Warlords of the Shaar

Eleasias/August 1515

General Summary

Twenty-nine years have passed since the Ragtags defeated the ancient blue Iymrith, Doom of the Anauroch Desert. It’s been four summers since the Ragtags ventured into the realm of the red dragon, Adak the Defiler, for a search and rescue mission of Zephyr.
Rumors of a great drought to the south have begun to circulate. The rumors have grown and it turns out there has been no rain in the Great Planes of Shaar for over three years. The once lush grassland is now nothing more than a barren desert. Bereft of almost all civilization, six months ago, hostile forces began to occupy Shaar. Clearing the realm of anything living, leaving not even a tree or shrub to survive. This army of darkness even slayed the protector of the realm, a several century old Titan named Anaka.
Upon the realization that this is no longer a natural anomaly, the factions of the realm have banded together to fight these forces of evil.
Having amassed a reputation over the three decades since rescuing the King of Giantkind, King Hekaton, a call for aid was sent to the Ragtags, from the Lord of Waterdeep, Laeral Silverhand personally. Aside from Bolivar, one by one our heroes answered the call.

The Great Planes Shaar

Over the past six months the Ragtags have been leading the charge with the armies gathered. The past few weeks have been the most grueling of your entire existence. This has grown to be a war on the grandest scale. A battle against a seemingly endless horde of foes summoned from the farthest reaches of this realm and others. Recently several of your companions have fallen in battle and are currently out of the fight; all of them forcefully so.
Olga was literally blown up and is in the process of growing new limbs. Willow got spliced while teleporting a battalion of troops to safety, nearly ripping her in half. Kadzurak was hit by a fireball and is recovering from severe burns. Belias was nearly eaten by a forty foot long purple worm.
It currently remains unknown who the puppeteers of war are. Recently the remaining members of the Ragtags, Xydenanthis, Aeson of House DuKhan, Tanye Norella, Zephyr, and his father Gajarum have successfully pushed the evil horde back to the site of the Fallen Titan. This site has come to be known as Anaka’s Final Rest.

Anaka’s Final Rest

The clash at arms can be heard for miles, intermixed with screamed battle cries and the moans of the dying. The potent scent of spilled blood wafts into your nostrils. Crows and other scavengers are already crowding around the outskirts of the battle where action has died down, feasting on the gore from open wounds on both the dead and the still-dying, too weak to protest.
And yet still the struggle carries on, flights of arrows piercing the air to be concluded in the bodies of their targets, blades whistling in their bloody purpose, horses cry plummeting to earth in their last heaving breaths. It is impossible to tell whether you or your foes descended furthest into mindless savagery, but it is surely a close competition.
Hope grows within you, knowing that you have driven the hordes back to their final stand.

Anxiety swells once again as a massive portal opens up just in front of the fallen titan summoning a cyclopes of otherworldly proportions. Xye delivers healing energy to those in need while flying through the air. Aeson dive-bombs on the back of his magically summoned Felidar steed. Zephyr and Gajarum Loremaster of the Hunt charge through the ranks of minotaur fearlessly.

Bolivar Arrives

As the colossal footsteps of the cyclopes charge closer, the sound of a jet engine becomes deafening even over the roar of battle. Atop the airship recovered long ago from the Cult of the Dragon, Dral, Bolivar, and a fully grown Diamonddust enter the fray. A cannon blast creates a massive plume of black smoke. Bolivar dives through the black smoke and crashes down into the cyclops down below.

Zephyr spots the conjurer of the large portal and begins to close in on the tortle with a charcoal black shell just before escaping through a portal.

Archanist Eudora

At the concession of battle, cries of joy shake the ground as the army of men hails victorious. One-by-one the Ragtags gather and greet Bolivar with open arms. The joyous moment is cut short as Archanist Eudora approaches with a forced smile upon her face. She knows fully well that although the battle is won, the war is not over. The Warlords of the Shaar remain unknown and still at large.
Eudora teleports the four up to the deck of the Skyguard Carrier which currently hovers several thousand feet above their current location. This air vessel served as the base for the command center.

Summons to the Skyguard Carrier

The temperature plummets as the party finds themself onboard of the iconic Skyguard Carrier. Its sleek design, great sails, and exquisite carvings in the bow all stand testimony to its splendor and might. It’s impossible to determine its exact size at first but the hum of its propellers hint at how much power is required to fly the great dirigible. Upon realizing the Ragtag's arrival, a crowd of crew members surrounds the party as they are escorted to the main hall.
Word had already spread to the deck of the Skyguard carrier as the Ragtags found themselves in a grand ballroom where an extravagant end-of-war party was in full swing. Military members intertwined with members of high society with no regard of class or wealth. The party is escorted to the center of the ballroom through the crowd where a long grand private table has been set up.
Before departing Archanist Eudora sincerely congratulates them and reminds them to keep their wits about. “My dears please do be careful of the money-hungry bureaucrats that you are soon to be in the company of; especially that one” as she gestures the familiar face of CJ Collins, currently adored in his ceremonial full plate of gold.
A deep self assured voice calls through the crowd, “It has been a loooong time, my friends!” Archanist Eudora maintains her composure and assures the party that she will see them again. As the party gathers around the grand table with CJ at its head, a group of formally dressed butlers create a magical dome of energy over the table, muffling the buzz of the party going on in the ballroom.
“Because of your efforts, we have learned paramount information. The army is led by a cabal known as the Warlords of the Shaar. We are uncertain of their numbers, but we know two of them; a tortle named Krull and a large ebony minotaur, whose name remains unknown. However, we suspect there is a third.”
CJ’s countenance grows serious. He goes on to confirm that although the Factions of Faerun have pushed back the army of darkness, this is likely a temporary reprieve. If this war is to truly be won, the Warlords of the Shaar must be destroyed. The first step to obtaining this goal is to find out where the Warlords are located.
He explains, “During their initial conquest west, the warlords encountered 'Ancient Black' whose lair is within The Great Rift. We have on good authority that all the Warlords are still alive and so is the dragon... The Warlords must have brokered a deal with the black dragon because the Great Rift and the Riftlake within remain the dragon’s territory. This is unfortunately the only lead we may have to find where they are located…”
CJ urged them to seek out the ancient black dragon within Riftlake and figure out what they discussed, or what transpired.
The dinner carried on until CJ dismissed himself. Before settling down for the evening, the party enjoyed a night of some gambling. The next morning they met up again with Archanist Eudora whom they shared their plans with. Eudora asked that you be careful when addressing “Ancient Black”.
He is not just another old black dragon but he is Maelestor Rex of the Chroma Convocation. Eudora gifted them a magic item named Rodda-the-Hut incase they needed to make a quick exit before departing the Skyguard Carrier aboard Bolivar’s ship.

Lair of Maelestor Rex

The air within the Great Rift grows sour as you continue your descent into the realm of Ancient Black. Shortly thereafter, the surroundings begin to align with the smell. Large trees with sickly limbs writhed in thick sheets of moss. The sounds of foreign insects and critters overwhelm your hearing. As you make landfall and depart from the airship, you watch as it leaves and ascends back to safety.
The party trudges through the acidic swamplands of the Great Rift. Deep within these most forbidding swamplands, you come across a cave filled with brackish, stinking water. One who enters such a cave would not have to look very hard, or very long, to find the remains of victims scorched with powerful acid, torn asunder by claws, crunched by massive jaws, or all three, for such a cave is the lair of a legendary monster, a black dragon, and the odds are quite infinitesimal that an explorer of this place will ever see daylight again.
Figures that have been following make their presence known.. mainly lizardfolk but also massive shambling mounds made of thorny vines and earth. Suddenly the swamp grows silent as something rises from the bog.

Maelestor Rex

Not fear, but nervousness, clutches your gut, writhing and scratching within you, like a creature trying to escape. The behemoth before you looks like the blackest night brought to life by your worst nightmares. Scales as big as roof tiles, claws like the scimitars of giants, and wings so big they could shroud a castle—dragon seems too small a word for this terror.
As his massive eyes narrow, you see his nostrils expand. It is apparent that his eyes are two distinctly different colors. One is yellow, the typical color of a black dragon but the other a sickly green with sickly flesh surrounding the eye socket. Steadfast the party stands as the ancient black dragon addresses the party, “Although I may not know your scent, I know exactly where you have been….”
The dragon pauses as he takes a deep inhale, “Blood shed is no stranger to any of you….”
Again the dragon takes in your scent, “Fear occupies your mind but has no holds over your heart….“
The dragon’s sickly green eye flashes and glows as he takes a third inventory of your scent. A knowing smile washes over his face, “You’ve encountered other dragons before!”

A giddiness washes over the behemoth who is well aware of the title the Ragtags bear: Savior’s of Parnast, Dominators of the Desert, Liberator’s of the Stormborn. But the last title catches the attention of Zephyr as the “Stone Seekers” escapes the dragon’s lips.
The horde of minions begins to slowly close in and circle around the party as they question and share why they have come to the dragon’s lair.
One by one the party subtly prepares for combat as they realize that it was a mistake to come to the lair of an ancient black dragon demanding answers. Aeson and Zephyr slowly inch their way towards the dragon’s lair where they can see a small back entrance, a crack in the side of its rocky cave.
Like a predator playing with its prey, Maelestor shares that the Warlords of the Shaar are actually know as the Dark Order which consist of an ebony minotaur named Torogar Steelfist, a dark arts cleric and summoner named Krull, and Tiamat’s General known as Arkhan the Cruel. Their lair resides in a demi-plane deep underneath the Fallen Titan.
Tired of carrying on the charade, acid begins bubbling from the black dragon’s mouth. In an instant all hell breaks loose as the dragon unleashes its breath and takes flight. The minions close in on Bolivar as he quickly realizes that the four of them are no match for an ancient dragon in its lair.
The battle continues as Aeson spots a shell spike that belonged to the charcoal black tortle shell of Krull. Being familiar with planar travel he realizes that this may serve as a portkey that can teleport them to the Dark Order’s lair. Anxiety swells as the party flee’s deeper into Maelestor's lair. With temporary relief they find themself reunited just in time for the black dragon’s acidic breath weapon to pour into the cave they’ve backed themselves into. Pulling out Eudora’s gift, Bolivar activates the rod just in time as a protective semi circle forms around them. Protected for the moment Xye manages to cast a teleportation spell which whisks them through the planes to the safest place he knows; heaven.
Seven layers of blue-purple hue form a colossal mountain rising from an infinite sea of sanctified water. A gentle, pleasant luminous lends a glow to every surface. The mountain’s peak disappears into fluffy white clouds, though even from here the glow from its tip is evident. A low, harmonious hum seems to hang in the air.
The party takes a moment to rest in heaven before teleporting to the Dark Order’s lair using Krull’s shell as a portkey.

The Dark Order

Whisked through time in space the party finds themselves in a massive chamber. Before them a bridge connects them with raised dais. The heat in the chamber is explained by the sundered floor in the chamber revealing a lava below. Thunder rumbles in the distance as the party turns around to see a doorway open to a dark sky above a balcony. Looking over the demi-plane is a heavily muscled, red-scaled dragonborn who is nearly seven feet tall.
“I was wondering when you’d make it.”
The figure turns around and calmly approaches. Around his neck he wears a loop of golden thorns inset with dozens of gems, representing each of the chromatic dragon colors.The Wreath causes his eyes to have a greenish-yellow color with more pronounced black slits than they had before.
His holy symbol is an amulet adorned with the five-headed dragon sigil of Tiamat built into the chest plate of his heavy armor. He wears a suit of jagged, spiked, obsidian-metal plate armor with green dragon scales embedded throughout the main plates. He carries a magical battleaxe carved from deep cerulean sapphire and adorned with numerous runic sigils.

Without saying a word he calmly walks past the party towards the raised dais. This same symbol is emblazoned on the front of his magic shield strapped to his back. Now standing at the top of the dais was the ebony black minotaur bearing two flaming scimitars.
An arch of green energy suddenly erupts from the dais to the ceiling of the chamber. The party realizes that the ceiling of this chamber is akin to the soft slimy interior of a dragon egg. They also notice a black dragon egg on raised plinths to the left and right of Arkhan and Torogar now in the center of the bridge.
With an otherworldly boom Arkhan calls out, “The sacrifices of this war have enabled me to bring forth the Queen of Dragons, Tiamat. Your death here today will make her rebirth complete.”
The green arch of lightning flashed from behind them, Krull at its center, and connected to the two other eggs. The Ragtags didn’t hesitate.
Battle erupted as the Dark Order and the Liberators of the Stormborn held nothing back. Krull opened up portals that summoned terrible flying fiends that came to the Dark Orders aid and surrounded Xye and Aeson.
Bolivar and Zephyr charged Torogar and Arkhan. Aeson managed to break through the ranks and find himself on Arkhan’s flank. With relentless furry he tore through the dragonborn, landing several critical hits. When Arkhan turned around to face his aggressor his face seemed unfettered. The attacks delivered from Aeson paled in comparison to the martial perfection of Arkhan the Cruel. Holding true to his title the Paladin of Tiamat’s vigor was restored as his axe siphoned the life from Aeson. The evil weapon restored his health and left the genasi unconscious.
Holding Arkhan’s flank, Torogar was struck down by Bolivar and Zephyr. His body was kicked aside, falling into the lava below. From a distance Xye took the pressure off himself by reversing gravity on the fiends tearing into him.

Combat ensued, eventually Arkhan and Krull exchanged glances suggesting that they take their leave. Suddenly caught off guard, Bolivar caught the red dragonborn off guard bringing him to a knee. Wondering how he was bested with confusion in his eyes, Bolivar brought his mace down smashing Arkhan the Cruel’s head into a pulp.
Equally as surprised, Krull turned to see his fallen companion. When he began to advance towards his ally and attempt to teleport them to safety, Zephyr swung Stoneax wide.
The axe found its mark.
The tortle’s gait began to slow as the wound turned to stone, slowly taking over his entire body.

But Why?

With the Warlords of the Shaar defeated and the Dark Order no more, the realm was saved once again by the assistance of the Ragtags. They eventually came to learn that the Warlord’s goal was to siphon energy from the Great Forest of Shaar in order to summon Tiamat, Queen of Dragons to the Prime Material Plane.
The final step to this ritual was to use the dragon eggs from Maelstor Rex. This explained why the ancient black dragon did not kill them, but instead aided them. Having seen and interrupted (and prevented) many rituals before, it is unlikely that this ritual was powerful enough to summon the great Tiamat through the cosmos. It felt like there was a piece of the puzzle missing…
Although troubling, this was not the end of their woes. Upon investigating Arkhan’s body, Zephyr noticed that one of his gauntleted hands was sickly. He couldn’t help to feel the evil pull off this transplanted hand that clearly didn’t belong to a red dragonborn.

As he reached down to touch the hand, the image of an eye flashed into his mind. The sickly eye that now belonged to Maelestor Rex…

Report Date

28 Sep 2022