HotDK 40: “There’s Gold In that there Dungeon – also, a Dragon”

Waking from a very needed rest after defeating a Vampire, you make sure she is actually dead. The daylight pours into the open door of the tower balcony, alighting the vampire’s, thankfully, empty casket. Malice further desecrates the undead’s resting place before the group shimmies down the rope to the courtyard below.

Directly below the tower, in the upper courtyard’s center mass is an opening into caverns that go down into the bowels of the castle. You carefully and stealthily as possible make your way downward before the tunnels open into a massive underground vault.

FINALLY! You have found the hoard of treasure you have been pursuing nearly a year since being pulled into this business of investigating the Cult of the Dragon during the Siege of Greenest . But guarding the massive pile of riches is an adult white dragon!

At first, he seems aloof to your presence, thinking you are there to bring him his breakfast. When it’s clear you do not have any food for him, he decides you all need to become his breakfast!

Glazhael unleashes his ice breath weapon catching Pubert Adams and Malice Bloodmoon fully and nearly off guard but Pubert , undaunted, rushes the massive beast to engage in melee anyway. Glazhael is amused by his insolence but surprised that a mere mortal could actually do him harm. Even so, as Pubert wields Hazirawn with deft skill while Rargir Stetsk and Malice’s healing spells keep in the fray and Brehana Warpip's newly acquired Staff of Fire pins the beast in place by casting a wall of fire, his arrogance is clear. You all know he could do so much more, but he chooses to “play with his food” before devouring it. This arrogance is Glazhael’s downfall as it leaves him open for a massive blow from Hazirawn, followed by Brehana’s Shatter spell. He slumps to the ground, where Malice, using the Dagger of Venom , deals the coup de gras ending dragon’s existence.

Now that the dragon is dead, you can take inventory of the horde of treasure and you can only imagine, if this is just a fraction of what the Cult has been gathering and continues to gather just how much is there really being amassed for their nefarious plan to free Tiamat from the Ninth Hell?

Among the masses of coins and gems are also a few magic items, including a set of Bracers of Defense, which Pubert happily claims, along with a set of magical Leather Armor which happens to fit Brehana perfectly. There is also a magic long sword and longbow which you place in the bag of holding for now

Logistically speaking, there’s no way to move all this coin, plus now that you know it’s here and it’s heading for the Well of Dragons, you need to find a way to get out of this flying castle and back Elturel to report what you know to the Order of the Gauntlet and The Harpers .