resources:adventure:bend_the_knee [Memento Mundi]

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====== Bend the Knee ======
===== Initial Brief =====
According to travellers recently arrived in Acryn the humble village of Parrin's Field appears to have been wiped out by an avalanche.  If the reports are to be believed this is particularly unlucky for the 
inhabitants since the village is situated on the top of an open plateau with not a mountain in sight.

The City Council has put out a request for experienced adventurers to look into the disaster and deal justice to any responsible parties.  The reward is 27R for information with a substantial bonus possible for dealing with the problem more permanently.
===== PCs =====
  *[[user:khimaera:pc:paige|Paige]] - Anna
  *[[user:ellieh:pc:experiment_no._seventeen|Sev]] - Ellie
  *[[user:vickyh:pc:xavier_octavio_sarmandastra|Xavi]] - Vicky
  *[[user:chaos:pc:toli_nutt|Toli]]- Chaos
  *Evan - Dan
===== Debrief =====
The adventurers travel to Parrin's field and find that it does indeed appear to have been wiped out by some sort of catastrophic disaster.  They also find that the inhabitants were marked by some sort of message by a scribing/wounding ritual- once they locate a survivor they learn that the damage was done by a dragon and its rider, which appeared from nowhere one afternoon.  They are able to read the scar-message which bids the mighty come bend to the knee to the 'Peacebringer' on behalf of their lands.  Accepting the invitation to visit this murderous individual the party find the scars flowing onto their own skin/paper leaving them with an arrow that points northwards.

They travel to Margush and discover that others have recieved this message and that booking passage further north is something of a challenge.  Eventually they manage to negotiate with one of the merchant factors that they will be dropped off by the next ship heading north.  Xavi has a flash of foresight and uses his sway with the Guild to charter a second vessel to follow behind them should some unfortunate ocean menace claim the first ship.

They travel by river up to the far reaches of the continent and from there board a small vessel heading north into the frozen waters.  One night the ship is assailed by sea-unicorns, the beasts tough hides and long horns prove too difficult to engage and their ship is wrecked; all hope seems lost until the second vessel emerges from the darkness and the skilled hunters take anyone still standing aboard and help the party drive off the rest of the creatures.  Sadly it appears that Paige and Sev have both been lost to the frozen waters, until miraculously they are pushed back to the surface by a pod of friendly dolphins.

The ship arrives in the frostrimed port of Balwark and the group warm themselves by the fire and prepare themselves for a trek still further north.  Whilst the humans purchase thick furs and a guide, the golems are concerned about their paper becoming waterlogged and after some discussion they participate in a ritual with Evan which changes them into animate ivory, quite immune to the cold and viciously sharp when convenient.

The group heads out into the blizzard and promptly loses their cowardly guide to a family of giant polar bears.  After a one sided encounter with a group of flux barbarians (who don't deal well with the waves of lava being spewed by the mages) they emerge from the frozen storm to see a colossal tower of ice and a sizable settlement at its foot.

At the settlement they learn that the town was terrorised for about a year by a dragon before one of its warriors found a magical sword and managed to tame the creature.  They people are a bit conflicted and confused about the travellers arriving claiming destruction visited upon their homes but are generally just glad that they're no longer the ones being brutalised.  The mages witness blindingly intense flashes of mana from the top of the Spire and after some consideration of the facts Evan raises the concern that they might be dealing with the Dragon Slayer, as legendary cursed artifact of ill renown.

Making their way to the tower they encounter a group of Valyddi adventurers who attempt to use them as a warm up.  After a brutal battle nothing is left of the easterner's but their picked clean bones and these are used by the golems as they make their repairs.  They group enters the tower and find that some sort of ritual has rendered communication through language completely impossible- nevertheless they are able to reach an accord with a group of crimson-skinned truthseekers through some complicated miming and the two parties proceed upwards.

About halfway up the Spire the area falls into flux and Xavi is able to swiftly guide his companions towards the top.  There they enter the dragon Turaya sleeping, a heavy iron collar resting around its neck.  Woken from its slumber the dragon bids them to remove the binding upon it, placed there when the Iceblood hero managed to drive a single fragment of the Dragon Slayer past its scaled hide.  The party manage to shatter the bindings and the jubilant dragon flies off, levelling the city below as it flees.

Finally reaching the grand chambers at the top of the Spire the party are confronted by Kolo the Peacebringer who rants at them briefly before the party loses patience and kicks off.  Sev quickly disarms the warlord of Dragon Slayer but the blade continues to have its say, whispering into the party's minds and unleashing magics into the battle.  Xavi repeatedly attempts to grab the blade and is possesed into attacking his comrades, they keep putting him down, but sensing a useful tool the Dragon Slayer uses its vast reserves of mana to pick him up again and again, and finally with half the party downed by a gout of flame, the young god grabs his prize and vanishes into the flux leaving Toli, Paige and the truthseekers staring at an empty stairway.

As the conscious party members rouse their comrades Xavi flees through the consensus floors of the Spire, the Dragon Slayer helpfully sheering the tower above apart with a blast of Fracturing magics.  Running out into the devastated polar city he flees unimpeded by the inhabitants and once in the wastelands beyond he merges with the flux and spirits himself back across the seas and then down towards distant, hidden lands...  

With the Spire collapsing around them the remaining members of the party take a few moments to stuff their pockets with the treasures decorating the throne room and then sprint for safety.  As they flee down the tower they manage to catch up with a number of their crimson-hued allies and together they flee the settlement as the great tower of ice comes crashing down onto the streets. After explaining as well as they can what has transpired the party accepts the assistance of the dejected Skirans in getting off the Everchill and returning to Acryn.  They have a long sail home, but at least most of it occurs at positive temperatures.  Evan and Sev take the opportunity to prevail on Paige to educate them in her rare magical expertise.

Once they're home they give a full report of the situation to the Council, who are pleased that the mission has been //technically// completed and absolutely horrified about everything else.  They pay the party, agree to cover reasonable expenses and resolve to hunt for Xavi and the monstrous artifact he carries.


Snackies
==Xavi==
Retires to become a terrifying god-anomaly-doomsworder and sets off for the unfortunate realm of Skira

==Sev==
  *Is now made of engraved ivory and can always have a small spear available for unarmed combat. 
  *63R
  *Learns Unification from Paige
  *Has a tiny fragment from the Dragon Slayer
  *50R of fancy Iceblood tradegoods to decorate her home.

==Evan==
  *63R
  *Learns Unification from Paige
  *50R of fancy Iceblood tradegoods worth 15R to Shady Mike down the pub
  *An icicle that doesn't melt.

==Paige==
  *Is now made of engraved ivory and can always have a small spear available for unarmed combat.
  *63R
  *50R of fancy Iceblood tradegoods worth 15R to that nice lady at the pawn shop on the corner. 
  *Meets her maker (sort of)
 
==Toli==
  *63R
  *A holy talisman to something that reduces all damage from fire by 2.  Wearing it does make you feel bitterly cold.
  *50R of Iceblood tradegoods which your congregation have found an interested buyer for at 45R. 
{{tag>"bend the knee" adventure}}
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