Chapter 44: Blades, Blue Dragons and Bargains

General Summary

Date: 1st of Uktar, 1491 DR

Amidst the ruins of Ascore, the Good Fellas confronted the possessed bird perched by a stone well. The voices within spoke of knowledge regarding the Blade's location, one that Bene was searching for. Negotiations ensued, and Bene commited to perform two unspecified favors for their help. In return, the voices disclosed that the Blade lay within the hoard of two adult blue dragons. They would also aid the party by eliminating one of the dragons, simplifying the quest.
Ranvas embarked on a darker path, pledging to deliver a child to the voices in return for the Heart of Stone he sought. As the unsettling negotiations unfolded Belros was offered a weapon that would aid in their impending battle against the formidable dragons. He accepted but before parting ways, the entities revealed a cryptic prophecy: they foretold a future where a Lugosi would be the defining factor to either saving the world or dooming it. The bird melted into a black sludge that formed to the blade for Belros.
The Good Fellas made their path towards the southeastern corner of the ruins, where the lair of the dragons lay dormant. There they found ancient stone ships buried in the vast open sands of the desert. The heroes devised a strategy and since the desert offered no clear hiding places, they turned to the ruins themselves, using the crumbling walls as their makeshift cover.
Ranvas took his position and set his sights on the statues that stood sentinel on top the ships. Unbeknownst to the party, a group of mercenaries had stealthily closed in on them and demanded their surrender. Bene attempted to seek a peaceful resolution through negotiations, but the bandits refused to yield to reason and choosed instead to exploit the party as bait for their own gains.
Tensions escalated and the sands seemed to respond to the impending conflict. Suddenly a massive, gaping jaw emerged from beneath the dunes and snatched the bandit captain. The remaining mercenaries scattered in a panicked disarray. The heroes found themselves in a more dire predicament, facing not one, but two full-grown blue dragons.
The two colossal blue dragons, Anaxaster and Chezzaran, reveled in their sadistic amusement, relishing the fear that emanated from their prey. The Good Fellas, however, were not easily cowed. eigned subservience, they played their part, lulling the dragons into a false sense of security. Bene, ever the cunning rogue, stepped forward, offering an obsidian box as a symbolic token of their newfound allegiance to the dragons.
The dragons, ever distrustful and cautious, attempted to gauge the extent of the threat of the party. In a moment of audacity, Bene uttered the command word that opened to lockbox, unleashing a malevolent entity from within and drawing inside the dragon. The moment of triumph turned to horror as the illusion faded and the real Anaxaster came into view. The negotiations were over and dinner was about to be served.
With a deafening roar, the two dragons took to the skies. Lightning crackled from their maws as they unleashed their deadly lightning breaths upon the party. One of them began flying towards Nomime while the other engaged against Ranvas. In the midst of the chaos, Bene retrieved the obsidian box and entrusted it to Nomime. A sandstorm began forming around the battlefield. Nomime summoned an air elemental to clash with Anaxaster that was mauling Ranvas. Seizing the critical moment, she misty stepped to Chezzaran and activated the obsidian lockbox, ensnaring the blue dragon inside. In a matter of moments, the battle's dynamic had shifted drastically.
Anaxaster, consumed with rage, descended upon Ranvas. Nomime fell to the ground as Chezzaran disappeared and lost her concentration, causing the air elemental to vanish. While Belros healed her and picked her up, Bene seized the moment and struck the dragon's spine with a venomous blade. In desperation, the dragon took flight with Ranvas in its clutch and made towards its lair. Nomime shot a fireball that exploded on the dragon, causing it to plummet down below.
The defeated dragon crashed near its lair, rendering Ranvas unconscious from the impact. The sentinel gargoyles that perched on top the ships were attracted by the chaos and flew towards Ranvas. Belros, imbued with the haste spell, surged forward with an unnatural speed. His movements were a blur of steel, as he slashed and hacked the animated statues, his strikes fueled by an overwhelming rage that seemed to consume him.
The rest of the party rallied to Belros's side and dispatched the remaining gargoyles. Nomime mended Ranvas's wounds, bringing him back from the brink of death and the Good Fellas emerged victorious. Belros, his fiery fury subsiding, regained composure and the party turned their attention towards the lairs of the dragons.
Towering piles of treasure glistened in the crystallized caverns and in the heart of one such hoard, Bene laid his hands upon the Blade. As he retrieved it, a surge of darkness filled the room, with Bene receiving a vision that left him with more questions than answers. For now, he chose to set aside the vision and the party was ready to leave.
With the Blade secured, the Good Fellas were ready to teleport to the city of Neverwinter to return to Phandalin. They had amassed treasure beyond comprehension and victory over the dragons, but also the sinister debt they owed to the ones who helped them claim this victory. With Belros cursed to wield the sickened blade, the party contracting a curse from the Dragon's hoard, will their journey to Ascore prove to be more than they bargained for? Will they be able to lift the ancient curses so easily? And what will await them in Phandalin?

Rewards Granted

• Blade of Godsbane
• Bene +1 level
• 2 Dragon Hoards

Missions/Quests Completed

• Retrieved the Blade of Godsbane

Character(s) interacted with

• Aunties
• Chezzaran
• Anaxaster

Notes

• Belros gained a cursed blade
• Party contracted a dragon curse

Campaign

Storm King's Thunder

Protagonists

Belros

Neutral Good Half-Elf (Military / Infrantry)
Paladin 7

57 / 57 HP

STR
17

DEX
12

CON
14

INT
9

WIS
10

CHA
17

Nomime Shandri

Bene Lugosi

Chaotic Neutral Human (Charlatan)
Rogue 1

10 / 10 HP

STR

DEX

CON

INT

WIS

CHA

Ranvas Pahrunath

Neutral Good Triton (Outlander, Pilgrim)
Fighter, Gunslinger 1

14 / 14 HP

STR
16

DEX
17

CON
18

INT
12

WIS
17

CHA
11

Report Date

01 Oct 2023