Arcadayn Journal: Session #23

Arcadayn Journal, Session #23
Game Date: 15-17 Heatblight, 994 KC
Play Date: 3/4/2000

15 Heatblight (Midsummer's Day): Heading south from the river, the terrain became drier, with sparser vegetation (mostly scrub). Al-Zaki assured them that they could find small streams here and there, tributaries to the river they were leaving behind.

Darra wanted to stop short of the Haunted Rift in order to be a safe distance from its denizens when she transformed during the full moon (the 18th). The party decided to stop a day's travel from the Rift, and continue after Darra had rested from that night's ordeal.

While looking for a campsite, the party saw a herd of striped antelope on the move. Al-Zaki said they were good eating, and decided that he would go hunting when the party stopped for Darra's moon.

During the night, Ruqayyah woke to see a glowing red eye watching the camp. It was too far beyond the firelight to see more, but was rather large. When she moved, it vanished. She checked to see who was on watch. Al-Zaki came back into camp a few minutes later. He had seen nothing, so she changed shape and investigated further. She found a partially-erased print, no longer identifiable. She went further out, shifted back to human, and tried to call out to the creature in every language she knew. When no reply came, she returned to camp. The others were told of her sighting when their turns for watch came up.

16 Heatblight: In the morning, Al-Zaki took a look at the track Ruqayyah had found, and claimed it was certainly large enough for a dragon's print. The party decided to keep moving; the dragon could find them when it wanted to.

17 Heatblight: More antelope passed the camp just before dawn. Al-Zaki left camp soon after to do some hunting.

About an hour later, the herd started running north, but the reason (if any) was not in sight. Ruqayyah decided to practice her own hunting skills by chasing one in cat form. As the others watched her and the herd, a large black dragon suddenly appeared nearby, flying low overhead. Laylah and Naima saw the shadow first, but Darra was surprised. Ruqayyah didn't see it until it snatched an antelope near her out of the herd. She fainted from the shock.

The dragon dropped its catch on the opposite side of the valley, flew back to grab a second, and then landed to begin devouring the first one greedily. It merely watched the humans as they checked on Ruqayyah and brought her back to camp. When the dragon finished the first animal, it stopped to rest and watch some more.

Laylah waited several minutes, then prayed to steel herself for talking to it. While she did so, the dragon rose, picked up the second beast in its jaws and walked towards the party. She went to meet it, followed by the others. It stopped about 50' away, and dropped the carcass. She bowed; it nodded.

She greeted it in Krithian, and stated that her mistress had told her to request the dragon's assistance. In the same language, it asked what help that might be. They seek a necromancer, to end his life and thus his evil. Although gods and dragons have little to do with each other, it decided to travel with them for a time and see what aid it could give. The dragon offered her the antelope for their meal. [Laylah never mentioned a goddess, only her "mistress." And Al-Zaki had mentioned finding lunch when he left. Aha!] As Laylah and the others prepared the meal, Ruqayyah (still a cat) approached the dragon to rub against its foreleg in thanks for the fresh meat. It seemed amused.

Laylah was very impressed by the sight of the dragon. She asked, "What's it like to fly?" It wasn't sure how to describe it to a human, so declined to try.

The dragon excused itself for a bit and returned with a bow wrapped in a cloak. Under the cover of a Mystic Mist spell, it changed into Al-Zaki. The women's reactions were varied. Laylah, suffering from post-stage fright, moved away to cry quietly to herself. Darra glared at him, demanding whether all these dramatics were necessary. He claimed they were, because he wouldn't be able to hide his true self from them much longer, and they needed to know. Ruqayyah was annoyed that he hadn't told her the night before, but (after Darra left to check on Laylah) asked about his shifting magic. Naima, true to form, remained impassive, quiet and alert.

Laylah returned to the fire a bit later to ask Al-Zaki what he had learned about humans from this little exercise. He needed time to think about that. When questioned about his method of revelation, he tried to justify it. If they could not handle that side of dragon nature, he would not be able to help them. Laylah pointed out that she was hurt by it. She had made a great effort to work herself up to impressing a dragon she didn't know to get help. She had suspected he was the dragon, but the confirmation made her preparation and fear worthless. This had damaged her ability to trust him. He claimed that her preparation was not in vain. He had needed time to ready himself to reveal his secret; a dragon's trust was not easily earned. Neither was that of some humans, she countered. After this, they both grew quiet and thoughtful.

After a while, Laylah asked easier questions, and got some answers. Some other dragons are curious about humans, too, but few would consider taking that form. Most dragons consider humans nuisances or prey. He was not sure whether virgins tasted any different from other people. He was about 200 years old--a young adult.

Laylah found Darra to fill her in. The dragon seemed somewhat ignorant of humans, and she thinks his bravado was compensation for his own fear. They agreed that they could not trust him completely--with their lives, yes; with their hearts, no.

Meanwhile, Ruqayyah kept herself occupied practicing every spell she knew. When she could not find anyone to practice her healing spell upon, she considered cutting herself. Al-Zaki prevented her, but grew exasperated with her and left the camp for some time.

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