We sat in the cargo bay of the “privateers’” ship, collectively brooding over the latest twist of events.
Our ship had sunk.
Our crew was most likely dead.
We were prisoners and helpless and without our weapons and armour.
Coheed was planning on destroying the world as we knew it.
And we were being transferred over to the Black Dragon Company.
Needless to say, our moods were as bleak as the cloudy, ominous skies above us and our stomachs churned in time with the rise and fall of the sea. The only sound that could be heard was the thumping of boots overhead and the slap of waves against the vessel that held us captive.
The captain of the ship had come to tell us the good news of our impending doom, as if we hadn’t already drawn that conclusion. Despite our dread, we somehow managed to find sleep that night. Exhaustion from our escapades in the dragon’s den overcame us, and soon we all slipped into a restless slumber.
More restless for some than others.
Moira was met with a vision of the past, possibly from clutching Teresa’s lute and resonating with years of arcanic energy stored within. Many scholars have theorized that those who practice the same kind of magic—in this case bardic magic—and have a common bond of friendship and camaraderie, can tap into resonant energy of the other’s conduit and catch glimpses of memorable or traumatic events in that person’s life.
Anyways, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Moira told me of a vision where she witnessed Teresa, several decades ago, marrying Coheed. Shocked as I was, it all made sense. The lone survivor of Ashen amongst a horde of murderous and hungry zombies. How else could Teresa have survived? Her bond with Coheed would have provided her with what I can only think to call immortality. But… does this mean Teresa had been spying on us all this time? Was she in league with the most evil, most vile, and most villainous monster that Ashen had ever seen? Or, was she trying to escape? A few years ago, I would have trusted Teresa without a second thought, but now… I wanted to trust her, but it would appear that Mrs. Jones may have been in cahoots with Coheed.
As soon as we arrived at the Black Dragon Company’s base of operations—a small island kingdom called Crescent Isle—we were immediate blindfolded and shuffled off to prison. For a time, we sat in a rather spacious (but uncomfortable) stone cell, and while Peregrine conversed with another prisoner in the adjacent cell, I meditated in the corner, trying to calm my mind and find a way to end this.
Coheed must be killed.
The Black Dragon Company must be destroyed.
I will avenge my clan and everyone else Coheed had hurt.
Vengeance fueled my fire, and I would see him and his entire organization crumble.
My thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a visitor. It was a halfling by name of Gilder Daccat. My knowledge of him led me to believe he was a pirate captain and an ally of the Black Dragon Company, yet here he was, springing us from our cell with our loot, Mersh, and Teresa in tow. It would appear that Teresa was indeed on our side, and had joined our company in hopes of hiding from her “husband.” He told us where we could find our companion, Buck, and warned us to leave before the rest of the Company arrived.
Buck was alive. Injured, and possibly tortured, but alive. Carelessly, we immediately made our way to the island’s cathedral, where Buck was being held in the catacombs below. We found our friend chained to an altar, worse for the wear but alive. As we were about to free him from his shackles, an earth-shattering and ear-splitting sound (was that supposed to be music?) resonated around the room. The pillars supporting the ceiling shook and the floor quaked.
I sighed.
I gripped my staff and Emrys fluttered uncertainly on my shoulder.
I turned to face our long-awaited foes.
Blocking the entryway was the Black Dragon Company in all it’s “glory.” Clare Trannyth had her legendary sword, Balmus, drawn and ignited, a twisted smile gracing her features. Alistar Taiven snarled, muttering something about eating Peregrine. And Wilward Jones stood proudly and confidently in the center, his songblade of madness sounding from everywhere around us, a cruel smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
They taunted us. Peregrine returned the taunts tenfold.
TTC: 1, BDC: 0
So far, so good. We had them outnumbered two to one, but still, I felt a sense of unease. They were more powerful than we were, and both Teresa and Buck were in no condition to fight.
And so, the fight began. They turned out to be much more powerful than I initially thought, and we were more than evenly matched. Though somehow, we prevailed.
After Peregrine overcame a mind-bending spell, courtesy of Wilward, he dropped a handful of grenades between Alistar and Clare, which were promptly ignited by my fireball spell. The grenades detonated, ending Alistar’s life and greatly wounding Clare. As Moira squared off with Wilward, Teresa helped heal me while Peregrine and Albion worked to behead Clare.
His companions dead, Wilward continued to fight to the last. Eventually, he was struck down by Albion, and in his last moments, played a duet with Moira. Wilward Jones had passed rather peacefully.
It was more than the monster deserved.
Regardless, the Black Dragon Company was destroyed, and for once, everything was looking up for us. That is, until Coheed Jones appeared on the scene. A tiefling and the assassin sent after Buck flanked him, and after a few jarring words, he set about exterminating all of us.
To this day, I still do not know if he cared that his son was murdered.
First Peregrine was run through, and as he crumpled to the ground Buck was thrown against the far wall. Soon, the rest of us were cut down one by one, until, in my fading vision, I saw him and his minions disappear, leaving us for dead.
Everything went black.
When I woke, I was lying in a hospital bed. It turns out that we were saved by the other Tiefling at Coheed’s side. He saved us in hopes that we could bring the demon down, once and for all.
We were battered, but we weren’t beaten.
First, the Black Dragon Company was slain.
Coheed, your time has come.
Tibles of the Blue Leaf Clan