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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 2195962" data-attributes="member: 2323">[PLAIN][Realms #310] Vade's Fire Walk[/PLAIN]Karak had opted to stay behind. Vade could easily picture the dwarf sighing as he planted his axe between his feet and looked at them intently. The halfling was expecting another of Karak's speeches about fighting chaos and the value of striking often and hard, but he was unprepared for what the dwarf had really intended."Alas, lads, I have something to tell you that you may not expect from me," Karak had said, pausing as if he was uncertain of his words. "I have decided I will nae be going with you on this small adventure." There had been gasps of surprise and a few half-voiced protests at his revelation, but Karak silenced them with a stern shake of his head."To a dwarf, to enter a grove seeking answers without axe and armour be very unnatural.  I do still seek the trials of this world 'ere with my axe and companions by myside," he explained. "I do admit that if'n it be a cave hidden with mystery and monsters, I will nae turn it aside, but this portal and grove feel very unnatural to me.""I have made peace with my chalak's death and my Goddess. I know who I am to be now. I do nae want to rush it or skip ahead on my life's path," he went on. "I will wait for ye that be for certain. But I wait to fight chaos another day without the gains I hope you will find. It is decided, it is to be just me and my wits, my Goddess, and my axe, without the aid of the Grove, then that be what it is. To all of you good luck and see you on the other side."At the time, Vade had been surprised, but now, standing in what he could only describe as hell, he wondered if Karak hadn't had the right of it, after all.Feln had been the first to step through - well, charge through, really. "Back into the belly of the beast, it seems," he'd chuckled to the others. "If you don't mind I would like to step through first. I am compelled to start this challenge."And so he had, carrying nothing save the meager clothes on his back and his freshly-crafted quarterstaff. Vade followed on his heels, sparing one last jab at Karak. "Don't take my stuff, dwarf!" he laughed and darted through the dolmen before Karak could do more than look cross. There was no transition. One moment he was charging beneath the dolmen and the next he'd left the cool damp of a sylvan morning for the nigh unbearable heat of a volcanic cavern,The place was vast with a ceiling whose height could only be guessed at; it was well beyond the range of his vision. Thin black smoke was everywhere, making the chamber seem murky despite the hellish glow provided by a lake of lava dominating the center of the chamber and bisecting it from end to end. There was no bridge, but a series of small islands meandered across the burning rock like stepping stones.It seemed like a relatively easy jump to go from stone-to-stone; Vade had jumped further. But it would be made difficult by the obscene heat and the way the heat made the very air seem to warp distance. A misstep here would spell his quick and utter destruction.Vade turned back to see if the others were following him and saw that, while the portal was there, it looked out onto a forest at night. There was no sign of the others.Cautiously, he crept toward the lake of fire, favoring the concealing shadows of the numerous stalagmites that sprouted like a forest of stone on the near side. As he approached, his eyes could just pick out the existence of another dolmen on the opposite side, about sixty feet away. Being separated from him by an expanse of glowing lava made the distance seem much greater.He was deciding whether or not to attempt the jump when lake of lava was rent from below and a creature of nightmarish legend rose from the fiery depths. It was a dragon of incredible size. Its head was easily the size of a wagon and surmounted by great backswept horns that were each taller than a man. The scales plating its muscular neck shown brightly in the dull red glow of the lava flow as it drove the fearsome head up and up until it towered a hundred feet or more above the hapless martial artist. Vast membranous wings, each rivaling a galleon's mainsail in size, spread out behind it, momentarily obscuring Vade's view of the second dolmen.Helplessly, he felt his gaze drawn upward to the nightmarish jaws above. Looking into its mouth was like looking into the stoked heart of a forge; fire dripped from its glowing, yellow eyes. And when it roared, filling the cavern with thunder and causing stones to fall from the ceiling, Vade felt the dragonfear wash over him. Despite the unimaginable heat, the halfling's guts turned to ice and only the slimmest of margins kept him from running from the dragon in abject panic.Vade knew he stood no chance against a dragon and instantly regretted his decision to leave the Ring of Invisibility behind. He was relatively confident that he could jump across the stones without too much risk of being burned beyond all recognition. At least under normal circumstances. Being attacked by a dragon was pretty far from normal circumstances; they were supposed to be extinct after all. So Vade swallowed back as much of his fear as he could and did the only thing that he felt he could."Hello, Mr. Red Dragon," he said, his voice quavering slightly as he spke. "My, you sure are big and powerful." The dragon roared again in response and breathed a cone of fire up into the air above, momentarily lighting up the cavern as if it were noon. That did nothing to ease Vade's mind, but he persisted."I bet you can fly really high," he stammered and then his brain caught up with his mouth and he formulated a plan. "But maybe not as high as I have seen other things fly. Why once I saw a griffin fly straight up so that he was only a tiny little spot in the sky and, boy, he was big. I do not think a dragon could go that high, but I bet you could go close."The dragon spread its wings again and fanned them once, generating enough wind to send Vade tumbling backward against a stalagmite. Clouds of obscuring grit filled the air and the halfling found himself coughing as he spoke next."Wow! I bet I could write a song about you!" he choked as he got back to his feet. "Everyone would love to hear about the power and glory of being a dragon!" The great creature narrowed its glowing yellow eyes, regarding Vade as a man might look at an ant. Not entirely a good thing, but at least the dragon hadn't raised its foot to squash him flat yet, so he had that going for him."I bet you would like gold. I know where there is lots of treasure," the halfling said, trying to change tacks quickly before the dragon started thinking that extra crispy halfling was on the menu. "Man, it was more than I have ever seen... knee deep in coins... even for your knees, Mr, Drago-""SILENCE!!" the dragon bellowed, tongues of flame licking from its mouth as it spoke. Both ends of Vade's alimentary canal clamped tightly shut at the command. It angled its great head toward the second dolmen, just barely visible across the cavern. "You must pass," it said simply."Oh, how nice of you to let me pass," Vade said, regaining his composure quickly. He indicated the series of islands that meandered across the lava flow, adding, "I will just be on my way across the stones."He stepped up to the edge of the volcanic pool. Standing there and staring into the wavering orange haze was like standing too close to a campfire. His skin protested, feeling taught and papery, his eyes burned as the moisture was drawn off them, the smell of burning rock filled his nostrils. Gulping loudly, he backed up a dozen paces, got a running start, and leapt.His foot slipped on the last step and he flailed in the air, realizing with horror that he wasn't going to make it. He lurched for the island of stone and landed hard on his belly. For an instant he thought that he had made it after all, but then the pain slammed into his like Grumblebutt's club and he screamed as the flesh burned on his left foot and leg.Reflexively, he went to scrape the cooling rock from his tortured limb, burning his hands in the process. The stench of his own cooking flesh came to his horribly as he worked, shrieking in pain all the while. When he was done, his fingers were raw and blistered and the skin hung in ragged strips from his leg and foot, exposing the meat beneath.He looked back. One jump to retreat and four to press on.Vade laid down for a few minutes to collect himself. “You are probably loving this, Mr. Dragon. Why don’t you just fly me across?” Smoke bellowed out of the creatures nostrils. It was hard to tell if he was angry or laughing at Vade. The hobbit felt immense pain from his burns and hoped it would not affect his jumping. He was concerned that he could not make the jump back with such severe injuries... but, on the other hand, if he could not make one how could he possibly make four?“Well, Papa always said can't get the gold ring if you never reach for it," he said aloud, belatedly adding, "or the ruby necklace or diamond earrings or full purses for that matter. I would much rather die striving for greatness than from fearing failure.” Vade sat contemplating his decision and pulled a small piece of fruit from his pocket. He ate it and watched the dragon. The dragon appeared to be growing impatient as it loomed overhead. Which, the halfling mused, was not unlike his companions' attitudes when confronted with some of his actions and comments. “I wonder why I have that affect on people?” he wondered absently.He finished his apple and disposed of the core in the lava out of curiosity. It quickly disappeared into the molten rock with a flash of smoke and flame. “Ooooh...” Vade moaned with fear. Then he collected himself, took out is lock pick and scratched his name on the stone he was standing on adding the initials 'VQS' beneath. Perhaps he'd just marked his grave, he thought morbidly."Might as well give it a shot," he said as he got painfully to his feet. The Halfling stood at the back of the stone, took a preparatory breath, then trotted forward and leapt into the air with all of his might.As he left the ground his impish smile disappeared.He knew he would have had trouble making the jump had he not been injured. But as it was he had little feeling and apparently little strength left in his body to make the distance. He covered his face as he headed towards the lava in those final seconds wishing his friends more success than he had. “I should never have taken this test,” Vade had time to think. “Halflings aren’t much for jumping… well, except for Trey. He really was quite fast."He would have thought longer about that topic but then the halfling disappeared with an unwholesome sizzling sound into the lava, several feet short of solid ground.</blockquote>

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