3:* A New Companion
Bright and
early the next morning, the adventurers gazed up into the mists at the
top of the peak. Never before had any of them actually climbed a mountain,
and they did not even know where to start. They just knew that they had
to get to the top.
"There’s
gotta be a path." Drakar muttered as he wandered around the base of the
mountain. "I am *not* climbing." he said in dismay has he looked
up to the top.
"Can't you
just fly us up there or something?" Kerry asked the wizard, who stood looking
up at the mountain thoughtfully. He shook his head.
"I must
conserve my spells for the dragon, in case we have to battle." he said,
looking at Kariana. The slender ranger shrugged.
"I wish
I knew how to get up there other than climbing." she said, looking at the
mountain. Suddenly, she saw something that gave her an idea. She pointed
toward a small cliff that jutted out from the mountain about a quarter
way up, she gave Tazir a thoughtful look. "If we could climb up to that
cliff, there looks like there could be a path that leads up from there.
The climb is also a lot less sheer from that cliff." she pointed out, motioning
to the cliff itself.
"We can
make the climb." Ragnor said, flexing his huge shoulders as he stretched
his arms above his head, having heard the conversation between Tazir and
Kariana. "As the Elf lady said, the mountain is less sheer from a quarter
way up." Drakar groaned, and Kerry started looking in her bag for some
rope. Tazir shrugged and looked back at Kariana.
"We climb
then." he said, "Kerry, I think you should go first and then secure the
rope for the rest of us." he said, speaking a few words and touching Kerry
on the head. "Here, you take the rope and fly up to the top, securing the
rope for the rest of us. Kerry giggled in glee, swooping up over the rest
of the party.
"I'm flying!"
the group could hear her yell as she flew to the cliff.
"You call
that conserving spells?" Drakar asked, annoyed. Tazir shrugged. The cleric
muttered something to himself and watched Kerry fly up to the cliff.
"That spell
is but one. It would have taken four more to get us all up the mountain,
and besides, that spell will not last very long, so I hope Kerry is quick."
he said, looking up to Kerry. The halfling waved, signaling that
the rope was secure.
"Ok, so
we climb, who's first?" Kariana asked, pulling on the rope to make sure
it was secured well as she looked to the rest of the companions.
*****
Chrysal Terrakine,
Mydaran-Ranger of the Order of Dragos-Myndara, an organization dedicated
to guarding against the immense power of dragons, halted his snow white
mount and listened. He had heard voices coming from the direction of the
mountain ahead, the widely known place of a large red dragon's lair. He
was headed there to slay the evil beast for the destruction of Kith'tarka.
He listened to the voices he heard from the foot of the mountain. Quintessa,
his horse, perked her ears at the sound of a distinctly Elven voice.
"Drakar,
just climb, I'll be right behind you." the female Elf was saying to her
companion. He could not hear the reply, but she apparently did not like
the muttered answer she got, for Chrysal heard her sigh in resignation.
"Maybe we
should all go up then pull him up after us." a merry little voice suggested.
Chrysal heard the Elf mutter a curse in Elven, which he knew after his
time spent with the city of Kith'tarka many years ago.
"Drakar,
will you do that?" the Elf said again, her voice betraying her irritation
with her companion. Deciding to help, Chrysal stepped his horse forward,
into the view of the adventurers.
*****
Chrysal made
an impressive sight as his horse walked into the clearing where the party
stood. Wearing shining silver armor that bore a crest of a white griffon
on a red background on the breastplate, the paladin sat at ease on his
white steed. He carried a lance which was strapped to the side of his horses'
saddle, and wore a large sword on his hip. A shining silver sheild bearing
the same crest as the breastplate was strapped to the other side of the
saddle, and his horse wore a fine saddle and bridle. What struck Kariana,
however was his face. She had seen this man before, when Kith'tarka still
stood.
"Liliana's
daughter?" the paladin asked, dismounting and looking at the Elf in disbelief.
"That anyone could have survived the destruction of your city. . ."
"Sir Terrakine,
I would presume." she said, smiling. "I remember when you stayed in our
city those years back." she remembered, looking startled as he walked forward
and bowed at her feet.
"I pledge
my sword to you, Queen of Kith'tarka." he said, bowing his head to her
and placing a hand over his heart. Kariana sighed, she had always thought
the Myndaran-Rangers stuffy and too lawful. She also did not want to be
reminded of her fallen city.
"Stand up,
Chrysal." she said, watching as the noble man stood. "I was the only survivor,
I will not be rebuilding the city. I am simply questing to return an artifact
to its' rightful owners." Kariana explained to the puzzled Myndaran-Ranger.
"You are
not rebuilding Kith'tarka?" he asked, "But. . ." he protested, wanting
to argue for rebuilding the great city. Kariana cut him off by turning
to Drakar.
"Are you
going to climb up this rope, or am I going to tie it to you and ask Ragnor
to pull you up?" she asked the terrified Drakar. The cleric looked to the
Myndaran-Ranger as if he could help him out of his plight.
"There is
another option." Chrysal offered, still stunned by Karianas' proclamation,
but wanting to help the Elf in spite of that. She looked at him. "I could
carry him up, provided he would not mind being tied to me."
Kariana
looked at the muscular Myndaran-Ranger, then at the portly cleric. She
grinned. Drakar simply closed his eyes and started muttering a prayer to
his god.
"Go right
ahead." she said, looking at the sheer face of the mountain and then up
at the wizard, halfling and warrior who were already up on the small ledge
on the mountain’s face. She noticed that they were all watching intently,
so she waved and smiled up at them.
"This should
prove amusing!" she heard Kerry yell from above, gathering a gist of what
Kariana and Chrysal were going to do. Working quickly, so as to not make
the rest of the group wait longer than they already had, Kariana and Chrysal
tied the terrified cleric to the Myndaran-Ranger's back with some spare
leather strips that Chrysal had ready. The strange pair, a fully plated
warrior with a man tied to his back and the lithe, unencumbered Elf, climbed
up the rope to their companions.
"So, who
do we have here?" Tazir asked, looking strangely at the newcomer after
Drakar was safely standing on the ledge.
"Chrysal
Terrakine, Myndaran-Ranger of the Order of the Dragos-Myndara at your service."
he said, bowing slightly to the wizard.
"So do you
two know each other?" he asked, looking to Kariana as he spoke. "I have
heard that the Dragos-Myndara has been in the whereabouts of Kith'tarka
in the past century." he said, looking at Kariana as he spoke.
"It was
a time ago, and it is a tale for another time." Kariana said quickly, not
wishing to hear it replayed by the Myndaran-Ranger, who looked ready to
start in on the story of his visit to Kith’tarka. Chrysal kept his silence
and instead began to re-coil the leather strips that they had used on Drakar.
Tazir frowned briefly and then looked toward the path that led up to the
peak of the mountain. "Well, it appears you are very perceptive, Kariana.
There is a path that leads up to the top of the mountain."
"Good."
said Drakar, "I have no wish to climb any further up this mountain." Kerry
grinned and coiled the rope back into her bag. The halfling then turned
to Chrysal.
“So, I hear
Myndaran-Rangers kill dragons.” she said conversationally. “So, is that
what you’re planning on doing?” she asked, intrigued by this new addition
to their party.
“Yes. For
his crimes against Kith’tarka, this dragon must come to justice.” he said,
glancing at Kariana as he spoke. The Elf carefully avoided looking at him.
Kerry noticed this with amusement and grinned widely at Chrysal.
“Just tell
me when I get my share of the treasure.” Kerry said cheerfully to Ragnor,
who had come over to stand beside the halfling.
“Stop your
talk of treasure and let us be off.” he growled good-humoredly at Kerry,
starting his way to the trail, practically dragging the halfling away from
the Myndaran-Ranger. Kerry just grinned in a typical halfling carelessness
and allowed Ragnor to pull her. Tazir hung back a moment, watching a small
black raven fly up to the peak of the mountain, then followed the others.
*****
The wizard
on top of the mountain watched the progress of the party. They had made
it up to the small cliff and were now following the path that led to the
top of the mountain. His familiar, a small black raven, had come back with
information on the travelers, and he had decided to scry upon them. Four
humans, a halfling and an Elf. He wondered where the Elf might be from,
trying to think of another Elven city near here.
She couldn't
be from Kith'tarka, he had destroyed that village. He looked at the suns.
It would be approaching dusk soon, and Crimson would want to go hunting.
He would use that to his advantage.
*****
4*: Climbing to Confrontation
The journey
up to the peak was slow and Drakar didn’t speed things up, as he
was moving slowly enough so that his constant prayers to Torin could be
said without error. Kerry tried to lighten the mood by joining Ragnor in
battle songs. Kariana and Tazir walked in relative silence. Kariana was
thinking about her wisest choice of action upon meeting the dragon. She
was still contemplating rushing in there and killing it, but she felt that
her companions were not going to let her. That is, except for Chrysal,
she was sure he would have no qualms about killing the dragon.
Tazir was
actually thinking about the “Ring of True Seeing”. He wondered if the dragon
really did have the ring in his lair. Wishing that he had a method of locating
the ring without actually seeing it, he also tried to figure out the reason
for Crimson’s strange behavior. Red wyrms were naturally evil, but this
particular one had kept a peace with the goodly races of Akura in exchange
for his relative safety from the Order of Dragos-Myndara. The only reason
Tazir could think of that would make the dragon break this truce was powerful
magics.
It was nearing
dusk as the adventurers broke through the mist that surrounded the peak
of the great mountain. They would soon confront the dragon.
*****
"This is wrong, all wrong!" the wizard yelled, as he paced in front of the great dragon, who sat mute and uncaring of the wizards' plight. "She couldn't have survived the fire! I was certain that she would have perished!" he screamed, picking up a scepter from the dragons' treasure store and hurling it at one of the cavern walls. Crimson Knight glared at the wizard as he did this, although he was still currently powerless to do anything about it. The wizard stalked to the scrying pool that he had set up within the dragon's lair. He stared into it thoughtfully for a moment, deciding what to do about the troublesome Elf. He had just realized, as the party had camped reasonably close to the cave, that this Elf was the very same that had been prophesied in his dream to control a great magic. She was his competitor. He smiled to himself, suddenly realizing that they were in perfect range for him to work up a plan.
*****
Drakar sat
heavily on a rock as Chrysal and Ragnor made camp behind a rock face near
the dragons' lair. The cleric had not taken kindly to climbing up the mountain,
and hoped that they wouldn't have to climb any further. He fantasized that
they would find the lair deserted, and be able to take the ring and leave
without incident, but by all indications, he knew that there was no chance
of that happening. He sighed as he thought of what an easy time he would
have had back in the church in Shonika. There were no mountains, dragons,
or headstrong Elf maidens in Shonika.
"Kerry,
where is my dagger?" Kariana yelled at the halfling, who was sifting through
her pouches, emptying them out. She was going to make room for as
much of the dragons' hoard that she could get while the others were retrieved
the ring. She looked up at the sound of Kariana's voice and grinned.
"I was holding
it for safe keeping." the halfling said, grinning as she held up the bejeweled
dagger. The Elf glared good-naturedly at Kerry as she took her dagger back
and replaced it in her boot. "I was just making sure you didn't lose it."
Kerry argued as she continued to sift through her pouches.
"Right,
and that clerical medallion of Torin just happened to fall off of Drakars'
belt too." Kariana said, grinning wryly. Drakar suddenly stood up and felt
for his medallion, having heard Kariana's statement.
"Give that
back!" he roared, storming over to the innocently grinning halfling. Kariana
stifled a smile at the sight of the overweight cleric stomping over to
Kerry in a huff. She turned away from the sight and walked back to where
Chrysal and Ragnor were setting up a tent.
*****
Neither the adventurers setting up camp or the angry wizard in the dragons' lair noticed the sky above them as night began to fall. Instead of the brilliant stars that all were used to seeing, there was but one and it blinked on and off like a pulsing light. Farmers in Shonika, coming back inside after a hard day out in the fields, looked up and were frightened by the spectacle. A great sage, alone in his tower in a far off land, looked at the sky and shuddered. A great event was about to take place, and the gods were watching.
*****
"We should
wait for the dragon to leave his lair if we want any chance of surviving
or succeeding in our task." Tazir was telling the assembled adventurers.
Chrysal opened his mouth to protest, but Tazir quickly motioned for silence.
"We have not the power to defeat this dragon. I fear it is controlled
by a great wizard." There was a stunned silence as they all pondered this
new twist to their plight.
"That's
it. I'm going back." Drakar muttered, glaring at Tazir. "I have no death
wish and we never discussed that there might be a powerful wizard involved
with the dragon.”
"But we
might need your healing magic." Ragnor commented. "How would your god look
upon you if you deserted companions in need of a cleric?" he said, grinning
as he clapped Drakar on the back. Drakar looked pained. Chrysal finally
got a chance to speak.
"But we
must kill this dragon!" he protested, too loudly for Tazirs' liking. "This
vile beast has destroyed an ancient Elven city. It has crossed the boundary,
it has murdered the fair folk of the Ath'karan Forest. It must be destroyed."
he explained, half unsheathing his sword and glaring off at the cavern
entrance.
"What do
you think, Kariana?" Tazir suddenly asked her, "You have been quiet thus
far."
The Elf
thought for a moment. Chrysal would gladly follow her in to destroy the
foul beast, if she wished, but Tazir was right, none of them wanted to
die tonight, and waiting for the dragon to leave would be the wisest thing
to do. Besides, she thought, do I really think I am in any such shape to
fight a beast so foul? She had only had a bit of weapons training, and
had only just recently put it to use. Then there was the other wizard,
which she knew she was in no shape to fight. This concern was soon put
to question by Kerry.
"How do
you know about another wizard in the area?" Kerry suddenly piped up. "I
haven't seen or heard anything from him."
“I watched
a black raven fly up the mountain before we started our ascent from the
ledge, which I believe to be a wizards’ familiar.” he stated, “Furthering
this belief, I also believe that since Crimson has never done anything
like this in the past, he may be under some kind of control, which requires
very powerful magic, as the control of a dragon is not easily come by."
"If he is
under this control, the wizard knows we are here, then." Kariana said suddenly.
Drakar looked startled, the rest of the party looked to Tazir, who nodded
in agreement.
"Yes, I
have a suspicion that he does." he replied. Drakar turned white and sat
down heavily on a nearby rock, as Chrysal and Ragnor drew their swords,
looking around warily for an attack. Kariana stood, looking calmly at Tazir.
"Then we
cannot wait for the dragon to leave, as he never will, not alone, at least.”
Kariana stated. “When is the best time to apporach them then, day or night?”
*****
The wizard
grinned into his scrying pool. The fools knew he was there and they had
just given away their plan. He figured that he would have to make
a grand appearance though, just before he sent the dragon to smite them.
Grinning evilly, he turned to the dragon, who was regarding him with a
stare that was half malevolent, half fearful.
"You will
have your fun, I promise." the wizard said, misreading the dragons' glare
for impatience. "I must go visit our guests and make them at home first."
with this final sentiment, he vanished from the lair.
*****
The party
had just finished deciding that Tazir would go in alone to challenge the
wizard to an honorable battle of magic. Suddenly, as they had finished
their discussion, there was a great puff of blue smoke and the other wizard
appeared. Drakar nearly fainted at the sight.
This new
wizard was dressed completely in blood-red robes, with small golden dragons
embroidered around the cuffs of his sleeves. He was obviously half-Elven,
as Kariana noticed by his slightly pointed ears. His silver hair, though,
spoke of a drow heritage, as drow were the most common bearers of silver
hair in Akura. Chrysal and Ragnor moved to the front of the rest of the
party, swords drawn and ready, as the wizard began to speak.
"I am Ta'kar
Alarious Clydestro, of the Order of the Red Dragon." he said, his voice
booming out over the party as he grinned maliciously. He then pointed at
Kariana. "Give the Elf to me and I will let the rest of you go. If you
do not, I shall destroy you." he said, waving a scepter in the air. A loud
flap of leathery wings announced the dragon’s presence behind the group.
"What do
you want her for?" Chrysal demanded, raising his sword to the wizard. "She
is under my protection, and I will not give her up without a fight." Kariana
slowly moved to the side, out from behind Chrysal, as she held the wizards'
gaze with her own. If she could only draw his gaze from the rest of them,
then maybe they could attack and get out unscathed. She also had no idea
what he was talking about, realizing that he had possibly lost his mind.
“You do
not know do you?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at the Elf, who stared back
calmly, making no move for her weapon. “She may one day posess great power.
I must stop her before she tears apart the very fabric of this universe.”
“Begone
from this place, evil one,” Tazir interrupted, “and realease this dragon
from the bind which holds it!” his voice range out above the noise of the
dragon. “I say to you that you shall never have the Elf maiden, unless
you wish to battle me first.” Tazir was suddenly in front of the party,
directly facing Ta’kar.
“What say
you?” he asked coldly. “Release the dragon from the bond which keeps it
loyal, and challenge me in a battle of honor.”
Ta’kar actually
considered the words of Tazir. As cold-hearted as he was, an uncharacteristic
spark of honor emerged deep within him and he threw the golden scepter
at the dragon, waving it away. Crimson shook his head forcefully, confused
momentarily by what had happened as the wyrm realized that the spell had
been dispelled.
“Let the
battle begin.” he snarled, triggering a wand that he had removed from his
belt. The world exploded in a flash of light and the companions were thrown
backwards, in the direction of the dragons’ lair.
*****