Councils of Men and Dragons

(Following Old White Death)

Council of Waterdeep

The Council of Waterdeep meets following the Sounding of the Draakhorn, sending off Mon-Kei to Icewind Dale to find the "Horned Wizards", who should then assist in finding the Tiefling Maccath, deemed an expert in lost dragon lore,  and bring her to them. Taking the Yuir gateway to Skyreach Castle, Mon-Kei and Tallon the Tall convince Blagothkus to (literally) drop them off at what is a battleground - see: Siege of Caer Konig.

Following the Stones of Blood siege, the wizards Alyks Askaria and Dex (indeed, both horned), deliver Maccath (also horned!) to Waterdeep aboard the maiden voyage of h'Rothgar's cleverly restored skyship of The Netheril.

Maccath had been a captive of a white dragon-wizard in the Sea of Moving Ice.  Maccath's arrival coincides with a message delivered by the ancient Bronze Dragon Nymmurh, suggesting selection of envoys from the Council of Waterdeep to speak with a gathering of ancient metallic dragons regarding the potential to ally. Nymmurh has advocated for alliance, while the King of Justice, the ancient gold dragon Protanther, holds minimal regard for the "small folk" and intends to address the Tiamat issue on their own.

Having known Willow and Belcoria among the friends of Lhammaruntosz, Nymmurh recommends they speak on the council's behalf. The Council reluctantly agrees, but all but Delaan Winterhound (Emerald Enclave) and Sir Isteval of Daggerford insist any concessions offered to the dragons must be sparing - this is their fight even more than humankind's - and they should instead be asking for assistance from their kindgoms. Even more, Connerad Brawnanvil, the King of the dwarves of Mithral Hall and Melandrach, Elf King of the Misty Forest, insist on NO CONCESSIONS, expressing their racial frustrations with ongoing threats from dragonkind.

Council of Ancients

The ranger, paladin and dragon teleport to a cavernous lair deep in the Nether Mountains, where they address the glorious gold dragon and his court.

Some say Protanther is one of the wandering attendants of the Platinum Dragon Bahamut. But the cryptic ancient chooses to remain aloof of most of the affairs of men, elves, dwarves and whatnot... holding a lasting anger toward the elves' creation of the Dracorage Mythal, the cause of the periodic Rage of Dragons madness afflicting dragonkind - noble kin and enemies alike. Human recklessness and cruelty may be excused in their short lifespans lacking time to gain wisdom - but the long-lived elves have no such excuse for having produced so sadistic a curse. Protanther's price for alliance is formal apology and admittance of depraved cruelty by an elvish king. His test for trust in the envoys involved word association.

(Thanks to Reddit for these test ideas and scripts).

Nymmurh of Alaron, as envoy and advocate for the alliance, suggests no test of loyalty nor has any demands to place upon the council.

Protanther could not be more wrong in his opinion of the smaller races. He, and I, both understand that metallic dragons are born in the image of Bahumut himself. Born to be heroic, to be good, and to be righteous. It is for this reason he witnesses the ill-doings of the small folk and sees them as evil. His very essence blinds him to the truth. He has no choice in being good, or being evil - or more accurately, it would take a greater focus to overcome the innate goodness of being a Unknown. He does not see how much greater and more precious good is when it is freely chosen by the smaller folk, who must consciously turn away from villainy. I know that the rest of the moot shall seek to learn your true nature, and out of tradition I must also. I simply ask you share with us your greatest act of heroism, in your fight against Tiamat.

The smallest of the ancient dragons prove to be challenging. The Unknown Ileuthra, perhaps the most ancient of all assembled - raised at the side of the God of Knowledge Oghma, demands the Dragon Masks be turned over by the small folk, immediately upon even a single one being obtained. His test involves, unsurprisingly, learning.

Belcoria tells of a simpler event transpiring in the defense of the town of Leilon against the armies of Cult of Talos and Church of Myrkul. A group of children, whose fear instincts had been tempered by months of attacks - and curious in the events of battle, were in a place of grave danger. The paladin called upon her power to strike fear into the children, forcing them to flee the area - realizing letting go of her image of being a shining heroine less important than preserving life.  Willow spoke of the continual revelation of deceptions, not the forest camouflage to hide or lure to a trap - but the open exploitation of trust through lies and manipulation.

The celestially-ancient dragon's eyes, wholly knowing, consider Willow's words, and simply add - not raising the dangerous topic of Venomfang into the conversation, "And yet, some of those redeem themselves, it would seem."

The ancient Unknown, Tazmikella, in what seems expected of her kind, completely alters the script. She puffs a bit of mist from nostrils commenting, "This is no place for a proper conversation, let's do this properly." And Belcoria and Willow are teleported to a shop overflowing with curiosities of all sorts. An ordinary-looking middle-aged woman with once strawberry-blonde hair (now softening into grey) emerges, dressed in simple clothes - unmistakably, Tazmikella in human guise.  Outside, the sounds of a merchant district bustle and unfamiliar music of an eastern land accompany scents of exotic spices in the air.  She pours tea at a low table surrounded by comfortable pillows and takes a seat, gesturing for the elf ladies to join her.

I like your people, perhaps even a little more than my own kind. I have chosen to live among humans here in Damara, and to share in the joys and pains of what my kin call the small folk. Your short lives are full of laughter and happiness, much better than our dragged-out, sober existences. But if there is one main failing of the humanoid races, it is the lure to dishonesty: lying and swindling come too readily to the small folk in my experience. Still, this allure draws their attention to the finer things in life. This is my shop – it’s not much, but I like to think there’s something for everyone within these walls. Go on, take a wander around. When you’ve had a good look, bring me one thing that speaks to you the most. Something you might above all others, and tell me why.

Willow has selected a stone carved in the shape of a three-sided pyramid and colored the green of a lush forest, noting, "This draws my attention above all others." Tazmikella nods in response, approvingly, noting, "Your instincts are impeccable, that Ioun Stone is among the greatest of all my wares." Belcoria browses several different items, always returning to a simple ivory carving of a goat, which becomes her final selection, explaining, "Though this object is simple, my friend Tallon the Tall is so fond of his pet Thunderhoof named Bibble, and this reminds me of that goat and made me smile." The shopkeeper returns the smile and fetches two other carvings, noting the goat is part of a set of three.

Tazmikella then offers, "These most worthy items can be yours, but I ask not for money - but you trade with me something magical you have had for a long time, something meaningful to you with which you would part to have such new treasures." Willow offers her Ring of Animal Influence, an item that has been with her since she first left her home in the High Forest, and whose power to cast fear into the hearts of beasts saved her and her companions from the stampede of giant boars at the siege of Leilon. Belcoria opens her Bag of Holding, drawing out the black dragonscale armor given to her by Venomfang, in trade for the key to the Forge of Spells. (See the end of Tomb of the Forgotten King). Armor, Tazmikella reveals, was crafted by the skills of the Unknown itself from its own scales - who the newly-befriended Unknown had given the magical key, allowing the vicious black named Grimnoth the Sewersnake entry into a ruin of a Netheril enclave hidden in Neverwinter Wood, where he systematically terrorized and annihilated a sizable bastion of the Cult of Talos.

On return to the cavern and the audience with the ancients (again by teleportation), the envoys agree to carry the terms to Waterdeep and represent the interests of the dragons in good faith, and return with the council's response. The dragons, with foresight into the coming conflicts, offer five of their kind to remain and defend homelands as troops are dedicated to the battle with the forces of the Cult of the Dragon. It will be at the discretion of the envoys as to which locations will receive these defenders.

1. Felgolos of the Thunder Peaks (this is where Tallon is from!) - Bronze dragon
2. Argenta Purenote of the Stormhorns of Cormyr - Silver dragon
3. Galadaeros the Sunset Flame of the Purple Rocks (actively trades with Neverwinter, Waterdeep, and Baldur's Gate) - Copper dragon
4. Girac of the Serpent Hills - Brass dragon
5. Tarlacoal of Cormyr - Gold dragon

Commitment from Waterdeep

As the returning ranger and paladin relate the offer and terms from the Council of Ancients, Delaan and Sir Isteval sit back, smiling smugly at the responses from the council members, that vary from annoyance (Laeral Silverhand and Remallia Haventree) to angered outbursts of offense (predictably, from the Kings of Dwarves and Elves). Belcoria gets right back in the face of each, relating to the Dwarven King the wicked killing of dragons as if metal ore from which to craft. To the Elf King, she calls out the carelessness and lack of wisdom or learning despite centuries and millennia of opportunity. In fact, she smacks the Wild Elf in the nose.

King Melandrach is furious if the characters agreed to an apology for the Dracorage mythal. He makes the apology because honor demands it, but he resents the party for forcing his hand. Connerad Brawnanvil is similarly unhappy if a concession was made in response to the ancient dragonmoots of the dwarves. The traditions of the dragonmoot saved many lives in their time, and the fact that one metallic dragon was injured indicates that it was probably misbehaving. Dwarves have no patience for tolerating misbehaving dragons, no matter what their color.

With regard to the offer of dragons to protect lands left open by armies assembling for the battle with the chromatic dragon forces, Waterdeep alone declines the need for for defensive assistance.

As an effect of the way in which the adventurers have impressed the dragon council, it now falls to them to allocate the dragons that have pledged their service to the factions.  Dragons allocated to a delegate of the Lords’ Alliance are assigned to protect the capital city of the delegate’s territory. A dragon assigned to the Harpers will be used for  intelligence gathering. The Order of the Gauntlet sends any dragons to the city of Elturel, while the Emerald Enclave sends dragons to guard the ancient Unknown known as the Grandfather Tree. The party can also distribute dragons to specific regions. In such a scenario, a dragon protects a 100-mile-radius area around the point where it is assigned, stopping draconic raids in that area.

Ontharr Frume of the Order of the Gauntlet speaks for the city of Elturel, a member of the Lords Alliance not present on the council and yet close to the Sunset Mountains what seems to be a center of power for the Cult of the Dragon. This means tasking those five offered dragons with specific locations among nine or more locations. The faction's sentiment will increase by +1 if assigned dragon protection.

• Baldur's Gate (huge coastal city, largest Lords Alliance city near Sunset Mountains)
• Guarding the Grandfather Tree in the High Forest ~ (Emerald Enclave)
• Intelligence gathering ~ (Harpers)
• Mithral Hall (Dwarves, north near Silverymoon, but even closer to the Spine of the World) 
• Neverwinter (large coastal city in the far north) 
• Silverymoon (large city in the interior of the far north) 
• Daggerford (coastal city, trade center between Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate) 
• Elturel (interior city at crossroads, nearest to the Sunset Mountains) ~ (Order of the Gauntlet)
• Misty Forest (Wild Elves, off the High Moor, near Daggerford) 

Where things stand in terms of the Council's sentiments regarding supporting the battles:

(Next: TBD)