Session 2 - Here be Dragons

January 23, 2022
Jokku accompanies us to the ship in the morning.
 
Jokku will accompany the PCs this time, carrying a long, thick bamboo staff with him, rough hewn on both ends, as well being flanked by a set of 10 leonin and tabaxi house guards, four of whom are carrying an ornate wooden chest between them. Two tabaxi Beholden walk to either side of Jokku and the Party carrying torches in the dark pre-dawn.
The journey through the city is uneventful, and at this time of the day there is not much going on in the streets or homes you pass to either side in He'shabha on the way to the docks. You smile to yourselves because you can remember just hours ago taking the exact same route to get to the moorings of the Silver Swan, but thankfully this time you all simply march out onto the wharves without pretense. The docks are very busy, however, as more than one sailing vessel is getting ready to make good for the open seas now that the tide is almost risen to full. Once you pass the halfway point of Dock number four, however, there are still no other vessels moored to the pier except for the Silver Swan out in the distance, her rigging and decks now home to the full complement of sailors finishing the last minute checks and prep to get underway in the next hour or so.
You ascend the scaffolding and the sailors on duty there seem to look guiltily in your direction before steadfastly ignoring your existence. Jokku strides across the gangplank and astride the main decks amidships, and motions you to follow him. No sooner than you have arrived than Captain Nylasha comes out on the deck followed by a burly looking female Leonin with reddish fur, a tabaxi woman with reddish fur wielding a wicked-looking battleaxe, and a human male with a terrible looking scar that narrowly missed his left eye from scalp to chin. Except for the captain in her thigh-high leather boots, everyone else on board is in bare feet.
"Majordomo Jokku, welcome aboard the Silver Swan," the Captain calls out. The crew nearest quiet some and turn to watch the proceedings.
Jokku gives a perfunctory bow to a subordinate, and motions to the guards carrying the chest. They drop it on the deck before him and open its lid, revealing another smaller chest on the inside, along with a formal set of scrolls under ornate seals. The tabaxi in the crew lift the smaller chest out and put it on the deck, as the leonin pick up one scroll each and approach the Captain and the sailors immediately with her, one scroll apiece. The leonin give a formal bow and hand the scrolls to them each.
"These are your formal orders, Captain Nylasha. You are to accompany these new Bondsmen of House Ummo on their mission to try and kill or otherwise dispatch with the blue dragon which is harrying the shipping lanes between He'shabha and the Dwomir Vale. Death to the dragon is the preferred result, of course." Jokku looks with side-eye at a couple of the party members. "Do you have any questions?"
The Captain receives her scroll and breaks the seal formally, opening it and giving it a very cursory glance before replying. "No, all seems in order, as usual. I will bring the Bondsmen to their duties, assist them as I may, and then hopefully I will trade in Dwarfhelm at a profit before returning for further instructions. The Swan will be ready to sail with the dawn, as ordered."
Jokku nods. "Good. Your operating costs and crew wages are there, please see that they are distributed upon successful completion of the mission."
 
Jokku turns to the party and says, "I am further commanded by Purr'tan Meksu to formally recognize you each at this time as the new Coterie of House Ummo." He steps to the larger chest and removes five black velvet boxes, flat and thin, and hands one to each of you. "You will open these now."
When you open them you see inside each of them a silver circlet with four aquamarines carved to resemble swimming swans.
"These are Circlets of Service, and given across the Empire to those groups who are meant to work in concert for the glory of the Blood of the Empire. They are given to you now, and you are commanded by the Purr'tan, Ummo Meksu, to receive and wear them from this point forth. Please don them each now, and join hands in a circle around me."
Jokku takes his chunky bamboo staff and presses a catch on the side, and it splits open lengthwise to reveal a maple wood rod of four feet in length, thick, and inlaid with a pattern of silver swans in flight climbing up to form the silver head of a swan at the top of the rod with sapphires for eyes. When Jokku reveals the rod, there is a collective gasp from the sailors on board the ship within eyesight, and all motion ceases as the crew (except for the Captain) drops to their knees and press their foreheads to the deck as one.
Jokku smiles and nods to the rod. "The Rod of Command of House Ummo, and my official badge of office. With this Rod I am able to allow each of your new magical circlets to function for you as a group. Where the Rod of Command is, so too is the Blood of House Ummo, and the Eyes of Her Patron. Join hands around me, and I will activate your circlets now."
The ceremony is decidedly anti-climactic. Wearing your circlets you clasp hands around Jokku who activates the magic of the rod and forms a glowing link that connects each of you to your circlets, and to the rod, and then spins out into a spiderweb spiral pattern that connects each point within the circle to each other, as well. There is a soft glow from each of your brows, and you feel after about 10 minutes of this that you are now... connected... to the circlet, and in strange fashion, to each other.
"Please tell me, Jokku, that you are giving them more than just the Circlets of Service to assist them? Ummo Meksu does realize he's sending them to defeat a dragon, right?"
 
"This is best suited to one of your assassin's ways. It is a Dagger of Venom. Wield it carefully and only for the foes of House Ummo."
"To everyone else, these are enchanted daggers which will be of use in many ways, I am certain."
Jokku retrieves four scimitars from the chest as well and hands them to everyone except Pietr. "These scimitars are basic enchanted blades with a minor bonus to attack and damage. They are better than the enchanted blades you've already received, but you may choose to wield them or not as you wish."
He hands out a small case to each party member and says, "This contains two Potions of Superior Healing (40 hp each), one Potion of Lightning Resistance for facing the Blue, and one Potion of Vitality each for recovering from exhaustion after the battle is through."
To Pietr, he turns and says, "Now, Lord Pietr, you will need to determine who best in your group to use this next potion. It is very, very dear, and should not be used lightly, but perhaps you can use it in some way to help bring the Blue dragon to the surface instead of facing him at a distance."
He hands over a potion vial of crystal filled with a faint white-blue liquid, suspended in the middle of which is a single scale from a silver dragon. "This is the Potion of Silver Dragon's Majesty. Whoever drinks it will transform into an Adult Silver Dragon for one hour. Use it wisely in the Coterie."
"And then finally... this blade is not GIVEN to you, but merely LENT to you. The Purr'tan Meksu remains the owner of this blade, and he commands you as a fellow Paladin of the Crown to bear it aloft to wage Just War on the enemy of the interests of the Empress, may She live forever. I give to your charge and keeping for this mission alone... the Scimitar of Dragonslaying. This blade is meant for your hands and your hands alone. See that you return it, and your Coterie, in one piece."
And now, I am commanded to return to the Villa to report these items safely discharged. You will also find spending cash in pouches here as well. Any last questions?
 
We had no questions beyond proper etiquette surrounding the circlet reveals. It was suggested that revealing it could be a boon or bane in different locales.
We were shown to our cabin and were discussing tactics for the dragon when we were interrupted by a lack of noise from the upper deck. Assassins and thieves had attacked!
The fight was long and brutal, but the attacker’s blew a whistle and started to flee. We captured one alive and tied him up below. We sent them back to the house with the guards and set out before we lost tide.
 
The first day went by uneventfully, but in the night just before dawn an unnatural fog rolls in, but didn’t amount to much. The second and third day pass equally boringly. The fourth day becalms us and Rhys polymorphed into a large whale and towed the ship. He also sang glorious whale song and attracted a pod. The pod leaves quickly, spooked by something watching them. As Rhys got out of the water, the dragon did a flyby in lightning crackling fashion.
 
We enraged the dragon and Umlilo landed a massive strike as it swooped in and forced it to the deck of the ship. Thereafter, it was very short work in dispatching the dragon. The rest of the voyage was uneventful and we make it to the dwarven city.