Dragon Slayers of the Drinking Crow Session #44: Corrupted Reflections and Lunar Elves

Armeen of the Twin Lakes came through with coin from selling the crystal beetle the Dragon Slayer's captured just in time to bail Petra P out of Orm's dungeons. The elfin adventurer had gotten swept up in a raid when carousing in one of Orm's assorted unlicensed watering holes. Her absence noted when it came time to split up shares of the sale. A quarter of the party's members lingered at the Drinking Crow and hatched plans of return to 'The Complex'. A scheme involving a door and the dungeon's reverse waterfall was tabled in favor of Armeen's dreams of rolling out of the Iron Gate of the Rani with a bronze head seen floating on Level 3. The following group was seen picking up a small cart before heading off to the beaches east of Orm towards the Gate:

• Armeen of the Twin Lakes (Level 1 Cleric of Danu)
• Yeoman Klang (Level 2 Thief hireling)
• Copra Kaan (Level 6 Vat Spawn antaur)
• Father Bert (Level 3 Errant Friar of Arishem the Judge)
• Petra P (Level 3 Elf)
• Akash and Avani (dungeon terriers)

The group was seen escorting a part of malnourished dungeon dwellers, the brother known as B.C. #1212 and a boldly horned Child of Peroma named Mixus. They turned by towards the tunnels of 'The Complex'. When they exited the Iron Gate a few hours later, they had no tax to pay. However, the the party were covered in blood and several members faintly smelled of a pear-like fragrance. Father Bert had in his possession a small, marble-like orb with a mirror-like surface. The party disbursed so after. Copra Kaan went to the Athenaeum to research an invisible wire he had collected from the dungeon long ago. Father Bert returned to his smoked-meat stand. Careful watchers could spot Armeen moving around Orm, collecting rumors about the Crooked Hand.

The following note was found in the Athnaeum, left in a book on quantum fabrics:

Copra Kään’s To-Do List:

-Enter The Complex. 

-Free some prisoners and lead them to safety. 

-Re-enter The Complex. 

-Climb down the pit.

-Fight the reflections of others. 

-Save Armeen. 

-Meet some Lunar Elves. 

-Climb up the pit. 

-Get stopped by two gorilla guards. 

-Ask for a hand, but really paralyze the guard; he’ll die later.

-Grab an incoming spear. 

-Throw a spear at a paralyzed gorilla guard whose fate is already sealed. 

-Do the above three all while hanging from the edge of the pit. 

-Pay the stupid tax on the way out. 

How Yeoman Klang Escaped Death

In the taverns, drinking holes, and basement gambling dens of Orm, Yeoman Klang is quick to sing the praises of the green Cleric of Danu named Armeen. You see, Klang had been hired on to the Dragon Slayer's latest expedition to the Third Level of 'The Complex'. Upon arrival to that tier of the dungeon after being waylaid by freeing some captives of the Eye of Terror, Klang took a vicious bite to the throat that would have surely killed him. And Klang does not like to think that would have been next if they had. Their foes-- a pack of feral mirror copies of some of the party--also struck out at the torch Armeen carried. Luckily, the young Acolyte held on tight to the light source. As Klang bled out, Armeen risked his own life to feed the hireling some of a crystalline fruit that magically sealed the wounds in the thief's throat as it revitalized him. Klang still can taste its floral and sweet flavor now.

The party captured one of their twins, who surely must be born of foul magic. The mighty blow that Errant Friar Father Bert landed on its nose--stunning the fiend-- caused the rest of the gang to flee. Klang remembers the strange calls the made as the fled:

Free the Mirror!

The day will come when you will dance in the ulfire fires of chaos of this dying world.

Klang couldn't make much heads or tails of these words. He didn't really get what happened next, either. The group headed to the northwest through a secret door. The door lead to a hallway that connected to the spot where the obsidian tree that bore the life-saving fruit Armeen had given Klang moments earlier. The elfin Dragon Slayer Petra P. harvesting of the tree's only two fruits was interrupted by a pair of elves with pale blue skin--Kerdrim Sayra and Taar Zandro. The elves (supposedly of some lunar variety) successfuly negotiated with the Dragon Slayers to spare the fruits and to renew themselves in the elves encampment. to the northwest.

The group moved to the east, through some well-looted lecture hall. A northeast tunnel lead to a barren room. A secret door in that room lead north to a pair of huge double doors. "This is where that dragon we killed lived" said Copra Kaan has he shifted the armor made from the beast's scales. It was not just the antaur but all the Dragon Slayers were nervous entering its former lair. Klang decided he should probably be, too.

Yeoman Klang's knees went weak when the doors opened to reveal a dragon before him. It took a moment to realize it was just the creature's skeleton. The glow of its eyes- the elves lanterns. It's skin- fabric stretched across its bones to create a shelter. The rumbling of its voice- the chorus of elves milling about with their voices combined into a sea of murmurs. The wheezing of its breath- the whirling of a myriad of strange curiosities scattered around the encampment.

Sayra procured a collection of peculiar dried fruits, nuts, bread, and a spread made from mushrooms. Zandro uncorked a bottle of a wine fermented from the dew of the moon. The pair order this small meal to the Dragon Slayers. The adventurers responded with hesitance. Armeen broke the group's abstinence and soon the rest, including Klang, joined in the otherworldly delights the elves had offered. Only Father Bert maintained some level of aloofness.

As the two sides ate together, the Dragon Slayers inquired as to why the elves lingered in the dungeon. Sayra said that two of their number, named Ruaiat and Aerual were promised the returning of two sacred artifacts to them by the adventurer Betina the Blind. They thought they had made a true connection with her yet over a year later they still wait for them. The two have been chosen by their collectives' Dreaming Tree to venture deep into dream when a portal converges with 'The Complex' soon. They must possess these artifacts when that time comes whenever that is. The metaphysical reasons for this were beyond Klang's ken. He was lost at talk of portals into the realms of dream! Until then, the Lunar Elves wait and attempt to bring some stability to Level 3. After the deaths of the dragon, whose bones they now sleep under, and the medusa, who had turned Ruaiat and Aerual to stone; the power dynamics of the level have become unstable. Klang heard talk of Apes of War, Gray Men, Eye of Terror, and the Imperial Mother but didn't really follow. Politics had never really been his thing.

The Dragon Slayers parted with the elves on friendly terms and decided to head back to the surface. The party returned to their secret route that involved a pulley system place on the interior of the great pit where a waterfall ran backwards--BACKWARD!!! At the top, the a pair of vat spawn guards in service of the Eye of Terror waited in ambush. They engaged Copra Kaan before the antaur could climb out of the pit. Armeen climbed over Copra to join battle with these foes. Following his employer-for-the-day's lead, Klang freely scaled the side of the pit and joined Armeen in combat. In a flurry of attacks including Copra Kaan grabbing his assailant's own spear and hitting them with it, the guards were felled. With that, the Dragon Slayers made their way to the Iron Door of the Rani. Klang headed straight to the nearest tavern to raise a glass to Armeen for saving his life while Klang caroused away his memories death's icy grasp.

The Artifacts the Lunar Elves Seek

The Lunar Elves currently seek two items stolen from them by a group of adventurers. The first is a spiritual weapon called "Rillis atamar Kerym" in the tongue of the Lunar Elves or "Flamning Adamantine Sword" in common. This blade was last seen in a network of caves in the Twilight Shore inhabited by the Midnightmare Court (called simply Cave Elves by the denizens of the Twilight Shores).

The other item is the Caduceus Staff.  Twin snakes entwine in a helix shape around the magically healing staff. It is currently in the possess of the kobold adventurer PakPak and is open for rental or purchase to any interested holy person interested in wielding it. 

Experience Points

• "Corrupted" Father Bert defeated and "Corrupted" Armeen, Petra P, and Yeoman Klang chased off 4 x 125xp
• B.C. #1212 and Mixus rescued 50 xp ea.

Player Character Cut

• 150xp ea.