The party has emerged victorious from the Five Fingers Fight Club. They got the important information and artifact from Aserath Scarrow, and even obtained a cool boat to journey upon. The beginning of this episode made sure all details were accounted for, then they set out in search of the Dragon’s Throat.
The only remaining information from Scarrow was a cryptic message to a Khadoran military figure. The character Mishka is acquainted with this officer, but nobody knows what the message was about.
The party knew their destination lay about twenty leagues along the coast, looking for a natural formation describing a dragon. The journey could take a good eighteen hours, so the mechaniks spent the time finishing up new armor for Sparky. They also lashed the two warjacks to the deck for safety. As they traveled the distance, they noticed rocky ridges that came down to the shore. One in particular could describe a dragon! As they drew nearer, one of the party saw a smudge of smoke in the bay at the base of the cliffs. A ship!
When they arrived at the cliffs, the ship they hoped to find was not there. They found narrow crevices in the rock, far too small to pass any ship. The Spy Stormblade revealed a small metal rod given to him by Scarrow. Tiny runes were engraved at one end and the runes sparkled slightly. When this key was given to the Cygnaran Warcaster, the character’s Gifted ability activated it.
With slight vibrations and tones, it guided to ship to a particular crevice in the cliffside. It then “buzzed.” When the warcaster pulsed the key back with their magical ability, the crevise widened, making an opening big enough for the ship to pass. The stepped the mast and set the engine to very slow ahead and entered the dark passageway.
The interior was completely dark, so lanterns and torches were lit. Two great shelfs of stone were dimly seen on either side, making a walkway or pier around the sides of the chamber. The arched room came down in front of them and held a massive iron door with no seam or hinge. Light glinted on metal along the edges of the room, but were too dimly let to be seen clearly.
Next to the door was a vertical slot in the wall. A grotesque carved gargoyle head was protruding from the bottom of the slot. From the far side of the door could be heard distant water and strange echos. The water rippled, showing a sluggish current flowing towards the door.
As the boat approached the door, the key buzzed again, and the warcaster returned the pulse. With a distant clang and crash, the sound of water increased from behind the door. Slowly, the garoyle head began to creep its way up the slot. The party decided that this was some sort of canal lock system, that would allow the ship to pass down to waters even deeper underground. The boat drifted against one of the side shelvings, and the party fended off with boat hooks, but held position, waiting for the locks to open. From this position, they could see the walls more clearly, and saw rows of iron bars or rods leaning there.
The key suddenly twitched and gave three sharp buzzes. They were repeated a few seconds later. The warcaster tried sending three pulses back, but it seemed to hav no effect. After a few more attempts, the key seemed to buzz angrily for a few seconds then give a slight pop. It then reverted back to its normal guiding state, and seemed to be fine. However, in the moment of that pop, each of the Gifted characters felt a strange pulse go out through the chamber.
Roll initiative! A sickly greenish glow suddenly began to congeal in various corners of the room. The flickering glow from the entrance back to the Bay of Stone was suddenly cut off. The waters near the mouth of the chamber stirred restlessly. As the party formed up on the deck of the ship and began to push away from the shore, they noted that the gargyle head was nearing the top of the slot.
The dark form of a massive Helljack lurched out of the darkness and charged at the boat. Another appeared on the opposite shore. Seeing the party was far out of reach, the helljack turned, grabbed up one of the iron rods and hurled it at the ship, piercing into the hull. How could ‘jacks behave like this without a warcaster or jack marshall in control? As the fight began, another swirl of green vapor condensed to the side into the gaunt form of a Pistoleer. The head came up, revealing a bare skull bathed in a necromantic green glow. The Pistol Wraith began firing into the party. As the party was reeling from the attack, long tentacles came twisting up over the sides of the boat, seeking bodies to grab and pull into the dark waters.
The fight raged on the boat, and the Man-of-War leaped to the shore to engage the enemy. The boat was pushed off, leaving the lone character to hold that side. Two more helljacks and a second Pistol Wraith appeared during the fight, and many Players were battling the tentacles thet were trying to grab them.
When one of the helljacks was damaged, it suddenly slumped into a lower, slower position. It was still functioning, but now merely autonomous, rather than guided. A spindly glowing form emerged from behind the helljack, a horrifiying combination of bones and necromechanikal parts: a Machine Wraith! As the normal weapons passed harmlessly through its incorporeal form, the Wraith darted arcoss the water to the Player’s ship. With a puff of green smoke, it merged with the party’s Grenadier!
To the Wraith’s frustration, the ‘jack was still lashed to the deck. It could still fire the grenade launcher, but it could not move, nor change facing. The warcaster mentally fought with the Wraith for control, and a solid blow from the Monk did enough damage to force the monstrosity out. The alchemist had prepared a concoction called Ashes of Urcaen. This made the beast briefly corporeal, and gave the party an opening to attack it directlyand kill it. And yet there were three more Wraiths! Two still occupied helljacks, and battle damage forced another into the open.
The battle raged, and the party was beginning to have trouble. The Priest of Menoth roasted the second Pistol Wraith, but the further helljacks kept a constant barrage of iron bars that were beginning to compromise the hull. The Spy Stormblade was below decks, desperately trying to patch holes. Suddenly, the gargoyle head reached the top of the slot. There was a deep chime, and the key buzzed once. With a single return pulse, the massive iron door slowly dropped into the water. The party urged thier ship forward, and managed to haul the Man-of-War aboard as they passed through the portal. The Wraiths and tentacles were bound to guard the main chamber, and were unable to follow them further.
The chamber they entered was a fairly small, plain, round room. With another clang and crash,the iron door sealed behind them, and the whole chamber shifted. The water level dropped rapidly, with the ship stable in the center of the vertical passage. After a descent of perhaps a hundred yards, the water steadied with the ship facing another iron door. This door lifted up, allowing passage into another dark passage.
The passage streched away before them, nearly a hundred feet in diameter. The water flowed slowly away into the darkness. The curving roof have been carved to represent the ribbed tunnel of a vast throat. Very faintly ahead of them were the slightest echoes of sounds and splashes. The party braced themselves, then pushed on into the blackness.
Three XP for everyone! They are now up to twenty-one Experience Points. Players got to add a new spell, ability, connection, or +1 to a military skill.