Where Dragon's Dare!

[Exile_Jeane]

"Ye seem fresh in town. The rest of these groups smell like shit and piss and stale beer and vomit. Pack of dobbers. This info will bae good only so long, so best tae start with the best bunch, aye?" Marida offered with much more relaxed bluntness, letting the forced smile fade and shrugging with a faint clinking of weapons. An honest dust bath to keep off the pests in a pinch was one thing, but to have a full lake and waterfall to dip in and not do it? Some of her people's words rung true there, a large part of the reason she'd lived off the land during her hunt for the dragon's lair. 

 

She gestured with one thumb at Kathra, "Saw this one first and she proved tae bae a solid example of ye quality, strikes me. Take me and by my honor as a Grugach, I'll earn every bit of that share."

[Asarasa]

"This is one is Kathra Caebrek, the last living soul of Land's End," the heavily built dwarf woman said, in Elvish. If she wasn't completely fluent, and her Dwarven brogue of the far West gave the lyrical language a different tang, still, she spoke it well enough to be understood. "And quality I am, my vow upon it."

Kathra gave the dark elf a frank, interested look. She had spent some time in the Eldar Wood in her travels. She'd seen very few dark elves among the Elven cities, but this woman looked strong and hardy even for her kind. Kathra could appreciate that, and her panoply of steel weaponry. She herself was unusually tall and muscular for a dwarf, let alone a dwarven woman. She had had fun dallying with the few elves who deigned to be intrigued by the robustness and novelty of a dwarf.

She stuck out a hand to take Marida's wrist in a warrior's grasp and flashed her a grin, jade green eyes merry. "I'll take you, aye, and your honor, for our band of dragonslayers," she said, switching back to the common tongue. "And at an even share count it a bargain 'til shown otherwise. "Lead on, lest the beast finds a new lair."

Edited August 3, 2022 by Asarasa

[Exile_Jeane]

Waiting a beat for any objections from the others, Marida returned the grip, pleased by the callouses she could feel there. "For ye own kenning, it's a rare member of me and mine that understand Elvish," she offered, returning ghost of a smile excluding herself from that number, "Or as we call it, 'Low Sylvan'. If there be no objections, mae mount and kit is tied up nae tae far from here. And then just a short ride up tae the trailhead."

 

Her dark eyes spared the sprite a moment's consideration, wondering what the small feywilder was thinking. It was rare to find one so quiet.

 

She walked out of the stable, perking her ears to the sound of gear being repacked, riding gear tightened, and the general hustle of a riding party getting itself together. It was going to be... Good being part of the troupe again. Her horse was a good companion and listener in his own animal way, but that was no way to live. It took more than a tree to make a grove and many groves to make a forest. The grugach warrior chuckled darkly to herself, drawing a concerned look from a passer-by she warded off with a brief look.      

[Shameless]

The entire party was soon back on the road.  They'd camp out under the stars tonight, which wasn't all too uncommon.   He rode in front, with Marida beside him, leading the way.   Kathra had replenished their stock of foodstuffs, and of course they were no strangers to hunting in the wild to supplement their needs.   Inwardly, he was going over what he knew of dragons, and how to fight them.   He knew many tricks for slaying humanoid foes and other monsters, but a dragon was different, it was larger, more deadly than many other foes he'd faced.   

"This likely won't be an easy fight.   Do you have any experience fighting larger foes like this?"   He did, thanks to his past,  but it would be good to know their new ally's capabilities.  She looked quite strong and tough, much as he did, which would help immensely.   

[Exile_Jeane]

"Spent mae share of time with the Gol'ka in the south-eastern Spine. Plenty of big boggins tae bae had. Ogres. Trolls. Dire Goats," Marida volunteered, keeping one eye out for the particular rock which would mark the paoint they needed to turn off the main trail, "Naething as large as a dragon, though. That bae new tae me. If it bae flesh and blood though, no matter how thick the hide... Joints. Eyes. Belly. And the path of the giant lets mae match the size of a large beastie when I rage if'n there bae headroom once we break through the thin patch of wall between us and it."

 

"And the rest of ye? It'd bae bonny tae know if the dragon isn't the only one spitting fire around," she asked, not wanting to be caught in any more crossfire.  

 

 

[Nina]

The town was lost to sight behind them as the moved along the edge of the river toward the falls. Still a couple of miles from them, they could now hear the distant rumble of the cascading water and see the misty rainbows created as the river poured over the jagged teeth at the edge of the Bowl. Then to the parties surprise the darkelf turned away from the river and led them onto the crater wall itself.

 

Soon the river sounds were gone replace by only the wind still they climbed.

To their left  the could see the peaks of the southern mountains, snow capped, foreboding and on their right the green of the Bowl which they had departed. The going was rough their were no trials and the mounts had to search for footing. hours passed and what seemed like the passage of ten miles was actually less than three when the darkelf called a halt and pointed to a crack in the crater wall that was well hidden by an overhanging slab of basalt. The opening was large enough for even the animals to enter.

 

"Through there. The cave is a mite narrow and turns after only a few yards widdershins toward the river and descends. It levels off aboot a mile back and opens intae a large cave with several branches with but the one that I felt air moving from, the one we must follow. We should leave the animals out here. A cave is nae place for bonny horses like these."

[Shameless]

Brarga nodded.  "Alright, dismount, if there's any volunteers who want to stay here, then speak up now."  He did actually expect Tandal to say as much, but would give him the chance to do it himself.  

He knew that they could count on Kathra's Wargoat, it had shown signs of intelligence before, but this was it, for anyone to back out.

He began gathering what he'd need in a cave, and preparing torches, just in case, not lighting them yet, but having them ready was important.

[Nina]

Tandal dismounted and glanced at Brarga as he approached the crack that led into the ground. "In there," he asked?  "There is a dragon in there? Are you sure?"

 

He didn't wait for an answer but rapidly turned back and looked at Marida, he blushed a bit, then regained his composure, "If you knew the horses wouldn't be able to go in with us, why didn't you have us leave them at the stable?"

[Exile_Jeane]

"Do ye want tae haul most of a dragon back tae town?," Marida asked rhetorically, tying her mount up to a convenient rock with the faint jingle of weapons, giving the beast a reassuring series of rubs.

 

Tandal didn't quite have a response to that, frowning as another problem came to mind, "But how are we going to get it out of the cave?"

 

The ashen-skinned elf looked over her shoulder, eyebrow quirked in 'are you serious?' confusion, waiting a heartbeat before answering, her tone as if explaining to a small child. "We chop the beastie intae as many pieces as needed after it stops puking fire on us," she drawled, lighting a torch and drawing a handaxe, ready to take point on this excursion. Her pathfinding, her responsibility. 

 

Tandal stared after the darkelf then shrugged and handed his reins to Kathra, "Hope your beast doesn't eat my horse, that animal cost me a whole month working in a brothel."

Edited August 18, 2022 by Exile_Jeane
comedy

[Shameless]

Brarga chuckled at the back and forth, and nodded.  "Kathra keeps him well-fed, all our mounts are, so your investment is safe, Tandal."   He himself was ready to go, and waiting for everyone else.

[Asarasa]

Kathra patted her wargoat Anvil between the ears then hopped out of the saddle. The glossy white and grey wargoat headbutted the stocky and sturdy dwarf woman's shield, his horns clanging against steel. Kathra laughed and shoved him away. "Anvil here is a mite of an ass, but he's clever enough to lead the other mounts away from danger. And his spirit can commune with mine, if we stay, say, within two thousands paces or so, and warn us of what transpires while we go a' dragonslaying."

 

Shield on her arm, she rested a gauntlet on the pommel of her warhammer as she regarded the cave. There wasn't the ever present susurration of waves of her home, but she'd be lying if she didn't admit she missed the comforting mass of a mountain above and around her. This wasn't quite the same, but it would do for the nonce. 

 

The brawny dwarf strode up in line with the elf. "Hammer and shield are my mainstays, though my Vow grants me some blessings to bolster my allies and hinder and smite my foes. Aye, and I'll stride at your side in the stony depths."

[Veral]

Yimtac smiles and nods towards the opening. "Time to go in. Is everyone here prepared to the best of their abilities? I know I am." He patted his horse on the neck as he headed forward. "Lead the way, oh wise and dangerous one. The sooner we get in there, the happier I'll be. I don't like being out in the open this close to the dragon's lair." 

[Nina]

Cave delving is a skill every good adventurer learns early in her career. Ancient ruins, underground lairs, natural caverns, subterranean ecologies…the list goes on and on and those who wish to make a living as well as those who wish to go on living, learn how to navigate and infiltrate such places or die.

 

The fissure into the crater wall was tight and the crack (really couldn’t call it a tunnel, all things considered), they found themselves in, was not much wider. Side by side was impossible so dwarf followed elf with the fairy coming third then the dragonborn and Tandel, Renn, hand on the hilt of her blade the other free for casting, brought up the rear checking often behind them.

 

Progress was slow and without the sun above, it was impossible to tell the passage of time. They had lighted torches for the humans to be able to see but still the dark was oppressive, like a living thing pressing in all around them. After what seemed an eternity, the Elf led them into a much larger cave. They were now deep underground somewhere underneath the crater floor above, possible miles away from the opening.

 

The cave was astounding, even Kathra had to take a breath when they entered. When Mirida had found the cave she had been in the dark, her magic eyes allowing her to see the shape and expanse but not the wonder. The basalt here was lined with Obsidian and gold the walls a mosaic swill which reflected the torch light and caused the darkness to dance with colored light. It was big some eighty feet across with a flat floor and domed ceiling formed by lava who knows how long ago. There were rocks, made of obsidian or basalt, strewn across the entirety of the cave of all sizes from tiny pebbles to fist sized rocks with sharp edges. Several openings could be seen in the walls, fissures into the unknown.

 

Spoiler

Everyone needs to roll a passive perception check please. Let me know the result in discord. 

 

[Shameless]

In the light of the Torches, Brarga's dracoinic eyes could still only see so much, the darkness hung heavily in the cave, moreso than he recalled seeing. The gold and obsidian reflected the torchlight, a dance of color and flame, beautiful in its way.    He took the time to take in the layout and spotted something that didn't seem natural.

"There are three other fissures, seemingly equidistant around the cave, and counting the one we came from,  I believe  they match up to the compass directions."  in and of itself, it wasn't anything but information, but such as the others may not have noticed.   The sharp edged stones on the floor, he looked down at.  "wide enough for us, but which is enough for a young dragon?"

[Exile_Jeane]

Marida grunted approvingly, swinging her torch around to take in the walls. She was no dwarf to hoard shiny rocks, but this was the bones of the world, as natural in it's own way as the eldest tree or the echo of rutting dire goats bellowing challenge at one another. 

 

"Tis this one," she drawled, nodding at the leftmost tunnel, "A wee bit more of a hike and there We'll be with but a thin stone wall between us and the chamber I heard tha beastie's breathing in."

 

The Grugach warrior put word to deed, squeezing into the indicated tunnel with a faint jangle of weapons and an increased pace, eagerness at getting the deed started after all her stalking through these hills. She could hear the others following and after not too long a time, reached the thin wall. Good. No change from this side. First one to show up, she'd offer the chance to take it down.  

[Asarasa]

Kathra had done some duty for Land's End working in the mines, her Hold being well known for its ores, but few, if any, of the caves or tunnels had looked at spectacular as this one. They had mostly been various shades of grey and silver. Walking across the cave, she reached down and picked up one of the plethora of sharp-edged rocks, a fist sized one. 

Bouncing it on her palm, she eyed the stone, then the others across the ground, then the cave itself. She noted no more fissures of interest than Braga. She was by no means a master miner or mason. Still, in a naturally formed caved, she didn't think there would be so much broken debris, especially with sharp edges, save perhaps if there had been a recent writhing of the earth. Could this be due to the dragon's delving?

It was purely an academic thought. With a faint scrape of steel on stone, the burly she-dwarf hunched her shoulders to follow Marida into the fissure. Kathra gave the Grugarch a nod when she joined her at the stone curtain. Kathra took off a gauntlet, then ran calloused fingers across the wall, getting a feel for it, a sense for any weakness or thinness.

 

Satisfied, she put her gauntlet back on and slung her shield onto her back. Then she took up her warhammer in both hands and planted her feet, bracing herself. 

"By the Stone Father and the Forge Mother!" Kathra swore as she swung her hammer with all her might.

[Nina]

Renn grunted as she interposed herself between wall and hammer catching the weapon with both hands but still it pushed her back several inches. Kathra was not amused, but the head of the hammer failed to hit the wall.

 

"First we listen," the holy warrior said, then she looked and nodded toward Seelia, " and then we look. After that we can hammer on the walls."

[Veral]

Yimtac moved up to the wall next to the paladin and holy warrior. He said in a low voice, "If we can take the dragon by surprise, which is a big if, it'll help us out. So conserve your strength for now, we'll all need it later. We still need to scout the area, just to make sure that there is nothing else down here to take US by surprise. I may have another way to take down the wall, but it'll be just as loud as breaking it down, or maybe even louder. Does anyone wish to chime in on wether I should shatter the wall, or we should break it down once we decide to move?"

[SalmonMax]

Seelia giggled from higher up, where she was buzzing around like a lazy swamp mosquito after a big meal. Just inspecting the chamber from a bit further up.

 

"We are talking about a dragon. It doesn't shatter and rebuild its own walls...so we shouldn't have to either. MEFY!"

 

The white raven circled down lower from the rocky outcropping it had perched on. Seelia pointed at the fissures.

 

"Go find some dragons for us to kill, okay? Or other evil things. Or treasure! Or...just find things. All kinds of things!"

 

The raven tilted its head and blinked at Seelia, then cawped. She, in turn, bopped its beak.

 

"We know you can talk."

 

The bird sighed. "Find stuff, okay!" It flew over to the fissured wall, grabbed onto it near one of those cracks, and peered inside. Then it started pushing into it; the raven's feathery body not having to squeeze too much to pass within.

 

Seelia then put a tiny hand to her head, covering her eyes.

 

"Mystic bird of birds, grant me sight beyond sight," she intoned, and then swayed around melodramatically, "Oooo...magic...ahhh, I can see everythin..."

 

And then, in mid-declaration, she paused. Her forehead creased slightly as she frowned.

 

"...huh. Well...that's a bit of a letdown. Who gave us this quest again? We should go get a refund!"

 

 

(OOC - Seelia's having her familiar scout through the fissures. Mefy is a Tiny creature, and she can share her senses and summon her back when she's seen some stuff. Mefy has Perception +3 and Stealth +2, and will be trying to avoid attention where possible.)

Edited September 9, 2022 by SalmonMax

[Exile_Jeane]

Spoiler

Perception Check

Exile_Jeane Request: [1d20+2] Roll: [1] Result: 3

Nope! *dies*

Triggering Invisibility Cloak.

 

"I hope that's ye way of saying you found nothing, and not ye saying that wee birdie just got chomped by our beastie," Marida commented with just the slightest hint of disgust. Perilous as it might be to oppose one of the true natives of the Faewild, the Grugach warrior had never held with sending a beast to do an elf's job, unwitting as to the peril or magically bound into obedience as such creatures could be. Smelled rotten to her. If she didn't think Renn would throw herself in the way again, Marida would gladly pull out her own warhammer and echo the Dwarf's blow on the wall.

 

As it was, she set her torch in a convenient crack and pulled up hood of her cloak, fading from conventional view, tone acid with impatience, "Fret not. Just preparing for when ye let us smash in tha wall.""  

[SalmonMax]

Seelia sighs. "No, there's a dragon, I guess," she admits. "It's just...a really bad dragon? It's all chained up, and it looks sick and old and tired. Wings are broken so it can't fly."

 

She waves at the wall. "It'll barely be able to put up a fight at all!"

 

Then the fairy seems to consider.

 

"...but maybe? If we let it out? And heal it?!" Seelia brightens at the thought. "It might be able to do SOMETHING then!"

[Shameless]

Brarga's yellow eyes narrowed, as he watched and listened.   "A chained dragon?"  Clearly this wasn't what they'd come for.  "Consider how powerful someone would have to be to chain a dragon."   He seemed somewhat concerned by the thought.  "If it's old and sick, it's not the one we're here to hunt, Seela.  Still we should be on guard, it is still a dragon." 

[Asarasa]

Kathra glanced over to Marida and would have shared a look if the elf had still been visible. She harrumphed, shifting her grip on her hammer. She held no reticence in slaying a dragon rampaging across the land. The younger ones were hardly more than beasts, however cunning. But torture and slavery, even for such as a dragon, she found anathema. A grimace crossed her broad, beautiful face.

"Aye," she agreed with the Dragonborn warrior, glancing up to give the sprite an exasperated look. "Think you daft pixie. The one we should be hunting now is the one who can break and chain the likes of a dragon. Far more worthy a challenge and of our ire than a leashed and broken dragon, no?"

Kathra gave the Holy Monk a nod, accepting her suggestion. "And if there is a bastard beastmaster or slaver about, he must someway to reach the dragon save for breaking down a stone curtain and raising it up again once more." Fingers brushing the stone lightly, seeking a seem or anomaly, more from touch than sight, she kept her voice low as she asked the Feyknight, "Your bird see any other way of reaching the dragon the rest of us can fit through?"

 

Spoiler

If a Perception Roll is necessary (Or Investigation, they are the same), Kathra got a 14

Asarasa Request: [1d20] Roll: [14] Result: 14

 

Edited September 10, 2022 by Asarasa

[Nina]

Seelia's white raven cawped and vanished down the tunnel, leaving a single feather behind. The pixie hovered in midair, eyes closed, sort of reflexively squirming as she reacted to her familiar's movements far away.

 

Then her eyes opened wide! "Friends!" she cried. "The ways of this place are as wild and untamed as the very roots of the earth!" Then Seelia grinned. "But brave Mefy THE BOLD has found a path for us! ONWARD!"

 

She brandished her sword and zipped down a passage!

 

The rest of the group watched as the little pixie darted away then clambered to follow.

 

The tunnels twisted and turned but in after several long minutes they came to the large cavernous prison of the emaciated dragon. The moment they entered the chamber dozens of torches in scones driven into the rock walls lit of their own accord flooding the chamber with flickering light and shadow.

 

The dragon was revealed. Scarred, starved, legs chained to the floor, wings bound in brass and iron. It looked pitiful. It also looked old, definitely to old to lay eggs.

[Exile_Jeane]

Seeing no other exits from the chamber, let alone one big enough for another dragon, Marida lowered the hood of her invisibility cloak, reappearing to view with an intense frown on her ashen face. This whole situation stank like an ogre's midden in high summer and set her warrior's instincts on edge.

 

"This is nae tha beastie we've been tracking," she stated bluntly, dark eyes taking in the suffering creature in front of them, growing angrier at the sight of the actual chained dragon then she thought she would. Ogres wouldn't treat their livestock like this, and they were souless brutes devoid of the least reverence for the wild. And a dragon was so much rarer than even the most prized goat, cow, or deer. It prompted a spark of sympathy in the Grugach warrior, even as she moved into the center of the creature's view.

 

"Who is doing this to ye? And do ye want aid or... mercy?" Marida asked of the ruined creature, untypical empathy pushing her to extend a traditional Grugach offer to an ally too far gone for mortal succor, the word 'mercy' accompanied by her drawing her great sword in an unambiguous explanation as to implement of Grugach. Dragons understood Common, to her knowledge, so it wouldn't be a wasted offer.