The Toll
“Seriously? 100 gold each?!” Aran turns to the others to see if his reaction is warranted. His allies all seem to be on the same page. “Nah. We’re not paying that. Maybe 100 gold total, but not for each of you.”
The Assembly may be a few spell slots lower than full strength, but it’s still plenty to deal with these rodents.
Qhortho steps forward. “How about we just kill you and cross for free.”
Several other kobolds crawl out from unknown cervices in front and behind them. Farron pushes his way forward and issues a mass suggestion to them to head south and to carry some of their friends with them as they leave. Enough of the kobolds fall victim to the suggestion to clear out the entire group!
With a smug look, Farron addresses their group, “see guys, words can be just as effective as violence.”
Qhortho just shakes his head. “But where’s the fun in that?!”
That’s when they noticed some movement from the far end of the bridge. They quickly scan their surroundings, ready for a trap. Looking around, the area above the icy swamp is fairly thick with fog, blending seamlessly into the monotonous gray of the sky above. The bridge seems to repel the fog enough to remain clear for much farther than can be seen to their sides.
As the creatures approach, the party realizes they may need to fight their way to the other side. But two insects and a human woman shouldn’t be too tough for them.
These insects are no small bugs though; these are larger than any human and carry double-sided spears. The human woman with long white hair is draped in a thin blue robe. Something is afoot.
The Amulet of Lightbringer glows a deep scarlet.
The Tear of Life glows a deep blue.
The Root of Knowledge glows a deep green.
Farron notices a new feeling of strength come over him and his eyes are drawn to a bright white light inside his cloak. He realizes what this is. The crystal he’s been carrying… the crystal that has helped them on their way through the north… the crystal that’s been whispering to him… it was now on display much as the other artifacts. He immediately knows what this item is called as if it shouted its own name to him. This is the Crystalline Breath.
With a new layer of confidence, he stands ready. He almost takes a step forward toward the would-be combatants until he remembered that he needs to keep his distance from the other artifacts! He stops in his tracks, making sure everyone else is keeping their distance form him just the same.
The woman calls out to them. “You are unable to enter this realm without paying the toll. And even then, those that cross, do so at my discretion, and my discretion alone. I may very well decide you are ineligible for such… indulgence.
Qhortho calls back to her, “And your name is?”
She does not answer. Her pale blue eyes shift over each of the colored lights shed by the artifacts.
Disregarding Qhortho’s question, she calls back. “Though no amount of gold will allow you passage. No. It seems you have something else I will require. Where did you get those?”
Aran speaks up, “How about we give you 500 gold and I kill you?”
This clearly does not sit well with her.
Knowing the attack is imminent, Farron casts Crown of Stars and Bardic Inspiration of Aran and Qhortho.
Giant ice shards fall from the gray skies above, striking only Farron. The Ice Devils attack Aran and Qhortho immediately with their ice spears and by whipping their tails.
The woman calls out in a fierce voice, “You fools! You might have even lived!”
She transforms from her demure, slim form into a gigantic ice dragon! The great beast takes off into the air and lands directly in the middle of the Assembly, forcing them away from each other as its immense body fills the space.
It immediately delivers an enormous amount of damage to them, especially Farron and Qarzdaq.
Farron yells out that they need to get out of here. He teleports himself to be on the other side of the dragon but is mindful to be at a safe enough distance to not have an artifact mishap.
Aran continue the battle with one of the Ice Devils and manages to kill it! He very badly wants to attack the other one, but he knows that he can’t get any closer to the other artifacts so strikes the dragon instead. The attack seems to do almost nothing…
The dragon attacks again, knocking Aran and Qarzdaq prone. It then launches itself 40 feet into the air. A freezing fog fills the area, heavily obscuring their view and causing sharp cold pain as if a thousand knives stabbed them at once.
Qhortho lays down some damage on the other Ice Devil, but not enough to kill it.
Qarzdaq gets to his feet and teleports them all out of there to Greyguard just as the dragon breathes a powerful gust of icy air at the group.
Reporting Back
They immediately appear in the courtyard of Greyguard, each bracing for the dragon’s breath. As soon as they realize they are out of danger, the artifacts fade out.
They meet with Myke and tell him about the encounter with the gigantic white dragon over their first beer from the Greyguard brewery. They all agree that the brew master is doing a good job.
Myke tells them they should meet with the Lord Commander to keep him apprised of the situation to the north. If there are threats they should be aware of, they need to be well-informed to gear up for that type of fight. They all agree it’s probably a good idea.
Myke leaves them and they finally get the chance to talk about the Crystalline Breath.
After they stay overnight to recover, they teleport to the Nightfort, startling some nearby stewards upon their arrival. They tell Lord Commander Byron about the white dragon and he directs them to the maesters in the library.
Aran asks if Byron could write them a letter to the maesters in Oldtown to provide us support to help the realm. He agrees then asks about the status of the raven situation.
If they were being honest, they’d say it slipped their mind, but instead Aran tells him that this is a lesser problem than what they are dealing with. Given that they had not taken the oath, there’s no penalty for them not doing what he’s asked other than potentially losing the Night’s Watch support, but that would be even more unlikely than the Assembly itself.
Byron agrees to write the note, but tells them to speak with the maesters first, and meet back with him before they leave.
They meet with a maester in the library and discuss the dragon as well as potions, especially those that focus on healing and handling the severe cold of the far north.
They speak of finding a rare ingredient, a white flower with a pink center, to craft a potion for extreme cold resistance. The rangers are typically able to source it within about a week if they are focused on that mission, but if the Assembly were to find it, they’d save on the materials cost for such a potion. Normally, this potion would be 250 gold, but 150 of that is for the materials; the Assembly would not need to pay for their labor costs in either case.
The maester then tells them of an item called the Rod of Security that allows a group to temporarily get refuge and heal by teleporting into a different dimension. He suggests speaking with a maester by the name of Magelis in Oldtown.
The Assembly thanks the maester and leaves for Byron’s office. Byron is finishing up the letter to House Hightower as they walk in.
Aran asks him to amend the letter to include access to their maesters. He agrees and seals the note with the Lord Commander’s seal.
Oldtown
They teleport to Oldtown and head straight to the Citadel. They tell the first maester they see about the ravens from the Night’s Watch not making their way farther south than Winterfell. They go on to mention that the Night’s Watch is in need of more maesters, for research as well as to take a new post at the reopened and fortified Greyguard.
Qhortho goes on to spill the beans about the undead encroaching to the south. This was against all advice provided, and to what they’d agreed to, but there’s no putting that genie back in the bottle. The best they can hope is that he does not share it. The maesters, especially those at the Citadel, are fond of their secrets and this maester also told them not to tell anyone else… so the secret is probably still safe.
Qhortho goes on to tell him of the dragonglass and how dire it is that all of the major houses in Westeros send troops to fortify the Wall. He then also shows him exactly where on the map several points of interest to them along the way.
The rest of the group looks on, almost wincing at the level of detail he freely provides.
Aran mentions the letter from the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch and that they could stop by Oldtown in a couple of days if they could prepare a couple of maesters for the roles being requested.
The maester agrees, telling them to give him 1 week. [This is Day 915]
They leave the Citadel to find Magelis’s magic shop.
It doesn’t take long before they find the storefront, walk inside, and ask for him by name. It just so happens that this was Magelis!
After some back and forth, they show him the letter from the Lord Commander requesting his aid. Specifically the Assembly asks about the Rod of Security.
Initially he plays coy, so Farron gives him a little nudge of a suggestion to be more forthcoming with information. moment later, he’s telling the Assembly all about the Rod. The cost is quite a bit more than they expected though. There are some jokes about Qarzdaq, being a man of the cloth, has little need for coin and perhaps parting with all of it would be R’hllor’s will. Qarzdaq doesn’t buy it, neither figuratively nor literally.
When they pass based on price alone, Magelis goes on to tell all about the item:
While holding this rod, you can use an action to activate it. The rod then instantly transports you and up to 199 other willing creatures you can see to a paradise that exists in an extraplanar space. You choose the form that the paradise takes. It could be a tranquil garden, lovely glade, cheery tavern, immense palace, tropical island, fantastic carnival, or whatever else you can imagine. Regardless of its nature, the paradise contains enough water and food to sustain its visitors. Everything else that can be interacted with inside the extraplanar space can exist only there. For example, a flower picked from a garden in the paradise disappears if it is taken outside the extraplanar space.
For each hour spent in the paradise, a visitor regains hit points as if it had spent 1 Hit Die. Also, creatures don’t age while in the paradise, although time passes normally. Visitors can remain in the paradise for up to 200 days divided by the number of creatures present (round down).
When the time runs out or you use an action to end it, all visitors reappear in the location they occupied when you activated the rod, or an unoccupied space nearest that location. The rod can’t be used again until ten days have passed.
Farron reaches out his hand to touch the rod and tells him, “we will bring it back in a couple days.” As quickly as he is able to register the words, they all vanish from the shop. The arrive not too far from the Icy Bridge, the Rod of Security in their posession.
Farron sets up a Tiny Hut and they all enjoy a long rest.
The Toll, Round Two
They arrive at the edge of the Icy Bridge just after sunrise, fully refreshed. Before they take step onto the bridge, they prepare:
- Aran takes a potion of Frost Giant Strength, which will last an hour, and coats his guandao with Purple Worm poison
- Farron starts up his Crown of Stars
Just as before, the bridge is fairly clear, however, the fog above the icy marsh is thicker than it had been.
Only Qarzdaq’s and Qhortho’s artifacts light this time.
They see the ancient white dragon first even though the Ice Devil is ahead of her. When both are in view, they have to make a decision: run through their remaining prep now consisting of their shorter-lived perks that will run down as they spend the time approaching each other, OR wait until they are within range to get the most out of those perks.
They decide to get closer as to gain the most benefit of their perks, even if it means their enemies will get first strike.
- Qarzdaq quickly Hastes Qhortho and Aran
- Farron provides Bardic Inspiration to Qhortho and Aran.
- Aran takes his Potion of Invulnerability
They’ve got no excuses now. Well, except that they only have two active artifacts, but they’ve got a plan this time. But as a great poet once said, everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
The dragon flies at them suddenly, breathing out a strong burst of cold mist. All of them are able to dodge the brunt of the attack.
The Ice Devil squares off with Qhortho again, looking for retaliation. They trade blows a few times before the Ice Devil is destroyed. It helped that Farron smashed a couple of light balls against its carapace, but Qhortho landed the killing strike.
The party continues to damage the dragon, but its maneuverability and strength are a force to be reckoned with.
We end this session on Day 916, mid-fight with the ancient white dragon at the top of Round 3. Qhortho and Aran are still hasted. They are all immune to the Frightful Presence of the dragon for 24 hours. During this session, each member of the Assembly has gained 4 kXP bringing them to 209.8 kXP total. Next time we’ll find out if the Assembly needs to tuck tail another time before breaking through to the other side… or if the dragon will send THEM to “the other side”.