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The Doomed Bastards: Reckoning (story complete)
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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 3500469" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>I know what you mean; I lost about a week's worth of productivity when I read Sagiro's SH start-to-finish a few months back. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> </p><p></p><p>* * * * * </p><p></p><p>Chapter 160</p><p></p><p>THE CHARGE OF THE DRAGON KNIGHT</p><p></p><p></p><p>Talen looked up into the eyes of the dragon, and saw his death. As its deadly cone of negative energy faded, he tore his eyes from that malevolent stare, and looked back at his allies. </p><p></p><p>The dragon’s breath attack had decimated his companions. Bullo was dead, and while Dar started forward again, sheer will driving him, even Talen could see that the man was balancing on a razor’s edge between life and death. One attack from the dragon, that’s all it would take. </p><p></p><p>But Dar kept coming, and Talen could do no less, bound in a weave of duty and honor. He felt something surge inside of him, and he let it explode out in a rallying cry that echoed through the cavern. The shout was more raw emotion than any specific command, but his companions heard it, and took heart. </p><p></p><p>Talen charged. The dragon, canny, waited for him to come within range, where it could rend him with claw and bite, wing and tail, the full tally of its deadly natural weapons. Talen knew was well as he knew his own name that he could not withstand the creature’s devastating full attack. At best, he would get one shot at it. </p><p></p><p>But Talen charged, and he was not alone. Shay appeared from his left, rushing across the cavern to join him, her legs almost a blur as her magical boots accelerated her across the floor. She caught her lover’s eye, and the two shared plans in that look with the silent acknowledgement of two who had lived and fought together for a long time. Instead of catching up to Talen, the scout veered to her left, adjusting her arc to come upon the dragon from its flank, timing it so that she would hit the dragon at the same time as the knight. </p><p></p><p>The dragon saw and recognized the maneuver, but it refused to shift its position, keeping a protective stance in front of its stunned mate. It had not forgotten Varo, but had dismissed the cleric as a lesser threat than the armored human with the holy blade. That turned out to be a mistake, as Varo delivered another touch spell, this time overcoming its spell resistance. The dragon’s powerful will allowed it to still shrug off much of the damaging energies of the spell, but the <em>inflict critical wounds</em> still hurt it, opening a long gash in its hide where the cleric’s fingers had pressed. </p><p></p><p>The dragon snapped its head around and down, catching Varo before he could withdraw or seek cover. Its head snapped down on his shoulder like a vise, and before the priest of Dagos could react, it set all four claws and yanked its upper body around. It launched Varo like a catapult stone toward Shaylara. The scout saw the cleric coming and leapt aside, changing her momentum subtly, just enough so that Varo flew past her. The cleric landed hard, bounced, and rolled to a stop a short distance away. </p><p></p><p>The attack slowed her just enough for Talen to get to the dragon before her. The dragon’s long neck extended, and it smashed down its head on the knight like a club, its jaws opening to seize him by the neck. Talen staggered from the force of the blow, but he jerked away from its bite before it could lock its jaws. <em>Beatus Incendia</em> flashed as he tried to sever the dragon’s head from its neck, but the beast was too fast, and he managed only a glancing hit that did little damage. </p><p></p><p>Dar and Shay followed the knight in, and attacked the dragon’s flanks. The colonel, seriously drained by its terrible breath attacks, could only manage a weak stroke that bounced harmlessly off its armored body. Shay fared only slightly better, her momentum allowing her to pierce its hide with her sword as she hewed at its thick hind leg. But even the keen elvish steel only managed to score the corded muscle beneath, drawing just a trickle of seeping black blood. </p><p></p><p><em>This is it</em>, Talen though, as the dragon reared up. </p><p></p><p>But a loud, piercing crash echoed through the cavern. Looking up, Talen could only just make out the gray outline of Varo’s <em>planar ally</em>, flying above near the ceiling. The outsider drew back from a large stalactite, which detached from the ceiling and plummeted down toward the battle below. Talen saw that the missile wasn’t heading for the big dragon, but for its still-stunned mate... and Shay, whose position put her dangerously close to both. </p><p></p><p>“Shay, look out!” </p><p></p><p>The dragon had glanced up as well, and as it saw the stone dagger plummet down toward its defenseless and heavily-injured mate, it aborted its attack. It surged back and sprang upward to meet the falling stalactite, driving into it with its shoulder. The impact, backed by the dragon’s considerable weight and strength, deflected the stalactite, which hit the ground a few paces from the female dragon, and shattered into a hundred pieces. Shay leapt back, narrowly avoiding getting hit by the male dragon’s tail, but several fist-sized pieces of rock battered her, and when she fell into a crouch a few paces distant, blood trickled down the side of her face where a jagged piece of stone had glanced off her temple.</p><p></p><p>Talen and Dar did not hesitate to take advantage, coming up on the dragon from behind. Again Dar did little more than distract it, but Talen’s second attack was slightly more effective, the holy sword cutting a gash two feet long in its back, its blood hissing as the weapon’s flames seared it. </p><p></p><p>The dragon turned in a fury, but its mate let out a shriek, drawing it back again. Varo was there, holding onto the dragon’s neck, drawing the energy of more of his higher-order magic to fuel yet another <em>inflict critical wounds</em>. The stunned female, weaker than the male, could not resist the magic, and it let out a keening wail as the cleric’s power scored it. </p><p></p><p>The male dragon descended on Varo in a violent fury, holding nothing back. It lunged forward, slamming both claws down on his shoulders. The twin blows slammed Varo down to the ground hard enough to crack the stone. Blood exploded from the cleric’s mouth as the air was crushed out of him. </p><p></p><p>The cleric’s companions hurried forward to intervene, but the dragon was not done. It spread its wings and buffeted Dar and Shay, striking both of them. Dar was hit in the forehead, and without his helmet, the blow was enough to knock him unconscious. Shay tried to leap under its reach, but the leading edge of the wing smashed into her back, hitting with enough force to snap a rib. The scout cried out and staggered forward. </p><p></p><p>Talen knew he had to do something. He raised his holy sword and uttered a prayer to the Father, leaping at the dragon’s back. It showed that it was all too aware of his presence as its whip-tail came around, aiming for the knight’s legs. Talen yelled and leapt, and despite his heavy armor and battered body, he somehow was able to clear it as it swiped below him, so fast that the air whistled as it passed. </p><p></p><p>He lifted <em>Beatus Incendia</em>, but before he could strike, the dragon’s head shot out at him, coming <em>under</em> its wing as it lifted from hitting Shay. Talen had avoided the tail through a miracle of luck and fate, but he could not avoid those jaws, which seemed to grow to encompass the world, an instant before they closed over his head with a snap of grim finality.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 3500469, member: 143"] I know what you mean; I lost about a week's worth of productivity when I read Sagiro's SH start-to-finish a few months back. ;) * * * * * Chapter 160 THE CHARGE OF THE DRAGON KNIGHT Talen looked up into the eyes of the dragon, and saw his death. As its deadly cone of negative energy faded, he tore his eyes from that malevolent stare, and looked back at his allies. The dragon’s breath attack had decimated his companions. Bullo was dead, and while Dar started forward again, sheer will driving him, even Talen could see that the man was balancing on a razor’s edge between life and death. One attack from the dragon, that’s all it would take. But Dar kept coming, and Talen could do no less, bound in a weave of duty and honor. He felt something surge inside of him, and he let it explode out in a rallying cry that echoed through the cavern. The shout was more raw emotion than any specific command, but his companions heard it, and took heart. Talen charged. The dragon, canny, waited for him to come within range, where it could rend him with claw and bite, wing and tail, the full tally of its deadly natural weapons. Talen knew was well as he knew his own name that he could not withstand the creature’s devastating full attack. At best, he would get one shot at it. But Talen charged, and he was not alone. Shay appeared from his left, rushing across the cavern to join him, her legs almost a blur as her magical boots accelerated her across the floor. She caught her lover’s eye, and the two shared plans in that look with the silent acknowledgement of two who had lived and fought together for a long time. Instead of catching up to Talen, the scout veered to her left, adjusting her arc to come upon the dragon from its flank, timing it so that she would hit the dragon at the same time as the knight. The dragon saw and recognized the maneuver, but it refused to shift its position, keeping a protective stance in front of its stunned mate. It had not forgotten Varo, but had dismissed the cleric as a lesser threat than the armored human with the holy blade. That turned out to be a mistake, as Varo delivered another touch spell, this time overcoming its spell resistance. The dragon’s powerful will allowed it to still shrug off much of the damaging energies of the spell, but the [i]inflict critical wounds[/i] still hurt it, opening a long gash in its hide where the cleric’s fingers had pressed. The dragon snapped its head around and down, catching Varo before he could withdraw or seek cover. Its head snapped down on his shoulder like a vise, and before the priest of Dagos could react, it set all four claws and yanked its upper body around. It launched Varo like a catapult stone toward Shaylara. The scout saw the cleric coming and leapt aside, changing her momentum subtly, just enough so that Varo flew past her. The cleric landed hard, bounced, and rolled to a stop a short distance away. The attack slowed her just enough for Talen to get to the dragon before her. The dragon’s long neck extended, and it smashed down its head on the knight like a club, its jaws opening to seize him by the neck. Talen staggered from the force of the blow, but he jerked away from its bite before it could lock its jaws. [I]Beatus Incendia[/i] flashed as he tried to sever the dragon’s head from its neck, but the beast was too fast, and he managed only a glancing hit that did little damage. Dar and Shay followed the knight in, and attacked the dragon’s flanks. The colonel, seriously drained by its terrible breath attacks, could only manage a weak stroke that bounced harmlessly off its armored body. Shay fared only slightly better, her momentum allowing her to pierce its hide with her sword as she hewed at its thick hind leg. But even the keen elvish steel only managed to score the corded muscle beneath, drawing just a trickle of seeping black blood. [i]This is it[/i], Talen though, as the dragon reared up. But a loud, piercing crash echoed through the cavern. Looking up, Talen could only just make out the gray outline of Varo’s [i]planar ally[/i], flying above near the ceiling. The outsider drew back from a large stalactite, which detached from the ceiling and plummeted down toward the battle below. Talen saw that the missile wasn’t heading for the big dragon, but for its still-stunned mate... and Shay, whose position put her dangerously close to both. “Shay, look out!” The dragon had glanced up as well, and as it saw the stone dagger plummet down toward its defenseless and heavily-injured mate, it aborted its attack. It surged back and sprang upward to meet the falling stalactite, driving into it with its shoulder. The impact, backed by the dragon’s considerable weight and strength, deflected the stalactite, which hit the ground a few paces from the female dragon, and shattered into a hundred pieces. Shay leapt back, narrowly avoiding getting hit by the male dragon’s tail, but several fist-sized pieces of rock battered her, and when she fell into a crouch a few paces distant, blood trickled down the side of her face where a jagged piece of stone had glanced off her temple. Talen and Dar did not hesitate to take advantage, coming up on the dragon from behind. Again Dar did little more than distract it, but Talen’s second attack was slightly more effective, the holy sword cutting a gash two feet long in its back, its blood hissing as the weapon’s flames seared it. The dragon turned in a fury, but its mate let out a shriek, drawing it back again. Varo was there, holding onto the dragon’s neck, drawing the energy of more of his higher-order magic to fuel yet another [i]inflict critical wounds[/i]. The stunned female, weaker than the male, could not resist the magic, and it let out a keening wail as the cleric’s power scored it. The male dragon descended on Varo in a violent fury, holding nothing back. It lunged forward, slamming both claws down on his shoulders. The twin blows slammed Varo down to the ground hard enough to crack the stone. Blood exploded from the cleric’s mouth as the air was crushed out of him. The cleric’s companions hurried forward to intervene, but the dragon was not done. It spread its wings and buffeted Dar and Shay, striking both of them. Dar was hit in the forehead, and without his helmet, the blow was enough to knock him unconscious. Shay tried to leap under its reach, but the leading edge of the wing smashed into her back, hitting with enough force to snap a rib. The scout cried out and staggered forward. Talen knew he had to do something. He raised his holy sword and uttered a prayer to the Father, leaping at the dragon’s back. It showed that it was all too aware of his presence as its whip-tail came around, aiming for the knight’s legs. Talen yelled and leapt, and despite his heavy armor and battered body, he somehow was able to clear it as it swiped below him, so fast that the air whistled as it passed. He lifted [i]Beatus Incendia[/i], but before he could strike, the dragon’s head shot out at him, coming [i]under[/i] its wing as it lifted from hitting Shay. Talen had avoided the tail through a miracle of luck and fate, but he could not avoid those jaws, which seemed to grow to encompass the world, an instant before they closed over his head with a snap of grim finality. [/QUOTE]
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