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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wicht" data-source="post: 278514" data-attributes="member: 221">Chapter 6 – Dragon Isle    “Where do we go now?”  Alairic asked.  They had spent the day celebrating the release of Alairic and the destruction of the pirates.  Their celebration was only slightly dampened when one of the fishermen casually informed them that the boat they had sunk would have brought them a hefty amount of gold if they had sold it to someone.  Now however, the celebrating was done and they were back at the house next to the shrine in Taesoo.    “Personally,” continued Alairic, “I am beginning to think we should go ahead and go talk to Roona again.  We are looking for a shapeshifter and she is rumored to have that ability.  We are absolutely no closer to figuring out what happened to Giovan then we were six days ago.”    “I agree,” said Niccolo, “So far we have burnt down a village and sank a pirate ship, but neither of those seem to be in any way connected with our original mission.”    “I still think we should find a way to get to that Dragon Isle that we were told about.  We are going to have to sail there and we will need a ship,” said Tilliana.  The words hung there a moment and then Tilliana groaned and  sank her head into her hands. They had had a ship but had sunk it.      “The man who murdered Froima went west,” said Niccolo, speaking aloud as she thought, “Foorun is west of Taesoo and this Scythe is supposed to be west of Foorun.”    “I think Scythe will be a dead end too,” said Tilliana.    “Why don’t we question Roona in the morning, assuming she is still there,” said Alairic, “And then we can go from there.”    “You never know, she could have moved on,” said Niccolo.      The next morning, as Alairic had suggested, they once more walked out to Tiolo’s beach.  Roona was sitting before a fire, looking just as she had when they had left her.  She was sipping out of a cup of something hot and when she saw them coming over the dunes, she waved them over.      “Good Morning!” said Alairic cheerfully, “And how are you doing this morning?”    “Well I was doing alright,” complained the woman, “Though I am not surprised to see you, I was wondering when it would sink in through your thick skulls!”    “What?”    “You obviously need to know more about this Dragon Isle, and I don’t know much but let me tell you it’s a nasty place.  For one thing, obviously, there’s a dragon, big and old, he lives at the top.  The whole island is basically one big mountain and its crawling with lizards: flying lizards, spined lizards, nasty lizards that will chew your leg off until you fall and they can get at your throat, kobolds in the north, little dragons.  And then of course there’s the old temple built hundreds of years ago and abandoned.  I don’t know much about that but when I was younger I heard stories there’s a demon buried in it, that can’t get out.”    Alairic’s ears perked up and it became obvious he was thinking hard, “A demon?”    “That’s what the stories say.”    “Can you tell us anything about the island?” asked Tilliana, meaning for roona to elaborate, but the question annoyed the old woman.    “Weren’t you listening the first time?  I told you what I know, if you want to learn more, I suggest you go to Zoa or even Xaarum and find someone else who might know more.”    “Oh,” said Tilliana, “Well is there anything else we can do to make you comfortable or help you out here?”    “Young lady I have survived out here for the last eighty years and I will for another eighty I imagine!”    “Eighty years!? How old are you?” asked Alairic impolitely.    “None of your business!”    “Sorry.”    “So what have you been doing out here?” asked Niccolo, trying to steer the conversation back to a point from which they could gather some information.    “I buried that poor baby that had been in the hut and of course those men, and have gone for a few swims.”    Alairic looked and spotted the gravesites some ways up from the beach.    “Can I ask you,” began Tilliana not knowing how to phrase what she wanted to ask, “Is there anything you have noticed along the coast lately?”    “Yeah,” said the old woman gruffly, “Its not a good time to be a villager is it?”    “Hmm, your right there,” said Niccolo    “I haven’t seen anything and now that I told you what you came to ask me, you can go and leave me in peace.”    “Right,” they said and feeling dismissed they turned to walk off.  Alairic stopped and looked back over his shoulder.  Roona was staring at them like a hawk.  With a sigh the paladin turned and walked after the others.  About halfway back to Taesoo, it struck them that they had failed to question her about her shapeshifting abilities.  The woman had dominated the conversation.    “And I forgot to check her to see if she was evil,” sighed Alairic.    “Dumb Paladin,” quipped Niccolo more out of habit than anything else.    “I want to go learn more about this demon,” said Alairic, “I think we should head back to Xaarum, tell Deochoo what we have learned and see if we can find out anything more about Dragon Isle.”    “Why?”    “I had a vision, a warning from Naemae two nights ago.  I was told about a demon that was buried, that it was to remain buried.  And I think we should do some research.  Being brave is not the same as being stupid you know, Naemae does not appreciate warriors who enter battle unprepared.”    “Ok, ok,” said Niccolo, “Let’s go back to Xaarum.”    That afternoon they were back in Xaarum.  Deochoo heard their account with interest and agreed that Alairic was right, research was what was called for.    “I will ask around for you and see what I can learn about this Island,” said Deochoo, “It might take a few days though.  There does not seem a lot you can do in the meantime so I advise you to relax for a bit.”    It did take Deochoo two days to hunt up the information.  Alairic spent the time studying.  Heidon and Niccolo mostly relaxed, though they also made a trip to the market.  They sold off a few things they had picked up and Heidon for some reason decided he needed to be better armed and purchased both a battle ax and a morning star.  They also bought more arrows.  Tilliana perhaps spent her time the most productively.  She purchased her own copy of “To Serve” from the temple and then spent the rest of the time locked up in her room.  She was preparing scrolls of healing.    At the end of two days, Deochoo summoned them.      “I had to call in a few favors to get this information,” he said, “but I did find out about the island and it looks to be worth checking into.”    “For starters, no one is quite sure anymore whether the island is named for the ancient green dragon that has made its lair atop the island or for the many forms of reptile life that cover it.  The island is home to some creatures that can not be found anywhere else.  The whole island is basically a big mountain.  It is three miles long, north to south and a mile wide at its widest.  The east and west sides are sheer and no craft could land there.  There are spots on the north and south sides of the island where boats can beach.  The south side has a thin strip of land, isolated from much of the rest of the island by cliffs and oceans and the north has a larger flat area with two bays.  The north half of the island is also covered with kobolds.      “Because of the sheerness of the mountain, the presence of the dragon and the kobolds, the island is mostly avoided by everyone.  Ships captains in particular do not like to go near it when they learn of the dragon, who has been known in years past to sink an occasional ship.  But that wasn’t always the case.  About three hundred years ago a pirate built a village on the southern strip.  He also built a temple to the Veuxoo, the Creator of Strife, on the southern slope of the mountain.  A band of Elvish adventurers destroyed both the village and the temple, but there were many demons in the temple and one of them they could not defeat.  They instead used powerful magic to entomb him within and then set up traps to keep out the unwary.  Fortunately, the location of the temple and specifically, the existence of the demon do not seem well documented.  I only accidentally discovered that last part myself.    “Alairic, it seems to me that Naemae has chosen you in particular to make sure that this demon remains buried.  This, I deem is your mission from the Swift Sword.  You and you alone are charged with journeying to this island.  However, I think it seems obvious that this could easily be connected with the dissapearance of Giovan.  Tilliana can accompany you.  The other two I cannot bind pr se, though Heidon is already bound…    “We have worked so well together thus far it would be a shame to break up the group,” said Niccolo, “I will travel with them.”    “Very good!  You of course will need a ship to reach the Island.  Passage can most likely be found in Zoa, but there may be a ship anchored in Foorun which will agree to take you.”    In the end they decided to walk the short ways to Foorun first to attempt to find passage.  They were in luck for there was one ship heading to Geanavue and the captain agreed to drop them off on his way, but his terms were less than agreeable.  He wanted a hundred gold pieces for a rowboat and 20 gold pieces apiece for passage and would drop them off ten miles from the Island and let him row.  They managed to bargain with him until he agreed to a total price of 150 gold pieces and a row boat let out two miles from the island.  He would get no closer for he had heard about the dragon.  He was bound to leave the next day, the 14th of sowing.      Tilliana had been in much thought ever since they had left Xaarum and after finding the passage she excused herself from the others and promised to be back in time to sail.    Then, taking her stuff, she made the journey back to Xaarum alone.  Deochoo was slightly surprised to see her again.    “I feel I am ready to be a Defender,” explained Tilliana when they were alone.    Deochoo smiled.  “Are you my child, well, I must ask you then, what evil have you defeated?”Tilliana thought.“I fought undead in Hooberan’s, servants of the Rot Lord and defeated them.  And in Taesoo I fought with Pirates and helped save the village.”“Then you have indeed defeated evil, and I will agree to your promotion.  But with promotion comes responsibility.  When you return from your journey we will discuss your responsibilities in more detail.  For now, a simple acknowledgement of your new rank will suffice I think and though we don’t have time for a full ceremony, we will arrange one for you when you come back.  Your mother I believe has new robes already prepared for you.“In fact if you want the truth,” said Deochoo with a smile, “I suspect she has robes prepared for you for when you ascend to become the Valiant.”Tilliana met the other three in Foorun the next day, resplendent in her new rank.  Her cheerfulness soon turned to illness however when the ship set sail.  Tilliana was not alone in her seasickness, Heidon also spent the first few hours of the voyage retching over the side of the ship.  But Heidon quickly gained his sea legs leaving Tilliana alone in her wretchedness.  The ship had been out to sea for eight hours before Tilliana finally adjusted.“I do not like sailing,” Tilliana declared.Through the night the ship sailed and it was not until noon of the following day that the island came into view.  It was indeed a single mountain rising green out of the ocean waters.  The whole island was forested.  The captain used his spyglass to show them that there was a ship anchored off the southern tip of the island.“Where do you want let off, north or south?” he asked them“South,” they decided.Two miles from the island, the captain steered his ship to the north and they let off the four adventurers in a small row boat.  Niccolo rowed and soon they were pulling away from the ship towards the island.  An hour into the rowing and the island was nearer and the ship that had brought them was fading into the distance.They were too far from the other ship to make out activity on it but they decided to land as far away from it as possible, figuring that their every movement could be seen.  “No sinking that ship,” warned Tilliana.“No, its not like we are going to have any other way to get back is it?” said Alairic.  An hour later and they were pulling the boat up onto the beach.  There was a cliff, nearly a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet in height to their left, just north of them.  As far as they could tell, the cliff extended for the whole length of the southern strip of land, which at its widest could be no more than a quarter of a mile wide.  The cliff extended not just to the east, but it also circled to the north, out into the ocean water.  The beach stretched out to their right, a thin strip of sandy land interrupted occasionally by trees.  As they gazed down the length of the beach, they saw that there were four legged lizards flying on thin wings out from the trees and over the ocean water.  They appeared to be fishing and there were many of the creatures skimming over the surface of the ocean to the southeast.“Which way?” asked Alairic.Their choices seemed limited.  They could follow the beach until they reached the spot where the ship was anchored.  There had appeared to be a small camp there of some sort, though the distance was too great to make out much detail.  They could also joureny straight through the forested strip of land, though the foliage was dense and the wildlife they had been warned about.  Or they could follow the cliff seeing if there was some way to scale it.  In the end they opted to follow the cliff, avoiding being found if possible.“I think we should try and find this old shrine first,” said Niccolo, “And go from there.”They Pulled the rowboat into the trees and tried to hide it.  Then, that done, they set out.  Following the cliff was not hard.  Trees did not grow on the rock face itself and the foilage seemed less dense, though rocks at the foot of the cliff warned of the danger of falling boulders.  They went slowly but surely.  As they walked, they observed many more examples of the native life.  Many small lizards scuttled on the trees and through the foilage.  At least twice they saw bipedal lizards.  They were about five feet long with a crested back and their teeth appeared sharp.  These would watch them intelligently and then take off quickly through the undergrowth.  Occassionaly they would see more of the winged lizards in the branches overhead.  They observed that there were sharp hooks on the scaly backs of these lizards.  But none of the reptiles bothered them.    There were many small waterfalls that fell down the face of the cliff, gathering in small ponds and then flowing in streams out towards the ocean.  An hour through the forest and they came to an opening in the trees.  The reason for the clear space was readily apparent, a large pond, the largest they had yet seen, nearly a hundred feet in width lay before them.  Water cascaded down the cliff , frothing white at the northern edge of the pond.  Pretty as the pond was, what truly grabbed the attention of the four travelers were the four large spined lizards basking along the edge of the pond, the largest of these lay only a few feet from Alairic who stopped short.      “I think we should go around and not bother them,” said the paladin, nervously eyeing the clubbed tail of the reptile which was only five feet away.      “I agree,” said Niccolo and they started to move away.    But the reptile had startled at the sound of their voices and it turned its head to look at them.  The spines on its back flaired up and it let out a trumpeting bellow.      “Uh-oh,” said Heidon and he drew an arrow and fired at it.  The arrow sank into the beast and in a flash it was turning on them.  Niccolo fired another arrow into it and then the creature was attacking, it’s tail flashing through the air.  Heidon leaped over it and drew out his battle-ax.  Alairic stood there, momentarily confused, not sure what to do, his hands gripping his sword.  Tilliana suffered no such problem and speaking words of encouragement, she offered up a prayer to Naemae.  All four felt emboldened and could feel the energy of the god blessing them.  Heidon swung his ax and connected, but as he did so he was stabbed by the creatures quivering spines.      “You fool!” said Niccolo “You should have used your bow.”    Her casting done, Tilliana charged the lizard, but its defenses were better then her attack and not only did she not hurt it, but two of its spines ripped into her.  Another of the lizards was moving now, its spines also flairing.  Niccolo seeing this to his right fired at it and then as the arrow sank in drew out the great ax he had taken from the captain of the Raging Sea.  Alairic dodged the spines of the first lizard and cleaved into it, killing it.  Even as it died, another of the nearby lizards slipped into the water.      Heidon, still hurting from the stabs of the first lizard’s spines decided to heed Niccolo and once more picked up his bow.  As Niccolo dodged the tail of the second lizard, Heidon fired an arrow.  It flew true and sank into the creatures eye.  Alairic charged forward and though he was caught on one of the spines, he landed a killing blow.    For a moment all was still.  The fourth spine lizard at the northern edge of the pond watched them but did not move.  They stared at the pond, knowing the third lizard was in there.  They did not stare long.  It charged out and at them, spines erect, a shower of water flying off the sharp tips.  The lizard barreled into Niccolo, catching him with its spines.  Tilliana charged forward, cleaving into it, but the exchange hurt her dearly as several of the spines penetrated through her armor and into her skin. Heidon back away and fired at it, his arrow barely nicking it.  The creatures clubbed tail lashed out and caught Niccolo, knocking the half-elf senseless to the ground.  Alairic swung, but as one of the spines caught him, his swing missed.  Tilliana backed away from the creature and drew a scroll from her back.  As Alairic kept the creatures attention she used one of her scrolls to heal the half-elf.  The effect was immediate and Niccolo, once more on his feet wasted no time.  Gripping the great ax firmly, the half-elf sank it into the lizard.  Though his blow was powerful, it did not stop the lizard and Niccolo paid a heavy price.  Two of the spines stabbed into him and clutching at the bleeding wounds, the half elf once more fell to the ground, unconsciousness swiftly taking over him.  With a sigh, her eyes firmly on the lizard, Tilliana drew out her other scroll to heal Niccolo again.Alairic with a roar decided to finish the fight.  Heedless of the creature’s deadly defenses, the paladin rushed at the lizard, cleaving its brainpan open.  With a twitch it died, but Alairic could only stare at the wounds on himself.  One of the spines had penetrated through his chest.The paladin pulled himself away from the lizard and fell to the ground, dying.  Tilliana was not about to let that happen.  In a moment she was at his side, the divine energies of Naemae channeling through her body, closing the paladin’s wounds.  It was enough to bring him to the edge of consciousness.  Thanking Tilliana, the paladin proceeded to use his own gifts and soon he was strong enough to stand.  Tilliana took a moment to heal her own wounds and then some of Heidon’s.  They heard shouts and for the first time, undistracted by spined lizards, they looked across the pond.  They saw a camp, located just beyond the few trees on the other side of the pond.  “We are in no shape to take on a whole camp of pirates,” said Niccolo, guessing that that was who occupied the camp, “Lets back up into the forest a bit and prepare ourselves a bit better.   Alairic and Heidon, still sore and weak, agreed.  Tilliana, though she felt fine, saw how badly Niccolo was still hurt and also agreed.Moving quickly they left the pond and traveled back into the trees.</blockquote>

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