8 April 11374 - Vurlymak Meleé
[ The following is edited from the Screen Monkey Chat Log of 7/27/08 ]

ROUND ONE (1)

1L) LEO: I attack with a flying kick to the face 3(3d6)
Dragon gets no dodge
Leo rolls 28d6: 99 Damage for kick to face

1D) DRAKEN: flying kick to face of dragon
Draken rolls 3d6: 11
TheGM rolls 3d6: 17
Draken says: 101 points of damage

1K) KENDRIL: flies up behind the dragon.

1S) Salád: I cast a visual, audio and tactile illusion of myself running from around behind the dragon with a war cry and flying kick to the face.
Salád DaJaro says: 70(1d100)
Salád DaJaro says: Damage? Something between what Draken did and what Shady did

1R) “DR. HU:” swoops in a blur and a screeching Kiai and attacks the Dragon from behind. Rolling for Kiai 13(3d6)
QUICK CONTEST
Raal’s Kiai skill against the dragon's Will
TheGM rolls 3d6: 6 - WL roll for dragon
TheDoctor says: 7 (of ???)
[I believe the dragon won this QC]

Dr. Hu lands 2 lightning-fast power blows, pummeling the lower back of the huge blue dragon
TheDoctor says: For Power Blow 12(3d6)
TheDoctor says: 7(3d6)
TheGM rolls 3d6: 7
TheGM rolls 3d6: 10
TheGM says: Raal is figuring up all his damage
TheDoctor says: 8(3d6)
TheDoctor says: 9(3d6)
TheGM rolls 3d6: 7

1SB) STANDING BEAR: Im gonna move behind the dragon

1N) NUCLEON: activates his power suit

<<<<<< DRAGON’S TURN >>>>>>

1V) HUGE BLUE DRAGON: The dragon's head transforms and becomes a tail, his tail transforms and becomes a head. The dragon makes an amazingly agile twisting motion, swinging his tail (which is now at the end where his head once was) and swatting at all those in his reach - meaning Shady, Draken, illusionary Salád, maybe Dr. Hu/Raal [later decided Raal was not within reach of one tail swoop.]
TheGM rolls 3d6: 9
TheGM says: Draken, Shady, Salád - roll for dodge

TheGM says: 4(1d4)
TheGM says: The dragon also takes a chomping bite at Kendril
TheGM rolls 3d6: 6
TheGM says: Kendril, roll a dodge

TWO SMALLER BLUE DRAGONS appear up through the sand!

Huge Dragon roars tauntingly, "Thanks to your waste of time fighting my doppelganger, I've had time to call in reinforcements!"

/\ BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS /\

ROUND TWO (2)

2L) LEO: : Flying Kick to back of head 6(3d6) of 35
Leo rolls 28d6: 107 damage

2R) RAAL: Pressure Secrets rolls: 11(3d6)12(3d6)9(3d6)9(3d6)
Raal says: Power Blow rolls 6(3d6)12(3d6)14(3d6)11(3D6)
TheGM says: Using pressure secrets and power blows, Raal strikes the dragon 4 times from above & behind
Raal says: Four strikes doing damage of 78(25d6) 91(25d6) 84(25d6) 110(25d6)
Raal says: Any of that damage that gets through is doubled

2D) DRAKEN: disbeleieve the two additional dragons
TheGM says: **sounds of dice rolling on GM’s computer**
Draken believes the other 2 dragons are real

2K) KENDRIL: i fly over there and attack ‘em
kendril says: so i attack baby dragon
kendril says: 79(1d100)
TheGM rolls 3d6: 12
TheGM says: The small dragon dodges Kendril's attack

2S) Salád: (TheGM says: one of the small dragons appears just in front of you, dodging Kendril’s sword Varinor)
Salád DaJaro says: First thing I do is activate Shadowform to get my defense up.
Salád DaJaro says: Then I want to invoke the form of Gary Smith, er, his old Giant Guy.
TheGM says: OK, Salád is setting off Shadowform
Salád DaJaro says: 64(1d100)

2SB) STANDING BEAR: I would like to bring out my flail
Standing Bear says: then fly/charge up to his snout and hit him in the nose with my flail
Standing Bear says: Its on my sheet
Standing Bear says: its that or a sword

Standing Bear says: Bow shot to a dragon eye
Standing Bear says: Heres shot to eye of little dragon
Standing Bear rolls 3D6: 11 ... Not a crit... but its a hit.. and its totally NOT in the eye =/
TheGM rolls 3d6: 12
TheGM says: The smaller dragon dodges Standing Bear's arrow

2BT) BY-TOR: GM rules that By-Tor was half buried in the sandpile created when the doppelganger was destroyed at the end of the previous melee. That's why he has been out of the melee so far this session.

2N) NUCLEON: [ [ [ the halfling is here... but you don't see him... what you see instead is a 3' 3" humanoid form encased in true silver walk around one side of the stone island ] ] ]

<<<<<< DRAGONS’ TURN2 >>>>>>

2BD1) SMALL DRAGON 1: attacks Kendril
TheGM rolls 3d6: 8
kendril says: 7(1d100)
kendril says: i dodge

2BD2) SMALL DRAGON 2: opens its mouth and sparks begin to fly. It breathes lightning at Shady
TheGM rolls 3d6: 10
SHADY does not get a dodge because he is facing the other way.

TheGM rolls 4d6: 14 Shady takes 14 damage, his dragon skin armor absorbs it

2V) HUGE BLUE DRAGON: takes a chomp at Standing Bear
TheGM rolls 3d6: 6
TheGM says: Standing Bear make a dodge roll
Standing Bear rolls 3D6: 9
TheGM rolls 7d6+7: 23 damage, but SB dodges

/\ BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS /\

ROUND THREE (3)

3R) RAAL: Raal attacks 4 times with martial arts 12(3d6)11(3d6)14(3d6)9(3d6) – Pressure Secrets
Raal says: Raal attacks 4 times with martial arts 10(3d6)16(3d6)14(3d6)10(3d6) – Power Blows
Raal says: Raal attacks 4 times with martial arts 14(3d6)12(3d6)10(3d6)7(3d6) – strikes
TheGM rolls 3d6: 8
TheGM rolls 3d6: 12
TheGM rolls 3d6: 8
TheGM rolls 3d6: 15
TheGM says: The dragon dodges 2 of the pressure secrets power blows
Raal says: 85(25d6) 86(25d6)

3L) LEO: Grab his horn and try a neck snap
Leo rolls 3d6: 10 - neck snap skill is 21

3D) DRAKEN: rallies By-Tor to finally break free of the sand pile remains of the doppelganger dragon (Kevin arrives at Phil’s house) Draken makes a flying kick on the 2nd smaller dragon
Draken rolls 3d6: 16
TheGM rolls 3d6: 11
TheGM says: The smaller dragon dodges Draken's flying kick

3K) KENDRIL: attack with varanor
kendril says: 58(1d100) hit
TheGM rolls 3d6: 9
TheGM says: the dragon dodges Kendril's attack

3S) Salád:
TheGM says: I assume he's calling up "Hey Guy" this turn?
Salád DaJaro says: Not that I want to doubt Drakan's effort before, but I think I need to Actively Disbelieve these smaller dragons
TheGM says: Disbelieve or call up "Hey Guy?"
Salád DaJaro says: Disbelieve
TheGM says: Salád believes the dragons are real
Salád DaJaro says: Next round the Giant comes running out from around the back the way Nucleon did except other side

3N) NUCLEON: fast-draws his manna blaster, running up behind 2nd smaller dragon
nucleon rolls 3d6: 11

3SB) STANDING BEAR: Im gonna shoot the smaller dragon with my bow again
Standing Bear says: Heres my shot with a arrow
Standing Bear rolls 3D6: 13
TheGM rolls 3d6: 8
SMALLER BLUE DRAGON 2 dodges Standing Bear's arrow
Standing Bear rolls 3D6: 12
Standing Bear says: I made my "burrow in sand roll"

3BT) BY-TOR: charges toward the 2nd smaller dragon

<<<<<< DRAGONS’ TURNS >>>>>>

3BD1) SMALLER BLUE DRAGON 1: 2 claws at Kendril: 6(3d6) 11(3d6)
TheGM says: Kendril roll 2 dodges
kendril says: 37(1d100)
kendril says: 20(1d100)

3BD2) SMALLER BLUE DRAGON 2: 2 claws at Draken 12(3d6) 14(3d6)
TheGM says: Draken make 2 dodge rolls
Draken rolls 3d6: 12
Draken rolls 3d6: 8

3V) HUGE BLUE DRAGON: makes spinning acrobatic "dragon-fu" attacks - rolls 3d6: 10
DRAGON attempts to throw Shady loose of his horn by swinging his head forward
QUICK CONTEST Shady’s ST against Huge Dragon’s ST
TheGM says: 12(3d6) out of 313
TheGM says: made it by 301
Leo rolls 3d6: 11 (of 270)?

DRAGON swings his head, throwing Shady across the chamber. Shady is forced to release his grasp on the horn and must make a DX roll to avoid being thrown against the wall
Leo rolls 3d6: 7
Leo says: Aerobatics skill 35-4 - 31
TheGM says: Shady aerobatically swerves and doesn't hit the wall
DRAGON makes other dragon fu attacks on Raal
TheGM rolls 3d6: 9
TheGM rolls 3d6: 12
Raal says: 9(3d6)
Raal says: 8(3d6)
TheGM says: Raal dodges the blows, but is impressed with the dragon's agility and skill

/\ BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS /\

ROUND FOUR (4)

4R) RAAL: BODY BLOW BODY BLOW BODY BLOW BODY BLOW
Raal says: 11(3d6)11(3d6)10(3d6)15(3d6) Pressure Secrets

TheGM says: Raal is riding the dragon as it spins
Raal says: 8(3d6)12(3d6)14(3d6)7(3d6) Power Blow
TheGM rolls 3d6: 6
TheGM rolls 3d6: 9
TheGM rolls 3d6: 10
TheGM rolls 3d6: 10
TheGM says: dragon only dodges one of Raal's blows
Raal says: 10(3d6)9(3d6)6(3d6)11(3d6) strikes
Raal says: 89(25d6)81(25d6)81(25d6) damage

4L) LEO: Boot to the head 12(3d6) of 31
TheGM rolls 3d6: 8
HUGE BLUE DRAGON dodges Shady's kick

4D) DRAKEN: Draken rolls 3d6: 9
Draken rolls 3d6: 7
TheGM rolls 3d6: 11
TheGM rolls 3d6: 12
SMALLER DRAGON 2 dodges Draken's punches

4K) KENDRIL: attacks SMALLER DRAGON 1 again with Varanor
kendril says: 94(1d100)
TheGM rolls 3d6: 12 (yes, Tom, that’s a dodge)
kendril says: extra attacks for superhuman agility?
TheGM says: take one now
kendril says: 67(1d100)
TheGM rolls 3d6: 7 - OK, he dodged it anyway

4S) Salád: TheGM says: "Hey Guy" Salád?
Salád DaJaro says: Yes – From around the wall behind me comes running a giant who looks like Bytors cousin and attacks dragon 2
Salád DaJaro says: 89(1d100)
Salád DaJaro says: activated

Salád DaJaro says: 37(1d100)
Salád DaJaro says: good attack
TheGM says: “Guy” will appear at the beginning of the next turn (1 second turns in GURPS.)
Salád DaJaro says: acknowledged

4BT) BY-TOR: continues charging toward the 2nd smaller dragon, will reach DRAGON at end of this round

4N) NUCLEON: fires his manna blaster point blank range at the dragon’s torso
nucleon rolls 3d6: 10
nucleon rolls 6d6: 24

4SB) STANDING BEAR: im gonna fly up and start drawing my knife
Standing Bear says: I dont have fast draw
Standing Bear says: Im gonna do something mean to the dragon
Standing Bear says: Thats my whole turn is flying up hi and drawing my dagger

<<<<<< DRAGONS’ TURNS >>>>>>

4BD1) SMALLER DRAGON 1: spinning attack of 2 claws and a tail on Kendril
TheGM rolls 3d6: 14
TheGM rolls 3d6: 17
TheGM rolls 3d6: 9

TheGM says: one claw attack misses, Kendril needs to roll 2 dodges
kendril says: 52(1d100)
kendril says: 64(1d100)

4BD2) SMALLER DRAGON 2: lashes at Nucleon with its tail and awaits opportunity to acrobatically dodge By-Tor's oncoming charge
TheGM rolls 3d6: 14
nucleon says: Nucleon dodges... roll:
nucleon rolls 3d6: 8

4V) HUGE BLUE DRAGON: more dragon-fu spinning attacks on Raal
TheGM rolls 3d6: 16
Raal says: 13(3d6) dodge

TheGM says: the dragon spins and bucks, trying to throw Raal off his back
QUICK CONTEST
Raal says: Rolling for acrobatics 14(3d6) out of 24
TheGM rolls 3d6: 7 (out of 50)
DRAGON manages to toss Raal off his back

DRAGON swats at Raal with its tail as he’s tossed into the air
TheGM rolls 3d6: 16
TheGM says: 2(1d4) for direction
Raal says: 10(3d6) dodge
TheGM says: Raal dodges the tail swat

/\ BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS /\

ROUND FIVE (5)

5R) RAAL: holds action

5L) LEO: holds action

5D) DRAKEN: punches Smaller Dragon 2 with both fists
Draken rolls 3d6: 9
Draken rolls 3d6: 8
TheGM rolls 3d6: 7
TheGM rolls 3d6: 11
Draken rolls 20d6: 83
TheGM says: Draken strikes the dragon with one blow out of 2 for 93 dmg

5K) KENDRIL: attack again with varanor

5L) LEO takes held action: makes 2 power blows to the back of the head of the dragon
Leo rolls 3d6: 8
Leo rolls 3d6: 11
Leo rolls 3d6: 8
Leo rolls 3d6: 11
TheGM rolls 3d6: 13
TheGM rolls 3d6: 10
TheGM says: the dragon fails to dodge both blows to the skull by Shady
Leo rolls 55d6: 209
Leo rolls 55d6: 215

5R) RAAL takes held action - moves, goes invisible and is hovering
Raal says: -- I'm stepping away

5K) KENDRIL: rolls 2 attacks with varanor
kendril says: 19(1d100)
kendril says: 34(1d100)

kendril says: first is an endurance hit maybe
Standing Bear says: I was aiming for eyes

TheGM rolls 3d6: 17
TheGM rolls 3d6: 13
SMALLER DRAGON 1 dodges one of Kendril’s attacks, takes damage from the first strike
kendril says: so D10 + 2D10
kendril says: 7(1d10)
kendril says: 8(1d10)
kendril says: 10(1d10)
kendril says: 25 damage with Varanor
kendril says: should be D10+16
kendril says: is dragon slaying weapon

5S) Salád: “GUY” – a stone giant with a bad attitude (Salád's illusionary warrior) – comes around the corner of the wall near Salád
Salád DaJaro says: Guy attacks the dragon from the flank, wielding two axes
Salád DaJaro says: 70(1d100)
Salád DaJaro says: 7(1d10)
TheGM rolls 3d6: 5

Salád DaJaro says: 85(1d100) second attack
Salád DaJaro says: 9(1d10)
TheGM says: Guy does damage to the small dragon
Salád DaJaro says: Good.
SMALLER DRAGON 1 gets no dodge against GUY’s rear attack

5BT) BY-TOR: slams into Smaller Dragon 2
bytor21 rolls 3d6: 11

5N) NUCLEON: fires his manna blaster at the dragon again
nucleon rolls 3d6: 11 good enough to miss Draken & By-Tor
nucleon says: damage roll:
nucleon rolls 5d6: 19
nucleon rolls 6d6: 23 blast damage

<<<<<< DRAGONS’ TURNS >>>>>>

5BD1) SMALLER DRAGON 1: 2 attacks – bites at Kendril
TheGM rolls 3d6: 5 dragon-fu roll?
TheGM rolls 3d6: 16
kendril says: 76(1d100) - is less than 3XAG
DRAGON 1 swings his tail at Guy
TheGM rolls 3d6: 12
Salád DaJaro says: 68(1d100) (of 3XMA) Not a very good dodge, but I got it.

5BD2) SMALLER DRAGON 2: 2 attacks – bites at By-Tor
TheGM rolls 3d6: 11 dragon-fu roll?
TheGM rolls 3d6: 9
bytor21 rolls 3d6: 10 dodge
DRAGON 2 attacks Nucleon with tail
nucleon says: dodge roll: nucleon rolls 3d6: 6

/\ BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS /\

ROUND SIX (6)

6R) RAAL: holds action

6L) LEO: holds action, too

6D) DRAKEN: continues pounding Smaller Dragon 2 with fists
Draken rolls 3d6: 10
Draken rolls 3d6: 11
TheGM rolls 3d6: 8
TheGM rolls 3d6: 9
Draken rolls 20d6: 71
Draken rolls 20d6: 87
TheGM says: Draken lands 2 clean blows on dragon 2, does 174 DMG punching
SMALLER DRAGON 2 is wobbling, near death

6BT) BY-TOR: punches dragon 2 with all his might
bytor21 rolls 3d6: 8
bytor21 rolls 26d6: 90

6K) KENDRIL: attacks Smaller Dragon 1 with Varanor
kendril says: 89(1d100)
kendril says: 31(1d100)
kendril says: remember varanor drains from dragons on successful attack – drains EN i get FT
kendril says: drains his HP i get FT
kendril says: NO if attack succeeds, drains D10TheGM rolls 3d6: 9
TheGM rolls 3d6: 8

6S) Salád: Guy attacks
Salád DaJaro says: 10(1d100)
Salád DaJaro says: Double Damage – 9(1d10) +10 (almost max)
Salád DaJaro says: 28(1d100)
Salád DaJaro says: 8(1d10)
TheGM says: this dragon is now reeling and hurt, but still in the fight

6R) RAAL: I'm eating some fatigue bars this round

<<<<<< DRAGON’S TURN >>>>>>

6BD1) SMALLER DRAGON 1: spins and does a claw and bite on Guy
TheGM rolls 3d6: 7
TheGM rolls 3d6: 10
Salád DaJaro says: 54(1d100) dodge for Guy (just over 2X MA)
Salád DaJaro says: 85(1d100) second dodge roll – Nope
TheGM says: 15(5d6+5)
TheGM says: Guy takes 15 points damage.
Salád DaJaro says: He had 28pts to start

/\ BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS /\

ROUND SEVEN (7)

7K) KENDRIL: attack X2
kendril says: 87(1d100)
kendril says: 71(1d100)
TheGM rolls 3d6: 8
TheGM rolls 3d6: 12 – he missed both dodge rolls – he's at half dodge
kendril says: 3(1d10) 10(1d10) 8(1d10)
kendril says: 8(1d10) 7(1d10) 2(1d10)
kendril says: first atack was 13 points, if any got through, Varanor takes 8 extra
TheGM says: Varinor does some damage, the dragon is still alive, but hurt seriously
kendril says: second atack would be 15 points, Varanor getting another 2

7S) Salád: Guy takes his attacks
Salád DaJaro says: 6(1d100)
Salád DaJaro says: 9(1d10)
Salád DaJaro says: second attack
Salád DaJaro says: 35(1d100)
Salád DaJaro says: 7(1d10)
TheGM says: Your first roll was a 6 - a critical hit ("Grievous Injury")

TheGM says: Guy did critical damage of 57, killing the dragon
Salád DaJaro says: The giant turns to Lord Shadowstorm and takes a bow
Salád DaJaro says: Salád gives 'em a smirk

Shady & Raal hovered above the pummeled body of the huge blue dragon exchanging fatigue bars & dragon-skinning tips. Nucleon, Draken & By-Tor stood victorious over the blast-charred & pummeled body of the second blue dragon. Kendril’s dragon sword Varanor, sliced deeply into the third blue dragon’s scales as the beast’s teeth ripped into Guy (Salád’s illusionary hill giant warrior.) Standing Bear hovered over Kendril’s shoulder, questioning the ethics of killing the dragons & “crying inside.” Varanor tasted the beast’s blood once more and Guy inflicted a critical double-axe deathblow. Guy then bowed to Shady; Salád just smirked. The RoachKings enjoyed a collective telepathic “Hell Yeah!”

/\ BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS /\

“The battle’s over and the dust is clearing . . .”

As soon as the melee was over, Dr. Hu reappeared, fading into existence from an ethereal state. As soon as he was corporeal enough, he began to speak:  “Ah, so very happy to see that you all survived the evil blue beastie . . .“ His voice trailed off when his quick glance around the chamber revealed no fewer than 3 dead dragons, and only the stone giant Guy in need of first aid. It was obvious that he didn’t see the battle & that he was only now deducing what had happened from the aftermath he saw. After briefly inquiring as to who the giant was, he said, “Clearly, I have chosen my associates well in this matter.” For the first time, the RKs saw a small grin begin to spread across the good Doctor’s austere face, but he quickly resumed a more serious expression and said, “I humbly offer my most sincere appreciation to you all.” As he said this, he bowed deeply to all those who had battled the blue dragons; Raal & others recognized this as a sincere gesture of deep respect. He looked to Raal and said, “Obviously, my life was in excellent hands with you at my side,” but then he turned to all of the RoachKIngs and said, “Even so, I might not have succeeded here without the help of you all. But succeed I did . . .”

From a large pocket in his multicolored robes, he produced a beautiful, ornate hourglass. “Behold, the Hourglass of Epoche.” Its 3-sided outer frame was made of marble, inlaid with countless gemstones and engraved around the rim of the top & bottom with ancient gilded magical symbols. The glass enclosure looked like 2 crystal balls connected by a short flared tube. As he held it up, the lower side glittered with a nebulous prismatic fluid like a multi-colored lava lamp. Some RKs noticed that the artifact itself seemed larger than the pocket from which he had retrieved it, but this didn’t seem unusual for the Doctor. “I have studied ancient tomes & scrolls for nearly 15 years to correctly surmise where it could be found. The men who recovered it for me were expert archaeological investigators and they lost their lives trying to bring it to me. I believe this artifact is the key to finally finding the fabled Fountain of Lamneth. According to my research, the fluid inside this hourglass is a sample taken directly from the legendary fountain. I have invented a scanning device that can pinpoint the location of the source of any material I put into it. My only regret is that I must destroy this beautiful & powerful relic in order to do so.” He paused a moment, seemingly overwhelmed by the simultaneous joy & tragedy of the moment. He quickly recovered his composure and continued:  “I believe the Fountain of Lamneth will provide me with the final component I need in order to accomplish a goal I have had for nearly seven decades. I require a stable, enduring source of temporal manna where I might establish an academy devoted to the study of time magics. Of course, the discovery & exploration of this legendary place will be fraught with danger and I seek to secure the location well enough to establish a continuing presence there. I would be honored if the RoachKings would agree to accompany me, for which you may well be rewarded with the gift of the ages – immortality.”

At this point, several RoachKings believed the Doctor was slightly overstating the rewards to try to convince them to go along. Still, all of them knew that if the legends about the Fountain of Lamneth are even partly true, the possibility did exist.   (Even for a grey elf, death does eventually come.)  Either way, Dr. Hu left it there and allowed the RKs time to consider the offer.

The walls of the chamber had thick veins of crystalline deposits. The curved wall behind the entrance tunnel where the RKs had come in was multi-colored and ultra smooth – as if millions of crystals had been melted and fused into a solid sheet of curved glass. It formed a parabolic curve so that any lightning bolt fired from the other end of the cavern ricocheted and automatically hit the tunnel entrance.

Salád took the time to retrieve his really nice flying carpet from the pile of sand in which it was buried.  Meanwhile, Shady, Raal & By-Tor (along with any other RK who was willing to help,) carefully skinned the huge blue dragon. This took some time, so others went through the treasure hoard in the meantime. Shady used enough skill to preserve the magical properties of the huge blue dragon's hide. In addition, there were enough scales & uncharred hide on the other 2 dragons to make at least 2 very nice suits of armor & a several shields, although they would not have the special magical properties of the primary dragon’s hide – like immunity to electrical attack, etc.

The huge, ancient dragon’s chest scales were encrusted with thousands of blue sapphires, along with some other gems and at least one very large specimen of psionicite – a rare cubic crystal with special properties that amplify the range of psionic abilities. The RKs recently had learned of this mineral and Shady was now convinced that these crystals enhanced such traits as “Psionic Static” as well.

/\ BACK TO TOP /\

The treasure hoard

By the time the dragon-skinning started, Dr. Hu spoke about the remainder of the treasure the dragon had accumulated: “Of course, I will ask for no other part of the treasure hoard I found here in the blue dragon’s lair. I will leave that to you, the true heroes of the day. Surely, your connections with local merchant houses will help provide a means to return much of it to its rightful owners.” He described the location of the dragon hoard, allowing Nucleon to tunnel into the large treasure chamber.

Because much of the treasure in the dragon’s hoard had been stolen from local merchant caravans, Salád agreed that the RKs should offer to return as much of it as possible to those local merchants who had lost it in dragon raids. He offered one possible way to do this, which was to let his father set up a “clearinghouse” where merchants could reclaim certain items or make a claim for a given amount of gold & silver by offering manifests, invoices &/or other merchantly documentation establishing ownership. Salád assured the RoachKings that a reward would be offered for killing the dragons and recovering the treasure. Of course, this didn’t necessarily keep anyone from staking a claim to any item they found. After all, no one would know what was found and what wasn’t.

Of special note in the dragon’s treasure were several ancient scrolls kept in jeweled cases in a separate treasure chest. The scrolls contained writings in a language that only Salád & Kendril recognized. The script was derivative of the oldest known tongue of the College of Illusions. These scrolls contained spells that took illusion to a level Salád had never before seen – with titles such as “Create Object” and “Create Warrior.”

Dr. Hu agreeed to wait until after the RoachKings' journey to Jaro to move forward with his plan to find the Fountain of Lamneth. He understood and respected the fact that this was Salád’s homeland and that there were duties and obligations involved. He said he would meet them there. However, he also said he would begin the process of analyzing the sample of fluid from inside the Hourglass of Epoche, to which no one objected.

/\ BACK TO TOP /\

A homecoming & feast in Jaro . . .

8-10 April - The RKs worked through the night and well into the next day taking the hides of the large dragon and at least one of the smaller dragons, as well as gathering all the treasure and packing it for travel.  Afterward, the humans among them were in need of rest, so they set up camp outside the dragon lair and spent the next night as well.   When all was said & done in the dragon’s lair, the RoachKings made their way southwest out of the mountains. The huge blue dragon’s hide was so large it would have been nearly impossible to conceal, even if they had wanted to. Besides, it made an impressive trophy & it was completely appropriate to display it prominently (without scaring anyone, of course) as they flew across the Long Valley to Salád’s hometown of Jaro. There, Salád’s father, Salar DaJaro, greeted them all and especially welcomed his son home after his many years away. As soon as he fully realized the significance of their huge trophy hide, he immediately called for a celebratory feast to be held that evening in his villa. He also sent out the official word to all the prominent merchant families in the region that the threat of the blue dragons had been ended at last. Of course, he made sure to include the fact that his son, Salád, was among the dragon killers. He assured the RoachKings that word would soon reach the king and that songs of the heroic RoachKings would be sung throughout the kingdom of Al Qam. He seemed quite certain that the RKs would be offered a percentage of the treasure they had recovered as a reward from the local merchants and he stated that the reward offered by the Merchant Coalition of Benghaz would be paid to them as soon as it could be brought there. He enthusiastically cooperated with Salád's plan to arrange a clearinghouse for returning money & goods to the rightful owners, with a nominal commission for himself, of course, just to cover administrative costs.

By the time the celebration began that evening, Dr. Hu arrived to join in the festivities. He told the RKs that he believed he now knew where the Fountain of Lamneth was located and he awaited their answer to his invitation to join him. Still, he agreed that it could wait until after some well-deserved merriment. He had waited many decades for this opportunity; a short while longer would not cause him distress.

10-13 April - The RoachKings partied hardy.  For days.

The celebration culminated in a reward ceremony. Halim DaFaraj, a representative of the Merchant Coalition of Benghaz, arrived and asked to see the dragons’ heads to officially verify that they were dead. He acknowledged and certified that there were indeed 3 blue dragon heads, including a huge, ancient one. He then ceremoniously presented the RoachKings with 3 coffers – two filled with 12,500gp each and one with 25,000gp (the equivalent of a million dollars total bounty.) Salar DaJaro then stepped up as the chosen representative of the local merchant families and officially offered the RKs a reward of 30% of the recovered coin & gemstones – a value of 16,130gp (which could be taken in any combination of gems &/or coin.) Cheers rang out in the villa as the RoachKings collected their prize and stood before the crowd in front of their 3 blue-dragon-head trophies.

When the party was over . . .

14 April - Once the wine & food was gone and all the guests had wandered home, Salar began making the arrangements for returning the remainder of the treasure to its rightful owners. He also now had time to sit and talk with his wayward son. They caught up on family news and reminisced about Salád’s childhood. Salád relayed the story of the RKs’ recent journey up the Grey River with his uncle Raja.

Salar also mentioned that no one had heard from Salád’s uncle Javeed for several months. Apparently, he had gone off on one of his crazy expeditions and probably wouldn’t return for some time. According to Salar, “The last time anyone saw Javeed, he said he was headed for the Valley of the Lost ‘to make sure that evil Führen of Bankor doesn’t get his hands on the Staff of Saurius,’ whatever that means.”

/\ BACK TO TOP /\

On to the next adventure . . .

16 April - And so, when everyone had fully recovered from the festivities and Salád had finished reminiscing with his famiily, Dr. Hu approached the party with a map and said:  “Perhaps the time has come to move forward with the next chapter in this tale, my friends. I have here a map showing what I believe is the location of the legendary Fountain of Lamneth.”

He rolled out the map and it looked something like this:

The Doctor continued, “When we first met, I was reluctant to allow you inside my SEDAN. Its many secrets are best kept guarded against strangers. However, now that I know you better, I would be honored if you would all join me and teleport to this location at the same time.” (Raal confirmed that the inside of the SEDAN was much larger than the outside dimensions.) “We can leave any time you wish and be there in seconds. What say you, RoachKings?"

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