[Channel Teaser]
Party Pays The Ultimate Price For Saving The
World From An Ancient Dragon
Hi everyone.
All Things DnD is back with another story.
Sometimes saving the world comes with the
greatest price of all.
But that's why we are heroes.
Tell us your epic tales of victory and sacrifice
after listening to this one:
I am no veteran player to the D&D world.
I have only been roleplaying for about two
years now and usually in private sessions
with my Dad as DM--who is an OG player, my
friends, and my brother.
This story of ours takes place in the forgotten
realms just to make names a bit easier for
my brother who is newer than I am, he has
read the Legend of Drizzt series and my dad
wanted to help him out a little.
My character was an Aasimar paladin named
Iigdris, we only had two other characters
in our party, my brother’s half elf wild-mage
and a goliath druid named Uthal.
We had run these characters through a low
level campaign before and where we currently
stood we were level 11.
Our party had recently come into contact with
an ancient artifact that held immense power,
it was a green orb that looked like an eye.
The power emanating from the orb had awoken
an ancient green dragon named Rahzik.
He followed our party wherever we went trying
to take possession of the orb, and we had
no clue as to why the terrifying creature
wanted it so badly.
Until we wound up at a powerful priests temple.
This priest patched us up because we had recently
had a near death run-in with the dragon, and
he recognized the orb.
He said it was a terrible artifact with the
power to summon and control any chromatic
dragon on the prime material plane, and Rahzik
was seeking it so that he could rule the material
plane.
So our primary objective became the orbs destruction,
the priest told us our best hope to find knowledge
was to seek out the wisdom of an empyrean
named Thrim, Thrim was the son of my patron
deity Tyr.
We were told he was at the peak of the mountains
that loomed behind the temple and we should
search there.
So our party fought our way up the mountain,
even encountering a beholder that was nesting
in the foothills.
Eventually with major help from the druid
and a few cold resistant magic items we came
across a storm giant village where we were
taken in.
We rested there for the night and the chief
told us Thrim was the protector of their village
against threats that even they could not defeat.
He told us we could find him at the very top
of the mountain where the wind blew fiercely
and the cold was crippling.
Luckily for us Uthal had prepared wind walk
and we flew to the top of the mountain, to
see nothing.
The Sorcerer and I were looking around finding
nothing, but the Druid who had just made a
nat 20 on his intelligence check stared in
awe.
“What?”
I asked confused.
“You don’t see that?” he said in a whisper.
“Don’t see what?”
“The massive palace.”
With that he began to walk forward and disappeared
into the side of the mountain.
Still confused and a bit scared the rest of
us followed, and when we passed through the
mountain we indeed saw a glorious castle,
and in the center of the courtyard was a man
by an old log cabin chopping wood.
“We seek Thrim” I said.
“Who is we?” the man asked.
“We are in dire need of aid, the fate of
the realm is at stake!”
He looked at us with cold eyes and said “The
realm you say, very well come in” and he
motioned toward his cabin.
We stepped inside as he was pouring us drinks,
and by now we had all begun to catch on and
he realised this.
“My form is not what you expected?” he
asked.
“Not exactly...”
I replied.
Immediately after the words left my mouth
my head was filled with a flash of light and
burning pain “Is this more of what you expected?
I do not believe in such vulgar displays of
power.”
I could barely nod as I reeled from the godly
energy that just wracked my mind.
“You have come to deal with the orb yes?”
We stared at him in surprise.
”Well I wouldn’t be much help if I didn’t
know why you came.
Now would I?”
We all nodded.
“How can we destroy it?” the sorcerer
eventually asked.
“Well that question is easier to answer
than you might think, the very thing that
seeks this stone’s power is the very thing
that can destroy it.
The breath of an ancient dragon.”
We all froze, because we realised what this
meant, the three of us must take on the massive
green dragon and one of us would have to be
blasted by his poisonous breath to ensure
the safety of our realm and the destruction
of the orb.
“I will do it,” the druid said, he volunteered
because he was the only one of us immune to
poison so against him the dragon's breath
did nothing to him.
“Rest for the night,” Thrim said.
“Tomorrow return to the priest, he will
know what you must do and how to prepare.”
When we awoke the next morning I walked out
of the cabin to see the druid talking with
what appeared to be an elf.
They looked over at me and the elf handed
the druid a scroll and disappeared.
Once we were all prepared the druid once again
cast wind walk and we surged back toward the
temple.
We landed and the priest was waiting, but
something in his face told us something was
wrong.
“What is it?” the sorcerer asked
“…Rahzik has destroyed the city neighboring
our temple, I’m afraid we are out of time.”
We all shared a look of sorrow and felt the
weight of those lost lives on our shoulders.
“Fortune is on our side, friend,” I said.
“We have learned of a way that will allow
us to destroy the orb and the beast at the
same time.”
His eyes brightened a bit as he looked up,
“Very well, but it must not be here, I know
of a place, I can send you there.
It is far away from all other people.
That is where you must call him”
We prepared our things and went to the priests
chambers where he had drawn a teleportation
circle.
Silently we stepped inside and I put the orb
in my bag.
We nodded and looked around one last time.
Instantly we appeared on a barren tundra,
no mountains or anything in sight.
I took the orb out of my pack and looked to
my friends who I had been adventuring with
for so long “Well my friends if this is
to be our last battle, I will say it has been
a good run and an honor to serve with you
both.”
They both stated the same.
I took the orb in hand and raised it above
his head and screamed “RAHZIK, COME HERE
TO FACE YOUR DOOM.”
The orb pulsed brightly for a moment then
faded, I passed the orb to Uthal and clasped
his massive arm tightly.
The gesture conveyed more than words ever
could.
He understood the amount of respect I had
for him and for the burden he must now carry.
Moments later we see on the horizon a massive
green arm erupt out of the ground, the dragon
had just failed his teleportation spell.
We watched in awe and horror as two massive
wings unfurled and beat fiercely as they raised
the massive creature up into the air.
Our sorcerer began casting his defensive spells.
The dragon began climbing higher and higher
and then folded his wings in and dive bombed
our party.
The DM told us all to make wisdom saving throws
which we all failed and the world went black.
Moments later our eyes opened and we were
in a massive cave.
Green gas oozed from cracks in the walls and
the stench of death hung thickly in the air.
Two green eyes flashed and the massive head
of the dragon surged out of the darkness.
“If you will forgive me for bringing you
here, I prefer the comfort of my home to the
cold tundra,” the dragon said.
It’s thunderous voice echoed off the charred
cavern walls.
“What do you want foul creature?”
I shouted.
“…A deal, if you submit to me and give
me the orb I will let you live and you can
be kings in this new world I plan to create.”
My shoulders shook as I began to laugh.
“What just give you the orb so you can summon
your kindred and lay waste to our homes?
I think not, it would be a disgrace to everything
I stand for to even consider.”
The dragon sighed in exasperation.
“Mortals and their foolish beliefs, very
well then you will all die as fools!”
We rolled for initiative and Uthal managed
to go first, he wild shaped into an earth
elemental and we saw him raise the orb above
his head with his stubby rock fingers.
The dragon unleashed its venomous breath that
engulfed the orb and the druid.
I shielded my eyes against the flash of bright
green light.
I blinked away the swimming lights burned
into my eyes as the dust settled.
The dragon was laying on the ground unconscious
and the druid was nowhere to be seen.
The sorcerer and I were worried about our
friend but we realized that we had to take
advantage of our situation.
We began to blast the dragon with all manner
of spells and attacks we had all the while
looking for our missing friend.
Eventually the dragon drug itself up off the
ground and began to make it’s attacks against
the Sorcerer and I.
After a turn of combat we see a massive rock
drop from the ceiling and land on the dragon’s
back.
The druid had returned.
We continued to fight but eventually the sorcerer
and I were knocked unconscious and the druid’s
wild shape form was destroyed.
I made one death save and looked up still
on the ground to see the druid pull out a
scroll.
Suddenly we were back at full health and I
cheered, I cheered until I looked over and
saw my goliath friend collapse bloodied and
bruised with horrifying wounds all over his
body.
He had sacrificed his life and taken our wounds
upon himself, he was dead.
I roared in fury and activated my radiant
soul and flew over to the druid, “Not yet
my friend, I cannot lose you too.”
I cast revivify and pumped all of my points
of lay on hands into the druid.
He rose on unsteady legs.
“My thanks,” he said and then took on
the shape of the earth elemental again.
We fought hard and we fought well but I was
rooted to the ground by the dragon’s lair
magic and beaten until I was fighting to stay
alive.
The druid stood over my barely living body
protecting was raked across the chest by the
dragon’s wicked talons.
And now it was up to our Sorcerer and almost
poetically his fireball wild surged for max
possible damage and the dragon was near death.
The dragon roared in pain and backed away,
“Azmodeus, make good on our deal!”
It bellowed.
The world once more went black.
Horrific shouts of pain echoed from the other
end of the cave followed by a chilling laugh.
When he could see again the sorcerer saw the
dragon shriveled and devoid of color, drained
of life.
A voice from behind him spoke.
“Well done.
Few mortals can stand up to a dragon as you
three have.”
The sorcerer spun around to come face to face
with a nine foot tall well dressed man with
horns.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing much, the dragon didn’t make
good on his end of the deal so I exacted my
price.
I have a proposal,” the words hissed out
of his lips.
“If you will be my advocate on the prime
material plane, I will save your friends.”
I had just made my last death save and woke
up, and turned to see evil incarnate talking
with my friend.
I drew his sword and rushed over.
The man merely looked at the paladin.
“You, stay out of this weakling.
Your god has no power here, I do.”
My fury grew yet I could not speak, so I turned
around and saw my friend once again laying
on the ground.
I rushed over but it was too late.
The druid had critically failed on his death
save.
I cradled my friends head in my arms and screamed,
it was a cry of pure agony.
The sorcerer walked over and put a hand on
my shoulder.
I looked behind me to see Asmodeus shaking
his head and disappearing.
“I’m sorry...I said no,” the sorcerer
said.
“I don’t think this is how Uthal would
want to come back”.
I merely nodded and the sorcerer took out
a scroll of his own and read it.
With a flash of light we were teleported back
to the temple.
The priest was waiting and he rushed over
smiling, until he saw who I was cradling in
my lap.
“Is there something you can do for him?”
I begged.
The priest’s eyes rolled back and a few
moments later he looked down on me with a
sad smile on his face “I could bring him
back, but I would have to force him, he is
at peace he died naturally.”
We nodded, “I would like to bury him with
his people, I think he would like that.”
The priest looked at us sadly.
“Very well,” he waved his hand over Uthal’s
body and his horrific wounds began to close.
He looked at us again and said “It was the
least I can do”.
We said our thanks and the priest cast wind
walk on us and we flew up into the air rocketing
toward the mountains in the west where we
knew our friend had lived.
We spotted the goliath village and touched
down, my paladin still on his knees holding
his friend, within moments we were surrounded
by spears.
Shortly followed by gasps and screams.
A massive goliath with a greataxe stepped
forward and froze “What is the meaning of
this?” he whispered and he pulled out his
axe.
“Who are you!?” he roared.
“We are his brothers, in spirit and in service,
and we all owe our lives to him,” I said
somberly.
The Huge goliath bent down and grabbed me
by the front of my tunic and said, “I am
his brother.”
He dropped me then gently picked up Uthal’s
body and as he walked away we saw his shoulders
begin to shake as he disappeared into a hut.
Another goliath stepped forward, this one
smaller and visibly older.
“You will have to forgive my son, understandably
he grieves for his brother, I am Ragnar and
father of Uthal, I welcome you.
You say you are his friends?”
“Yes”
“You say my son is a hero?”
I looked up with a sad smile at the old goliath
and said, “The greatest the realms shall
ever know.”
The old goliath smiled and said, “I should
like to hear the stories of my son, but first
we must send him off.”
We turned to see the villagers had assembled
a great funeral pyre, Uthal lay upon the timber
with his massive staff in his hands.
We walked into the crowd and they led us to
the front.
Uthal’s brother handed the sorcerer and
I torches.
“I am sorry for the way I acted earlier,
you two seem to be true friends of my brother.
You will cast the first torches,” he said
“We can’t--” the sorcerer began.
“You will,” the goliath interrupted.
“You have earned the right, it’s what
he would have wanted.”
With shaking arms the sorcerer and I cast
our torches upon our friends pyre and one
by one each of the villagers did too.
We stood and watched our friend as he disappeared
in the flames we watched till nothing but
ashes were left of the pyre.
The old goliath clasped us on the shoulder,
“Here we do not mourn death friends, here
we celebrate life and remember who he was.
Please come join us in the long house.”
he gestured over to a massive hut, we smiled
and nodded.
We spent the night drinking and celebrating
the life of our friend and recounting his
tales and epic feats.
We fell asleep in the longhouse with Uthal’s
village.
When we awoke the next morning we found Uthal’s
brother standing in front of the longhouse
geared up as if he was leaving.
“I should wish to join you in your quest
after this Asmodeus, the way it sounds he
and this dragon had a deal so he is in part
responsible for my brother’s death, I will
have vengeance.”
I thrust my arm forward and clasped his arm
tightly.
“We would be delighted to have you my friend.
I think he would too”.
And with that we set out down the mountain
and as we were departing a black cloud formed
and lightning struck the ground.
The goliath laughed and said “He is telling
you goodbye.”
During this entire part of the story everyone
at the table was choking back tears, so great
was the impact this story and Uthal’s sacrifice
had on each of us.
We all were quiet listening to my dad spin
this wondrous story, and from then on we have
remembered the death and the life of Uthal
the Great, the druid who saved the world through
his sacrifice.
A friend's sacrifice never to be forgotten.
I love that Uthal’s brother is going to
join the group.
It really makes this story perfect.
Also, huge props to that dad for playing DND
with his kid.
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