Lazybones
Adventurer
Chapter 287
The toxic gas breathed by the dracolich was corrosive, capable of burning the flesh and searing the lungs of any living thing. And its transition to undeath had not weakened the power of Vittris Bale’s breath weapon in the least. If anything, the dracolich’s breath had the force of a tempest, driving into the companions with the impact of a powerful storm.
But the companions, armed with forewarning, were prepared, and when the noxious cloud cleared, they were all but unharmed. Mole and Zenna had been knocked down by the force of the blast, but none of them had suffered from the effects of the gas, the protection from acid spells that each of them had received holding up—thus far. A cold surge of fear swept over them as the full force of the dracolich’s presence hit them, but the companions, veterans and bolstered against such terrors by Arun’s stalwart influence, were able to control their fear enough to stand fast before the beast.
The adventurers counterattacked, laying into the undead dragon with everything they had. The plan had been to wait for Zenna to attempt to bring down its magical defenses with a dispel, but with her prone, they did not hesitate. Dannel’s arrows knifed out at it, but the ancient creature’s frame was incredibly durable, and none of his initial volley hit. Beorna and Shensen unleashed spells, the dwarf blasting it with a searing light, the druid adding a flame strike that coursed down from above into its body. But the dracolich’s spell resistance was too powerful, and both spells dissolved as they struck it.
Zenna pulled herself up, and staggering back to regain her footing on the slick stone, she finally managed to fire off her dispel. White light flared briefly around the dracolich’s body, as its shield and mage armor dissolved. But even without those protections, Vittris Bale’s body was still nigh-invincible, a fact proven as Hodge’s heavy bolt and Mole’s much smaller missile both bounced harmlessly off it.
Perhaps ironically, it was Zenna’s tiny, summoned mephit that inflicted the first damage upon the dracolich, breathing a small gout of fire upon it from behind. But the damage was minimal, and Vittris Bale, confident in its might and the security of its defenses, surged down onto the ice bridge, its skeletal claws finding solid purchase on the slick surface.
As the dracolich’s dread gaze swept over them, the companions fought another kind of fear, this time an icy numbness that spread through their muscles, threatening to steal their ability to react, to fight back against the skeletal horror. Again, bolstered by magic and the protective aura of Zenna’s spell, the companions were mostly able to fight off the effects of the creature’s gaze. But Mole, blasted outside of the radius of Zenna’s spell by the dracolich’s breath, looked up into the creature’s burning eyes and knew terror, and she huddled there against the wall, unable to do anything but shake uncontrollably. And Dannel, likewise, was affected, his drawn arrow falling from his hands as Bale’s sinister power crept through his body.
Arun stepped forward to meet the creature, stepping boldly into its reach to swing at its leg as it landed. The dracolich snapped its head out and caught him up in its powerful jaws. Its touch was infused with the fierce chill of the grave, but Arun had been protected against that as well, and he was able to jerk free before it could lift him off his feet. The paralytic numbness of the lich’s touch was nothing against his enhanced stamina, and his blow, guided by the divine favor of Moradin, bit deep into its skull as he smote the undead drake. Vittris Bale felt a sharp pain that penetrated even through the emotionless halo of its undead existence, and drew back, a wide crack gaping with blue fire along the side of its massive skull.
The dire bats flashed down from above, keening with sonic pulses just beyond the edges of mundane hearing as they attacked the dracolich. Its fell presence affected them as powerfully as the half-drow woman they served, but driven by the power of her call, they nonetheless pressed their attacks. But both bats were buffeted back as the dracolich reared from Arun’s attack, and they had to pound their wings furiously as they swept away, gaining altitude for another pass.
Zenna, careful of the dracolich’s long reach, cast a spell upon Dannel. The elf nodded gratefully as the paralyzing terror left him, and he ran along the catwalk to the side, seeking an angle for an effective shot.
The dracolich had taken one serious hit, but its fury was now unleashed in full upon its enemies. The creature’s rage at its centuries of captivity found fruition now in the assault it unleashed upon these intruders that had dared to intrude upon its confined realm. It spread its attacks upon the nearest foes, hoping to paralyze at least a few of them with the creeping effects of its frozen touch.
But unfortunately for Vittris Bale, it faced dwarves this day.
Arun staggered as another deadly snap of the dracolich’s jaws nearly tore his sword—and the arm with it—from his body. The creature’s claws tore at his armor, opening wide rents, the blood freezing as soon as it pulsed from the wounds. Beorna, her heavy stride sounding loudly on the stones, was struck by a pair of lashes from the dracolich’s wings, buffeting her with the force of a giant’s punch. But Shensen had warded her again with stoneskin, and the wounds were relatively minor. The creature’s tail snaked out and smashed into Hodge even as the dwarf rushed forward with his burning axe, slamming him back to land heavily on his rear.
Their luck, fortified with divine protections and magical augmentations, held. None of the dwarves succumbed to the icy paralysis of the dracolich’s evil touch.
But Arun, even with his enhanced stamina, had clearly taken a beating. His breath plumed out in great white gouts as he fought for air, and his swordarm was a red mess, cut almost to the bone by the creature’s great teeth. The paladin’s face was a mask of determination, however, and no doubt or hesitation shone in his eyes. He would stand his ground, and only his death or the death of his adversary would change that equation.
The dwarves attacked. Beorna swept her sword around in a brilliant arc, crushing the blade into the dracolich’s body. Arun, half her size, could not match her reach, but he managed an aggressive swing that smashed several of the creature’s ribs. Hodge got up and ran forward, but as he reached the edge of the ice he lost his footing, and slid forward precariously close to the edge. The dracolich shifted its footing under the assault from the paladin and templar, and as hard bones of its right foot slammed into him Hodge went flying backward, sliding back along the way he had come. For a single heartbeat he leaned out over the chasm, his eyes widening as he beheld a long, long drop... and then he was clear, and he rolled to a stop, clutching his side where the beast had inadvertently slammed him.
The others kept up their attacks as well, and the dracolich was now showing clear signs of the damage wrought upon its skeletal form. Dannel finally got a telling shot through, his arrow caroming off its skull, and Shensen raised her hand, calling down a lightning bolt that blasted through its spell resistance. Zenna’s scorching rays, however, failed to do so, and as she looked around she saw Mole, lying helpless, and ran to her friend’s assistance.
Vittris Bale was not accustomed to fearing for its existence; it took immortality as a matter of course, as much a curse as a blessing. Now that it faced defeat, however, it found that it craved the continuation of what passed for its “life”, miserable and empty though it was. It had battered one of the dwarves near to the point of death, and the two others were injured, but it knew that it would not win if it continued this head-on confrontation.
The dracolich lurched to the side, and fell off of the ice-bridge, plummeting into the chasm below.
“Is... it... gone?” Hodge said, pulling himself back up to his feet.
Beorna and Arun’s gazes met, and both shook their head, the same thought running through their minds.
No...
The toxic gas breathed by the dracolich was corrosive, capable of burning the flesh and searing the lungs of any living thing. And its transition to undeath had not weakened the power of Vittris Bale’s breath weapon in the least. If anything, the dracolich’s breath had the force of a tempest, driving into the companions with the impact of a powerful storm.
But the companions, armed with forewarning, were prepared, and when the noxious cloud cleared, they were all but unharmed. Mole and Zenna had been knocked down by the force of the blast, but none of them had suffered from the effects of the gas, the protection from acid spells that each of them had received holding up—thus far. A cold surge of fear swept over them as the full force of the dracolich’s presence hit them, but the companions, veterans and bolstered against such terrors by Arun’s stalwart influence, were able to control their fear enough to stand fast before the beast.
The adventurers counterattacked, laying into the undead dragon with everything they had. The plan had been to wait for Zenna to attempt to bring down its magical defenses with a dispel, but with her prone, they did not hesitate. Dannel’s arrows knifed out at it, but the ancient creature’s frame was incredibly durable, and none of his initial volley hit. Beorna and Shensen unleashed spells, the dwarf blasting it with a searing light, the druid adding a flame strike that coursed down from above into its body. But the dracolich’s spell resistance was too powerful, and both spells dissolved as they struck it.
Zenna pulled herself up, and staggering back to regain her footing on the slick stone, she finally managed to fire off her dispel. White light flared briefly around the dracolich’s body, as its shield and mage armor dissolved. But even without those protections, Vittris Bale’s body was still nigh-invincible, a fact proven as Hodge’s heavy bolt and Mole’s much smaller missile both bounced harmlessly off it.
Perhaps ironically, it was Zenna’s tiny, summoned mephit that inflicted the first damage upon the dracolich, breathing a small gout of fire upon it from behind. But the damage was minimal, and Vittris Bale, confident in its might and the security of its defenses, surged down onto the ice bridge, its skeletal claws finding solid purchase on the slick surface.
As the dracolich’s dread gaze swept over them, the companions fought another kind of fear, this time an icy numbness that spread through their muscles, threatening to steal their ability to react, to fight back against the skeletal horror. Again, bolstered by magic and the protective aura of Zenna’s spell, the companions were mostly able to fight off the effects of the creature’s gaze. But Mole, blasted outside of the radius of Zenna’s spell by the dracolich’s breath, looked up into the creature’s burning eyes and knew terror, and she huddled there against the wall, unable to do anything but shake uncontrollably. And Dannel, likewise, was affected, his drawn arrow falling from his hands as Bale’s sinister power crept through his body.
Arun stepped forward to meet the creature, stepping boldly into its reach to swing at its leg as it landed. The dracolich snapped its head out and caught him up in its powerful jaws. Its touch was infused with the fierce chill of the grave, but Arun had been protected against that as well, and he was able to jerk free before it could lift him off his feet. The paralytic numbness of the lich’s touch was nothing against his enhanced stamina, and his blow, guided by the divine favor of Moradin, bit deep into its skull as he smote the undead drake. Vittris Bale felt a sharp pain that penetrated even through the emotionless halo of its undead existence, and drew back, a wide crack gaping with blue fire along the side of its massive skull.
The dire bats flashed down from above, keening with sonic pulses just beyond the edges of mundane hearing as they attacked the dracolich. Its fell presence affected them as powerfully as the half-drow woman they served, but driven by the power of her call, they nonetheless pressed their attacks. But both bats were buffeted back as the dracolich reared from Arun’s attack, and they had to pound their wings furiously as they swept away, gaining altitude for another pass.
Zenna, careful of the dracolich’s long reach, cast a spell upon Dannel. The elf nodded gratefully as the paralyzing terror left him, and he ran along the catwalk to the side, seeking an angle for an effective shot.
The dracolich had taken one serious hit, but its fury was now unleashed in full upon its enemies. The creature’s rage at its centuries of captivity found fruition now in the assault it unleashed upon these intruders that had dared to intrude upon its confined realm. It spread its attacks upon the nearest foes, hoping to paralyze at least a few of them with the creeping effects of its frozen touch.
But unfortunately for Vittris Bale, it faced dwarves this day.
Arun staggered as another deadly snap of the dracolich’s jaws nearly tore his sword—and the arm with it—from his body. The creature’s claws tore at his armor, opening wide rents, the blood freezing as soon as it pulsed from the wounds. Beorna, her heavy stride sounding loudly on the stones, was struck by a pair of lashes from the dracolich’s wings, buffeting her with the force of a giant’s punch. But Shensen had warded her again with stoneskin, and the wounds were relatively minor. The creature’s tail snaked out and smashed into Hodge even as the dwarf rushed forward with his burning axe, slamming him back to land heavily on his rear.
Their luck, fortified with divine protections and magical augmentations, held. None of the dwarves succumbed to the icy paralysis of the dracolich’s evil touch.
But Arun, even with his enhanced stamina, had clearly taken a beating. His breath plumed out in great white gouts as he fought for air, and his swordarm was a red mess, cut almost to the bone by the creature’s great teeth. The paladin’s face was a mask of determination, however, and no doubt or hesitation shone in his eyes. He would stand his ground, and only his death or the death of his adversary would change that equation.
The dwarves attacked. Beorna swept her sword around in a brilliant arc, crushing the blade into the dracolich’s body. Arun, half her size, could not match her reach, but he managed an aggressive swing that smashed several of the creature’s ribs. Hodge got up and ran forward, but as he reached the edge of the ice he lost his footing, and slid forward precariously close to the edge. The dracolich shifted its footing under the assault from the paladin and templar, and as hard bones of its right foot slammed into him Hodge went flying backward, sliding back along the way he had come. For a single heartbeat he leaned out over the chasm, his eyes widening as he beheld a long, long drop... and then he was clear, and he rolled to a stop, clutching his side where the beast had inadvertently slammed him.
The others kept up their attacks as well, and the dracolich was now showing clear signs of the damage wrought upon its skeletal form. Dannel finally got a telling shot through, his arrow caroming off its skull, and Shensen raised her hand, calling down a lightning bolt that blasted through its spell resistance. Zenna’s scorching rays, however, failed to do so, and as she looked around she saw Mole, lying helpless, and ran to her friend’s assistance.
Vittris Bale was not accustomed to fearing for its existence; it took immortality as a matter of course, as much a curse as a blessing. Now that it faced defeat, however, it found that it craved the continuation of what passed for its “life”, miserable and empty though it was. It had battered one of the dwarves near to the point of death, and the two others were injured, but it knew that it would not win if it continued this head-on confrontation.
The dracolich lurched to the side, and fell off of the ice-bridge, plummeting into the chasm below.
“Is... it... gone?” Hodge said, pulling himself back up to his feet.
Beorna and Arun’s gazes met, and both shook their head, the same thought running through their minds.
No...