Candle in the a Dark Campaign Diary - Session 9: Dythan’s Legion

The Cast:

• Enid, half-elf cleric of Bahamut
• Nashgar, dragonborn paladin of Bahamut
• Leilua, tiefling warlock
• Corrin, halfling barbarian

Having rescued the halflings of Corrin’s village, along with four humans, from the orc war band, the heroes make good time and distance from the encampment by traveling through the Gardbury Downs at night.  When they believed they had reached a relatively safe distance, they set up camp for the remainder of the night.  Luckily, the orcs did not find them, so the group had the halflings return. To their village on their own, while the humans asked to accompany them to Fallcrest.  They find the King’s Road and begin making their way.  

A short time later, the group watches as another war and marches down the road towards them.  This war and was not made up of orcs, goblins or kobolds, but was instead a band of Dragonborn.  One of them rode upon a large drake-like beast and hailed Nashgar for a parlay in the tongue of the dragons.  The paladin stepped forward and the two conversed for a time as the others watched on.  Nashgar then returned to the group and explained that this was a unit of Dragonborn from a larger group known as Dythan’s Legion; followers of Bahamut. They are traveling these lands seeking signs of trouble from other Dragonborn war bands that are aligned with Tiamat, and that seek to bring about the ruse of dark Arkhosian Empire under the rule of Tiamat.  He asked if the heroes had seen any trouble from the humanoids of the Stonemarch here in the western part of the Nentir Vale.  Nashgar told him about the occupation of the town of Kiris Dahn by goblinoids, as well as the orcs that are seemingly controlling them.  The Dragonborn, named Captain Norlak, son of a General Dythan, son of Ragnus, reacted when told about the red hand upon a black field that the orcs and goblinoids were using as a standard.  He said that the Red Hand are a particularly powerful and aggressive army led by a red Dragonborn known as Arkhan the Cruel.  This warlord has spent years conquering territories and growing his power in the name of Tiamat, and now seems to have his sights set on the Nentir Vale, using the orcs, goblins and kobolds as spies and informants to assess the strength of the vale’s defenses.  

Captain Norlak said that he’d hunt down the orc war and that the group rescued Corrin’s people from and asked that Nashgar and his friends make him aware of any other aggressive and organized humanoids they run across.The group watch as the Dragonborn march past them.  Captain Norlak asks one more favor of the group, and that is to keep an eye open for word of a silver dragon egg that was stolen from one of Dythan’s units.  

The group resume their journey to Fallcrest and several hours later they run across a wagon that had been attacked a day or so earlier, from a group of kobolds from the Cloak Woods, based on the tracks left behind.  

The group then resume their journey and make it to the Moon Hills just before sunset.  Corrin finds them a defensible camp site and the all retire for the evening.  On Corrin’s watch, a sound is heard that puts Corin on alert.  He wakes Nashgar, whose turn to take watch was approaching.  Nashgar donned his equipment and began scouting the surrounding terrain when he came upon a large, black beast with yellow eyes that reflected the paladin’s light. The beast growled and brought to Nashgar’s mind of the warnings of the Dark Drake of the Moon Hills that they were warned about at the Goathorne Inn.  This beast matched that description and Nashgar called to his companions to be roused, as it appeared that the beast was about to pounce.  The others got up and went to the paladins side as the beast attacked!  And as they were told, the creature disappeared after each attack, confusing the group.  It used this ability to isolate one of the humans and drag her into the darkness, where it brutally killed her.  The heroes found her mutilated body and spent the next several moments chasing the elusive beast around the camp, attacking when it appeared and attempting to either kill it or drive it off.  They finally got the monster to appear close enough to them to all attack at once, which seemed to overwhelm the beast and bring it down.  But as it fell, it disappeared again and this time did not return.

The following day, the group resumes its journey and make it to Fallcrest.

End of Session.