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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1082732" data-attributes="member: 6294">Kull's Fourth Report - Part 3Obviously, the fact that I lived to pen this report must mean that the beast breathes no more, but the mere fact of its defeat does no justice to the battle that ensued.Bursting out of the water, the dragon - a black and fell beast, powerful despite the fact that it was obviously still young - raked and gouged at me with tooth and claw.  My armour turned some of the force from its blows, but on top of the acidic blast I had already endured, these were still life-threatening wounds.I shouted Hextor's name and swung my flail.  Black scales cracked under the force of the blow; one of the strongest I have ever made.  The beast fell back, ichor spurting from the injury.Brodnak and Julianne leapt forward, striking at the beast.  I did not see either of them wound it, but their efforts were enough to draw the creature's attention.  It snapped at the woman, while sweeping its tail at Brodnak.  The barbarian was knocked from his feet, but leapt up immediately, his face flushing purple as a battle-rage descended upon him.Invoking the last of my healing spells for the day - other than a pair of the most minor orisons - I felt my wounds close.  Though still far from full health, I threw myself back into the fight, knowing that we would need every ounce of skill and strength to overcome such a beast.Having layered himself with every protective spell at his disposal, Zalich moved around the edges of the battle, staying clear of the creature's claws and fangs.  The club he clutched in his hands looked futile against such an opponent, but the halfling's skill lies in other areas.  He gestured, and a gout of flame struck the dragon.  Black-scaled as it was, I could not see if the blast charred its flesh, but its howl of pain was proof enough of the injury it has sustained.I struck again, crushing more of those scales beneath my flail, as the beast tore at Brodnak, opening great rents in his arms.  The barbarian hewed back just as savagely, but the blade of his axe turned on the creature's thick armour.  Julianne's narrow-bladed swords were better suited to the task, however, and she thrust her blade into the dragon's side.The creature howled again, drops of acidic spittle flying from its jaws.  It reared up, lunging at the female warrior.  She all but dodged the blow, yet even the glancing collision that resulted was sufficient to knock her from her feet.  Sensing the chance to make a kill, the dragon loomed over her, but I landed a heavy blow on the back of its skull, staggering it to one side, and Julianne was able to scramble free.I tried to strike again, but the beast twisted to meet my blow, snaring my forearm between its jaws.  Its mouth snapped shut, and I could feel its jaws grind against the bones of my arm.Yet, even as it stopped my blow, the dragon sealed its own fate.  Its attention turned from the others, and they seized the moment.  First, Zalich struck it with a bolt of ice, freezing a small patch of its scales, and then Brodnak stepped forward, bringing his axe down in a mighty overhead blow.  In truth, his performance until that moment had been so poor that I expected little from the blow, but for the first time the blade of his weapon struck true, and his axe laid the creature's flesh wide open, cutting deep and severing the spine.The beast convulsed, its eyes grew dim, and it slumped slowly to the ground, the mighty jaws unclenching as its teeth slipped free of my arm.The fight was won.</blockquote>

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