Glacial Wastes Mission Report 10: The Aerie of the DoomWyrms chooses their path...

[Narrator]

Marakyn was tall, musclebound, and proud. His dragonscale armor was shined with finest oils, and his Dur’kha Lance was tipped on both ends with doomwyrm claw blades. His eyes shined with a confidence that came from youth. Marakyn Doomrider had been born in the Aerie of the IceWryms on the doomwyrm side.

Seeing one of his parents slain at a young age during a corridor war, made him distrustful and hateful of the IceWyrms and anyone who served them. His only true friend was the Doomwyrm Savon, and they had grown up together. When the heroes Grim and Lurtor arrived to broker a peace, Marakyn had thought they would uphold the peace and allow the Doomriders to finally focus on their true enemy the Quall N’drone.

Instead from his point of view the “heroes” of Jemison Post had convinced them to give up their ancestral home to the IceWyrms, and then found “proof” to take away their honor as Children of the Falosini. And that wasn’t enough, he obsessed, then the heroes stole away the mother-dragon driving the old guard insane. When the old guard, Opileth Wayren, tried to get them some retribution on the “heroes” who stole the mother-dragon, the heroes dragged him back to S’vana and interrogated and broke the old Baribur.

Marakyn had pierced Opileth with his spear in anger, but now he felt a more nuanced shame over the entire situation. He understood fully why Opileth attacked Jemison Post. He felt the same. But Marakyn would not lose his name over a decision made thousands of years before his birth.

Marakyn heard a noise from down the hallway. These late nights in the Aerie of the Doomwyrms it was always so quiet. No revelry, no rejoicing, just shame for all the remaining people.

Earlier in the day, Dahelein had made an announcement which had broken Marakyn’s heart. The Archwing had offered hundreds of their fellow Children of the Falosini the right to leave before the armies of S’vana arrived. And left they did. K’iou left their forge stations, Bastards left bomb assembly piles, and Kumfei left springshot parts. In fact it was only the true Doomwyrm Riders, those who had a direct relationship with their Doomwyrm mounts who did stay.

They lost so many of their numbers before the first battle had even started, and Marakyn Doomrider thought it a tactical error. He knew there were at least fifty bastards still down there, gathering things and preparing to leave. If HE were ruler, he would demand they stay, and if they refused, he would strap those bombs to them, tie their hands and hurl them at the enemy himself.

Again a noise, this time louder, and obviously the sound of struggling. Marakyn charged down the hall and kicked open the door to the Archwing’s quarter. Inside was revealed a pair of K’iorn Dra’koons holding Daehelein Archwing, while a third clapped a zela collar onto the beaten baribur. The Dra’koons were dressed head to toe in fully concealing living Khaz’gha wood armor.

Marakyn couldn’t see their faces, but he knew they were S’vana folk. He charged the one closest, the one who had dared to clap a collar on his archwing’s neck. The blade of his Dur’kha spear came up and severed one of the Dra’koon’s outstretched arms. The arm flicked away, still clad in armor.

The K’iorn backflipped away and upon landing commanded, “Dra’koons, take the Archwing back to S’vana on my orders. Return to either of our basecamps, and take the Energy Bridges. Use the old ways so these criminal nngao cannot find your steps.”

The Dra’koons holding Dahelein stepped back through the shadows. Marakyn watched as one secured a loop of nightmare hide over the exposed zela so that the metal only touched Dahelein’s skin. Then they were gone, and Marakyn’s last bit of restraint left him.

He roared as fire burst forth around him, and the remaining Dra’koon rolled away to avoid the flames. The Dra’koon began to regenerate his severed arm, and the Khaz’gha armor grew out to cover it. The K’iorn stepped forward and delivered a pair of brutal Nnghai strikes to Marakyn’s ribs that shattered the left side of his ribcage and began filling his lung with blood.

Marakyn stepped backwards and swung again with his Dur’kha striking the Dra’koon and delivering a mortal wound. But again the Dra’koon just regenerated, and Marakyn received a broken nose for his effort.

As he fell against the wall, he wondered if maybe they were right for considering him a Nngao. Here he was thinking he could go toe to toe with a K’iorn Dra’koon with centuries of combat experience. He was wrong.

But then there was a strange wind, and a wave shimmered through the air. And the K’iorn Dra’koon disappeared with a terrified yell.

Marakyn looked towards the doorway and peeking its head in was none other than the Doomwyrm Savon, his personal mount. Savon smiled a large Draconic grin.

“I guess that Dra’koon didn’t expect to face Annihilation breath in the Aerie of the Doomwyrms,” he said snarkily.

Marakyn smiled, a pained smile, “Yes, my dragon-brother, I guess he didn’t. The S’vana army must be here…”

“I came up to alert you they have been spotted at base camps at both Jemison Post and McGraw Harbor, but they haven’t set forth across the ice yet,” said Savon.

“Then it was a covert attack. But how did they know how to get in…” said Marakyn. As Savon began to convert his own lifeforce to heal Marakyn, Marakyn lifted up the severed arm of the K’iorn, holding it aloft and shaking it. From inside the guantlet of the Nnghai blade fell a small wrapped cylinder. Marakyn opened it and unrolled it and recognized its handwriting instantly.

“Lurtor…” he growled, “We have been betrayed by Lurtor. These K’iorn were given maps of our Aerie. Maps by a supposed ally who opens his doors to our people in a fake sentiment of honor. All to distract us from their plans…”

[Narrator]

Part 2: The Charge of the DoomWyrms

Olgog the Olgog, one of many clones of that infamous warmcriminal that lived in McGraw Harbor, was standing on a steel framed watch tower. One of the many new buildings built by the Vegalians as part of their trade deals.

OtO didn’t know why the local leader, Eli McGraw, had made deals with S’vana. But it did result in a camp of soldiers stretching from the west end of the Harbor town. OtO didn’t mind the title of McGraw’s Freeloaders, even though he knew a few Lurtor clones grumbled about it. After all, the clones had been taking advantage of food supplies that weren’t theirs. In fact if there hadn’t been a recent influx of food supplies for the workers working on McGraw Harbor, the entire town would have died of starvation. Going over night from under one hundred inhabitants to hundreds of inhabitants will do that to your food supplies. And that was before the S’vana army showed up.

The unfortunate part that OtO acknowledged was that there were no food production methods in McGraw Harbor. The closest underground farms and heated greenhouses were in Jemison Post and they were barely meeting their own food needs. OtO saw a group of McGraw Freeloaders hanging out with a trio of K’iou, and four K’iorn, playing a game that involved throwing the bones of some small creature. As they gambled, food was bet, and OtO saw one of the Freeloaders win a big bottle of binber wine and a big hunk of gru’ie bread, and some bhite milk cheese.

OtO was a little jealous. Here he was on watch, while what looked like a Spear OtO was eating like a king down there. He sighed and decided to stop watching the people on break, and return his eyes to scanning the horizon. The olgog’s keen eyes were supported by a pair of fine binoculars. The cold up here had cracked the binocs, but they still worked.

OtO saw something dart between the clouds. There was snow coming down as usual, and visibility was limited, so OtO didn’t get as early a warning as he hoped. But he did see the three creatures as they began their attack run.

OtO grabbed up his radio and yelled, “McGraw, we have three DoomWyrms inbound form the northwest. They are coming in hot and fast. Do we have any surface to air missiles? Or a Tank like at Jemison Post?”

Eli McGraw’s response was priceless, “Nope, just a bunch of pointy eared Children of the Falosini who should be ready for this.”

OtO in the watch tower, could see that Eli had alerted the S’vana army. The K’iorn were readying their springshots, and K’iou were manning a siege engine.

There was no battlecry, no sound of alert, no sounds of battle even. If OtO hadn’t watched it, he wouldn’t have believed it was real.

The three Dragons dived down with their mouths wide. As the first salvo of springshot bolts flew upward from the S’vana army towards them. The three dragons belched a cloud of annihilation large enough to consume a hole through the many springshot bolts flying dangerously at them.

Passing through the hole they created, the Dragons did a single pass. Their annihilation breath laying waste to the army, and making entire formations and their fortifications simply disappear. No armor was strong enough to stop their dragon’s breath, no wall stood before their attacks. The army of S’vana so used to fighting the fires of the Quall and the acid of the Krato, were unprepared for the sheer amount of Annihilation Leyas brought upon them in that one moment. Had the army of S’vana long enough to counter attack, they might have killed all three in that moment. But their formations were scattered, and they were first trying to figure out how to attack these rapidly moving flying foes. Already the Dra’koon in charge of the army camp was angry at his superiors for not assigning any Baribur Skyknights to this expedition.

One of the Lurtor clones, in the McGraw’s Freeloaders, shadow walked onto one of the Dragons’ backs. Killing the Doomwyrm rider with an assassin’s blade, the Lurtor clone tried to assume control of the Dragon. He grabbed the reigns tightly, and gripped with his boots. It was brave but foolish as the Dragon was no horse, and simply turned its head around and annihilated the unwanted rider in one whoosh.

Then as quickly as they attacked, the three Doomwyrms were gone.

They disappeared back into the snowy sky, leaving the folks of McGraw Harbor to count to the annihilated.

As OtO looked down as the swathes of damage, he wondered how badly Jemison Post had fared. He reached down and picked up his radio again and began fiddling with the frequencies.

“Hup Hup, We got Dragons attacking. How are you fairing?” asked the OtO clone from McGraw Harbor.

The clone from Jemison Post replied via radio, “It is a clusterfuck out here. Luckily Grim and Lurtor had the K’iorn Army set up positions far from the civilians, otherwise we would have lost the entire town. They sent seven our way. One got wounded by our tank, but the rest…the rest cut the S’vana army stationed here in half.

Seven Dragons and the army’s entire defense was gone…

The K’iorn who are leading the remains of the army are meeting with Grim and Lurtor now. The S’vana army succeeded in taking out Dahelein but the rest of the Doomwyrm Riders must have gone nuts!”

“I thought the K’iorn were going to beseige the Aerie of the Doomwyrms?” asked the McGraw Harbor clone.

“That was their initial plan, someone must have given them a backdoor. The K’iorn returned with morning with Dahelein in chains and dragged him through an Energy Bridge to the dimension of Do’krice,” said the Jemison Post clone, “In fact you should probably tell Mr. McGraw that info. I bet he doesn’t know that.”

“He knows,” replied the McGraw Harbor OtO, “He was one of the folks who helped them plan their attack. I guess all that talk of siege was to keep the Doomrider’s focused on the wrong type of tactical threat.”

“Ha do you really think they thought ahead like that?” asked the other OtO in a mocking way.

“Ehhh, Lurtor, Grim and Eli McGraw stopped the OVC cells out here,” said the previous OtO, “They gave us freedom, and a place to live. Heck they kicked our old bosses arse. If they can survive constant attack like today’s attack, they may have a real chance out here.”

“So you expect more of these hit and run attacks too?” asked the Jemison Post OtO clone.

“Great minds think alike”…

[Narrator]

Part 3: The PeaceLord Marakyn

“The retribution strike is complete, my lord,” said Marakyn as he bowed low to the other baribur in the room.

The new guest was a very tall baribur, and covered head to toe in impressive shapeshifted armor. His cruel eyes seemed to disregard Marakyn even when looking right at him.

“What does that mean to you?” asked the guest, adjusting the feathers on one of his wings.

“That means at least half of the attacking S’vana army has been annihilated in one day of strikes,” said Marakyn trying to feel pride.

“Was Dahelein recovered?” asked the guest.

“No, my lord…but.” said Marakyn.

“There are no buts in matters like these,” said the guest, “Your leadership is gone. And S’vana has declared you all Nngao? You must wander until your life is forfeit according to the Falosini laws,” said the guest.

“I will not wander,” said Marakyn with growing anger. He knew this guest could have them all slapped in chains and in slave collars, but he would not allow further disrespect even if it cost him his freedom, “And my Doomriders will not wander. We are a force to be reckoned with. A small wing of five riders could wipe out our enemy military installations and leave before we suffer a single loss.”

“Power, yes, danger, yes, but right now your Aerie is but a giant target,” said the guest, leaning heavily on Dahelein’s throne, “S’vana will not give up, and neither will anyone who lost loved ones today. And legally you don’t have a leg to stand on IF the Falosini themselves were to come calling.”

“Do you think the Falosini themselves would come calling?” asked Marakyn in deep fear.

“Only if this Aerie were no longer part of Falosini territory…if only your people had citizenship with a different nation, one beyond the laws of S’vana,” whispered the guest, watching the dawning realization on the face of Marakyn.

“You have been waiting this entire time, waiting for S’vana or the Heroes of Jemison Post to wipe out our leadership, so you could claim us as your slaves,” said Marakyn in shock, “Is that why you arrived so conviently today, Lord Boriel?”

The guest, Boriel I’tash, master of the last I’tashi PeaceLord loyalists, “I am a patient baribur. I knew that your master Dahelein was a wise baribur. He would see that S’vana and the Heroes of Jemison Post would never look out for him. After all wasn’t it the heroes of Jemison Post who dragged Opileth Wayren a continent away to stand trail? If the heroes of Jemison Post respected YOUR leadership, they would have brought Opileth here to be judged by Dahelein, not all the way to S’vana.

The heroes of Jemison Post knew the secret of the Aerie. But they never told you Doomriders did they? They never allowed you to make a choice on whether such a secret should be kept or revealed to S’vana.”

Marakyn grew bitter and said, “One could say the same of Dahelein.”

“Maybe…after all he was holding you all to rules that were neither fair nor favorable,” said Boriel in agreement, “But now you have a choice at real self-determination.”

“You aren’t here to enslave us?” asked Marakyn, with a deep grief.

“No, my young baribur,” said Boriel, “I know your pain. To be denied your birthright, by schemers. To be denied your honors, by liars. To have everything you built brought low, because another thought they could use YOUR resources better than you.

The Aerie of the IceWyrms was yours by right. It was built by Baribur hands. Yet the Heroes of Jemison Post convinced your people that YOU needed to leave your ancestral home. And then used proof left in that ancestral home to convict all your people in a trial which was not witnessed by you.

But I do not deny the trial happened. S’vana is lock-step in old ways that enrich our enemies.

But I no longer worship the Falosini, and my love is for Lord I’tash, last of the great Sylvan Grand Magi. He is kept captive in the Northern Kingdoms. Forced to play servant to the Usurper’s pawns.”

Marakyn dropped to his knees before Lord Boriel.

“My lord Boriel, please help my people,” said Marakyn.

“I will young Baribur,” said Boriel, “I will protect your Aerie as I do my own people. And I grant you the title of PeaceLord. You are now PeaceLord Marakyn Doomrider, master of this Aerie. And those you deem worthy may also rise to the ranks of PeaceLords. Your Dragons are given the Medal of Giants, so they may forever stay by the side of their PeaceLord Doomriders and never be considered another’s slave.”

Marakyn bowed lower, knowing this was the first real title he had earned. Unlike Dahelein who legally never had the right to call Marakyn a Skyknight, Boriel did have the rights to declare who would be elevated to PeaceLord.

“And now PeaceLord Marakyn Doomrider, we must begin to plan,” said Boriel, “The Sea Kings AND the Colonials are our mutual enemies. And we must prepare to strike in such a way so that we can defeat them both.”

“What of the Army of S’vana?” asked Marakyn now rising proudly.

“They sent a tiny force and you cut it in half,” smiled Boriel, “If they were to mobilize the full Army of S’vana with thousands of soldiers, they would leave the Warcouncil of S’vana open to attack. So let them place more soldiers near Jemison Post and McGraw Harbor, they will be more soldiers to fight the Sea Kings when the Sea Kings come.

Then we slay the Warmonger, slay the Sea Kings AND slay the colonial oppressors in one fell swoop. With the Colonies in full war with the Sea Kings, they will never expect our attack on S’vana.

We then take hold of S’vana and we can declare a new Kingdom, under the rule of the I’tashis. From that seat of power we can order the Aeries, Wartribes and HomeForges to rise up and throw off both Colonial Rule and rule by the “Liberators” in the Northern Kingdoms.”

“This would be a world war…” said PeaceLord Marakyn knowing he had never experienced a war on that scale.

“Yes and it would feed Warmonger if we were to do it before granting that monster final death. But after the death of Warmonger, such a battle would allow us to retake Refuge.

So many forget, in the years before Lord I’tash was overthrown, the demon threat of Warmonger was contained on the prison dimension. It was the rebellion of the Technomagi, the slave uprising of Elijah Morte, and the Kasanthian alliance with the Warmonger Cult that overthrew my lord I’tash. And it was the same events that brought an Age of Warmonger down upon us. Never again. With the death of Warmonger we will purge this planet of Demonic influence.

And then we will restore order…and peace…”

[Narrator]

Rewards

Grim, Lurtor and Eli McGraw gain +1 to their emotional control for Surviving a Doomwyrm Ambush.
They may also select 2 Skills (noncombat) that are 3 or under, and raise them to 5 (cannot be used to gain a new skill)

Jemison Post gains The S’vana Quarter. This section of town is made entirely of soldiers from S’vana and the many who fled the Aerie of the Doomwyrms before the official declaration of Nngao was placed. The hundreds who made up the Refugees (people who would become Nngao if they return to a Children of the Falosini settlement for trial but were not declared nngao yet) are now permanet residents of Jemison Post. Meanwhile the S’vana soldiers will come and go, based on their deployment schedules. This is NOT the S’vana army camp near jemison post, but this is where those folks will hang out with locals.
In the S’vana Quarter players can find info on Children of the Falosini history, information on ancient artifacts, and help from S’vana Healers.

McGraw Harbor gains the Freeloader District. This section of town is being rapidly expanded by OtO and Lurtor clones. They won’t answer to Eli McGraw directly, but at least they are building their own igloo homes. The Freeloader District has another added bonus, it is a fully functional blackmarket.
Any player who makes a Charisma 5 test can convince an OtO or Lurtor clone to lead them to the Freeloader Blackmarket. This collaboration between different clones, will allow players to access recovered tech from the Glacial Research Facility, Genetic samples for cloning, and a full blackmarket of tech and leyas weapons from as far as the Lost Colonies and the Northern Kingdoms.

[Narrator]

After the credits roll…

Belinda Frost, Blizzard Blue and Snowy Touch watched the attack on Jemison Post with deep interest. It seemed the heroes of Jemison Post had gained another enemy today. Belinda wondered should they side with this new enemy.

But then again, there was so much to do, so much to accomplish, and an entire settlement to wipe out.

She lay back in the snow for a moment and sighed.

“What is it, Belinda?” asked Snowy Touch.

“I’m thinking of a plan,” said Belinda, “But its a dangerous plan, a very dangerous plan…
I have been having dreams of an IceGuard named Pelonious. Apparently he wore the mantle of Ice General before me… He showed me a vision, a vision of a Tower to the north. A tower independent of any factions. A species that has long sought nuetrality, but grows concerned as these lands are settled.

My dreams told me of a Tower of the Cloud Slavers. There the Cloud Slavers keep the Blizzards here from getting too bad.”

That brought a stiffled laugh from Blizzard Blue, “No offense Belinda, but Cloud Slavers are not doing good job. Snows coming down every day.”

“But imagine what it would be like if they released their holds on the storms, or better yet turned their storms fully upon our enemies,” said Belinda.

“You want to create a superstorm,” said Blizzard Blue finally understanding what she was getting at.

“A storm so cold, it will freeze this entire continent,” muttered Belinda under her breath, “That is what Pelonious keeps telling me in my dreams.”

“If this Pelonious was so powerful, why didn’t he use the superstorm?” asked Snowy Touch in genuine interest.

“He was on his way there, when an old enemy crossed his path,” said Belinda, “His enemy was known as Vadim, and Pelonious diverted to destroy Vadim, and it was his undoing…
I think Vadim was the name of the same contact that my old boss Bysos Borak was working with. The same Vadim who refused to pay us, which resulted in all the mess and death.”

“So if we avoid this Vadim, and head straight for the Tower of the Cloud Slavers?” asked Blizzard Blue.

“If we do that, none should know of our path,” said Belinda, “And with the powers of the Cloud Slavers we can finally punish Jemison Post for daring to hurt my family.”

“But the Post is wounded now, it is distracted now, we could use this to attack them directly,” counseled Blizzard Blue.

“Yes but what would we attack with?” asked Belinda, “The three of us and an IceGuard army?”

“Why not do both?” suggested Snowy Touch.

They both looked at the tiny white fur olgog in confusion.

“Why not do both?” repeated Snowy Touch, “Summon the IceGuard army now, send it to beseige Jemison Post, and while they fight an endless IceGuard army, we head north and see what the Cloud Slavers will do under duress.”

“You are getting more and more devious every day,” smiled Belinda.

She raised her hands, and a Warmonger Symbol glowed hovering over her head. Energy Bridges to the plane of V’Crios opened, and summoned IceGuard began to march through. First tens, then hundreds, then thousands.

Belinda smiled, while she couldn’t control each individual iceguard, she could give them a group command.

And that command was, “Level Jemison Post.”