Session II: The Bloody Canyon
1st of Derima - 3rd of Derima, 560 AL
The five officers survey their surroundings as the dust settles on a victorious battle. The canyons wind for miles in every direction. Nearby, an old metal outpost rests just down the hill. The officers form a makeshift party and investigate the outpost. Almost no life hides within; after squashing two piercers that clung to a ruined ceiling, the party discovers that the building is a derelict barracks. A long hallway hosts a dozen bunk beds whose troops have ventured deeper into the canyons. Another central room has a collection of arcane supplies with a magic circle taking up much of the floor. Strattora intuits from the runic patterns that the circle leads directly to Quirrach.
A scuffling sound from a nearby room catches the party's attention. They sneak into the room and discover a young Hirs earth genasi hiding under a table: a soldier that did not join the battle. Interrogating him, they learn that his name is Toré. The genasi wants to leave, but Flint threatens him into divulging more information. Strattora Acari calms him down by assuring him that they mean no harm. Toré tells them that he is a soldier that helped dig the pits in these canyons, named the "Stormfall Quarry". He offers the name of his captain: Hastatia Bloodelm, who came through the magic circle and has a "creature" accompanying her. According to him, they are patrolling the canyon. Flint tells Toré that they are similar, asking where he's from in Quirrach. Toré is from the South Flats, a poorer rural area on the outskirts of the city. He is an unwilling participant in the war.
Meanwhile, Astra scouts above. They see that the canyons are filled with armies, one of which is marching straight toward their location. The party decides to take Toré with them and fly each member of their troupe up the 200-foot plateau with Astra's wings and Cornelius's fly spell. There, they rest for a short while to regain their strength before pressing on deeper into the canyons.
After a half day's travel, night falls. The party beds down and prepares to rest. Mettius, the troupe's Supply Master, arranges a comfortable set of tents taken from his extradimensional satchel. The party and the Zivil soldiers are furnished with as much food as they can eat. In the night air, one of the soldiers approaches Melinoe. Her name is Sulla, and she expresses curiosity about Melinoe's spiritual beliefs. Melinoe tells the soldier that she believes in the West Moon; that it is more of a force than a tangible person. Sulla presses her, and Melinoe gets the impression that she is doing it out of bad faith. She issues an ominous threat, telling Sulla that no one will save her when she falls. The soldier recoils, clearly intimidated, and returns to her post. Toré sits alone on the canyon precipice, and Strattora approaches him. She joins him by the cliffside, telling him that he's going to be fine. Things are much better in Zivilon. He will not be put to death there like he would for defecting from Quirrach. Toré tells her that she doesn't understand; that she and the other officers chose to fight the war, while he did not. On some level, they are already war criminals. He is clearly upset and unwilling to engage further in the conversation. After exchanging a few more words, Strattora eventually leaves. As the night wears on, the party and their soldier companions take watch. During Flint's watch, he sees blue dragon wyrmlings skittering atop the cliff face some distance away. He remembers that in the southwest of this region, extremely far from them, a prolific blue dragon named Kalsiniax has caused trouble for Quirrach for decades. His brood is enormous, but they should not be this far east. He later tells the party of the sighting, setting them on edge for the rest of the night. In the morning, the band disassembles their camp and marches on. At one point, a huge gap between canyons prompts a careful descent into the value below by those with flight. They avoid a nearby army but are unable to hide from the other forces in the canyon. A shadow follows them, unbeknownst to the party. After another full day of walking atop the plateaus, the troupe makes it out of the Stormfall Quarry. They look at the scene below them from a higher vantage point. The majority of the other death traps seem to have succeeded, judging by the quiet of the canyon. Kirasum's sending spell echoes in Strattora's mind. She tells the cleric that a portal exists in the Dwein pits passage near a red flag. She says that they will bring riders, and she should meet them halfway.
With a renewed sense of urgency, the party marches north along what appears to be an ancient, half-buried highway. Ornate pillars lie scattered across the wasteland cliffs for miles. The party begins to see the glimmers of Groth, the church settlement closest to the quarry. They make plans to disguise themselves as weary soldiers in need of aid. As they begin coating themselves with grime and dust, a faint sound echoes off of a southerly cliff. Too late to react, they are beset by a fully grown blue dragon descending upon them.
The dragon releases an enormous storm of lightning from its maw, killing two Zivil soldiers and heavily wounding the party. Mico charges the creature as the party recuperates. Mettius tells everyone to run; the fight is beyond them. The surviving infantry immediately flee. Flint projects a large barrier of darkness to prevent the creature from seeing them. Melinoe, Astra, Cornelius, and Strattora fire spells and attacks at the creature, but only manage to chip a single scale of its hide. The dragon cackles and grabs onto Mico, flinging him off the cliff face to his death.
Mettius flies into a rage at the sight of his ally's death. The goliath withdraws a gold and white staff from his backpack, charging the dragon. He conjures a portal for the party to flee the fight, then leaps onto the creature's neck. A second lightning blast almost kills several of the officers, but they are able to dive into the arcane gate. Toré joins them, barely able to escape. The rage of battle fades behind them as the portal, placed at a random target by Mettius, deposits them into an old, dank cavern below the surface.
After a half day's travel, night falls. The party beds down and prepares to rest. Mettius, the troupe's Supply Master, arranges a comfortable set of tents taken from his extradimensional satchel. The party and the Zivil soldiers are furnished with as much food as they can eat. In the night air, one of the soldiers approaches Melinoe. Her name is Sulla, and she expresses curiosity about Melinoe's spiritual beliefs. Melinoe tells the soldier that she believes in the West Moon; that it is more of a force than a tangible person. Sulla presses her, and Melinoe gets the impression that she is doing it out of bad faith. She issues an ominous threat, telling Sulla that no one will save her when she falls. The soldier recoils, clearly intimidated, and returns to her post. Toré sits alone on the canyon precipice, and Strattora approaches him. She joins him by the cliffside, telling him that he's going to be fine. Things are much better in Zivilon. He will not be put to death there like he would for defecting from Quirrach. Toré tells her that she doesn't understand; that she and the other officers chose to fight the war, while he did not. On some level, they are already war criminals. He is clearly upset and unwilling to engage further in the conversation. After exchanging a few more words, Strattora eventually leaves. As the night wears on, the party and their soldier companions take watch. During Flint's watch, he sees blue dragon wyrmlings skittering atop the cliff face some distance away. He remembers that in the southwest of this region, extremely far from them, a prolific blue dragon named Kalsiniax has caused trouble for Quirrach for decades. His brood is enormous, but they should not be this far east. He later tells the party of the sighting, setting them on edge for the rest of the night. In the morning, the band disassembles their camp and marches on. At one point, a huge gap between canyons prompts a careful descent into the value below by those with flight. They avoid a nearby army but are unable to hide from the other forces in the canyon. A shadow follows them, unbeknownst to the party. After another full day of walking atop the plateaus, the troupe makes it out of the Stormfall Quarry. They look at the scene below them from a higher vantage point. The majority of the other death traps seem to have succeeded, judging by the quiet of the canyon. Kirasum's sending spell echoes in Strattora's mind. She tells the cleric that a portal exists in the Dwein pits passage near a red flag. She says that they will bring riders, and she should meet them halfway.
