Session 1 - The Coupling

The Chosen arrive on the floating island of Phandalin on the backs of Elder Dragons. As they descend they see the town laid out before them. They see houses and shops scattered throughout, but the streets themselves appear to be barren. As they fly over a hill, they are met with a roar of cheers from what appears to be everyone for miles around. Some are waving ribbons of various colors, indicating which dragon they themselves would have chosen. The elder dragons land at the foot of a staircase leading up to a platform atop a large tree. This tree is called Tobor Mahakar and in its branches is held a nest that is larger than a house. They all begin to ascend the staircase and as they get to the top they see the 10 dragon eggs spread throughout the nests floor. In front of them stands a tall elven woman. Her hair and eyes are silvery and her pale skin is almost luminescent. When all 10 of them have arrived at the platform she raises her hand for silence. After a moment, when the crowd still cheers, she looks towards her Golden Dragon who lets out a deafening roar, causing a hush to fall over the crowd.

“Welcome to this year’s group of Chosen Dragon Riders! As many of you know, I am Ilyana and one of my greatest responsibilities as leader of the Dragon Council of Elders is to facilitate in the coupling of the Chosen and their future Dragons. Now as I know when I was standing in their shoes almost 900 years ago, I didn’t appreciate a long winded orator, so we will get right down to it!”

All of the Chosen choose their dragons and break off into parties.

The Party

Kali Eyeer – Half-elf Wizard – She is wearing a fur cloak with a blue and white fur bodice. She is carrying a Quarterstaff with an ice blue crystal attached to the top. She comes from the Northernmost part of the world known as Icewind Dale. It is an island to the North made entirely of ice and snow. She leaps down excitedly and grabs the Blue Dragon Egg. When she comes back to the platform she stands to the far right corner as though to get a good view of the other choices being made.

Diz – Dwarven Rogue. She is a rather short dwarf only standing slightly above the size of a Halfling. She has brownish red hair and looks a little wary of this whole affair. She is from the Sword Mountains where she spent her days breaking into the homes of the elderly find relics and treasures. She looks up at the Gold Dragon asking if it’s really okay that she take an egg and he pushes her into the nest with the tip of her tail. Luckily she is wearing her leather armor so the tumble does no damage. She pops up next to the Copper Dragon Egg and grabs it while scurrying back onto the platform.

Burr Boneham – Halfling Bard – He is a Halfling standing a little over 4 feet tall. He has brown hair and green eyes. His skin is rather pale and he appears to have a chip on his shoulder. He hails from the Kryptgarden Forest where he grew up in the shadow of his twin brother. While his brother, Bo, went on to fame as a comedic entertainer, Burr was overlooked and more often than not picked on and booed off of stages. He too is wearing leather armor and he jumps down into the nest and gingerly picks up the Bronze egg. As he gets back onto the platform Diz scoots over next to him to introduce their eggs to each other since their colors are quite similar.

Team Angst

Ayden Vakrana – High Elf – He is a 6’ tall elf who seems to have an aloof look about him as he walks forward sneering towards Iris. His greys give a slight roll as he tosses his brown hair back. As he descends into the nest it is seen that he is wearing holy vestments with the symbol of a six pointed snowflake. He chooses the White Dragon Egg.

Fitrod Boneknuckle –Mountain Dwarf – He is an average sized dwarf standing about 4.5 feet tall. He has long flowing red hair with a matching beard. His green eyes look fixed as though concentrating very hard at the task at hand. His skin is tanned as though he has been out under the sun almost every day of his life. He has a bit of trouble getting down into the nest as he has chosen to wear chain mail and carry not only his long sword but also his shield. He chooses the Green Dragon Egg and struggles a bit getting back out of the nest as he is weighed down by all he has chosen to wear and carry.

Yesna Rosevale –Stout Halfling – She is a 3 ft tall Halfling with Brown eyes and hair and dark radiant skin. She is wearing mage robes and carrying a quarter staff. She appears to be a bit shy and awkward and hurriedly chooses the Red Dragon Egg.

Team Metallic

Doxi MedlePedle – Rock Gnome – She is a small gnome of only 3 feet tall. Her eyes are green and her skin is fair. Her blonde hair is tied back in a bun. She appears to be wearing fine clothing, no armor, and a rather large signet ring. She excitedly hops down and grabs the Silver Dragon Egg before nimbly jumping up onto the platform all smiles.

Iris Elansar – Half Elf – She is a half elf of about 5’7. She has piercing gray eyes and long black hair which she lets flow freely in the wind. She is wearing a top that is simply crossed over her breasts and pants tight to her skin. She jumps down easily, grabbing the Gold Dragon Egg and hops back up.

Telbor Caim – Human – He is a rather tall human standing just under 6’. His hair is short and blonde and his eyes sky blue which match rather well to his fair skin. As he climbs down into the nest he is wearing leather armor with a dagger strapped to each hip. His face seems to always have a cheeky smile on it. He happily takes the Brass Dragon Egg and nods at the Gold Dragon off to the side on his way back to his spot on the platform.

They then choose their quests.

The Party chooses the Dwarven Excavation Quest due to Diz’s connection to the Sword Mountains. Dwarf prospectors have found ancient Dwarven ruins in the Sword Mountains to the southwest of Phandalin and have begun an archeological dig for treasure and relics. They need to be warned that a wild white dragon has moved into the area. The party is tasked with taking them the warning and then returning to Phandalin.

Team Angst chooses the Gnomengarde Quest. A clan of reclusive rock gnomes resides in a small network of caves in the Sword Mountains to the southeast of Phandalin. The gnomes of Gnomengarde are known for their magical inventions. They might have something with them to defeat the wild white dragon. They are tasked with getting whatever they can from the gnomes and bringing it back here to Phandalin.

Team Metallic is left with the Umbrage Hill Quest. The local midwife – an acolyte of Chauntea named Adabra Gwynn – lives by herself in a stone windmill on the side of a hill a few miles south of Phandalin. It is not safe for her to travel alone. They must urge her to come back and live in the city while the white dragon is on the hunt.

Before leaving the platform each Dragon Rider is gifted with a magical bag with which to carry their eggs. While in the bags, no harm can befall the eggs. They are also given a 100 GP stipend to spend on supplies for their very first quests. The Party descends the stairs and heads off into town.

Their first stop is to the Herbalist shop. The sign above the door simply reads “Vania’s.” They enter and are greeted by a small gnome named Vania who asks what she can help them with. Diz inquires about healing potions and asks if there’s any kind of discount for The Chosen. Vania says of course there is! The first healing potion is free and after that they get a 10% discount so each additional one will be 45 GP. Diz also purchases a Healer’s Kit.

After getting his free potion, Burr goes outside the shop and attempts but fails to catch some birds. He is in need of some feathers for some of his spells. He looks around but is only able to find some pigeon feathers. His odd behavior attracts the attention of a small human boy named Navin. He gets very excited when Burr says he is looking for feathers and leads him to his father’s shop. There are barrels filled with every type of feather imaginable. The shop owner, Narth, is extremely excited to not only have customers, but Dragon Riders come to his shop! He sells Burr a bag of feathers and Diz buys an Eagle Quill and ink from Narth.

The party’s next stop is a General Store run by Maxon and his wife Lanere. Their four children, Gwynerth, Quillian, Yamina, and Maxon Jr, are playing at a table in the back corner of the store. Kali requests some silver wire and bells. He says she can buy them separately but offers her a crafting kit that contains wire of gold, silver, and copper along with 10 bells, various needles, and threads. She takes two and the party is off again.

Diz wants to find some Thieves’ Tools and knowing that no upstanding establishment would sell them, he heads off into an alley and finds a Thieves Den marked that it is kind to thieves. As the Party enters everyone stops and stares at them. Burr manages to fade into the background unseen. Diz attempts to buy some Thieves’ Tools but when the head of the Guild sees their Dragon Bags she ups the price and Diz, offended leaves empty handed. Burr comes out a few moments later excited because he was able to steal what he believed were Thieves’ Tools, only to find out when he hands them to Diz, he mistakenly grabbed a manicure kit. After Diz explains what Thieves’ Tools are Burr realizes he already has a set and gladly hands them over.

As they are standing in the street they bump into Team Angst and after some barbs between Ayden and Kali and flirtatious glances between Fitrod and Diz they are on their way. As they are leaving, Kali notices the symbols on Ayden’s vestments and realizes he serves Auril, a Neutral Evil Lesser Diety of Winter. They also bump into Team Metallic who excitedly tells them about their Quest. Diz tells Telbor, a fellow Rouge, that he can find some great Thieves’ Tools in the Thieves’ Den behind them and Team Metallic rushes off to check it out.

Diz then decides that heading into the mountains, he may need to get something a little warmer to wear. They head next to the Seamstresses shop called The Loony Loom. Diz buys a Copper cloak with Golden threading as well as a matching scarf. He also purchases some needles. Burr buys a forest green vest with detachable arms, to match his eyes. Kali is already well dressed for a colder climate and declines to buy anything.

The party’s last stop before heading on their quest is the Jewelers to try and obtain a pearl worth 100 GP for one of Burr’s spells. Burr and Kali come up with a plan to dump some dust on the pearls and then try to knock down the price by throwing in a “special” wash rag. When they enter they see the owners, a Goblin named Ralan and an Elf named Abigal. Their plan quickly goes awry when Ralan casts prestidigitation and cleans up the dust in no time. Just as they believe there’s no way they will afford the pearl a little half goblin/half elf girl comes up and sees the bags on their backs. She gets so excited and Kali tells her how beautiful and unique she looks. She offers to allow the little girl to touch her dragon egg. Everyone in the party follows suit and the little girl, Ranalia convinces her father that he HAS to give them a deal on the pearl. They need it for their quests! He concedes and offers the pearl for only 50GP. Ranalia gives Kali a little handmade doll that had been made in her own image and asks her to take it on their quests so it can experience the word. Kali gladly accepts and puts it into her pocket, it’s head still peeking out so it can “see” all of their adventures.

The party is about to head out and is wondering if there is any easier way then walking to get to the mountains. As they do so Team Angst walks by and Ayden chides them for being so whiny. All adventurers walk! As they begin walking towards the southern exit of the town they pass by Team Metallic. Telbor runs up to Diz thanking her for the tip and showing her the great Thieves’ Tools he was able to get in the Thieves’ Den.

On their way to the Dwarven Excavation Site they are only met by one other traveler who sneers at them upon seeing their dragon bags but continues on his way. They make it to the Excavation site and are met with a large broken gate. The city is long since deserted. They party decides to stealth inside but Kali trips, bumps into the broken gate, and it clangs to the ground. They continue on into the ruined settlement. The only visible vegetation is some weeds and all of the buildings have collapsed in on themselves. All they find within the ruins are a few crushed dwarf bones and signs of recent campfire.

As they enter the courtyard of a large temple they see two large granite statues of cloaked dwarves with evil grins upon their faces. Kali recognizes that this temple once served the God Abbathor, the evil dwarven god of greed. She knows from her studies that during solar eclipses this particular god’s followers appeased him with sacrifices of blood and gemstones. The settlement was destroyed after Abbathor found one such sacrifice insufficient and sent an earthquake which caused an avalanche burying them. At the feet of one of the statues sits two dwarves eating rations.

The party introduce themselves and the dwarves state that they are Dazlyn and Norbus, the excavators. When the party mentions the dragon, the two dwarves state they will leave only if the party enters the temple and retrieves the treasure and relics. They offer to stay outside and keep watch for the dragon in exchange for a 50/50 split. They give the party a Sending Stone so that they can communicate and the party enters the Temple.