GH 08 - "Flight of the Pharoah's Feign"

General Summary

Hello and welcome back to Phonic Fables - Green Hunters of the Dragon Queen Edition. This Quarry of Lovers is a product of The Techno God, free to consume on World Anvil, Discord, and platforms like Spotify under Wizards of the Coasts’ Fan Content Policy. This journey is shared by myself, my Partner in Life, Kat, and some friends we’ve met along the way, Rachel and Jarod, as well as Peter and Kaylee, who have given consent for their characters and tales to be shared here as well. This content is not official in any capacity, and is merely a rendition of stories Wizard’s IP has already published throughout the years. The foundation of lore from the books we use, mine and my players' creativity and passion, and little moments of spontaneity create this tale. With boundless joy, my scribing and reciting of these tales is something I am most happy to share with y’all.

Episode 07 Recap

Barbarians, deepening of bonds, and burgeoning storms both within and above in the sky... all this and more would envelope the Quarry in the last day. Strife was also met with sweet moments, lovers connecting from seeing love, silent as it is for now. New friends remain through bonds of Oaths and promises to break chains of oppression. The main thing that still resonates as the storm breaks above though... there is a definite rise in power among the group - the Flaming Spear extingquished, the Thunderboar silenced, the Anchorites emboldening themselves for their next onslaught being only a matter of time despite. There they stand, Reymira having just been struck by three bolts of lightning in the Circle of Thunder.

Session 08 - "Flight of the Pharoah's Feign"

The life of adventure is not for the feignt of heart, and sometimes, days are filled with more rigor than others. That is what this last day has been for the Quarry. Midnight passing, the Hour of Ruin over, Reymira collapsing to her knees with an awesome new power that she fears - a rage burning within that wasn't there before, that she thought she had quelled so long ago in the Monastary of the Silver Cresent. Zelana rushes over to her and checks on her, exclaiming "No!" and Oralais steps forward slowly. Vaskyr is in shock. Harper June keeps her eyes on the hills below, watching the Orcs and Half-Orcs scatter and stay there - but not for long. Life's Blood had been spilled during the ritual, Grothar had walked the plane, and was slain the the same breath. Reymira was gifted the power of the Anchorite, and with it, is now a thrall of Talos in a way that is not disimilar to Vaskyr. Power linked to her Divine's cause of Ruin. Zelana cannot tell this, but Vaskyr suspects it, the shock forming fear at what she could be if she feeds that beast. Zelana patches her up, even offering the lightning resist potion she still has, but the damage is done, and in more ways than one, the clouds have begun to part, the storm passing overhead. The crackling of the energy above fading into dark clouds no more, but still blocking out the moon.

Death's Call & Answer

Reymira stands, and hears... whispers. Etchings of darkness against slates of light. The voices of the dead, and her power awakens. She says, "I'm fine." to Zelana and she was, no marks or scars save for three charred tags in the shape of lighting on her left hand. She walks past the others, over to the body in the circle, and a green-yellow light glows from within and she wills Agar's body to stand, then suspend slightly in the air, extremities loose as if being pulled by a thread from their center. Rey states, "I resisted His will as much as I could. I made his gifts my own." and as she explained, the light began to stem from within the corpse and it would regard them all, lifelessly. Vaskyr and Orlais both recognize it in theory, but not in practice, a Speak with Dead spell. They tell the others not to ask anything they do not want answered, and Vaskyr knows that the limitation in the number of question to ask is the number of mortality - five. They whisper among themselves at Reymira's quiet behest, "What inquries do we have of the dead?" These are the question that Reymira utters to their vanquished rival:
Was it always the plan for me to take this power?

Who was meant to be the sacrifice?

Where is my brother now?

How did you get your power?

Who is the Shadow Lady?

Agar uttered delayed and distant responses, as if part of them were lost beyond death, something consumed by the chaos. He says:

To the First: "The plan was... for the power to be given... or for the Thunderboar to roam."
To the Second: "The sacrifice was meant to be. That is all..."
To the Third: "Your brother... is where the Mountain hides... it's many secrets."
To the Fourth: "The Shadow Lady... showed me the path... to this... gift, and she has given it to many others."
To the Fifth: "She is... from a place of unknowing... a place you cannot fathom... under the wing of the Dragon Queen."

At that, Agar's body slumps to become nothing more than a corpse again. The others had patched themselves up while the corpse struggled to speak.

Blackwooded Beauty

The moon starts to split through the clouds, the are disipating more, the wind picking up a bit even, the breeze cooling thein to a brisk point. Twenty-five minutes or so has passed, and Harper June warns that time is of the essence to leave. Orlais agrees, and they quickly take stock of the bodies, break off a tusk of a trophy from the great boar, and ready up to head up. No more than five minutes had passed than the moon was being blocked out again, and by what? Looking up, they all see it, plain as, well, a cloud flying in front of the moon. A fog cloud that is, enourmous and centered in the middle of the mast... a Skyship begins to emerge from the cloud, sparking the light of the moon once more as it descends towards the Quarry! Fear takes over them all, knowing they cannot handle another fight, and with very little knowledge of Sky Pirates, they believe these to be them. Flint takes off, though, sailing upwards towards the cloud that is still being broken as if shoals of ice from the hull. Flint disappears for a moment, first from distance, then from diving into the cloud. Seconds later, a figure begins to float down, elegant green and teal silks flowing with them in the gust that had picked up. Flint rests on their arm, calm and showing affection, and as the figure gets closer, it is clear that both are larger than they appeared. Flint was now a Blood Hawk, and the figure... was an Air Elemental! He stood at just over 12 feet tall, the gusting wind covered by cloth in places, but the wind was also colored a blu-ish tint. This must be Orlais' Patron! Weapons are set at ease, and the being introduces themselves as Svarm Keylos, the Captain of the Pharoah's Feign, and Ferryman of the Emerald Arrow. Only Iverna perks up hearing that title, and he sends a wink over her way with darker shades depicting a face in the walking cyclone. The moon shone brightly now with the clouds and fog rolled away, so there the ship was, hovering 100 or so feet above, and when Svarm settles on the ground, hovering just off it's base, so too does a great rope ladder fall from the expanse above. It clambors next to him, and he reaches out to steady it with the arm not holding a large bird. The ladder is slatted with wooden strips to give it structure, but still allow it to coil up, and it catches Orlais' new woodworking eye in his starstruck moment, as well as the rest of the beauty of the ship above. "Sorry for the wait, had to wait for the storm to settle - Valanym'yr sends her regards." A darkened, Ebony wood stern swallows the radiance that shines through it, and sails of smoke are furled up in the moment. Bird roosts can be seen decorating the mast and many other places along the ship, and it's depth is... noticable, the ship - it's hull is larger than any seafaring vessel the others have seen. What could they transport in that? The figurehead was an aged gold Ankh, crested in a waethervane metal-shaped-shell that also hugged the hull along the bottom and sides - rivets of faux cast iron to direct lighting away from the crew and strengthen the already resilient wood that painted the night with disregard. At the top of the mast, mistaken for the moon itself at first, is an Orb, almost as if crystal, a dull-bright white, swirling with wisps of fog-like substance in the moment. Oralis asks a hundred questions in a second, but time is short, so Svarm hurries them all up the ladder and says "We can talk on the way."

All Hands Raise Deck

The blackwood deck was busy and bustling with Halfling, Elves, Half-Elves, Genasi, and even a few Fairies! So many different crewhands, and there could be others below deck that they hadn't seen yet, but Svarm directs their hungry eyes towards his quarters along the bow, a unique design in ships, but one that Svarm says will be stardard with airships in no time at all. In his quarters, shorter in height, he shrinks himself to fit, and they each find a comfy chair, a couch, or even plop onto the floor, except Oralis, who is charged and firing their questions away again. Unfortunately, Svarm cannot divulge much about the nature of his work with the Emerald Enclave, under oaths of his own, but he can talk about Orlais, some friends he has and knows, and that he has some parcels to deliver. An hour passes, the ship having only ascended a bit and above the clouds to a safer distance, and Orlais understands much more about himself. The others are able to ask some too during this time, and among the barrage of information recieved, the Quarry came to hear and gain:

Orlais's Backstory of his Pact, having been tossed asunder from a slave ship, he was given another breath by Svarm who saw him from overhead. Svarm returns this breath, in a bottle, and boons him and the Quarry with gifts from himself and the previously mentioned parcels.
The location of Zelana's Water Elemental Mother, and that she lives on Mt Hotenow, having created the spring that Zelana purified her volcanic staff in. He is friends with a friend of hers, Gorgaga, but doesn't go into more detail beyond that. Zelana forgets to ask her mothers name she is so shocked. Svarm also says that Zelana's dad isn't too far from where she calls home either.
The cost of Reymira's momentary rage, the choice made and a choice to start to return back from the path. She is gifted a bracer that saved another from the prying eyes of others, even the Gods, but told that should she ever spark the lightning or call the thunder three times, then the magic will cease to be. As well as a letter from her Monastary.
Vaskyr is emboldened as Valanym'yrs sigil is gifted to him, and placed up his new mithril armor. This sigil will allow him to charge a critical blow away with the power of faith, but only once. Blessings are to him and the others that ride toward the Dragon Barrow.
A bundle of ammo, and some magical ammo for Harper June, in exchange for the starmetal found, as well as credit towards the selection of items he has on hand, and another reward later since it is so valuable and rare. She also asks if he knows anything about Littlekindle - to which she is told that it is safe under the wing of a different Dragon.
Lore about the Cult of the Dragon, but only that they are not myth, and that they are indeed here.

"There will be a day or so of travel, even here among the clouds, but treat this ship as if your own, and drink these when you are ready to feel completely rested. I only have these for now, as an angel's feather is hard to come by." From a larger pouch - essentially a backpack fashioned into a pouch, he pulls five small vials of glowing light in liquid form, "About an hour should do it with these." and with that he floats out of the chamber to the deck, and hollers upwards, "Let loose the main sails and get underway, the night is still for only those that wait as prey." and with a lurch, the Quarry could see out of the window that the wind would catch the elemental sails in full form. The next session we will arrive at the Barrow, ready to featherfall down like paratroopers.

Report Date

27 Aug 2024

Primary Location

Circle of Thunder

Secondary Location

The Pharoah's Feign

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