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Bitterness Overcome: (Now A Completed Story!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3180629" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>Back in the draconic village in Quehalost, the red wyrm had returned victoriously to his dragon perch with his deep red ruby in his grasp. He was proud to have been able to retrieve it. The dragon was overcompensating for the damaged pride that he suffered from having the deep red ruby stolen so easily in the first place. His ego was bruised by the fact that he was not able to defeat the ghostly figure in combat, but in the long run that would matter little. What was important was that the horde had been preserved.</p><p></p><p>He had wanted to gloat over the victory before his Provenience. If nothing else this was proof that he was still as great and powerful as he thought. His Provenience would only confirm this fact and verbally stroke his ego. With a little bit of luck, he had hoped his musically gifted Provenience would even be able to sing a few songs proclaiming his valor in protecting his people. If she could sing about his greatness, he could forget about having the precious gemstone stolen in the first place. It was this very yearning to ease his ego that enabled him to fly directly over the village without noticing that the village was completely empty.</p><p></p><p>When he landed on the perch, the draconic beast bellowed for his Provenience to come to him in the brisk mountain air. <span style="color: Red">“Provenience, I have returned in glory to demonstrate my protection over you!”</span></p><p></p><p>He couldn’t have possibly known the irony of his declaration as he spoke the words. When she didn’t immediately respond to his beckon, much less come running out onto the stone perch, he called again. His tone kept the same sense of pomp and circumstance as the last announcement. <span style="color: Red">“Provenience, I have called you to come to me. Do not underestimate my desire to have you obey me.”</span> In addition to the pomp and circumstance, this time his voice did not even begin to hide his coming anger at her disobedience.</p><p></p><p>He paused for a moment out on the perch. His wrath was now beginning to boil inside of him, but he desired to give his Provenience as much time as possible to prove her loyalty. When his anger could wait no longer he sucked in a large breath and let out a bellowing draconic roar. The roar echoed across the valley that he called home; and for several seconds even the birds in the trees below him were silent from their songs.</p><p></p><p>Once the echoes had died down below an audible level he took notice of the fact that even the roar had not summoned his Provenience out onto the ledge. He tucked his head down to a shoulder height and stepped toward the main chamber with a purpose. His intention was no longer pleasant. This was no cause to kill the Provenience, but in his mind he knew that this kind of disobedience could not go unchecked. His power relied on dominance and an obvious display of his superiority. If that were to ever come into question he knew that his tyranny over the people would be in jeopardy. Again, he could not have known that this very possibility had been already brought into action through the intervention of the four adventurers and his prior brutal treatment of the people.</p><p></p><p>As he marched into the main chamber he could see the apparent signs of the fight. There were a few pieces of scorched straw which had caught fire from when his Provenience had used her own breath weapon in defense of the dragon’s chamber. Perhaps more than anything the great wyrm noticed that his Provenience herself was no longer present. He took a quick glance around the room and noticed that the few possessions which his Provenience did own were no longer there. Her mandolin had been taken with her. The bone carved comb she used to care for her hair was not in its usual place.</p><p></p><p>The dragon paused for a moment and sniffed the air. Although the cave was largely open to the elements through the hole that led to the perch above the village, the dragon could still smell two distinctly odd scents. Both of the scents reminded him of adrenaline and panic. He also smelled the fear and anger of his own Provenience. There had indeed been a fight in his chamber and his Provenience had stepped up to defend the chamber. The dragon closed his eyes for a second and mentally conjured up his magical power to perceive residual energy with his eyes. When he opened his eyes he noted that the room glowed faintly in several areas.</p><p></p><p>The dragon bellowed once more at this new discovery. <span style="color: Red">“There has been magic used in my chamber?”</span> The beast stopped for a moment and concentrated a bit harder to determine if the magic had been used recently enough to determine the strength or perhaps even the effect. Unfortunately for the great wyrm the power had faded too quickly and he had been gone too long.</p><p></p><p>The dragon thought on this for a few moments while he tried to piece together what had happened to him. The beast talked aloud to itself as it pieced together the events. <span style="color: Red">“I have not been away long enough to have a powerful spell fade like that. The magical effects used must certainly have been a lowly spell. Such a spell my Provenience should have been able to overcome. And if it was a lowly spell it could not have been teleportation magic. A teleport would certainly have left a greater residual aura than this for the time that I have been gone.”</span></p><p></p><p>Immediately the draconic beast turned back to his perch. He looked down into the valley below, this time noting that the village was completely empty. The village was typically quiet during the day. Those able to hunt and gather food were usually away from the village and going about their chores. Those who worked with the plants and hides typically did their craft indoors to avoid the searing affects of the sun as much as possible. It was not unusual for the village to be quiet. But this time the village was more than quiet. It was abandoned.</p><p></p><p>The beast leapt off his perch and unfurled his large leathery wings. He had been caught so off guard by the emptiness of the village that he had forgotten to see if there were any residual magic traces upon his perch. Slowly the beast circled down to the ground. He caught what few air currents rose from the ground as the air warmed in order to gracefully descend to the ground. He slowed his descent and landed atop the horizontal sacrificial stone in the center of the village. The red wyrm brought his neck low enough to peer into the cage where Druff had been kept for so long.</p><p></p><p>Anger erupted inside the dragon. <span style="color: Red">“Empty!”</span> The dragon followed the yell with another tremendous roar. The cage did not appear to be damaged, so the dragon checked again for a residual magical aura. He was not disappointed to find that there was still a weak residual aura. This aura was also too weak to determine what effect had been in place and how long ago it was conjured into existence.</p><p></p><p>The dragon brought his scaly eyebrows down to reflect the boiling anger inside of him. As he thought, his eyes closed enough so that only the cat-like irises and the fiery red pupils could be seen between his upper and lower eyelid. <span style="color: Red">“I do not like being tricked, and I promise to find out how this happened and make whoever is responsible pay!”</span></p><p></p><p>His warning was for nobody in particular. In truth, the dragon had hoped that there was someone left in the village that could be beaten into telling him what had transpired here. He also hoped that the perpetrators of this horrendous crime might be close enough to hear his threat. But there was no response to his threat of any sort.</p><p></p><p>Out of fury, the dragon began to breathe his fiery death onto the wood buildings that encircled the sacrificial stone. The wyrm was sure that as the buildings caught on fire the inhabitants would be forced to flee. Of course, the dragon knew that this truth depended upon if any villagers remained cowering in the village. The dragon watched the buildings burn until it was painfully obvious that nobody was left within the buildings. They burned quickly without anyone to fight against the flames.</p><p></p><p>It was then that the dragon noticed the path leading away to the mountains between Tongra and Quehalost. A large number of people had recently traveled along this path. It took no leap of reasoning to realize that the villagers had left a trail for him to follow. The trail was no doubt unintentional; but it was also impossible to avoid. They had given him a path to follow, and the path was easily enough followed from the air.</p><p></p><p>The dragon once more unfurled his wings and rose into the air where he could use his greater speed to his advantage. It wasn’t long before the dragon found himself in a three-month old feeling of deja vu. This was the identical path that he had used to chase down those who had stolen his last Provenience.</p><p></p><p>The dragon smiled smugly as it followed the path by air. <span style="color: Red">“I found the villagers before. They were cowering and afraid. They will be no different this time. Yet this time I will not accept them back. They have earned their destruction at this show of rejection. I will enjoy slaughtering them as they come back to me begging for my protection. Then I will start completely anew.”</span></p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]</p><p>Back in the draconic village in Quehalost, the red wyrm had returned victoriously to his dragon perch with his deep red ruby in his grasp. He was proud to have been able to retrieve it. The dragon was overcompensating for the damaged pride that he suffered from having the deep red ruby stolen so easily in the first place. His ego was bruised by the fact that he was not able to defeat the ghostly figure in combat, but in the long run that would matter little. What was important was that the horde had been preserved.</p><p></p><p>He had wanted to gloat over the victory before his Provenience. If nothing else this was proof that he was still as great and powerful as he thought. His Provenience would only confirm this fact and verbally stroke his ego. With a little bit of luck, he had hoped his musically gifted Provenience would even be able to sing a few songs proclaiming his valor in protecting his people. If she could sing about his greatness, he could forget about having the precious gemstone stolen in the first place. It was this very yearning to ease his ego that enabled him to fly directly over the village without noticing that the village was completely empty.</p><p></p><p>When he landed on the perch, the draconic beast bellowed for his Provenience to come to him in the brisk mountain air. “Provenience, I have returned in glory to demonstrate my protection over you!”</p><p></p><p>He couldn’t have possibly known the irony of his declaration as he spoke the words. When she didn’t immediately respond to his beckon, much less come running out onto the stone perch, he called again. His tone kept the same sense of pomp and circumstance as the last announcement. “Provenience, I have called you to come to me. Do not underestimate my desire to have you obey me.” In addition to the pomp and circumstance, this time his voice did not even begin to hide his coming anger at her disobedience.</p><p></p><p>He paused for a moment out on the perch. His wrath was now beginning to boil inside of him, but he desired to give his Provenience as much time as possible to prove her loyalty. When his anger could wait no longer he sucked in a large breath and let out a bellowing draconic roar. The roar echoed across the valley that he called home; and for several seconds even the birds in the trees below him were silent from their songs.</p><p></p><p>Once the echoes had died down below an audible level he took notice of the fact that even the roar had not summoned his Provenience out onto the ledge. He tucked his head down to a shoulder height and stepped toward the main chamber with a purpose. His intention was no longer pleasant. This was no cause to kill the Provenience, but in his mind he knew that this kind of disobedience could not go unchecked. His power relied on dominance and an obvious display of his superiority. If that were to ever come into question he knew that his tyranny over the people would be in jeopardy. Again, he could not have known that this very possibility had been already brought into action through the intervention of the four adventurers and his prior brutal treatment of the people.</p><p></p><p>As he marched into the main chamber he could see the apparent signs of the fight. There were a few pieces of scorched straw which had caught fire from when his Provenience had used her own breath weapon in defense of the dragon’s chamber. Perhaps more than anything the great wyrm noticed that his Provenience herself was no longer present. He took a quick glance around the room and noticed that the few possessions which his Provenience did own were no longer there. Her mandolin had been taken with her. The bone carved comb she used to care for her hair was not in its usual place.</p><p></p><p>The dragon paused for a moment and sniffed the air. Although the cave was largely open to the elements through the hole that led to the perch above the village, the dragon could still smell two distinctly odd scents. Both of the scents reminded him of adrenaline and panic. He also smelled the fear and anger of his own Provenience. There had indeed been a fight in his chamber and his Provenience had stepped up to defend the chamber. The dragon closed his eyes for a second and mentally conjured up his magical power to perceive residual energy with his eyes. When he opened his eyes he noted that the room glowed faintly in several areas.</p><p></p><p>The dragon bellowed once more at this new discovery. “There has been magic used in my chamber?” The beast stopped for a moment and concentrated a bit harder to determine if the magic had been used recently enough to determine the strength or perhaps even the effect. Unfortunately for the great wyrm the power had faded too quickly and he had been gone too long.</p><p></p><p>The dragon thought on this for a few moments while he tried to piece together what had happened to him. The beast talked aloud to itself as it pieced together the events. “I have not been away long enough to have a powerful spell fade like that. The magical effects used must certainly have been a lowly spell. Such a spell my Provenience should have been able to overcome. And if it was a lowly spell it could not have been teleportation magic. A teleport would certainly have left a greater residual aura than this for the time that I have been gone.”</p><p></p><p>Immediately the draconic beast turned back to his perch. He looked down into the valley below, this time noting that the village was completely empty. The village was typically quiet during the day. Those able to hunt and gather food were usually away from the village and going about their chores. Those who worked with the plants and hides typically did their craft indoors to avoid the searing affects of the sun as much as possible. It was not unusual for the village to be quiet. But this time the village was more than quiet. It was abandoned.</p><p></p><p>The beast leapt off his perch and unfurled his large leathery wings. He had been caught so off guard by the emptiness of the village that he had forgotten to see if there were any residual magic traces upon his perch. Slowly the beast circled down to the ground. He caught what few air currents rose from the ground as the air warmed in order to gracefully descend to the ground. He slowed his descent and landed atop the horizontal sacrificial stone in the center of the village. The red wyrm brought his neck low enough to peer into the cage where Druff had been kept for so long.</p><p></p><p>Anger erupted inside the dragon. “Empty!” The dragon followed the yell with another tremendous roar. The cage did not appear to be damaged, so the dragon checked again for a residual magical aura. He was not disappointed to find that there was still a weak residual aura. This aura was also too weak to determine what effect had been in place and how long ago it was conjured into existence.</p><p></p><p>The dragon brought his scaly eyebrows down to reflect the boiling anger inside of him. As he thought, his eyes closed enough so that only the cat-like irises and the fiery red pupils could be seen between his upper and lower eyelid. “I do not like being tricked, and I promise to find out how this happened and make whoever is responsible pay!”</p><p></p><p>His warning was for nobody in particular. In truth, the dragon had hoped that there was someone left in the village that could be beaten into telling him what had transpired here. He also hoped that the perpetrators of this horrendous crime might be close enough to hear his threat. But there was no response to his threat of any sort.</p><p></p><p>Out of fury, the dragon began to breathe his fiery death onto the wood buildings that encircled the sacrificial stone. The wyrm was sure that as the buildings caught on fire the inhabitants would be forced to flee. Of course, the dragon knew that this truth depended upon if any villagers remained cowering in the village. The dragon watched the buildings burn until it was painfully obvious that nobody was left within the buildings. They burned quickly without anyone to fight against the flames.</p><p></p><p>It was then that the dragon noticed the path leading away to the mountains between Tongra and Quehalost. A large number of people had recently traveled along this path. It took no leap of reasoning to realize that the villagers had left a trail for him to follow. The trail was no doubt unintentional; but it was also impossible to avoid. They had given him a path to follow, and the path was easily enough followed from the air.</p><p></p><p>The dragon once more unfurled his wings and rose into the air where he could use his greater speed to his advantage. It wasn’t long before the dragon found himself in a three-month old feeling of deja vu. This was the identical path that he had used to chase down those who had stolen his last Provenience.</p><p></p><p>The dragon smiled smugly as it followed the path by air. “I found the villagers before. They were cowering and afraid. They will be no different this time. Yet this time I will not accept them back. They have earned their destruction at this show of rejection. I will enjoy slaughtering them as they come back to me begging for my protection. Then I will start completely anew.”</p><p>[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 3180629, member: 35788"] Back in the draconic village in Quehalost, the red wyrm had returned victoriously to his dragon perch with his deep red ruby in his grasp. He was proud to have been able to retrieve it. The dragon was overcompensating for the damaged pride that he suffered from having the deep red ruby stolen so easily in the first place. His ego was bruised by the fact that he was not able to defeat the ghostly figure in combat, but in the long run that would matter little. What was important was that the horde had been preserved. He had wanted to gloat over the victory before his Provenience. If nothing else this was proof that he was still as great and powerful as he thought. His Provenience would only confirm this fact and verbally stroke his ego. With a little bit of luck, he had hoped his musically gifted Provenience would even be able to sing a few songs proclaiming his valor in protecting his people. If she could sing about his greatness, he could forget about having the precious gemstone stolen in the first place. It was this very yearning to ease his ego that enabled him to fly directly over the village without noticing that the village was completely empty. When he landed on the perch, the draconic beast bellowed for his Provenience to come to him in the brisk mountain air. [Color=Red]“Provenience, I have returned in glory to demonstrate my protection over you!”[/Color] He couldn’t have possibly known the irony of his declaration as he spoke the words. When she didn’t immediately respond to his beckon, much less come running out onto the stone perch, he called again. His tone kept the same sense of pomp and circumstance as the last announcement. [Color=Red]“Provenience, I have called you to come to me. Do not underestimate my desire to have you obey me.”[/Color] In addition to the pomp and circumstance, this time his voice did not even begin to hide his coming anger at her disobedience. He paused for a moment out on the perch. His wrath was now beginning to boil inside of him, but he desired to give his Provenience as much time as possible to prove her loyalty. When his anger could wait no longer he sucked in a large breath and let out a bellowing draconic roar. The roar echoed across the valley that he called home; and for several seconds even the birds in the trees below him were silent from their songs. Once the echoes had died down below an audible level he took notice of the fact that even the roar had not summoned his Provenience out onto the ledge. He tucked his head down to a shoulder height and stepped toward the main chamber with a purpose. His intention was no longer pleasant. This was no cause to kill the Provenience, but in his mind he knew that this kind of disobedience could not go unchecked. His power relied on dominance and an obvious display of his superiority. If that were to ever come into question he knew that his tyranny over the people would be in jeopardy. Again, he could not have known that this very possibility had been already brought into action through the intervention of the four adventurers and his prior brutal treatment of the people. As he marched into the main chamber he could see the apparent signs of the fight. There were a few pieces of scorched straw which had caught fire from when his Provenience had used her own breath weapon in defense of the dragon’s chamber. Perhaps more than anything the great wyrm noticed that his Provenience herself was no longer present. He took a quick glance around the room and noticed that the few possessions which his Provenience did own were no longer there. Her mandolin had been taken with her. The bone carved comb she used to care for her hair was not in its usual place. The dragon paused for a moment and sniffed the air. Although the cave was largely open to the elements through the hole that led to the perch above the village, the dragon could still smell two distinctly odd scents. Both of the scents reminded him of adrenaline and panic. He also smelled the fear and anger of his own Provenience. There had indeed been a fight in his chamber and his Provenience had stepped up to defend the chamber. The dragon closed his eyes for a second and mentally conjured up his magical power to perceive residual energy with his eyes. When he opened his eyes he noted that the room glowed faintly in several areas. The dragon bellowed once more at this new discovery. [Color=Red]“There has been magic used in my chamber?”[/Color] The beast stopped for a moment and concentrated a bit harder to determine if the magic had been used recently enough to determine the strength or perhaps even the effect. Unfortunately for the great wyrm the power had faded too quickly and he had been gone too long. The dragon thought on this for a few moments while he tried to piece together what had happened to him. The beast talked aloud to itself as it pieced together the events. [Color=Red]“I have not been away long enough to have a powerful spell fade like that. The magical effects used must certainly have been a lowly spell. Such a spell my Provenience should have been able to overcome. And if it was a lowly spell it could not have been teleportation magic. A teleport would certainly have left a greater residual aura than this for the time that I have been gone.”[/Color] Immediately the draconic beast turned back to his perch. He looked down into the valley below, this time noting that the village was completely empty. The village was typically quiet during the day. Those able to hunt and gather food were usually away from the village and going about their chores. Those who worked with the plants and hides typically did their craft indoors to avoid the searing affects of the sun as much as possible. It was not unusual for the village to be quiet. But this time the village was more than quiet. It was abandoned. The beast leapt off his perch and unfurled his large leathery wings. He had been caught so off guard by the emptiness of the village that he had forgotten to see if there were any residual magic traces upon his perch. Slowly the beast circled down to the ground. He caught what few air currents rose from the ground as the air warmed in order to gracefully descend to the ground. He slowed his descent and landed atop the horizontal sacrificial stone in the center of the village. The red wyrm brought his neck low enough to peer into the cage where Druff had been kept for so long. Anger erupted inside the dragon. [Color=Red]“Empty!”[/Color] The dragon followed the yell with another tremendous roar. The cage did not appear to be damaged, so the dragon checked again for a residual magical aura. He was not disappointed to find that there was still a weak residual aura. This aura was also too weak to determine what effect had been in place and how long ago it was conjured into existence. The dragon brought his scaly eyebrows down to reflect the boiling anger inside of him. As he thought, his eyes closed enough so that only the cat-like irises and the fiery red pupils could be seen between his upper and lower eyelid. [Color=Red]“I do not like being tricked, and I promise to find out how this happened and make whoever is responsible pay!”[/Color] His warning was for nobody in particular. In truth, the dragon had hoped that there was someone left in the village that could be beaten into telling him what had transpired here. He also hoped that the perpetrators of this horrendous crime might be close enough to hear his threat. But there was no response to his threat of any sort. Out of fury, the dragon began to breathe his fiery death onto the wood buildings that encircled the sacrificial stone. The wyrm was sure that as the buildings caught on fire the inhabitants would be forced to flee. Of course, the dragon knew that this truth depended upon if any villagers remained cowering in the village. The dragon watched the buildings burn until it was painfully obvious that nobody was left within the buildings. They burned quickly without anyone to fight against the flames. It was then that the dragon noticed the path leading away to the mountains between Tongra and Quehalost. A large number of people had recently traveled along this path. It took no leap of reasoning to realize that the villagers had left a trail for him to follow. The trail was no doubt unintentional; but it was also impossible to avoid. They had given him a path to follow, and the path was easily enough followed from the air. The dragon once more unfurled his wings and rose into the air where he could use his greater speed to his advantage. It wasn’t long before the dragon found himself in a three-month old feeling of deja vu. This was the identical path that he had used to chase down those who had stolen his last Provenience. The dragon smiled smugly as it followed the path by air. [Color=Red]“I found the villagers before. They were cowering and afraid. They will be no different this time. Yet this time I will not accept them back. They have earned their destruction at this show of rejection. I will enjoy slaughtering them as they come back to me begging for my protection. Then I will start completely anew.”[/Color] [Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section] Back in the draconic village in Quehalost, the red wyrm had returned victoriously to his dragon perch with his deep red ruby in his grasp. He was proud to have been able to retrieve it. The dragon was overcompensating for the damaged pride that he suffered from having the deep red ruby stolen so easily in the first place. His ego was bruised by the fact that he was not able to defeat the ghostly figure in combat, but in the long run that would matter little. What was important was that the horde had been preserved. He had wanted to gloat over the victory before his Provenience. If nothing else this was proof that he was still as great and powerful as he thought. His Provenience would only confirm this fact and verbally stroke his ego. With a little bit of luck, he had hoped his musically gifted Provenience would even be able to sing a few songs proclaiming his valor in protecting his people. If she could sing about his greatness, he could forget about having the precious gemstone stolen in the first place. It was this very yearning to ease his ego that enabled him to fly directly over the village without noticing that the village was completely empty. When he landed on the perch, the draconic beast bellowed for his Provenience to come to him in the brisk mountain air. “Provenience, I have returned in glory to demonstrate my protection over you!” He couldn’t have possibly known the irony of his declaration as he spoke the words. When she didn’t immediately respond to his beckon, much less come running out onto the stone perch, he called again. His tone kept the same sense of pomp and circumstance as the last announcement. “Provenience, I have called you to come to me. Do not underestimate my desire to have you obey me.” In addition to the pomp and circumstance, this time his voice did not even begin to hide his coming anger at her disobedience. He paused for a moment out on the perch. His wrath was now beginning to boil inside of him, but he desired to give his Provenience as much time as possible to prove her loyalty. When his anger could wait no longer he sucked in a large breath and let out a bellowing draconic roar. The roar echoed across the valley that he called home; and for several seconds even the birds in the trees below him were silent from their songs. Once the echoes had died down below an audible level he took notice of the fact that even the roar had not summoned his Provenience out onto the ledge. He tucked his head down to a shoulder height and stepped toward the main chamber with a purpose. His intention was no longer pleasant. This was no cause to kill the Provenience, but in his mind he knew that this kind of disobedience could not go unchecked. His power relied on dominance and an obvious display of his superiority. If that were to ever come into question he knew that his tyranny over the people would be in jeopardy. Again, he could not have known that this very possibility had been already brought into action through the intervention of the four adventurers and his prior brutal treatment of the people. As he marched into the main chamber he could see the apparent signs of the fight. There were a few pieces of scorched straw which had caught fire from when his Provenience had used her own breath weapon in defense of the dragon’s chamber. Perhaps more than anything the great wyrm noticed that his Provenience herself was no longer present. He took a quick glance around the room and noticed that the few possessions which his Provenience did own were no longer there. Her mandolin had been taken with her. The bone carved comb she used to care for her hair was not in its usual place. The dragon paused for a moment and sniffed the air. Although the cave was largely open to the elements through the hole that led to the perch above the village, the dragon could still smell two distinctly odd scents. Both of the scents reminded him of adrenaline and panic. He also smelled the fear and anger of his own Provenience. There had indeed been a fight in his chamber and his Provenience had stepped up to defend the chamber. The dragon closed his eyes for a second and mentally conjured up his magical power to perceive residual energy with his eyes. When he opened his eyes he noted that the room glowed faintly in several areas. The dragon bellowed once more at this new discovery. “There has been magic used in my chamber?” The beast stopped for a moment and concentrated a bit harder to determine if the magic had been used recently enough to determine the strength or perhaps even the effect. Unfortunately for the great wyrm the power had faded too quickly and he had been gone too long. The dragon thought on this for a few moments while he tried to piece together what had happened to him. The beast talked aloud to itself as it pieced together the events. “I have not been away long enough to have a powerful spell fade like that. The magical effects used must certainly have been a lowly spell. Such a spell my Provenience should have been able to overcome. And if it was a lowly spell it could not have been teleportation magic. A teleport would certainly have left a greater residual aura than this for the time that I have been gone.” Immediately the draconic beast turned back to his perch. He looked down into the valley below, this time noting that the village was completely empty. The village was typically quiet during the day. Those able to hunt and gather food were usually away from the village and going about their chores. Those who worked with the plants and hides typically did their craft indoors to avoid the searing affects of the sun as much as possible. It was not unusual for the village to be quiet. But this time the village was more than quiet. It was abandoned. The beast leapt off his perch and unfurled his large leathery wings. He had been caught so off guard by the emptiness of the village that he had forgotten to see if there were any residual magic traces upon his perch. Slowly the beast circled down to the ground. He caught what few air currents rose from the ground as the air warmed in order to gracefully descend to the ground. He slowed his descent and landed atop the horizontal sacrificial stone in the center of the village. The red wyrm brought his neck low enough to peer into the cage where Druff had been kept for so long. Anger erupted inside the dragon. “Empty!” The dragon followed the yell with another tremendous roar. The cage did not appear to be damaged, so the dragon checked again for a residual magical aura. He was not disappointed to find that there was still a weak residual aura. This aura was also too weak to determine what effect had been in place and how long ago it was conjured into existence. The dragon brought his scaly eyebrows down to reflect the boiling anger inside of him. As he thought, his eyes closed enough so that only the cat-like irises and the fiery red pupils could be seen between his upper and lower eyelid. “I do not like being tricked, and I promise to find out how this happened and make whoever is responsible pay!” His warning was for nobody in particular. In truth, the dragon had hoped that there was someone left in the village that could be beaten into telling him what had transpired here. He also hoped that the perpetrators of this horrendous crime might be close enough to hear his threat. But there was no response to his threat of any sort. Out of fury, the dragon began to breathe his fiery death onto the wood buildings that encircled the sacrificial stone. The wyrm was sure that as the buildings caught on fire the inhabitants would be forced to flee. Of course, the dragon knew that this truth depended upon if any villagers remained cowering in the village. The dragon watched the buildings burn until it was painfully obvious that nobody was left within the buildings. They burned quickly without anyone to fight against the flames. It was then that the dragon noticed the path leading away to the mountains between Tongra and Quehalost. A large number of people had recently traveled along this path. It took no leap of reasoning to realize that the villagers had left a trail for him to follow. The trail was no doubt unintentional; but it was also impossible to avoid. They had given him a path to follow, and the path was easily enough followed from the air. The dragon once more unfurled his wings and rose into the air where he could use his greater speed to his advantage. It wasn’t long before the dragon found himself in a three-month old feeling of deja vu. This was the identical path that he had used to chase down those who had stolen his last Provenience. The dragon smiled smugly as it followed the path by air. “I found the villagers before. They were cowering and afraid. They will be no different this time. Yet this time I will not accept them back. They have earned their destruction at this show of rejection. I will enjoy slaughtering them as they come back to me begging for my protection. Then I will start completely anew.” [/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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