SESSION 8: The Hunt

“Finally, the hunt begins!” the deep hissing voice rings throughout the cavern. A voice everyone had wished not to hear. Jotun looks around and sees blue, glowing eyes, and in a panic, draws his bow and aimlessly shoots off two arrows toward the eyes. Boda, feeling the presence of a superior predator, raises his hackles and starts growling deeply. Suddenly in the darkness, a light shines. Darby releases more dancing lights and casts them upwards to illuminate their new foe and ease the tension of not knowing what they face.

The Dancing lights shine off the ice, and now they all see that high above them, nestled in a corner,

is a white Dragon. With the target visible, the party starts to spread out from one another while readying themselves for combat. With the dragon out of the range of his spirit guardians, Darby prepares to dodge out of harm's way if the dragon were to come sweeping down on him. Godrus, looking up at the dragon, starts moving away, wondering if a frost sorcerer was the best person to bring along to fight a white dragon. Sali, letting his rage take over, starts running forward, feeling the rush of clashing with such a great hunter. As he gets closer, he looks up and begins shouting in draconic, 

“Wux plythu spined ithael! Kepla’nas ekess qe disgraced ini vi aussir ux Bahamuti!”

You weak spined wyrm! Prepare to be disgraced by a white Dragonborn!

The dragon, angered by the words of the barbarian, jumps forward and unfurls its wings as it falls towards the party. With a mighty flap from the dragon's wings, it flies at Sali, inhaling the cold air of the cavern, and releases a powerful, freezing breath weapon upon Sali. Fortunately, being a white dragonborn, Sali is resistant to the cold of the breath attack but not immune. After expending his breath weapon on Sali, the dragon flies off, now keeping altitude just about Jotun. Salli Shakes off the frost from the dragon's attack, undaunted and feeling even more exhilarated. Kai steps forward; knowing he cannot reach the dragon with his claws, he takes a different approach. Shouting, Kai asks for the dragon to leave the party alone as they are just a small group of people. He mentions the possibility of greater glory if the dragon would leave this cave and fly north to confront and sink the ships of the Gilded Skull.

Kai’s words fall on deaf ears. Clearly, the white dragon was more interested in protecting its home. Jotun gathers his senses but sees Boda has yet to understand the situation entirely. Worried his wolf could fall to the dragon, Jotun commands Boda to hide until the confrontation is over. Now he turns his attention back on the dragon. Determined to be at the same elevation as the white dragon, he runs to the jutted rocks and climbs up. Drawing his bow, he notches two arrows and aims. This time the arrows tear into one of the white dragons' wings doing damage, but not preventing it from flying. Darby starts moving in on the dragon, planning his spells as he prepares to strike at the right opportunity. With the white dragon hovering over him, Erik’s spirit guardians that have been encircling him lash up, snapping at the dragon who is just out of their reach. Looking around at his party members, Erik starts to pray to Bractave for the ability to heal his team members when the time comes.

Knowing that his cold spells won't do much damage to the white dragon, Godrus reaches into his satchel, pulling out a handful of molasses. Holding onto the molasses, Godrus faces the white dragon, speaking words of power to cast an incantation. The molasses in his hand disappears, and the dragon’s movement appears to be slowing from the effects of Godrus’ spell slow. Noticing this, Sali charges in the new direction of the dragon, planning how to benefit from Godrus’ slowing spell. Attempting to deal long-range damage, Sali pulls out one of his javelins, and to give it more of an impact, he tethers on one of his explosives, hoping it will ground the dragon. Taking aim, he quickly hurls the weapon at the hovering white dragon but fails to reach the dragon due to the weight of the added explosive. Frustrated at his failure to land an attack, Sali looks behind him to Kai and shouts, telling Kai to use him as a launch board to attempt to sink his claws into the dragon's hide.

Before Kai could move in for the planned attack, the dragon lets out a fearsome roar that rings through the air and buffets its prey below with gusts of wind from its mighty wings, stopping all in their tracks. Circling above, the dragon chooses its next target and descends on Jotun. Landing on a platform, the dragon lashes out with its powerful jaws trying to snatch up Joton, who dodges the dragon's maw just in time. Just as Jotun successfully moves out of harm's way, he realizes that he rolled right into actual danger. With a furious swipe, the dragon's claws tear into Jotuns chainmail and tunic. Jotun staggers backward from the might of the ferocious claws and is met with a second blow from the other side. Like swords made of ice, they easily tear open the flesh of Jotun's chest. Blood gushes, the dragon’s claws are stained red, and the half-elf clutches at the grievous wound in complete shock of what just happened to him. As everyone watches their party member being mauled, Kai dashes into action. Moving quickly, he climbs up 8 feet of the rocky wall, but his movement was so fluid it looks as if this weretiger man was running up the wall. He reaches the landing the dragon is perched on, and like a wild animal, he tears through the dragon's back haunch, ripping with his claws and teeth, dragon blood staining his white fur.

Kai’s attack distracts the dragon just enough for Jotun to make his move to safety. Standing on the ledge, Jotun looks below to see Erik nearby and leaps down toward the sea-elf. The dragon, sensing Jotun moving, whips its head forward again to bite at Jotun but misses. In the confusion of not landing the ending blow on its first victim, the dragon looks around and notices Jotun being supported by Erik, who is deep in prayer with his hand on Jotun's chest, a golden light starting to glow. Taking advantage of the distracted dragon, Darby reaches into his robe and draws out a dagger. After staring down the dragon, Darby closes his eyes and makes a mental image of where he will strike with his dagger. Without opening his eyes, he flings the dagger up in the air, takes his quarterstaff in both hands, and with a blast of magical energy from his staff, he casts catapult sending the dagger flying and lodging itself just below the dragon’s right eye socket.

Reeling in pain from the dagger stuck in its face, the dragon is no longer paying any attention to Erik and Jotun. Erik finishes his prayer, and the glow emanating from his hand shines brightly and quickly dissipates, healing the open wounds on Jotun’s chest. Erik moves in front of Jotun to guard him as well as get in range to attack. He readies his trident and throws it to hit the injured dragon, the spirit guardians trailing behind, and as the trident strikes the dragon, the twin golden sea serpents bite and tear into the dragon's hide. Godrus is watching the commotion going on, frustrated the dragon dealt such a severe blow on Jotun. Unable to help with healing, he reaches into his satchel again, this time pulling out a licorice root to use for his next spell. Looking over at Sali, Godrus shouts, “f**k them up, Sali!!” he bites into the root, casting haste on the dragonborn. The aroma of licorice wafts around Sali as he starts to feel the spell's effects. Rushing forward and feeling invigorated, Sali runs from the middle of the pit to the ledge on which the dragon is perched. He reaches the first rocky wall, which only stands 4 feet tall; Sali jumps and clears it with ease. He hoists himself up over the second cliff and stands toe to toe with the dragon now. With the combination of his rage and the effect of haste, Sali swings his axe wildly, missing at first, but with the second and third swing, the strikes hit hard into the dragon's front leg.

With Kai attacking from the rear, Sali hacking away in the front, Erik healing Jotun, Darby lodging a dagger into its face, and Boda hiding somewhere under a rock, the white dragon makes a power move to change the tide of battle. Throwing its head in the air and opening its mouth wide, the dragon lets out a horrid scream. Unlike the previous roars and growls, this was different; it left the party with a sense of foreboding fear stopping them where they stood. Kai’s mind was filled with dread and a feeling that if he approached the dragon, it would surely rip him apart. From years of meditation and looking within himself, Kai’s body reacts instinctively; his claws stab into his leg, and Kai returns to his senses. Shaking off the fear the white dragon tried to instill in him, Kai returns to his attacks. Readying for his next move, Kai raises his claws, and with an unnatural speed, he hits the white dragon with his stunning strike. Kai’s stunning strike hits directly on a nerve in the dragon's leg, and soon the white dragon's entire body stops moving. Suddenly, the fear that enveloped the party fades, and everyone returns to action. Jotun begins firing arrows at the stunned dragon, and both arrows hit since it cannot move out of the way. Darby takes his quarterstaff in each hand and points toward the dagger that was already lodged in the dragon’s face. Using the same ability as before, Darby shoots a powerful force of energy at the dagger, catapulting it through the dragon's skull as it violently rips through the other eye socket, ripping out the left eye. 

Cerulean swagger just defeated their first dragon together! The party gathers around the lifeless white dragon, examining it, making sure it is truly dead. With no signs of getting back up, it appears to be safe to approach. Upon closer inspection, they notice the dragon was smaller up close than when it was flying around them. It is clearly older than a broodling, but it must have recently taken up residence within Wraith Shadow.

Erik and Kai take to descaling a section of the dragon while Jotun goes and retrieves Darby’s dagger, giving him the dragon's eye along with it. Darby asks Jotun if he could also remove a few handfuls of dragon scales he intends to use later. As everyone is collecting their souvenirs from the battle, Sali approaches the head of the dragon looking into its remaining eye with reverence. Placing his hang on the dragon’s muzzle, he speaks softly, almost endearing, 

“Ssifisv jaka arytiss; wux earned nomendo vdri.”

Rest now, warrior; you earned this sleep.

Now that everyone has collected what they want, they move onward, climbing out of the pit and heading down the path Darby scouted earlier. They enter another large room, not the same size as where they fought the dragon, but large enough for a dragon to rest with its hoard of treasures.

Sali notices busted chunks of wood and deck planking around the room, pulls some out of the ice, and starts a fire to give light and heat to those struggling with the cold. Looking around, they all see the dragon's hoard. They see gold glistening around them. Chests, trinkets, and trophies of the dragon fill the room, but the excitement dissipates as they notice everything is frozen in ice. Thick layers of ice protect everything in the room, making another obstacle for the party to overcome. Darby is not one to wait and starts looking around for any divination or arcane items to help his casting. Nothing stands out to be what he is looking for, but he does notice in the ice a piece of armor that looked like it was smoldering and smokey. Using his cantrip of firebolt, he starts to blast away at the ice. Following Darby’s lead, everyone starts searching around the ice-encased treasures. While walking around the room, Jotun keeps his gaze up, looking at the higher area of walls. He sees nothing, and just as he starts looking down, he sees a twisted up piece of wood stuck in the wall. Moving closer and keeping his eye fixed on the wood, he recognizes that it actually is a bow, half covered in ice with part of it sticking out. It looks to be covered by a sheet of ice only a few inches thick. He takes out a small blade and starts stabbing into the ice, trying to break the bow free. 

Erik is looking around in the frozen gold, hoping to find precious gems he can offer to Bractave for more powerful spells. He spies a couple of diamonds amidst a pile of gold and starts breaking the thick ice carefully, keeping track of where the diamonds are. Sali walks around opposite the others, marveling at the treasures all around; a pang of envy swells up in Sali’s heart. Usually, gold and riches do not appeal to Sali, but something about being in the dragon's hoard brings it out of him. Feeling more and more envious of the things around him as he looks around, a light green glow emanates from within a chunk of ice. Getting closer and looking deep inside, Sali sees a hand axe with a green glow coming from a rune on the axe head. Sali takes out a Javelin and breaks off the head, and uses it to start breaking apart the ice surrounding the axe. Kai finds in another part of the room a jeweled encrusted, golden piece of shining armor.

As everyone is breaking the ice and digging out the treasures they seek, Darby goes around helping everyone using his firebolt cantrip to blast the treasures and gold. While digging, they all notice that the cave is getting colder from gusts of wind blowing through a crevice in the ice at the back of the cave. Godrus goes over to freeze it shut with a cone of cold and covers most of the gap, stopping the cold air and allowing the cave to warm up. After Godrus finishes his spell casting, he turns around and finds a chest buried underneath the frozen floor. He starts to dig for the chest. Finding that he can create ice easier than breaking it, he struggles to dig his way down. Kai notices Gordus having a hard time and comes over to help as Darby is melting the ice around Kai’s treasures. Using swift and precise strikes, Kai begins breaking the ice around the chest. 

Meanwhile, Godrus takes a step back and notices something in his peripheral vision. He turns back around, facing the crevice he just froze over. Just as Kai makes headway to get to the chest, Darby approaches him, handing Kai the elaborate armor piece he just freed from the ice. Darby offers to melt the rest of the ice around the chest. Kai stands back to give the wizard room, and as Darby begins his cantrip, Erik, Jotun, and Sali gather around. Finally, the chest is freed from the ice, and Erik, with Jotun’s help, starts pulling the chest up out of the melted ice. As they open it, looking upon all the gold and jewels in the chest, Darby takes a couple of steps backward, allowing himself some breathing room. He looks around at everyone and notices Godrus is not among them. Darby turns around to see Godrus standing near the gap at the back of the room, head down, not making any movement. Uneasy about this, Darby goes over, grabs Godrus by the shoulder, and spins him around, so the two are facing each other. Godrus’s head is still down, looking at his chest in a daze, a bright light emanating from him. Darby gives him a shake saying Godrus’ name trying to bring him out of the trance. Finally, Godrus comes around and, blinking, looks at Darby, confused by the wizard's concern for him. As Darby and Godrus go back and forth, asking each other if they are fine, Jotun and Erik count out the gold and precious gems in the chest, and Kai goes about the room collecting pieces of gold coins freed by Darby.

Sali’s attention was drawn to Godrus when Darby had turned him around with his chest glowing. It reminded him of the first moment when he met Godrus, which only made Sali concerned. Sali walks over and approaches Darby and Godrus, interrupting the two mid-conversation. He first asks Godrus to recount last week when they had first met. Curious about Sali’s interest in remembering an intense day, Godrus tells what he can remember. He remembered being tied up to a rock slab by kobolds in a cave, and then everything went blank. When he awoke, he was on the ground untied and staring up at a skeletal dragon. In shock, he got to his feet, and just at that moment, he saw a large white dragonborn charging at him, swinging a great axe widely. Hearing Godrus as he recalled that day, Sali only grew more concerned about the glowing light and felt that the party should prepare to leave this cave sooner than later. With everyone content with what they had gathered from the dragon’s hoard, Godrus starts drawing the teleportation circle to return everyone to the boat. Having seen Farale draw a teleportation circle earlier, Darby offers his help, cutting the time in half. Just before they all step onto the circle, they finish the task they were sent to do. Erik and Jotun had counted the gold in the chest as fifteen thousand pieces. Erik asked if everyone was okay with him taking the precious gems, a few more diamonds, a sapphire, and a ruby so that he can offer them to the deity Bractave.

Jotun pulls out the bag of sending given to them by Farale to send gold back for the use of the axis. The bag of sending opens up large enough for the chest of gold to be placed inside, and instantly the chest disappears. With that taken care of, they all gather into the circle, and suddenly the area around them vanishes as they travel through a wormhole created by magic. It wasn’t as easy as being teleported by Farale, but it did the job, and Cerulean Swagger was back in the war room of the Windwaker. Godrus’ teleportation circle was a success.

 Eager to inspect the ship, Erik rushes out of the room, making his way up to the main deck. He stands on the deck, looking around, and is surprised by the view before him. The ship was in good condition, but it was no longer in Ugend. The Windwaker was safely docked back at the town of Droyva. In need of answers, Erik finds Hershali, who was left in charge, and asks her why the boat had moved to a different town. Hershali explains that when they were docked back in Ugend, Sakki saw a strange man with long red hair approaching the docks starring in the direction of the Windwaker. Sakki watched the man, and as he came closer to the boat, there was a shift in his presence. It was as if the man he was looking at was just a mirage, and looking past the mirage, he could make out a red dragon face. Feeling fearful of the approaching man, Sakki warns Hershali, who takes action and directs the ship to leave the Ugend bay. They made their way back to Droyva as it was the only other port they knew and home to many crew members.

Pleased with Hershali’s explanation, Erik gives his thanks for keeping the Windwker safe from harm. Erik goes around, checking with the rest of the crew and informing them of his return. The other members of Cerulean Swagger made their way to the main deck as well, looking around and realizing they were in Droyva. Finally, after hiking up to the top of a mountain, surviving the ordeal of severed hands, and taking on a white dragon, the party has a chance to rest fully. Darby, exhausted from using his cantrip for so long, falls onto Sali, complaining of how tired he is and that he can no longer stand. Sali, taking pity on the wizard, picks him up and takes him to the lower decks where the crew bunks are located. Placing Darby in a bed, it was clear he had passed out in the dragonborn’s arms. 

Moving to his bunk, Sali pulls out of his pack a journal full of important notes he took from his father's home. He looks through the journal and stops on a page with a drawing of the five elements of the chromatic dragons with lines passing through them, creating a star connecting the elements. The same drawing which he saw carved on the stone slab Godrus had been tied to in the kobold's den. Under the drawing was Draconic text that read,

“One of pure body and soul,

Only that whose essence has faded,

One which another inhabits,

The soul of that long dead, now traded.”

Reading these words only left Sali feeling even more uneasy. The day he met Godrus was when he and a group of adventurers saved him from the kobolds. Sali had watched as a kobold chieftain took a shining white crystal and rammed it into Godrus’ chest. He watched as Godrus crumpled as if dead from this crystal being shoved into him and suddenly came back to life. As this was happening, a skeletal dragon appeared, and Sali thought Godrus was the culprit. After the rat-folk rouge Meer untied Godrus, Sali rushed in to end Godrus hoping his death would get rid of the skeletal dragon. Godrus quickly explained to Sali he was not responsible for the dragon foe but would help to destroy it. At the time, Sali took Godrus for his word and still does, but he is unsure if Godrus understands what happened to him. Needing to clear his mind, he goes to the top deck to join the others still awake. Spending the afternoon drinking with the crew, the members of Cerulean Swagger recount their travel to Maywell and the battles they faced in the Summits Maw. Once day begins to turn to dusk and then into night, alcohol and exhaustion take the party members to their respected sleeping quarters.

Everyone turns in for the night, falling asleep soundly. The night is peaceful, with no incoming attacks noted by the crew members keeping watch. In the late hours of the night, starting to turn to early morning, Darby, who had been in a deep sleep since they returned to the Windwaker, finds his mind plagued with unsettling dreams. 

He was standing in his hometown, but there was no one around him. Even though there was no one to be seen, he still hears the voices of a bustling street and the laughter of children filling the air. He walks through the empty town until he comes to his house; opening the door, he sees a person by the fireplace haunched over and cackling to themself. He starts to approach cautiously when, the moment he takes his first step forward, the thing by the fireplace snaps its head in the direction of Darby, staring at him through empty eye sockets. Its face dry and shriveled, the jaw unhinged, its mouth wide open as it lets out an ungodly scream. 

The scream rings in Darby's ears; he jolts awake, almost falling out of bed, his ears still ringing with the sound of the creature's screams. There will be no more sleep for the wizard tonight.

Note: White dragon image is from D&D Beyond.