Session 232 – Interludes from the Dragon War

 - GM’s note: David and I decided to delve a little deeper into some key episodes in the lead up to the war, and during the Dragon War itself. My ideas were as follows:

• The attack on Marindar

• A hero on the wrong side

• An unexpected opportunity

• A terrible loss

• A friend in need

• Personal grudge

• Strange ally

It was my intention to play through all of these over a few sessions but we ended up just picking a few. Here is a summary of those mini-adventures.

Part 1 – An Unexpected Opportunity

- Prior to the outbreak of war, Grant unexpectedly finds himself in the vicinity of Florin. One of the Marindan couriers, a woman called Cherie, is travelling on the Sparrowhawk (an airship first seen way back in Session 32 which has a Door to the Stair onboard) and the vessel is under attack by sky pirates. 

* Image by TerryLH on DeviantART

- Notified by Icon, Grant successfully defends the Sparrowhawk from the small raider vessels and helps to drive them off. He finds Florin is the next stop and he decides to pay Aethelwyn a visit. He hasn’t seen her in a long time (he’s been trying to stay away as there is a spark there). To his pleasant surprise, she is pleased to see him after so long.

Part 2 – Strange Ally

- Prior to the outbreak of war, Grant finds himself in a dark, polluted, ghost-ridden city. He is in pursuit of one of the Dragon Lord Nephron’s lieutenants who is said to be a vampire: Lord Raethel.

- During this adventure, Grant comes across Norwood, a gentleman ghost who was once Lord Raethel’s friend. Norwood is surprised that Grant can see him and asks for Grant’s help in breaking the curse that has prevented him from moving on. He is willing to help Grant in return for an end to his disembodied state. To Grant’s surprise, he finds that he likes the noble Norwood and he offers to find him a suitable body that he can possess. 

Part 3 – A Friend In Need

- War has finally broken out and Grant is busy. Nevertheless, things come up which distract him. On returning to Marindar, he finds that Olin the bard has gone missing. Grant suspects (and it is quickly confirmed) that Olin is performing a task for Jona (whom he believes is the Olympian Hera in disguise). 

- Figuring that his friend may need his aid, he seeks Olin out and finds him on a small, mountainous island which is being lashed by storms. Olin has been helping the people here to recover from a series of earthquakes that have rocked the island – but he thinks that Jona (aka Hera) wants him to do something heroic to find and stop whatever is causing these calamities.

- Together, they search for the source of the earthquakes and find that there is a mighty Chthonian dwelling beneath the island. It is almost certainly too much for Olin to handle on his own, and Grant is concerned that a battle against the monster will almost certainly destroy the island and all of Hera’s worshippers on it. As such, Grant takes some time to weaken the creature and return it to its slumber. 

- He finds that he needs to return more than once to the island to ensure that it remains asleep.

Part 4 – Heroes on Both Sides

- Grant watches uncomfortably as Lord Drake sides with Sturmvald. Even though Sturmvald is a noble Dragon Lord, Grant decides that Sturmvald as the Dragon Emperor would not change anything for Ethan. He has decided that Sturmvald must fall in order for Lofwyr to eventually take the throne. And for that, Asmadi must triumph over Sturmvald, even if that means backing a treacherous dragon over a noble one.

- Grant decides to neutralise Drake’s presence on the battlefield by organising to hire Mordecai through intermediaries so that Drake will not be as effective as he would normally be.

- As the months wear on, Grant watches the battles between the two Lords of Gossamer and sees the considerable damage that each is inflicting upon the others’ forces.  

Part 5 – Grudge and Loss

- Krovaliss has long suspected that Grant was behind the Dwimmerlaik Civil War. Rather than openly show his hand against the Lords of Gossamer, he manipulates Asmadi into launching an attack on Marindar.

- This offensive takes Grant by surprise. The Marindan defenders are relatively small compared to the size of the dragon army that attacks them, and the battle is bloody. Grant joins the defence but dares not bring Ethan to Marindar lest it be a trap to draw him out. There are three waves of attacks over four bloody days. In the end, Marindar’s allies from Arcadia and elsewhere have made all of the difference – but Central has been heavily damaged and there are thousands of dead, including many dragons. Worst of all, Lady Sophia is gone. Grant cannot even find her body to mourn her.

Session 231 – The Dragon War

- GM’s note: This session’s writeup covers the entirety of the war which breaks out. It would be too long to write up every blow so what follows here is an abbreviated account.

David and I talked about how to end the ‘Ethan is Dragon Marked’ plotline, and what we wanted to see (and run) after this plotline. We talked for quite a while over many months.

Eventually, I think the plotline went on too long and David didn’t know how to actually draw this to a satisfactory conclusion such that the next story arc was something different and not ‘more of the same’. So what I suggested was that we take the story up a level and map out the inevitable war. We ran this as an abstract, using Blades In the Dark rules (yes, we used Dice !!!) and a series of linked Active Clocks. We occasionally use FATE Cards for a bit of random inspiration (eg : It’s a -3, that person really doesn’t like you) but this time we wanted something more.

Part 1 – Starting the War

- Ethan and Grant plot the destruction of the Draconian Empire. The Lords of Gossamer will not directly become involved between the Dragon Highlords, but things have gone far enough. It is time to end things. The Dragon Highlords seem poised to go to war – all they need is something or someone to push them over the edge.

- Ethan is more confident using the Orb and he believes he can use it subtly to push the Dragons towards war. He believes that the Dragons don’t yet know that he has the Orb so for the time being, miraculously they have the advantage.

- Grant and Ethan consider each of the Dragon Highlords and decide how they want the war to play out. But first they need to remove the Dragon Highlord Arcades. He’s meant to be a master strategist and he could be a balancing figure – they want him out of the way.

* From L to R, Top to Bottom: Lofwyr, Arcades, Nephron, Asmadi, Sturmvald

* Images sourced from Google Images – some are from Magic The Gathering, others from Earthdawn

- Ethan hatches a plot with some of his friends in Faerie (Bettina) for the fey to keep Arcades busy. He is introduced to a Lady of Faerie called the Dusk Queen who is intrigued enough by what is going on to invite the Dragon Highlord to a very special ‘party’ that will keep him occupied for some time.

- The Clock “The War Begins” is now 1 of 8 (see Blades in the Dark for how Clocks work).

- None of the other Dragon Lords seem to notice that Arcades has been diverted or if they notice, they don’t seem to show any interest.

- The next part of the plan is to make the Highlord Sturmvald think that Asmadi is going to attack him. Asmadi is known to be dangerous and greedy, and all of the Dragons are amassing forces for war. Grant decides to sabotage some of their magical camouflage in order to reveal to Sturmvald just how large an army Asmadi has. He also uses stealth to bait one of Asmadi’s more bellicose lieutenants into attacking a target of opportunity (Ethan also uses the Orb to influence the dragon lieutenant) and then exposes this act of aggression for all to see. They make certain that Sturmvald is aware.

- The Clock “The War Begins” is now 2 of 8.

- All of this takes time. Grant and Ethan watch the situation. It seems that Sturmvald is aware, but he remains cautious of starting anything. 

- As such, Grant and Ethan pick another target. This time Grant impersonates one of Nephron’s powerful ambassadors and he convinces a race of demons to go to war against their enemies for the promise of a favour. This also works well, but the demons are more successful than expected. Nephron is alerted to the situation and realizes that the demons who are operating in his name are becoming a threat to others and drawing too much attention.

- The Clock “The War Begins” is now 3 of 8.

- At this point, Grant fakes instructions to Asmadi’s forces encouraging them to ‘take the initiative’. Asmadi’s lieutenants are already twitchy and ambitious, and they take it upon themselves to arrange to kill Irina, the Blue Lady (a Lord of Gossamer, and servant of Lord Sturmvald). 

- Grant isn’t happy about a Lord of Gossamer being targeted and he intercedes so that the draconic assassin fails to kill her (although she is wounded). Grant’s hand in all of this is undetected.

- The Clock “The War Begins” is now 4 of 8.

- This time, Sturmvald is less cautious. He targets one of Asmadi’s people in a tit-for-tat exchange. This has limited effect as the strike is not conclusive. However, Sturmvald has not hidden that he is behind the attack.

- The Clock “The War Begins” is now 5 of 8.

- Ethan decides to try to use the Orb subtly to increase Asmadi’s paranoia, hoping to push the Dragon Lord into responding rashly. However, this fails – Asmadi becomes aware that someone is attempting to manipulate him and he realizes that the Orb is in play. Asmadi is angry and he redoubles his defenses (but he does not tell the others that the Orb is in play).

- The Clock “The War Begins” remains at 5 of 8 because this was a failure.

- Sturmvald seems to realise that Asmadi is not backing down. Asmadi seems to reach the conclusion that only Nephron could have the Orb and he decides to move against him. Grant becomes sneaky again and decides to stealthily impersonate some of the demons in Nephron’s demonic legions in order to reposition them poorly. This is more than successful – it finally triggers Asmadi into a full-scale attack against Nephron’s realms.

- The Clock “The War Begins” is now at 7 of 8 because this was a critical success. Asmadi himself enters the fray. He doesn’t trust his minions to do it properly. He personally leads his armies and establishes a foothold in Nephron’s territory.

- Believing that Asmadi has lost his mind, Nephron takes the field and a duel is declared. Leading up to this, Grant has been nudging the situation along with Umbra, feeding the bad feelings between them and breaking down whatever trust they had previously. Ethan tries using the Orb on both Dragon Lords. With Nephron he is successful in pushing the Dragon Lord towards the duel. He is less successful with Asmadi who seems to be slipping towards insanity.

- The two mighty Dragon Lords battle over the mountains of Morak Dur. A terrible battle is fought. Asmadi’s rage gives him terrible strength and he inflicts ‘final death’ on Nephron.

- Triumphant, Asmadi claims Nephron’s legions as his own and declares himself Dragon Emperor. He is however furious that Nephron does not seem to have the Orb.

- At this point, the Clock “The War Begins” – is complete and the story enters a new arc.

Part 2 – War of the Dragons

- GM’s note – the War itself was run with a series of rounds, with different Clocks indicating how depleted the various Dragon Lords’ forces were, and we also included a Clock for when Arcades might realise what is going on and return. Each of these rounds takes place over months of time. The war itself takes time to play out.

- Open war finally breaks out with Asmadi declaring himself the new Dragon Emperor. Asmadi launches attacks against Sturmvald. Sturmvald retaliates. Ethan uses the Orb to skim the thoughts of the various Dragon Lords to figure out who knows the secrets of the Dragon Mark – which one of them was the prime instigator for the ritual which put it on him. He is successful and realises that Sturmvald was the instigator, at Lofwyr’s suggestion. But the master of the ritual is actually an ancient dragon referred to as the Keeper of the Rituals, or the Dragon Sage. Too old and doddering to be a real contender for Dragon Emperor, the Dragon Sage is considered apolitical and largely left to his own devices. With this information, Grant slips into Draconian Empire territory and uses Umbra to weaken the Dragon Sage further, such that Ethan is able to slip into his mind and starts working to acquire the final pieces of the ritual so he can undo the Dragon Mark.

- In the months that follow, Asmadi’s forces and Sturmvald’s forces slug it out, whilst Lofwyr remains uncommitted. Grant successfully recovers a relic that can be used to scry on the dragons – a relic that even penetrates their shielding spells – this gives them a vital edge. Ethan continues to work on the complex ritual with the unwitting help from the Dragon Sage.

- Grant continues to watch the battle between the Dragon Lords from the sidelines, occasionally intervening. He doesn’t want Asmadi to win, but a defeated Asmadi might also be very bad – Sturmvald in place would likely result in a more militant and controlling Dragon Empire. As the months wear on, the war spills out into more and more realms and the Lords of Gossamer are inevitably drawn in. Drake is too friendly with Sturmvald and it is impossible to stop him providing some support. Ethan seems to hit a wall in trying to put together the final pieces of the ritual. He tries twice to remove the Dragonmark with Isabelle’s help but each time it fails. Something is still missing.

- During wartime, the unexpected happens. Grant receives a request for aid from the Dwimmerlaik via Lord Morla. They are being threatened by both sides in the Dragon Civil War and they request Grant’s assistance to help in maintaining their neutrality and helping to keep them out of the war. Seeing an opportunity for improved relationships with the Dwimmerlaik, Grant goes to help. He also uses his connections with Lofwyr to try to avoid drawing them in.

- As the war wears on, both Asmadi’s forces and Sturmvald’s forces are becoming increasingly battered, but it looks like Asmadi has the upper hand. Finally, Lofwyr picks a side and sends forces to reinforce Sturmvald. The injection of fresh troops reinforces Sturmvald’s positions and Asmadi suffers severe losses as a result.

- Finally, after months of work, Ethan manages to remove the Dragon Mark. He is finally free of it.

- But the damage toll is colossal – the number of realms that have sustained damage is more than can be counted. The war continues on multiple fronts. Arcades is still nowhere to be seen – he remains a guest of the Dusk Queen, blissfully unaware of what is going on.

- Ethan now turns his attention on trying to influence Asmadi and Sturmvald to resolve their differences with a duel to ‘final death’. However, both minds are too strong for him to influence and hence the war continues to rage on. It is during this time that Marindar itself comes under attack and severe damage is done to Central and to its people. In the devastation, Lady Sophia is lost, presumed dead.

- On the Poznian plains of Turien (Sturmvald’s home realm), Asmadi finally launches a final offensive against what is left of Sturmvald’s forces and decimates them. A triumphant Asmadi faces off against a crippled Sturmvald and delivers ‘real death’ to him.

- Many grieve for the noble Sturmvald (Drake weeps bitterly) but all attention now turns to Asmadi and ensuring that his rule as Dragon Emperor is a short one. Lofwyr contests Asmadi’s claim and further battles are fought as a result. Despite badly battered armies, Asmadi continues to fight on – his madness seems to give him inexhaustible strength and with Nephron’s forces added to his own, he is in a stronger position than Lofwyr.

- The war drags into a second year. By this point Grant and Ethan are doing the same as many of the other Lords of Gossamer – they are trying to minimise the damage that the Dragons and their forces are causing – but the war is being fought on many fronts and they cannot be everywhere.

- Ultimately what brings the war to an abrupt end is an apparent miscalculation on the part of Lofwyr. Asmadi seems to lead from the front and so Lofwyr arms himself and enters the fray directly, seeking to ‘cut off the head of the snake’ and end the war. Lofwyr is highly prescient and is well prepared to fight Asmadi, but despite this, the battle is savage and it does not go the way he expects. Even with all of his preparations, Asmadi’s strength is a match for Lofwyr’s. Between them, they level mountains and destroy large swaths of the realms that they duel in.

- After a sustained battle, Asmadi is finally slain, cursing Lofwyr’s name and believing him to have used the Orb to bring about their ruin. Lofwyr himself is mortally wounded. They have seemingly killed one another.

- But Lofwyr does not die. Before he breathes his last breath, a Lord of Gossamer comes to his aid. Ethan has decided that Lofwyr as Dragon Emperor would be preferable to no Dragon Emperor at all and all of the chaos that this would bring. He brings Lofwyr back from death’s door and Lofwyr, as the last Dragon Lord standing, claims the title of Dragon Emperor.

Part 3 – Aftermath

- A large number of realms are in ruins after the bloody civil war between the Dragons. Earth 0 has remained unscathed but Marindar is heavily damaged.

- A wounded Lofwyr is pronounced the new Dragon Emperor. Lady Abigail (Abbie) becomes his major domo. Abbie promises to spend time with Ethan when she can ‘catch her breath’. Being the right-hand woman to the new Dragon Emperor is more than a full-time job.

- Drake continues to mourn the death of his friend, Sturmvald.

- Arcades leaves the company of the Dusk Queen to find that the world has changed while he has been away.

- Grant is heartbroken at the loss of Sophia. He sadly begins the slow task of rebuilding Marindar.

- Ethan takes a while to actually relax. He has been hunted for so long that he finds it hard not to be constantly looking over his shoulder. He and Isabelle spend time together in the aftermath of the war. 

- Macavity turns up after many months in absentia. He says nothing about where he has been. 

- GM’s note: From here, we then run a session focusing on some key events from the war (like the attack on Marindar) and then we move into some stories in the immediate aftermath of the war before moving onto new things.

Session 230 – Orb Power

 - GM’s note: When we last left Ethan, he had recovered a Dragon Orb which is supposed to be able to control or at least influence dragons. This may finally give him a tool to be able to strike back against the Empire that has been hunting him.

This is actually the second last session of this story arc. We’re building up to a finale.

- Some time has passed since the last session. There were no instructions with the Orb and Ugin (the Dragon Lord who had been slain using it) was not able to tell Ethan how to use the device. Nevertheless, Ethan has managed to figure it out – using psychometry, divination and the combined gadgetry of Isabelle and Ethan.

- Ethan believes it may be possible to control a lesser dragon, but influence over one of the Highlords is likely to be very limited. Also, the older and more powerful the dragon, the more likely that they will sense the attempt. A test is required.

Part 1 – The First Test

- We cut to an underground cavern with many graeco-roman columns. Ethan, Isabelle and Macavity are running for their lives as masonry splinters behind them. An enraged Smaug-sized dragon is tearing the place apart trying to pursue them.

* Image sourced from Google Images

- The first test has failed. Something went wrong. And as such, the trio are running like hell. Even Ethan’s Mental Invisibility isn’t helping them very much – the Dragon is still able to sense them. 

- Fleeing as fast as they can, Ethan notes that the Dragon is trying to cut off their escape route by sending a number of draconian minions to intercept them. Luckily Grant is playing a screening role and he engages before they can block the trio’s escape. 

- The dragon behind them is behaving like it has lost its mind. It is so mad that it is almost berserk, smashing through columns like a wild thing in his hunger to reach them. Occasionally it sends a blast of fire after them but so far, they have been lucky (even though the stones around them have heated to the point where they glow and smoke). 

- Knowing that the dragon is coming for him and him alone, Ethan splits off from Isabelle and Macavity. The dragon pursues. Ethan tries to put as much of the cavern’s pillars between him and the dragon. The dragon is very, very irate – it tears and blasts its way after him. 

- However, the stalling tactic works. Isabelle reaches the Stair. She reaches him via Icon and pulls him through. Then she recovers Grant. They are safe – for now. Hurrying away before pursuit can reach them, they return to Isabelle’s domain via a circuitous route. Everyone needs a cold drink. Macavity is not impressed – he glares at Ethan and licks his burnt tail.

Part 2 – Further Research

- The little group of Lords of Gossamer are sombre. They realise that Ethan’s connection with the target dragon failed and it’s only a matter of time before the Dragon Highlords realise that someone has the Orb. This is not good.

- Isabelle decides to study the Orb further, hoping to figure out what went wrong. Ethan is tired. He was really hoping that this would make a difference. Grant offers him a beer and he accepts. Macavity scowls at them both and slinks off.

- After a while Ethan simply acknowledges that they missed something and he doesn’t know what. Grant reassures him that he’ll figure it out. The last individual to use the Orb was Bolas - he was a dragon and he knew how to use it.  

- Ethan excuses himself and goes for a wander on the Stair. Cloaked via numerous Wards, he eventually decides to try the Forbidden Library. On his way he senses another Lord of Gossamer nearby and decides to avoid them. He doesn’t like surprises.

- He returns to the Library and begins looking through books which contain histories of past conflicts between dragons, looking for cases where dragons have died, or times when the Orb itself is mentioned.

- He finds three separate accounts which are of interest. It takes him considerable time (weeks) to find and read these.

Part 3 – Three Accounts

- The first account makes reference to a ‘suppression effect’ when dragons take to the battlefield. It seems that it affects dragon mortality and whether they can ‘come back’ or not. Ethan counts seven Dragon Lords from the records who have died and not returned. It is not clear how this has been achieved. There are many battle accounts which are of vague interest but not pertinent to the question in his mind.

- The second account was written by a dragon’s faithful servant. The servant refers to something untranslatable which can be on, or off for battles – but the trigger is a formal duel – and the consequence of losing that duel is real, permanent death. The account also goes into the different motives and layers of the draconian mind which gives Ethan a glimpse of the complexity of these alien creatures. He wouldn’t want to play chess against even the weakest of them.

- The third book is bound in dragonhide. The sheets of paper are actually metal. Despite being fireproof, it looks like something or someone has still attempted to immolate the book. The book is a grimoire – a study of dragons and of spells relevant to dragons. The spells seem very complex and layered. The author of the book was not a dragon but seems to have been a powerful mage, possibly even a Warden of the Stair (it’s not clear). The book is old and predates the Great War. It takes Ethan weeks of work to fully digest what is in the book and he has to do this in multiple sittings.

- The longer Ethan remains in the Forbidden Library, the more uncomfortable he feels. He doesn’t like lingering in one place. He thinks that the Dragonmark is suppressed here but he cannot be sure that it is completely suppressed. And even if the Forbidden Library’s location is forgotten, he considers it possible that the dragons somehow remember.

- Two months after the disastrous first test, Ethan feels that he has learnt a lot. It seems that someone who has been working for the dragons has been depositing books into the Forbidden Library for a long, long time. He has learnt a lot from this hidden information. Many of the dragons that are mentioned are still around today, but sometimes they go by other names.

Part 4 – Preparing for the Next Test

- Despite what he has learnt, Ethan doesn’t rejoin the others. He is sick of being unprepared and this time, he wants to make sure that he has all of the relevant information before trying to influence a dragon.

- Working through the wealth of information in the Forbidden Library, Ethan starts piecing together how to use the Orb. One by one, he eliminates the unknowns. It has been a while since he had to study for something important but he takes this study very seriously.

- Ethan is also interested in what is said about each of the Dragon Highlords – their history, their personalities, their agendas. In the old texts, Lofwyr had other names – Iceclaw, Frostlord. It seems that he is an expert with Divination and Scrying and had access to some sort of relic that gave him an edge over other dragons in this regard. If Ethan is going to try influencing some of these Highlords, he needs to understand them better.

- Occasionally Ethan speaks to Grant. It seems that they are still hunting for him. The situation between the Dragons is still very tense – some of them are even actively talking about the Emperor being poisoned. Grant doesn’t think it will take much to push them into conflict. He also notes that the Dragons tried to send a group after Grant (to get to Ethan). Grant dealt with them but this escalation has apparently upset some of the other Lords of Gossamer. Grant says that he’s moving around as well – he hopes that Marindar won’t be targeted if he stays on the move.

Part 5 – The Intruder

- Another month passes. Ethan has read many books and what he is finding now seems to be of diminished value. Nevertheless, he pushes on, looking for anything else that he has missed.

- It is during this time that an intruder is caught in the slowtime trap inside the Library. This tanned individual is close to collapse when Ethan finds him. Using mind-to-mind, Ethan confirms that this person isn’t here for him. He doesn’t even know about the Lords of Gossamer. His master died and he was asked to bring items here. He found out about the Forbidden Library from a puzzle box left by his master (similar to the puzzle box that Ethan has used to take knowledge out of the Library).

- Ethan decides to remove him from the Library and contacts Grant. He can’t afford for this individual to be picked up by someone else. Grant agrees to look after him.

- Returning to the library, Ethan goes through the items that the intruder was trying to place in the library and finds a book about dragons. Coincidence? Cursing himself for his stupidity, Ethan realises that someone probably knows where he is and has manipulated the young sorcerer into coming here.

- Ethan flicks through the book – it is interesting but he decides that it is too dangerous to stay. He leaves the book behind and decides the quit the Forbidden Library. He is done with researching. It is time for action.

Part 6 – The Plan

- Grant and Ethan meet in a soundproof booth. Neon lights flash. People dance on the dance floor. Both Grant and Ethan are using a variety of charms and devices for blocking scrying and divination. Grant has picked up some skills in the last year – he has become very good at blocking draconic divination when he wants to. For now, Ethan’s danger sense is quiet. It is time to talk. It is time…. to plan how this ends.

Session 229 – The Dragon Orb

 - GM’s note: This session carries on from our messed up Duskwall adventure which was covered in Sessions 224 and 228. We return to Ethan and Grant in the present, with Ethan being hunted by the Dragon Highlords.

David and I had already talked about how this plotline could end, and what Ethan might be able to do to bring this to a close. This session was about finding an artefact that would give him an edge.

The Dragon Orb concept is, of course, from TSR’s Dragonlance.

Part 1 – The Other Thief

- Grant and Ethan spend considerable time talking to the Dragon Lord Ugin, learning about how his brother Nicol Bolas slew his mortal form. It seems that Bolas had an artefact which could be used to influence and even control other dragons – a Dragon Orb. It is doubtful that even someone as powerful as Ethan would be able to directly control a Dragon Highlord, but it may be possible to influence them.

- Time passes. Grant and Ethan split up. Grant searches for clues as to where such a device might be held and who might currently be in possession of it. Ethan spends time in the Forbidden Library trying to learn more about the artefact from old, lost historical records and what it is capable of doing.

- After some time, Ethan is able to locate where this artefact is (via Divination). It is in a vault, in a pocket dimension. He is able to find the Door that leads to the Vault. He is pretty sure that no Icons will work in the Vault itself, and the Vault holds many ‘precious’ things. The realm itself will be hostile to them – the draconic inhabitants were and are still loyal to Nicol Bolas.

- The Orb itself is normally 2-3 metres across, but it can be shrunk with the correct commands. 

- The two friends plan an approach with Isabelle and then put the plan into motion. Grant runs interference while Isabelle and Ethan make their way to the central room that contains the Vault itself. The Vault door should be no challenge for two Lords of Gossamer but they are astonished to find that someone has beaten them to it. The Vault is open and leaking coins. There is blood on the floor and a trail of blood droplets leads away. Frowning, Ethan realises that someone else has already come for the Orb. 

- The alarms go off elsewhere in the complex. Soon there will be guards everywhere.

- Ethan calmly uses Mental Invisibility to shield both of them. Remote cameras will still pick them up but not the guards in proximity. Taking a sample of the bloodstain on the ground, they begin tracking the thief.

- They find some doors have been opened and traps have been disabled. They realise that the thief is someone small, and rather than heading for the exit, the thief is heading deeper into the complex. 

- Hurrying after the thief as they presume that he (or she) has another way out, they hear a high-pitched scream ahead and find a large silver mirror lying on its side. There is a single dragonfly wing on the ground – it looks like the thief is some sort of fairy, and he (or she) has lost a wing trying to escape through a mirror portal. 

- Ethan is unwilling to follow the thief through an unknown portal (given that he is being hunted). Frustrated at the coincidence of two groups of thieves hitting the same target at about the same time, Ethan and Isabelle lay into the first group of reptilian guards that arrive in the mirror chamber. They take them out easily.

- Isabelle asks what they should do next and Ethan grimly tells her that they have to withdraw. Despite the multitude of guards that are looking for intruders, the trio are able to slip away without being detected, but the mission is a failure.

Part 2 - Recovery

- Ethan looks over the small dragonfly wing and decides that the thief is a pixie rather than a member of the true fey. He thinks that the thief should be relatively easy to trace given that he has one of the pixie’s wings. Also, he has a feeling that he’s seen this sort of magic before.

- Ethan uses Divination to trace the source of the familiar magic and he concludes that this thief comes from another Trollworld. (first seen in Session 49!) Scrying on this world, it seems that this society is thriving, and there seems to be a magical broadcast going on – a TV gameshow where the contestants are going through magic mirrors to steal things from other worlds. 

- Ethan shares what he knows with Grant and Isabelle. They judge it too far to traverse the Stair via the normal means so Grant uses his Mastery of the Stair to establish a closer connection to cut down the travel time. Ethan has a bad feeling about this – he has the feeling that the pixie may be a Warden, or a potential Warden.

- After a number of hours, they reach the Door to an alternate Trollworld. There are many cultures here – humans, demihumans, orcs. They arrive in a city street of what looks like some sort of classical fantasy world. Ethan takes some time to re-establish the magical wards to prevent the hunters from tracking him down. He senses that he is not the only powerful magic user here. Sorcery is powerful here.

- Sitting down in a park, Ethan takes time to find the thief via scrying. He confirms that the thief is still carrying the Orb, and in the complex that is being used for the gameshow. Ethan watches as the one-winged pixie thief runs into a multi-headed hydra on what looks like a beach (despite this ‘beach’ being inside the complex).

- Ethan shares the location with Grant and Grant turns a door into a Door to reach the room where the pixie thief is fighting. The hydra discharges lightning bolts from its mouth while the pixie dodges here and there, trying to avoid being fried. The hydra is completely unaware of Ethan and Grant as they are under the cover of Ethan’s spells. The hydra is abruptly slain by the pair, and Grant uses Umbra to incinerate it for good measure.

- Conscious that they are now probably ‘on TV’ and this will make it easy for the hunters to find him, Ethan grabs the pixie and tells the others that it is time to leave. They retreat to the Stair, literally walking out of the realm and ‘off the map’. Grant switches Doors to conceal their path and they head to a safe realm of red vegetation in which yellow-fanged orcs dwell. There they go through the pixie thief’s things – he seems to have a lot in his backpack. Far more than what the backpack should normally hold – artefacts, weapons, a lot of gold and jewels, documents and a change of clothes. There is also a puzzle box which, oddly enough, none of the Lords of Gossamer can open.

- By this point, the pixie thief has fallen unconscious from the strain of it all. Ethan heals him and restores his wing. Guessing that this pixie may be a Warden or ‘almost a Warden’, he decides to make a crude Icon sketch of him to keep an eye on him in the future. Then he uses a mind-to-mind contact to figure out how to open the puzzle box. Persuading the pixie doesn’t seem to work so he needs to trick him within a dream into revealing the secret. 

- Sleepwalking, the pixie thief opens the puzzle box and the Orb is found. There are also other precious things inside like a tiny pixie size filigree brooch.

- The three Lords of Gossamer peruse the pixie’s possessions but decide to take nothing except for the Orb. Isabelle is a little bit annoyed – she would very much like to take some of the treasure for herself. 

- The Orb itself is bigger than expected – almost a metre across – again, far too big to believably fit inside the backpack which is tiny. Ethan wonders how it works. 

* Image sourced from Google Images

- Grant quickly figures out how to shrink it down to a pocket size and they decide to leave the pixie thief with the natives. They don’t seem hostile or likely to eat him.

- Ethan is pretty sure that this Orb is the artefact that he has been looking for, but he has absolutely no idea how to use it.

Session 223 – Clues to the Mark

- GM’s note: This session contains two separate adventures, both set during the period where Ethan is dragon-marked and being hunted. Despite being pursued, he is continuing to investigate the Dragon Mark and how it was created. He hopes that by learning more about it than he will find a way to remove it.

Part 1 – Wards like the Dragon Mark 

- Ethan is tired of being hunted and he is running out of ideas. He was hoping that the Forbidden Library would have more information but it hasn’t yielded anything solid. It is only a matter of time before they go after people that he knows in order to get to him. A group of assassins has already tried to hit Grant. Ethan and Isabelle meet with Grimples in Grimples’ test lab. The Cat has prepared three body suits, each warded and runed. There is one for Ethan, one Isabelle and one for Macavity. They need the suits to explore a realm which has no magic and major powers such as Eidolon are unreliable. The atmosphere is caustic. 

- The realm in question used to be populated by an amphibious race whose skin layers provided protection from the environment. They were very advanced and were allies of the Draconian Empire. Quite suddenly they went dark and were apparently wiped out. But their magic was very similar to Draconian magic, and the suggestion is that there may be something that can be learned from what is presumably a dead realm. It is even possible that the current Dragon Mark spell was based on this realm’s magic. The suits that Grimples has fashioned should last roughly 18 hours.

- The realm in question can’t be accessed directly. They need to access it via a gate in another realm. They reach this intermediary realm from the Grand Stair. The Door hasn’t been used in a long time. There is no sign of a trap or ambush. Ethan’s spells make it difficult for most to track him, but it has been done before.

- Heading through the Door, Ethan recloaks the group and establishes a teleportation marker near the exit. They have exited from a door which is part of a low shack built into the base of a rock face. The pebbly beach is cold and there is a clinging mist.

- Ethan follows his nose (ie: Wayfinding) and follows the shoreline until he reaches a point where natural rocks jut out from a stone circle. There is a carved obelisk here. Waves could reach this place at high tide but not now. Ethan takes time to identify the waystone which opens the path to the gate. The gate requires two pairs of hands to activate the ritual. Speaking the ancient tongue, Ethan and Isabelle complete the spell and rocks rise out from the sea like massive stepping stones. A wind picks up and divides the mist. 

- On the final stepping stone is the gate to the target realm. A doorway with no door, appearing as a heat haze in the shape of a door. The three step through and find themselves elsewhere.

- They are in a park, on a raised platform which has half a dozen heat haze gateways. There are thick succulents underfoot – it is all overgrown. 

- The architecture around them is unusual. The skyscrapers have slopes to them. Sloping domes. There are no square windows. Arcs and curves are used everywhere.

- Exiting the platform, they figure that their arrival location used to be some sort of public transport station. Ethan tries to recloak them but finds that it doesn’t work here – hence it will be only a matter of time before pursuit finds them here.

- Their destination is the hall of rituals. They hurry. They can hear something moving in the city – they are not alone here. With Macavity in the lead, they search the hall as quickly as they can, laying their hands on a manual which they hope will help them. By this point, Ethan is almost certain that the hunters are closing in. He can feel it. Worse, Icons won’t work here while the realm is in flux, undergoing an ‘Umbral Cycle’.

- Fleeing what now appears to be a tide of twisted and corrupted amphibians, the group is forced to go to higher ground and buy time. They fight a running battle as they move higher and higher up the structure. Given that the hall of rituals is a relatively low structure, they quickly run out of room to retreat and find themselves fighting for their lives. Macavity’s spells fizzle due to Umbral interference, forcing Ethan to scoop him up and beat a hasty retreat. He covers for Isabelle until she is able to contact Grimples via Icon and then they flee the realm.

- Back in Grimples’ laboratory, Ethan comments grimly that he hopes the book was worth it. Handing it to Isabelle for study, he confirms with Divination that there were hunters in pursuit in the realm that they just left. Given that the amphibious race had clearly degenerated and gone mad, Ethan speculates that the hunters may not have survived.

- Ethan and the others scatter.

- A day later Isabelle contacts Ethan by Icon. She has been through the book and studied a ritual that is very similar to the Dragon Mark. It works on the same principle as the Dragon Mark by leaving a stain on the target which is then easily traceable. Isabelle speculates that the Draconian version of this spell uses Sorcery, Invocation and Wrighting. She has some ideas as to how to weaken the Mark further.

- Ethan thanks her and prepares to cut the contact but Isabelle suggests that they meet and have dinner. Ethan doesn’t like to linger in one place for too long but he agrees. They meet in a high-tech realm locked in eternal winter. Watching the snow fall outside the window, she tells Ethan that even though it may not look like it, progress is being made. The other Lords of Gossamer are trying to change things even if they don’t agree on methods. For example, she mentions that Grant and Drake have recently disagreed strongly. What is making things difficult is that there are tensions between the Dragons. It’s almost as if they are on the precipice of war. The tension between them seems to almost be boiling over, and Grant has been fanning the flames. He figures that if the Dragons do go to War, it might change things as they will be more interested in fighting one another than hunting him.

- Isabelle explains that she doesn’t want to give Ethan false hope, but she tells him that there are others who are fighting for him, even if he doesn’t see it. With that, she passes him a letter. It is a short letter from Abbie, who has clearly taken an enormous risk in passing him correspondence like this. In her letter she tells him to be careful and that this will not last forever. She wishes him well, and signs it ‘Abigail’.

Part 2 – Primitive Culture 

- This adventure starts ‘in media res’ with Ethan running up the side of a ziggurat with a small army of offended worshippers chasing him with spears. The high priest is about to sacrifice a woman that he needs to decode a stone tablet that he hopes will give him some clues as to how to deal with the Dragon Mark. It is after dark and the ziggurat is lit by many torches.

* Image sourced from Google Images 

- This is a low magic realm. Magic is possible but it takes a long time to acquire the energy to make a spell work. The Dragon Mark simply doesn’t work here at all – it seems to be completely suppressed.

- He bolts to the top and upon reaching it, he tries to use his favourite Cantrip on the high priest: a Sleep spell. The tanned fellow who is decorated in glittering metallic robes seems a little unsettled by this but he doesn’t fall asleep. Ethan’s favourite spell doesn’t work.

- Grabbing a spear, Ethan hurls it at the high priest to make him duck and think twice about stabbing his helpless sacrifice. Unfortunately, Ethan’s aim is quite good and it strikes the high priest hard. A glancing blow from Ethan is still enough to throw a normal man off his feet.

- Ethan starts cutting the woman free. She is glassy-eyed, evidently drugged. Guards rush him but he manages to sling her over his shoulder and make a run for it. 

- As three moons come into alignment above, a beam of light hits the open stone where the sacrifice should be. The guards look terrified as the light fills up a small bowl with what looks like liquid magic and the ziggurat begins to tremble.

- Running like hell, Ethan notices that everyone he passes is very frightened – clearly nothing like this has ever happened before. 

- Bounding away from the structure as there is a sudden tremor and the ziggurat shakes and is split by a sharp crack, Ethan doesn’t wait to see what happens – he runs into the jungle to make an escape. 

- He runs for a few miles, climbing out of the valley before stopping to rest. The temple that he has fled from hasn’t fallen – it looks just as it did before but clearly he has done something to the ritual which has resulted in physical damage to the structure.

- Ethan knows that his magic will work better at dawn but at night-time it is badly suppressed. The Door is many hours’ journey away but at dawn he should be able to use a Teleport spell to return to a Mark that he laid earlier. 

- After a while, the woman hits him and tells him to put her down. She has woken from her drugged state and has recovered some of her wits. The woman’s name is Eztli and she claims to be the daughter of a local chief, but her village was burnt and she was dragged away as an honoured sacrifice. Ethan asks if she can read the stone tablet and she confirms that she can. She believes that her people have been destroyed and she thought she was going to be killed too. She is curious about the pale-skinned Ethan and surprised that he can speak her language. Dark-skinned and dark-eyed, she looks nothing like Ethan. She is still dressed in clothes that she was to be sacrificed in.

- They decide to rest at a set of ruins only a few miles away. The place is supposedly haunted which Ethan considers fortuitous. Eztli allows Ethan to carry her again and he covers the ground swiftly.

- Ethan is pleased to find that there is a water source amongst the ruins. He also senses some sort of presence here – it is powerful but not dangerous. It feels indifferent to him.

- Eztli has suffered some minor injuries being carried through the jungle at speed. Ethan heals her wounds and she is amazed. She thinks he is a god as he has the ‘power of the ancients’. Prostrating herself humbly, she thanks ‘the god’ for her life and asks how she can be of service. Ethan offers to find her some food but asks if she can translate the runes on a stone tablet (that he cannot read).

- Working by moonlight, Eztli gets to work at once. She is uncomfortable in this haunted place but ‘her god’ promises that she will be safe.

- Meanwhile, Ethan goes to look around – he finds that there are similar runes on the ruins here. He returns with some edible berries and plants for her to eat. 

- Eztli explains that the stone tablet describes a ritual, a method of displacing powerful marking magic from one place to another. In this realm, they are referring to spiritual tattoos but Ethan quickly figures out that there is an application for the Dragon Mark – perhaps a template as to how to shift the Mark to another target.

- Just before dawn, a group of tribesmen who look like they belong to the same tribe that was going to sacrifice Eztli are spotted approaching the haunted ruins. They clearly don’t want to approach but they have followed tracks leading to it. Ethan can feel the presence within the ruins stirring.

- Thinking quickly, Ethan decides to pick off a tribesman with a rock. He throws a stone with supernatural force, killing one of them. The tribesmen look alarmed and look for another approach. Ethan fells another one and they withdraw.

- Dawn arrives. Ethan and Eztli leave the ruins and he feels the presence giving him a sort of farewell. It recognised him as a Warden. 

- With the sun rising higher, Ethan is able to manage a Teleport back to the Door. Back on the Stair, he uses an Icon to contact Isabelle. Back in her clockwork home, an awestruck Eztli is introduced to Isabelle (another god!) and Isabelle promises to look after her. Ethan explains that there are some clues in the tablet which give him ideas to explore.