The Forty-Second Session

After defeating the dragon and reviving Cormir, the Sentinels tore off a number of its scales, and Yief took 2 claws to give to the city of Harrowdale for decorative use as a way to remember the Sentinels slaying of the dragon on their shores. They then reunited with the Bloodsail fleet, with Vissella being quite confused about seeing Aoth as a Draconian for the first time, and Yief immediately finding and getting horny over Bashak. They saw that Hanolin, Fish, and Nul were responsible for the fleet arriving in Harrowdale so quickly, having teleported there and coordinated with the mages of the fleet to cast a giant teleport spell.

Deciding to rest, they went to the Dreamer's Den, the upscale inn in the wealthier part of town. Greeted by the bartender and subsequently the owner, they were given their pick of the rooms, on the house. They then bought nearly all of the alcohol, with a slight spending contest between Halrek and Vissella, to throw a celebration for the townsfolk. Yief and Bashak skipped the party and went to their room, where they were loud enough that Aoth and Shag heard them outside. Shag attended, but kept to the outskirts as he began to sit with the emotions of Xochic's death. Aoth gave him a nod of solidarity.

Aoth and Vissella flirted over his new ice abilities, but were interrupted by Cormir thanking them and Shag for saving his life, and asked Vissella to be the grand Admiral for the resistance fleet, as they didn't have any real organization on the shores. She accepted, and he went off to bed, acknowledging that he owed Shag big time, and would pay back in dividends should they all survive the coming battles.

When the adrenaline rush of the night faded, the townsfolk began to leave, and the Sentinels all turned in for the night, sleeping late into the morning. When they awoke, they decided to be as productive as they could. Halrek, Yief, and Shag went to Daev's to use his forge, where Daev and Yief bonded over a mutual love of Spaghetti. Yief then forged shields for he and Aoth using the dragon scales, and shortened Ekuzu to a short sword length for Halrek, saving the removed material for further modification of the blade over the following days. Partway through the day, Shag left to visit the spot where Xochic sacrificed himself, and stare out over the ocean like an anime character.

Aoth visited the Mage's Guild outpost, asking Mora and Nora about the Blood Stone remnants they had taken from Mulmaster. She confirmed that once destroyed, the stone's magic faded and could no longer be used. When Aoth asked if the guild could use the stones, she confirmed that its origin would allow it to be a substitute for Glowstones in the creation of Archstones. He then gave her all of the shards of it he had, asked if he could have a Wizard's Ritual Spellbook, was given one, and left.

That evening, they said their goodbyes to Vissella, Bashak, and the fleet, and made their way back to Myth Drannor. After debriefing Melarra, they all relaxed in the fortress' common room. Eventually joined by Melarra, she thanked them for bringing Cormir back, as the leadership of the resistance would have fully fallen to her, and she already felt overwhelmed enough as is. She said the Shadowborn forces were pulling back, but would likely be back. She said the Sentinels could take time to themselves in the mean time, and she would call on them when the time came. She began drinking and confided in them, but retired to her room as she rarely drank and didn't want to embarrass herself.

The group then sat around and talked amongst themselves, for the first time without something impending the following morning. They spoke about Aoth and Yief's past prior to meeting each other, and processed exactly how much they'd been through in a relatively short time. Finally, they all went to bed.

Yief opened his eyes in a dream, surrounded by darkness, seeing his father in front of him. Looking at his hands, he realized he was a child again. He began calling out to his father, who turned and began walking away from him. He chased his father, but couldn't catch up to him, his father eventually disappearing into the darkness in the distance. A cardinal flew past his head, following his father's path, and also disappearing into the darkness in the distance, but followed by a flickering light. The light grew, illuminating what looked like a mountain range in the distance. The light then seemed to grow wings, which flapped in Yief's direction, sending a wave of fire toward him. He lifted his hand to block it, and awoke as the flames hit him. He looked down, and saw light singe marks on his arms, and could still feel the warmth on them.

He told his teammates about his vision, and said he remembered the figure in the mist from his vision back in Luthcheq told him to go to the Desertmouth Mountains. They decided to help him face whatever fate awaited him there, and used the teleportation sigil to go there. Arriving, Aoth used his cartography skills to figure out where in the mountain range they appeared, while Yief began looking for signs of a phoenix. Finding scorch marks on some rocks, he began to track a path the phoenix may have travelled.

Seeing a small smoke plume while traversing the mountain, they went to investigate, finding a recently put out fire. Aoth and Shag were able to discern some small, lightly made footprints, and followed them to a crevasse, where they found Adema hiding with her bow drawn. Realizing it was them, she lowered her weapon. When they asked what she was doing, she responded she was hunting a phoenix because she heard its feathers can heal, and she wanted to get her father back on his feet. Through talking with her, Aoth and Halrek realized she was being deceptive, and Halrek blinked behind her and put Vicious to her throat. Aoth drew his hammer, forcing her not to retaliate. Shag then cast Zone of Truth, and they began questioning her. They discovered her father had succumbed to his injuries from back when they first met her. She didn't really want the phoenix so it could heal, but because it was the last thing he asked her to do, because he wanted her to heal him. She blamed herself for his injuries that led to his death, and felt like she failed in not being able to save him, and needed to prove that she was strong. She said she could still hear him saying she wasn't strong enough and that it was her fault, and that she couldn't let him die. The Sentinels lowered their weapons, and tentatively agreed to help her hunt the phoenix.