Ashkarath the Red Doom Considering Baaaaaartering - March 28, 2023

- Plain black T with CR zip-up hoodie

 

- The next morning, over breakfast General Howard approaches Soliana and gives his order for them to scout in the direction of the volcano.

- Niniel overhears someone say, "Wish my daddy'd bought me a commission like that."

- Niniel and Soliana pick up rations for their team for five days and stuff it into the bag of holding. There are also fire starting supplies (LOL)

- Zemma leads the way towards the volcano and they stumble onto what looks like a trail, which helps them make good progress.

- Soliana does a lot of huffing because she's never really been hiking before. 

- Near the end of the day Zemma spots smoke from what could be a camp fire or a very small house's chimney

- Caleb sneaks up to investigate (because rogue) and sees a small house(?) built into the side of the hill, but is caught by an alarm sheep who baas loudly at him and incessantly.

- The alarm sheep follows him back to where his friends are waiting and Soliana immediately starts petting and hugging the fluffer.

- Soliana immediately declares the sheep to be her best friend while Caleb and Niniel argue.

- Niniel asks Soliana to cast Detect Magic and it is just a mundane sheep

- They take the sheep back to the house to "return" it.

- There's a very large, broad shouldered man who comes to see what all this bullshit is about. His name is Fenrick

- He doesn't have time for this nonsense because there is an injured sheep. His pasture is full of a large variety of different breeds.

- Soliana blurts out about the time traveling and arcane leaping and he is overwhelmed and invites them to dinner since they helped his sheep and seem nice enough.

- Fenrick has been here for ten years.

- The dragon is known as Ashkarath the Red Doom.

- While chatting Caleb highly implies that Fenrick is the Red Doom.

- Niniel is pretty confident that this guy knows the dragon.

- The sheep belong to Ashkarath. He sometimes just shows up to hang out with the sheep and brings new sheep and Fenrick is their caretaker. He gets to keep the milk and wool from shearing and Ashkarath even helps him build things every once in a while.

- Fenrick says he can give a signal and have Ashkarath come in the morning for them to talk to about maybe no longer stealing sheep or at least bartering for them 

- Soliana takes a wool blanket and her bed roll and goes outside to spend more time with her new best friend. Zemma joins her.

- Niniel offers Fenrick The Rise and Fall of Hedrimond to read for the night, which he skims and says sounds wild.

- She scans her book about myths and legends, and it acknowledges Ashkarath's existence as an ancient dragon who avoids conflict and people.

- Niniel gets some wool thread and makes a little band and tucks it into Soliana's pocket while she's in a cuddle puddle with two or three fluffy little sheep and Zemma. She makes a second little charm and tucks it into her Patron Pouch.

- The next morning, Soliana is properly sheep-scented. Hopefully Ashkarath likes sheep smell. Into a non-eating kind of way.

- There's a bracelet made of a tough kelp studded with shark's teeth in Niniel's Pouch.

- Fenrick is up and about long before them and Soliana is combing and braiding her sheep best friend's right up until a large red dragon lands in the pasture 

- There is a lot of convincing and taking, but Soliana is so busy combing and braiding the wool on the littlest fluffiest sheep that they bond.

- Ashkarath the Red Doom just wants to hang out with sheep, so he agrees that he could maybe do a thing where he breathes fire for smiths once a month and in return for some sheep pasture on the mainland where the people can have the wool and milk and he just gets to hang out with the sheep whenever he wants.

- The group walks back the way they came for the better part of half the day until they meet the marching army. 

- General Howard is not on board with the idea of making a treaty with the dragon, but Niniel goes behind the General's back to the colonel who is second in command and asks if he would play ball if General Howard gets himself eaten, and she manages to convince the colonel (unnamed) to help convince the General to at least stand down.

- The general does not have the authority to make a treaty, so in the end Soliana and Caleb will accompany Ashkarath the Red Doom directly to the king to make a deal that doesn't involve bloodshed.

 - Peak DnD right here.

- Dan notes that Ashkarath is a shephoarder. 

 

- 750 XP ea for 5,250 XP total ea.

En Flambé - March 14, 2024

 - Play Games, Feel Better

 

- Standing at the base of a hill, our party finds themselves in a line of a larger force of people and they are wearing short tunics with a crest that matches the rest of the larger force and there are fire monsters with claws and burning red eyes who are only a bit taller than Zemma

- There is a river of fire that are actually fire snakes

- The crest is a golden shield in the center with two golden ravens facing into the shield

- The leader who called out to hold the line locks eyes with Soliana and says, "Marshall Ashara, guard the right flank!"

- Soliana turns and in a shaky voice says to her troop, "We're guarding the right flank. Which way is the flank?" in her shaky little voice

FIRE CRITTER BATTLE

- Poetry summons Ember in front of the party then steps forward towards the first monsters and casts Thunder Wave on the first two creatures in the line for 5 thunder dmg.

- Two Fire Critters (FC2 and FC1) run forward with FC2 reaching and hitting Zemma setting her on fire

- Zemma rages and becomes a feline-ish creature with a spikey tail and pats out the fire on herself.

- FC3 runs past Poetry who misses Rafiki-ing it with her staff right up to Soliana and smacks her for 6 fire dmg and now she is on fire.

- FC4 marches up to Poetry and misses 

- Niniel summons a squid tentacle out of the earth behind FC3 and deals 8 cold dmg and it explodes dealing 2 fire dmg to Soliana. Niniel then casts Witch Bolt on FC2 for 15 lightning dmg which also explodes dealing 5 fire dmg to Zemma and 2 to Caleb

- Fire Snake slithers up to Poetry and bites her for 5 piercing and 3 fire dmg and then it smacks her with its tail for 2 bludgeoning and 2 fire dmg

- Caleb misses throwing a psychic blade at the FS then throws again hitting for 12 psychic dmg to it then he runs up to FC1 such that it will be easy for Zemma to flank with him

- FC5 moves to flank Poetry and smacks her for 2 fire dmg and Poetry is on fire

- Soliana casts Wither and Bloom centered on the surrounded druid dealing 3 necrotic dmg to each of them then she takes 2 fire dmg because she is still on fire

 

- Poetry casts another Thunder Wave at FS and FC4 for 4 thunder dmg and the FS is dead!! Poetry takes 6 fire dmg for being on fire

- FC1 turns to Caleb and fire claws him for 8 fire dmg and he is on fire.

- Zemma moves to flank FC1 with Caleb and she thagomizes it for 7 piercing dmg

- A new FS crests the hill and rushes Niniel it hisses "We will protect him!" and then bites her for 3 piercing and 6 fire dmg and then smacks her with its tail for 3 bludgeoning and 6 fire dmg.

- FC4 misses Poetry

- Niniel Misty Steps next to Ember and then Eldritch Blasts the FS for 7 force dmg then runs another 30' away from the melee

- Caleb stabs FC1 and it explodes and he and Zemma both take 3 fire dmg then he backs up to Soliana and throws a psychic knife FS and dealt 8 psychic dmg then he takes 3 fire dmg from being on fire

- FC5 hits Poetry for 7 fire dmg

- Soliana casts Wither and Bloom again centered on Poetry dealing 5 necrotic dmg to FC4 and 2 to FC5 and FC4 explodes dealing then she drops prone rolls around to put herself out and then stands back up next to Caleb

 

- Poetry casts Thunder Wave at FC5 in front of her for 4 thunder dmg and it explodes dealing her 7 fire dmg and then she rolls around on the ground to put herself out and then stands back up

- Zemma runs up to FS but misses with her teeny thagomizer

- FS slithers up to Zemma and it misses her with its bite then she just barely doesn't keep it from hitting her with its tail by blocking with her own tail so she takes 2 bludgeoning and 4 fire dmg     

- Niniel Eldritch Blasts FS for 6 force dmg

- Caleb puts himself out and then runs up to flank with Zemma

- Soliana casts Magic Missile on the FS and it melts back into a fire pool that was there and then there's a rumbling and the pool of fire forms into a fire tornado in the middle of the party 

 

- FT moves to and engulfs Soliana and she takes 8 fire dmg and she is one fire (again) then it moves to and engulf Zemma and she takes 9 fire dmg and she is now on fire and then it stops between Zemma and Caleb and misses Caleb with a fire lash and then hits him with a lash for 11 fire dmg and he is also on fire and unconscious

- Poetry runs up to Caleb and puts out his fire and then casts Healing Word on him for 6 HP. Ember moves adjacent to both grabs Poetry and Caleb and teleports them 15' away from the FT

- Zemma smacks the FT with her thagomizer for 10 piercing dmg and then she takes 3 fire dmg from being on fire

- Niniel summons a new tentacle and deals 7 cold dmg to the FT (14?) and then she casts Witch Bolt on it for 16 lightning dmg 

- Caleb stands up then runs over and puts Soliana's fire after Dashing over to her

- Soliana casts Wither and Bloom again dealing 7 necrotic dmg to the FT and Zemma spends a Hit Die and looks a lot better

 

- Once the battle has fully concluded, the party learns that the fire beings are protecting a dragon. 

- The legion of warriors with the crests arrived on this island by boat

- The dragon is big enough to have eaten some sheep and lives in a volcano.

- The warrior troop looks trained not just like punks, and they get a 20 krone per diem salary.

- Caleb takes Soliana up to the General and claims the fire melted his memories and asks for an explanation. 

    - The troops have been here for three days after coming from the mainland on a ship

    - The troop is supposed to secure this area and then remove the dragon that has made its home in or near the volcano

    - The are the legion from Ainor 

    - The General is General Howard

    - Our troop is going to be sent on a reconnaissance mission in the morning

- Soliana remembers that Ainor was the predecessor of what is now the kingdom of Rhoanor and they used krone as currency

- Niniel uses Minor Illusion to create the image of a really nicely dressed looking person just in the peripheral vision of a couple of drinking soldiers and she hears them ask if that's Prince Thaylen but then they says that guy is too fat to be Prince Thaylen

- After she reports back in then goes back out to skulk around to the groups of soldiers and eavesdrop about anything interesting she can hear about who these people are and why they might be hunting this dragon beyond sheep. She gathers that people are very doubtful about their ability to succeed on this mission. There are also people questioning the necessity of taking out the dragon since the dragon was here first and the people are new to the area.

- "Marshal" Ashera "orders" her troop to get a long rest

 

- 800 XP ea for 4,500 XP total ea.