The Harvest Moon Consortium

[Mick Dagger]

Some weeks ago I met Velvet as I often do in the adventurers camp. I hadn't seen him in a while and he told me how he missed me, and that he had gone looking for me in the orc caves. For some reason he believed that I had been captured by orcs. It was a cute thing to do to go looking for me, but he really had no reason to worry. I have been there once before and showed the orcs that I can take care of myself.
But he said one thing that caught my attention. He had seen some deeper caves where he had spotted several dark elves, probably drow. It made me wonder if there was a passage to the underdark there, and if we could expect drow raids on the surface any time soon.
So I went to explore. I found the entrance, just where Velvet told it would be. The entrance was guarded and I was attacked on sight by what must have been drow. They were able fighters, but could not stop me. I met more resistance from several other fighters and archers when I got further down the caverns. I found a dark opening in the wall and entered a narrow tunnel. It was very dark in there. One of the changes I have experienced under Bob's supervision is that my eyesight has improved, especially when it is dark. So I could see some strange creatures, almost spider-like ahead. But they had spotted me too and suddenly attacked. They called upon their god and let all kind of spells rain down on me. I could only stand my ground for a short while before I had to retire. The pain from the spells was unbearable. I managed to escape them, and met no further challenges on my way out. I will bring friends when I come back.

[Mick Dagger]

Bob has given me a new focus. He wants me to embrace my magical resource, refine it and take it to a higher level.
I have worked for a while on creating fire and controlling the flames, shaping them in different forms and intencities. In that process I have also come to tolerate heat much better. Now Bob wants me to work with a purer form of magic, and I have to start from scratch trying to create and direct small doses of that energy.
Our bond is growing stronger. Bob has a presence in my mind now, as long as I let him, and sometimes he lets me get a glimpse of his. Often we don't need words, because we have an intuitive understanding of each other. I have come to realise that when we transform thoughts into words and then back again, much is lost in the translation. But even so I now have words for concepts that I could barely grasp before. The subtleties of Bob's thinking is still beyond me, but I learn.

[Mick Dagger]

Bob sends me on border patrols now. It is important to secure the temple and surronding forest from the black dragons and their dragonkin. It is a great honour to be trusted with that task. I venture far into the woods to interrupt their war parties. I found a dragon cave there and reported it back to Bob. He only nodded, as if he already knew it was there. He tells me not to enter that cave - yet...

[Mick Dagger]

I have heard all this talk about the sewers in Lapis. Not a place I would normally take interest in, neither here nor anywhere else for that matter. Only the thought of the stench...
What brought my attention to the place was an elven ranger visiting Lapis. Her home being in the forests near Claeverness. She asked if I could help her capture a criminal boss who operated out of a base in the sewers. I agreed to help if only as a contribution to restore order in the city.
The sewers were as horrible as I had imagined, if not worse. The horrid stench everywhere, the ground slippery from sewage and rotting spoils. And the rats - swarms of rabid rats, desperately attacking us from every corner.
There must have been a whole clan of criminals guarding the base, all fighting to their death out of fear for their boss. The boss was a skilled swordsman, but proved to be flesh and blood like everybody else, and a well placed swing of my blade chopped his head off.
The ranger returned the head to the authorities as proof and was well rewarded. I hope this will make the city safer, at least for now.

[Mick Dagger]

There is trouble at the build site of a new mage school that Shaia builds. The workers tell that it is unsafe to dig into the ground. Shaia brought a party of experienced adventurers, Randyl and Seryne, Thorto and Darias. I was also counted among them as was Velvet. We descended under the basement and found a network of caves. We didn't come far before we were attacked by different kinds of undead. We were able to push them back and defeat them.
At the bottom of the caves, we faced the summoner Suspintra, who said she would come back with more undead before she disappeared. She told that she was in some kind of rivalry with a priest of Sehanine on Inthara Island.
We needed to get this resolved, but chose not to make a deal with Suspintra. Instead we went to see the priestess to ask if she knew of a way to deal with her rival.
While we were there an abishai appeared from nowhere and kidnapped the pet owl of the priestess. We volunteered to help her get the owl back. Divinations told us that the owl was being brought towards the black dragon forest near Bahamut's temple and Bob. Somehow Tiamat or her followers may be involved in this.

We hurried to the forest where we met at Bob's place. Bob greeted us and greeted me by name so everybody could understand that we knew each other well. There was another woman with him. Cypria was her name. She had wings like a half dragon. I haven't met her before and was going to ask if he had found another pupil. She smiled and looked happy when she greeted me.
But then Bob talked to her and called her "honey". I was shocked. Has he had a secret lover? What of our relationship now? Will he dump me for another pupil? These thoughts raced through my brain and blackened my heart. I felt deep despair.
I was so shocked I couldn't manage to stand up and ask them what this was. Instead i withdrew and sat down by myself and only wanted to be alone. Right then Velvet showed up and wanted to be with me. I told him to leave me alone. After a while he came back and sat down right behind me. I wasn't able to tell him to leave any longer.

[Mick Dagger]

Before we entered the dragon forest, I had to ask Cypria who she was so I could know what to expect. She told me that she was Bob’s mate and that she had been away to see her family. She had been B+ob’s mate all along, so that would not change what Bob and I were doing.
I felt instant relief, even though I was not sure what it would mean for us in the future. Nevertheless, I was able to go on, and felt determined when I entered the dragon forest with the others.
The forest was nothing new, but entering the dragon cave made me understand why Bob had asked me to wait. The old dragons put up a tough fight even for an experienced party like us.
In the depths of the cave, we found a hidden door that none of the more experienced adventurers had discovered before. It led to a corridor and a hidden chamber. In there was a magical portal. We entered. This must be Hell, I thought, and then hell broke loose with abishai attacking us from everywhere. We fought like heroes, pressing them back and gained the initiative. We advanced through a couple of chambers against increasingly tough devils before we lost our formation and were defeated.

The abishai devils were willing to let us go if we would do something for them in return. We had to help them free a drow faction that happened to be the house that Suspintra the undead summoner belonged to. The abishai devils kept Randyl as hostage and collateral.
After consulting with our friends Bob and the priestess Amatherial, we decided to free the drow and let them loose on the underdark. The lawful nature of the devils would then force them to keep their word and release Randyl.
We went to the school construction site. At the bottom of the pit we found a descent to underdark. Amatherial was there and helped us open the blocked gate through prayer. The passage led to a secluded part of Underdark. We found Suspintra in a large building. The tension was high, but we had to let her go and be free so we could keep our part of the deal. She gave us a potion to bring to the abishai.
Before we returned to Hell through the black dragon cave, Bob asked me to bring back an item Tiamat used as false proof that Bahamut had killed her brother. Tiamat had trusted the abashai with the item. Retrieving the item would free Bahamut of the false accusations.
We went back through the portal to meet with the abashai. They did not like it when they saw that we had survived to return, and had proof that we had accomplished what we set out to do.
Reluctantly they agreed to free Randyl. During these negotiations, Velvet had gone to a separate chamber where they stored vast heaps of treasures and kept Randyl prisoner. I joined him and helped him look for the artefact. The immense evil of the place kept distracting me. I started praying to Bahamut and asked for a divine intervention. He answered me with revealing where they had hidden the item that I was looking for.
I wrapped the item on a cloth and brought it back to Bob together with the rest of the party and Randyl. Bob identified the item as a giant claw from a gold dragon.
This was the happy ending we were hoping for. Shaia could continue her work with the Mage School and we had freed Bahamut of the false accusations. The drow would have their hands full with fighting Suspintra and each other.

Cypria then admitted that she had not visited her family, but rather had been on a mission and had now been promoted to the title of “Wing of Bahamut”. The task they had given me with the abashai was in fact a test to see if I was ready to become a defender of Bahamut with all the responsibilities that involves. Our success had given them the answer they sought. I was honoured and I accepted the calling immediately. I thanked Bob for aiding me so far, and Velvet and the rest of the party for helping me accomplish it.

[Mick Dagger]

I realize now that the hardship that I have gone through has changed me. I have feared losing what Bob and I have together. I have been jealous of Cypria. I felt sorry for Randyl and leaving him with the devils made me feel guilt, and shame. Having no choice in the matter made me feel helpless.
Being able to help free our friend was a great relief. I realize how important friendship is and how much stronger we are when we work together and help each other. I understand that the same goes for my teacher Bob and my service for Bahamut.

My friendship with Velvet has grown deeper. His past still makes me feel bad, and his sleek manners and submissive ways still annoys me. But I can see past that now. I begin to understand his feelings towards me. Even though I am not able to live up to his romantic feelings, I realize that I have treated him bad. I will have to apologize.
I have told him what his friendship means to me. I have also told him that as a friend I expect him to stop treating me the way he used to treat his former customers. He promised me that he would work on changing that old habit.

[Mick Dagger]

They have now officially appointed me Wing of Bahamut. Cypria brought me my new Brightwing uniform and weapon. The armor fit perfectly. The fit of most armors has been a problem since I started growing muscles. The slits for my wings are well placed and padded to ensure freedom during flight. I was surprised to find the armor so smooth that I could even cast spells without any distraction.
The sword is in perfect balance when I hold it in my hand. The edge is flawless, and it will split a falling feather. The metal has a luminous golden hue to it, a hue I only have seen in the scales of metal dragons.