Theta Campaign - Return of the Dragon Queen – Episode 33 Pt. 3

Written by: Flamereptile

Written: 05/15/26

Theta Campaign - Return of the Dragon Queen – Episode 33 Pt. 3

This part of this week’s tale begins as the party has split up and descended to the capitol of the coastlands.

*** Everyone ***

At Prinze’s command, Blagothskul turned Sky’s Reach to the west towards the capitol of the coastlands. A day and a half passed in which the Skyland soared across the skies, after which it began to loom over the capitol once again.

As was custom within the capitol, when a Skyland was spotted looming above, the alarms across the city were sounded, alerting the whole of the city to its presence. Not that most of the capitol’s denizens weren’t already aware of the encroaching mass of stone that visited every few weeks. Each time the Skyland was identified as Sky’s Reach, a militia was dispatched to receive its envoys, signaling their arrival with a slew of fireworks.

Often times, Allistair, Beezul, and Prinze would make the militia wait before they departed, sometimes for hours, before they disembarked, just to test the militia’s patience.

 This time however, the group split into two, very uneven, parties and departed immediately in the cover of night. The militia that was sent to receive them would fail to notice their departure, regardless of the lights cast by their fireworks, and would end up waiting for hours once again.

*** Alonzo, Beezul, Dolgrak, & Prinze ***

Alonzo, Beezul, Dolgrak, and Prinze leapt from the edge of Sky’s Reach and began to plummet below. Alonzo spread his magical cloak, catching the wind beneath it and gliding down. Beezul opened the wings of Vespa, far too small for typical maintained flight, but began to float aloft regardless. And Prinze dove, grabbing his broom of flying and mounting it just before impact on the ground below, safely preventing his fall.

Dolgrak, on the other hand, leapt from the edge of Sky’s Reach mindlessly and began to plummet, remembering only a few seconds after leaping that he had no means of flying, or safely reaching the ground for that matter. As he fell, he cried out for help, being graciously grabbed by Alonzo and safely deposited on the streets below.

Silently in the night, Alonzo gestured for his trio of acquaintances to follow him into a crowded street that lead into a bustling market front. Even in the darkness of the evening, this market street was filled with people of all shapes, colors, and races trading, haggling, and bartering before business began the next day.

Alonzo lead his cohorts to a tavern, called the Flush Barmaid Tavern, from which half a dozen drunken orcs had just stumbled from. As he strode in, Alonzo tipped his hat at the barmaid and wandered into the wine cellar behind the bar. He walked past dozens of barrels, tapped and untapped, before stopping at a barrel so large it could act as a whole fermenting vat. He knocked on it four times, then pushed in on its hull, revealing that it was much lighter than it appeared.

The barrel pushed away from atop a staircase carved into the cellar’s stone floor, and Allistair descended.

The stairs took him down into the stinking sewers of the capitol below, across a winding trail of tunnels, and to a filthy wooden door. Allistair took out a small wooden rod from his pockets and tapped on the door four times before it opened into a sprawling cistern.

Dozens of market stalls stood erected across the expanse of this cistern, stalls Alonzo knew well. This was the Midnight Market. The place you went to get things you normally couldn’t find out in the public. A place that Alonzo had helped to build since his youth.

Here, loud merchants called out across the cistern to one another, swearing and cursing each other, and coaxing prospective customers to their stalls. It was remarkable, for such a hidden, tucked away market, how many people had found it to peruse wares.

And peruse a person could do here, for hours. The Midnight Market had everything from deadly poisons, illegally enchanted weapons, and even siege equipment. The very reason Alonza had brought Prinze here. Speaking of, where had Prinze wandered off to?

To find trouble is where.

Prinze had quickly separated himself from Alonzo, and the rest of his cohorts, and engaged in a shouting match with a slimy merchant known as Cannon Kyle.

Kyle was a human man with greasy black hair, but what made him unique was that in all realities, every variation of Kyle was doing the exact same thing at the exact same time. He was, canonically, always a cannon salesman, always a little greasy, and always loud.

Prinze, who had not noticed the inherent paracausality of Kyle, had approached him to attempt to negotiate prices for cannons for Sky’s Reach, as had countless other individuals across countless other realities. Simultaneously, every variation of Kyle had become irate at the thought of negotiation, and failed to make his sale.

While Prinze was “negotiating” with Kyle, Beezul and Dolgrak had slipped away. Beezul sought out a poisoner, finding a snake-like woman peddling her wares a few dozen feet away. He had perused her poisons for several moments, but nothing spoke to him, which, in a place like this was probably for the best. Dolgrak, on the other hand, who was yet to be paid by Alonzo, meandered from stall to stall in search of a new weapon that he could purchase. Unfortunately for him, Dolgrak was, unbeknownst to him, the least wealthy person within the Midnight Market.

Alonzo approached an old friend of his, Anthony, another Half-Elf who had similar ties to the underground. Anthony specialized in selling siege weapons, both magical and mundane. After greeting Anthony, Alonzo called over Prinze, briefing him on etiquette for negotiating in the Midnight Market.

“He said you’re welcome to come buy his wares, but you better bring a better attitude when you do. You can get away with acting like that with Cannon Kyle, because nobody likes Cannon Kyle, but if you talk like that with Anthony he’ll make sure to bend your knees backwards on you. You understand?”

Prinze nodded, and the two approached Anthony.

Nearly half an hour passed of Anthony showing Prinze his wares, and Prinze trying his best to negotiate with a professional negotiator, and when it was all said and done a deal had been struck. Prinze was going to have some new toys fitted to Sky’s Reach, and Anthony was now a very rich man.

*** Allistair ***

Allistair departed from Sky’s Reach with instructions, and a letter, from Prinze. His mission was simple, while the rest of his party was out carousing within the Gloam Market, he would invest in the infrastructure of Sky’s Reach.

Allistair skulked through the night, as was his heritage, and came upon the spellcasting guild of the capitol. He knocked on the door, and quickly, it was answered by a lithe Orc.

“What’s your business this late?” she asked.

“Looking to hire spellcasting services, and furnishing services. I’m told that some of your members can build and furnish homes fairly quickly? May I come in?”

“Just a moment.” Said the Orc as she unlocked the door and opened it for Allistair.

He slowly walked through the threshold and joined the Orc as she lead him inside. It had been quite some time since Allistair was last in a guildhall. It was comforting to him. Once he could find Lady Blackhurst again he would have to request a brief visit across the planes so he could check on his plants.

The Orc lead Allistair to a table full of mangy looking druids. He could tell immediately that they were likely druids because all of their clothes were woven from leaves and plant fibers, and several of them were either covered with bird feces, colonies of insects, or small furry animals that were best known for stripping the flesh off of the creatures it caught on the forest floor. It was impressive this druid not only managed to tame one of these creatures, but allowed it to sit upon his shoulder.

“Lads.” Said the woman, “This is Mr. uum… what did you say your name was again?”

“You can call me Allistair.”

“Right. Mr. Allistair. He said he’s looking for your spellcasting services in building some homes.” She said.

“How many you looking for?” said the druid covered in bird droppings in a weaselly tone.

“What do you wannem made of?” asked the druid swarmed with insects.

“Would you prefer them to be furnished or not?” inquired the druid with the critter. She seemed to Allistair to be the most refined of the group.

“We’re looking to have about twenty domes molded from stone, and furnished.” Said Allistair.

“Twenny? What’re you doin’ wif that many?” asked the bug druid.

“All furnished? That’s going to be quite costly.” Said the she-druid, “Are you sure you’re in possession of the appropriate funding for such a project?”

“When you need ‘em done?” asked the bird druid.

Allistair, bombarded by questions, took a moment to consider his answers.

“We live upon the Skyland Sky’s Reach that visits here from time to time. We are trying to establish permanent residences for many of our current and future denizens. We have no issue with coin, let me assure you of that. And we may only be here a few days. How quickly can you get them done?” said Allistair.

“You? Liv on dat flyin’ rock?” asked the bug druid, “Ain’t no way.”

“What you all do up on that thing?” asked the bird druid.

“Gentlemen, please. That is Mr. Allistair’s business.” Said the she-druid, changing her tone a bit at the prospect of a wealthy client “Please pardon them Mr. Allistair. The three of us can work through the night if you want, completing your request before daybreak if that is what you want. But it won’t be inexpensive. I’m sure you understand.”

“How much are we talking? Dependent on price, there are some other renovations I would like seen to, chiefly expanding the barracks for our Kobold population and our kitchen space.”

The group sat at the table for a few hours, negotiating, counting, and discussing the coming renovations to Sky’s Reach, when finally the she-druid said, “Alright Mr. Allistair. I believe that we can complete your request by the end of the night, and ensure it’s up to code by the OSHD standards. As agreed, that will cost you approximately five thousand gold. How would you like to pay?”

Now, one of the most reviled, yet most important, organizations of the Third Age of Elindor is the OSHD, the Operational Safety and Health Druids. This organization was created by the United Nations of Elindor to ensure the quality, safety, and environmental impacts of spellcasting across the plane meets a baseline standard. Many denizens across Elindor, however, loathe the OSHD due to their strict adherence to code and substantial fines for failing to comply with it. They are not, however, reviled as much as the CDC, also known as the Centaurs for Disease Control.

Allistair would lead the druids up to Sky’s Reach, procure for them one of the giant’s gold coins, and they would begin raising domed buildings from the Skyland. Before day broke the next morning, twenty new houses stood upon Sky’s Reach, and the Kobold’s barracks and kitchen had been expanded, and three exhausted druids descended back into the capitol with a golden coin far too large for any one of them to carry.

*** Everyone ***

Five days would pass, and everyone upon Sky’s Reach would find themselves busy. Alonzo, Beezul, and Prinze would point, direct, build, and pay for heavy siege weapons to be installed all across Sky’s Reach, while Allistair and Dolgrak would work to finish the new spaces built upon it, and move its new denizens into their new homes.

That is where this week’s tale ends, and next week’s tale will begin.