Journal of Rollo Lavius 3

Entry #554 - Drink and Dragons

(G554 23/03/2024 via Roll20 - JF, KT, AP(GM), AD) YI-B5

[I am back on the Island once more, having survived our recent dungeon adventure. Myself (Rollo), Reinward and Fang are now ready to go and sell all the loot.]

DAY 621 (14th Uktar) (November) cont ...

I teleported us to Sasserine and we went to Gond's for the selling of the loot.

First we went to the Vanderboren mansion to get cleaned up.

When we got to Gond's I ordered:

A Periapt of Wisdom (+6) for 36,000 gp.

After that we decided to have a celebratory night out on the town. We only got as far as "The Cheesy Coxswain", a new tavern that had opened just down the street.

While we drank and moved about the place I kept my ear to the ground - listening for any news about the Shining Sea and Yag Island specifically. Nothing alarming, but then I didn't nose about too much.

Reinward started talking about wand chambers - which apparently is a way of combining a wand and a weapon.
'Sounds a bit kinky to me,' I opined.
This lead to a lot of banter about "wand chambers" for the rest of the night.

Fang was on a mission and did not stray far from the bar, knocking back drink after drink. We played darts with some other fellows, but Reinward's plans to try and hustle them were so complicated that the game rather fell apart. In the end he picked their pockets - of about 20 gold - fairly pointless after the fortune we had made out of the treasure that had come from the Wasp Dungeon.

The food at the Cheesy Coxswain wasn't up to much so we went to the market to get huge plates of deep fried fish and chips. Me and Fang entered an eating competition. I did ok - for a while - but Fang managed to eat everything and won - hmm, what did he win? - maybe just an unpredictable tummy in the morning!

After that we went to a tavern near the gates and proceeded to get drunk.

Towards the end of the night though, some party-pooper messenger arrived. He was in need of urgent help he said. He had just come from the east where a dragon was apparently threatening his village.

I don't know if this was the first tavern he had come to, or if someone had given him my name and location, my brain was a bit fuzzy at this point, but he seemed quite animated.

Reinward was not impressed. "How much is in it for us?" he asked.

I ordered some coffee and tried to focus. The man said he was Fulsan Hayward of the Hartsvale Watch. The dragons name was Valturnax. Valturnax was a large green dragon who had attacked the village previously, killing and injuring many.
He was demanding to become the villages ruler and that the men of the village become his soldiers. If this didn't happened the village would be destroyed tomorrow night. Fulsan had a map to the dragon's lair, but needed heroes to go and slay it.

My head was beginning to work again. The village was only a days ride away so I asked - "Is there a wizard's sigil for Hartsvale and can you draw it?"
When he said yes I said, "Then stable your horse at the Manor tonight and we will teleport to the sigil."

Back home I had Fulsan re-tell his story so I could write it down:

''
At nightfall – 8 o'clock – the day before, a large green dragon attacked the town, using his poison breath on several guards before killing and eating the local wizard. The dragon announced his name, Valturnax, and told the surviving guards and gawking villagers that Hartsvale was now his, and that he would be expecting "tribute". Tribute involves half the town's fighting age men serving as his militia.
Hartsvale's men have little combat experience – most are simple farmers or fishers, and Valturnax already killed half the town guards.
If Hartsvale refuses to send him soldiers, they will be destroyed tonight at nightfall. Hartsvale doesn't have much gold, but they can offer the rights to claim whatever treasure is available in the dragon's hoard.
Valturnax has made his lair in a ruined temple to Bahamut, an hour into the forest of Hartsvale. It takes 4 hours to get to Hartsvale, and another hour to get to Valturnax's lair.
Several villagers and some surviving guards reported seeing the dragon use magic during the fight – one said the dragon dispelled the wizard's enchantments, and another claimed he saw the dragon turn invisible. A third said that he saw the dragon create an illusionary monster.
''