Session 9: Attack of the Radiant Draconians Report

General Summary

Previously

After a successful months-long voyage, in which the party recovered the wreck of a military squidship, and captured the notorious (if somewhat disappointing in person) goblin pirate Bonebreaker, the party has returned to Port Shurius. There, they settled their debts with the Arcane Merquat, shared what they learned about pirate activity (including the existence of a scro base in the asteroids), and personally met with Governor Grane and sage Keriacus. Now, the party is returning to their ship after dinner with the governor.

Session Notes

Draconians Attack

As the party makes its way back to their ship, they find themselves accosted in an alleyway by a group of dragon-men. The scales on their heads are a collection of glittering pearl-like shards of mica and gypsum, causing them to shimmer in the light. These creatures remind Jessa of the draconians of her homeworld Krynn, who serve as the soldiers of the various dragonlords there. Typically, the scales of the draconians match those of their overlord. The apparent leader tells them to hand over the clockwork man, that he will be a great gift for their mistress. The party refuses, and a battle breaks out as Windellian flattens 3 of the attackers with a magical blast. During the battle, some of the draconians use their breath weapon, which seem to be blasts of force, but the party is able to overcome them. Before the group can demand any answers, however, the leader says "I am sorry, Mistress, we failed", before the entire group shimmers and disappears. The glittering scales and the force-blast breath weapons suggest that these draconians are servants of a Radiant Dragon--a huge, space-faring type of dragon. Radiant dragons are fairly rare in the known spheres, and the only one the party knows of specifically is one named Blacklight, a mad dragon that terrorized Pirtelspace for many decades, but who has not been seen since a battle with the Vodoni forces there a few years ago. This battle also triggers a memory for Windy Clockitude, in which he remembers being aboard a ship with his former master, and his master saying, "I will be sorry to part ways with you, but you are intended as a gift."

Preparing for the Voyage

The party spends the next few days preparing for their long voyage, and gathering what information they can.

Windellian spends some time researching what more he can on the behavior and physical mechanisms of the Phlogiston.
Windy wants to learn more about radiant dragons, as well as what he can learn about clockwork man, their origins and capabilities.
The party renames the ship The Surprise, and rechristens it with the appropriate ceremony. They also have the ship repainted a more neutral and dull color (space-beige).

Keriacus visits the ship, to share what he has learned in response to their questions at dinner. He doesn't have any new information on the background of clockwork men, but in response to Zayre's question about who might be a good resource to tell him more about why the gods cannot (or will not) enter the phlogiston, he mentions three possibilities. First, the Priests of Ptah (since Ptah is one of the gods who claims to have created the universe, and is worshipped in every sphere where spelljamming exists). Unfortunately, the local temple of Ptah in Port Shurius closed abruptly recently. (This seems suspicious, since the goblin shaman said the a priest of Ptah was among those who offered a bounty to General Gorgash to find a clockwork man). Secondly, Radiant Dragons are quite knowledgeable about space, so if Zayre could find a cooperative one, he might get some answers. In response to this, the party tells Keriacus about the attack of radiant draconians, which fascinates the old sage. He tells the party that in addition to Blacklight in Pirtelspace, there was a radiant dragon here in Greatspace that was active for centuries, by the name of Grizella (though sailors called her The Magpie because of her attraction to shiny treasures, though never in her hearing), but she has not been seen for over two hundred years. The party asks how long Blacklight has been active in Pirtelspace, wondering whether Blacklight and Magpie are one and the same. Keriacus says he doesn't think that is the case, but it is an interesting speculation. Third, a wizshade might have answers. These wizshades appear as an undulating, rushing snake of force in the air that slows and widens into a swirling, many-colored vortex about 8 feet in diameter. Out of this rises a humanlike form in flowing robes. The form is usually bald and has a long beard, if male, or has a conical hat and long hair, if female. The hat and robes swirl into the vortex and are of the same (usually bright) color – a hue shared with the form's pupilless eyes, which blaze like flames. Wizshades are whimsical, willful, chaotic creatures who seem to delight in teasing others and in spectacular displays of magic. While sages do not know where wizshades come from, Keriacus believes they are a sentient manifestation of the Phlogiston itself. As such, they might have answers that Zayre seeks, if they are able to find and commune with one. The party thanks Keriacus for the information, and continues their preparations to leave Port Shurius.

Campaign

Vagabonds of Greatspace

Protagonists