In our League game, the two female players were unable to make it to our session this week, thus the title.
So when we last left our heroes, they had thwarted the attack on Ten Towns by the chardalyn dragon that Xardorok Sunblight, the duergar king and clan leader in the mountains, had created. The party had decided that enough was enough and that he must be dealt with, and swiftly.
The party headed out only to be stopped by a pair of perytons, which the party dispatched rather quickly, afterwards only taking a short rest before continuing onward towards the fortress known only as Sunblight.

The dwarf in the party found it odd that they had not been accosted on their way up the stairs to the main part of the fortress, and even more perplexed at the lack of confrontation with a seemingly empty guardhouse.
Even more strange was hearing the gates unlock!
The party cautiously entered only to have the guards inside sound their alarm to stop the party. The battle was long and hard fought, but the party was victorious and stopped them from alerting the rest of the fortress.
Going through the level of the fortress that they found themselves on, the party found Xardorok’s war room and bedroom. Looking around they found the very plans for the chardalyn dragon which they figured out themselves.

Working further into the fortress, they came across the invisible duergar that let them in. Questioning him, they found that there is another faction of duergar that had no loyalty to Xardorok, but instead to Grandolpha Muzgardt, the paramour of Xardorok, who is a duergar clan leader and merchant head of an Underdark meade business, who also has zero interest in Xardorok.

They sought her out, finding her in a dining hall. There was a very tense standoff, with the party agreeing to parlay with her. She agreed to neither help nor hinder the party’s efforts to defeat Xardorok, and gave the party as much information on Xardorok and his operations as possible, to include what he was and the possible places he could be found. Lastly, she indicated that there were many of Xardorok’s people who were now loyal to her and not Xardorok, who would only fight in self defense.
Looking around the rest of the level, the party found an elevator that went up and down, and knowing that Xardorok was on the lower level, the party headed down. Heading out of the elevator area, the party walked directly into the throne room…there sat Xardorok Sunblight, the ruler of his clan, first of his name…

Additionally, a myconid was being tortured in the corner by a number of Quaggoth that were loyal to Xardorok. The party was appalled, and moved in to attack, the gnomish wizard starting the fight with a fireball that was shaped to hit everyone but the myconid.

Roaring, Xardorok headed towards the party, with death and destruction of the party his new priority…

Will the party prevail against their current foe? Will they be successful in stopping Xardorok’s other plans?
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Until next time, Dear Readers…
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