The Green Dragon

Summary:

"So, does everyone have their assignments?"

Shava scanned the chamber. Her fellow adventurers grunted affirmations as they made ready for the battle ahead. As they walked out of the chamber to stand at their posts, Shava blessed them, "May Selune protect you."

Together, Orchid and Shava had outlined a plan to begin the ritual within the Well of Demons. With all four ritual pieces in hand, the rogue and cleric placed teams of two at each of the runed pedestals: Shava and Gareth in the room next to the bars, Gilic and Cedric in the room with the broken statues, Orchid and Taegahn in the room with the alter to Baphomet, and Queequeg in the room with the four colored pools. The previous day, Cedric, Orchid, and Queequeg had tasted from the four pools, discovering that red and green provided some kind of enchantment, while yellow poisoned and blue seemed to do nothing. The green water specifically protected against poison, so all but Shava drank from it before the ritual began. With all the doors in the Well spiked open, the teams made their way to the runed pedestals.

The stage was set. The countdown begun. On the count of three, the ritual pieces, mask, tome, bell, and blade, were set down on the pedestals. From deep within the dungeon's bowels, machinery churned to life. Gareth, closest to the magically bound doors, watched carefully as the barrier vibrated slightly and then began to creak open. In the middle of the Well, a bestial roar echoed out from the bottom of the massive pit. Around the pit, a ball of force shimmered into being and rolled clockwise around a grooved path, like a moon in orbit at breakneck speed.

Suddenly, skeletal arms erupted from the stone floor and attempted to grab Shava and Gareth. The Baphomet alter screamed a subliminal message at Taegahn, forcing the ranger to run into the path of the ball of force. Gilic and Cedric drew fire from hidden crossbow traps embedded in the wall. And Queequeg was enveloped by a blob that oozed out of the deceptively benign blue pool. To make matters worse, the dreams that had plagued Queequeg's sleep suddenly coalesced into an irresistible urge to hunt down and slay the party's beloved priestess, Shava.

In full blood rage, Queequeg easily broke from the blob that was trying to drag him into its hued depths and sprinted directly to Shava's last known location. He spotted her quickly and charged. His rage broke the moment he struck her and he cried out, "Hold, dear Shava. I was not myself!" The priestess paused for a moment and then lowered her mace. Rather than striking the recently possessed warlord, she instead brought forth a divine light to push back the subterranean skeleton hands; a few hands went limp, but too many still grabbed at feet and ankles.

Across the Well, Gilic and Cedric encountered the source of the earlier roar as a massive green dragon swooped into their room, attacking and biting the dwarf as it flew by. Also under fire by the crossbows, Gilic and Cedric shouted their retreat as they made his way past the force ball and back to the Well's middle chamber. Taegahn, Gareth, Queequeg also sprinted across the Well to reinforce Gilic's pull. Orchid, intrigued by the crossbow turrets, made her way to the statue room and attempted to disarm them.

The green dragon pursued Cedric and Gilic back to the middle chamber, the force ball passing through it harmlessly. The majority of the party awaited it, none more eager than Queequeg. The dragonborn charged it on sight. The warlord's sword blow rang loudly over his primal scream and the dragon despaired at the sight of such rage and found its movement hindered. Gareth also charged, his axe tearing into the dragon's hide and sprouting hot springs of blood. Taegahn and Cedric fired from range and together, the party began to defeat the dragon.

Shava, meanwhile, continued pulsing forth divine energy until the last skeletal hand went limp. Orchid tried to disarm the turret traps, but while she tinkered, they continued pumping bolts into her. She finally succumbed, on the verge of death.

Taegahn sensed his little friend in need and sprinted out of the middle chamber, with Shava close behind. Upon entering the statue room, Taegahn fell upon the rogue, shielding her from the worst of the fire. Shava arrived on scene and brought Orchid back from the brink. Under focus fire from the rest of the party, the dragon suddenly disappeared! The gigantic lizard teleported to the statue room, prepared to unleash a gaseous cloud on soft prey. The rest of the party ran to the statue room where the dragon made its last stand, finally succumbing to a very healthy dagger barrage by none other than Orchid.

As the dragon rasped its last breath, the party paused a moment, chests heaving from exertion and wounds alike. Machinery continued thundering from below, but then stopped ominously with a thud that rippled through the dungeon like a wave.

The door was now open. The final battle awaited.

TO BE CONTINUED