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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 4489725" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>A dragon would be bad enough, but with a puissant githyanki knight mounted on it?</p><p></p><p>And to make matters worse- <em>two</em> red dragons, <em>each</em> with a githyanki rider!</p><p></p><p>Our heroes prepare grimly as the enemy circles overhead for a moment. The shimmers of multiple <em>protection from fire</em> spells wash over the party, even as Nara hurriedly heals Jawbreaker’s still extant wounds. </p><p></p><p>Then the dragons dive in. </p><p></p><p>Nara blasts the one to her left with a <em>flame strike,</em> hitting both it and the knight on its back. The dragon belches flames in response, covering Jawbreaker, Naomi and Nara. Their wards hold back the damage, but only just; and Naomi’s <em>energy retort</em> misses the dragon in turn. </p><p></p><p>The second dragon banks over in a long curve, breathing another gout of fire at the party. Erasmuz tumbles away, evading damage, and once again Naomi’s psychic protections keep her safe. </p><p></p><p>“We can’t take a lot of those,” Naomi says.</p><p></p><p>“I know,” Nara replies tersely. </p><p></p><p>Naomi fires a <em>cold blast,</em> but it goes wide, missing her target. She grumbles to herself, while the others start to spread out a little, with Chief Jawbreaker even drawing his bow. </p><p></p><p>One of the dragons gives an evil laugh and casts <em>dispel magic,</em> and Nara feels her protections shatter. <em>Uh-oh,</em> she thinks. The roars in mirth- and then a bolt of lightning from Ari crackles across both dragons. The dragons roar in anger- and attack, again using their breath weapons in a strafing attack that lets them keep their distance. Angrily, Jawbreaker climbs up a tree, but even so, the dragons remain out of reach. “Cowards!” he yells. </p><p></p><p>But it is Nara, calling upon the power of Coila, who gets them within reach. Even as one of the dragons banks and climbs away from the group after unleashing another hellish torrent of flames, the halfling priestess <em>suggests</em> to the knight riding it that he “land and dismount.” Immediately, it becomes apparent that this is no simple master-mount arrangement, as the githyanki and the dragon begin to argue over whether or not to land.</p><p></p><p>“You fool!” the dragon sneers in Githyanki. “That creature has influenced your mind. I will show you how we land for her!”</p><p></p><p>And with that, the dragon crashes down atop Nara, crushing her to the ground and threatening to squish her into paste! She gives a muffled cry, but like her, it is smothered beneath the scaled belly of the dragon.</p><p></p><p>Ari blasts both dragon and rider with another of the lightning bolts from his <em>greater call lightning</em> spell, but they remain on top of his friend. Meanwhile, in the air, the other dragon craftily casts <em>protection from cold</em>, then swings in towards Jawbreaker (who is still atop the tree). With a nasty grin on its face, the githyanki knight aims a mighty blow for the bear warrior, slicing him across the shoulder. </p><p></p><p>Erasmuz, meanwhile, tries summoning the aid of a huge air elemental. He adds a <em>spiritual weapon</em> to the mix- anything to add more attacks on his side! <em>Those dragons are a terror,</em> he thinks. <em>We’ve hardly scratched them! And the githyanki are just starting to cut loose!</em></p><p></p><p>Jawbreaker, meanwhile, replies to the knight that cut him by turning into a bear and crushing his forearm with a massive bite. The two struggle for a moment as the dragon twists its head to deal with Erasmuz’ air elemental with another cone of fire. The githyanki hacks at Jawbreaker, but the halfling-cum-bear is enraged and in no mood to trifle with him. He tears at the knight with savage force, slaying him and then turning on the dragon, clawing at it as well!</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the dragon that’s laying on top of Naomi begins a frenzied melee with Nara. “Get off of her, you bitch!” the Coilite cries. The dragon only licks its chops and snickers and tears into her. She lands a few morning star blows, but it is immediately apparent who is getting the better of whom, for its tail whips around and smashes her across the legs, almost tripping her, while it bites her leg and claws at her torso. Desperate, she casts <em>cure critical wounds</em> on the defensive, healing what damage she can, and then raises her shield.</p><p></p><p>Beneath the dragon that is trying its hardest to kill Nara, Naomi can barely breathe. It’s hard to focus under the monstrous weight that is crushing her. <em>But I only need to focus for a moment, and if I don’t, I’ll never eat again,</em> she tells herself. It is enough to give her the strength she needs- and she <em>dimension doors</em> free! She gasps in a great breath of air, trying to recover her strength and throw her power back to the fight. </p><p></p><p>The remaining githyanki, still under the influence of the <em>suggestion</em> spell, dismounts expertly without even slowing down. He whips his sword into a guard position and is then swept up into a whirlwind as another, even <em>bigger</em> air elemental appears- this one summoned by Ari. Another bolt of lightning shoots down, catching him in its discharge, and the githyanki dances with blue sparks and dies in the whirlwind.</p><p></p><p>“We only need to take out the two dragons now!” Nara cries, and the one she is desperately defending herself from descends upon her like a clawed avalanche, eviscerating her before tearing her literally to pieces. </p><p></p><p>“Uh, I could use some healing,” Naomi calls. And she pulls out her last, best remaining trick.</p><p></p><p>Not so long ago, the party met a small, squirrel-like race called the <em>kercpa.</em> They helped the kercpa with a problem they had- the local giant, who by long tradition the kercpa bought off with acorn beer, was suddenly unhappy with his beer. This turned out to be because someone was peeing in it, and ‘someone’ turned out to be the fairies, who had been offended by a lack of basic considerations as well as the presence of an evil druid in their area. Once our heroes cleaned up the mess, Naomi found herself with a single lock of green hair growing from a mole. The fey touch is upon her. She made friends with them; she hopes, hopes, hopes that they might hear and help. <em>They’re everywhere,</em> she thinks hopefully. </p><p></p><p>Now she plucks it out, and hurls it down, her favorite mole; and it grows and grows and grows- into a squirrel big enough to eat a small house in one bite. MEGALOSQUIRREL. </p><p></p><p>And then one of the dragons breathes on them both, and Naomi burns up like a piece of paper. She is blasted completely to ash; and the megalosquirrel, alas, vanishes. </p><p></p><p>Ari keeps pounding at the dragons with lightning, but his throat is tight. <em>This is bad,</em> he thinks. <em>Bad, bad bad bad. We can’t let them get in to the Promised Land!</em> He flies further up- he’s in hawk form- and almost cheers when Jawbreaker deals punishing damage to one of the dragons, almost killing it. Then he gives a squawk of despair when one of the dragons tears the bear warrior apart and then both full attack Erasmuz, killing him as well.</p><p></p><p><em>Bad,</em> Ari repeats to himself. But he won’t back down. Instead, he circles back down, casts <em>harm</em> and flashes in, dealing more damage in one simple touch than any other single attack has managed. As he speeds away from the injured dragon, he hits it with another lightning bolt- </p><p></p><p>And it falls!</p><p></p><p>Now he <em>really</em> wants to cheer, except for the fact that it’s just <em>him,<em> just Ari, against a <em>freaking dragon.</em> </em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>Ari burns.</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>***</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>The halflings’ guide smiles. “Well done,” he beams at them. “And welcome!”</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>“It’s the afterlife, isn’t it?” asks Erasmuz. “We’re all dead, aren’t we?”</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>The guide looks amused. “Oh, no,” he replies, “not at all, not at all. You just passed the Hidden Test- the <em>final</em> test. It was all illusion, all of it- yet real enough to fool you, with the power of destiny behind it.”</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>Our heroes look around in wonderment. All around them is- Paradise. </em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>It’s true. The trues really <em>do</em> bear pies. There are peach cobblers, ripe right now, ripe for the plucking. Rows of muffins, growing huge like cabbage. Bushes, sprouting a mix of berries dusted with confectioner’s sugar, chocolate brownies and caramel drops.</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>“But it’s not without a cost,” their guide tells them. The party realizes suddenly that there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of others around them, most- but not all- halflings. “No, we all have to pay our dues.”</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>“What do you mean?” asks Ari.</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>“This place is a refuge, a place of rest, but it is hard to reach. Only the mightiest of our heroes make it here.” Pause a beat. “Did you wonder why?”</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>“No,” Nara answers honestly. “Why?”</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>“There will come a time, far in the future, when <em>everything</em> is at stake for our people- when their very continuation as a species will be threatened. Unless something can be done for them, unless <em>we</em> can save them, our people will be driven to extinction.”</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>The party looks around wide-eyed. The halflings around them- and the others, who have taken on halfling proportions- are all formidable looking. </em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>“In the meantime, we rest. We eat. We drink, and make merry, and make love.” Their guide grins. “My name’s Tom, by the way- I can tell you that now. You’ll all be the guide for some folk or other at one time or another, too- and play most of the other roles. It’s what we do to earn our keep, you might say.”</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>Tentatively, Jawbreaker wanders to the side and sniffs at an ear of corn. It smells delicious, and it is already roasted and buttered! </em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>“Welcome home, my brothers and sisters,” Tom says, his grin widening. </em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em>“Clan Ham,” cries Naomi. “Clan Ham!”</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em><em><strong>“CLAN HAM!!!”</strong></em> the others echo.</em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p> <em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em></em></em></p><p><em><em><strong><em>THE END.</em></strong></em></em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 4489725, member: 1210"] A dragon would be bad enough, but with a puissant githyanki knight mounted on it? And to make matters worse- [i]two[/i] red dragons, [i]each[/i] with a githyanki rider! Our heroes prepare grimly as the enemy circles overhead for a moment. The shimmers of multiple [i]protection from fire[/i] spells wash over the party, even as Nara hurriedly heals Jawbreaker’s still extant wounds. Then the dragons dive in. Nara blasts the one to her left with a [i]flame strike,[/i] hitting both it and the knight on its back. The dragon belches flames in response, covering Jawbreaker, Naomi and Nara. Their wards hold back the damage, but only just; and Naomi’s [i]energy retort[/i] misses the dragon in turn. The second dragon banks over in a long curve, breathing another gout of fire at the party. Erasmuz tumbles away, evading damage, and once again Naomi’s psychic protections keep her safe. “We can’t take a lot of those,” Naomi says. “I know,” Nara replies tersely. Naomi fires a [i]cold blast,[/i] but it goes wide, missing her target. She grumbles to herself, while the others start to spread out a little, with Chief Jawbreaker even drawing his bow. One of the dragons gives an evil laugh and casts [i]dispel magic,[/i] and Nara feels her protections shatter. [i]Uh-oh,[/i] she thinks. The roars in mirth- and then a bolt of lightning from Ari crackles across both dragons. The dragons roar in anger- and attack, again using their breath weapons in a strafing attack that lets them keep their distance. Angrily, Jawbreaker climbs up a tree, but even so, the dragons remain out of reach. “Cowards!” he yells. But it is Nara, calling upon the power of Coila, who gets them within reach. Even as one of the dragons banks and climbs away from the group after unleashing another hellish torrent of flames, the halfling priestess [i]suggests[/i] to the knight riding it that he “land and dismount.” Immediately, it becomes apparent that this is no simple master-mount arrangement, as the githyanki and the dragon begin to argue over whether or not to land. “You fool!” the dragon sneers in Githyanki. “That creature has influenced your mind. I will show you how we land for her!” And with that, the dragon crashes down atop Nara, crushing her to the ground and threatening to squish her into paste! She gives a muffled cry, but like her, it is smothered beneath the scaled belly of the dragon. Ari blasts both dragon and rider with another of the lightning bolts from his [i]greater call lightning[/i] spell, but they remain on top of his friend. Meanwhile, in the air, the other dragon craftily casts [i]protection from cold[/i], then swings in towards Jawbreaker (who is still atop the tree). With a nasty grin on its face, the githyanki knight aims a mighty blow for the bear warrior, slicing him across the shoulder. Erasmuz, meanwhile, tries summoning the aid of a huge air elemental. He adds a [i]spiritual weapon[/i] to the mix- anything to add more attacks on his side! [i]Those dragons are a terror,[/i] he thinks. [i]We’ve hardly scratched them! And the githyanki are just starting to cut loose![/i] Jawbreaker, meanwhile, replies to the knight that cut him by turning into a bear and crushing his forearm with a massive bite. The two struggle for a moment as the dragon twists its head to deal with Erasmuz’ air elemental with another cone of fire. The githyanki hacks at Jawbreaker, but the halfling-cum-bear is enraged and in no mood to trifle with him. He tears at the knight with savage force, slaying him and then turning on the dragon, clawing at it as well! Meanwhile, the dragon that’s laying on top of Naomi begins a frenzied melee with Nara. “Get off of her, you bitch!” the Coilite cries. The dragon only licks its chops and snickers and tears into her. She lands a few morning star blows, but it is immediately apparent who is getting the better of whom, for its tail whips around and smashes her across the legs, almost tripping her, while it bites her leg and claws at her torso. Desperate, she casts [i]cure critical wounds[/i] on the defensive, healing what damage she can, and then raises her shield. Beneath the dragon that is trying its hardest to kill Nara, Naomi can barely breathe. It’s hard to focus under the monstrous weight that is crushing her. [i]But I only need to focus for a moment, and if I don’t, I’ll never eat again,[/i] she tells herself. It is enough to give her the strength she needs- and she [i]dimension doors[/i] free! She gasps in a great breath of air, trying to recover her strength and throw her power back to the fight. The remaining githyanki, still under the influence of the [i]suggestion[/i] spell, dismounts expertly without even slowing down. He whips his sword into a guard position and is then swept up into a whirlwind as another, even [i]bigger[/i] air elemental appears- this one summoned by Ari. Another bolt of lightning shoots down, catching him in its discharge, and the githyanki dances with blue sparks and dies in the whirlwind. “We only need to take out the two dragons now!” Nara cries, and the one she is desperately defending herself from descends upon her like a clawed avalanche, eviscerating her before tearing her literally to pieces. “Uh, I could use some healing,” Naomi calls. And she pulls out her last, best remaining trick. Not so long ago, the party met a small, squirrel-like race called the [i]kercpa.[/i] They helped the kercpa with a problem they had- the local giant, who by long tradition the kercpa bought off with acorn beer, was suddenly unhappy with his beer. This turned out to be because someone was peeing in it, and ‘someone’ turned out to be the fairies, who had been offended by a lack of basic considerations as well as the presence of an evil druid in their area. Once our heroes cleaned up the mess, Naomi found herself with a single lock of green hair growing from a mole. The fey touch is upon her. She made friends with them; she hopes, hopes, hopes that they might hear and help. [i]They’re everywhere,[/i] she thinks hopefully. Now she plucks it out, and hurls it down, her favorite mole; and it grows and grows and grows- into a squirrel big enough to eat a small house in one bite. MEGALOSQUIRREL. And then one of the dragons breathes on them both, and Naomi burns up like a piece of paper. She is blasted completely to ash; and the megalosquirrel, alas, vanishes. Ari keeps pounding at the dragons with lightning, but his throat is tight. [i]This is bad,[/i] he thinks. [i]Bad, bad bad bad. We can’t let them get in to the Promised Land![/i] He flies further up- he’s in hawk form- and almost cheers when Jawbreaker deals punishing damage to one of the dragons, almost killing it. Then he gives a squawk of despair when one of the dragons tears the bear warrior apart and then both full attack Erasmuz, killing him as well. [i]Bad,[/i] Ari repeats to himself. But he won’t back down. Instead, he circles back down, casts [i]harm[/i] and flashes in, dealing more damage in one simple touch than any other single attack has managed. As he speeds away from the injured dragon, he hits it with another lightning bolt- And it falls! Now he [i]really[/i] wants to cheer, except for the fact that it’s just [i]him,[i] just Ari, against a [i]freaking dragon.[/i] Ari burns. *** The halflings’ guide smiles. “Well done,” he beams at them. “And welcome!” “It’s the afterlife, isn’t it?” asks Erasmuz. “We’re all dead, aren’t we?” The guide looks amused. “Oh, no,” he replies, “not at all, not at all. You just passed the Hidden Test- the [i]final[/i] test. It was all illusion, all of it- yet real enough to fool you, with the power of destiny behind it.” Our heroes look around in wonderment. All around them is- Paradise. It’s true. The trues really [i]do[/i] bear pies. There are peach cobblers, ripe right now, ripe for the plucking. Rows of muffins, growing huge like cabbage. Bushes, sprouting a mix of berries dusted with confectioner’s sugar, chocolate brownies and caramel drops. “But it’s not without a cost,” their guide tells them. The party realizes suddenly that there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of others around them, most- but not all- halflings. “No, we all have to pay our dues.” “What do you mean?” asks Ari. “This place is a refuge, a place of rest, but it is hard to reach. Only the mightiest of our heroes make it here.” Pause a beat. “Did you wonder why?” “No,” Nara answers honestly. “Why?” “There will come a time, far in the future, when [i]everything[/i] is at stake for our people- when their very continuation as a species will be threatened. Unless something can be done for them, unless [i]we[/i] can save them, our people will be driven to extinction.” The party looks around wide-eyed. The halflings around them- and the others, who have taken on halfling proportions- are all formidable looking. “In the meantime, we rest. We eat. We drink, and make merry, and make love.” Their guide grins. “My name’s Tom, by the way- I can tell you that now. You’ll all be the guide for some folk or other at one time or another, too- and play most of the other roles. It’s what we do to earn our keep, you might say.” Tentatively, Jawbreaker wanders to the side and sniffs at an ear of corn. It smells delicious, and it is already roasted and buttered! “Welcome home, my brothers and sisters,” Tom says, his grin widening. “Clan Ham,” cries Naomi. “Clan Ham!” [i][b]“CLAN HAM!!!”[/b][/i] the others echo. [B][I]THE END.[/I][/B][/i][/i] [/QUOTE]
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