Session 051: Dragged Out

General Summary

We open upon a still and crashing scene. Terrortongue the Hungry nowhere to be seen. Zenith and Syvin gone as well. The crew of the Dragon Pearl and the visible members of the North Wind (and also Alban the Elder) held in breathless anticipation.
A spell is cast:
Terrortongue, Talasea calls across planes in desperate fury, are you fucking kidding me? You have never been as much of a coward as in this moment. We have barely started with you. Come show your face right now.
A pause. And then:
A growl echoing in Talasea's mind.
Cowardice? You dare to call me coward when you face me with twenty of your closest friends? I will face you as I see fit and show you the meaning of bravery.
A pause. And then:
Terrortongue bursts back into the void in all its terrible glory and with it appear four more dragons, far smaller, far younger, but still terrible to behold. Syvin, in crab form, clings to Terrortongue's back. Zenith, however, does not, still lost floating a demiplane away.
Battle begins again.
One by one the terrorspawn are felled as the party and their allies attack with spell and cannonfire. Zenith strains his mind, reaching out into the fabric of the void to recreate the sensation of shifting himself cell by cell, and eventually manages to manifest himself back in the void.
At last, Talasea, blinded and poisoned, releases a destructive wave that slams into the final terrorspawn and Terrortongue itself. , Terrortongue is brought low along with the last terrorspawn. With its last breath, it hisses:
This is not over.
And then dissolves in a shower of darkness and stars that burns the skin of all below. Leaving only the crashing waves.
Talasea yells into the void. "I haven't even told you the lesson of this story. You don't care about your family, but love is the fucking answer. You don't know how you terrorize your own family, you don't care about your spawn. That's your issue!!" And then they throw up and fall to their knees on the deck.
"Okay, Tal, take a deep breath," Jack says.
The party and their allies draw together in the aftermath, healing one another and gathering scattered crew members.
"So, that's taken care of," the Empress says. "What are next steps?"
Tal: nap, find Verity
Everyone looks at Zenith. Zenith stands, seemingly shell shocked and far away in his own mind.
Empress: okay so immediate next step is finding someone out in the void, that'll be super easy peasy. What's next for the ship, tho? A spell you say? So the two things you need is to get the spell from the Volokin and to get a lot of diamonds? I can't help with the Volokin part, but I can help with the diamonds. They're stashed off the island of Covalac. Haven't shown it to you, Talasea, but I can mark it on a map. Not the easiest location to get to and it's guarded, but it will have the resources you need.
Tal: Guarded by whom?
Empress: Guarded by what. A friend of mine. I will give you something to prove that you were sent by me.
Tal: What do you know of the Grays?
Empress: Right. You want to do this now or after you've rested?
Tal: Let's rest.
Empress: Okay, then I'll answer what probing questions I'm willing to after some rest has been gained. After you're done resting, I'll see you in my quarters.
The Empress stalks off, demanding a status report on the damage.
The party is led to hammocks tucked in amongst the cargo below deck. Talasea instead heads up the mast and curls up in the crow's nest where they find Nahla on watch. Nahla graciously allows Talasea to do their brooding in her general vicinity. Tal asks Nahla what she remembers about one of their crew members: Alo Thonemany. Nahla shares that Alo was picked up about a year ago as a general deckhand.
Before settling into their brooding silence, Tal racks his mind for any history that may explain Terrortongue 's final words. He remembers stories of a dragon meeting and making plans with itself. He considers, in this place between realities, if Terrortongue might have been in communication with other versions of itself.

Report Date

02 Oct 2023