This was an adventure that took place with Jackson T, Laura C, and Lily L in 2024.
In the spring of the ______ year of the Fifth Movement, in the Serra-Kono island system, the crew of The Mega Lady found a 14-year-old amnesiac boy stowed away on their gryphon. He could not remember his name, nor much of what happened to him. He did remember that he was being hunted by Admiral Tethys of the Falconian League for his peculiar ability to sense treasure (and other items of great value). The party named him "Slim Jim" and welcomed him aboard as crew, with the promise that he try to get a grip on his strange, innate acidic magic.
Slim Jim told the party that he could sense a massive cache of treasure just beneath the Cloud Layer a bit north of Kels. Millions and millions of gold, as well as mythril, jewels, silver, platinum, and enchanted items. The party, intrigued, immediately started making preparations to attempt to sink below the clouds (something nobody has ever done and survived) and claim this treasure. To do so, Tulio supposed that the hull of their airship will need to be reinforced with solid steel at least. In addition, a mythril engine would stall out in the wild magic storm below the Cloud Layer, so he would need an engine made out of something more magically efficient. Something like adamantium.
By doing some asking around on the pirate haven Halcyon, the party discovered that a large amount of adamantium may be held by a privateer band called the Crimson Reavers on their island Tulso's Hold. They started making preparations to infiltrate the base, but not before doing a smuggling job, stealing important documents for the Pirate Lord Creel Maltrick, and humiliating Makaria's old bandmate Bin Shirez.
The party used a map of the inner cave systems of Tulso's Hold given to them by Captain Maltrick to invade. They almost immediately ran into Belfry Tulso, the leader of the Crimson Reavers, and killed him. After a thorough sweep, they ended up by the treasure room where they alerted the entire contents of the packed common room to their presence. They were chased out of the hideout, but they were successful in stealing almost all of the adamantium and plenty of mythril as well. Well, to Tulio it was more like stealing it back for the Iron Pact. They also freed two prisoners: DeVry Cinderfoot (a cartographer and spy of Captain Maltrick) and Foculus (a cloudkid who was captured by the Falconian League and sent to the brig in Tulso's Hold).
Using their semi-stolen small fortune, the party reinforced their ship. Meanwhile, Tulio met a collegue from the Hathfyr Iron Pact named Feah who was sent to Falcon to facilitate rebuilding the Serra-Kono chapter. Oddly, she was almost assassinated the night after she arrived. With her help, Tulio began constructing an adamantium engine. All the while, The Mega Lady and her crew were being constantly surveiled by Captain Maltrick's crew, the Falconian military, and the Crimson Reavers. They are able to evade detection for the most part, but the Falconian military are able to find The Mega Lady and demand that they hand over Slim Jim. They, of course, refused and a fight ensued.
The party returned to Blue Jay Paradise, the headquarters for BJ's, on behest of a note sent by Big Jimmy's wife, Lucielle. Foculus and another cloudkid named Uncinus were there waiting for them. Uncinus, an aged loremaster, immediately recognized Slim Jim and called him by his true name: Linde. They revealed that Linde was a sorcerer with draconic blood in his ancestry, and that his odd abilities may be because his ancestor may be one of the last living dragons. They cite the Axiom of Arcane Synchrony. Uncinus probed into Linde's mind and elucidates that he was kidnapped from his parents by Tethys and the Falconian League military to lead them to the treasure hoard under the clouds. A young upstart in the military tried to go below the Cloud Layer before preparations were ready and his crew paid the ultimate price. Linde would have died as well, but he was saved by a massive copper drake.
With the knowledge at least one dragon still lived and the improved ship, the party descended below the clouds and did the impossible. They inched their way through the wild magic storm to The Lonely Island. Once there, they tucked The Mega Lady into a cave and disembarked. They met a group of multi-colored kobolds living in the island and made their way to the hoard chamber. This was the lair of Zephyx the copper dragon. The party parlayed with Zephyx, who confided that he was the last dragon. He was happy to see his (many, many) great grandson, but he was melancholy in his lonliness and shame. After convincing him that the world was still wide enough for one last dragon, he immediately took to the skies and began fighting The Kea (the ship of Admiral Tethys) above the Cloud Layer. The party gave chase in The Mega Lady.
They sustained heavy damage, but they did the impossible: The Mega Lady went below the Cloud Layer and returned to tell the tale. Next, they obliterated The Speckle (the ship of Bin Shirez, who was there just to cause trouble) and boarded The Kea to kill Admiral Tethys. They dispatched him and his two Counter-Admirals, and with the help of Zephyx they captured The Kea for themselves.
Big Jimmy stepped back from active smuggling and assumed a more supervisory role with BJ's. He handed the helm of The Mega Lady over to his son, Lil' Jimmy.
Tulio worked with Feah to rebuild the Iron Pact in the Serra-Kono island system. Afterwards, he just couldn't stay away from sailing the skies.
Makaria also kept sailing with BJ's, but not before having a killer concert tour all around the Kingdom of the Blivium with Foculus as her tour guide.
Slim Jim continued to hone his budding magic with Makaria and went in search for his missing parents.
In the coming years, the party was instrumental in toppling the government of the Falconian League and installing Zephyx in the place of Minister Durzo. The Serra-Kono island system became the first dracocracy since the First Movement.