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Message: <blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 4236640" data-attributes="member: 198">“Maybe he’s right,” says Six, scraping uselessly at the ice caking the metal and wood of his form as painfully as his allies’ flesh.“No!” snaps Nameless, through frozen and cracked lips, “This is the only chance we’ll have! Luna, I need healing and protection! Everyone, keep attacking – don’t let him escape!” The alienist gestures and a lambent green beam leaps from his tentacle to strike the dragon, expanding instantly into a net of shimmering strands that cover its body.Xagygyrag throws back his head and roars with laughter. “Dimensional anchor? So be it!” It gestures and casts in turn, replicating Nameless’ spell with one which leaves the alienist similarly unable to use teleportation and other planar magic to escape.Korm and Luna, meanwhile, have been hurriedly casting healing spells and protection from cold on themselves and their allies, somewhat mitigating the wounds they have taken and those that the clinging frost is inflicting. Gareth, counting on them to protect him, shouts, “For the Silver Flame!” and unleashes a flurry of blows, chopping with the Endless Blade at the giant form before him. The dragon’s scaly hide, thickened by centuries of age and further protected by layers of magical enchantment, resists most of his assault, but Gareth has imbued himself with more magical might than ever, augmented by Nameless’ magic. A large scale, battered and bent by two previous blows, cracks and splits, and the Blade sinks into the flesh beneath.Immediately, gouts of dark blood sprays from the wound, splashing over Gareth’s metal hand and his armored arm. As the blood hits, it sizzles and small tendrils of smoke arise. Luckily, the spells woven around the paladin protect him and the acidic blood has no real effect. Ignoring it, Gareth shouts, “Six – get on the other side! We need some help here!”Swearing under his breath, Six dashes forward, actually passing not just between Gareth and Korm but between the tree-like legs of the dragon. Rolling adroitly underneath it, he glances at the apparently softer underbelly and strikes upwards. The spiked chain, further enchanted today by Nameless, hits – and then bounces off as if he had attempted to attack an adamantine wall. Sh*t! Not slackening his momentum, the warforged continues forward, spinning away form and past the rear leg which attempts to blindly step on him, and emerging at the dragon’s rear. “Nameless, Luna!” he calls back, “Get its protections off! I can’t hit it!”Korm, switching from spells to his sword, quickly discovers that he has the same problem. Even his meteoric blade clangs near uselessly against the dragon’s hide. With only Gareth seemingly able to hurt the dragon, it’s clear that the Angels are in very big trouble.And things quickly get worse. As Luna and Nameless strike their foe with more greater dispels, either the dragon’s great spellcasting ability or sheer bad luck renders them nearly ineffectual, the progressively more and more disgusted alienist seeing only a single aura flicker out with each casting. Xagygyrag remains largely protected from his foes, and with only one enemy evidently posing any kind of an immediate threat, he can focus purely on Gareth.The paladin is layered in magical enchantments too, garbed from head to foot in enchanted steel, and beneath them lies inhuman flesh, modified by Mordain’s ancient skills. But none of these can fully withstand the tempest of fangs and claws that descends upon him. Claws the size of his forearm smash against his form, staggering him and bruising bones even if they cannot penetrate his armor, and then giant fangs slam shut around him. Gareth struggles desperately, but there is no way he could have pulled free, only a freedom of movement provided earlier by Luna causing a disappointed Xagygyrag to lift his head without the paladin in his mouth. But the mere seconds of contact and enough to render Gareth, his ribs broken and an arm crushed, near-dead. He collapses to the ground, leaking blood from every opening in his armor. Xagygyrag grins in triumph and turns his snakelike head, ignoring the others and gazing behind him. Six, feeling the fading cold still leeching away his life, has just pulled out a healing wand when he meets the dragon’s gaze. The warforged tries to backpedal hurriedly, but he is too close and the gigantic wyrm is too large. Before he can retreat far enough, the huge tail lashes out. It catches Six right in the middle of his torso and he flies backwards like a discarded toy flung by a child, slamming into the tunnel wall. The warforged hits with a sickening thump and then clatters unmoving to the ground, his torso dented and bent.“Luna! You have to help Six! And Gareth!” shouts Nameless, casting another greater dispel and almost kicking himself in frustration as a single aura flickers out, leaving a number of protective abjurations still on the dragon.* “What do you think I’ve been doing?” snarls the druid, trying to decide what to do. She sees Korm reaching hurriedly for the paladin, but the dragon is turning back towards them. Deciding to create as much of a distraction as she can, Luna calls down an empowered flame strike on the dragon. This time, thanks to her assay resistance, the penetrates its resistance, and even more luckily, the spell Nameless had just dispelled was one that protected against fire. The column of fire hammers down on Xagygyrag’s back, and though it does not seriously incommode him, he hisses in pain. Eat that, assh*le! Luna follows up with a swift summoning and suddenly there is a unicorn standing over Six. Its intelligent equine eyes look around in surprise at the scene. Then, as Luna shouts, “Heal him! And keep doing so,” it lowers its head and touches its horn to Six’s side. Positive energy flows into him, and though his artificial form is less affected than his companions’ flesh would be, it is barely enough. The fading glow in his orbs springs back to life and he looks up confusedly for a moment, before leaping adroitly to his feet. Then he stumbles with weakness and backs away.Korm has seized the momentary distraction caused by Luna’s spell to channel a heal into Gareth and wipe away all his injuries, and as Xagygyrag turns his attention fully back to those before him, the paladin leaps forward and strikes again, Blade gleaming with argent light as he calls on the Silver Flame to aid his hand. Blood spurts from the dragon’s leg and he growls, though seemingly more in irritation than pain. “You are persistent! But I had hoped I had not killed you. At least not yet.” The dragon shuffles slightly sideways, raising a taloned forelimb negligently to block a strike and then turns the motion into a strange gesture. Dipping a talon in the blood running down his leg, he flings it at Gareth, while speaking a quick arcane word. The drops of blood gleam darkly and run together to form a liquid bolt. As it strikes the paladin, it seems to sink into him and disappear. Though there is no pain or wound, Gareth feels the cold touch of negative energy seeping into him, draining him. A pair of his few remaining spells fade from his weakened mind.As he stumbles at the unexpected attack, Xagygyrag growls, “And this time, stay down!” before again leaping on him. Newly healed flesh rips and tears under the assault and Gareth reels again, close to unconsciousness. Korm, reaching hurriedly for him with another spell, is driven back by a slashing claw that rips his arm open. But before the dragon can take Gareth to the ground, a large green tentacle slaps against his back, channeling another heal into him and restoring him, though the taint of the negative energy remains. The dragon growls at the tendriculos, too far away for him to reach with Korm and Gareth in the way. “I’ll deal with you later!” Then, as the rejuvenated Gareth slashes away at him again, he snarls, evidently more from frustration at the tiny creature continuing to bother him than because the small wounds the paladin inflicts seriously incommode him. Again Xagygyrag slashes into Gareth, only to be forestalled one more time by Korm healing the paladin.“Very well,” roars the dragon. “You die first!” Xagygyrag turns on the Gatekeeper instead, ripping and tearing. While his magical spells and items protect Korm almost as well as Gareth’s armor, they do not protect his vitals as well as the enchanted full-plate does, and the strange scythe-like metal claws the dragon wears almost disembowel him. The Gatekeeper collapses in a pool of gore, but as the dragon brings its claws down in a killing blow, a yellowish-green cocoon of force erupts into life around him, deflecting the blow. The dragon frowns down and then mutters, “So that was the contingency? Clever!”With Korm unconscious and Gareth alone facing the dragon, the partly healed Six on the opposing side causing so little a threat that he is essentially ignored,  Nameless decides that perhaps a retreat is in order. Or at least something to buy them a few moments to regroup. He gestures and casts, leveling one of his most powerful spells at the dragon. There is a faint flickering in the air as the gateway to an extraplanar maze opens up behind Xagygyrag, expanding swiftly around his gigantic form. And then, as it touches his scales, it fades away, foiled by his innate resistance to magic.** Nameless’ eyes bulge with frustration and Xagygyrag laughs cruelly at his expression. “Not good enough, mage!” Then he looks down and again flings more of his own enchanted blood at Gareth, further draining the paladin, before casually backhanding him into the passage wall. As he staggers, Luna desperately reaches out and channels another heal into Gareth, before calling, “That’s my last one! We need to get out!”Korm, the healing power of his cocoon having revived him too, looks out through it at the scene and adds his voice in support. “We need to get out, Nameless!” Six shouts too, “I can get out myself! Go!”Nameless nods and then casts a wall of force which blocks off the corridor, putting the dragon (and Six) on one side, and the Angels on the other. For precisely two seconds, before Xagygyrag laughs and disintegrates the wall. “You leave when I say so. And I prefer a wall here!” He gestures and another one appears, but this time behind Korm and Gareth, separating Luna and Nameless from the others.As it does so, a desperate Gareth once more leaps to the attack, praying for a miracle. And for a moment, some luck is on the Angels’ side. Just as the paladin moves in, Korm (now having emerged from the cocoon) brings down an empowered flame strike on the dragon. This one too penetrates his spell resistance and, as he winces and reflexively bends forward, Gareth strikes. Drained by his foe’s magic, the paladin has little left, but he can still call on some of the resources of the Silver Flame and he does so again, smiting the dragon with all his might. The Endless Blame coruscates with silver fire as it comes down, striking perfectly at the weak spot between two huge scales on the dragon’s chest. Draconic flesh parts and blood gushes forth, and Gareth’s eyes light up with hope in the second before his sword sinks hilt-deep in Xagygyrag’s chest.And then the hope dies, as the magical gem in the dragon’s chest flares and the sword stops as if it had hit a stone wall, rebounding to leave only a shallow wound***. Xagygyrag looks down and smiles broadly, the revealed fangs making his head look even more like a skull. “Still not good enough.” And then he casts a spell, healing the majority of the damage he has taken.When Nameless, already boiling over with anger and frustration at his personal lack of effectiveness in this battle, sees the dragon do this and then loom over Gareth and Korm, he can take no more. “Stop!” he shouts, “We will surrender and let you take him,” he points at Gareth, “And me, if you let the others go! We are the dragonmarked ones, not they!”Luna turns to stare down at him. “What are you doing?”“Saving Korm and Six, and maybe you,” hisses Nameless. “I don’t know if you can leave, and if you can’t, we’re all dead.”Xagygyrag has paused at the words and the others halt uncertainly too, waiting to see his response. Then the dragon smiles again and nods. “Agreed.” His long neck snakes upwards and he looks down at Gareth and Korm, nostrils flaring. “What say you? Don’t make me hold my breath!”Gareth looks up as the dragon inhales, ready to breathe, his mind awhirl as he attempts to think of other options. But there is nothing else he can think of than to follow Nameless’ lead. “Very well.” He drops heavily to a knee, sets the Endless Blade point-first against the ground and his head against the hilt, closes his eyes and begins to pray.Xagygyrag’s smile broadens and he glances at Nameless. “Do not attempt to leave!” Then he reaches down, picking up the still praying Gareth in his jaws and walks away, striding to the turn in the corner and around it.* Poor Rackhir had the most amazing run of bad rolling. He cast three targeted greater dispel s, which meant he rolled nearly thirty times, where he needed to roll a 13 or higher to succeed. He succeeded on something like five checks. And cracked a 10 a total of eight times.** More lousy rolling from Rackhir. Needed a 7 or higher and failed it.*** Moderate fortification for the win!</blockquote>

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