The session began with the party resting behind the massive locked doors of the ziggurat while their pursuers banged on the door outside. The room had a high ceiling with ledges above overlooking the floor. Two rope bridges connected the ledges. Everybody had the sense they were being watched.
After a short time two four-armed Tharkans appeared above and four more rushed out from hidden alcoves. One of the tharkans yanked a rope above that activated a swinging blade trap that swept from one side to the other, slicing some of the party before resetting itself. The party realized there was a blade trap every five feet to the end of the room and sprang into action. The large curtains on the walls allowed for climbing up to the ledges.
Hermiad and Not-Rurik rushed up to the ledges and caused grievous pain to the two tharkan "lobbers," and through concerted effort both were eventually yanked down to ground level. Bartix's Mage Hand extended to yank trap ropes to attack a few rows of tharkan. The last tharkan attempted to rush past and open up the doors to the pursuers outside but was cut down at the last instant.
The party recuperated and investigated a pool of water at the far end of the room which appeared to be a dedicated scrying pool that displayed what someone somewhere else was scrying. Its focus was the party's current location. Beyond the pool was stairs leading up, which the party mounted with trepidation.
Above was the skraeling priestess of Tiamat in a large temple room with many magical stones, entranced beasts, and a banquet table, at which she invited the party to sit. She introduced herself as Dragora, explaining that she had, indeed, ensorcelled the royalty of the two viking clans. Mendas ate the food and feigned wooziness to the poison within, but it was rendered inert by a charm of his.
Dragora continued to speak, while the clan kept their hands close to their weapons. She had assumed control of this city of reptile man by being human, just as the creators of the Tharkan slave race had been. With no other humans on the continent, her rule seemed unassailable, and then the viking clans had landed. She had sent out these magical first strikes to scatter the vikings before their colonies could take hold. She noted that she was surprised that the Norsemen had been able to track her down.
She also secured her leadership by being the consort of Mourninglar, a brass dragon which was acting as a living symbol of Tiamat. Of course, a metallic dragon was not the truest representation of the dragon goddess, and Mourninglar had been convinced to take magical unguents and drugs to bring more of the spirit into his frame. Eventually the priestess gave up on her half-hearted diplomacy and sounded the attack.
This was proven ill-considered as she was swiftly brought to the brink of death by a bunch of vikings looking for payback. As her entranced beasts attacked she called for her lover, a dragon with two grafted on talking heads. It put her on its back to flee when she was killed by, uh, probably Hermiad. Enraged, it fought to avenge the death of its mate. Multiple party members were knocked unconscious, and only the valiant efforts of Eric and Oddny were enough to bring them back from the brink.
Eventually Mendas leapt on the dragon's back to stab it repeatedly in the dragon eyes while Bartix locked it in place with a blizzard. The party ganged up on the dragon and beat the dragon-stuffing out of it before it attempted to flee through a conjured portal. At the very last instant Eric struck it with the power of Thor which felled it just before it entered the portal, winning the day for our intrepid heroes.
The party left through a portal of their own, eventually returning to their home to learn that Earl Gaermund and his picked men had died and the clan was looking to the heroes for leadership. The party unanimously elected Rurik to lead the clan and there was much rejoicing and (presumably) mead.
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