"I'm fine with meeting him at his hoard. But it sure sounds like you mean to pick a fight with a dragon. I'm not against it, but if you meant to talk to a prideful dragon, you might want to pick different works."
Cabaguil slaps his forehead, forgetting the guards the passed on their way in.
"Those guards must know what goes on down here. They surrender, or they are culpable I think. What do you all think?" He asks uncertainly, knowing anger blinds him a bit.
"Got another of those invisibility spheres, Cabaguil? That'd do the trick I think."
"No, sorry. I've only one of those a day I'm afraid. Plus, we wouldn't be able to get all the prisoners free with it in any event."
"We are still freeing the prisoners we can, yes?" He doesn't comment on those too far gone to save... though he worries about them.
"Cab's logic is sound. Yes, let's free them. This how twisting of idceals sickens me. It's why I've been so quiet. I've been sifting and twisting my thoughts to somehow square this circle. I cannot. This is beyond the pale."
"We could free them after we speak with the Dragon. One way or another, we might get their freedom as well...either the Dragon will grant them because he understands the bigger picture, or because he chokes on his own life's blood," Raspar suggests coming back for them.
"Yeah, I'd rather get out of here without bringing the whole garrison down on us. If we can do that, and come back for the prisoners later I'd say that."
Kelvin gets the group to follow his lead and his every step as he moves them quietly past the guards. He times their movements between shift changes so that they go unseen.
Let me know if had to use it please
Raspar follows Kelvin’s lead, especially since keeping it simple is Raspar’s key strength. He will help as he can while padding along on his quiet, tiny, but strong feet.
Cabaguil looks sorrowfully on the prisoners so evilly treated. He frowns when it becomes clear the group means to leave them there, at least a little while longer.
He moves as quietly as he can following Kelvin's suggestions to try and sneak past the guards.
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You grab Jonivar as Kelvin quietly leds you back through the cell block. You wait a few moments for a change of the guard and use the shadows to sneak through the door two by two remaining unseen under Kelvin's guidance.
Wih Jovinar under a cloak you take to the streets where you can remain hidden from any guards.
Once they're safely away, Kelvin turns to Jonivar. "There are two councillors who think something is up with Mengkare. Plus you. Do you know Inizra and Emaliza? Do you trust either? It's likely we'll have a fight with a dragon on our hands, and so it might be a good idea to get people to a safe spot."
"Yeah," Raspar says, agreeing with getting innocents to safety. "We're going to have a talk and we can only hope it goes well. We're good at talking, but we're not sure the dragon is good at listening."
"Aye, she sent us. So let's go see her and tell her what's going on."
”Aye, let’s do that,” Raspar echoes.
Cabaguil nods. "Sure, let's spread the word. I hope they don't rise up against us." He grins a bit, but worries slightly. He expects Inizra to side with them, but the general populous hasn't seen what they've seen. Will they believe? Or have they been conditioned against this sort of trouble... How many people will they need to convince?
He moves with the party, watching the skies for dragon sign.
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You return to the outpost to find Inizra and return Jonivar to her. Upon being escorted into the chamber once more, the Commander of the City Guard rises as her hand shakes. "Quickly shut the door." Once the door is shut she rushes over and embraces Jovinar. "You are alive, I knew you were alive." She begins to cry as Jovinar explains what is going on.
Her eyes grow wide and filled with fury. She paces the room, looking to you for a bit more guidance. "What are we going to do? We can't let this happen."
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"Thought you might say that. Well, good for you that Mengkare seems to have been the root of our problems for awhile now. And Raspar here," he thumbs a finger at the Desnan, "He pulls weeds with the deepest of roots. And I stab what comes out."
Kelvin shrugs. "I'm borrowing metaphors. You get me though."
"Anyhow, we want to have a chat with Mengkare. You know a way? And you know a place we can have that chat that's away from any collateral damage? The chat might not stay pleasant, if you catch my meaning."
Cabaguil nods at Kelvin's wise words, agreeing completely.
"Yeah, enough innocent bystanders have been harmed by this dragon. We don't want more. That's key."
"What Kelvin often says is mostly wrong, but with this, he is mostly right. Can we find a place to speak to Mengkare where others might not be hurt? It would be a kindness," Raspar says, agreeing with Kelvin.
One more thing, Cuthberwyn offers, would be the prisoners below. Whatever crimes they may have committed, they have more than paid the price and it is time to allow them to see the light of day once more. If you wish them elsewhere outside of Promise that is understandable; but freedom from their penance is part of the deal. We must needs do something for them as well, no?
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Inizra thinks for a moment as she slumps in the chair from the weight of the situation. "He should be back in a few days time. Anywhere within the city is bad. Maybe meet within his lair beneath the city where noone will be hurt?" She looks to you to see if this might be acceptable or if you have a differing plan. "I agree, though if we can convince Mengkare to stop this insane plan then maybe we can also convince him to free the innocents in the prison."
"the lair works for me."
"Yeah, and we can probably make it better down there, if we have the time," Raspar says of the lair.
Cabaguil smiles, "That's what I suggested originally. Perfect. A few days time huh? I hate waiting..."
Kelvin shrugs. "Gives us time to think about what to say, and if he won't be reasonable, how we'll handle things from there."
Cabaguil will wait, though he wishes it weren’t so. The prisoners still being imprisoned grates on him terribly. Still, he’ll learn what he can of Mengkare while he waits. He avoids questions like ”What weaknesses does he have?” as they would be too leading. Instead, as if writing a tract about him, he asks about the dragon’s strengths.
He'll spend a whole day on the topic, hoping to get different perspectives from different people.
(ring)
(ring)
(ring)
When conferring in private with the party, he adds, ”I have few spells that would be considered buffs, but I do have freedom of movement. However, it only lasts 10 minutes, and I suspect our conversation may last longer so I’m not sure how useful that will be until he grabs someone.”
Kelvin's approach to finding information about the dragon is to talk to folks who claim to be experts on him. Basically, anyone willing to boast about their leader, or about what they know about their leader.
He doesn't get very far.
That said, Kelvin is something of an expert on dragons. He's up on the lore of gold dragons, and on Mengkare.
Raspar sticks with Cabaguil in case anything dangerous happens, and waits patiently for good perspectives from the peoples to well up. He will listen and hear and opine when necessary.
Cuthberwyn takes a similar, if distinct, approach as Cabaguil: he tells others of his intent to craft a tale about Mengkare and offers samples to those willing to discuss Promise's leader.
When conferring in private with the party, he adds, "I have few spells that would be considered buffs, but I do have freedom of movement. However, it only lasts 10 minutes, and I suspect our conversation may last longer so I'm not sure how useful that will be until he grabs someone."
Cuthberwyn thinks a moment. I do have time stop, though this only affects the caster and won't allow the opportunity for others to act. Hmm, what about maze? That might buy us a few seconds at a time.
"Maze is a great spell Cuthberwyn. Save it for two or three rounds in, and we can use the time to heal and reset. I suspect most of my offensive spells will be resisted so I'm planning on focusing on healing for this one."
He waits.
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You spend the next couple of days bidding your time and researching into Mengkare's history and you uncover quite a bit about him, through speaking with the locals and several history books down in his archives, as well as all of the events you have witnessed place together quite the colorful story.
The gold dragon Mengkare hatched in 3469 ar in the eastern foothills of the World’s Edge Mountains. For the first 191 years of his life, Mengkare studied history, magic, and philosophy, tutored by his parents and, periodically, trusted scholars from across the world who were allowed to visit the lair. This idyllic life came to a devastating end in 3660, when a conspiracy of anarchists led by a cleric of Dahak used a powerful artifact called the orb of gold dragonkind to dominate metallic dragons throughout Taldor, driving them to commit devastating atrocities that threw the nation into chaos—this event came to be known as the Dragon Plague. Mengkare and his parents were among those dragons dominated by the conspirators. In time, Mengkare’s parents were killed by a group of dragonslayers, while Mengkare himself was banished to the Wastelands of Axis by the violet ray of a prismatic spray. Mengkare remained in exile on Axis for over a century, and it was during these years that his alignment shifted from lawful good to lawful neutral, and he first began to philosophize upon the nature of racial perfection.
Mengkare returned to Golarion in 3773 and spent many years traveling the land in the guise of a human philosopher, intrigued by humanity’s paradoxical capacity for great good and great evil. Everywhere he traveled, he studied and observed. In 3819, as he wandered along the front of the Shining Crusade in Lastwall, he was approached by a fascinating woman who seemed to realize he was something more than a mere wandering philosopher. This woman was none other than Iomedae (before she ascended to divinity), a passionate and powerful crusader, and she convinced Mengkare to aid humanity in opposing the Whispering Tyrant and joining the crusade.
Mengkare’s time as a crusader was short, for only 4 years later, he once again experienced humanity’s capacity for great evil when he witnessed Tar-Baphon’s defeat of Arazni. Demoralized further by what he took to be a lost cause, Mengkare quit the field of battle and left the mainland of Avistan, settling in for a hermit’s life on a remote and wilderness island in the Steaming Sea: Hermea.
In 3980, Mengkare learned of a deeply troubling rumor that finally drew him out of hiding—news that a human wizard named Ilgreth had recovered the orb of gold dragonkind and had been using it to enslave dragons dwelling in and around the Five Kings Mountains. Infuriated and blinded with a need for vengeance, Mengkare foolishly challenged Ilgreth, hoping to defeat him, gain control of the orb of gold dragonkind, and keep it from human hands forever. But the orb of gold dragonkind warned Ilgreth of Mengkare’s approach. He confronted the gold dragon and, only a moment later, Mengkare became dominated by the orb of gold dragonkind for the second time in his life.
Ilgreth retreated back to his hidden workshop deep within the volcano then known as Torag’s Crag and put Mengkare to work, but his plans to harness the dormant volcano’s energy collapsed when a group of powerful human heroes tracked him down and confronted him. The wizard threw his dominated dragons at the heroes, but a lucky greater dispel magic managed to counteract the dominate monster effect controlling several of the dragons, including Mengkare. The furious and shamed gold dragon seized his chance—and discovered in that moment a heretofore unknown fact of his ancestry: Mengkare was a direct descendant of the original gold dragon whose soul had been bound, eons before, into the orb of gold dragonkind.
While Ilgreth had protected himself from fire, he had no defense against Mengkare’s weakness-inducing breath. Already feeble, the wizard was rendered unconscious by the blast, but this mattered little, for the breath also caught the orb of gold dragonkind in its wake. The result was instantaneous. The orb of gold dragonkind exploded, overloaded the runes Ilgreth had been carefully crafting, and set off a chain reaction: the volcano began to erupt! As devastation spread, Mengkare quickly swept up most of the shattered fragments of the destroyed orb of gold dragonkind and teleported away, back to his lair in Hermea.
Victory over the orb of gold dragonkind rang hollow, as Mengkare realized the volcanic eruption he had triggered had caused the loss of many lives, but he convinced himself that this was a necessary sacrifice. He devoted much of his time to studying the shards of the orb of gold dragonkind, and eventually decided that there was no way the destroyed artifact could ever be restored. Relieved that this thorn from his past had been truly vanquished, he placed the shards in his vault and spent the following years periodically traveling back to the perfect city of Axis to further research the nature of racial and spiritual perfection.
In 4212, Mengkare found something amazing in a cavern deep under Hermea—an ancient and inoperable aiudara called Vengegate. Although he was initially unable to reactivate the portal, Mengkare’s considerable intellect and magical skill allowed him to determine where the portal led—a remote location on the border of Isger and Druma. Mengkare flew to the site, explored further, and discovered Alseta’s Ring. There, he also discovered the magical key needed to activate Vengegate.
But when Mengkare activated the portal, he made a disturbing discovery: the incarnation of Dahak that haunted the Ring. Mengkare’s wonder at discovering the portal network and desire to reactivate the other portals in Alseta’s Ring was replaced by fear of what would occur should the incarnation of Dahak escape from its imprisonment—a resurgence of dragonstorms and the release of a cruel god’s avatar.
And so Mengkare hid the Vengegate key in his lair and dedicated himself to finding a solution to this new problem. For 2 centuries the dragon pondered, spending much of that time researching in the Perfect City on Axis. Eventually he discovered a potential solution, then spent nearly another century searching his soul and agonizing over the ramifications of what he’d learned—a potential way to not only defeat Dahak’s incarnation but also to strike a significant, perhaps even mortal, blow to the dragon god of destruction, but only at the expense of an entire civilization.
Mengkare’s discovery was of the Anima Invocation, the same ritual the Ekujae elves used so long ago to end the previous Age of Ashes and imprison Dahak’s avatar. Mengkare studied the ritual and focused on methods of expanding and improving its effects, eventually coming to the conclusion that if he could engineer a powerful enough sacrifice of a sufficient number of perfected souls, he could not only defeat the manifestation of Dahak but cause significant and lasting damage to the dragon god himself! Using the same logical arguments he’d used to retroactively justify the devastating volcanic eruption he’d triggered years before, he was able to come to terms with the most distasteful part of his plan—the sacrifice itself. If sacrificing a few thousand souls could save hundreds of thousands or more, would it not be a greater evil to do nothing and potentially consign future nations to oblivion?
Mengkare returned to Golarion in 4512 and spent the next several years finalizing his plan. Then, in 4519, he traveled to the region surrounding Alseta’s Ring, disguised as a human wizard named Lamond Breachton, and scoured Isger for people who epitomized the perfection he sought. The dragon’s initial plan was to tell these recruits the goal of his plan and use saving the world as motivation, theorizing that a like-minded group of good-hearted people would see the wisdom of his goals, but he quickly found that humans were resistant to building a society whose goal was self-sacrifice. When he realized his initial plan to create a utopia was a failure, the dragon used powerful magic to erase all traces of his attempt. He wiped the subjects’ memories, leaving them with only the barest training they’d need to survive in the remote wilderness. He extended this mind-wiping magic to cut off the citizens of the town from their loved ones, seeking to ensure his first failure would remain forgotten. He then spent a year helping the townsfolk get re-established, playing the role of a “kindly wizard who’d discovered the amnesiac citizens of a remote town and sought to save them.” In so doing, Mengkare yet again stanched his own guilt by telling himself he was acting for the greater good of humanity.
Mengkare spared no expense in this pursuit, spending a significant amount of gold from his hoard to ensure the town would thrive, helping the citizens create a supportive infrastructure before he abandoned them to their fates. The townspeople never heard from him again, but they never forgot—they named their home after him, and Breachill exists to this day, an unsuspecting remnant of Mengkare’s doomed first attempt to create a utopia.
It would be decades before Mengkare began his second attempt at creating a utopia. With this second Glorious Endeavor and the founding of the utopian city of Promise, he embraced secrecy and sought to not only recruit souls but also to hand-craft them himself via selective breeding and rigorous training. But what Mengkare didn’t anticipate was that his creation of a new organization—the Scarlet Triad—would eventually set into motion a series of events that could well bring the Glorious Endeavor to its knees.
The storms that wracked the world after Aroden’s death devastated Promise and forced setbacks to the Glorious Endeavor. Over the months that followed, Mengkare realized he needed to focus his attentions on protecting and guiding the Glorious Endeavor on Hermea, and thus he couldn’t spare the time to personally seek out talented and gifted humans on the mainland to recruit to the project. As a solution, he founded a group called the Scarlet Triad in 4607, drawing upon three allied mercantile concerns with ties to (and based in) the city of Katapesh. The triad’s leaders arranged for the use of chambers below the city’s so-called Red Pyramid and took on the role of curators and guides of the historic site as a front for their operations. Only the city’s leaders had an inkling of the Scarlet Triad’s true purpose, and Mengkare paid well to ensure they were satisfied enough to not probe too deeply or ask too many questions.
For decades, the Scarlet Triad served as “talent scouts” for Promise, but as the Glorious Endeavor continued to gain momentum and population, the need for new blood grew less and less. By 4690, Mengkare reduced funding and support to the Scarlet Triad, reasoning that their services were increasingly unnecessary. The Triad then decided to secretly branch out into the slave trade to augment their dwindling coffers, figuring that their agents were already seeking out talented and gifted people and that even those who didn’t meet the strict requirements for inclusion into the Glorious Endeavour could still fetch a high price as slaves.
The Scarlet Triad kept this venture quiet from Mengkare with the aid of their current leader, Uri Zandivar, whose elder sister ????? had the dragon’s ear With his sister’s aid, Uri prevented Mengkare from learning the truth about the Triad’s descent into the slave trade—as long as the organization continued to provide the good human stock the dragon sought and did so at reduced overhead, things ran smoothly. When Absalom outlawed slavery in 4717, the Scarlet Triad saw a significant portion of its business crash and burn, and over the past few years it has been working to branch out—most significantly into Old Cheliax’s slave trade, into the Darklands below the Five Kings Mountains (hoping to set up a new slave trade with the duergar there), and with a cult of Dahak worshippers in the Mwangi Expanse.
In the meantime, the Scarlet Triad has become focused on a significant project—gathering up as many shards of the destroyed orb of gold dragonkind as it can, so that it can rebuild a lesser version of the orb. With the aid of strange rituals, powerful allies, and essences of Dahak himself stripped from tainted gold mined from the Mwangi Expanse where the deity’s manifestation once walked the world, the Scarlet Triad grows ever closer to something Mengkare assumed was impossible—rebuilding, at least in part, an artifact that will grant the Scarlet Triad the power to gain its most powerful slave yet: Mengkare himself.
The phrase “Tomorrow Must Burn” is one Mengkare often uses to justify his actions. It refers to the end goal of the Glorious Endeavor, and to Mengkare’s conviction that in order to save the future from Dahak, a short-term and hopefully controlled apocalypse in the form of sacrificing the populace of Promise will secure survival for the rest of the world. “Tomorrow must burn...” Mengkare tells himself, “...so the days thereafter can prosper.”
No such opportunity exists to redeem the Scarlet Triad, though. These slavers have wholeheartedly embraced the idea of weaponizing Alseta’s Ring—eventually using it both as a method for swift travel throughout the region and as a destructive agent against the sites the ring connects to, focusing Dahak’s wrath upon those who would oppose them. Uri Zandivar believes that once they can control Mengkare via a partially reconstructed orb of gold dragonkind, the dragon will reveal the secrets of the ancient portal network and allow them to relocate their base of operations to Promise.
For the moment, though, the Scarlet Triad must act cautiously. After all, the group is still under Mengkare’s (distracted) watch, and Uri realizes that any attempt to directly control or activate the portals of Alseta’s Ring before they’ve managed to complete repairs to the orb of gold dragonkind runs an increased risk of attracting the dragon’s attention. So instead, Uri has taken steps to ensure a Scarlet Triad presence near all five portal sites, with cover stories to justify their presence, should Mengkare grow curious. Keeping an eye on Vengegate (in Promise) and Duskgate (in southern Katapesh) is simple enough, since the Scarlet Triad already has legitimate reasons to be active in Hermea and Katapesh. By having agents established in Ravounel and Saggorak under the pretense of securing additional mercantile interests, the Scarlet Triad can watch over Dreamgate and Jewelgate (that these interests primarily involve the slave trade remains yet another secret the Triad is keeping from Mengkare). And in the Mwangi Expanse, the Triad has secured an alliance with the Cinderclaws to gain shipments of gold tainted with Dahak’s poisonous legacy. Agents have also been keeping an eye on Breachill from afar through contacts with local bookseller Voz Lirayne.
At the middle of the third day you hear a growl in each of your heads. "Greetings Rainbow Warriors, if it is conventient for you would you be willing to meet me at your earliest convienence?" The sending message is sent into your minds. Even though it does not include a destrination you know exactly where it is you need to go.
Cabaguil nods, "Did you all hear that? It's time."
He gathers his gear and suits up for what might be the fight of their lives. And they've had many close scrapes. If it comes to blows though, this might be the toughest opponent they've faced.
"Aye, I heard it. Let's not keep Mengkare waiting."
Raspar hops from tiny, but strong, foot to tiny, but strong foot in anticipation.
"Is there anything I can do to help with your words, Cabaguil? We should try to be nice until it is not time to be nice. I can understand that gold dragons don't like to be slaves, no one should be slaved, but also, we can sacrifice others so easily."
"Sure, we can start nice. But I don't trust this dragon. Lawful it may be, but a lot of the stuff we discovered feels evil to me."
Cabaguil heads to meet the dragon.
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You gather everything you can and have prepared as much as possible as you head to meet the fabled Mengkare.
As you enter the lair the gold dragon Mengkare extends his wings in a clear sign of intimidation and dominance, letting out a deep growl in the process. He retracts his wings and breathes out a thick cloud of smoke before he speaks. “You have come to my island uninvited and have seen fit to interfere with my affairs.” He growls once more. “But I am patient. Know that you have received a glorious mercy this day, for I shall allow you to explain yourselves. Tell me. What is your intent in Promise?”
Raspar looks around, wondering if he can keep himself busy while the others talk. He's not a big talker, but is a big laborer, and so would rather speak with actions.
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Kelvin gives a glance at Cabaguil and Cuthberwyn. When neither speaks right away, Kelvin opens his mouth. "I will give you respect, Mengkare. You are a powerful dragon, no doubt about that. But we're here in Promise because of things that you did. It may seem like a crack in a cave wall to you, but that crack ran through the mineshaft. It's a dwarven analogy, but let me be plain: we're here because of what happened to us in Breachill. Let me tell you my tale."
"Ever since I was young I had dreams. Nightmares really.
Fires raging, burning people I loved to cinder and ash. For a long time I dreaded sleeping. My father couldn't make heads or tails of it. Nor my mum. Until one day I found a book in a library. I'm not a reader, but somehow... I knew. That book was a series of fables about the dragon god Dahak. I'm sure you know of him. I read and read, sure there was a connection. And then one day I had a clear enough dream. It was of a town, of Breachill. Burning. I couldn't let that happen. So me and my dad's best friend went to Breachill. And we arrived in time to be caught in a room that was set on fire by an agent of the Scarlet Triad. You know of them too, I'm sure."
Kelvin looks up at the dragon, gaze focused and intense. "So me and some other fine folks who helped the people in Breachill, people you see before you, got curious. Why would people want to hurt the fine folk of Breachill? We dug into it and... turns out that the Scarlet Triad are a bunch of slave-trading bastards. People you employed. And then we found an elf gate, and kept finding the triad on the other side of these elf gates. They had control and influence in a lot of places, and in each place they were up to no good. But don't worry about that. We stopped them. We don't like slavers."
"But their meddling forced the release of a manifestation of Dahak from the gate in Breachill. Attacked the people, wreaking havoc. A real mess. But don't you worry. We killed it. Yeah, killed the manifestation of Dahak. Got me a trophy of that dragon's head which, when I'm done, I'm going to figure out how to get it mounted on a wall."
The next words come out through gritted teeth. "And then we came here. Because there's still a member of the Scarlet Triad that is probably here. And we learned that the benevolent gold dragon of Promise means to sacrifice the good people here for some imagined 'greater good'. Because of Dahak. Because of the manifestation in the gates. As if that were the only way to solve this. A gold dragon collected all of these talented people, like an experiment. And instead of having all of this might help you fight Dahak in the gates, you planned to... throw them all away? Maybe I'm not that smart, but it sure boggles my mind."
"So, given that we've done all these heroics to clean up messes, to get here today, I'd say our first 'intent' in Promise is to get some answers. Just what are you thinking?"
Diplomacy is +24, Intimidation is +28
Not quite the direction he was planning, but the old dwarfs statement covers all the important points and was well and clearly presented.
”We would like to talk on these topics, so we can understand your plan and purpose.”
(ring)
Cuthberwyn beams at Kelvin. Could not have said a single word better myself.
His attention turns back to Mengkare. How much of this does the gold dragon know? How much has he condoned? He listens for the reply.
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Mengkare earnestly listens to Kelvin explain your journey to Hermea and even your entire set of adventures thus far. He keeps his emotions in check the entire time, even with the mention of the Scarlet Triad. Mengkare finally reacts as Kelvin reveals that you know of Mengkare’s plans with the Anima Invocation, letting out a frustrated sigh.
“Ah, so this is what this is all about. You’ve learned about the incarnation of Dahak and my plans to stop it. Young ones, I have spent decades studying and planning this effort. I have considered countless solutions, and this one will result in the least harm to Golarion. It’s for the greater good of all of the world. Tomorrow must burn, I fear, so the days thereafter can prosper. It seems that you have other thoughts, however. Go on, explain your concerns and what other solutions you may have.”
[ooc]You can work to change Mengkare’s mind by raising his doubts that the Glorious Endeavor is the right choice. Mengkare begins this debate with a Doubt score of 10. As you present your arguments you can raise his doubt in his endeavor.
★ -- ★ -- ★ -- ★
ALTERING THE INVOCATION
Key Skills Arcana or Occultism (DC 39), Diplomacy (DC 43), Nature or Religion (DC 41)
★ -- ★ -- ★ -- ★
APPEALING TO MERCY
Key Skills Breachill, Kintargo, or any other city Lore (DC 39), Diplomacy (DC 41), Society (DC 43)
★ -- ★ -- ★ -- ★
DAHAK IS THE REAL FOE
Key Skills Dahak Lore (DC 39), Diplomacy (DC 43), Religion (DC 41)
★ -- ★ -- ★ -- ★
FREE WILL
Key Skills ????
★ -- ★ -- ★ -- ★
ORB OF GOLD DRAGONKIND
Key Skills ????
★ -- ★ -- ★ -- ★
PRIDE IN PROMISE
Key Skills Architecture or Engineering Lore (DC 39), Diplomacy (DC 43), Society (DC 41)
★ -- ★ -- ★ -- ★
REMEMBER YOUR PAST
Key Skills Diplomacy (DC 41), Dragon Lore (DC 39), Intimidation (DC 43)
★ -- ★ -- ★ -- ★
SCARLET TRIAD TRUTHS
Key Skills Diplomacy (DC 43), Politics Lore (DC 39), Society (DC 41)
★ -- ★ -- ★ -- ★
VOLUNTEERING THEMSELVES
Key Skills any ancestry Lore (DC 39), Diplomacy (DC 43), Intimidation (DC 41)
"I have to break the news to you, dragon, but just because you're old doesn't make you right. I've grown up around old dwarves, and have regularly been treated as an upstart. A rebel. But this whole 'greater good' thing is h!@#@!!%%. It's lazy, and shows no creativity."
He glowers at the dragon. "If you were strong enough, you would sacrifice your for this ritual. But you know what? I'm stronger than you. In a short time I and my friends here have been able to save Breachill, defeat a cult of Dahak worshippers called the Cinderclaw, topple the Scarlet Triad, take over a gladiators guild, and so much more. What I've learned is that the older you are, the slower you are. And I don't think you have it in you to actually solve this. But I do."
Hero Point
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Cabaguil considers what approach might be best. In the end though, it’s hard to know - so he takes a stab at one that’s been bugging him.
”Honored dragon, the Scarlet Triad may not have started off evil, but the power there corrupted them. Or perhaps your influence did. For you must consider that you have slid from good to neutral and now, well, further.”
”The Triad has been enslaving people for quite some time. And really, by providing people to you in the way that they did, that was its own kind of enslavement with its own kind of chains. It’s maybe not surprising when the funds dried up they turned to the regular kind of slavery to fill the gaps. Considering where they started.”
(ring) vs DC 43
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Dak wracks his mind trying to come up with a better solution.
How could the invocation be altered. There are a lot of complexities, and he thinks if he can just... wait... what if you replace ...
no no no.... that won't work. How about
Yes!
Consider this. If you change the protasis in the following ways..."
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Cuthberwyn opts to appear to the nature of gold dragons, recounting the story of Mengkare and drawing parallels between the forced servitude he endured and the unwitting sacrifice he's proposing for the citizens of Promise. A set of parables, if you will. And a good parable always allows the audience to draw their own conclusions
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Raspar will tiptoe and tapdance around, trying to see who might need help. He doesn't know exactly how he can help, as he is not keen with words (neither harsh or mushy) nor does he understand the finer points of magic, nor does he know much of city life (being a slave so long).
In the end, he tries to help Cabaguil because that is always a good thing to do.
Diplomacy