Tales of Faerun

[josh900]

The appearance of the dragon had an unusual effect on the smallest of the group. Unlike most who were struck with a sense of fear, Hexol was suddenly filled with a burning rage, so much so that the tiny Kender drew his short sword and started to charge directly at the great beast. The suicidal charge ended before he could make his fifth step however, Tannin had grabbed Hexol by the hair and yanked him back hard, before Hexol could yell out in protest Tannin's hand quickly covered his mouth, doing his best to silence him. The effort cost him a bit of blood however as Hexol bit down hard on his hand while he tried to squirm out of Tannin's grasp.

 

After Ivanthyriatryx gave her orders and flew off Tannin released Hexol and wiped his bloody hand on his leg. "Well that's a nice way to thank someone." He said irritably as Hexol walked forward to the edge of the cliff, looking in the direction that Ivanthy flew off. "So we find the eggs.....And break them." He said angrily. He turned and looked back at the group with rage in his eyes. "They're green dragons, they're gonna grow up and kill innocent people just for fun. You heard her, she kills anyone who comes through here, Trade caravans, groups of people just wanting to go home and she kills them all. And she wants us.. to go and bring her eggs back just so there can be more like her flying around? There's no way I'm gonna help her and cause more suffering, even if I have to go behind your backs and break those eggs all on my own."

 

Upon hearing this Tannin made a little "hmph" noise. "Infanticide, didn't know you had it in you Hexol." He said in a slightly amused tone,he knew Kenders could become hostile but he never thought that Hexol would be the kind to suggest killing the young, even if it was the young of something so evil.

 

"If you can think of another way to keep them from hurting people then I'd love to hear it!" Hexol yelled. "But we know what she'll raise them to be. We know how many people will die if we help her."

 

Azuris meanwhile was still trying to keep his knees from shaking, the dragon's sudden appearance didn't do him any favors, and now seeing Hexol in such a serious mood only made the knight even more uncomfortable. "It's a mess either way, But.... I don't think I would lose less sleep if we ended both threats in one blow."

[Deleted6317247User]

Nawen watched in horror as the green dragon squashed the poor donkey. When the dragon left and others were discussing what to do next, the drow remained silent until Hexol spoke up. She hated the idea of killing dragon younglings but she also thought that returning the eggs if they were still intact was a bad idea. One green dragon in these parts is bad enough but three?

 

"Hexol has a point," she finally said, "if we want to prevent the deaths of many in the future we cannot return the eggs to the mother as cruel as it sounds." She had hoped that someone would come up with a solution to the problem so they wouldn't have to kill baby dragons.

 

"I say, let's sell those eggs if they haven't hatched yet," Shalena chipped in, "they must be very expensive." The pirate crew agreed with their captain.

[Flipout6]

Weyland instantly drew his blade when the dragon landed, eyes as big as dinner plates. Arland glared at it, and Amendale prepared a spell. None of them lowered their guard even as the dragon spoke, and it wasn't until she flew away that they finally relaxed, if only slightly. Weyland stood there, his sword sparking in his slack hand as Tak'We and Hexol voiced their own opinions on the matter. He stood there thinking while Arland instantly had his opinion formed.

 

"Well I say we destroy the eggs and kill any hatchlings we find. We can't exactly raise them to be nice little dragons and she'll turn them into tyrants kill anyone they find for miles and MILES. Really is it worth it to make yourself feel a little more benevolent now if it means that dozens or probably hundreds of people could die for it? I'll do it myself if none of you will. Even if it gets Tak'We mad at me."

 

"I really do hate the idea of it, but Hexol's got a point. We save a few dragonlings and the mother there's gonna raise them to be rotten to the core. Want proof? She wanted to kill us until we mentioned we could get those eggs back. I'm not going to have even one more of those little bastards running around, let alone seven or however many there are."

 

"I'm going with Tak'We." Arland declared. "If he's going to try to save them, I'm going to destroy them."

 

"I think that's what we should do." Weyland agreed cautiously. "It's your call, Rhaine, but I know what I want to do."

 

"I have no desire to commit infanticide." Amendale stated vehemently. "But in a practical sense destroying them is the best option, as much as I loathe to admit it. It's not exactly probable that we'll find some way to have them raised differently, if we can even counteract their nature as Green Dragons in the first place. That ruled out using them as a bartering chip unless we want an entire brood on our hands. But we'd also be murdering defenseless young, which in any circumstance that comes to mind is a despicable act in and of itself. I don't like the situation, but I'll do as I'm directed."

 

Weyland remembered that Xundus needed a weapon upgrade and glanced at him. "You sure? I've seen a rapier aimed well enough slip by heavy plate-mail overtop a layer of chain. That's probably able to get through the scales. Better than my blade can, in fact."

Edited December 28, 2013 by Flipout6

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine nodded in agreement with the rest, "You are right, of course. We cannot, in good conscience, let these dragons live knowing the threat they would pose to countless generations in the future. But Dagny and Conall are also correct; we do not know if the eggs are even intact anymore. The dragoness did not tell us how long ago her young were stolen...it could be possible that her hopes are in vain."

 

The Doomguide sighed before adding, "It is also important to remember that we have not made a bargain with her. She has ordered us to bring back her young, but she has not indicated our continued survival in return for our aid; there is nothing stopping her from attempting to destroy us once the task is complete."

 

Conall nodded grimly, "Indeed. We are mere tools to her. Though we have obviously been spared for now, it only buys us a little time. And even if the eggs are still whole, there is little chance of us using them for leverage against her. I fear we will be fighting her regardless of how this situation plays out."

 

Rhaine turned and gestured for them to follow, tugging on Azrael's reins, "In any case, we have a phylactery to destroy. We can worry about the eggs and the dragon afterwards. Come, before Tak'we does something rash."

 

She led the group after the angry thri-kreen, who had found the entrance of the Cult's lair to the north, a little higher than the plateau, just as the green had indicated. It was sealed by a ten-foot-high adamantine door, which seemingly had no hinges, nor any means of opening. The group struggled to figure out how to get past this obstacle when Xallistine solved the puzzle; the intricate, almost distracting carvings around the facing hid draconic runes that had to be pressed in the correct order before the door would open. The Ulitharid made quick work of deciphering the combination - Valthanarax's name spelled backwards - and they proceeded inside a dark and dank tunnel, leaving their horses on the outside ledge.

 

Rhaine had not taken more than a few steps within when Conall suddenly slammed into her from behind, knocking her to the floor as eight iron spears shot out from the darkness on either side of the tunnel, barely missing the two warriors' backs. As the spears slowly retracted back into the walls with a grating sound, the Doomguide twisted her head around to see where her foot had grazed a half-hidden pressure plate.

 

As Conall cautiously stood and pulled Rhaine to her feet, he pointed at the plate, "Traps. There's no telling how many there are in here. Anyone here good at spotting and disabling these things?"

[josh900]

Tannin let out a sigh as the spears shot out. "Of course, Why wouldn't it be filled with traps? Everyone stand back, I..... I've got this." He said in a dull tone. Most of the traps were in painfully obvious places, though they would make crossing rather difficult as some of them were beyond his ability to disarm. "You know, I always was fussed at for not being the best at disarming these sort of things, Never really took the time to learn all the different sort of traps and pressure plates and all those wonderful things, I suppose it would have been the smart thing to do buuut.... Well most of what I learned were trapped doors and chest, hallways full of them weren't exactly of any real importance to me at the time, that was the other rogue's problem. I was always the spotter not the disarmer." He said to no one in particular as he went through the motions of spotting and disarming what he could. "Anyone else want to risk loosing a limb or two and try and get what I couldn't.. be my guest."

[GrueMaster]

Having stormed off like he did, Tak'we hadn't heard the others' plans for the eggs, mind still simmering slightly over how they had been discussing what they should do. When he reached the entrance to the lair, the thri-kreen had been ready to pour his frustration out on the door down until Xallistine opened it. Softskin symbols... he thought as he sent a hateful glare at the symbols surrounding the door before stepping inside. One of these days I'm going to have to learn how to read those.

 

"Winged pointy-ear!" he cried out when she had nearly been skewered by the hidden spears, breathing a sigh of relief when she and Conall were okay. He stayed where he was, though, from fear of setting off another trap, and instead chittered in nervous frustration while waiting helplessly as the others risked disarming the traps.

 

 

Dri swallowed her heart where it had been stuck in her throat and followed after the others to the lair. She didn't like the idea of killing unborn dragons, but she didn't know enough about them either to make her own judgement, so she stayed silent on the way. The girl nearly jumped out of her skin when the first trap was set off. By Tymora, that was close! When Tannin asked for some help, she tapped him on the shoulder to let him know she was near him and called her thieve's tools to her hands, lighting a torch and starting on the traps closest to her and following Tannin's steps as she went, eyes and hands focused.

 

Together they quickly disarmed the trapped hallway, Dri even managing to pass Tannin and making it to the end where another door stood, similar to the one at the entrance. She nearly went closer to look for traps, but stopped when she saw something odd; The hall behind them had a very small layer of dust that had collected on the floor, but there was a spot in front of the door that was spotless. *Tannin?* she asked, tapping the man on his shoulder to get his attention. * I think there's something here, but I can't see it. Can you do anything about it?*

[Deleted6317247User]

As they went into the lair, Nawen noticed the traps but was too late to warn the others as Rhaine triggered one. She had no problem spotting the traps along the hallway but was useless when it came to disabling them. The drow could easily disable bear traps and other kind of traps that are used when hunting animals but pressure plates weren't something you'd find often in the wilds. Besides, it seemed that Dri and Tannin easily disabled them on their own.

 

When all traps were disabled, Nawen went closer to the front of the group. As a scout her eyesight should prove useful.

 

Shalena and her pirates walked in the end of the group. The Sea's Compass crew seemed cheerful, already planning what to do with their share of the treasure. Their captain on the other hand wasn't so cheerful. She left some of her men in the ship which was most likely stolen and collecting dust in one of her rival's private docks, so her crew wasn't all that large to begin with and now Shalena knew that some of these men are going to die in here, maybe even all of them.

[Flipout6]

Amendale stepped forward, his night vision effectively helping him spot anything he knew was a trap, or anything that looked like one. Though it was slow-going, and there were some traps that nobody could disable, eventually they all made it past.

 

Amendale looked backwards at everybody and said quietly, "Remember where there are traps still active. We may have to come back through here in a hurry." Weyland was wondering what the traps could be and how many of the party they could take out if they were triggered, while Arlands mind flashed with images of evil dragonlings crawling along the walls and ceiling. And then they all started chomping down on Xallistine's tentacles and not letting go, which was an image which made Arland grin to himself.

 

When they came upon the door, it took Amendale a moment to figure out what Dri was referring to, but once he got a closer look, he could faintly see the outlines of a rune, and he felt some small (or far more likely, powerful but subtle) magic radiating off of it. He took a second to read it, before he pressed his finger to it and muttered a few words. It glowed a faint green before the light faded and the door opened. He looked ahead, not seeing any obvious traps, but took a cautious step forwards after Tannin and Dri went in. It was when they rounded a bend that they ran into the next door.

 

Or, strictly, a door somewhat larger than the last one that was just big enough to fit the Adamantine Golem that was blocking it.

 

Amendale frowned, concerned, while the Grey brothers stopped in their tracks. Weyland took a few seconds to figure out what it was, but Arland figured out it much quicker.

 

"Golem!" He hissed.

 

"Metallic." Amendale added. "Can't tell the material. It's likely to tell us a riddle. Rhaine, Xallistine, we need you up here!"

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine, Conall, Dagny, and Argyros brought up the rear, carefully avoiding the traps that the more dextrous companions could not disable. At last, they came upon a metal giant standing before them, its shimmering surface slightly green in the firelight...

 

"Adamantine Golem," Conall breathed, his voice tinged with awe and fear, "By the gods..."

 

"We'll never get past it alive," Dagny added, her eyes as round as saucers.

 

"Perhaps the point is not to fight it," Argyros mused, "The tests thus far have been those of agility and intellect, not strength or skill of arms."

 

Rhaine stepped forward cautiously, feeling dwarfed by the gigantic golem that towered at least fifteen feet high. It was broad and heavy, its fists the size of wagon wheels. The head, carved with intricate designs, looked down at her as she approached, the eyes in its chiseled face glowing with a deep blue light. Its movements were startlingly fluid for a construct, and the countenance seemed to hold an unnatural intelligence.

 

"None may pass but those who know the answer to this riddle," the adamantine giant spoke, its voice low and echoing, like a man speaking inside a bell, "If you fail to produce the correct response, you will be eliminated, as my master wills."

 

There were a few breaths' pause before he continued:

 

"I am more valuable than all the gold

Within the richest mortal's purse;

I belong to all, both young and old,

But I fly before the blackened hearse.

 

What am I?"

 

There were several more moments of silence as they looked one to the other. The golem gazed down upon them, but not in an expecting way. It merely seemed to be observing their reactions.

 

Rhaine's eyelids fell shut as she mulled over each line, her mouth moving silently as she mentally repeated the golem's words. Then, her emerald eyes popped back open suddenly, and she replied thus:

 

"The soul."

 

With two thunderous footsteps, the golem moved to the side of the passageway, and the double doors opened inward.

 

"You may proceed inside. May our masters' will be realized."

 

No one spoke as they quickly shuffled past the giant guardian and into the large chamber beyond. Once the doors closed behind them again, Conall finally released a pent-up breath in a heavy sigh.

 

"Thank the gods. I don't think I could have thought of that, simple as it was, under that kind of pressure."

 

"I wasn't thinking at all, to be honest," Dagny added with a slight nervous laugh, "Except for all the ways that thing could have ground me to a pulp."

 

The chamber was circular, the walls merely hardened earth, the pick marks still visible. The floor was flat and surprisingly empty, save for a pedestal in the center of the room, holding a glowing crystal sphere. It was to this that Rhaine went without a word, taking up the device and smashing it against the floor with all her strength.

 

The shattering crystal released a scarlet cloud of smoke into the air, and there was a sudden roar and crash beyond the doors, followed by a long silence. Conall, after a few moments, ran over to the doors and peeked through the crack between them.

 

"The golem...it's...destroyed!" he said incredulously, glancing back over his shoulder at them.

 

Rhaine nodded slowly, comprehension dawning as a smile spread across her face, "Of course. Just like the Red Wizards in the Dalelands. Valthanarax has tied his servants to the phylacteries. If they come to harm, so do his slaves."

 

"That could be useful to remember," the werewolf returned to Dagny's side, "We should-"

 

He stopped as Argyros abruptly moved forward, into the shadows beyond the pedestal.

 

"Come."

 

Rhaine stepped up behind the moon elf and was about to ask what was the matter when she saw them...

 

At least five giant, broken egg shells, all lying in a sludge of acid and dirt. There were a myriad of footprints around these eggs, some obviously humanoid and the others...

 

"They hatched," Argyros finally added, not turning around, "Naturally or by accelerating magic. There is nothing more we can do here. They are gone."

[Quintatas]

Xundus, who had merely followed the others as they avoided the traps, was extremely wary of the traps; he had little knowledge in physical ones, but they had often encountered magical ones in the Underdark. Of course, then he had let the mages do their work, but he knew how quickly they could all die if they made a wrong move.

 

When they reached the end of the passage, he sighed in relief, though not too loudly. When the Adamantine Golem appeared, he instinctively drew his rapier, though he knew it would do little good. He didn't think about the riddle as it was asked, instead watching the Golem carefully. The drow didn't trust magical constructs; for that matter, he trusted very few magical things. He was relieved when Rhaine answered the riddle correctly, and kept his rapier out as they entered the chamber.

 

When he saw the eggshells, as well as the footprints, he became fearful of what might happen to the group. He had a feeling the green dragon mother would be watching them to make sure they didn't betray her, and didn't know how well she would respond to the fact that her brood was gone.