Fires in the Sky

by Ron Vitale

Recommended for games set during the 'Reign of the Dragon Overlords' time period.

Many have not heard of Puget Twinkletail, the gnome who devoted his life to stargazing, but his friends believe him to be famous. When they see him, they retell the story of how he got his name, in which he took a "trip" to Lunitari by being launched from a long metal tube. Flying through the air with the seat of his pants twinkling in a red and green fiery sparkle display, his trip lasted approximately five seconds. Although unsuccessful, Puget commented that he was smart enough to wear a helmet, which broke his fall.

Interested in astronomy from the time he saw the great Reorx Comet as a young boy, Puget Twinkletail has used his skyscope to track the changes in the night sky for over thirty years. But his true loves are the firestorms that occur seasonally within the Fifth Age. Like clockwork, Puget has successfully predicted the appearance of the mysterious sparks that streak across the heavens. Oddly enough, Puget recently discovered that he is not the only one to have noticed these storms. During a recent firestorm, Puget brought his skyscope to a location outside the town of Schallsea. Years of study indicated that some of the radiance of the firestreaks fell toward the southern portion of Schallsea Island. At the height of the recent storm, at which about fifty of the firestreaks could be seen per hour, Puget used his skyscope to view some of the brighter streaks. It was then that he noticed a dragon circling over the western part of the island as though it was chasing after the streaks.

Even for one as unfamiliar with the troubles of the world as Puget is, he has heard of the Great Dragon known as Sable the Black (black female ancient wyrm, treacherous demeanor, 6d). Although he could not determine if the dragon was Sable or one of her underlings, Puget became frightened just the same. Then Puget was jolted out of his fright by the sound of a loud roar overhead. Heading toward the Barren Hills, a large flaming ball of fire whistled and crackled through the air. It was the first time Puget could confirm his suspicions: the firestreaks flying high overhead were not the lost sparks flung from Reorx's hammer, as they were in the Fourth Age, but some sort of rock that whizzed high in the night sky. Puget also noticed that the black dragon followed the path of the flaming rock as it fell. Seconds later the firestreak split into three pieces and then they impacted. For a moment all was quiet, and then Puget heard the echoing boom of the blasts. Drawing the trajectory of the fallen meteor, Puget determined the approximate location of the three impact sites. Filled with curiosity and excitement, he went back to Schallsea to gather the rest of his instruments and start up an expedition. He has waited for this moment all his life and is determined to discover the nature of the fallen sky rocks.

Seek and Retrieve

Puget's curiosity knows no bounds. He is a persuasive gnome who is fun-loving and always interested in finding answers to his questions. In a sense, he is fearless but is also not afraid to ask for help. He knows his limitations and understands that without protection he will not survive the Barren Hills of Schallsea Island. Puget hopes to encourage several adventurers to come with him on his quest. He first tries to gain an audience with First Master Goldmoon [barbarian human elder female, compassionate demeanor, Legend, 3h (fourteenth-level priest of Mishakal)] at the Citadel of Light on Schallsea and tell her about his seeing a black dragon chase after the broken piece of a firestreak. Though the dragon followed only one piece of the firestreak, Puget fears that the dragon might return to find the other pieces. Puget hopes to recover one of the pieces in order to determine its origin and also to learn why a dragon might wish to possess the rock. (Narrators are encouraged to use the heroes and situations in the Citadel of Light dramatic supplement. For example, Sunbringer might go on this quest since one of the rocks fell near Qué-Tepeht.) Possible outcomes of the expedition could include the following:

• Stealth (black male young dragon, confident demeanor) found the first and largest piece of the rock. He has taken the piece back to Sable in the hopes that she can use its power to strengthen her dark spawn. The firestreak's impact caused a small fire to blacken the area and destroy all vegetation. The rock blew down trees, burned away grass, and formed a small crater near Qué-Tepeht. The heroes find this out by talking to the villagers of Qué-Tepeht.
• Puget discourages the heroes from search ing for the second piece because he did not have ample time to calculate the trajectory of the rock's fall. If the expedition searches for this piece, they learn from the Qué-Nal barbarians who live in Qué-Hep that the firestreak overshot the island and crashed into New Sea. Due to its submersion off the coast, no markings exist to indicate the whereabouts of the firestreak's impact. However, the heroes can attempt to talk the Qué-Nal into taking one of their small boats out and do a bit of diving. Narrators can include an encounter with a Dimernesti elf who escaped from Sable's experiments in this instance.
• The third piece fell in the Barren Hills between the Garden of the Dead and the ruins of Angat, and its impact threw dirt and sand thousands of feet away from the crater. The impact occurred on the top of a hill and can be seen for miles. The surrounding area is blackened, and small pieces of quartz rest at the crater's center. The heat of the rock's impact incinerated all vegetation on the hill.

If the heroes find one of the pieces, the Narrator should read "The Secret of the Firestreak" for more information on what happens next.

The Secret of the Firestreak

At the center of the impact crater is a black porous rock (except in the case of the crater near Qué-Tepeht). Those heroes who have access to the sphere of spiritualism can attempt daunting Spirit actions {or cast appropriate AD&D spells} to discover that the rock is attracting spirits from miles around. The heroes cannot discern anything unusual from a normal visual inspection.

However, any armored heroes who come within 50 feet of the mysterious rock feel a tug toward it. (This should not be a consideration if the heroes are swimming, unless one of them was foolish enough to swim with metal weighing him or her down.) If the heroes move within 15 feet, some unknown force irresistibly pulls them toward the rock. Heroes this close must make successful challenging Strength actions (saving throw vs. paralyzation) in order to resist being pulled forward. If a hero fails, he or she is uncontrollably attracted to the rock and becomes magnetically stuck to it. To pull themselves away at this point, heroes must perform successful daunting Strength actions (saving throw vs. paralyzation with a -2 penalty) to pull themselves up.

The rock is a powerful magnet with the apparent ability to disappear at night. (Though anyone who is familiar with necromantic magic can see the rock after sunset.) Outside of its unusual inner magnetism, the rock also weighs much more than it would seem for its size. The hero who carries the rock must succeed at a challenging Spirit action (saving throw vs. spell) every six hours. Failure causes the hero to become possessed by a wrathful spirit. The spirit directs the hero to travel to the Garden of the Dead for some unknown purpose. (See the Citadel of Light supplement for the further effects of a wrathful spirit taking control of a hero, and look below for some more adventure nuggets regarding the Garden of the Dead.)

Heroes who bring a rock back to Goldmoon with Puget's help discover that the silver dragon Mirror (silver male great wyrm, eccentric demeanor) believes that the rock possesses unusual qualities, such as the ability to use necromancy spells more easily, among other things. Goldmoon calls Amil Lavatar [barbarian human adult male, decisive demeanor, Adventurer (sixth-level necromancer)], the Mentor for studies in the sphere of spiritualism (or spells dealing with incorporeal undead in the AD&D rules), to verify this theory. Once he does so, Goldmoon reiterates the Citadel's forbiddance of magic dealing with necromancy (or AD&D spells that affect or utilize corporeal undead) and insists on putting it away in a safe place. Since Sable could be interested in these unusual rocks, the First Master of the Citadel declares that she must ensure it doesn't fall into the dragon's claws. Without further delay, Goldmoon calls for one of the Citadel masters who has the ability to use the school of divination so that he can start working on finding out what other powers the rock may possess.

Further Adventure Nuggets

• Once the heroes return one of the rocks to the Citadel, they can attempt to find out who exactly took the rock near Qué-Tepeht. If they watch for a dragon to approach the crater the Barren Hills, the heroes discover that Stealth is involved. Puget suggests putting a nearby dark rock into the crater. If confronted with arms, the black dragon will attack. However, speaking a few words allows the heroes to converse with the dragon long enough to find out its human-name and that Sable is indeed behind the quest for these rocks. Then Stealth takes the rock and leaves. The heroes can follow, but the Narrator needs to flesh this nugget out further if that happens.
• If the heroes went to the Garden of the Dead with a possessed companion, the spirit unerringly leads the heroes to a specific spot and starts digging. If the heroes wait long enough, the possessed hero digs into a tunnel leading underground. Once the passage is open, the spirit forces the hero down into it. A waft of foul air hits the other heroes full in the face, and they see that the tunnel is crumbling. At this point, the heroes can go into the tunnel and see where it leads or simply attempt to stop their companion from going into the unsturdy tunnel. Either way, the Narrator can work out further options for the Garden based on the information presented in the Citadel of Light supplement. The Garden is reputed to be a place where dead Wemitowuk leaders forever tend plants that bear only rotten produce under the eyes of Chemosh or Chislev.

Character

• Puget Twinkletail: Thinker gnome male adult, curious demeanor, Adventurer. Co 7, Ph 4, In 6, Es 6, Dmg +2 (dagger), Def -2 (leather).

He carries his portable skyscope with him. Essentially, it's a long, hollow tube made of a light wood, with a small swivel stand and a mount that enables the scope to be raised to various points in the sky. Puget carries a backpack with starmaps, both from before the Second Cataclysm and the present. He is extremely knowledgeable in star lore and can calculate his position through use of the stars.

This item has been published here with permission from the author(s) and may not be reproduced without permission. This is a fan submission and its contents are completely unofficial. Some characters, places, likenesses and other names may be copyright Wizards of the Coast.