Epyllion: Controlled Burn

Last night we completed a ...story? arc? in our Epyllion game. Off to Dragonia!

Recall that last time, the clutch found the fabled and frightening serpent, which agreed not to eat Zeblek on the condition that the drakes delivered of equal size. Not really interested in capturing living creatures for the snake (the clutch is far too soft-hearted for that), they decide that the eggs of the mighty dison will work. 

Stars consults dris book and finds that dison generally like to live on rolling hills and plains. They lay their eggs in the shallow valleys at the bottoms of hills and then lean on them, rather than sitting on them. The drake finds such a place with a flock/herd (flerd?) of dison. They decide to wait for morning, and then have Zeblek and Toverin distract the beasts while OB sneaks in and nicks a couple of eggs. OB cleverly makes some mock eggs, and Zeblek borrows some string and fashions a makeshift string instrument.

Come morning, OB calls on the void moon and renders themself invisible. Zeblek plays his weird banjo ("anyway, here's Wonderwall") while Toverin sings to the dison ("moooonk?"). OB slips by the flerd and steals a couple of eggs, replacing them with the fakes dre made. 

Stars, meanwhile, stays at the edge of the woods and paces nervously. Unfortunately this looks to the dison like a predator getting ready to strike, and they start puffing up and staring at drem. ("Should we charge at it, quacking?" "...perhaps."). Toverin alters the lyrics to the song to warn Stars, and OB returns with the eggs. The drakes flee into the woods, the dison none the wiser.

They find the serpent and give it the eggs, and it gulps them down and flops over in an egg coma. The drakes warn it that there's going to be a ritual burn, so it better leave the woods. It acknowledges them and goes to sleep.

From here, the drakes head back to their camp. OB finishes dris tapestry of the beavmingo to give the Flyleaf, the woodcutter. Zeblek laments the loss of dris shadow - and the apparent inability to call on the moons' magic. The other dragons recommend flying back up to the plateau and apologizing to the elder dragon that took his shadow off originally, and maybe asking for help. Zeblek whines about it a bit, but decides that this really is the best course of action. Dre asks for moral support, and Toverin goes along (OB is busy and Stars can't fly). 

They get to the top of the plateau at noon, and Zeblek finds the black-scaled elder. Dre gets the elder's attention and apologizes, and explains what happened and where the shadow went. The elder accepts the apology and calls on the void moon, and applies a bit of shadow to Zeblek. The shadow is only half there, but the elder tells Zeblek dre'll need to nourish it. Zeblek asks for help learning the prayer that the elder tried to teach them the other day ("HJOOUUUMMMM"), and the elder, Zeblek, and Toverin spread their wings in prayer.

Meanwhile, Stars and OB seek out Flyleaf. When they find them, though, Flyleaf is engaged in an argument with a larger dragon. "Niruth," dre says, "I know the burn is supposed to start tomorrow, but-"

"It will start at dawn."

"But the turferant herd! There hasn't been one here in years-"

"This is the tradition. This is the way." And Niruth flies off.

OB and Stars emerge, and OB shows Flyleaf the tapestry. Dre praises OB and puts the tapestry in a pack, and the drakes ask about the argument dre just had. Flyleaf explains that Niruth is the Firelighter, and dre is going to start the burn at dawn no matter what. But the turferants, not the brightest of creatures at the best of times, tend to linger on the edges of the forest, and they travel in a long line rather than a clump. When the fire starts, they might run into the woods instead of away. OB and Stars offer to help, and Flyleaf agrees to take to the skies and signal if dre sees the herd first. Zeblek and Toverin land with their clutch about now, and they go searching for these mysterious creatures.

Stars consults dris book again, finding what limited information is available about these mighty creatures. They usually favor swamps, so the clutch heads to the western edge of the Black Forest where there's some marshland. They search for a while and eventually find big, schlorpy footprints. Following these, they find the tail end of the turferant herd.

The turferants are curious beasts. Bigger than some dragons (but smaller than elders), they have hard shells, weird furry faces with long trunks, and cunning paws that they use to strip leaves off of branches. The younglings are at the end of the line, guarded by two large bull turferants. As the dragons approach, these bulls square up, but Toverin tells them the clutch comes in peace. 

The dragons explain the situation - there's going to be a burn tomorrow. As promised, turferants aren't terribly bright, but they do understand the advice to "keep to the wets." The bulls tell the clutch that someone needs to tell the matriarch, at the very head of the line, to bring the herd darkward so that the can form a group rather than a line. 

Toverin takes to the skies and swoops in, dodging branches and rocks that the protective turferants at the head of the line hurl. Dre lands and explains the situation to the matriarch, and relays the message: bring the herd darkward. Keep to the wets. The herd moves west into the swamps, and OB calls on the storm moon call down rain to protect the beasts. The herd is big, however, and dre can only cover about a quarter of it. So one by one, the other drakes call rain, first Stars and then Toverin. That leaves the last quarter of the herd to Zeblek...but is dris shadow strong enough?

Zeblek digs deep and calls on the storm moon with all dris might, and a downpour falls on the herd! The drakes stay with the herd until dawn, and they see Niruth take to the skies and belch fire down into the Black Forest. 

And then a quick montage: The turferant herds trumpeting as they watch from the safety of the wets. The great serpent (with two egg-shaped bumps) slithering out of danger. The fire sweeping over the mighty bearclam harmlessly. The beavmingos looking up from the bottom of the pond at the firestorm. The dison munching grass placidly as the smoke rises from the woods.

The danger passed, Toverin talks to the matriarch again. She pledges that if the drakes have need of the herd, they should trumpet, and if the herd is within earshot, the turferants will come.

With that honor bestowed, the drakes gather up their stuff and move along to their next adventure!