Session 20: Mythrokon the Adorable

General Summary

The Dragon Fight

Mythrokon the Adored flew at the Claw and opened with fire. Kal dodged. Tad got warm. Vutha got crisped. Everyone survived. The dragon swept back to the safety of the air above his lava pool and offered them a gracious opportunity. "That is just a taste of my power. You may reconsider showering me with adoration and all your gold, now." Tad and Vutha answered by taking a bite out of him, figuratively and literally, as he retreated. Tad followed up with arrows that were both sneaky and ambushy in how much they hurt.

Mythrokon retaliated with magic, commanding Vutha and Tad to approach him. Tad threw it off. Vutha was enchanted but couldn't close the distance across the chasm. Draxelas, watching the lizard's predicament, granted him flight. Tad, seeing Vutha delayed, did his best Vutha impression, growing large, grabbing the dragon, attempting to stun him. Mythrokon burned a legendary resistance to avoid the stun and remarked, with genuine interest, that Kal reminded him of a young Gammoranth. The half-dragon sons of Mythrokon moved around the chamber attempting to assist with crossbows. They did not assist.

Vutha closed the distance and found himself right next to the dragon, still restrained by lingering magic. Nyxek summoned a Claw of the Emperor to slash across Mythrokon and tolled the bell for his death. The dragon reeled, nearly bleeding out. The salamanders and the mage assessed the situation and elected to stay out of it for another round. Mythrokon tried to further incapacitate Vutha, Kal, and Draxelas simultaneously. Draxelas counterspelled. The dragon thrashed, clawing Vutha and Tad, but they endured. He commanded Tad to drop his bow and Kal to drop the dragon. Both would have obeyed in a moment, if he had lived that long.

It was Draxelas who ended it. Magical rays, precisely placed, claimed the dragon's life. Kal dropped the corpse. It erupted with fire on the ground. Vutha moved to the body immediately and devoured the breath weapon organ.

The Aftermath

The useless sons of Mythrokon mourned their fallen father. Nyxek made his pronouncement over the victory. "You will return to the service of the Emperor. I will allow you to remain free here, so long as you come when you are called." The bystanders nodded with uncertainty about the future. Then the half-dragons spoke up. "We know the way of dragons. The mighty rule the weak. We accept the rule of Mythrokon's slayer, Draxelas, Defeater of the Adored." Draxelas's eyes widened with a satisfied grin. Nyxek's eye may have twitched. More of a twinge, really.

All of that was forgotten at the sight of what waited in the next chamber.

The Hoard

Mythrokon's death caused the hoard's magic to infuse the draconic items already in the Claw's possession, a cup, a belt, and a bow all absorbed something of the dead dragon's power. Beyond that: gold, gems, a creepy ritual mask, ceremonial armor, rune-carved tools. Magic items, a ring, a cloak, a necklace, a sword, and other things. Nyxek claimed the sword. Vutha ended up with most of the rest on a practical use-this-to-not-die basis. Division for hoard purposes could come later.

Among the treasures, some of the dragonborn approached Nyxek about a specific item, a mask, strange and very well crafted. It appeared to be a dragon's face but warped: obsidian eyes too large, an additional jaw, too many teeth, scales with a strange texture and discoloration. The dragonborn explained it was a mask of the Vorath, the underground dragonborn who inhabited many of these tunnels. Nyxek examined it and inquisited the dragonborn thoroughly, found nothing suspicious, and returned the mask to its people. He earned a degree of trust from Mythrokon's former subjects in exchange.

New Ownership

A quick tour of the underground settlement followed. Nyxek arranged for Raijin to come visit and an impromptu celebration acknowledged the change in management. A pizza outpost was established. The salamanders pulled Tad aside during the celebration and told him they had heard reports of other dula-dulas in the tunnels nearby, at a mysterious pool several days away. They had assumed none were left until they saw Tad. They were further surprised because the only dula-dulas they had ever seen were female. Tad approached this information with trepidation. He had always been the last of his kind. The pool several days away suddenly felt very significant.

Day 5: The Vorath

A day out from the red's settlement, the Claw learned what the creepy mask had depicted. The Vorath were strange warped dragonborn, wingless and better suited to the underground, with an unsettling resemblance to sleestaks. They had already heard of Mythrokon's defeat. Nyxek made them the same offer, remain free, maintain their society, come to the Empire's aid when called. The Vorath made no promises but agreed to let the Claw pass in peace. They would speak to those at the magma pools and decide together. Nyxek considered his hold on those behind him sufficient and pressed onward.

Day 6: Blopdalskam the Servo

The next day brought a watery section of tunnels full of cave pools and strange plants. The kuo-toa were there, and they broke into celebration at the sight of the returning god, the Servok Miner, now officially known among their congregation as Blopdalskam the Servo. The Claw was welcomed as heroes anointed by their deity. The smell of Dragon Nip on Kal enchanted the fish folk further, and they also worshipped him as Pizza Time.

Their raucous celebration and prayers had an odd effect on the miner. It began to move and dance on its own. Sora emerged from the miner in considerable distress and caused immediate confusion among the fish folk until the Claw declared her the demi-god daughter of their god. They named her Bluupie-scam on the spot. The kuo-toa were more confused than before, but they liked the songs Sora sang. They gifted the Claw a special seaweed version of Dragon Nip, a consumable that grants water breathing.

Day 7: The Pool of Tister

The tunnel opened into a chamber built around a massive winged skeleton lying in a still pool. The fallen goddess Tister, patron of martial arts, had been here long enough that the stone had begun to grow around her bones. Nyxek performed the rites and sent her back to her rest.

Tad looked into the pool and saw two things: a female dula-dulas he had never met, and a fiery version of himself. The female spoke. "Come into the water, darling. The dula-dulas will return to Darastrix Tolgalen." The vision was clearly the future. Tad's future self looked back at him across the water and said, "Well, aren't you coming in?"

Tad hesitated. Nyxek pushed him in.

Tad went into the future. He went into the waters. A tribe of dula-dulas rose. One of his sons, carrying his father's memories, returned through the pool to take his place in the present.

The Claw stood at the edge of Tister's pool and looked at the young dula-dulas who knew everything Tad had known. The journey had twelve days, a dead dragon, a dancing miner-god, a congregation of fish people, and now this. They were still only on Day 7.