GoCorral

The players were overly hostile to Barakah in character, possibly for good reason as I’d told Trajan to attack Zelus with Barakah. As such, we decided the best way to move forward positively was to make Barakah an NPC threat that could be dealt with later in the campaign. Trajan brought in a new character in this session. Will’s old character, Torin, will be making his return as a PC.

This Time on Purpose

Having recovered Aldarian and hopefully the White Orb of Dragonkind from the Museum of Power, the party regrouped at Hektor’s magnificent mansion in Lakatia. Zelus was gone, taken by an Ammutseba-possessed Barakah. Unfortunately for Zelus, that problem would have to wait. Everyone agreed that defeating Blendegad took precedence over tracking down Barakah and rescuing their friendly deity.

A thorough search of Aldarian revealed the White Orb hiding in an extradimensional pocket of the elf’s backpack. Tagenadi retrieved the artifact and placed it on the carpeted floor of the mansion. “What do we do with it?” said Tagenadi.
Hektor said, “We break it open and release the dragon inside and Gorwinua.”
Eathirilu said, “We destroy it like the Red Orb. We need to find a white dragon, dominate it with the Orb, and then order it to destroy the Orb. Perhaps we need to find a white dragon strong enough to break the Orb as well. A small wyrmling may not be enough for the task.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle it,” said Danar. “My dragon’s blood can call out to any color dragon. It’ll be just as before when I summoned Boromir or Hron’dar. Our white dragon will be here soon.” Danar sat down in front of the White Orb and began casting his dragon ally spell. The others stood around, talking and waiting.

In a few minutes Danar completed his magic and summoned forth an adult white dragon. It hissed and turned to snarl at its summoner. “Oh dragon!” intoned Danar. “I, one of your greatest enemies have summoned you to do a service for me, a service that I know you will perform gladly.” Danar pointed at the White Orb, “We want you to destroy the White Orb of Dragonkind.”
The summoned dragon’s eyes widened, “Issss thissss true? The great betrayer of our race now wishes to free usssss?”
“Yes. The magic I have used to summon you typically requires payment. I offer nothing except your race’s freedom.”
“I accept!” said the dragon.
Danar hefted the White Orb in both hands, “Then let the White Orb into your mind. Let it control you.” The White Orb pulsed and the white dragon fell under its spell. Danar set the Orb down on the floor once more. “Now destroy the Orb.”

The dragon leaped upon the Orb spitting ice and ripping at it with claws, teeth, tail, and wing. The Orb grew misty cold and cracks appeared along it. Soon it shattered and the temperature in the mansion dropped precipitously.

“The service you have summoned me for is completed and the payment is collected,” the white dragon said as the summoning magic released it. The dragon faded away to be replaced by a greater wyrm which now grew out from the White Orb. The party readied for a battle that they knew was coming.

“At long last the great wyrm Tikanile is free!” shouted the huge white dragon which filled the entry lobby of Hektor’s mansion. It’s head whipped around reading the situation it was in. “But not by loyal servants! Freed by one of my jailors!”
“I have no quarrel with you any longer, Tikanile,” said Danar. “If we let you go free do you swear by the River Styx to not return to your old, evil ways?”
“Ha! Such a promise from me would be as empty and cold as my heart! You already know that if you let me out of this false house that I will bring about a new draconic hegemony that will rival the Titans’ in cruelty! You mortals will be punished for my imprisonment! This I swear upon the River Styx!”
“So be it,” said Danar.

The result of the battle was predictable from the start. The party, having readied themselves, knowing Tikanile’s weakness, and being up against an unprepared foe… It wasn’t much of a challenge. Tikanile was swiftly beaten and decapitated.

When it was over Hektor asked, “Where is Gorwinua? I imagined she would be here.”
Danar answered, “I believe the magic that preserved us prevents her summoning within an extradimensional space such as this. She will be outside.”
“Then let’s go.”

Rock Star Ork

The party left the mansion. Outside was the burned out remains of Lakatia’s keep. Hektor’s subjects were tearing down the charred timbers and bringing in new wood from the forest. The ash covered stones were scrubbed clean. Holes were being dug for posts. New life was replacing the old. The sun was setting out in the west. Just over the horizon was the ocean and the sea breeze brought the scent of salt to the noses of the Exiles. Everything had a certain musical quality.

And what was that? Actual music was playing! And singing!

Descending slowly from the clouds came an orc woman with a stocky, muscular build. She had twinkling radiant, amber eyes, delicate tusks, and feminine features. Her hair, short, black, coarse and held back by a thin leather hand band inset with small pearls.

A strand of turquoise beads wrapped several times around her neck. She wore a white shirt with fine turquoise embroidery and a leather bodice with pearl clasps. Around her waist was a large leather belt embossed with a large, dull steel eye. Her gloves were soft leather with pearled cuffs and dark steel bracers with inlaid amber owls protected her forearms. She wore two rings on her left hand, one featured a stylized turquoise cat’s eye and the other, a dull steel band always seeming to be on a different finger. On her feet were simple woven sandals.

At her hip was an unadorned, circular mithral disk the size of a buckler and a small rod with a large pearl at each end. An orkish greatsword was strapped to her back and wrapped in white dragonhide.

Gorwinua landed lightly on the earth and took a few steps towards the party. She walked with a slight limp in her left leg. She gave everyone a look up and down. She finished last with Danar and licked her lips as she did so. “Well, how you been you old bastard? Still sticking it to your brethren I suppose?”
Hektor stepped forward, “Gorwinua, we’ve summoned you because you are the best singer and we…”
Gorwinua ignored Hektor as he spoke. She waved a dismissive hand at him and walked down the line of heroes to Tagenadi. “You’re a big son of a bitch aren’t you? You working with undead now?” she shouted at Danar.
“Tagenadi is…different.”
“Huh. I suppose he is.” Gorwinua dusted her hands off on her pants. “You got anything to drink? I tell you, being in that Orb with the dragon for that many years… I could use a drink.”

Hektor got his subjects to bring goblets of wine over. Gorwinua, accustomed to orkish blood alcohol, had to make do with the lesser fare. While they drank the party filled Gorwinua in on the current state of the world. The expansion of Xoria, Zeus’s “death,” the rise of the dragovinians, the formation of the Second Alliance, the subsequent battles, the Druid’s Prophecy, and the rescue of the White Orb from the Museum of Power. All of it. Gorwinua asked questions and listened attentively.

“So you’ve summoned me to do what?”
Danar said, “The Druid’s Prophecy calls for a voice better than the gods. The only two I could think of were you and Orpheus.”
“Orpheus? That hack cheated. He’s half-god. I’m the only, original, all-mortal, singing sensation.”
“Yes, of course. That’s why we need you,” said Hektor.
“To bring Zeus back? So he can defeat Blendegad? And then you can all go back to your happy lives?”
Hektor admitted, “Yes. That is essentially what we want. What we all want.” He gestured to his subjects and the world at large.
“And what about the orkish people? Where would this leave them?”
“I don’t understand.”
“You didn’t mention the orcs once in your little history lesson. Why aren’t they in your Alliance?”
“Well the common orc is too savage to-”
“Too savage!? Too undisciplined?! Something like that?”
Hektor met Gorwinua’s intense gaze and then tore his face away in shame.
Danar interjected, “We just want you to sing for the Druid’s Prophecy. Is that too much?”
“What’s too much is letting your telepath friend into my mind so I can sing Orpheus’s lyrics. I only sing my own songs, you know that!”
“You- You can’t be serious.”
“What if I am?”
“You’d let the whole world be at risk? You’d let Blendegad and the dragovinians continue burning everything? Just because you don’t want to sing someone else’s song?”
“So? Seems to me that my people’s stake in this is the same either way. Damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”
“I can’t believe this. You and I risked so much together to fight dragons before. We knew then that unity was the way forward. What changed?”
“The world changed, Danar! Where are the orcs in your unity? Why should I help you if it doesn’t help them?”
“I can’t believe you would do this!” Danar stalked away into the mansion.
Gorwinua looked around at the other Exiles with a smile on her face and then burst into laughter. She slapped her knee and said, “You all know I was kidding right? Of course I’ll help you! Saving the world is what I do!”
The Exiles smiled at each other. Gorwinua was going to fit in just fine.

There were other bits of business to clean up since the battle at the Museum of Power. The Exiles had captured Jittehalong, Queen of the Amazons. She could be turned and made into an ally or at least not an enemy, but that seemed unlikely. The party voted and decided that a permanent form of imprisonment was best. Something truly inescapable. A binding spell.

Jittehalong would be bound inside an ironwood acorn by Hektor until he released her himself. Should Hektor never choose to do so, Jittehalong’s soul would remain trapped in the acorn for all eternity. The group gathered the required materials and cast the binding spell. Jittehalong was trapped with unenthusiastic promises to release her once the war with Xoria was finished.

For those of you that didn’t figure it out. Gorwinua is Trajan’s new character. He’s the one who wrote the physical description of her that I used when she first shows up in the campaign log.