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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 3346856" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 105A NEW COMPANION“What in the hells is that?” Dar asked, reaching for the little creature.  The dragon hissed and retreated, crawling up to Allera’s neck, entwining itself in what was left of her hair, its tail twisting around her thoat. “Get off her, you little beast,” the fighter snarled, grabbing the hilt of his punching dagger with his other hand.  But Varo raised a hand in caution, and Talen restrained the fighter.  Dar shot a dark look at the captain, but did not break free. “I would recommend against precipitous action,” Varo suggested.  “Allera?  Are you all right?”The healer stirred.  A faint moan escaped her lips.  The dragon looked down at her, but did not loosen its grip.  “Allera?” Varo repeated, his voice insistent.  The healer’s eyes fluttered, then finally opened.  “Aaagh,” she managed to get out, her throat rasping.“What’s wrong with her?” Dar asked, still looking with suspicion at the tiny dragon. “She’s been dead,” Shay said, shooting a cold look at him. “Indeed,” Varo added.  “Give her a few moments.  Shay, some water, perhaps.”The scout was already unslinging her goatskin bag, and carefully lifted Allera’s head, trickling a few drops into her throat.  The dragon drew back enough to let her provide help, but it did not relinquish its position entirely.  The healer coughed, but then gratefully drank a more generous stream before leaning back.  Her breathing was easier, now, but her body still bore all the marks of ravage from her torment at the hands of the cult of Orcus.  The dragon let out a concerned croon, and drew its mouth to her lips, its tiny forked tongue whisking out to brush the cracked and blooded skin. Finally, Allera’s eyes opened.  They seemed vacant, at first, as they drifted from one to another of her friends, but they finally focused on Talen and Shay.  “You... you came.”“A bit late, but we’re here,” Talen said.  “Don’t try to talk... we’ll get you out of here.”“No,” she said, closing her eyes.  She tried to move, but was forced to give up as her face spasmed with pain.  She took a deep breath, and moved her lips in soundless speech.  A blue glow flickered around her, weak and hesitant, but it seemed to give her some added strength.  She stirred again, but it took Shay’s help to get her up to a sitting position.  As of yet, she had not appeared to notice the little dragon clinging to her. “The... cult?”“Dead,” Varo said.  “At least those that were conducting the ritual.”She nodded.  Malerase had crept forward unnoticed, until he was almost within arm’s reach of the dragon.  “What of the fae?” he whispered, almost inaudibly.  The dragon looked at him, blinking its tiny eyes.Allera lifted a hand to the dragon, and brushed the creature’s neck, careful not to foul its delicate wings.  The creature crooned again and rubbed its head against the tender, scarred flesh across her temples.  “He... saved me,” she said.  “The dragon,” Dar said, looking at it dubiously.  “Its essence was trapped within the gemstone,” Allera said.  “When the sphere tried to take my soul... somehow, he drew me inside with it, gave me sanctuary against destruction.”  The elf had reached out a hand, but shopped short of actually touching the creature.  He whispered something to it in a strange language, and to the surprise of everyone, the dragon responded in a faint, tinny voice. “You can communicate with it?” Talen asked. The creature turned and bleated something at Talen, and Allera smiled.  “He asks that you not refer to him as an ‘it’,” the healer said.  “His name is Snaggletooth.”“I did not know you spoke elvish,” Shay said to Allera, recognizing the language that the dragon had used, if not the meaning of the words. “I don’t... Somehow, I understand his speech, in my mind...”“Many of the fae are masters of telepathy,” Malerase said.  Dar had hung back, on the edge of the ring surrounding Allera.  Now, he stood.  “In case all of you are forgotten, we’re still in the middle of Rappan Athuk.  I don’t imagine the cult is going to be happy when they find out we’ve trashed another of their temples.  I don’t know about you, but I’d just as soon get out of this hellhole, sooner rather than later.”Talen nodded, but looked down at Allera.  “Can you walk?  We can build a litter for you, if necessary.”Allera shook her head.  “I... I can manage.  Just... just give me a few minutes.”Shay turned to Talen.  “That means get lost for a few minutes.  I’ll help her.”Talen looked down, and seemed to just then realize that Allera was lying there nearly naked, save for the cloak that she clutched to her battered body.  “Ah... yes, we’ll strike camp, and get ready to move out.” The men moved a short distance away to give the women some privacy, while Shay took out some extra clothes from her bag of holding.  “What about them?” Dar said, nodding to the corpses of Valus and Zosimos.  His jaw was clenched tightly, and he seemed to be avoiding looking in the directon of Shay and Allera. “They cannot be raised; their souls are well and truly gone,” Varo said.  “We should bring the bodies back for proper burial,” Talen said.  “Are you going to carry them?” Dar returned.  “Zosimos is just bones and skin, but Valus, he was a big man.  And don’t forget, we still have the river to go back over, and then dung monster again beyond that.  Unless that’s part of your plan for getting out?” he added, looking at Varo. The cleric shook his head.  “We should cremate the bodies.  We can bring the ashes back to their respective orders, but we should not leave corpses, unless we want to encounter them again in undeath in the future.”Talen shuddered slightly at the thought.  “Fine, we’ll burn them once we’re ready to go, so we can open the doors and let the smoke escape.”“Also, I would strongly recommend that both you and Dar take the heavy armor worn by Valus and the enemy high priest,” Varo said. “I don’t like full plate,” Dar said.  “Too constricting.” “He’s right,” Talen added.  “We’re going to need mobility, especially on the river...”Varo shook his head.  “I know that I am not a warrior, but I must respectfully disagree.  Speed has proven to be less vital than protection, here in Rappan Athuk.  As one of those who has had to patch you two fighters up after every battle, I would suggest that you consider how frequently both of you are brought to the edge of death, and what that means, within the boundaries of Rappan Athuk. Even if we move beyond the grasp of the Sphere, and am able to draw you back across the veil, Dar, at least, will understand how serious a matter that is.  One drawn back from death never comes back with the same strength as before.”Talen looked guiltily at Allera.  Dar looked thoughtful, but did not reply. “In any case, both suits are heavily enchanted, and of masterwork quality.  I suspect that you will find them less constraining than you think.”Dar fixed Varo with a heavy stare.  “You haven’t addressed how we’re going to run past the dung monster, loaded up with heavy gear.  You don’t intend for us to return that way at all, do you?”“I had an alternative in mind, yes.”Dar stabbed a finger into the cleric’s chest.  “I thought I’d made it clear... no more bull.  You’re going to come clean with us; no more secret plans or hidden agendas.”Varo withstood the fighter’s verbal attack with equanimity.  “I had no obfuscation in mind, Dar; I was merely waiting until everyone was ready before I made my suggestion.  In brief, it is this; that we bypass the upper level, instead taking the river to the wererat cave, then down to the second level of the dungeon.  From there, we have an easy route to an alternative exit.”Dar nodded.  “The fungus cavern.  But that place was dangerous; Tiros almost got killed there.”Varo nodded as well.  “True.  But at that time, we did not have him,” he said, pointing to Malerase, who looked up as three heads turned toward him in unison, a slightly confused look on his face.</blockquote>

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