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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wulf Ratbane" data-source="post: 11233" data-attributes="member: 94">Session Eleven-- deep troubleKELLAN's ELEVENTH SESSION JOURNALTo all whom these presents come, greetings -All of our preparations had brought us to this moment. My vision of danger in Mirrormere; my taking up with the band of local heroes; our defeats of enemies both alive and undead, monster and humanoid - our logistical preparations complete, we set out to find and defeat the dragon we felt certain lay at the heart of the mystery of the Arxifext.Upon arriving at the lake, we considered closing off the lake-entrance to the lair, but decided that although it was a good idea, it would take too much time and spellpower to do so. We made our way through the lair of the kobolds that the party had defeated before my arrival, and in fact found the testimony to their prowess: a pile of festering kobold corpses. As the thought dawned on us that someone had to have taken the time to put the corpses together, the mound rose up as one unholy zombie to do battle. The mound was assisted an invisible helper, who cast damaging rays of electricity at us; after casting a cloud of fog at the area where the helper was hiding, we were able to defeat the mound alone. We then swam down a shaft to parts unknown; luckily, we were blessed with spells of water breathing (potions provided by Dria) so that we might be able to move somewhat normally.What we saw below was a wonder of strategic and tactical design. The dragon lived in an underwater maze, larger areas connected by tunnels both large and small, with high ceilings and filled with water throughout. It was quickly apparent that the dragon would have full mobility in this place, while always keeping us at the disadvantage. Indeed, we had but a few moments to size up the lair before we were attacked by two floating underwater eyes, shooting powerful spells from a trio of eyes—including the electric blasts we’d seen before and some . As we began to come to grips with these two, the dragon finally appeared; it was a very difficult battle, with much ranged weapons fire and running about; the difference really was Rodrigo's magic missiles and Nik's well-timed attacks from behind the dragon. We came very close to ending the villain’s life there; but it escaped from us, swam quickly to its treasure hoard, and with a single bite took most of its treasure (including the gems we sought!) into its mouth. It headed through a tunnel to the surface (where we assumed it would come out in the middle of the lake). As Nik pursued with his magically enhanced speed, I moved as quickly as I could back through the maze, up to the surface, in hopes of beating the dragon there and being able to finish it off with my crossbow. By the time I arrived, however, the dragon had cleared the surface of the lake and had taken to the air.I stood guard on the bank with Jorie’s animal companions and waited for the others to determine our next course of action.In the service of the Great Knight, I remainYours faithfully,Kellan Evershar*****JAAG's ELEVENTH SESSION JOURNALWe had reentered the kobold lair near the lake, where we detected there were more magic crystals nearby. After advancing through a few minor encounters, we came up to a room with a pool on one end. Our enemy, it seems, has an underground, and underwater home in which to seek refuge from justice. Dare we go into his home when he is expecting us?The group kept looking at me, as if they expected me to go first.  "Fools! I just oiled my armor yesterday! Don't you realize what water will do to your equipment?!," I told them. As much as I've enjoyed growing up in Mirrormere, I've never brought myself to learn to swim.  "Go ahead and drown if you like, but I'm no fish!" No doubt the rest of the group would go on without me if need be, but now my bravery was in question, and I would hear no end of it from Hastur if I showed myself a coward after having come this far. I knew we were going to have to search the bottom of the lake for the remaining stones, but I didn't want to admit to myself that I might have to go into the water too.But Rodrigo came prepared for this. He enchanted our group with magicks that would let us breathe in water. "So you're telling me that just because you wave your hands and speak like a wailing frog that now I can breathe in water?," I asked. What have I gotten myself into?! I approached the water cautiously at first, trying to see how deep the water was...then, SPLASH! Somebody pushed me in! (I believe it was Rodrigo that did it, though I didn't see who it was.) I sank quickly, until finally I hit the bottom with a heavy, THUD! Once I got over the shock of not drowning, I decided to put aside my anger over the push...for now. I guess that Rodrigo fellow does know a few tricks after all.At more than 25' wide and 25' tall, this underwater passage was certainly not average. So this is the dragon's lair! Through the twisting and turning passages we looked for signs of the dragon, but the passage was long, and we were all nervous that we each might be the first to actually find the beast. My mind raced with questions about why I was even down here. What tales ever told of a brave dwarf fighting underwater to face a dragon? Perhaps it's because no dwarf ever lived to tell such tales!Luckily, it appeared Nikolai was the first to spot the dragon, and at a good distance too. The dragon charged quickly through the water and made a passing attack at us before turning a corner where we could no longer see it. It was clearly at home here. Only Rodrigo hit unerringly with his magic missiles, while the rest of us struggled because the dragon was too high out of reach.It was then that three floating eyes appeared from behind us. We made quick work of them, thanks to Tanthril's arrows and Kellan's blade. We had no time for distractions when there was a dragon about! Like a pack of mice chasing a cat, we were cautiously aware of how near to death we each stood if we did not work together. Thus, began a game of hide and seek among the passages.  Nikolai cast a spell to quicken his movement, and scouted ahead of the group. Whether brave, or just too proud to die in front of the others, I'm not certain. The nervousness among the group escalated as we waited for a sign from either Nik or the dragon. Tanthril prepared to use a special masterwork arrow on the dragon.  Unfortunately, his bowstring broke, forcing him to change weapons from his bow to his sword. What terrible timing!And then she came, the dragon, from an unexpected passage, appearing, attacking, and then disappearing as quickly as she appeared. Rodrigo kept using his magic missiles to good effect, while Nikolai cast other magicks. Kellan even managed to strike a few blows by leaping upward through the water. My short dwarven legs, along with my heavy armor, kept me from being able to give chase with any effectiveness. But it seemed that Rodrigo, Kellan, and Tanthril, with their combined attacks, were putting the hurt on the young dragon.She finally had enough. Maybe she felt the tide of battle turning against her. Whatever her reasons, she scooped up a great deal of her hoard into her mouth and proceeded into a back passage that appeared to lead up and out into the middle of the lake. She was getting away!Our group was too exhausted to give chase. But we also wanted to finish the dragon while it remained weak. We collected what was left of it's hoard, and decided to get out of the water. We have to finish her before she regains her full strength...or worse, attacks the village while we aren't there to protect it!</blockquote>

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