Oh, hey, Everyone!
Long time no see! I'm embarassed to say that my illustrations aren't going well. I think I've lost some kind of a spark. That, or I can't find the time.
In other news, my son had his first birthday last week! He's so adorable and is learning new things every day!
Maybe that's why I can't find the time to draw? đ”
Anyway! Last time in our D&D adventure, during their night's rest, our heroes had a fun little encounter with a rat-diplomat and his rat-people. The poor critters told our group that their home was destroyed by a huge monster stepping on it, and Bruno helped them rebuild. The rats were beside themselves with joy, and the rest of the night went peacefully.
It was another rainy morning in the Swamp of Agony. Far above, the storm clouds were circling, with lightning constantly flashing through. Mary was reminded about Falkaâs depiction on the stained glass of her mausoleum. Hands outstretched, lightning bolts in front of her. Was that the spell she'd trapped the Red dragon with?
As stormy as it was in the higher layers of the clouds, down among the trees it was only drizzling, and before the Orange Tree shrunk into Mary's wand, the group was able to have a quick breakfast.
"I've bought the finest buns Pamagos had to offer," Aurum said, proudly taking a few crumpled, dried-out pastries out of his bag.
"Ew!" Agatha said. "Aren't those, like, half a week old by now?"
"Yes," the bard grinned. "But I've kept them warm with my body heat!"
"No, thanks," Mary said, making a face. "I'll pass."
Tesaya was the only one--beside the bard himself--who ate the buns. She even said they were good, and Mary couldn't figure out if that was her usual politeness or she actually meant it.
"So, what do we do when we get to the dragon?" Aurum said. "Fight it? Kill it?" He paused and wiggled his eyebrows. "Ride it?"
"I don't think we're strong enough to fight an Ancient dragon," Mary said, ignoring his joke.
"We should try to keep it in its prison," Bruno said. "Stop the elves from getting to it."
"What exactly is that prison?" Mary said, turning to Tesaya. "Is it a portal of some kind, or a ritual site? Something magical?"
"It has magic, sure, but as far as I know, it has physical dimensions as well," Tesaya explained. "I'm not sure of the details. If my estimation is correct, we've got about a day until we reach the place and find out for certain. We need to get there before the Order."
They continued on their journey. Soon, the trees became too thick to see very far, and Mary conjured a hawk familiar to scout from above. It rose over the trees and looked around, finding yet another one of the lines of fallen trees, stretching from east to west.
But this one was different than the others.
It had a beginning.
âWe should go take a look,â Bruno said. âI know weâre in a hurry, but if we were to face whatever made this trail, we need to know more about it.â
They carefully made their way forward. Soon, they reached the place where the trail of destruction began. The clearing was about eighty feet wide. The surrounding trees had fallen away from the center, like something had exploded in the middle and blew them away. There was a big stone block in the middle, and several dead bodies strewn around, in different states of disembodiment.
"This looks like a ritual site," Bruno said. "Maybe these people's souls were meant to feed the dragon's prison?"
"But Tesaya said that the prison was a whole day away from here!" Mary argued. âRight?â
Tesaya nodded.
"The prison and the sacrifices could be in different places," Bruno said.
"Itâs not adding up,â Aurum said, kneeling to inspect the bodies. âWe know that the Order are sacrificing people from the 'monstrous' races. But this guy here is a half-elf, and the other three are all human."
The half-elf, as well as one of the humans, had a big hole in their abdomen. The second human was torn in half. There was also a woman, squashed into a gory pile of flesh on the ground. Something had stepped right through her torso. Giant, three-toed tracks led away from the altar and into the swamp, leaving the trail of destruction in their wake.
Mary blinked into her Eldritch sight and observed the site. There was no magic around the place, but there was something⊠familiar⊠in the way her stomach buzzed with unrest. She approached the stone block and inspected it, flicking her wand and clearing the blood that was spilled on top.
Her heart started thumping in her ears as she recognized the outlines of a summoning circle. That's why the scene was so familiar! She thought of the one other time sheâd seen a real, active summoning circle--way before her adventures even began--and shuddered. What had happened to these people could have been her fate back then!
âSo, another idea," Bruno said. "What if these people were trying to free the dragon, too? I know they arenât elves but, look, there could be two groups of people trying to do the same thing. Like, what about the Cult of Tiamat â that whole business sounds like their mug of ale."
âThatâs an interesting guess,â Tesaya said. âYou might have touched on something hereâŠâ
"Nnno, they weren't extracting souls,â Mary said quietly. âThey were trying to summon a Demon."
She showed them the summoning circle and the piece of parchment sheâd found next to it. It had an arcane formula, and clear instructions of how to perform the ritual. They searched the dead bodies and found, on each of them, a pendant with the stylized image of a three-ball flail engraved in it.
âIâve seen this in a book,â Mary murmured. âItâs the mark of 'Yeenoghu, The Insatiable'.â
"So, these guys were summoning this InuguâŠ" Bruno said.
"Yeenoghu."
"Yes. And it attacked them. But what does it all have to do with the dragon?"
"It might not," Aurum said. "I think they have been dead for quite some time but for some reason their bodies haven't decomposed."
Mary shuddered.
"Maybe we should ask them what happened," the bard suggested, taking the Dirum bell out of its case.
Oh, hey!
We interrupt this swamp-walking to give you a little demon summoning! Hope you enjoy it. See you next time when we'll talk to a corpse and hopefully find out what happened in this place.
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide, the Glossary and the Map for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: Mary Windfiddle's story is my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum, Bruno and Agatha) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.