Failed Conquest

The party confronted the dragonborn, who attacked as soon as they mentioned the buried angel. Facing two brass sand mages, a blue artificer, and two red grunts, the locals made a strong stand against the intruders.

As the battle progressed, the adventurers came into their own, displaying mastery over newfound abilities. Raist the wizard unlocked secrets of arcane abjuration, Kvothe the ranger embraced the gloom of hidden hunters. Rowan the paladin pledged himself to the ancient powers of the land, while Ivellios the druid summoned the sea itself to the mountains. And Torinn the fighter, in the presence of his spellcasting kin, discovered his own knack for combining martial and eldritch prowess.

During the melee, the blue-scaled artificer managed to open a portal to the northern continent. She beseeched her dragon lord for assistance, but he appeared unimpressed with his servants' performance. Raist closed the portal shortly thereafter with a magic missile.

After defeating the dragonborn, Rowan, Ivellios, and Torinn questioned the lone brass survivor. Apparently, the blue dragon lord, ravenous as ever for new lands, sent this squad to devalue the area so he could purchase it for a low price. The dragonborn killed the river goddess' angel consort, sending her into a deep despair and poisoning the land.

Meanwhile Raist, Torinn, and Kvothe scoured the camp for clues, finding some fine armor, a portable magic circle console, and a large sword hilt with no blade. They dug up the angel's body and discovered he wasn't dead like a mortal creature, rather he was suspended in a death-like state by the black blade embedded in his torso.

Trying to attach the hilt to the blade resulted in necrotic pain for any that tried. Undeterred, Kvothe gripped the blade by the tang and pulled it from the angel in a feat of incredible strength.

The angel, a creature of riverrock and moss and still half-inside some divine dream, did not acknolwedge his rescuers, but did lead them to their destination. The river's source, a mountain waterfall, its flow tainted with blood...