Freeport, newly inundated with gnomish refugees arriving by submarine from Watergold, was developing some new problems. A sealed letter arrived at Aurora's small Pelor temple cave in the cliffside. The official seal was from the high priest of the larger Bahamut temple not far away, and the letter contained accusations that Aurora consorted with thieves and therefore her temple would no longer be recognized. Wikipedia Jones, meanwhile received a similar, sealed letter, addressed to "The Jones," which is the title carried by whoever the acting mayor of Freeport happens to be (while the party has been adventuring, Fy'Ev has filled the role, essentially as a city manager/administrator). Jones' letter was from the Ed's Hollow/Rackmonton halfling alliance and accused him of wrecking the profitable trade routes of stolen goods that had been originating from the Dragon Empire. The letter said that by signing the treaty (see previous entries), Jones was costing the halfings a lot of money so consequently they would impose quotas and sanctions on Freeport. A third letter, also sealed, arrived at the thieves/assassins/drow "guild" not officially headed by the Willikers family. This letter, from the Gnomes, accused the Drow of subverting the promise Jones had made to the citizens of Watergold that upon arrival at Freeport they would be welcomed there. The letter went on to say that if they chose, the gnomes could come as a force of spellcasting invaders instead of refugees and the drow above the 200' mark did not know how lucky they were.
Willikers, after discussing the letter with his cousin, Darktina, took a few Family members to the clifftop to attack a newly arrived gnome planeshifter, who had managed to magically transport his entire home there. The powerful wizard, the notorious Mephistodorpdor Nofrikipidok, was caught off guard and as he had not yet set up his normal array of defenses. Once he did, Freeport was to become a Magocracy, he was certain -- and Mephisto would run it. Willikers was able to slay him swiftly and loot the building. So swiftly, in fact that the true nature of his victim's intentions were not even discovered until much later.
Other letters doubtlessly arrived in other prominent places, pitting friends and allies against each other over their differences great and small. Not the least of these had to do with the goblins, who since helping in the war had always been welcomed before - and the dragonborn minority among the lizardmen trading insults of uncouthness and arrogance. Shamash was disturbed upon hearing of these. Shouting matches and fights broke out on the catwalks and piers. Discord approaching riots or civil war were taking hold in all of Freeport, from many "enemies" within - who it turned out were everybody, at least according to everybody else. Aurora and her followers were glared at or worse and when she attempted to make peace with the Bahamut high priest she was not allowed in to see him.
Jorel, as the High Judge of Freeport, glowed with anger atop the cliffside gnome's now empty brass manor, and loudly declared to all citizens that the Uprisers, as saviors and founders of the town were by law allowed into any building. Elle served as his executioner, and shot a goblin criminal with an arrow, and the goblin's body was hung from the High Arch of town with the other criminals, as an example. Followed everywhere by an entourage of 20 constables, Jorel's authority was never questioned, at least not by anyone within earshot. He took up residence within the Bahamut temple but though Aurora was finally allowed inside the high priest would not look at her or speak with her. He turned his back.
Rholain Carrack, making one of his rare appearances as a gothic-looking elf, was also attended by 20 or so followers hanging on his every word - it had been a while since anyone in Freeport had seen this member of the Uprisers in his true form and not that of a swarm of bees. Rholain, ever the Darwinist, set up a dueling arena and in two days time only one of his original 20 remained, Rholain's new lackey, a lizardman monk well suited to the many fights on the docks. For Rholain, riots were, well they were a riot.
Jones looked again at his letter in dismay, reflecting that maybe Rholain was right, maybe there was no point in people gathering in cities or building civilization at all. The letter was from Trusty Ol' Sticky Fingers. Sticky Fingers never wrote, and though he had an attitude from time to time this just didn't sound like him. Upon closer examination Jones determined the letter was a forgery. Aided by magic, he traced its origin to halfway between Ed's Hollow and Freeport. After speaking with a flustered Aurora he examined her letter. It was also a masterful forgery, from half again closer along the same route - not from the Bahamut temple. Later, Willikers snuck in to ask Jones to look at his letter and ask his advice. Also a forgery, from the Freeport lighthouse. Drawing a line on a map, it seemed the source of the letters was working its way to town.
So the Uprisers converged upon the lighthouse, which had recently stopped working. Although word on the street was that it was just some gremlins, everybody figured it was just a figure of speech but it turned out to be exactly that. Two gremlin cajolers with their many minions - and a Formian Giant had made the lighthouse their home. Collectively, they taunted the party throughout the battle. Willikers made a great leap from the cliff and somehow, impossibly landed on a balcony more than halfway up the lighthouse, with a gremlin body falling to the jagged rocks below. Rholain, in the form of an armada of water-spiders, charged the Giant, occupying him to beyond distraction and inflicting no small amount of pain. The Giant, who had rendered himself invisible to Shamash and Aurora, had to split his attention. Gremlin minions were dropping, but not always easily. They were small but tough, and Shamash took one out, only to find himself stumbling into the waves shortly thereafter. Jones began his usual snow of notes to slow the enemy and heal party members in the area, and began shooting away from the top of the cliff. Elle charged the Giant. Aurora provided magical support. Jorel appeared in four places at once and picked away at whichever gremlins were most convenient. Willikers broke down a balcony door and knocked the lead gremlin unconscious. Shamash, who still couldn't see the invisible Formian Giant, charged one of the gremlins on the ground. Rholain, Jones and Elle finished off the giant while Jorel, Willikers, Shamash and Aurora finished off the gremlins. The final gremlin had dominated Elle's mind to turn on Shamash and attack him, but just before she began to attack, that gremlin was slain and Elle's mind was released from its' grasp.
The entire fight took less than a minute, after which all the gremlins and the giant lie dead. Within the lighthouse were more inflammatory letters, along with many forged seals. A single gremlin writer with the help of his assistants, had nearly destroyed a city. In order to find out why the gremlins had done this, the lead gremlin was brought back to life and interrogated. He claimed he was hired by "A big dark dragon" to "do his thing" here. Havoc and mayhem being a gremlin's thing anyway he was more than happy to oblige. "Oh, and Tiamat sends his regards," the gremlin added before being slain a second time. His body was dangled from the arch with the other criminals as an example. It took some time and some doing, but peace was restored in Freeport once all parties became aware of the true nature of the letters.
The party are currently 17th level.
Treasure: One 21st-level magic item. XP: About 3,300 (I have it written down elsewhere)
Next session should be Sat, Sept. 11.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Free Moonlove, battle for
MOONLOVE, FREE
A gathering place and trade center, mainly populated by tribal Firbolgs and their trading partners during gatherings only. Located in N. Ronia near the previous site of a blue dragon surface slavelord's ruined ziggarut. While technically not a city in the traditional sense, this place is marked on many maps as though it were. Their total population is estimated to be 1,500 to 4,000 but no outsider has ever performed a census and much of the Firbolg population lives in the outlying areas. Among the purposes of Free Moonlove are education, trade, common law, and social gatherings. Lead by the tribal chieftain, Garar Obish and his council, the Firbolgs are respected hunters known also for their great bonfire celebrations and traditional songs celebrating the Moon.
Among their celebrations are a bonfire at each full moon, honoring tribal leaders and remembering battles and events both recent and from long ago. Recently, Free Moonlove added Uprisers Day in celebration of their return to freedom as a society in the form of affiliated tribes. Incorporated into ancient freedom songs is the tale of how a dracolich slew the blue dragon, just prior to the arrival of a band of heroes, the Uprisers. For three days the dracolich and the Uprisers held (barely) civil discourse, allowing for the Firbolgs to participate (see previous entry for Day 1). The Eladrin Queen spoke, but though she spoke well for the dracolich her arguements were largely self-serving and self-defeating. Jones, Shamash and Aurora debated her points regarding the hipocracy of the party by pointing out that she brought ruin on her people largely on her own because of her love of slavery. After her speech she was shot by an arrow which the dracolich said was fired by Hadji, but Jones convinced the crowd the dracolich was responsible perhaps by using Rholain as his agent in order to win over the Firbolgs. Aurora healed the Eladrin Queen and the matter was largely forgotten. By the end of Day 2, the common folk were leaning toward choosing the Uprisers and freedom but the dracolich continued to present strong arguments, including his (her) stronger ability to provide protection - including from herself. Why the "her?" A doppleganger was captured in the night, after organizing a jailbreak of the worst Firbolg prisoners. Interrogation revealed her employer was none other than one of the five heads of Tiamat! Also during the night the son of the blue dragon quietly gave the party a sack of radiant weapons, a gift from his other dragon friends who wanted no part of the conflict for themselves. On Day 3, when Jones forcefully revealed the point that the dracolich was one of the five heads of Tiamat, it provoked (her) uncontrolled rage and a battle ensued. Tiamat produced a psychic wave that knocked the Firbolgs unconscious while (she) and (her) swordwraiths fought the party. Now a powerful, hard-hitting band of heroes-- newly armed with radiant weapons--the Uprisers fought the black head of Tiamat to the point of retreat, but her minions the swordwraiths proved opportunistic against the weakened party. At the end of the battle, Shamash and Hadji had each been slain by swordwraiths, the misty incarnation of the dracolich had been defeated along with most of the swordwraiths, and Xhamash, the evil swordwraith version of Shamash, had flown away. The dracolich doubled back to finish the party off but its physical form was destroyed by the remaining members of the party, and Jones grabbed the Amulet of the Cup from her neck. The cup works again, able to cure zombie rot. The last words of the dracolich, Tiamat's black head were in effect that next time there will be no games.
It was a victory, though a narrow one. The Firbolgs will no longer just be a dragon's ziggarut of slaves called "Firbolg City." Henceforth, they prefer to be known as Moonlove or Free Moonlove. As history is written by the victors, the first paragraph of this blog entry was written -- though some of it might be wishful thinking.
Aurora was able to raise Hadji and Shamash, though it cost each of them 5,000 GP for the ritual. A speed bump, now that the party is 17th level.
A gathering place and trade center, mainly populated by tribal Firbolgs and their trading partners during gatherings only. Located in N. Ronia near the previous site of a blue dragon surface slavelord's ruined ziggarut. While technically not a city in the traditional sense, this place is marked on many maps as though it were. Their total population is estimated to be 1,500 to 4,000 but no outsider has ever performed a census and much of the Firbolg population lives in the outlying areas. Among the purposes of Free Moonlove are education, trade, common law, and social gatherings. Lead by the tribal chieftain, Garar Obish and his council, the Firbolgs are respected hunters known also for their great bonfire celebrations and traditional songs celebrating the Moon.
Among their celebrations are a bonfire at each full moon, honoring tribal leaders and remembering battles and events both recent and from long ago. Recently, Free Moonlove added Uprisers Day in celebration of their return to freedom as a society in the form of affiliated tribes. Incorporated into ancient freedom songs is the tale of how a dracolich slew the blue dragon, just prior to the arrival of a band of heroes, the Uprisers. For three days the dracolich and the Uprisers held (barely) civil discourse, allowing for the Firbolgs to participate (see previous entry for Day 1). The Eladrin Queen spoke, but though she spoke well for the dracolich her arguements were largely self-serving and self-defeating. Jones, Shamash and Aurora debated her points regarding the hipocracy of the party by pointing out that she brought ruin on her people largely on her own because of her love of slavery. After her speech she was shot by an arrow which the dracolich said was fired by Hadji, but Jones convinced the crowd the dracolich was responsible perhaps by using Rholain as his agent in order to win over the Firbolgs. Aurora healed the Eladrin Queen and the matter was largely forgotten. By the end of Day 2, the common folk were leaning toward choosing the Uprisers and freedom but the dracolich continued to present strong arguments, including his (her) stronger ability to provide protection - including from herself. Why the "her?" A doppleganger was captured in the night, after organizing a jailbreak of the worst Firbolg prisoners. Interrogation revealed her employer was none other than one of the five heads of Tiamat! Also during the night the son of the blue dragon quietly gave the party a sack of radiant weapons, a gift from his other dragon friends who wanted no part of the conflict for themselves. On Day 3, when Jones forcefully revealed the point that the dracolich was one of the five heads of Tiamat, it provoked (her) uncontrolled rage and a battle ensued. Tiamat produced a psychic wave that knocked the Firbolgs unconscious while (she) and (her) swordwraiths fought the party. Now a powerful, hard-hitting band of heroes-- newly armed with radiant weapons--the Uprisers fought the black head of Tiamat to the point of retreat, but her minions the swordwraiths proved opportunistic against the weakened party. At the end of the battle, Shamash and Hadji had each been slain by swordwraiths, the misty incarnation of the dracolich had been defeated along with most of the swordwraiths, and Xhamash, the evil swordwraith version of Shamash, had flown away. The dracolich doubled back to finish the party off but its physical form was destroyed by the remaining members of the party, and Jones grabbed the Amulet of the Cup from her neck. The cup works again, able to cure zombie rot. The last words of the dracolich, Tiamat's black head were in effect that next time there will be no games.
It was a victory, though a narrow one. The Firbolgs will no longer just be a dragon's ziggarut of slaves called "Firbolg City." Henceforth, they prefer to be known as Moonlove or Free Moonlove. As history is written by the victors, the first paragraph of this blog entry was written -- though some of it might be wishful thinking.
Aurora was able to raise Hadji and Shamash, though it cost each of them 5,000 GP for the ritual. A speed bump, now that the party is 17th level.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Dracolyptica- Ratification Year One
So the Uprisers slew the black dragon, drove back the Deep Empire's army and freed the remnants of the northern Human city from the shackles of slavery (see previous entry). The celebration that ensued was immediate and the exuberance was such that the party worried about the tactical situation should they come under attack. Dancing under the sway of the purple peyote-like goo that served as their food and intoxicant, an old man pointed out to Aurora Pelor's tiny symbol, carved on the ziggarut with hundreds of other gods and goddesses.
Ancient fireworks were shown to Jorel, "the one who wields fire." Shaped like great hollow staves with dragon heads, each one was masterful and when lit off, each flashed forgotten scenes of long-ago humans spearing dragons, whose blood in the the fireworks gushed out in great sparking geysers. The fireworks were contained in surprising numbers in protective but strange metal boxes from a forgotten age when humans ruled dragons and used their blood to power terrible magic. So this city, discovered by a chance long-range arial patrol had once been a mighty center of human power. To the party (except Jorel) such a concept seemed incredible.
But now the humans were living for sustenance, eking out a living with their meager hunting and farming skills. Their lands were not very fertile but then they had been plagued with zombie rot for a long time so the scene was only too common for Wikipedia Jones and the rest of the party. Now that they were themselves again they would pull themselves up. Talking to the intoxicated locals, Jones learned that the Firbolgs from the lands nearby raided regularly here, so the residents were happy to be free of the black dragon but they were a bit concerned about that. Jones wisely advised them that the Firbolgs could be trading partners and allies instead of enemies - with the help of the Uprisers.
Remembering that the Firbolgs had been on the short list of settlements the party intended to free from the Deep Empire of dragons, slavery and zombie rot, they prepared to set off to help the humans by helping the Firbolgs.
Meanwhile, Hadji and Foxy patrolled the woods, no further than a mile out of town. Five giant winged dragonborn guards in full Deep Empire regalia accompanied a Yuan-Ti snake man, even more deeply embellished. This time the elven ranger struck to subdue rather than kill, which made attacking the individual who it turned out was an Emissary of the Deep Empire slightly less bad manners. Hadji brought the Yuan-Ti Emissary into town and before long negotiations began between him and the Uprisers within the privacy of one of the building basements. It turns out the Deep Empire is facing a new unidentified threat and needed to save face against the Uprisers.
So the Deep Empire was offering a truce. For 20 years the Deep Empire would not come to the surface raiding for slaves, attacking settlements and supporting the dragon Surface Lords. In return, the Uprisers would not delve below to attack and sew rebellion below. The line of demarcation was 200' below ground. The deal was written in magical blood and goo by the Lord of the Flies, Asmodeus himself and if signed, breaking the treaty would result in "unthinkable suffering." Several details were argued and changed in regard to options for versions of the treaty that included provisions for the Deep Empire to offer 3,000 GP rewards for the return of escaped slaves, but this was rejected. The plain, 200' belowground line of demarcation version still lay on the table. All that was required were the signatures of the majority of the Uprisers present, four signatures. Jorel signed it immediately without reading it. Wikipedia, well versed in the written word, poured over it carefully for loopholes or anything fishy and finding none, signed it. Aurora, hungry for peace, signed it. Willikers refused to sign it, as did Hadji. Though it looked like success or victory, Shamash felt that it would be wrong for him to influence the vote of anyone else and though personally opposed, he diplomatically chose to abstain from voting (which is to say he didn't sign it; of course he couldn't, he spent his whole life fighting the Deep Empire). Elle Enchanted signed it with enthusiasm after speaking with Jorel. Four signatures. The Yuan-Ti emerged from the building with the Uprisers and saw the five giant dragonborn bodyguards release the human villagers they had taken hostage in case things went sideways. Then the Emissary and his contingent departed. The deal was done.
All of this still did not change the fact that Deep Empire or no, the party was still committed to helping the humans prosper by helping the Firbolgs overcome the three curses of their Dragon (a blue one), slavery and zombie rot. So off they went, it wasn't that far.
The Dracolich was waiting for them.
In terrible wisps of blackness and surreal dreamlike mist, the enormous undead dragon perched atop the broken ziggarut of the Firbolgs. In his hand he held a copy of the contract as he taunted the party from the comfort of his incorporeal state. At the foot of the ziggarut below him lay the body of the blue dragon. He wasn't here to fight the party, he said. Instead, let's play a game. Let the Firbolgs decide who they wanted to be in charge of things. The debate was to be three days.
Though the Uprisers had might and right on their side (or so they believed) the Dracolich was well prepared. Day one he brought forth strong arguments against the party. Jones has a little bottle, the cure for zombie rot? Who do you think made zombie rot in the first place? With a vile gesture, the dracolich pulled his disease's blackness out from those Firbolgs he chose to dis-infect. His argument regarding slavery was weaker and included mutterings along the lines of would you rather be my slave - or theirs? He even brought the Eladrin Queen (see earlier entries--that one ended up looking like we failed even though we did what we thought was the right thing at the time). Oh this was not going to be good for the party. Even the Moon Feast was ruined. Love that Moon, hate those maggots but the moon provided attacking werewolves so the Firbolgs killed and ate them instead, with help from the party. To deal with the situation by bringing her together with our diplomats against a common foe, during the night Hadji, Willikers and Rholain attempted to kill her, each in turn, but as a high level plainswalker with bodyguards she was tough and well defended, plus the other party members knew killing her would probably just prove the Dracolich's point so they helped to defend her. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, in the end it ended up appearing to split the party (even though this wasn't really the case) with everyone but Rholain defending the Eladrin Queen. It was learned during the night that this group of Firbolg counted the Eladrin among their allies, which changes everything really. Actually I think we knew that and had forgotten. Anyway, we ended up killing Rholain and saving the queen in the hope that when she speaks, she might not speak out as negatively against us on Day Two. At least the Eladrin Queen made friends with Aurora. Even though he despises her because she's a slavelord, Shamash never attacked her, and neither did Jones or Aurora (Jones and Aurora weren't there when the party ruined her life). Hadji initially was going to attack her, then defended her and Willikers did attack her earlier but not later on. As a band of warriors, violence is how the Uprisers resolve things. But as debaters and diplomats we have some skills also and we went two for two on not killing people we hate who just want to talk and not attack us. Come to think of it that's pretty remarkable.
From the Eladrin Queen's point of view, the Uprisers are not so great. But for her to join forces with the Dracolich, she must have either been influenced in some way, or have a crazy determination to return her people to the life of slavery she imposed on them before we stepped in. Letting her speak is a huge gamble but killing her would have been wrong, and diplomatically disastrous. Day 2 is going to be interesting. Shamash figures the Dracolich is doing all of this while sleeping, that his true form could be hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Though it's frustrating for the party, some of us would probably do the same thing to the Dracolich if we could. We're supposed to be the good guys but it seems like the harder we push to win at all costs, the more we risk paying with our own morality. From this point of view, by sparing the lives of both the Yuan-Ti diplomat and the Eladrin Queen, the Uprisers held their moral ground (though only barely, admittedly). So that's a good thing. One wonders if killing them both might also have been a good thing though... Probably not.
The real question is what are the ramifications of the treaty, and more importantly, what is scaring the millions of the Dragon Empire below, to the point that they would abandon their interests on the surface to focus on their own problems?
Experience: 1,100 (we did not level, we're still 16th). Treasure: 33,000 GP each party member who took a share of the 200,000 GP one time signing bonus from the Yuan-Ti negotiator.
Next Session: Saturday, August 14, 3 pm -- we will begin with "Day 2"
---
“The dracolich has set himself against us, but also against your community. As Firbolgs, you can have your own way of life and be free as you were long ago, long before you were enslaved by the blue dragon. The dracolich is one dragon replacing another because he wants you to be his slaves now – for different and deadlier purposes. He makes his arguments from the mists like a phantom, while his real self could be miles – even thousands of miles away. To win his arguments he has invaded the minds of the free looking for weakness and defeat, and found the Eladrin Queen. No doubt she will defend slavery, which from her perspective as a ruler must have been grand. Many of her subjects who didn’t work themselves to death under her rule died in the conflict between freedom and slavery. To live a life in forced drudgery is no life at all compared to living your own lives.
Once, long ago Firbolgs were free. You roamed the land, hunting and fishing for what you needed and wanted. You were free once under the moon, running among the trees to the sound of birds. You can be free again. Or, you could make a bad choice and enslave yourselves to an undead dragon and his proxies. You can decide to live free among the birds and trees, or die along with them when the dracolich drains the life out of you and your land. You can join with us and prosper in trade with your neighbors in the cities nearby as friends, helping each other build a better world. Or you can join the dracolich and follow his every whim, including the eternal conscription of your children into his army of death. If you choose the dragon, know that you will be seen as monsters and villains by those around you.
Are the Uprisers promising you the Moon? Yes, yes we are but only if you TAKE IT for yourselves. Reach for the sky and the future will be yours. Will we always be here for you? Yes, yes we will but only if you MAKE yourselves listen and learn what you like about us, and pass that on to your children. It is not us you need, but our ideas. We can help you remember how to live free, and when you are truly free you will not need any help from us or anyone. Can the Firbolgs be happy again? Yes,yes but not as slaves. Among the dracolich’s minions you would be again shackled in chains, whipped into obedience and intimidated into working yourselves to the edge of death for nothing more than the amusement of your torturer, the dracolich. Your potential new slavelord, the dracolich– is the same as your old slavelord, the blue dragon – only bigger, crueler, colder and more uncaring. Given the choice, wouldn’t you rather embrace your families than serve that black-hearted pile of bones?
Love and hope are stronger than hate and fear because death has no future in it for you. Light and truth have more power than blackness and lies because deceit has no future in it for you. Freedom and fun are more desirable than slavery and pain because death has no future in it for you. Will you be given what you want? No, you will have to work and fight for it. But do know what you want. Do work and fight for it, you are big and strong. You are brilliant and you can do it. Reach for the moon. Reach for life. Reach for freedom.“
--Shamash Kriv, excerpt from speech at Firbolg City, year 1 of the Dracolyptica Ratification
Ancient fireworks were shown to Jorel, "the one who wields fire." Shaped like great hollow staves with dragon heads, each one was masterful and when lit off, each flashed forgotten scenes of long-ago humans spearing dragons, whose blood in the the fireworks gushed out in great sparking geysers. The fireworks were contained in surprising numbers in protective but strange metal boxes from a forgotten age when humans ruled dragons and used their blood to power terrible magic. So this city, discovered by a chance long-range arial patrol had once been a mighty center of human power. To the party (except Jorel) such a concept seemed incredible.
But now the humans were living for sustenance, eking out a living with their meager hunting and farming skills. Their lands were not very fertile but then they had been plagued with zombie rot for a long time so the scene was only too common for Wikipedia Jones and the rest of the party. Now that they were themselves again they would pull themselves up. Talking to the intoxicated locals, Jones learned that the Firbolgs from the lands nearby raided regularly here, so the residents were happy to be free of the black dragon but they were a bit concerned about that. Jones wisely advised them that the Firbolgs could be trading partners and allies instead of enemies - with the help of the Uprisers.
Remembering that the Firbolgs had been on the short list of settlements the party intended to free from the Deep Empire of dragons, slavery and zombie rot, they prepared to set off to help the humans by helping the Firbolgs.
Meanwhile, Hadji and Foxy patrolled the woods, no further than a mile out of town. Five giant winged dragonborn guards in full Deep Empire regalia accompanied a Yuan-Ti snake man, even more deeply embellished. This time the elven ranger struck to subdue rather than kill, which made attacking the individual who it turned out was an Emissary of the Deep Empire slightly less bad manners. Hadji brought the Yuan-Ti Emissary into town and before long negotiations began between him and the Uprisers within the privacy of one of the building basements. It turns out the Deep Empire is facing a new unidentified threat and needed to save face against the Uprisers.
So the Deep Empire was offering a truce. For 20 years the Deep Empire would not come to the surface raiding for slaves, attacking settlements and supporting the dragon Surface Lords. In return, the Uprisers would not delve below to attack and sew rebellion below. The line of demarcation was 200' below ground. The deal was written in magical blood and goo by the Lord of the Flies, Asmodeus himself and if signed, breaking the treaty would result in "unthinkable suffering." Several details were argued and changed in regard to options for versions of the treaty that included provisions for the Deep Empire to offer 3,000 GP rewards for the return of escaped slaves, but this was rejected. The plain, 200' belowground line of demarcation version still lay on the table. All that was required were the signatures of the majority of the Uprisers present, four signatures. Jorel signed it immediately without reading it. Wikipedia, well versed in the written word, poured over it carefully for loopholes or anything fishy and finding none, signed it. Aurora, hungry for peace, signed it. Willikers refused to sign it, as did Hadji. Though it looked like success or victory, Shamash felt that it would be wrong for him to influence the vote of anyone else and though personally opposed, he diplomatically chose to abstain from voting (which is to say he didn't sign it; of course he couldn't, he spent his whole life fighting the Deep Empire). Elle Enchanted signed it with enthusiasm after speaking with Jorel. Four signatures. The Yuan-Ti emerged from the building with the Uprisers and saw the five giant dragonborn bodyguards release the human villagers they had taken hostage in case things went sideways. Then the Emissary and his contingent departed. The deal was done.
All of this still did not change the fact that Deep Empire or no, the party was still committed to helping the humans prosper by helping the Firbolgs overcome the three curses of their Dragon (a blue one), slavery and zombie rot. So off they went, it wasn't that far.
The Dracolich was waiting for them.
In terrible wisps of blackness and surreal dreamlike mist, the enormous undead dragon perched atop the broken ziggarut of the Firbolgs. In his hand he held a copy of the contract as he taunted the party from the comfort of his incorporeal state. At the foot of the ziggarut below him lay the body of the blue dragon. He wasn't here to fight the party, he said. Instead, let's play a game. Let the Firbolgs decide who they wanted to be in charge of things. The debate was to be three days.
Though the Uprisers had might and right on their side (or so they believed) the Dracolich was well prepared. Day one he brought forth strong arguments against the party. Jones has a little bottle, the cure for zombie rot? Who do you think made zombie rot in the first place? With a vile gesture, the dracolich pulled his disease's blackness out from those Firbolgs he chose to dis-infect. His argument regarding slavery was weaker and included mutterings along the lines of would you rather be my slave - or theirs? He even brought the Eladrin Queen (see earlier entries--that one ended up looking like we failed even though we did what we thought was the right thing at the time). Oh this was not going to be good for the party. Even the Moon Feast was ruined. Love that Moon, hate those maggots but the moon provided attacking werewolves so the Firbolgs killed and ate them instead, with help from the party. To deal with the situation by bringing her together with our diplomats against a common foe, during the night Hadji, Willikers and Rholain attempted to kill her, each in turn, but as a high level plainswalker with bodyguards she was tough and well defended, plus the other party members knew killing her would probably just prove the Dracolich's point so they helped to defend her. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, in the end it ended up appearing to split the party (even though this wasn't really the case) with everyone but Rholain defending the Eladrin Queen. It was learned during the night that this group of Firbolg counted the Eladrin among their allies, which changes everything really. Actually I think we knew that and had forgotten. Anyway, we ended up killing Rholain and saving the queen in the hope that when she speaks, she might not speak out as negatively against us on Day Two. At least the Eladrin Queen made friends with Aurora. Even though he despises her because she's a slavelord, Shamash never attacked her, and neither did Jones or Aurora (Jones and Aurora weren't there when the party ruined her life). Hadji initially was going to attack her, then defended her and Willikers did attack her earlier but not later on. As a band of warriors, violence is how the Uprisers resolve things. But as debaters and diplomats we have some skills also and we went two for two on not killing people we hate who just want to talk and not attack us. Come to think of it that's pretty remarkable.
From the Eladrin Queen's point of view, the Uprisers are not so great. But for her to join forces with the Dracolich, she must have either been influenced in some way, or have a crazy determination to return her people to the life of slavery she imposed on them before we stepped in. Letting her speak is a huge gamble but killing her would have been wrong, and diplomatically disastrous. Day 2 is going to be interesting. Shamash figures the Dracolich is doing all of this while sleeping, that his true form could be hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Though it's frustrating for the party, some of us would probably do the same thing to the Dracolich if we could. We're supposed to be the good guys but it seems like the harder we push to win at all costs, the more we risk paying with our own morality. From this point of view, by sparing the lives of both the Yuan-Ti diplomat and the Eladrin Queen, the Uprisers held their moral ground (though only barely, admittedly). So that's a good thing. One wonders if killing them both might also have been a good thing though... Probably not.
The real question is what are the ramifications of the treaty, and more importantly, what is scaring the millions of the Dragon Empire below, to the point that they would abandon their interests on the surface to focus on their own problems?
Experience: 1,100 (we did not level, we're still 16th). Treasure: 33,000 GP each party member who took a share of the 200,000 GP one time signing bonus from the Yuan-Ti negotiator.
Next Session: Saturday, August 14, 3 pm -- we will begin with "Day 2"
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“The dracolich has set himself against us, but also against your community. As Firbolgs, you can have your own way of life and be free as you were long ago, long before you were enslaved by the blue dragon. The dracolich is one dragon replacing another because he wants you to be his slaves now – for different and deadlier purposes. He makes his arguments from the mists like a phantom, while his real self could be miles – even thousands of miles away. To win his arguments he has invaded the minds of the free looking for weakness and defeat, and found the Eladrin Queen. No doubt she will defend slavery, which from her perspective as a ruler must have been grand. Many of her subjects who didn’t work themselves to death under her rule died in the conflict between freedom and slavery. To live a life in forced drudgery is no life at all compared to living your own lives.
Once, long ago Firbolgs were free. You roamed the land, hunting and fishing for what you needed and wanted. You were free once under the moon, running among the trees to the sound of birds. You can be free again. Or, you could make a bad choice and enslave yourselves to an undead dragon and his proxies. You can decide to live free among the birds and trees, or die along with them when the dracolich drains the life out of you and your land. You can join with us and prosper in trade with your neighbors in the cities nearby as friends, helping each other build a better world. Or you can join the dracolich and follow his every whim, including the eternal conscription of your children into his army of death. If you choose the dragon, know that you will be seen as monsters and villains by those around you.
Are the Uprisers promising you the Moon? Yes, yes we are but only if you TAKE IT for yourselves. Reach for the sky and the future will be yours. Will we always be here for you? Yes, yes we will but only if you MAKE yourselves listen and learn what you like about us, and pass that on to your children. It is not us you need, but our ideas. We can help you remember how to live free, and when you are truly free you will not need any help from us or anyone. Can the Firbolgs be happy again? Yes,yes but not as slaves. Among the dracolich’s minions you would be again shackled in chains, whipped into obedience and intimidated into working yourselves to the edge of death for nothing more than the amusement of your torturer, the dracolich. Your potential new slavelord, the dracolich– is the same as your old slavelord, the blue dragon – only bigger, crueler, colder and more uncaring. Given the choice, wouldn’t you rather embrace your families than serve that black-hearted pile of bones?
Love and hope are stronger than hate and fear because death has no future in it for you. Light and truth have more power than blackness and lies because deceit has no future in it for you. Freedom and fun are more desirable than slavery and pain because death has no future in it for you. Will you be given what you want? No, you will have to work and fight for it. But do know what you want. Do work and fight for it, you are big and strong. You are brilliant and you can do it. Reach for the moon. Reach for life. Reach for freedom.“
--Shamash Kriv, excerpt from speech at Firbolg City, year 1 of the Dracolyptica Ratification
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