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Message: <blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 4180205" data-attributes="member: 198">There is no wall at the bottom, but there is one midway up the tunnel, and an unusual one at that. A hundred feet or so below the surface, Nameless’ eyes widen as his arcane sight suddenly picks up an aura of abjuration extending all the way across the shaft. A wall of Dispel Magic! Unfortunately, with the magical mounts at full gallop and descending, which increases their speed to unbelievable levels, there’s no time to pull up. Not that the Angels could do so safely, as the first wyvern appears at the mouth of the shaft above and drops after them.Luckily, as the Angels flash through the wall, there are no adverse effects. They have few spells in effect and none are dispelled, and, more importantly, neither are their mounts. “We just went through a wall of dispel magic,” Nameless quickly explains to the others. There’s no time for discussion, however, as the shaft ends five hundred feet below the surface in a giant circular chamber. Dozens of gigantic tunnels, each at least twenty feet across and completely smooth, lead away from it at different angles, twisting and turning as they plunge deep into the earth. The chamber is completely empty except for the perfectly preserved head of a huge black dragon, which sticks out of a wall. Nameless detects multiple auras on it, the results of which manifest as soon as the Angels enter. The lips seem to move and a strongly resonant, clearly draconic voice says, “Who disturbs the sanctity of Khesavuthir and the rest of Xagygyrag*? Flee! Flee now – or die!” Even before the magic mouth finishes speaking, Nameless swoops towards the nearest tunnel. “In here!” The Angels fly in and around the first turn, before leaping from their mounts, weapons and spells at the ready for the wyverns to follow.Unable to see around the corner, they hear the flap of wings and the whooshing sound of giant bodies descending, followed by the clatter of huge claws on stone. Then there is only heavy breathing and muffled growls for a couple of seconds, before a thick voice speaks in draconic. “Shall we go after them?”“No,” replies a similar voice. “We should have caught them before they entered. Xagygyrag will punish us if he finds us, for our failure and for trespassing. Leave them to him. He will slay them all.”A third voice adds in, “I agree.”There is silence for a second and then the sound of heavy, leathery wings flapping. The Angels wait for a couple of seconds and then Luna cautiously pokes her head around the corner. “They are gone. Who’s Zagy… Xagygy… whoever?”“Probably the owner or guardian of this place,” says Korm. “And apparently the wyverns are scared of him, and think he can kill us all. Sounds like a fun guy.”“I wonder if this belongs to him,” says Six, from further down the tunnel. The others turn to see what the warforged is holding up. At first it seems to be a flat, dull black plate of some kind, about the size of a heavy shield. And then they realize that it is a single scale, presumably from a dragon.There is silence for a moment, and then the Endless Blade says simply, “Motherf*cker!”Luna says, “What he said. Why are we here again?”Nameless sighs. “We already covered that. Let’s not start all over again.” “Agreed, but what about that,” says Korm, pointing at the scale. “If that came off a dragon that’s currently here, it’s big. Really big. And not likely to be friendly.”“I don’t think we should assume that,” says Gareth. “Maybe we can explain to it why we’re here. After all, it shouldn’t want Xoriat to be here either.”“Remember, that dragon Bruntu-whatever didn’t care much about Xoriat,” reminds Six. “But if you’re sure you want to go on today, let’s do so. Are you sure?”After a quick discussion by the others, consisting mostly of Nameless and Gareth wanting to go on, Luna wanting to get some rest and regain spells, and Korm being fairly neutral, the Angels decide to go on. Six takes point, blending into the shadowy walls of the tunnel. The tunnel coils and curves deeper into the stone, angling slowly downwards into the earth. As the Angels move along it, they encounter more tunnels, nearly all of equivalent size, heading in myriad different directions. Anyone else would be lost here, but Six, Luna and Korm’s unusually keen senses make them fairly certain that they can find their way back. Just to be on the safe side, however, they begin to mark the walls as they pass with chalk, and then with the light stones taken from the Seed in the Mournland, leaving a glowing trail behind them.The tunnel opens up at intervals into huge chambers. The first two are empty, but not the third. The first thing the Angels notice is the golden gleam at its center, the source of which is a neatly spherical space, a few inches below the level of the floor, apparently full of gold coins. The walls of the room have large ledges which run all around it, each bearing dozens of gigantic stone slabs, each at least a dozen feet tall and perhaps half as wide. Large draconic writing covers the surface of each.The adventurers enter the chamber cautiously and begin to examine it, focusing on their individual interests. Gareth and Luna make a bee-line for the gold, and discover that it fills a shallow bowl-like indentation which stretches across the floor of the chamber. The paladin asks for the portable hole and quickly begins scooping the gold into it. Nameless, studying the slabs, comments dryly, “You realize that stealing its treasure will make negotiation with this place’s owners a little difficult, don’t you?”Gareth pauses, ankle deep in gold coins, and says, “Well – we came here to recover what we can find, didn’t we?”“Mainly lore about the seals, if I remember correctly,” chuckles Korm, “But don’t let that stop you. Oh, you missed a couple thousand there, you greedy so-and-so.”Gareth just scowls, but goes back to shoveling coins into the hole with Luna’s help. When he catches the druid’s eye, she says, “You idiots made me come here though I think it’s stupid. If we get out, at least we’re going to take some money with us.”Behind them, Six turns away from one of the slabs and says, “I can’t read them, Nameless. Are they draconic?”“Yes,” replies the alienist. “And references to the Prophecy, I’m quite certain. This one reads like a list of marks that have been seen in various places. Including, as far as I can make out, Khorvaire. So either someone has traveled here from Khorvaire or is able to study it from this location.”“Scrying?”“Maybe. I wish we could make a list of all of these notes, but it’ll take too long,” he gestures around the chamber at the thirty plus stone slabs. From across the chamber, Korm says, “Looks like it’s not all about the Prophecy. This one’s all about names and … um, sacrifices. Looks like a list of people or creatures that made some sacrifice to gain knowledge, since they all say, ‘I, whatever the name is, sacrifice here something in exchange for knowledge of the something’. And ….” He pauses and then says, “Well, looks like someone was right. Vvaraak was here.”Gareth, having cleared the depression of coins, steps over and stares at the slab. Unable to read the language any more than Six can, the paladin says, “What does it say about Vvaraak? And, by the way, there must have been over ten thousand coins in that pile.”“Good. And it says ‘I, Vvaraakinsiyark, sacrifice here a … I’m not sure how to phrase it, but it’s a draconic term equating to ‘holy avenger’ … in exchange for knowledge of the blood.”“Knowledge of the blood?” asks Nameless.“Holy avenger?” asks Gareth, his eyes lighting up. An instant later, a voice growls from his right hand, where he has re-summoned the Endless Blade as a convenient dagger after having collected the coins, “If you even think about trading up for another sword, I will stab you in the face!”Korm chuckles. “Sword’s got a point. And anyway, apparently she sacrificed it. If this is Vvaraak, which – though I’ve never heard this full form – it is, or was. There are no dates, unfortunately, so that I can be sure. But if Vvaraak was here and obtained this knowledge of the blood, whatever it…”As now seems to always be the case in times of trouble, Six interrupts. While listening to Korm, the warforged has been looking at other parts of the chamber, including the one tunnel leading away from it, on the opposite side to the one they entered through. This one leads in a straight line beyond the reach of his darkvision and the Angel’s lights. And now, as he looks down it, something stirs in the shadows that he cannot see into. There is no sound and barely any hint of movement, but Six is suddenly very, very certain that he is being watched.“Guys!”As the others turn to look towards and past him, Nameless’ arcane sight reveals two faint magical auras in the darkness. Their source is revealed a moment later, as an incredibly deep and clearly draconic voice rumbles, “Who are you that dare trespass in Khesavuthir, the domain of Xagygyrag?” The voice is followed immediately by the speaker’s appearance, as a serpentine neck over a dozen feet long extends out of the darkness. Atop it is the skull-like head of a gargantuan black dragon, with its segmented horns and protruding teeth. “Go on, Gareth!” hisses Nameless, and the paladin quickly steps forward. He bows and says, “Great dragon, we mean you no harm. We have come here in search of lore to stop the invasion of Khorvaire by the hordes of Xoriat. If we may explain…”The dragon Xagygyrag shows no signs of comprehension as it gazes first at Gareth and then past him at the others. Then the deep-socketed eyes narrow slightly. “Fools and thieves!” he rumbles, “Now you shall die.” It surges forward.Though he doesn’t understand the language, the intent is clear, and Six responds instantly, using his embedded wand to haste the others. Less than a second behind him, Nameless casts a swift shield and then another protective spell to blink in and out of existence. Gareth casts a spell that will allow him to do more damage to larger enemies, even as the Endless Blade – swearing vituperatively – lengthens into a falchion. Though Gareth stands almost within the tunnel which he is emerging from, Xagygyrag ignores him, literally stepping over the paladin and into the chamber. Seizing his opportunity Gareth strikes, but though the Blade connects it is like striking a stone wall, leaving only a tiny nick in the dragon’s side. The dragon ignores the blow completely, pulling in a deep breath. There is the sizzle of acid and then it breathes, but not in the line that most dragons of his ilk do. Instead, he whips his neck violently and releases a giant stream of acid, spraying it all around the chamber. Cries of pain ring out around the chamber as each of the Angels is badly burned by the liquid, even Six’s agility being of no avail against the spray.** Only Nameless, partly protected by blinking away from some of the blast, is comparatively less hurt, but he realizes immediately that this foe is beyond them – especially in their current condition.The two druids react immediately with the same tactics, first using an assay resistance and then bringing down an empowered flame strike on the dragon. Even with the first spell aiding her efforts, Luna’s column of flame simply winks out against the dragon’s magical resistance, but Korm’s successfully scorches his hide, drawing an angry growl.Nameless quickly calls forth a pair of huge earth elementals to aid the Angels, and they hammer into the dragon. To the alienist’s horror, their attacks have absolutely no effect, simply bouncing off its hide. “We’re in trouble!” he shouts. “I don’t think we can beat this thing!”“You think?!” shouts back Six, wondering what to do next, not wanting to close to melee with the creature but knowing he can do little to it from a distance.As he hesitates, Gareth takes a desperate gamble. Already quite certain that the dragon does not understand the common tongue of Khorvaire, he decides to risk everything on the presence of the dragonmarks, which he knows at least some of the dragons are very interested in. The paladin unsummons the Endless Blade and waves both hands above his head, to show that they are empty, and then rips off his helmet, tilting his head to one side to more clearly show the Mark of Siberys which extends up the side of his neck. “Don’t attack!” he yells to his companions, “Maybe I can get him to stop!”Xagygyrag’s head snaps down towards the defenseless target and then stops suddenly, mere feet from Gareth’s head. The dragon cocks his head, ignoring the still attacking elementals and the other Angels as if they were inconsequential, and then its thin lips part in a smile which bares every fang. A trickle of acidic drool drips off the lower jaw, barely missing Gareth, and its forked tongue emerges to lick its lips. “Excellent!” he says finally, “You will make a fine sacrifice!” And then he speaks a few arcane syllables and disappears. The Angels look around, uncertain that he is gone, and then Korm says, “That’s got to be the most amazing negotiation I ever saw!”*** Gareth, looking slightly dazed at his own success, looks around. “What did he say?”“Oh, he thinks you will make a fine sacrifice.”“Can I just say,” growls Luna, “We should get the f*ck out of here? Now!”“Good idea,” says Six. “Nameless, can you teleport us out?”“I’m not sure. We were told that teleportation around this area was very unreliable. Then again, the dragon just dimension doored away. So maybe it’s safe. But should we risk it?”Six replies thoughtfully, “Let me try something. But can you put up a telepathic bond first?” Once Nameless does, the warforged concentrates and the shadows which had sprung up from the harness to surround him during the battle roil and expand, surrounding him completely. And then they disappear, along with him. But he doesn’t reappear.After a couple of seconds, the others transmit over the link, “Umm, Six – you okay?”“I’m fine,” comes the reply, “But I’m in another room like this one, with lots of slabs. Can you locate me?”“We’ll try. Perhaps using a teleportation spell of my own will transfer us there? Let us try it.”The remaining four adventurers ready themselves and then Nameless casts a dimension door of his own. Luna and he both appear where he was attempting to, on the other side of the same chamber, without any ill effects. Korm disappears, but then is shunted violently out of the floor, having apparently reappeared some ten feet below them, his skin mildly ripped in the process. Gareth does not reappear.Instead, he appears right next to Six. As the warforged just described, this room is much like the other, with many stone slabs covered in draconic writings along the walls. There is also a similar depression in the floor, but this one is empty. After a little discussion via the link, the Angels decide that they need to physically attempt to meet up with each other, Nameless using a locate creature spell to discover that the others are at least within a thousand feet. Both groups slowly move through the tunnels, fearing that Xagygyrag will make a reappearance. Luckily, he does not, and a few minutes later, they are reunited. They hastily head for the exit and, substantially aided by the light stones, eventually return to the first chamber. Luna breathes a sigh of relief. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”“Let’s be careful,” reminds Six. “Those wyverns might be at the top.”“Wyverns?” snorts Luna. “Wyverns I can handle. Giant dragons I could do without. Let’s go see those wyverns!”* * *Shortly afterwards, having reduced three huge, malformed, fire-breathing – and, most of all, really unfortunate – wyverns to scorched, electrified, and savagely hacked corpses, the Angels are in a rope trick a couple of miles from the entrance to Khesavuthir, discussing what to do the next day. The discussion splits the adventurers clearly into two groups. Gareth and Nameless wish to prepare themselves and head back into Khesavuthir, ready to encounter and defeat Xagygyrag. Luna and Six are just as adamant that this is a bad idea and they should leave. Korm is open to both options, perhaps leaning towards the first pair’s opinion.“Yes,” says Six, “We’ve got some good plans, but this is my preference – Go back to Io’lokar and talk to everybody. See if anyone wants to travel with us to Khorvaire. Return and meet the heads of state, telling them everything that we are not sworn to secrecy over. See if they want to send anyone to Io’lokar. Go back to the city and wait until called by the Chamber or the Khorvaire Council. By that I mean the newly formed Khorvaire Council, if they know what’s good for them. From all of this, somebody is going to say something that will make our path clear.”Gareth shakes his head firmly. “That would be a waste of time. We are here and we know that Vvaraak was here. And we may never be able to find this place again if we leave. We need to do this now!”Luna responds vehemently, “We do NOT need to do this – at all! Did you see the size of that bloody thing and the kind of damage it did with one breath? I don’t think we can beat it.”Korm chuckles. “I can’t remember the last time I saw you worried about a fight. Where’s the supremely confident, bloodthirsty Luna we know and love?”“Listen, you!” Luna growls, “I just don’t like to waste time talking when it’s clear we’re going into a fight anyway. But I don’t go looking for fights we absolutely don’t need to get involved in. Like this one!”“I disagree,” says Nameless. “And I agree with Gareth, rare as that may be. We may not have as good an opportunity as this one. And while victory is never certain, a good plan should significantly improve our chances. Now here’s what I think we should prepare…”Luna throws up her hands in disgust. “Fine, fine – we’ll do it! And when you idiots are dead and dragon chow, I’ll be saying ‘I told you so!’”Unfortunately, Luna really is turning out to be a very good fortune-teller. * Read that name backwards. No, I have no shame. ** 88 pts of damage to all PCs (except Nameless, who took less) instantly. Maximized Breath Weapon rocks!*** Gareth had a swashbuckling card which allows a Diplomacy check in combat as a standard action without the -10 penalty. He rolled godawfully well on Diplomacy and Xagygyrag has substantial interest in dragonmarks, so I figured he earned the party a break. Without that card, with the circumstances the PCs met the dragon under and the fact that they’d gone in there after using much of their resources, it would have been a TPK.</blockquote>

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