Rachnar and Norgar, share what we know. Maybe we can find out more about this Beatrice mentioned in the letters between Vezzir and the professor. And don't worry, I'll also try to enjoy myself.
 
The event is in two days anyhow, plenty of time to look for Robert, get help for this construct and prepare ourselves for the embassy's grand opening.
Talk to you soon,
Ali