The Last Defender of Camelot 1453

Chapter Seven: The Last Defender of Camelot

"Excalibur, Sword of Britain"

Background: Wednesday July 5^th 1453, the The airship "Flying Blue Fish" arrives at the castle of Urquhart, the throne of Scottish king James Steward on Loch Ness. The party arrives at noon, and are received with great joy as saviors once the Scotts realize that they are not part of the dragon goddess Tiamat 's army. Tiamat and several other large dragons briefly assaulted the castle about two weeks ago, then left with something the dragons retrieved out of the lake, leaving a large corps of a whale like creature the locals call a "Nessy" rotting on the beach.

The Players Quest: find and take possession of as many of the "Thirteen Artifacts" Tiamat relieved to the party member Velez in Constantinople. Without all thirteen artifacts, Tiamat 's plan to capture the Platinum Dragon Bahamut.

Enter the Players

Noon on Wednesday July 5th, 1453

Arriving from Italy by Airship with greeting from the Pope Nick...

The party is greeted with great enthusiasm as saviors from the strange goings on since late May, including visits from dragons. King James proclaims a feast, and the players welcome the food after their 15 day trip up from Italy.

The players describe the situation across Europe and what they witnessed on their way floating above as they made their way up from the Vatican. Tiamat 's armies are attacking cities all across Europe, and specifically targeting ones with "black powder" depots.

The party gains a new member: Murrag she is the chief scribe to King James and is a Druid of great skill. Washed ashore as a child and adopted by one of the local nobility, she has since severed the king.

The players gain details of the dragon attack two weeks ago, and of a new dragon that has arrived and has started attacking cities just a few days earlier. Unlike the early dragons that appeared earlier, which were blue, this one is red...

The corps on the beach...

After lunch the party helps burn the rooting corps on the beach. They get Albertus to take a swim in his crocodile form to try to talk to the local marine life.

Albertus has great success as he discovers a newly magically arrived pod of Plesiosaurs. They describe the attack by the dragons two weeks ago and give Albertus an excellent description of what they retrieved from the Lake. They also describe a water nymph as placing the same object in the lake only a few days prior to the attack. The Lady of the Lake, placed a fake to fool Tiamat. The party finds this interesting, BUT where is the real Excalibur?

Night visitors...

After lunch King James and his scribe go into details about they last few months and their problems with the Fey, and three witches/Fey-Hags that seem to be centered around the swamps at the southern end of the Loch.

A group for 47 ghostly nigh riders have been adducting small children at night ever since the appearance of the witches/Fey-Hags back in late May.

Velez plans a trap to lure the Fey night riders into a trap set in the court yard of the castle Urquhart. The trap works, and the riders are destroyed, leaving their magic armor and weapons behind. Most of the treasure goes the the King's personal guards, but many items are given to the party as well.

The Court of Crows...

Wednesday July 6th, 1453

After an eventfully evening the party wakes up late and begins searching south east of the castle to the swamps of the reported witches.

Marco Jorgensen makes contact with the creatures, and after some lighting and investigations determines the exact location of the evil Fey-Hags camp.

That evening they make an airdrop on the Fey-Hags in their small clearing in the thick swamps at the southern end of the Loch Ness. Its a small clearing 30 feet across with three huts, 50 cages big enough for a human child hanging in the trees, and a large black cauldron in the center over a soldering fire.

The air goes badly with many of the party members getting stuck in the dense swamp mud. Amused the Fey-Hags issue a challenge, they will release the captured children , but ONLY if the party can bring them the bodies of three mythic creatures first:

A Dire Rabit

A Bulette (Land Shark)

A Dragon

With the challenge issued they, and the entire camp, Huts, Cauldron and even the cages disappear in a cloud of smoke produced from the cauldron...

The Magic of the Druids...

Thursday July 7th, 1453

On the way back to the Castle after the failed attempt to stop the Fey-Hags in the swamp in southern Loch Ness they come upon a young lost red Dragon,

The party succeeds in recruiting young Mergatroid instead of killing him. They find they he is not quite normal for his kind, being of Lawful Neutral in nature and loving chess instead of sadism. Although he is fond of eating human peasants, the party is quick to put Mergatroid on a NO -Human diet....

Back at the castle Murrag suggests getting help from her Druid friends. She acquires both the promise of aid and location of a group of druids in the south that maybe be able to help the party both with the Fey-Hags and finding the real "Excalibur".

The airship the "Flying Blue Fish" is ready to leave by noon, and the party starts its 250 mile flight south of Haden's Wall into northern England and Wales.

Glasgow is burning...

Friday evening July 9th, 1453

Shortly before dark, the party observes the medieval city(50,000) of Glasgow burning in the distance.

After some lucky perception, the "Flying Blue Fish" evades being detected by the red dragon Skraig, and drops of the Cleric Sister Teresa, the Paladin Stephanie of Danzig, and the Fighter Albertus to aid the refuges.

The airship the "Flying Blue Fish" continues on its flight south of Haden's Wall into northern England and Wales.

Loch Arthur and the Last Defender of Camelot...

Saturday morning July 10th, 1453

The "Flying Blue Fish" arrives at Loch Arthur where the druids great the party with some dismay, as Mergatroid is at first a in giant monarch butterfly form, then reverts to his red dragon form. The party does some explaining and the Druids are set at ease.

A red dragon (Skraig by the sound of it) was here just hours earlier diging around the old castle near by. It eventually left.

The Druids perform the ritual near the ruins at the side of Loch Arthur under a great Green Hart Oak tree.

Out the of the dirt and clay under the trees roots climbs out Sir Kay, KIng Arthur's first Knight of the round table, and steward.

Sir Kay, tells the party he can not join them, for while there are dragons the realm of Britain is in danger and he must defend it.

He does tell them how to contact the Lady of the Lake, however, and after a few failed tries, the party does.

The Lady of the Lake, appears to the party in Loch Arthur and tells them she gave Excalibur to the three Fey-Hags yesterday to save 44 children from their clutches. She also warns them that they still have in their bellies 3 more infants, which she could not get the Fey-Hags to hand over.

Sir Kay, tells the party again he can not join them, but wishes them well in their quest to keep the sword Excalibur out of Tiamat's claws.

Excalibur, Sword of Britain..

Tuesday evening July 13th, 1453

The "Flying Blue Fish" returns to Loch Ness after picking up Cleric Sister Teresa, the Paladin Stephanie of Danzig, and the Fighter Albertus who where aiding the people of Glasgow.

The party arrives at the Fey-Haggs camp at sunset, ready to trap and kill the, but the attack went sideways when nobody thought to do a preception check of the woods behind the Fey-Hags camp. A large red dragon (Skraig ) joined the fight and nearly killed three of the party members. Skriag after killing or knocking unconscious everyone there including the Fey-Haggs, teh Dire rabit, the Bullette, save the ones that jumped into the water, and Mergatroid (who was pretending to be dead to fool the Fey-Hags) took the Black Cauldron and left.

When all seemed lost, the the Lady of the Lake appeared in the swamp waters of Loch Ness and gave the party Excalibur. She explained that like she did earlier with the blue dragons, she gave the Witches/Fey-Hags a different magic sword.

The Lady of the Lake gives the sword Excalibur to Murrag the only " Birtain" in the party. She instructs her to keep it safe from the Dragons and return it to Britain some day.

Time to go west..

Tuesday morning July 27th, 1453

After spending two weeks to recover and prepare for the next step in the quest.

Cleric Sister Teresa, and the Paladin Stephanie of Danzig, decide to stay behind. Sister Teresa to care for the one infant child they did save from the Fey-Hags, and Stephanie of Danzig, After training Murrag to the 1st level of being a Paladin, she will return to Danzig to defend her city from the dragons.