January 20, 2024

Hook

MCAS II - Heart of the Dragon 2 (Ruefang, Cahyali)

Plot Synopsis

The group of adventurers, now joined by Wisteria’s apprentice Folki aboard the Pars Caligo, finish their plan to infiltrate Port Wulong’s naval fort, where Cho Yinhui is currently staying, overseeing the RCA resupply ship bound for Juuken.

As late afternoon sets in, Ignita begins executing the plan–he adjusts his form to be able to reshape at will, utilize heat vision, and jump great distances in a single leap. By traveling through the sewer system under the port town, he is able to pass through several barriers by squeezing through tiny openings, and then jump up to a grate that leads into the Bathhouse and Washroom of the fort. From there, Ignita snuck his way to the main administrative building, and his enhanced jumping to leap up to the roof of the tall structure. On his way, he spotted many guards and warrior-priest mages at the fort, as well as Cho Yinhui in a large office that overlooked the dock.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party gathered to the east of the fort, on the cliff sides that face the bay to the south. Ignita was able to create a Dimension Door to them, and all of the adventurers were able to teleport onto the roof of the fort, sneaking past the defenses. Katsuo Nao and Xing Yun Yue snuck down to the ground floor, and entered into the building, sneaking past a nervous mage, and convincing two RCA guards that Xing Yun Yue was an administrative officer that had a meeting with Cho Yinhui. Once inside, Xing Yun Yue distracted Yinhui by claiming to be a cop, here to investigate crimes committed by Yinhui 25 years ago. Yinhui dodged the allegations, but was distracted enough for Katsuo to steal documents from the desk. Oswald, with Ignita in a backpack on his back, then leaped from the roof, swung from a rope, and crashed through a window to attack Yinhui with a charged Phoenix Fire attack, at the same time as Ignita unleashing a flamethrower at Yinhui from over Oswald’s shoulder.

The resulting explosion attracted the attention of the nearby guards and mages, and a battle began. The party was able to disarm Yinhui, and attempted to detach the Long Xin Bing Hua from him, but he was able to keep hold of the sword. The guards and mages rushed in, adding to the chaos of the fight, as Yinhui and Oswald clashed in the middle of the room. Reese created a field of healing around him, while the others focused on defeating Yinhui. Meanwhile, Floki defended the party from the reinforcements with powerful magic. During the fight, Yinhui told his adopted son, Kakusei, to kill Oswald–and Oswald realized that Kakusei was actually his long lost brother. Fortunately, Ignita was able to cast Go Away! on Kakusei, teleporting him 200 feet away from the fray.

Bailin managed to tackle into Yinhui with his compactor mega-hammer as he started to unsheathe the Long XIn Bing Hua, crashing both of them through the wall and down into the courtyard below, just as Floki unleashed a wave of force that blasted everything into the wall of the courtyard. Oswald, enhanced with Temporal Acceleration from Ignita, charged the Phoenix Fire again, and leaped into the courtyard to kill Yinhui, beheading him and taking the Long XIn Bing Hua.

25 years ago, a young Amethyst Draconic makes a promise to his father, who tells him that the mantle of being the clan leader, Zhenghuo Zhongzhu, would be passed to him once his baby brother is born–and that the mantle comes with the responsibility to guard and protect the young and the defenseless, allowing them to prosper. His father shows him his blade, the Long Xin Bing Hua, entrusted by the ancient dragons to be protected by the Harima clan, a symbol of the promise made by their ancestors to protect the innocent, as stewards and guardians. An explosion and the roars of a demonic monster echo in the background, as his father tells the draconic to find his mother, while he rallies the clan to defend itself. He unsheathes the blade, a silver-white fire erupting from the sheath, before telling his son that he loves him.

Oswald picks up the blade, and as he holds it, the black fire dragon is cleansed and consumed by a silver-white inferno, and he sheathes the blade as the party looks for an exit. Xing Yun Yue is able to create dozens of clones all over the fort, who all scatter in various directions, as the party rushes towards the resupply ship. They are able to force any workers and guards away or into the water, as they rig the sails for an escape. Kakusei led the other guards to the dock in pursuit of the party, but as the resupply ship sailed away, he could only swear vengeance against Oswald for killing his adoptive father. Floki made the group of guards scatter with a fear spell, as the group sailed away safely.

They docked with the Pars Caligo and took the resupply munitions aboard their own ship, including foodstuffs, medicine, weapons and armor, as well as ammunition and some minor magic scrolls. Then, in the dead of night, they scuttled the resupply ship in the sea, sinking the Fyrium hidden in the ballast deck.

Noteworthy Postgame Events