Dragonreach Returns! (Games Thirty-Four and Thirty-Five)

At long last, thanks to miracle injections devised by the most ingenious wizards of the Arcane Conclave, the exploration of Dragonreach has resumed! 

The adventure began with (DM John) a foray into the perilous north in search of a missing band of adventurers hired by the Arcane Conclave (and the arcane dragonshard finder the fools had lost!).  Our heroic band tracked them to the territory of the savage Forsaken and assaulted the barbarian village to mount a rescue...

Unfortunately, the Forsaken's treasure left something to be desired - as one brave half-orc wizard discovered when he attempted to engage in a bit of looting during the battle...

The party then used the dragonshard finder to track down the stone the defeated band was seeking.  But, they faced a terrible, invisible lizard monster as well as strangely familiar rivals...

But, ultimately, the Duke's band was driven off, and our heroes returned triumphant with the dragonshard!

The next evening, a different band undertook a dangerous foray into the ancient sewers beneath dragonreach - battling giant snails, rot-grub infested shambling mounds, and a bizarre cult of quasi-mind flayers attempting to revive the Shining Path cult!  Fortunately, our heroes were able to slay the cultists and the proto-elder brain they were creating!

To be continued...

Game Twenty-Three: Mind Flayer Mayhem!

In the 23rd game in Dragonreach, a band of the most-experienced heroes accepted what seemed to be an easy mission:  "rescue" a noble's sister who had joined a sketchy cult (The Shining Path) and was traveling to the cult's "sacred isle" for some sort of religious ceremony.

Beaching their boats on the far side of the isle, the heroes soon realized that the cult was ... unusual.  Then, mind flayers were spotted, and the Shining Path's true nature was revealed.

The heroes battled their way into the cult's cave to find that it not only held more than a dozen mind flayers, but also a horrid elder brain!  

Several heroes were slain in the ensuing battle (including Reggie the Bard and Warchild the Sixth Sword) but restored thanks to healing magic from Grigor, cleric of the Guardian.  Ultimately, the heroes carried off the noblewoman back to Pyre, spreading tales that quickly led to the Shining Path being outlawed.