Legend of the Dragon Bonded - Pathfinder Campaign

[Croverus]

The five of you have trained for 2 years now within the Mountain Fortress of the Guild of Dragon Bonded. Of nearly one hundred trainees only you remain, these trials you have each faced have been grueling and you have learned a great deal in this time. But yesterday, all of your hard work has paid off! You stand before the three Grandmasters as they hand each of you an official acolytes pendant, which can be incorporated into your own gear as you see fit. They name you "Dragon Clutch", and inform each of you of your final test to become true Dragon Bonded. Your group must travel through the mountains, pass through the Bloodwood, cross the Violet Sea and reach the capital city of Skarra on the Cracked Isle. Events are unfolding and new Dragon bound are needed to prepare for the years ahead. Reports say that many dark forces are stirring and already reports have claimed that villages and small towns are being attacked by multiple forces, each seeking to make their own claim on the world.

You each are given the next 24 hours to gather your things, rest, and prepare for the journey. You will leave the next day at the light of dawn, setting out from the Southern Pass. The Grandmasters remind that all five of you must make it to the capital, or the trial will have failed, as it takes five to be bound for a Clutch to become a Flight. Each Grandmaster then departs to their respective chambers, leaving the five of you to prepare in your own way.

The Mountain Fortress is divided into 5 regions. The Courtyards are open tot eh sky but surrounded by spires so they can only be accessed by air or through the passages; the Sanctum includes a large library, various laboratories, meditation halls, and the medical ward, Grandmaster Elderrash Kallenon has his study here; the Forges deep within the mountain are where the Dragon Bound create their weapons, armor, tools, and dragon barding, and is also the location of several tunnels leading into the Underdark, each guarded by its own gatehouse, the largest of which is defended by Grandmaster Slate Foehammer; the Wards are the heart of the Fortress, including the kitchen, main barracks, living quarters, training rooms, and dining hall; and lastly the Orchard is a small forest inside the mountain, grown using magical daylight, with Gardens along its edges, and Zephy Red-mist tends them. As the newly appointed Dragon Clutch you may go anywhere within the Fortress.

[EdgeGrinder]

Edge Goodnight, still groggy from waking up early for the meeting with the Grandmasters, looks over her small room to ensure she found all her belongs.

Perception Check
(1d20+8)[11]

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

Koma bows to the Masters as they depart. He then returns to his quarters and gathers his things before making his way to the Orchard to meditate. One final reminder of a distant past. One where life had meaning.

It is now time to forge a new meaning.

(Koma stands nearly six feet tall. He wears a wide brimmed hat over his rat-like head to keep the sun out of his eyes. A thin band of Oriental silk can be seen from time to time beneath the hat. A single adamantine bullet adorns his hatband. He is cloaked in a long soiled duster, well worn and descernably weathered. The duster reaches to his ankles. Beneath it he wears a loose fitting whitish flaxen shirt belted over plain black pants. A leather strap is draped across his shoulder and crosses to his waist, several small pouches adorn this strap. His belt bears a large tiger's eye stone set in a tiger maw buckle. There is mud on his boots and mystery in his eyes. He smokes a long clay pipe that often leaves a lingering sweet scent as he passes.

He rides atop a reptile that is 6' tall and 10' long. Its Red eyes and black scaled skin strongly resemble a satanic leaf tailed gecko. )

[Croverus]

As Koma sits and things, brief flashes of memory fill his mind.

Spoiler: Koma's thoughts

Show

Fire. Inhuman Screams. Clashing of blades. A whisper of his name. A woman's face, smiling, then red-washed. A massive yellow eye with a star pupil staring at him.

The images send a shiver up his spine.

(Will save please)

[EdgeGrinder]

Edge finds about all of her gear, but misses quite of a bit of her clothing. She focuses her red eyes on the dimly room as she runs her long sender fingers through her long sliver hair. At over six foot tall, she towers over most beings inhabiting the Mountain Fortress. Her body is slender with long legs wearing travelling pants tucked into her boots held up by a belt with added holes to buckle around her skinny frame. Her travelling shirt hangs loose over her small shoulders and over her modest busom. Her dark mauve skin was matte in darkening room. She tucked her silver hair behind her long pointed ears, craned around her narrow neck, and sighed as she searched her room again.

(1d20+8)[19]

[Aladar]

Aladar was restless. The 5'8" 180lb Ifrit was eager for adventure, for glory, and tomorrow does not come fast enough for him. He runs his fingers through his bright orange and yellow hair, the strands flickering and waving around them like flames themselves. He traces them along the black silk headband that adorns his forehead, a gold, staring eye in the center, heavy lidded, seeming bored. He thinks for a moment, running through his checklist of gear before he gives up and mentally probes the band. Am I prepared for tomorrow? He addresses the band, and he receives a positive response, or so he feels. He grabs the washbowl from the table near his bed and stares into his reflection, a somewhat attractive man looking back at him, with a strong chin and a hawkish nose, piercing brown eyes staring back into his own. He brushes a stray strand of hair behind one of his pointed, elflike ears before he cups the water in his hands and washes his face. Droplets hang on his brassy colored skin like flecks of gold until he dries them off. When he finishes washing, he pulls on a pair of rings, one with the vague image of a grappling hook upon its face.

He stands, his well built frame wearing only leather trousers as he paces before he grabs his Glaive-guisarme, twirling it in his hands before he decides to train. Donning his suit of heavy plate armor, he straps himself in to his protective spiked shell before he grabs his helm. It is a pretty thing, at least to him. A sallet helm with an almost obnoxious red plume crowning the top, its visor all but hid his eyes.

Just a bit more practice! He heads towards the training hall, intent to practice with his polearm for a few more hours as he mentally prepares himself for what could be the most important journey of his life.

[EdgeGrinder]

"Finally."

Edge said to herself, annoyed.

She had found the rest of her gear. Preparing herself, she strapped on her wrist sheath to her right wrist under her sleeve and hide her Adamantine Dagger. Strapped to her left side was her Sword of Subtlety. She hung the acolyte's pendent from her long Drow neck. On her left index finger, she slides on her Thieves Ring. She packed everything else, but her special Bag of Holding I, into her Bag of Holding III.

I need some goggles from the forges before I go, she thinks to herself.

During her time in the Mountain Fortress, the masters and teachers have been rather accommodating to her nocturnal nature, but the upcoming journey would not be as accommodating. So she was going to need some eye wear before she headed off.

Ready to make her final rounds before resting, she slung her bags over her shoulder and left her dorm, entering the hall. She looked around the hall

Perception Check to see if anyone is around.
(1d20+8)[21]

[Croverus]

Aladar finds his preferred training hall unused. In it are several sparring golems which are currently in standby. While not as creative as living opponents, they made up for their lack of finesse and flexibility by being persistent and durable. They were also somehow programmed to not do lethal damage while sparring... unless the safeties were removed. The room itself is 60ft by 80ft with the ceiling 40ft high, the walls adorned with sparring weapons and decorative banners. The golems are tucked away in alcoves on the far side.

Aladar has several choices before him as an "opponent": A winged gargoyle, a golem of soft clay, a stoen golem carved like a dwarven soldier only 10ft tall, and a 20ft tall black armored golem with a furnace cover on it's abdomen, from which flames can be seen.

[Aladar]

Aladar looked up at the 20ft golem, sorely tempted to try his luck. However, even he was intimidated by such a massive construct, and so he took the more junior of the options. The 10ft dwarven soldier golem was his target. He stood and stared at it for a moment before settling in to a guard, waiting for it to approach... that is... if he didn't need to turn it on himself.

[EdgeGrinder]

Edge sees two servants, walking in the opposite direction as her. They do not see her.

She takes a piece of chalk from her Rogues' Kit from her Bag of Holding III and draws a line along the bottom length underneath the door and then locks it. If someone were to break into her room, they would smudge the chalk line. Satisfied with her security measures, she stores the stick of chalk back in her Rogues' Kit and heads down to the forges to try get or purchase some forge goggles.

[Croverus]

By standing before it in a ready position, the stone golem seems to come alive. It steps forward, taking a step forwards as a small chime can be heard, signaling the beginning of the sparring round.

(You've won initiative. You are standing 15 feet away from the Large golem.)

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

Koma Steels himself against the flashbacks
(1d20+11)[16] will save.(+2 more if it is considered curse, fear, or emotion effect)

[Croverus]

Edge finds her way down into the Forges, the ringing of hammers on steel and the roaring of the flames fills the air. She should be able to ask one of the Forge Keepers for a spare pair of tinted goggles.

Koma is able to overcome the visions he sees, centering his spirit and calming his mind. The past is just that, past. He has the present to experience and the future to prepare for.

[Mewla]

Mewla the groups lithe and very outgoing cleric chose to spend the last of her time at the fortress basking in the sun on a patch of ground under the trees of the orchard. Of course as usual the feline chose to wear barely enough silk to keep herself decent to prying eyes. The holy girl barely reached five and a half feet tall and true to her race was very light and dainty with snowy fur streaked through with black to match the hair on the top of her head. All that darkness only seemed to off set her alarmingly blue eyes; which currently were closed as she purred away in the sunlight. Though almost alarmingly young to be so devout in her faith nothing could shake the young woman from her beliefs in her Goddess and the morals that belief set before her, even if her morals weren't everyone else's.

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

Waking from his meditation Koma sees the young cleric sprawling in the grass ahead of him and decides it is high time for a tease. He centers himself in focus.

Swift action shape shift into rat.

He then bursts out quickly scurrying between the trees nearest Mewla

[EdgeGrinder]

Edge searched for a Forge Keeper who did not seem busy. She approaches one and asks, "Excuse me, good Forge Keeper, but do you have time to assist me?"

Diplomacy Check
(1d20+10)[22]

[Mewla]

Her sharp rounded ears flickered at the sudden sound, then mewed pitifully in surprise at the appearance of the rat. She jumped to her feet quickly and tried to scamper her way to a safe spot away from the thing that startled her. Despite recently becoming of age she was still prone to acting like a kitten in times of surprise.

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

Seeing the cat-girl unwilling to give chase Koma disappears into the orchard trees
(1d20+22)[36] stealth.

A few moments later he appears from the shadows in his natural form.

[Croverus]

Edge finds one of the dwarven Forge Masters, who looks up and starts briefly, then gets a good look at her and lets out a sigh. "Lass, Aye tought ye were an assassin snuck past tha guards to kill me. Gave me a wee start." He chuckles, then points to her pendant, "Fer a new memba of tha Dragon Clutch, Aye'll 'elp 'oweva Aye ken."

[Aladar]

Meanwhile, in the training hall:

Aladar settles in his guard slightly and murmers a command, the head of his glaive bursting into flames before he gives a challenging bellow and rushes the construct. Drawing his Glaive back over his shoulder, he gives a mighty swing, impacting with a resounding clang that can probably be heard elsewhere in the complex. Its a solid hit, and the magic of the Glaive ignites the construct, leaving it a blazing inferno as the ifrit pivots, striking the golem twice more, good hits as well, but not as glorious as the initial impact.

He takes a few paces back, holding his weapon in a guard as he prepares for the inevitable retaliatory strike. No way would it go down with just a single flurry, still... he couldnt help feeling a bit giddy, his grin visible beneath his visor.

[Mewla]

When she spotted Koma she couldn't help but hiss softly, though not in a threatening way as could be noted by her crossed arms, tilted out hip and teasing pout.

"I know that was you Koma! You know I don't like surprises!" Her voice was soft and musical, with the faintest roll of her r's.

If truth be told she didn't so much mind as log as it was one of her friends, they didn't grab her, and it didn't deal with the undead. The mere flutter of memory was enough to make the young felines ears press back. If this was were her thoughts were going it was sure to be a bad day.

[EdgeGrinder]

Edge cracks a smirk at the Dwaven Forge Master. "I get that a lot."

Being probably the only Drow to enter the Dragon Bonded, she can not fault him either.

"Would you happen to have a spare pair of tinted goggles you could part with? I'll be needing them for my journey to Skarra tomorrow." she asked the Dwaven Forge Master with a light smile.

(1d20+10)[17]

[Croverus]

The first blow of Aladar's weapon sinks into the stone hide, the flames erupting and engulfing the golem. The follow up hits however barely scratch it, though the flames do some small amount of damage. The Golem raises its fists and swings down, but it must be slower than a typical golem, as it misses by a good amount. That's probably the safety limitations in play. Aladar knows the command word to disable them, but if he does then when the golem does land a blow it will do more than just bruise him.

(Golem takes 26 damage and 12 fire damage, and is now on fire)

[Croverus]

The Forge Master thnks for a moment then nods, "Ye be 'eadin up to tha surface then? Tha light above be bright, ye'll need a pair o' these fer yer eyes Aye reckun." He finds a pair of tinted goggles, slightly smudged by soot. He wipes them off as best he can, then offers the pair to her.

[EdgeGrinder]

Edge gives the Dwarven Forge Master a grateful nod. "Thank you." She takes the pair of tinted goggles gladly. "If you'll excuse me, I must continue to preparations. Farewell."

Being courteous was easier and more legal than stealing. Even among these surface dwellers, she could be courteous. At least, they meant it.

She turned and headed for her next destination: the orchard to test out the tinted goggles.

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

A slight smile cracking at the side of his face, Koma replies You, my dear, must learn to steel your nerves. Where we go, we shall face things far worse that what I can conjure. his tone both light hearted and sincere.

Seeing the Drow appear at the edge of the Orchard It's this one I worry about. spoken just loud enough to be heard by Mewla.

[EdgeGrinder]

Wearing her newly acquired tinted goggles, Edge tested them out with the magical daylight. It seemed they blocked bright light well enough. The magical daylight was always too much for her. So she had never been in the Orchard with being in a daze.

She sighed as she took in the warm glow of the day and thought about contrast of the cold embrace of the Under Dark. Soon she would have the power she needed.

Perception Check to sense others.
(1d20+8)[12]

[Mewla]

Mewla stuck her small feline tongue out at Koma at his chiding of how fragile her nerves could be. But she kept her thoughts to herself as she followed his meaning with her eyes to rest them upon the new arrival, before replying just as quietly.

"We will need to all work with each other, she needs us as much as we will need her. Let your doubt go."

She wasn't sure if they had been noticed yet by Edge so she thought it best to make herself known.

"Edge! It's so nice to see you out and about in the sun light."

[Treebeard]

Globber walks out of a side room near the center of the keep, strange noises and bubbling sounds following him out as he closes the door behind him. He stares intently at the thick book in his hands as he flips the pages filled with arcane and, to those not trained, extremely confusing equations and wordings. The book and pages are singed around the edges, with some pages having small holes burned in them. He pulls out a small flask from his belt and looks from the flask to the pages, intense concentration scrawled across his green face. He wanders around the interior of the keep, not paying attention to where he's going.

(Globber is about 5 foot even. His teeth stick out of his mouth when he closes it and his nose is pointed and crooked, looking like it had broken at some point and been set badly. His ears are pointed and filled with earrings and holes in it, looking ragged around the edges. His clothes look worn and well traveled in, the ubiquitous burns and scorch marks covering it. He has a bandoleer strapped across his chest with different pouches and flasks, both empty and full, covering it. He has a belt around his waist with the same gear attached to it.)

[Croverus]

In the Orchard, several workers go about their daily routine of tending to the trees and gardens, and other people of the Fortress spend time relaxing. No one really bothers the three recruits, leaving them to talk among themselves.

Globber wanders the halls reading from his book, and ends up wandering into the kitchens, his stomach seems to be controlling his feet while his mind is focused elsewhere.

In the sparring room, Aladar miscalculates a swing, striking the golem with the flat of his blade. The impact sends a jolt through his arm and his weapon bounces back at a weird angle, the pole of it striking him hard in the head, the impact enough to knock him onto his back and out cold for several moment. With its target unconscious, the golem goes back to its position, switching to standby and beginning self repairs.


Aladar is unconscious for (1d6)[5] rounds