Pushing the Pawns

A series of interconnected adventures dealing with Xorvintaal, the Great Game played by the dragons of Faerun, and how it's impacting the meat and their wandering heroes. These adventures are prepared by Bwh.

Main Non-Player Characters

 * Loralei - leader of the Temple to Tymora at Starmantle.
 * Myrskallatoriska - an Adult blue dragon known for her prowess in the Great Game.
 * ??? - a rumored second dragon in Starmantle.

Supporting Non-Player Cast

 * Arshaad - an efreeti (Sor6) who led a troupe of bandits along the Dragonmere. [deceased]
 * Gorram Bashshar - a mid-level factor with the Dragonmere Trading Company.
 * Robert Black - a human barbarian and one of the troupe of bandits along the Dragonmere.
 * L - an insanely fast halfling who was Starmantle's previous Coliseum Champion.
 * Kamate Toshiiro - a warblade working inside the city, following a disastrous turn of events in Silverymoon.

The Story
From the darkness, a clawed hand reaches forward and pushes a pawn into play, beginning the Great Game anew ...

Tournament of Champions
Hammer 1 - 15, 1378 DR

Active Characters
 * Sejanus Bauduril, a fighter with a propensity for drinking and whoring;
 * Melfaren Bauduril, a wizard with a great mind and greater greed;
 * Talcoerr Eveningfall, a spellthief with a grudge against the Red Wizards;
 * Keldoc Mirrorwind, a bard who needs no introduction;

Four heroes are summoned peremptorily into the Temple to Tymora at Starmantle; while surprised (one of them arrived in the buff), they quickly geared up and took control of the situation. Their summoner, one Loralei, showed no signs of recognition; instead, she explained that she had used a Rod of Summon Heroes to bring forth stalwart adventurers in order to assuage the Temple's problems.

The Problem: five caravans in the past month have been attacked by bandits; each has been carrying a Tymoran artifact. The Temple would like the artifacts recovered. The Dragonmere Trading Company, the people who control the caravans, will offer 10,000 gold pieces per person to the group that brings them the head of the bandit chief.

The heroes step out into the streets of Starmantle and find the new year being celebrated in vigor. Keldoc begins a masterful performance to distract onlookers while the brothers Bauduril and Talcoerr gather information about the local on-goings. The caravan attacks have been major local news, but there are also faint rumors of a dragon in the distant Giant's Run Mountains.

Before bed, as it is yet nearing dawn, Keldoc and Talcoerr spot a strange silver-tunicked man watching the waterfront performance ... but he is gone as quickly as he came.

In the morning, the heroes meet with Gorram Bashshar of the DTC; they plan to join the next caravan and rebuff the bandit attack ... this will give them a chance at attacking the bandit chief and recovering the artifacts. The caravan leaves in two days' time, so they continue to explore. Sejanus and Talcoerr immediately discover that the infamous Starmantle Coliseum is hosting a Melee Kumite the following morning; for a chance at 25,000 gold pieces, each enters, unaware of the other.

Keldoc, in the meantime, tracks down the silver-tunicked man ... and is stunned, because true sight reveals that the man is no man, but instead a silver dragon strolling the streets and talking to seeming random street vendors. More oddly, he enters the Temple to Tymora, and does not emerge. Combined with Loralei's seeming unrecognition of him, he has a feeling that something has gone horribly, horribly wrong.

On the morrow, the tournament is held; Keldoc performs during and in between battles. In a stunning set of rounds, Talcoerr bests a paladin, a monk and a werewolf lord; Sejanus, far more adapt, destroys a monk, a warblade (Kamate Toshiiro) and a hill giant. Only partial healing is provided between battles, and each winner finds the succeeding battles all the more intense.

The second to last round is a four-way battle force cage match between the winners of the four brackets -- Sejanus emerges victorious, even over Tal, but is severely wounded. A halfling rises from the floor, to great cheering; they would later learn that this warrior, only known by the letter L, has complete weapon proficiency and staggering strength to match dazzling speed. Further, the force cage has taken on electrical qualities. Sejanus, swinging desperately, chops the halfling in half; L, startled, flops over dead. Silence steals over the crowd as they witness their champion so quickly dispatched, but it is just as quickly broken by the cackling of Melfaren, who's just realized how much money he's made. Applause then erupts from the rest of the spectators, who grew to like Sejanus during the course of the event.

Sejanus is officially crowned the Coliseum Champion of Starmantle.

Eventually, though, the fighter is recovered, and the four disembark with the caravan. The raid comes within four days ... and the charge is led by Robert, the barbarian Sejanus destroyed in the second to last round of the tournament. A quick about-face is ordered, and the bandits run away ... much to the surprise of Arshaad, the efreeti bandit chief.

Arshaad, rather than running, decides to strike a deal: if they will free him from the cruel enslavement of Myrskallatoriska, a blue dragon entrenched in the Great Game, he will give them the location of the artifacts. He doesn't know why they only attack caravans with the artifacts, but that seems to be the case. The group readily agrees, returns to Starmantle for equipment, and heads to the Giant's Run Mountains, to slay a dragon.

Myrskallatoriska is waiting for them. She seems surprised that Arshaad wants out of his contract; and while she's quite chatty, Melfaren provokes her wrath. She exhales, electrocuting Sejanus, who falls over dead. Melfaren nails the dragon between the eyes with a weakening ray, and Keldoc sneak-attacks with his bracelet dagger, injecting poison which rots her insides out. When she attempts to fly from her little rocky perch in the middle of her underground lake, Keldoc and Talcoerr stab her ferociously, and she crashes to the ground.

The heroes gather up what treasure they can and return to Starmantle. When they go to meet with Arshaad, though, at the bridge crossing the narrowest part of the Lake of the Long Reach, they find his head on a pole, and an arrow pointing into the lake. They take the head back to Starmantle and claim the prize ... then investigate the bottom of the lake. Six boxes with the holy symbol of Tymora are there ... as is one water-proof scrollcase ... as well as the destroyed remnants of a caravan and its guard, clearly assaulted by something large and angry.

The Tymoran boxes contain the artifacts that Myrskallatoriska claimed did not exist. The scrollcase contains a letter saying that "Arshaad's debt has been paid," and that, someday, someone would "come to collect from the four of you." It was marked with a symbol vaguely shaped like an M ... which only confused the heroes further; had they not just slain Myrskallatoriska?

They returned the boxes to the Temple of Tymora, though, and the oddly-acting Loralei accepted them graciously. She then bestowed gifts upon the heroes and bade them return should they wish to be returned from the place the Rod had seized them. The heroes were in no hurry to leave so friendly a city, though, and they left the temple, anxious to celebrate their seeming victories ...

Themes

 * With the Year of Rogue Dragons and the events of Shrouded Wings, the machinations of the dragons loomed rather large. While those dragons are important, they aren't the only dragons struggling for power and position in the world. These adventures are designed specifically to explore the fact that the fate of human nations are often subsidiary concerns to the mightiest of monsters.

Criticisms

 * None at present.

Miscellany

 * None at present.

Unanswered Questions

 * Who was that silver-tunic man / dragon, and what was his purpose?
 * What really happened to Myrskallatoriska?
 * Who was the traitor inside the Dragonmere Trading Company?
 * What happened to L?