42: Dragon in the Deep
🎧 Podcast coming soon • February 6, 2026
Dragon Attack
The session opens immediately where the previous ended—with the rebinding ritual complete, Astro resealed in the orb, and the party catching their breath on the ocean floor near Luna's skeleton. Then a shout from the ship above:
Dragon Knight: "We got a live one!"
Three grappling hooks spring from Captain Buckle's vessel, piercing an adult blue dragon skimming just above the 300-foot walls of water. Olivia summons Bob, her steed, and she and Elspeth—the two who thought to wear life vests—plunge into the water wall and start floating for the surface.
The dragon lets out a roar that reverberates through the hollow ocean and unleashes its breath weapon—a devastating lightning strike that arcs across the ritual site.
Dexterity Saving Throw DC 19:
- Leliana: Success (30 damage)
- Bru: Success (30 damage)
- Silas: Success (evasion reduces to 0 damage)
- Olivia and Elspeth: Already clear of the blast in the water
Silas's rogue evasion allows him to completely avoid the lightning. He then teleports onto Olivia's back and sticks there with his Cloak of Arachnida as she rises. Leliana—who, being a sheltered non-risk-taker, had of course also grabbed a life vest—shoots up the water wall after them, and Bru fires his force ballista cannon to propel himself up past the life-vest crew (Arcana 23).
The dragon answers with a fearsome roar aimed at the ship, a shattering sound blast that splinters wood and kills a sailor at the point of impact.
Underwater Combat
Olivia Mounts Up
Surfacing beside the ship, Olivia uses Bob's 60-foot teleportation to phase-step directly onto the dragon's back—Silas still stuck to her. Channeling divinity, she swings her battle axe.
Attack Results:
- First attack: 27 (hit, 21 damage with Shining Smite)
- Second attack: 26 (hit, 12 damage)
She attempts to use her Topple mastery to knock the dragon prone (DC 21), but the creature's massive constitution saves it from the effect.
The Dragon's Roar
The dragon turns on the party members still in the water with another thunderous roar.
Constitution Saving Throw DC 18:
- Leliana: 21, success (6 thunder damage)
- Bru: 19, success (6 thunder damage)
- Elspeth: 12, failure (13 thunder damage)
The Dragon Dives
The dragon, now bloodied and with knights and a paladin clinging to its back, makes a tactical decision—it dives deep into the ocean, plunging 50 feet below the water's surface.
The sudden submersion creates chaos. Two of the three St. George knights lose their grip and float back toward the surface. Only one remains, desperately stabbing at the dragon's scales.
Silas's Mobility
Silas unsticks himself from Olivia and clings to the dragon itself.
Athletics Check: 22 (with psychic die boost)
Holding his breath—with a Constitution modifier of zero, he has no time to spare—he stabs the dragon for 25 psychic damage, then uses his bonus action to throw a psychic dagger at the surface, teleporting away from the underwater death trap.
Silas (via psychic phone): "I am no good in water. Good luck. Bye."
He swims for the ship and hauls himself aboard (Athletics 18).
Olivia's Dilemma
Olivia, mounted on Bob 50 feet underwater (Constitution +5, enough breath for five rounds), realizes this is a fight she can't win. With Silas gone, she abandons the dragon, and Bob dashes her back to the surface and aboard the ship.
Elspeth Under the Hull
The ship lurches as the dragon slams into it from below. Elspeth takes a deep breath and dives under the boat to inspect the damage (Investigation 23): a big dent in the steel underbelly, holding for now. The engines look intact—they simply aren't running. She reports over the psychic phone that there's no hole yet, but the boat can't take much more.
Bru Enlarges the Ship
Bru uses his cannon to catapult himself onto the deck (Arcana 18) and casts Enlarge on the entire ship, making it sturdier, before racing below decks toward the engine room. As he arrives, something outside begins tearing at the engines.
The Dragon Strikes Back
The dragon attacks Silas, who has leapt back down to stab at it, slamming him into the side of the boat (Uncanny Dodge halves the blow). Leliana, flying above the deck via her mandolin's Fly, tries to Polymorph the dragon; it burns a legendary resistance, and the concentration costs her the flight.
Then the dragon breathes lightning straight through the ship. Olivia saves (19) and takes 34; Bru and Leliana fail, take the full 69, and both drop unconscious.
The party scrambles:
- Elspeth climbs aboard and uses Misty Step and Lay on Hands to bring Leliana back up
- Bru makes a death saving throw: a 7, boosted to a success at 10 by Olivia's Aura of Protection
- Olivia casts Aid at 3rd level on Bru and Leliana, raising their maximum and current HP by 10 and bringing Bru back to consciousness, then uses Lay on Hands on herself
The dragon fires lightning through the boat again (DC 19, with advantage for the cover), and Bru goes down for the second time. The knights dive off the boat to drive their swords into it, and Silas, walking up the hull with spider climb, hits it with psychic daggers for 31 and then 7. The dragon turns and vanishes—an invisible rush of movement diving deep below the water.
Leliana and the Engine Room
Leliana rushes below decks and brings Bru back with a powerful Healing Word (23 HP), then later heals herself with an upcast Cure Wounds and stays by his side, playing him bardic inspiration.
Elspeth Takes the Helm
Elspeth heads for the wheelhouse at the front of the ship. No one is there—Captain Buckle and his crew have been hiding in their quarters—but the key is still in the ignition. She cranks it, and the engines catch. Only one of the two runs, and she coaxes the ship into slow, drifting motion (Arcana 15) while lighting a cigarette from a pack she finds there.
Over the radio, other ships report more dragons coming in from the south. Elspeth relays it over the psychic phone, then gets on the radio herself, dubbing the ship "Big Sinks": they got hit hard, the dragon swims under the boat, and they're limping along. When HQ repeatedly asks for the status of the orb, she stalls—she's at the helm and will report back.
Bru's Engine Repair
With his passive Perception, Bru spots that the left engine's underside has been smashed in, jamming its gears (Arcana 16). The next round he gets to work.
Bru's Engine Repair:
- Arcana Check: 30 (with bardic inspiration d8)
- Result: Using duct tape (the portable hole holds an endless supply), he sticks a huge glob to the smashed metal, pulls out the dent, and gets the second engine running
The repair causes a backfire that deals 8 bludgeoning damage to Bru, but the ship is saved.
Luna's Gift
Before starting on the engine, Bru hands his own Victor-logo sending stone to Leliana to take topside—Victor keeps its match. Silas proposes throwing it down to Luna so they can reach her later through Victor's stone.
The Throw: Silas and Ohma tag-team it, and Ohma's 28 wins out—a pro-baseball arc that lands the stone right beside the ritual site at Luna's skull.
The party doesn't attempt immediate communication, planning to reach out once they've tracked down Victor in Greyport and his paired stone.
The Escape
The Dragon Retreats
The dragon, having taken significant damage from the party and the St. George knights, knows when to leave. A dark shape rising from the water turns out to be one of the dragon knights, with two more behind him. Olivia fishes them out; they are unconscious, but alive and stabilized.
The Orb "Lost at Sea"
In the wheelhouse, Elspeth explains that HQ keeps asking about the orb. Silas takes the radio:
Silas: "Got some bad news for you there, HQ. During the assault by the dragon, the orb fell into the ocean. Over."
Deception Check: 28
HQ completely buys the story and says it will send a team to retrieve it. Silas adds that the dragon killed a bunch of the St. George knights, gives an ETA of about 12 hours, and confesses they have no dragon meat for the picnic. Leroy's ship, having taken down a dragon, offers to provide the main course for the "victory picnic" everyone on the radio keeps discussing.
Jenkins' Last Words
Through the radio network, the party overhears the death of Jenkins, the last one alive on his ship after a beautiful copper dragon sank it and fled:
Jenkins: "I'm the last alive on this ship. I am not the captain, and I have mortal wounds, so I will soon be bleeding out. Over."
He asks Leroy to pass along a note to his sister Tiana: sorry he's going to miss her wedding, and he won't be able to do best man duties.
Leroy: "We will remember you and celebrate you at the victory picnic. Over."
The ship is some 40 minutes away—too far to help. Silas turns off the radio in disgust.
A Faraday Box
Silas and Bru scrounge leftover hull-repair sheeting into a makeshift Faraday box for the orb, just in case someone tries to track it.
Return to Greyport
Captain Buckle's Hat
Once things calm down, the crew emerge from their quarters, where they had been nervously drinking from the ale casks (now also enlarged). Captain Buckle wanders into the wheelhouse, confused that the boat seems bigger, and thanks the party for sailing it out of danger. Bru declares himself captain now and demands the captain's funny hat, and Buckle hands over his favorite—a hat reading:
"I GOT CRABS AT JOE'S SHACK"
He explains the "hilarious" double meaning (crabs the food and crabs the STI), then reminds them to turn off the engines and start rowing when they reach the harbor. It's a no-wake zone.
Silas: "I have zero respect left for this crew of sailors. I'm not interested in impressing them at all."
The Knights' Assessment
One of the rescued St. George knights wakes and approaches Olivia:
Knight: "Hey, what happened with the dragon? It didn't go back, right? I think we left it bloodied at the bottom of the ocean."
Olivia: "Well, the dragon drug you down, and you died, but it's okay. We got you out of the water. No clue what happened to the dragon. It just skedaddled."
Knight: "Damn. That's my promotion. Well, you did the ritual, right?"
Olivia refers him to Silas, who tells him the orb fell into the ocean when his bag ruptured. The knight laments having nothing to bring back—then, hearing of Jenkins' death, shrugs that Jenkins was "kind of an a******" and that the loss of captains might get him a promotion after all.
The Victory Picnic
The party takes a long rest aboard. Early the next morning, the enlarged ship (still under the effects of Bru's Enlarge spell) trickles into Greyport harbor. A long line of dragon knights in gleaming bone armor lines the docks, cheering.
The Order claims two and a half dragons. The proof on display is the dead white dragon Leroy's boat has towed in behind it—roasted dragon meat for the promised "victory picnic."
The party reflects on how they essentially saved the ship while its crew hid below decks and the "expert" dragon hunters missed their strikes, drowned, or died in other encounters.
Intelligence Gathering
The Stolen Tracking Data
During the arm-wrestling distraction last session, Bru and Elspeth successfully:
- Hijacked the tracking signal - Saving the real coordinates of other dragon orbs to a floppy disc
- Sabotaged the relay network - Sending incorrect coordinates to all other St. George receivers
- Secured exclusive access - Only the party knows the true locations of the remaining dragon orbs
The party hasn't yet studied the coordinates.
Party Planning
Next Steps
The party agrees on priorities:
- Track down Victor - Last heard to be at the Greyport zoo; they need his sending stone to communicate with Luna
- Analyze the tracking data - Determine locations of remaining dragon orbs
- Avoid St. George - Don't reveal they have the orb or the tracking data
- Communicate with Luna - Learn what she needs to recover
- Plan the Eldoran heist - Eventually steal power to revive Luna and destroy the god gun
Key Information Learned
Dragon Combat:
- Adult blue dragons are CR 16 threats with devastating lightning breath
- Can deal 60+ lightning damage in a single breath weapon—even through a ship's hull
- Smart enough to use tactical underwater combat
- Will retreat when bloodied rather than fight to death
St. George Effectiveness:
- The ship's crew hid in their quarters; the knights missed often, and two had to be fished out of the water
- One ship (Jenkins') was sunk by a single copper dragon, which escaped
- The one confirmed kill is Leroy's white dragon
- Their primary income comes from dragon-bone themed bachelor party taverns
Luna's Status:
- Weak but alive and aware
- A sending stone now lies beside her skull, its match in Victor's hands—still untested
The Tracking Data:
- Coordinates of other dragon orbs, saved to a floppy disc
- The Order's other relays now have incorrect coordinates
- Party has exclusive access to accurate information
Radio Network:
- St. George ships and HQ share an open radio network
- HQ expects regular status updates—and believes the orb is lost at sea
- The "victory picnic" is apparently mandatory for returning ships
Character Moments
Silas: His immediate decision to abandon the underwater combat ("I am no good in water") shows tactical awareness, and his smooth radio lie convinces HQ the orb is lost. His disgust with the St. George knights' casualties reveals his growing moral consciousness.
Bru: Knocked unconscious twice but immediately returns to fixing engines with duct tape. His 30 on the repair check saves the ship—and wins him Captain Buckle's hat.
Olivia: Her opening move—summoning Bob and teleporting onto the dragon—demonstrates paladin fearlessness. Her Aid spell brings Bru and Leliana back into the fight, and her Aura of Protection saves Bru's life during death saves.
Elspeth: Dives under the hull to check the damage, takes the helm when Captain Buckle hides, starts the engines, and stalls HQ over the radio as "Big Sinks."
Leliana: Tries to polymorph the dragon, is knocked unconscious by its lightning, and once back on her feet brings Bru back with Healing Word and supports his engine repair with bardic inspiration.
Ohma: His perfect throw places the sending stone near Luna's skull, establishing the communication link they'll need later.
Unresolved Threads
- Will Victor survive until the party reaches him at the zoo?
- What will Luna reveal when they establish communication?
- Where exactly are the other dragon orbs located?
- When will St. George realize their tracking data was sabotaged?
- Will the blue dragon return for revenge?
- What happened to the rest of the dragon knights' fleet?
- How will they execute Operation Cogenstein against the Iron Claws?
- What does Astro (now resealed) think about nearly drowning with Silas?
Notable Quotes
Silas: "I am no good in water. Good luck. Bye." (teleporting away from the underwater combat)
Silas: "During the assault by the dragon, the orb fell into the ocean. Over." (Deception 28)
Knight: "Damn. That's my promotion." (on learning the dragon got away)
Silas: "I have zero respect left for this crew of sailors."
Captain Buckle: "It's my favorite hat. It's a funny one—there's a venereal disease called crabs, and you can eat crabs at Joe's Shack. My friend got it once. Me too."
The session ends with the party safely returned to Greyport, possessing both the resealed dragon orb and exclusive tracking data on the remaining orbs—but with Victor somewhere in the city, Luna waiting for contact, and the complex web of allegiances more tangled than ever. The "expert" dragon hunters proved far less competent than advertised, leaving the party to wonder how they've survived this long, and whether their mercenary nature might become a problem when the party's true agenda becomes clear.