Shackled City Epic: "Vengeance" (story concluded)

[Solarious]

Silly Mole! Standing there just watching while a Dragon is about. Didn't Uncle Cal tell you that Invisibility is usless against Dragons?

This encounter with Moltenwing is simply lethal. As a Dragon, it already has a ton of HPs and all good saves... but it also has Spell Resistance, a host of magical abilities, Keen Senses to tell him whatcha goin on without actually seeing it, the Hover feat to unleash a full attack on hapless foes, immunity to fire damage and thus able to grapple enemies into full lava immersion... 20d6 damage/turn! Of course, as an afterthought, it's practically impossible to escape draconic grappling because of high BAB/Str/Size modifiers.

If you're feeling mean, you can also enforce object damage rules... that regular cone breath deals both fire and sonic damage, and you'll have crumblin' platforms aglore, since sonic damage ignores hardness. Natch for the Disintegration line breath: Disintegrate is Disintegrate, after all.

Oh, and there's tunnels below for sneak attacks from the back of the group. In short, this is a DM-TPK-lover's dream.

But now, a moment of silence for the first death of Mole.

...

Alright! Back to making hell for our favorite whipping characters!

 

[Neverwinter Knight]

Argh !!! You are a cruel, cruel dungeon master & storyteller...OK, so a) no, you're not and b) please go on.

Especially now!

 

[Lazybones]

This encounter with Moltenwing is simply lethal.

I agree; it's a nasty set-up for just about any player group. But things are about to go from bad to worse...

* * * * *

Chapter 383

“Mole!” Dannel screamed, knowing that there was nothing he could do, even as he drew and fired another arrow. The missile flew true, but the dragon ignored it as it hovered above a random island in the lava cavern, what had to be the invisible gnome’s perch.

“We have to get out there!” Arun shouted. The paladin had drawn out and put his own powerful bow into play, but his shots thus far may as well have been stings from gnats against the incredible damage resistance possessed by the dragon. He stood at the very brink of the ledge overlooking the lava, frustrated by his inability to aid his friend.

Dana started forward, although without the ability to fly or teleport herself, it was unclear what she intended to do. But Benzan quickly stopped her, grabbing her by the arm.

“No, Dana! You cannot go out there! It’s suicide!”

The woman shook herself free, fixing her husband with a hard look, but held her ground.

The elf offered a silent prayer that Mole would find a way to escape. But the dragon unleashed its devastating breath weapon, and for an instant, Dannel saw the gnome’s tiny form outlined as the sonic beam slammed into it.

And then she was gone.

“Damn you!” the elf cried, drawing another arrow from his quiver even as the dragon turned toward them. The song was a raging martial crescendo that filled him as he drew, aimed, and released in one motion. The arrow hit the dragon in the shoulder, but he had no time to gauge the effects of his shot, for the dragon abruptly dove for an open patch of lava, and with a massive impact that sprayed lava almost to the edge of their position, vanished beneath the surface.

“What happened?” Arun said. “Mole!”

“It vaporized her,” Cal said, his voice thick. With a great effort, he added, “It’ll come up from below the lava, and continue the attack. We haven’t hurt it badly, not yet. Be ready.”

“I have to go, find if there’s anything left,” Dana said. “If there’s anything, we can resurrect her…”

Benzan started to block her, but surprisingly it was Arun who stopped her with a hand on her arm. “No. We must remain together, first defeat the dragon. If it destroys us all, then Cauldron… and our world… are doomed.”

The companions drew back, alert for the slightest hint of Moltenwing’s return.

They did not have long to wait.

The only warning they got was a faint vibration through the stone, and then the dragon was there, rearing up out of the lava at the very brink of the ledge, drawing itself up with its forelimbs and powerful hind claws, spreading its wings to balance it. The companions were showered with molten rock that clung to their clothes and armor and burned, but they ignored the pain, launching their prepared attacks upon the dragon. Dannel and Benzan fired arrows, both of which stuck in its hide, hopefully penetrating enough to cause damage. The tiefling’s store of holy arrows was gone, but his bow added a degree of magical potency to the normal missiles that he fired. Even that was not the equal of Dannel’s song, which infused his arrows with a potent magic, enabling his shots to drive through the dragon’s incredible defenses.

But as Mole had observed earlier, they were still small, against an enemy that was far too big to stop with even a few well-placed arrows.

Lok and Arun rushed forward, weapons ready to strike. Their spellcasters had not put the few seconds they’d had while Moltenwing had maneuvered under the lava to waste, and both warriors shimmered with the tell-tale aura of magical displacement. Hodge held back at Arun’s order, although his crossbow seemed useless against the dragon’s thick hide. Cursing, the dwarf tossed the weapon aside and drew out his holy sword.

If anything counted as evil, it was this monstrosity.

Cal and Dana, further back in the entry, bolstered the attack with spells. Cal’s acid arrow splashed against its neck, searing even the dragon’s armored flesh, while Dana summoned a shimmering morningstar of silver light, a spiritual weapon that she directed against the dragon’s flank. The weapon struck its haunches solidly, overcoming its spell resistance, but it appeared to do little if any damage.

The dragon shrugged off the hits, and reared up, opening its jaws once more to breathe.

“Watch out!” Dannel cried, although there wasn’t anywhere for them to go.

But this time, instead of breathing its disintegrating sonic blast, the dragon unleashed a cone of sonic force, ash, and flame that blasted out over the entire ledge, and into the corridor beyond. Benzan, Dana, and Dannel, who were farthest back, were able to avoid the worst of the blast, but the warriors in the front ranks took the full force of the dragon’s breath attack. The exit corridor seemed to focus the energies of the blast, and Cal was picked up and tossed bodily ten feet down the passage, seared and battered. It was a devastating attack, but all of them survived through sheer toughness and determination.

The dragon pulled itself up fully onto the ledge, no doubt to exploit the damage wrought by its breath weapon. But it instead found itself facing a deadly counterattack, as Lok and Arun opened a full assault upon the dragon with their heavily enchanted weapons. Realizing how durable their foe was, both veterans eschewed powerful but inaccurate all-out attacks for targets strokes designed to penetrate its tough hide. Lok’s thundering axe clove into its torso, opening a foot-long gash in its left side, while Arun drove in from the right with his holy avenger, hitting it at the spot with its neck met its body, with enough force to unleash a torrent of searing bright red blood that smoked as it sprayed across his armor. Even as the two warriors pressed their attack, their companions kept up their own attacks, with Cal firing another acid arrow into it, and the archers scoring additional hits now that the range had been reduced to point-blank.

Now it was the dragon that was in a difficult position, and the ancient and crafty creature was quick to shift its tactics. Dropping its body forward so that all four claws rested on the stone ledge, it abruptly spun around, using its size to drive both warriors back. Lok was struck hard by the dragon’s left wing, driving him back. But despite the dragon’s size and strength, Lok was very difficult to move when he didn’t want to be moved, and its gambit only bought it a few feet of distance. Knocked off balance, Lok fell to one knee, but quickly drew himself back up, lifting his axe as he reset his stance.

But Arun was not so fortunate. Its rotation turned it toward the paladin, and as Arun raised his potent sword to strike again, it swept its head into the holy knight’s armored gut. Arun grunted as the dragon snapped its head up, lifting him off his feet, and it hurled him outward like a stone fired from a trebuchet. Arun too was heavy and laden with armor and gear, so he didn’t fly far, but it was far enough. He landed on his back fifteen feet out, smacking hard into the crusty red-hot surface of the lava pool. His weight made escape impossible, and he quickly started to sink below the surface of the molten lake.

That was obviously the dragon’s plan, for as it completed its turn, snapping out its tail behind it to hit the charging Hodge solidly in the chest, it surged forward and dove off the edge of the ledge back into the lava. Its bulk created a ripple wave in the lava that drove Arun even further away from them, but far too far from the nearest rock island to offer him a chance at escape.

 

[Solarious]

Muhahahaha!

Now we have Aurn in the perfect position. Next turn, grapple into the lava for 20d6 full-immersion damage, and then every single memeber of the group will have experienced death personally. Looking back and reading all the previous chapters starting from the beginning, I can see that you truly deserve the title of 'Cliffhanger King'. Only a few chapters that didn't involve something like it: you do need a few periods of peace in order to keep your favorite whipping party sane, after all. No fun torturing those who can't feel the anguish!

Now, back to the TPK, courtesy of Moltenwing. Bwahahaha!

I love the smilie too much. See!

 

[Krafus]

Ooh, looks like Arun will soon be literally toast... And goodbye, Mole.

I agree with Solarious - a TPK wouldn't surprise me at this point.

 

[Neverwinter Knight]

First Mole and now Arun? How can I wait for the next update tomorrow??? UPDATE!!!

 

[Polynike]

zenna gone
mole gone
dannel you brought back, bloody harpers
arun you CANNOT kill pls

anyone know of any good evil story hours..apart from blackridges dretch to...

LB you outdo yourself this is getting better, noe dnt spoil it by having some power intervene and ressurect zenna or mole eh!!!!!

 

[Lazybones]

Thanks for the positive posts, everyone! After a considerable lull (for a while, I thought I'd have to go back to 3/week posting), I've hit a burst of inspiration, and have pounded out 6+ pages every day for the last week or so. Now I'm well ahead again, and into some juicy stuff; after writing a lengthy, dramatic scene today I literally felt physically drained from the intensity of it. Of course, once work picks up again, writing time will have to be cut back (it always does!).

* * * * *


Chapter 384

“If that thing drags him under, he’s finished!” Benzan shouted, an arrow fitted but nothing to shoot at as the dragon sank beneath the lava just a few paces from where Arun was slowly sinking to his destruction. The paladin did not struggle, knowing it would only hasten his descent, and he held onto his sword yet, silent despite what had to be an agonizing pain as the lava cooked him alive within his armor.

“Dana!” the tiefling cried, as he turned to see his wife running toward the edge of the ledge. A pale silver glow spread out from her cloak around her body as she leapt out over the lava, but while wisps of flame surrounded her boots as she landed running upon the surface, she did not sink. Within moments she’d reached Arun, and reached down to grab his outstretched hand. He’d loosed his grip on his shield, which had sunk beneath the lava, but would not relinquish his sword.

But even as she grasped him, the dwarf was abruptly and suddenly dragged roughly back. Somehow Dana held on, the magic of her mooncloak holding her above the surface even as she was pulled down and dragged with him, flames started to flare about her clothes.

“Let go!” Arun cried, only his head and the hand holding her left visible above the surface of the magma. But Dana only focused her attention upon him, holding his eyes with hers as she drew upon the other power of her magical garment, a blessed bequest of the moonfire, channeling its power into him. The power of the cloak was a gift from the goddess, and meant for Her servant alone, but Dana reached out with her mind, offering a prayer on behalf of this righteous dwarf who had refused to surrender to the shadow.

Their companions could only watch as the two were drawn further from the entry ledge, across the lake of burning magma. Benzan turned to Cal, urging action, but the gnome could only shake his head; he had no spells that could help in this circumstance.

With Moltenwing’s jaws locked onto his legs, Arun was unable to break free. Suddenly the paladin was yanked beneath the surface of the lava. Benzan shouted Dana’s name, but even as she was drawn beneath the surface of the lava, the dragon’s weight overpowering the magic of her cloak, the priestess of Selûne maintained her grip on the gold dwarf. She could feel Arun struggling now to free himself from her grasp, but she held on just long enough to channel one more spell into him, sending pure healing magic through the tenuous link, feeling that glorious surge pass through her into him, even as the lava scorched and burned her skin, tearing through her clothes mercilessly.

Only when the spell was complete did she let go, bouncing quickly back to the surface, screaming as her cloak drew her back above the surface of the lava. She was on fire, now, her hair burning, her clothes in tatters, only the still-functioning magic of her mooncloak keeping her from sinking back into the enfolding grip of superheated death. But lying atop the lava was little better; within a few seconds the heat and flame would consume her.

Fortunately the dragon’s tugging had drawn her close to a rocky promontory. Dragging herself to her feet, she staggered to the relative shelter of the stone. Her legs gave out as she reached it, and she had to claw herself up onto the exposed rock, collapsing on her back as soon as she was clear.

I’m getting too old for this, she thought, fighting the pain that wanted to drag her down into the nice, pleasant realm of unconsciousness. Drawing painful breaths into her scorched lungs, she managed to croak out the syllables of a prayer, burning one of her few remaining higher-order spells into a cure critical wounds spell. Blackened, dead flesh sloughed off of her as the healing power flowed through her, revealing tender but healthy pink skin beneath. She could hear her friends shouting her name, and managed to wave her hand. Even with the healing, getting up just yet felt like a feat beyond her abilities.

But she struggled up nonetheless. Her limbs felt stiff and unsteady, and she didn’t need to look down to know that her magical boots were ruined. She scanned the lava field, feeling a sick twist as she failed to find what she’d hoped to see. There was no sign of the paladin; it looked as though her gambit had failed, her prayer gone unanswered. Even if it had worked, the dragon would not have released its prize willingly.

A brave man, she thought. Even in the short time she’d known the paladin, she’d been impressed by his determination and skill.

But the practical side of her knew that there was no time now for grief or reflection. The dragon would not stop until all of them were dead, and it was likely already repositioning itself for another vicious assault. She’d dropped her longspear when she’d rushed to Arun’s aid, but even with it she knew she was no match for the pyroclastic drake. The magic of her cloak that allowed her to water walk was still in force, but she was leery of returning across the lava. Another healing spell would return her nearly to full health, but she suspected that the dragon might be waiting for her to make the attempt. If only this place didn’t interfere with her ability to dimension door, it would have been a trivial matter to escape.

Isolated, surrounded by a sea of burning rock, Dana’s expression tightened into a look of hard determination, and she opened her mind to her goddess.

Unfortunately, even as she began her spell, a noise from the lava field behind her drew her attention around.

* * * * *

Author’s Note: Some time after I wrote this section, I realized that Dana’s tactic was technically in violation of the 3.5 rules. Turns out I got confused between spell-trigger and use-activation items, in this case of Dana’s moon cloak. Once I realized my error, I elected not to replace the scene, since later events were heavily dependent upon the resolution of this event. Instead I adjusted the text so that Dana’s efforts to use the powers of the cloak to help Arun were facilitated through an intervention to Selûne. In essence, I tried to treat it how I would treat a player’s desperate appeal in similar circumstances, if they tried to do something creative and heroic not directly allowed in the rules.

As to how it works out… well, you’ll have to tune in tomorrow. But Solarius's analysis is a pretty accurate description of the party's plight...

 

[Solarious]

First, its Solarious. People keep on missing the O. Please spell it right. Alright?

Now. It is time for another Disintegrate line!

I know this is really late, but what's going to happen to Mindbite? It's a reaaaal powerful weapon, probably the single most powerful and valuable in the entire place. Not to mention it's intelligent. More personalities to make life... interesting for our heroes.

 

[Neverwinter Knight]

Oh boy, that's definately not the kind of ending I had expected for Arun. Please bring him back and let him at least die a death worthy of a paladin like him!!!

Still hoping that things turn out alright, though...