Chapter 4: "Kratash and Burn".
As they prepared for the long journey ahead of them, they were presented with suitable gear and magic items by Brother Lumar and the Church of Pelor to benefit them. Of these included horses for each member of the party, and a sword and shield that belonged to Brother Lumar's grandfather. The group began mounting, but as they did Adia's horse Fabio made an oddly human sound. "Ooof". Adia's temper quickly rose as Fabio remained quiet despite her demands for him to speak. She even resorted to threatening to brand the horse should he keep his silence but was disuaded by Fabio's cute, yet horse-like, affections. The party ventured south, and for many weeks nothing hindered them. But when they ventured away from the main road and toward the village of Elkridge they immediately noticed a few things amiss. Firstly the town's homes seemed far too spread out to offer much defense against attacks, and secondly this theory was currently being tested by several winged drakes that were attacking the townsfolk. After resuing a threatened family the party learned that the town was founded and once lead by a Warlord named Pholos. But when he died his tactical protection of the town died with him and these drake attacks began soon after. As the party discussed option with Mavros, the current leader of the town, a young boy ran to them crying about his father being slain and the creature still there. The party investigated only to find the boy's father simply unconcious and the drake simply playing gently with him. Determining that the drake was somehow tame and simply playful, Kratash attempted to play with it and even mount the creature. The result left Kratash battered and bruised as the drake flopped away in pursuit of a butterfly. The other party members in the mean time came across the corpse of a Dragonborn who had fallen from a great height, and discovered a map of flight paths and a tabard to Zehir on his person. Following the map the party ascended a nearby mountain peak and found a large craterous valley where giant bits of rock and ruin floated above the ground. Kratash and Grendmir determined this was the remains of a Dragonborn floating city from long long ago. As the party moved towards a seemingly intact floating tower, they were stopped by a phantom Dragonborn who introduced herself as Vrak Tiburcaex. She politely requested that the party turn back and not risk being harmed. While she disapproved of the goals of her current master, Bejik, who is the last remaining heir to her bloodline, she had no choice but to follow his commands. Kratash attempted to lie to the observant Vrak, but eventually settled upon the truth. Vrak made a conscious choice to follow her master's orders exactly as stated and determined that so long as Kratash wear the tabard of Vehir she would allow them to pass.