Gameplay - The Dragon That Opposed an Empress

You gather your belongings from the inn and with scarcely a word to Mont, settle your tabs, saddle your hippogriffs and launch. On your way east past the wall, a patrol tries to intercept you but the sudden appearance of an adult brass dragon captures their attention sufficiently to allow you to flee the city.

Half an hour later, a shadow above you tells of you accompanying companion, the dragon Mordenth. He paces you for a time, high above you beyond the drifting clouds, higher than your hippogriffs can fly. In the late afternoon, he flies faster and outpaces you.

When you arrive at the island you camped on previously, you find the elf da'Norto Illianstar preparing a meal on a campfire - salt crusted seafish served on a bed of lightly spicy noodles and a selection of crisp winter vegetables. He serves you on brass plates with brass cutlery. To accompany, a heady mead-like wine is served in brass goblets.
He continues in the common tongue, "I do not enter that land anywhere near Allaya's Cove, for it is protected by the one you have met, and we dragons guard our territory fiercely. But we must go there now, and hope she looks charitably upon us.

I know you have more questions, but answer some of mine. Tell me the story of this empress, of Pananthys, and how you all came to be involved in such lofty affairs."

Mavis sits cross-legged on the floor, her plate in her lap. At Mordenth's questions, she gestures to her companions for the tale, as she would also like to hear of their adventures. She quickly scoffs down her food, places the plate to her side, and rocks side-to-side to bury her buttocks into the earth. Mavis is sitting comfortably with hands upturned in her lap - like a nursery child awaiting story time.

Ruby stands up, electing herself the storyteller. "Oh it was fierce, harrowing, fantastical tale! The hobgoblins were coming to our cozy little town, and so the mayor decided it was time to act! He sent us to investigate what brought them to our locale, and we were met with violence on multiple occasions, I took down so many! Anyways we discovered they were after...dragons!" It would be easy to assume Ruby is upsaleing the story because of de'Narto, but that's a lie.

"And so it was a race, but we were quite mistaken. By the time we approached the dragon's lair only their child, Zabonath. Onoth, Onat? Anyways we discovered the mighty dragon Pananthys was being held by a whole army of hobgoblins, Vermillion Reavers I think. We traveled the countryside, recruiting far and wide till we had a force to match their own. We launched a daring rescue mission, and managed to free Pananthys. It was awesome." Ruby takes a big swig of her wine, finding herself parched.

Hehsh adopts a thespian pose, and gestures wildly, complementing Ruby's dramatic flare. "But that's not all! NO! We were forced to gather allies for the hobgoblins are fierce foes. From the desert, from the mountains, from the rivers." His voice takes a darker tone. "Turns out one of us can't swim." Hasan gets a dirty look. "We gathered our army and rested for one night, attacking with the dawn! Woe be tide our foes! On bestial mounts gifted by Abilonii, we charged, slaying countless. Somewhere along the line, Ruby ate an unknown amount of souls. With tremendous courage, we hew the chains holding mighty Pananthys, and the rest, as they say, is history."

And at the risk of being tonally dissonant:

After Ruby's performance Mavis gives her a nod, a wink, and a thumbs-down - down being the dwarven direction for all things good.
She briefly wishes there was popcorn, before becoming absorbed in Hehsh's tale.

Hehsh will recall Great Delta as the city you stopped in a few days earlier where you fought the sand demons during the sand storm.

That's the story. I was late to the party. I was there for the rescue mission, but none of the before action.

da'Norto Illianstar listens intently to your story come together. "Hobgoblins, and an alliance of their allies. This Vermillion Reavers sound fearsome and bent on conquest. I would not get involved save for their depredations on Pananthys, and Veringvox.

I cannot judge you fairly. You seem to have some abilities, but against an army, you'll fairy poorly, I suspect. We will need to work around that, find you some way to help."

He watches the fire, his eyes seeming to glow with more light than the reflected flames should cause.

"How far will you go? Will you come with me beyond the desert wastes, to the empire that lies beyond? To a land filled with evil forces bent on treachery and the conquest of all? To risk everything in a bold gambit?

Will you give up who you are and become what the world needs?"

Give up who you are
That was the bargain, the trade, the contract.

Give up who you are
At her core, Mavis was a dwarf, and dwarves work differently to the skylanders.
Take a human, remove their personality, their humour, and their emotion - it would be called 'stripping them of their humanity' - as though humanity was a layer that was applied over them, like skin.
Dwarves were inside out. Their centre was dwarven. Remove a dwarf's personality, humour, and emotion - the result would be distilled dwarf.

Give up who you are
When her clan had sent her on this quest, Mavis understood that self-sacrifice might be needed.
What was this bargain, if not the definition of self-sacrifice?
Her clan expected it, and she was of the Cloudsea. A true dwarf would never refuse her clan.

Give up who you are
Aye. Tha can 'ave me. Replied Mavis without hesitation.
She could say nowt else. It's who she was. Was.

Give up who I am? I gave up control of my life to join the army. Then, I gave my soul to my God. This will just be another time of many where I have become what is needed.

I agreed to help and my word is all I have left. I am in.

Ruby is finding all these questions rather intense. This is a lot to spring on us, I suppose I've already changed since we got involved. Since I left Uproot. How much further though, what kind of changes would be required? Guess I'll never know unless I join in.

Ruby gives a thumbs up. "People need help, and we're the ones who can do that."

Mordenth picks at his own plate, takes a small bite, sips his wine, and dabs his lips with a hankerchief.

"Pananthys and I were mates, long ago, or at least, as close to mates as would make any difference. We parted, and Veringvox gave her what I could not. Devotion, I suppose. The greater passion that comes from surrender and acceptance. That wasn't me, and we left each others' company. They have a child you say? Wondrous." He looks longly into the fire, his eyes pulsing with the heat.

"This isn't about her, or me, or the little one, or even Veringvox. This is about rejection. The forces of the east are arrayed against us. Ever in the past, their own bickering and internecine strife has kept them from being a threat. At the center of it all, the hobgoblins, who have caused much of the bitterness and turmoil. Now, I surmise they have turned that against them, blamed outsiders for their own mischief and united the dark against the light. She and I spoke of this possibility, long ago, but never before has a hobgoblin chief had the fortitude to unite all of the disparate races into a whole. I don't know how she managed it, this empress. Others have tried. Tried and died. That she has gotten as far as you have said, has eliminated one of the greatest guardians on that side of the inland sea, bodes not well for the rest of us. We need to know more. So here is my plan."

He looks at each of you, his blazing eyes fading to a light, natural violet elven hue.

"We become them. We use magic to adopt their forms, not as illusion, but permanently. We enter their empire, we find their secrets and then we use that information either to destroy their cohesion, or unite the gentle nations to the impending doom. If we survive, then the magic can be undone and you can return to your lives. As you were."

Again, he looks at each of you, his eyes measuring your hearts.

"Be honest. Is this something that you can take upon yourselves? This wretched burden and terrible risk? If we are found, death will not be our release though we will wish it so."

If you will excuse me for a moment, I would like to pray on this. I think it is a solid plan, and I am up for it...but the form is one loathe to my God, and I need to know if it is acceptable.

Garth leaves the area and finds a quiet spot. He concentrates on his holy mark.

Gond, a great evil is threatening all that is good in the world. To fight them I would change my form to 9ne of them. My mark of obedience would have to be masked as well. Please let me know if this is unacceptable to you.

Ruby raises her hand. "To be clear, we're going to become...Hobgoblins? How will that work with-" Ruby gestures to all of her. "-This?" While Ruby's questions seems trivial in nature, her voice indicates this is a serious matter.

"Hobgoblins, yes. Your size and general shape would remain, only your appearance."

Wow that was way more literal than Hehsh would have thought.

Become a hobgoblin? But Hehsh just figured out he was a dragon! He rather liked the idea of being a dragon. He shook his head. He is Hesh, and when this is over, he will still be Hehsh. Probably. "How long would we be-err hobgoblins?"

"Ah." With her question answered Ruby scratches her chin as she contemplates this choice. No use asking playing 20 questions over the semantics, He seems like he's got a smart head on his shoulders, I bet his plan is very thorough. Despite this internal self reassurance she elects to wait and see what De'narto has to say.

"You would be hobgoblins indefinitely. Until you had someone transform you into your original form, or a new form, the change would be permanent. If it were temporary, then the magic would be apparent to even novice magicians."

He let's that sink before he continues. "There is a wizard in Great Delta who can perform this feat when we arrive. You would only need return to her to have the magic reversed."