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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wraithdrit" data-source="post: 939708" data-attributes="member: 10820">Session 9 - Log 3The AerieHarvestide, 1372The small group once again ascended high up into the mountain. The steps once again stopped in a small landing, a doorway opening to a long hallway ahead of them. Durgaden noted, “I feel the air moving and a chill. We are near an opening of some sort.”The group moved cautiously in, Tanerus in the lead as usual. The halfling stopped at side doorway, glancing into a small chamber. “Lots of old tackle here.” Ancient large saddles, bridles, bits, and harnesses lined the walls. The leather was old and cracked, not having been taken care of in a couple hundred years. All the metal parts were rusting away and the group quickly decided to move on.The hallway ended abruptly in another open doorway, but this one was mostly blocked. The door stood wide open, but a massive stone slab had been leaned against the door from the other side. There was enough space around the edges that air flowed through, but not even Tanerus could squeeze through. He checked quickly to make sure the slab was not rigged then moved out of the way.Durgaden and Mytrym stepped up and threw their shoulders against the slab. Their boots scraped along the stone, trying to find purchase. Finally the slab shifted and fell forward with a massive thud. A blast of cold air blew past the group as they stood looking in awe at the massive cavern in front of them. To the left side water flowed down into a basin and then flowed back out down a drain. To the right and ahead the cavern opened up.Cautiously the group began moving forward, fanning out to see what they could find. Tanerus shifted to the right and stopped. Snow spilled out of the massive side cavern. The place was huge, and the even the side cavern could only barely be seen into with the light sources the group was using. Tanerus leaned down and looked at the snow. “What’s snow doing inside?” he muttered softly to himself. His question was never answered. In the middle of the cavern between Durgaden and Mytrym fog started billowing into existence. The fog grew unnaturally fast, filling most of the massive chamber. Durgaden growled, “I can’t see a thing!”Mytrym had put his sword away in favor of his bow in the large cavern. He raised it and scanned the fog around him for assailants. He could not sense any evil nearby, but he had a bad feeling about this whole thing. “This was the griffon cavern back when I came through. We landed down ahead of us.” He quietly called upon the divinity of his lady Eilistraee. He felt her favor wash over him, strengthening his muscles. Tanerus backed up, away from the snowy section of cavern. He cocked his head to one side, listening. Will was casting something. But beyond that there was something else, something he could not quite discern.Amador shifted to one side. “I don’t like this… I don’t like this at all.”Will’s spell finished and the fog began to recede as quickly as it formed. Then they all heard it, massive quick steps, the crunching of snow, into the light from the snowy section of the cavern charged a massive dragon.The thing screamed out its anger at the intrusion, and halfway through the scream the pitch shifted and with the sound came blowing ice and snow as the dragon breathed its deadly breath weapon in a huge cone that covered Tanerus, Durgaden, Mytrym and Amador.Tanerus threw himself to one side, barely managing to escape the blast completely. Durgaden, Mytrym and Amador shielded themselves as best they could. Amador reacted first. Before the blast of cold was even ended he raised his hands and called upon the might of his deity. A huge column of flame erupted around the dragon, bathing it in fire. The creature cried out in pain, its head whipping side to side.Mytrm raised his bow, muttering another prayer to Eilistraee. The arrow glowed with the power of his goddess and he released. The arrow slammed into the beast’s breast, penetrating deeply. Will could not see the beast yet, but he knew well enough what was happening. He opened the Book of Eternal Flame and flipped to a marked page. He began reciting the incantation for a fireball, reading the extra words from the pages of the book, strengthening the spell. It cost him time though. Normally the spell would already have been released to streak toward its target. Will held it back though, using the books knowledge to grow the spell stronger.Durgaden lowered his head and charged forward. He swung his axe in a wide arc and slammed it into one of the beast’s legs. But the blade did not bite. It bounced harmlessly off the outer scales of the dragon’s thick hide.Tanerus lifted the hood of his cloak and slipped into hiding. He moved slowly towards the dragon’s flank, examining its side, hoping he could find a weak spot in the hide.The dragon recovered from the flame strike and was not about to be out maneuvered. It reared up and lashed out at both Durgaden and Tanerus. Apparently it could see right through the halfling’s enchanted cloak. The dragon was unnaturally fast, striking out with claws, a bite, its wings and its tail. Durgaden and Tanerus were both battered, but both held their ground for now. Amador called upon the power of Corellian again, this time he ripped open a blast of holy energy across the beast. Again it roared in pain and surprise. Mytrym threw his bow to the side and charged forward, pulling forth his sword. Tanerus weathered the mighty blows of the dragon and lashed out with his short sword. He found a small hole in the scales and drove the sword deep into the beast’s side. Durgaden could not find a good spot for his axe to bite though; again and again it bounced off the dragon’s thick scales. Then fire exploded above them all, enveloping the dragon’s head in bright flames. The dragon reared back in shock and anger. Its head was blackened, its bluish white scales marred by the intense fire. A few of the horns atop its head had been blasted off by the shock of the blast. The creature was definitely hurting now, but not out of the fight by a long shot. It launched itself into the air. Durgaden’s axe found a small hole as the creature crouched to leap and he capitalized on it, opening up the dragon’s side as it leapt into the air. The dragon flew forward and then toward the far side of the cavern. It spun and beat its massive wings to stay aloft, turning to stare at the young wizard that had cast the so very painful fireball at him. The dragon belched forth another cone of wintry death. The shards of ice and blast of cold slammed into Will. The wizard stumbled back and nearly dropped the book when his hands went numb with the cold. The blast also caught Amador. The priest stumbled to against one wall, using the wall for support as the blast washed over him. All the elf could think about when the blast ended was the pain he was feeling. He called upon his deity, healing himself of some of the many wounds the ice had ripped open. Mytrym watched the dragon streak overhead. He was not about to let the beast get away. He turned and leapt into the air after the creature. His cloak whipped out around him, turning from fine cloth to a massive set of wings. He flew after the dragon. As he did he called upon his lady, a glow of warmth flowed over him, closing a few of his wounds. Durgaden cursed as the dragon fled from him. He gave chase, his short legs pumping, his magic boots propelling him forward with each step. He pulled out a hand axe as he bounded forward and threw weapon at the hovering beast. It hit the currents of air the dragon’s wings were causing and deflected harmlessly to one side. Will shook off the effects of the cold and closed the book, letting it fall to his side. The book was connected to his belt by a leather tether. He fell into the practiced movements of another fireball. The small pea shaped flame rocketed toward the dragon and exploded in mid air around it. But this time the spell seemed to just bleed off the dragon’s scales. Its innate resistance to magic had finally protected the creature. Tanerus slid to a corner where he could see the dragon but have plenty of cover. He pulled out a wand of fireballs. Will gave him the wand after the fight with the water elemental. He pointed the wand at the dragon and called out the command word. Nothing happened. His mind raced through the methods Will had explained. He must have missed one of the syllables of the complex command word.The dragon was not about to face Mytrym in the air. It rocketed away from him, turning and flying into the darkness of a massive tunnel ahead. The paladin landed and quickly uncorked a potion. Durgaden, Will and Tanerus all did the same. Amador healed himself as well. Several tense moments went by. Amador slipped into the dragon’s lair, looking for something that might help them in the fight. He cast a light spell so he could see. His heart sunk. There in front of him were all manner of coins, a few weapons, some armor. It was all covered in a thick layer of ice. There was no way it would aid them in this fight.Durgaden and Mytrym both continued to drink potions, healing themselves of several of their wounds. They watched the cavern opening, waiting to see if the creature planned to return. Will moved up, casting a shield spell up in front of him, just in case the dragon got too close. Durgaden pulled his crossbow out and loaded a bolt. Mytrym retrieved his bow and stowed it away. Durgaden suddenly called out, “Its back!” His dwarven site saw the thing just before the others did. It charged out of the cavern ahead and stopped, its jaws snapped open and it breathed once more. Will was blasted nearly off his feet. Durgaden and Mytrym weathered the blasts and charged forward. Durgaden stopped just long enough to raise the crossbow and release the bolt. It skipped harmlessly off the beast. Mytrym reached the dragon and slammed his bastard sword forward, but he too could not find a good purchase between the scales and the blade bounced off harmlessly. Tanerus once again tried using the wand. This time it succeeded. A small ball of fire flew forward and exploded behind the dragon. It roared in pain but ignored the small halfling in favor of the two warriors in front of it. Amador released a pair of arrows from his bow. One of the magic arrows sunk into the dragon’s neck, the other flew wide. Will backed off, hoping he was out of range of the dangerous breath. He looked up at the ceiling and smiled as he cast his next spell. A huge chunk of the cavern’s ceiling softened and turned to mud. The massive rain of mud crashed down on the dragon, slamming into it. Will chuckled, “Resist that…”The dragon stumbled in the mud and then shifted to one side. It looked down at Durgaden and Mytrym and opened its mouth, breathing out its deadly breath yet again. Durgaden reeled from the pain, but stood his ground. Mytrym dropped to one knee, but quickly stood back up. Both warriors could barely stand. If they did not stand though, the beast was sure to launch into the rest of their companions. The fight would be short lived then. Durgaden’s weakened arm hefted his axe up. He held his shield ahead of him and set his jaw so as his teeth would not chatter in the cold. He could feel that his breastplate was frozen to him in places. His limbs did not want to move, but he was not going to go down without a fight. Ice hung from his beard. He opened his mouth and yelled, “For Tethyamar!” He leapt forward and buried his axe in the beast’s chest. Blood arched from the wound and the dragon stumbled. Its head whipped around, its scarred and burned eyes focused on the dwarf.Mytrym leapt into the air, his wings billowing out again. The dragon’s head launched down toward Durgaden, but Mytrym got in the way. He slammed his bastard sword into the creatures muzzle, knocking its head to the side, but not really hurting it. Tanerus loosed another fireball from the wand. It exploded behind the dragon, enveloping its back half in flames yet again. The creature roared out in pain, shifting its weight side to side, trying to escape the flames. Durgaden’s axe came loose and the dwarf stumbled back a little. The dragon turned towards the dwarf a bit more, turning its flank to flying Mytrym. Mytrym was in pain. His armor was covered in flecks of ice. The blood of his ancestors usually kept him from feeling pain from fire or ice. But the dragon’s breath weapon had taken a toll on him. The old arrow wounds ached, and every movement was difficult. He knew he had to stop the beast here though. If it made it to Will, Tanerus, or Amador, his new companions would be dead. He saw the dragon shifting, brought his shield up, trying to defend himself.Durgaden saw the dragon rear up, he too held his shield high, trying to block the dragon’s blows. A wing shot forward and slammed into Durgaden from the side. He cried out in pain, stumbled and fell to his knees on the ground. The other wing slammed into Mytrym, sending him spiraling toward the ground.The paladin landed with a sickening crunch. He managed to half stand when the dragon’s tail whipped forward and took him off his feet. He landed a few feet from Durgaden. The dwarf started to lift his head. The paladin did not move.Will thought the dragon almost looked like a rearing horse. Its front paws clawed at the air above his too prone companions. He searched his mind for a spell, but nothing he could think of would be able to save them.Amador ran forward, stopping to begin casting a spell. It was a long spell though, designed to summon aid from another plane. He watched in horror as the dragon came down. Tanerus could feel the wand heating back up in his hand. He pulled it back, began reciting the words necessary to belch forth another fireball. He knew he was too late.The dragon’s front paws came crashing to the ground. The cavern shook from the shock of it. One paw slammed down on Durgaden. Will saw the dwarf crushed beneath the massive weight. A claw pierce one leg, another his back, and one had gone straight through his head.The other paw crushed Mytrym. The paladin lay on his back beneath the massive paw. Claws pierced his neck, chest and thigh. His eyes stared lifeless up at the dragon.Tanerus finally felt the fireball rip from the wand. It exploded around the dragon’s head. The beast’s back legs stumbled, its eyes blinked one last time, then it collapsed back, its massive head fell to the ground resting between the bodies of Durgaden and Mytrym. With one last huff the dragon’s eyes also glazed over in death.The three remaining companions ran forward. Amador was able to lift the massive paw from Durgaden. He rolled the dwarf out from under it and then fell to his knees when he saw the stare of death in the dwarf’s eyes. Tanerus ran up to the paw that had fallen on Mytrym, but when he got there, he saw the paladin was staring up at the ceiling, dead. The halfling sighed and shook his head.Will stopped a ways away and stood in shock. He stared at the massive majestic creature that lay dead and then shifted his gaze between his two dead companions. It had finally happened. He knew sooner or later one of them would fall. He could not bear to look on the scene of death before him. He turned and walked away.</blockquote>

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