Dragongame, sixth session
Session 
Play
Planning, idling, then on to the forest near the forthcoming elven tower. Vulcanus persuades (hypnotises) a small bird to act as his spy, forming a mind link to said bird so as to see through its eyes. After some complications it arrives to the desired location. There tower is somewhat taller, some wall of stones is being built in the usual way and there are three members lizardfolk also working, under watch but not maltreated. Some elf begins chirping at the birdie and Vulcanus leaves it.
Zaphádoranon takes the shape of an elf (without clothes) and some plans are as to how it would be best to approach the elves, who are now patrolling the forest. No decision is reached and the dragons decide to wait until night-time, as a squirrel told them that the griffons sleep in certain trees at night. At evening Hafnir notes that some magical pulse is being emitted from the upcoming elven tower, and that the auras of the dragons are responding to it. Not much later there are elves running at them from the forest and griffons circling above. Arrows are fired, Isla swoops back to threaten the elves, who jump to the ground at her icy breath, after which Isla quickly flies away, but not before an arrow hits her.
The others help Isla to the mountainfolk’s lair, wherein she is cared for, including a healing ritual or two. One of the rituals requires spring water, and the lizardman previously slighted who claimed to be called Blosk offers to do this, but the offer is quickly denied. Few bite wounds later the arrow is in Isla no more. The lizardfolk prepare for war, and drums are used to communicate this further.
The next day there are griffons flying above the valley where the dragons like to fly around; one of them is ridden by an elf. The lizardfolk are preparing for war. Elves are marching and souding horns. After the dragons show themselves (by peaking from a cave entrance) the gryphon-rider approaches. Zaphádoranon’s newly developed language skills show their worth, as soon enough it is clear that the elf wants to negotiate. A neutral ground is found and the elf even dismisses some of its gryphons so that the dragons come near. The elf rambles some nonsense about the world being once whole and now shredded and that the elves want to make certain a similar catastrophe won’t happen again by taking control of other peoples. All things considered, the elf seems a little off-kilter. There is posturing by both parties and eventually an agreement is reached: That the leaders of the lizardfolk and the dragons and the local elven leaders would meet and negotiate.
That done, word is taken to the three lizardfolk tribes and even to the dragon-that-is-a-hill, though anger is the only response therefrom, even after Vulcanus sang to it of dragons and their glory.
Dragongame, session five
Players as before. There will be two sessions played after this one, assuming nothing changes.
Play
Sleeping and eating done, the dragons go to meet the mountain-dwelling tribe. While entering the settlement proper they meet a gang of of lizardfolk who ask the dragons to follow. Dragons are loathe to cause trouble so they oblige. To trash pit they are taken and demanded to clean it. Though Zaphádoranon snorts in derision, others get to work, which is fairly easy with judicious applications of small-scale wind manipulation, fiery and icy breaths. The gang seems disappointed whereas they were snickering a moment ago. Hafnir hears something akin to chanting and goes on to investigate: A youngish group of lizardfolk notice him and for direction to the others. Once there, they kneel and ask of the sins they did to deserve their eggs being frozen, and of the actions they should take to prevent such disasters in the future. The other group is very hostile to entire idea, as is Isla (who prevents Zape from saying much). The other group is, in fact, hostile enough to ready their spears, though they do not dare attack the dragons. Isla tells the kneeling group to be happy and multiply, which the youngish lizardfolk are fairly certain to approve of, as far as cultish behaviour is concerned. The younglings leave and Zape confronts the other group, which quickly departs as they clearly had no authority to boss the dragons around as they did. Their leader is clearly demoralised by this event and the more followery types scurried away a bit earlier than their leader did.
Zar, the leader of the mountainfolk, was impatiently waiting for the dragons. It soon became clear that cleaning the trash pit was not something the dragons were supposed to be doing and the perpetrator would be duly punished. Dragons are assigned the worthy mission of finding out what the strangers to southeast are about, preferably without starting a war.
The strangers are already have a well-established city on an island, and are constructing something on the mainland, too. To find out more the Zape is to take on the form of a griffon, as some of those seem to be guarding the cities of the strangers. Griffons are larger than the hatchling dragons, so plenty of food is required. A herd of gazelles is driven into a chasm and then eaten, most by Zaphádoranon who then changes shape and eats whatever the others did not. A suitable mountain wherein some cover and a good view are possible is selected and Hafnir and Vulcanus wait there while Zape flies towards the gryphons circling the mainland settlement. Isla creeps along in forest; an activity greatly aided by her scales taking on the colours of her surroundings.
Though Zape looks like a griffon and sounds like them, he has little idea of their language, such as it is. Few attempts at communication prove unsuccessful and he flies away to ponder on the experience. Isla, meanwhile, hears the griffons but decides to go on. He encounters one of the strangers; a guard in silvery metal armour with a sword and a horn at belt and bow in hand, as though it had heard something. As elves are the strangers known. Isla waits until the guard calms down and then freezes it. Sneaking closer Isla finds that the elves are cutting down forest and constructing a tower of marble by forming a circle and chanting at it. Isla leaves. Soon enough two gryphons start circling the area, as if alerted by something. The dragons quickly leave to inform Zar of what they found out.
Zar is busy, so especially Hafnir investigates scrolls present in the common room of the mountainfolk leader. There’s info on local flora and fauna and rumours about wild elves to the north but little factual information, other than that they were territorial (the lore is more than two hundred years old and may not be exactly reliable anymore). More interesting, the treasure hoard of Thunan is somewhere nearby as is a magical divination tool that looks like a stone tablet and a tower that is very rarely visible. The exact locations of all are unknown. Some ritual scrolls are also there, including one for attracting animals by using a large amount of their food and one for summoning winds by blowing a special feather to air.
Zar and the the lizardman who made the dragons clean the trash emerg from Zar’s chambers. One is clearly hostile to the dragons, though does not have the guts to do anything then and there (or is too smart to do so). Information is shared, Zar tells that a few of their people who watched the intruders have disappeared and informs that he has a scroll that might be helpful in communicating with the gryphons, but nothing immediate comes out of it.
Dragons eat (trying the animal attraction ritual, which works as assumed) and those who did not sleep in the scroll chamber do so now. Some further plotting as to how approach the elves is done.
Notes
Two sessions to go, which is a bit less than I expected or that would be ideal, but such is life. The climax is likely to be either awakening a dragon, should the players figure out a way to do it (I don’t know how they might succeed, but there’s four of them and one of me, so they have a distinct edge at figuring out solutions to problems), or as is more likely resolving the elven issue in some way.
Dragongame, session four
The dragons wait for the night the rulers of lizardfolk gather to pronounce judgement. A flight of gryphons heads southeast, flying over the valley. Nothing else of importance is done.
The gathering happens on the altar island, known for a large square-shaped slab of black stone dominating it. All three clans of lizardfolk take one side of the square, the dragons taking the last side. The plainsdwellers keep their word, having sworn obedience. The mountainfolk demand that the dragons give one day in three to serving them, for the rest of the dragons’ lives. They agree. There are other issues discussed, including poison from upriver and some strange folk building crystal towers not far.
The dragons have two days before servitude. They decide to spend the time dealing with the incident of poisonous water, hopefully to aid the lizardfolk so as to appease them. A swamp and therein a putrid pool of water with only rotting moss surrounding it is found. Some gentle attempts at waking something living therein follow and five snake heads emerge. Their necks have radius in the ballbark of ten centimeters, though one is much smaller. They like their living in the swamp, came from among the mountains since there was no food there, and are quite poisonous. They agree to move if provided plenty of meat in their destination.
Vulcanus goes scouting for more swamplands, Isla starts freezing some nearby smaller ponds, Zaphádoranon hunts, Hafnir summons clouds to rain snow upon the area. Vulcanus does find swamplands, though fairly far away, and there is some mysterious slightly pulsing and slowly growing mass of whitish meat there. In his flight Vulcanus also sees a mountain that is as if cut by knife, surrounded by a perpetual storm, but explores no further. Meanwhile the others convince the snakes that winter is coming; the hydra, as it reveals itself to be, rises out from its pond to consult Thunan or Thunadrankhor or Thunatriink or whatever. It ponderously walks with short, tubby legs, moving towards the mountains. It gone, the others meticulously do more freezing (and hunting).
Vulcanus returns, as does the hydra. Isla and Hafnir have frozen the swamp fairly badly so that persuading the hydra to relocate is not difficult (it told Thunan was asleep, so no help there with regards to the winter). Isla informs lizardfolk of the hydra on the move and begs Zar of mountainfolk some extra time, to be paid with extra service as soon as possible. Hafnir remains to feast after the laborious weather altering while the others escort the hydra, which is a fairly capable swimmer, though awfully lazy and nastily poisonous. One can follow it by spotting dead fish rising to the surface. Hafnir notes that there is an island with fancy buildings and that a griffon or two patrol above it. One has strangely powerful and inappropriate aura. Then Hafnir seeks the others.
The hydra is satisfied with its new swamp and has forgotten about the meat, though Zape does deliver some, at which the hydra is grateful and the oldest hydra head tells the dragons to wake Thunan up. They first eat and are about to enter the home of the mountainfolk and meet the cult of Isla, of which more can be told in the next session report.
Notes
Slaying the hydra would have been trivial, given it can do little to airborne dragons with breath weapons. Maybe the hydra had some tie to Thunandriaikhor? The dragons are up to three days of servitude for the mountainfolk and there will be consequences to the frozen eggs. Isla has leadership, which gives means that there will be folk worshipping her. Some may be just a bit hostile, though. We’ll see.
The blob of meat and the stormy mountain are just random detail, which have a point and purpose of a sort, should they be investigated by the player characters. Or they can just be ignored. Either way is fine. Sandboxy.
Dragongame, session three
Players: As before. No absences thus far.
Game started in the the island where a particular tribe of lizardfolk lives. Vulcanus meets a blind shaman and gets instructions for building an amulet that provides protection for birds and their kin and then carries on them (feathers from birds of three species; once done, the heartblood of a bird). The others interact a bit more with the island lizardfolk. It is discovered that Hafnir forgets his hostility as easily as becomes sulky. (Hafnir’s idea of building a large bird cage for capturing the aforementioned birds was soundly crushed.)
Isla goes scouting and discovers what might be a sleeping, or dead, dragon. Further research confirms this. First attempts of waking it are unsuccessful and attract the attention of a largish bird of prey. Once Isla reports of these incidents others decide to awake and dig out the dragon, though Zaphádoranon complains, as his desire to conquer liberate the cave-dwelling lizardfolk is strong.
Once everyone is near the dragon, the size of a hill and buried under one, with trees growing on it, it becomes clear that it indeed is a dragon. It has a powerful aura that is somehow turned inwards. Digging ensues and within few hours a scale is revealed. It is dark greenish brown in colour. The dragon is evidently capable of rudimentary communication via feelings, but even Vulcanus’ formidable roar does little to awaken it. Three griffons, one clearly larger, do circle the area for some time while the dragons hide under trees (luxury of being small).
Some hunting, and an oath of loyalty from plains-dwelling lizard-tribe commence. That out of the way, the Plan takes place.
The four dragons get close to the relevant mountain. Zaphádoranon changes shape, adopting that of a lizardman, and pretends to be a king from far away. This is aided by the three dragons being his servants, and one his mount (Isla has that honour). Audience with the ruler of the mountain folk is demanded and granted. The creature is large, fat, ugly, scaleless with uneven body hair, roughly humanoid in shape, and lives in the egg chamber of the mountain folk. The entreé of the dragons is suitably impressive. Zap is as arrogant as the monsters, so things quickly devolve to the creature grabbing a huge stone club and trying to smash Zap (and Isla) with it, with little success. It then threatens to smash the eggs unless the dragons and their lizardman leader behave. Isla responds with an icy breath, Zape by changing shape, Hafnir by wimpering in a corner and Vulcanus by roaring for aid.
A frozen monstrous despot. Many frozen eggs. The monster falls on the eggs. Lots of smashed eggs and shells thereof. Few almost born lizard-things, dead and shattered.
Zaphádoranon tries to figure out a way out of the mess. The others want to surrender, as is soon done. The dragons make a blood oath to come to the meeting of the lizardfolk leaders to be judged. They depart, though many do mutter angrily.
Notes and commentary
This is exactly why I love letting the dice fall where they may. I would not have forced this on player characters. The game took a distinctly dark turn, completely out of blue. This is why gaming is good.
There arenon-trivial analogies to certain countries liberating others, for various reasons.
The endgame is among my best roleplaying moments. I am happy. No matter what happens, I am happy with this game.
My concerns with Zap’s players were unfounded; he is doing well enough, as are all the others.
Cogito, ergo ludo. 
