The Storm King’s Thunder and the Dragon’s Bane

“Hey, you. You’re finally awake.”

The forests of the north

Deep within the forests, who’s depth and tremendous growth is born of ages, and who’s tops obscure the base of the mountain, a single rough trail winds around and up towards a tower perched on an outcrop high to one side.

Making their way slowly up this slim thread are three horse-drawn carts, each full of colourful characters of various classes and races, and each making the pilgrimage up to Dragon’s Bane tower. The call has gone out for adventurers and the taverns and flophouses of Waterdeep, Neverwinter, and seemingly every town along the route, have answered.

The journey is a long one.

The second cart bumps heavily against a fallen log, and you wake with a yawn. The sun is breaking between the trees, dappling light across the cart, and creating some spots of warmth against the increasing cold of the mountainside. Opposite you sits a man sporting a beard that speaks of many summers. He notices your waking movement and speaks,

“Hey, you. You’re finally awake.”

You nod and take out your water skin to take a draft. The man watches you, and you notice him attending the water cascade into your mouth.

Basho, the humble Dungeon Master

Diamond Adventure, High elf wizard

“Three they are, although others join them in battle as required. First is the lady Diamond Adventure of the Elven realm. Tall and imperious, she was the chief librarian to the elven court and spent an innumerable number of years with her head in books. Eventually, she grew bored.”

“Boredom doesn’t come easy to elves,” you comment.

“Indeed, but that is the story she tells. Having gained the knowledge of countless magical books she fashioned herself as a wizard and left looking for the adventure her chosen human name suggests”.

“An elven female of high birth,” you say, “sounds like a real handful”.

He nods,

“She has a sharp tongue and imperious attitude, yes. As well as a penchant for fireballs”.

“Who’s next?”

“The bear man. Bearsuo. A magical human child from some dark forest village, taken from his parents by a Druid circle of moon worshipers. He was raised to take advantage of his dual animal and human nature. Through their rituals, he eventually found the ability to transform himself into a great beast at will. The druids for their part, and recognising his incredible connection to the spirits of nature, believed he was destined for greatness, and so they sent him out to find it”.

“He turns into a bear?”

“Into many things, and as his power has grown his favourite form is an ancient giant lizard called a Tyrannosaurus”.

“That sounds truly terrifying.”

“Indeed; but, he remains a child of the forest and has a hearty friendliness that puts all good people at ease”.

“Quite a duo”.

“I have not finished, for their ranger comes last, and she is not to be trifled with”.

Bearsuo, Human Druid

Elvia, Woodelf Ranger/Monsterhunter

“Another shapeshifter?”

“No, no, she is a woodland elf, styled Elvia. Thrown out of her enclave for some unknown infraction. Her ability is tracking through the wild. Her nature is pure change, unknowable. One second a lady of great beauty; but, the next flashes the bright hawk eyes and she lets fly arrows”.

“An archer…”

“Of unerring accuracy and skill and woe betide her enemies. She particularly favours the slaughter of dragons for some reason lost to her history.”

“Not the easiest quarry, granted”.

“Indeed; but, her hatred of them has grown to such an extent that she has become a master monster hunter, and she can track them anywhere and use her abilities to brew lethal poisons”.

“Huh,” you scoff lightly, “she sounds delightful.”

“Well, she is most comely and friendly to ordinary folk. Just don’t cross her if you value your eyes”.

“So, she is the Dragon’s Bane?”

“Oh no, the story is much more involved”, he says waving his hands.

You turn your palms upwards, “so, tell me.”

Ralof taps out his pipe and settles down, his eyes raised in the recollection of the tale.

“It started last winter. The trio was resting in the town of Phandalin, which gets cut off from its outer villages by the snows blocking up the passes. I heard tell they spent the time helping train a new cadre of guards. Some business of a white dragon they had slain after it attacked the town. By all accounts, their actions saved the entire outpost.”

“I heard of this, so they are the Hero’s of Ice Spire Peak?”

“Yes indeed, and once the snows started to melt, the townsfolk asked them to accompany a messenger down to the village of Nightstone and reopen the lines of communication.”

“Nightstone, home of the massacre…”

“Yes, it was our trio who discovered the remnants of the giant’s attack; but, before that, they uncovered that the messenger was an imposter, indeed and agent of the Black Network.”

“Zhentarim!” You say, and you both reflexively spit over the side of the cart.

“The brigand escaped into the forests. Eventually, they arrived at Nightstone to see that the Giant’s destruction of the tower had enabled a local skeeve of Goblins to send their Orc and Ogre hordes to slaughter and take prisoners to their cave”.

“For slaving?” You say, cocking your head.

The man shakes his in response,

“For food.”

You shudder at the thought.

He continues, “As they arrive in the ruined town, a fight ensued against the orc horde, where they killed the Orc captain, destroyed the agents of the Black Network and freed the remaining trapped guards in the tower”.

“Enough adventure for anyone,” you say.

Nightstone

Repulsing the orc attack

Zephyros’ tower

“Ha! This was but the first step for this trio,” he exclaims slapping his knee. “You see, they found out that the Lady of Nightstone has been murdered in the giant attack. They were paid to take this news to Triboar and inform the Harper agents running that town of the giant threat. But; before leaving, lady Elvia tracked the orc’s retreating forces, and the team assaulted the cave-dwelling, killing the Goblin chief, his wizard guard and freeing the uneaten villagers”.

“Most impressive”.

“Indeed, such so that a cloud giant wizard monitoring the situation sought them out immediately, and approached them directly outside the cave”.

“To attack?”

“No, no. He is the court wizard of the storm giants known as Zephyros. He took them aboard his flying castle tower and explained the cause of the giant troubles”.

“The ordning…”

“Indeed, the death of the storm giant queen and disappearance of the giant king, Hekaton, had led to a fracturing of the hierarchy of the giants and many blamed us, the little folk, for his loss”.

“So, that’s the reason for the attacks…”

“Yes. Complete disarray as the giants fought amongst each other to raise their power and take over the top position in the hierarchy. Upending the recent memory of peaceful domination by the Storm giants”.

“He asked for help? From adventures? Surely his means are massively higher than theirs?”

“I believe that was his initial thoughts; but, his flying castle was attacked during the night, and the trio helped him defend it, slaying yet another dragon”.

“Their speciality”.

“You have no idea, listen. Their actions, lawful good-aligned and intelligent that they were, convinced the wizard that these folk could investigate the disappearance in places where his presence would cause endless battle and alarm. He trained them in the giant tongue, passed along some spells to Diamond Adventure and dropped them off near Triboar with the promise of quest rewards”.

“Triboar. So, they were there when? -”

“Yes. Indeed they organised the defences of the town and led the battle, commanding each a contingent of local warriors”.

“So when the fire giants attacked, they were ready? That’s why Triboar still stands?”

“Yes, Indeed they managed to kill both the fire giant raiders and all their orc companions”.

“Incredible. What were the Giant’s even after?”

“Apparently they were sent by the fire giant lord to retrieve a fragment of an ancient giant weapon lost to the ages, known as Vollundrood. It was buried near the tower”.

“I see. And the town was saved?”

“Yes; but, they didn’t know what the fragment was for, so the Harper agent suggested that the fragment could be explained by the Lord of Zymorven Hall, and so she teleported them to the nearest Harper transportation node in Everlund”.

The defense of Triboar, the final stand

A fire giant

The frozen north

“That’s near the Hall…”

“Somewhat near, yes. Once they arrived and were admitted, they found a local problem needing attention while the Lord researched the item. He bid them rescue his wayward son from a prison in the nearby town of Yartar.

“Yartar is a town of bandits and cutthroats,” you mention.

He waved his hand in the air, “Well, it was. The trio challenged the bandit leaders and all their criminal network in open combat. They destroyed them all, freed the son and returned him unharmed to his father”.

“And he explained the role of the fragment?”

“Indeed, and he explained how they might be able to find the rest of the weapon and, since there were so few places that could forge such a device, where the fire giants may be located, he sent them to the dwarven citadel of Felbarr to update the king of the dwarves that someone was trying to reforge Vollundrood”.

“A famous dwarf bane, used by the giants of old to storm the Citadel,” you point out, “valuable information indeed”.

“Quite, so they started along the path to the mountains, the other side of the very mountain we ascend presently.” And he motioned the mountain dominating the skyline above your heads, lost in cloud.

“What did the king say? The dwarves are hearty people; but, trust very slowly. I cannot imagine that he believed them”.

“They didn’t arrive alone. For on the journey they passed through a forest, were assaulted and captured for slavery by hill giants”.

“But, hill giants don’t keep slaves, they kill and eat their prey”.

“Trapped within steel sages in the giant’s camp, the trio discovered that the hill giants had camped near a dark cave that went deep”.

“How deep?”

“To the Underdark itself. Miles down. A horror had arisen all those floors to prey on those who camp near and bewitched the giants to enslave for the horror’s eldrich plans of domination”.

“Ye’ gods! What manner of dark terror had surfaced, which could pull off the feat of bewitching giants?”

The man leant forward and whispered, “An Illithid”.

“The mind flayer!?” You gasp, “Lord, save us…”

“Prey it no mind as the trio escaped, destroyed the squid faced fiend and forced a retreat of the giants”.

“An incredible feat in itself”.

Escaping the Mind Flayer

Hill giants attack

“Yes, and as they tracked the fleeing giants, they encountered another adventuring team who had already engaged the remnants. So, our hero’s joined in battle with them. The team was led by a group of riders led by the paladin champion of the dwarf king himself, Ilan, and together he fought alongside the mighty frost giant Harshnag”.

“What a stroke of luck”.

“Not luck, my friend,” he said a finger raised, “it was fate. For these five would form a group able to change the fate of the entire realm”.

“What happened next?”

“They travelled to the citadel, and the paladin spoke on their behalf to the King, convincing him that the story they wove was true. For his part, the king immediately understood where the fire giant king was holed up if he were reforming the weapon.”

“Where?”

“The lost dwarven forge itself; Ironslag. The king bid them find the forge and clear out the fire giants, in exchange he promised to build them a keep of their own and equip 100 men at arms”.

“Is that the keep to which we ride?”

“Indeed. But the journey to obtain this treasure was troublesome indeed. For the frost giant suggested the location could only be obtained from the oracle of his people, high in the mountains of the frost giants and frozen over to avoid all eyes which do not know of its existence”.

“A frost giant oracle? Our heroes travel to the most wonderful places!”

“As yet, you have heard nothing!” He smiles happily.

You take out a morsel of food and start biting into a bar of hardtack.

“Prey continue,” you say, passing him a slice.

“After a long journey, they reached the ice-covered and windswept peak, and sure enough, through a mighty crevasse they come into the giant-sized entrance hall of the Eye of the All-Father”.

“Surely invisible to anyone who doesn’t know of its location…”

“So, you would think; but, perhaps not from the air as the team discover another party raiding the doors led by a dragon rider, who had spied the entrance from above”.

“A fight ensued?”

“A short one as our group dropped parts of the roof on their heads, slaughtering the unwelcome intruders. Some defensive apparatus that Diamond’s high intelligence determined the operation of. Regardless, inside they found a giant puzzle, which was solved equally quickly, opening the magical portal to the Oracle”.

The Eye of the All-father

A battle on the steps of the Eye

The Oracle speaks!

The Evil blue dragon appears

“So, they got to ask the very Gods of the giants three questions? Amazing!”

“Yes; but, where you or I would enrich ourselves with the answer to the nearest location of treasure troves, this group’s noble calling led them to ask about what had happened to king Hekaton and where they may find Ironslag”.

“The location was revealed?”

“Not directly, in order to achieve this, the Oracle required an artefact buried in an ancient mound in the low lands, a location that the frost giant marked upon their map”.

“How could they travel all that way? It would take a month to travel that distance?”

“Thinking upon this the group was surprised and accosted by a titan of evil, the Doom of the Desert herself, the ancient blue dragon Iymrith”.

“Of all, evils!” You exclaim.

“Yes, indeed the trio would have surely been devoured had not the frost giant attacked because of some past enmity lost to us. His blows drew the ire of the dragon, and the trio was forced to choose between staying and dying along with him or fleeing and leaving him behind. Between the blows, he insisted they do so”.

“A most difficult choice for lawful good Diamond Adventure no doubt.”

“I hear she was dragged out just in time for the frost giant to drop the roof on himself and the dragon. Burying them both, seemingly forever”.

“Ancient dragons can teleport” you point out.

“Yes, although our trio didn’t know if she got the spell off in time, such was the battle”.

“So, our trio were trapped high in the frost mountains? How did they escape”.

“It appeared that the Doom of the Desert’s foray into frost mountains to consult the Oracle had not gone unnoticed by the other great wyrms of the mountains. For none other than Klauth had noticed their bravery and sent his airship to be at their call for the duration”.

“Manned by his cultists?”

“Yes, and to test the trio, he sent a dark storm along with his visage to challenge their intelligence and alignment with cunning riddles.”

“They answered well?”

“They did, yes, and he sent some treasure in the form of a white dragon spirit that spilled out once it had been defeated”.

You shake your head,

“Old snarl playing games with the adventurous…”

“Yes, he is not to be trusted; but, our team had no choice, and they picked up the Paladin Ilan and headed to the nearest marked mound. Delving within, they found many undead shamblers and some evil puzzle rooms guarding the artefact. Leading to a hideous giant spider queen, which Ilan thankfully assisted in destroying”.

“A Paladin is most useful when the undead are awoken,” you comment.

“Yes, and he bid the adventures to visit Neverwinter and get the artefact appraised while he led an expedition to dig a path down to the buried Oracle”.

Finding the burial mounds

Answering the riddles of Klauth

Neverwinter, an adventure chasing a thief

The bar fight and the team polymorphed into goblins!

The team flees the city with the watch in chase

“I know Neverwinter well, the arrival of a flying ship would not go unnoticed by their enemies”.

“Indeed, the Cult of the Dragon tracked them through the city and attempted to pick their pocket for the artefact as they left the appraisers”.

“They succeeded in the robbery!?”

“Not quite! Bearsuo noticed the loss immediately, and the thief gave flight through the crowd towards the dark wards of the city. A chase ensued across the entire city with the trio using all their skills to catch the brigand before he could escape from view. Soon our hero’s captured the fellow, and he confessed to having been hired by a man in a local alehouse to take the artefact. Our trio surreptitiously entered the bar and questioned the patrons to find their foe. However, they discovered their enemy owned the establishment, and the foes were everyone in the bar”.

“How did they deal with that revelation?”

“Just as weapons were drawn, a mighty hammering on the door announced the arrival of the Neverwinter city watch, who had followed the path of commotion that the earlier chase had precipitated, and espied the alehouse as the source of the trouble”.

“Well, that should have helped our trio, I would bet that Diamond was a member of the Lord’s Alliance herself?”

“Yes, indeed, however; before they could throw open the doors to gain the watch’s help in apprehending their opponents, the barkeep cast a spell scroll, and the trio found themselves bewitched!”

“Oh, no! What spell had they fallen to?”

“Polymorph. The trio were suddenly turned by dark magic into goblins!”

“Ye gods! Neverwinter has a ‘kill on sight’ ordinance for all of the goblin kind! What a calamity!”

The man chuckled, “Yes. Almost comical if it were not so deadly dangerous. So, our trio was forced to race across the city again, towards the harbour where their boat was moored; but, this time fleeing for their lives from the guards and people of Neverwinter attempting to accost and kill them!”

You stifle a smile at the thought of that journey, and a little chuckle escapes your lips.

“Well,” you say, “you cannot suggest that this quest has not been eventful…”

The Yakfolk village above Ironslag forge

“Hehehe, indeed. But all made their escape and managed to convince the ship captain as to their true forms. They returned to the now dug out Oracle chamber, and the oracle announced that the dragon who bedevilled them was behind the problems of the giants. It also gave them the location of the Ironslag”.

“They ventured there? That sounds like a very pit of danger”.

“Yes, they did, for the Oracle also explained that each giant Lord carried a magical horn in the shape of a conch shell that enabled the bearer to teleport to the secret city of the storm giants, where the daughters of Hekaton rule in their father’s stead. The trio knew they should be warned that they remain in danger”.

“So, how did they manage this? Is not the location guarded?”

“The upper entrance lays atop a mountain amongst the peaks at the north of the world and itself is guarded by a tribe of evil Yakfolk slavers. Our trio attacked the village and just managed to defeat the Yakfolk. Resting to recover, they call for help from Ilan who arrived and the four ventured into the forge by the dwarven lift device. Sneaking around the forge, they discovered the fire giant lord himself reassembling the Vollundrood weapon, which appeared to be an iron suit of colossal armour”.

“Undoubtedly, to be used against Citadel Felbarr!”

“Yes, but not anymore as our group sneaked into the Giant’s quarters and accosted the daughter of the lord, who they convinced to help them unlock her father’s trove in exchange for an escape from his domain. The four tricked her royally and using the gate spell, sent her to the plane of water. Her screams alerted the fire lord himself, who in a rage attacked the team on his own, and before his guard could assemble”.

“Still, an onerous battle,” you say fascinated.

“It was. They fought for many rounds with the giant lord swinging his mighty hammer, which itself contained a prison in its head,” the man holds out his hand to describe how this looked.

“A prison? Containing a prisoner?”

“Yes, a dwarven fellow trapped within. Alive. But our hero’s had played the lord well, and layer traps for his rage, within which they succeeded in killing the mighty foe and thereby successfully completing the quest given to them by the dwarven king, for without the lord, the fire giants would surely retreat form the forge”.

“And did they?”

“Certainly not initially, indeed the fire giant queen led a charge of giants towards our four, and surely they would have fallen against the full horde; but, they rescued the trapped dwarf and blew the conch; opening a portal to the storm giant city of Malestrom through which they fled”.

Defeating the Yakfolk

Fighting the fire giant lord in single combat!

The Vollundrood weapon

The fire giant lord

Hekaton’s daughters

The giantess lady in a blue dress

The Wyrmskull throne

“An incredible escapade; but, where is this city?”

“Deep underwater off the coast of Waterdeep!”

“An underwater city!? You exclaim.

“Yes, and within the watery city skulked the true villain behind the disappearance of Hekaton! Our intrepid team espied the giant’s at rest and determined who the dragon must be in the magical disguise of a giant”.

“So, she did escape the fall of the Eye of the All-father?”

“Unfortunately, yes. And she managed to convince the giants that the interlopers were not to be trusted and should be confined to the guardhouse prison”.

“A watery prison? How did they escape from there?”

“Using their newfound friend dwarf, who turned out to a thief caught sneaking into Ironslag. He broke them out, and they subdued the captain of the guard using the spell geas; commanding him to walk them out of prison and straight to Hekaton’s daughter in the throne room”.

“An ingenious solution!”

“Quite, so convincing was the fraud that the guards outside the throne room became confused and simply let them in. Inside they came across the storm giant general, the daughter of Hekaton upon the floating Wymskull throne and a giantess lady in a blue dress”.

“The dragon!”

“Indeed, in disguise and well in the trust of the daughter, she loudly named them the assassins of the queen and Hekaton, come to finish off the daughter and thereby the bloodline”.

“How on holy did they convince the daughter of their true intentions?”

“By teamwork of the highest calibre! Bearsuo proved they had killed the fire giant lord by producing his head right there in the chamber, still fresh from his bag of holding!”

“Yuck!”

“And just as the blue dressed giantess stood to denounce them, Diamond Adventure cast the spell Zone of Truth causing the dragon to give itself away!”

“Haha! Well played!”

“But in the chaos, the dragon grabbed the magic sceptre of the giants and, while pouring scorn on the realm, teleported away. Without the magic of leadership, the throne slammed down onto the floor, and the giant’s succession crisis looked to continue”.

“Terrible; but, at least they were free from the dragon’s clutches,” you point out, “did they now trust our heroes?”

“Yes, especially after investigating the body of the late queen, Ilan announced that he had a single scroll of resurrection supplied to him b the dwarven king himself -”

“A very costly treasure!”

“- yes, and he cast it up upon the queen, raising her from the dead and not only bringing great pleasure to the giants; but, also sealing a truce of friendship between Felbaar and Malestrom!”

“A fabulous achievement,” you agreed.

“The newly returned queen gave our hero’s the evidence she had secreted of where Hekaton could be found; a simple wooden coin bearing a strange inscription. The queen then summoned a teleport to Felbaar for the group to depart and update the royal court. However, some interference with the spell caused our trio of adventurers to instead appear inside a transdimensional shop of their acquaintance. The owner inside explained that the coin came from the city of Waterdeep and so caused the store to appear within its walls”.

“I am not sure I understand the nature of this store?”

The old man rubbed his beard thoughtfully, “In truth nor do I; but, it is what happened. None the less, investigating in the city led the trio to the lord of Neverwinter’s court and another meeting with Zephyrous upon the roof of the castle. He explained that the coin came from the gambling dens of Waterdeep’s docks and to look for the symbol emblazoned on a ship. This the team did and espied both the required ship and their own airship in the dock.”

“How did they proceed?”

“They disguised themselves as both patrons and staff members and snuck aboard the ship as it set off from the harbour out to sea, where the gambling is outside the reach of the law. Investigating the events onboard, our trio discovered that the crew were actually murderous pirates under the magical control of the Kraken monster known as Slarkrethel”.

“A giant squid monster?”

“A creature of the old world, evil and magical. The crew, under its malevolent mental command, planned to steal their valuables and feed them to the beast over the side and into the deep. Rushing the captains quarter’s our group learned of this planned fate just as the squid sent a psychic blow through the waves, killing the captain dead and commanding the guards to attack. Fortunately, the guards were no match for our heroes, and so the squid made way towards them at the double. Meanwhile Diamond was able to break their domination and called in the airship to rescue them all. Exploring below in the minutes before the Kraken arrived they discover Hekaton himself imprisoned within a stasis sphere!”

“Magical and incredible!”

“Freeing him, and convincing him of their intentions, they escape onto the airship just as the monster devours the entire pirate vessel!”

“A close shave”.

The mysterious wooden coin

Adventures with a giant squid!

The team rescue Hekaton

The amphitheatre of the blue dragon

The team assault the dragon’s upper lair

“Indeed. Hekaton upon discovering the details of the plot against giant-kind screamed in anger to the clouds and teleported our team directly to Malestrom. There they waited and planned while Hekaton’s men scoured the deserts of our land to track the dragon’s lair”.

“He didn’t end the Ordning?”

“He could not claim back the throne without the sceptre of power”.

“I see”.

“Eventually, the dragon’s lair was discovered deep within the Desert, within a temple below a fallen ancient amphitheatre south of the deserted city of Ascore. Our team joined with Hekaton in planning a raid against the dragon”.

“No doubt our team’s knowledge of dragons came in handy here?”

“Elvia is a master monster hunter, as I said, and she had the giants fashion two rings of lightning protection and the giants themselves provided some potions of giant size to even the odds. Word is sent to all the allies they have made along the way using both the dwarven network and the Harpers teleportation circles, and the team, Hekaton and three royal guards left to bring the dragon down”.

“A final challenge of truly epic proportions, assaulting an evil ancient blue dragon within its own lair! I would have thought it impossible!?”

“Such was the thoughts of the trio until upon sneaking under Elvia’s magic pass without trace spell enabled them all to hear a magical voice emanate from the pit in which the dragon resided”.

“What did it say, this voice?”

“That the dragon was doomed”.

“Most strange? Who’s voice was this?”

“As yet, this is unknown. But it gave the giants cause to attack openly and face the defenders of the lair head-on”.

“Defenders?”

“A massive horde of gargoyles with two trebuchets”.

“My goodness!”

“Yes, but just at this moment the friends of our adventurers, an army now numbering over 100 men led by Ilan, appeared on the horizon and attacked. This gave our team a chance to sneak into the sand temple lair to face the dragon”.

“The dragon hid and attacked with surprise?”

“It tried to; but Diamond Adventure has a weapon that prevents such occurrences, and the battle was joined between the four giants, with our trio now in giant form as well, and the Doom of the Desert herself”.

“How faired everyone?”

“Well, the dragon is no joke, and she used all the years preparing her lair to her advantage, collapsing the roof down on the giants and flurrying blows to the nearest royal guard who approached her. Diamond found her fireballs counterspelled and Hekaton himself was only able to graze the dragon due to unnatural darkness seeping out from all the walls and obscuring his vision. The dragon waited until the team were being dug out of the roof collapse and used her breath weapon to blast the trio who survived only thanks to their excellent preparation”.

“The rings?”

“Indeed. Launching herself into the fray, the dragon bore the King to the ground under her claws and looked to be finally victorious”.

“Oh, no!”

“But just at that moment, a sound from above drew her attention and everyone spied the airship above in the clouds. And dropping from this mighty height came the frost giant Harshnag!”

“He who had fallen in the Eye of the All-father?”

“Yes! I mean, no! He had survived as a prisoner buried under the collapsed mountain and had been finally dug out! His axe bit heavily into the dragon’s neck, and she shrieked out curses at her old enemy, who bore her down and off the King. In anger, she used her teleport spell to appear behind Bearsuo with the mind to take him prisoner for use as ransom forcing the giants to retreat. However, Bearsuo wields the Dragon’s Slayer blade obtained in his prior adventure and smote Iymrith a mightly blow. Enraged she called upon all the monsters and horrors of her lair to her aid and snapped her jaws at the druid”.

“Did he survive?”

“Just as her mouth closed around his neck, she was suddenly unable to move as descending from the clouds came the wizard Zephyros who cast Hold Monster upon the wyrm, giving Hekaton a moment to snatch up a boulder and smash the dragon’s head ending the Doom of the Desert once and for all!”

“Hooray!” You shout and clap happily.

“Yes, our heroes watched exhausted as Hekaton took back the sceptre and cast a mighty spell into the heavens, signalling for all to hear that he was back as King and the crisis over!”

“What a tale!” You exclaim.

“Indeed, our three adventurers found many treasures in the wyrm’s lair and took them, together with her head to Felbaar, where the two kings, Hekaton upon the Wyrmskull throne and the king of the dwarves rewarded our hero’s with their new title, known amongst the entire lands, that of Dragon’s Bane!”

As he says these words, a smattering of cheers and applause erupts, and you notice for the first time that others on the journey have been listening. Ralof bows in receipt and sits down.

“And so,” you say, “the castle has been built to which we journey?”

The dragon’s sand-filled lower lair

The Doom of the Desert herself!

The players in giant size thanks to potions

The dragon dies under Hekaton’s hammer

Hekaton casts the spell that ends the Ordning

“Indeed, yes friend,” he replies, “and, as you shall soon see, the skull of Iymrith is displayed inside a magical cage inside the great -”

Just then, a shout went up from the front cart, which interrupted him. A driver was shouting in alarm, his hand outstretched towards the trees. Smoke rising from something in the distance. In much panic, the cart sped up, and all fell silent in worry. Worry which is entirely justified when rounding a steep corner you spy that it is the tower itself which billows smoke with fire licking the lower floors.

As your cart pulled near, you can see the gates are ajar; blasted from their mounts by some immeasurable force and the courtyard beyond is awash with people running to and fro as they fight the fires blocking access to the tower’s main door.

The many people from the cart rush to aid the crews, and many spells are cast to put out the fire, with one woman turning herself into a water elemental to douse the flames. The doors now clear, you join the team rushing up the stairs towards the main hall, calling out to the Dragon’s Bane with no reply. As you reach the middle floor, the others continue ahead; but something catches your eye, and you stop, your mind racing, barely able to believe what you see and completely unable to say what is the meaning of this event.

Ralof turns as you stop, “What is it? Why do you linger? Come on! We must reach the upper chamber!”

“It’s gone,” you say, pointing.

Ralof turns his head to follow your outstretched finger and sees.

“It’s gone,” you say again.

Ralof gasps, as in the middle of the room, stands a large cage, which has been broken open and emptied.

“Iymrith’s skull. It’s gone!”

The skull of the Doom of the Desert has been taken, but by who and why? Join us for the follow-up quests of the Dragon’s Bane – Diamond Adventure, Bearsuo and Eliva – to find out!

11 months of adventure comes to a conclusion!