Fantasy Saga of the Nineteen Islands

[Dominaiscna]

As Keenan made his way over to tend to Oliver, Isolde followed him with her gaze. A smile still glimmered on her lips for a moment, disappearing behind the bowl of soup as she lifted it to her lips to drink, savoring the warm and tasty food. There she sat for a moment in quiet, finishing up her dinner to the soft crackling and flickering of the fire. Before long, Kadri approached Isolde with a bag slung over her shoulder and took a seat beside her, busying herself with sifting through the contents of the bag. One at a time, she produced small leather bound books and though Isolde said nothing, she regarded the books with interest and curiosity, putting the bowl down beside her as the other lineaged began to speak.
As Kadri explained what the books were, a faint smile tugged at Isolde's lips. Though she couldn't help wonder why Kadri carried books from her childhood on her person, she was more than grateful to the other lineaged for offering her old books as a guide from which she could learn how to better control her magic. "...Thank you Kadri...if you won't mind, I can study the books tonight before going to sleep... perhaps I'll make some progress with them as my guide..." she said, her gratefulness evident in the tone of her voice.

As Kadri continued, Isolde notably became confused at the mention of scales on her arms. "...what scales...? I do not have any..." she replied in a concerned voice, pulling up her sleeves to show the bare skin of her arms. However, her mind quickly pieced together what the other lineaged might have been referring to. Hesitantly, she pulled down the high collar of her black. Truth be told, aside from healer and her son, Isolde had not shown anyone the scales in years and the action made her nervous. She tilted her head away from Kadri, making her hair fall away from her neck to one side, revealing the clusters of white scales glimmering on the back and slightly on the sides of her neck. "...do you mean these...?"

Baconhands

 

[Baconhands]

Kadri was initially puzzled by the apparent lack of scales on the young woman's arms. When they were revealed to be on Isolde's back however, the lineaged nodded. This was perculiar and uncommon but not rare among lineaged. Clearly Isolde hadn't been given a proper education on what they meant... maybe it would be worthwhile telling her now?
"Look... yes... well I suppose you can't look at them. But those scales are white. They allow you to cast magic and they also indicate that you are... lineaged - descended from one of the Aspect Dragons that formed the continent of Euross and then tore it apart, making it in to what it is now, the Nineteen Islands. The white colour of your scales indicates that you are related to Selta, the Aspect of Ice or Cold, depending on who you ask. She is... not among one of the most popular of the ten Aspect Dragons due to... blizzards and such but she is important nonetheless!"
Kadri continued to explain the history associated with the dragons - how 800 years ago a squabble among the siblings broke into conflict on the mortal plane, and Euross broke into 19 pieces due to the ferocity of the warring Aspects with almost all civilizations of the time falling into ash. When she finished her recounting, Kadri mentally sighed - she felt Keenan would press her for more information. She resolved, instead to tell tales of her personal travels the next night.
Dominaiscna
The next morning, at the break of dawn, the party entered the mine Keenan had spotted the evening prior. Kadri, acting as navigator led the group through a labyrinth of carved stone and rotted wooden beams that creeked, groaned and waned under the pressure of the earth above. The lineaged had confidence in her amulet - as she walked, the aura around the symbol of two eyes seemed to grow darker and darker. She led the group confidently until she heard something snap beneath her feet. All sources of light faded immediately into nothing.
A second passed. Another. Another. Then the walls appeared to faintly emit light, from the rocks themselves. Blues, yellows, reds, greens and all other colours appeared as zogzagging lines beckoning the party further. They pulsed, appearing and disappearing every few moments. Kadri dared to look down when the lights appeared - her foot had broken a bone... an eerily human looking one. Though she could see no source for it, a voice whispered to all of them, in tongues too ancient for any of the group to understand. It was subtle, sly and yet brutish and violent all at once.
SilverFlight 11254man Athanas Dominaiscna

 

[Dominaiscna]

As Kadri explained the history of the nineteen islands and the aspect dragons, Isolde sat listening intently. Unconsciously, her one hand lifted up so that her fingers could touch the smooth coldness of the scales on the back of her neck. The action caused a slight shiver to run down her body. When the two of them retired in for the night, Isolde expressed her thanks to the other lineaged, feeling nervous yet eager to learn more and hear out whatever Kadri had yet to tell her.

For her sleeping place, she set up her bedroll relatively close to the fireplace, at a distance where she could feel the warmth of the flames without being dangerously close to the fire. And though she was exhausted, Isolde stayed for a little while with her head rested on her bag, reading through one of the small leather bound books Kadri had given her. She handled the book with care, as if it were some precious and delicate treasure, with the fire as her glimmering light source as her eyes glided across the page. The rest of the manuals lay in a neat pile on the other side of her bedroll against the column.

However, when the fire grew small and it became too dark to read, Isolde put the book away and tucked herself deep into her bedroll. She was dead tired, every inch of her body ached with exhaustion, so it was a matter of seconds after she closed her eyes that the darkness and sleep overcame her.

~~

Cold.

It was Cold. So cold.

And she was so scared.

All alone.

Devil's Child. Demon.

Monster. MONSTER.

All around, a storm raged, angry and violent, unrelenting and merciless. It screamed the pure pain of a child - lost and confused - angry and scared. It was uncontrollable.

And there was Aminah, her beautiful features crystallized with ice. Her eyes were cold and pitiless - with the darkness of death - and her face twisted beyond recognition, filled with so much anguish and pain. Her features contorted and writhed with her form till she was a spitting image of the monster. A creature of nightmares.

Run, she screamed.

Run, Isolde.

RUN.


~~


Isolde shook awake, skin glimmering with sweat and chest rising up and down quickly with each breathe. Her heart thundered loudly in her ears as her eyes wildly searched the darkness, trying to determine where she was. Once her gaze landed on the remaining cinders of the fire, she remembered where she was and her body physically relaxed. After a quick look around, it seemed that no one was awake and Isolde sunk back down on to her bed in relief. She lay there for a good while, silent and eyes wide open, till her heartbeat had steadied and her breathing had slowed and quietened.

A night mare. A dream.

She told herself.

Just a dream.

 

[SilverFlight]

Keenan had shut his eyes and laid back on his roll, but he was listening to Kadri. Blue shifted beside him, rolling over to nestle more closely to his side. He rubbed her ears thoughtfully as he processed what he was hearing. It made him ask questions internally: Why did Kadri want to keep her identity a secret? From how she spoke she could control her powers, they could have been useful in that last fight, but risking her life had been her choice over using them.
He listened to the history of the dragons. He had heard it before. It was a popular story, but magic was beyond him, and so it had never been interesting. It was more so now.

Slowly he drifted off, lulled by the steady cadence of Kadri's voice.

Morning brought a mild chill to the air, though it was dry enough in the flats that there wasn't a hint of dew on anything. Blue had settled her front half on top of Keenan's stomach and shook herself as he pushed her off.
The pack offered bread and cheese for breakfast and Keenan drew out a few pieces of dried fish for Blue which she devoured in minutes and then began to eye Keenan's wedge of cheese hungrily.

The cave he had spotted was indeed an abandoned mine shaft, he could see the aging beams, and felt the stone dust of rocks above that were set to tumble down on unsuspecting heads at any moment.
"This isn't the best place to pick a fight with a dragon." Keenan observed. Not that they would be given much choice. As they delved deeper the light from the entrance vanished. Keenan began to rumage in the pack for a torch to light, when suddenly he paused to hold his hand up before him. He could see perfectly well. The walls, made of stone but they shimmered and glowed all colours of the rainbow it seemed. In the dim light he saw Isolde ( Dominaiscna ) , and the troubled look on her face. He brushed her shoulder comfortingly as he passed by to come up beside Kadri ( Baconhands ). It was then the whispers began. Keenan hadn't a clue what was said, but the voice sent shivers up his spine. Instinctively, he drew his shield and sword. The light was just enough to see that the cave floor was littered with bones.
"Did you have a plan?" Keenan asked their leader quietly.

Athanas 11254man

 

[Dominaiscna]

Isolde was one of the earlier ones up in the morning. After the nightmare, she hadn’t really slept, something within her kept her from fully sinking in slumber. Instead for the last few hours, she kept drifting in and out of consciousness till the morning sun cast light into the house in which they stayed.

She spent much of the morning preparations quiet. Not saying much as she ate her breakfast, tidied up her sleeping place and checked on Oliver 11254man . She had tried to distract herself with some reading... but soon abandoned the books back onto their pile and instead busied herself with helping the others prepare for going to the mine. Truth be told, she was not looking forward to exploring the mine... but couldnt let herself chicken out. She had run away too many times.

~~

As soon as they entered the mines, Isolde felt herself growing increasingly on edge. The darkness around them seemed the writh with something sinister and alive, though it may very well be her tired and stressed mind playing tricks on her. She walked in absolute silence beside her group mates, eyes flickering around alert and cautious while one thumb rubbed over the cold moonstone of her necklace - a nervous gesture.

As someone brushed by her, Isolde flinched but relaxed immediately after when she saw that it was Keenan. Considering how much walking space they had, he must purposefully walked closer... perhaps as a reassuring gesture? Though she worried about how much her stress and concern was showing on her face, Isolde felt just a bit better at his action, the corners of her lips turning up ever so slightly. SilverFlight

However, what reassurance he had given her vanished at the sound of the whispers. They sent chills down her spine and instantly, the air dropped a few degrees in temperature, growing slightly colder. Isolde quickened her step to draw closer to her group.

Baconhands Athanas

 

[Baconhands]

Kadri didn't answer Keenan - not out of rudeness or fear, but because the voice seemed to echo around her, drowning out all other noises. The lineaged didn't stop - if they did, she was certain the effects would only get worse. Apparently her assumption also applied to continuing further. With each step, the voice seemed to become clearer... slowly changing to speak the native tongue of the listener. The grin was audible in the voice as it played out its fiendish game with every single member of the group - taunting, tempting, and often straight up insulting each one of them.
Kadri stopped walking. She followed the lights on the wall with her eyes, the voice continuing to taunt and scrape at her ears. Anger launched the spell without even so much as consulting her other thoughts. She seemed to roar out at the intermittent darkness as lightning leaped from her fingers, striking the walls, the floor and the roof of the cavern. The voice stopped its whispering, becoming instead a thunderous cacophony of sounds that finished with the sound of a claw raking against rocks.
"Who dares to enter my home, walk my caverns and come with the intent of stealing what is rightfully mine?!" A low, rumbling challenged. The veins of rock stopped glowing altogether. Before them, two reptillian eyes opened, each one easily as big any of the party member's heads. Kadri, it appeared, was only a dozen feet from them and as she took a step back, she bumped into somebody behind, quickly letting out a small scream of surprise which she tried to muffle quickly.
A low, rumbling chuckle eminated from further within the cavern, "Not as brave as the ones who came before you? You should all make a tasty morsel."
Dominaiscna SilverFlight Athanas 11254man

 

[Dominaiscna]

The voices echoed louder and louder, whispering close to her ears yet bouncing and reverberating off the stone walls like ripples on a pond. At first they were merely sounds... in a tongue that she could not understand. But as they walked, the sound became words and words became sentences. The voices now reached her, clawed their way into their mind, spitting their curses that echoed again and again inside her head. The temperature began to drop... when a thought sliced through her mind?

Could they hear them?

Fearfully, Isolde looked around her group, scanning their faces... but no one was looking at her. No one seemed to hear the voices.. hear their words. This both brought relief and panic to the lineaged.

"Kadri..." Isolde called out softly, her voice quiet, almost a whimper. She wanted to go back... she wanted to turn and run... to hide away from the voices, but the other lineaged seemed to not have heard her, as if she were caught up in her own world. "Kadri...!" She called out again, louder this time and more desperate. The voices were slowly clawing their way through her thoughts, scraping with painful words into her heart... she couldn't take it anymore. Reaching out, she made to grab for the other lineaged, mouth already forming her name. However something seemed suddenly possess Kadri when, in a fit of anger, she hurled lightning at the walls of stone, causing electricity to bounce and sizzle through the air above them. Instinctively, Isolde flinched back at the magic, but nothing could prepare her for the sudden assault on her ears.

As the cacophony of sounds hit her, Isolde crumpled to her knees, hands raking at her ears. Though she could not decipher anything from the thunderous roar of sounds, she could still hear the words playing on repeat in her head, again and again and again. Tears prickled her eyes as she fought to keep her calm... to find her peace.. to block out the voices. She wanted it to stop. She couldn't take it anymore. She just couldn't take it anym-

A single sound seemed to cut through the noise, leaving only deadly silence.

Though her ears still ringed and her mind replayed the voice's words again and again in her head, Isolde found herself looking up slowly towards where they were heading. As her gaze met two reptilian eyes, the air dropped a few more degrees. A dragon...


Athanas 11254man Baconhands SilverFlight

 

[SilverFlight]

Keenan didn't take Kadri's silence as purposefully neglectful, because at that moment the whispers grew louder in his mind, and began to take shape.
He was thrown back into his memories, the guilt and shame dredged up from the darkest parts of his mind.
"Get out of my head..." he muttered quietly to himself. Blue began to growl.
When Kadri cried out in frustration Keenan's head shot up, snapped out his his dogged battle with the mind voice. Lightning flared out from her fingers and Keenan dove towards Isolde, shielding her from the wayward bolts. He didn't need to, they weren't aimed at anything behind Kadri, but Keenan swallowed hard when he saw what was opening its eyes before them.

Keenan kept his shield high, taking a breath he hardened his gaze as he stared the beast down.
"Kadri," he whispered, wondering if the beast could read his immediate thoughts or just the ones that haunted him.
"If I try to distract it, can you find a way around it?"
Either flanking the beast or slipping past it to grab the relic, both were good plans. Keenan was prepared to give his allies the time they needed.

"Plenty brave lizard." Keenan shouted into the gloom. "Come at me then, and we'll test your courage!"

Baconhands Dominaiscna Athanas 11254man

 

[Athanas]

Destrian did not pay much heed to the information that was laid out by Kadri for Isolde to hear. He was already dead-tired after a full day of marching, battling, and self-mutilating to keep his party whole. And to think that the worst had yet to come! Destrian didn't have the slightest idea on how they were going to accomplish killing a dragon. Isolde, while extremely powerful, Still appeared averse to using her powers. Keenan and Oliver, while both good combatants, lacked magic. Kadri appeared competent, however clearly inexperienced in leading and battling. Perhaps this expedition was doomed. Maybe he could convince them to turn back, and...

No, spoke his mind.You'll just have to try harder. You'll have to cover their flaws and allow them to use their strengths. That's how a raiding party's effective
But they aren't a raiding party! I can't just entice them with the thought of Women and Plunder! How can I make them function as a team, when none of them probably trusts me, at all?
Even his obsessive mind didn't have an answer for that, so he just sighed, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Awaking in the morning quite late, he was delighted to see that nothing bad had come out of their decision to not assign a sentry. He was also rather glad to see that Oliver did not appear to have died due to infection. After having eaten breakfast, he decided to waste some magic to patch up the man-A good sword arm might prove invaluable. Drawing his hunting knife(That was actually in need of cleaning, at this point, from the abundance of blood), he lay a hand on his shoulder, near his wound

"Aight, you probably know the drill at this point. This will be painful, but please try to avoid hitting me while the magic is flowing. It might break my focus, and The magic itself might break quite a few things of yours, too."

Turning the knife so that the blade faced his own leg, he performed a horizontal cut. As he had time to properly examine the wound, the wound did not have to be as deep as the one he had made for Kadri. Therefore, he only needed to rest for a few dozen minutes before his healing magic allowed him to stand. His leg still felt considerably sore, but it was nothing to worry himself about.

When the voices began whispering he was taken considerably aback. Physical things he could deal with. Voices out of nowhere, not so much. Still, he was confident that whatever language was spoken wasn't some sort of incantation.
Until he heard Arty.

Which, by itself, wouldn't have been so bad, if Arty hadn't been dead for the past two years. Dead by the hands of Destrian no less. He paused momentarily, listening in. Arty was still spouting the same words that had gotten him killed all this time ago. Merely hearing the man's voice again made him remember exactly why he had resorted to violence in that situation in the first place. He tried to ignore it, but it was just too painful.
..Coward...Fled...Die


"You will be quiet, Arty. You will not... YOU WILL NOT SPEAK OF THIS, OR I'LL FUCK YOU UP WORSE THAN LAST TIME!" Destrian screamed in the air, as if Somehow his voice would be enough to make the voice stop. Somehow, it did. And it was replaced with another, a booming voice spoke, and a set of massive eyes appeared in the dark. Instinctively, Destrian began forming a javelin of energy, charging it up.

Jolly. That must be the Drake Kadri spoke about. Fuck, we're going to die Said his still-rational side
"This maggot's head will be on a spike before that. I don't care what it fucking takes." The dragon probably hadn't really thought much about what kind of topic it would pick to attempt to frighten Destrian. Instead, he just appeared to be furious, pure Hatred filling his eyes. He began moving to the side, so as to spread out and minimize the dragon's targets

"You most certainly talk a lot for somebody that's supposedly this fierce. And you rely on voices and tricks too much. I think that perhaps you're the craven one here. Don't worry though! I will soon butcher you, and spare the dragons the shame that is you, pathetic worm! Reckon those scales will make for some nice armor!"

Having used the talking as a means to buy time and fully charge his weapon, he threw it forwards, aimed directly between the dragon's eyes. He would then roll to the side and begin charging another, Immediately.

11254man SilverFlight Dominaiscna Baconhands

 

[11254man]

Oliver had regrettably not been quiet the night prior. He'd filled the air with groans and cries of pain all the way through the dark. By the next morning, Oliver's arm was overcome by a dull burning. It felt as if there was a torch below his arm, searing it up to his elbow. In order to stop the shocks of pain which had many a time neared him to falling unconscious, Oliver took it upon himself to wind his arm in a sling. The bandage itself was poorly fashioned, and likely contributing to the possibility of an infection, as it had been made from the cloth bandaging which had otherwise protected the wound. Never the less, Oliver had gone through great bouts of pain in order to properly wrap it and he was not going to allow that work to go to waste. (the wrapping something he did alone, half in protest of the soldier's spoon-feeding the day prior.) He was able to more easily and less painfully move himself to his feet and back down after this. Besides that, he'd not been injured anywhere else, and was as close to fine as he would likely be for a while.

The entrance to the mineshaft felt old and sodden. A strange contrast to the rather dry and sedentary flats around them. The rotted wood about the place would lead one to believe this place was not perhaps a busy one. As their descent continued, Oliver began to an uneasy disposition. Though the wood was rotted, Oliver couldn't help but feel there had been a great many travelers through here. The bones sparsely scattered across the floor made Oliver don his helm. He became acutely aware of every sense of the place. He'd incessantly searched the glow of the walls for a pattern, a way out. The feeling of his glove against his hand; the burning of his arm under its sling; the taste of the mossy, dry air; the sound of his breath against the front of his helmet. The smell of death.

He was acutely aware of it all, and kept taking time to calm himself between bouts of overwhelming anxiousness. That was before the voices began. By the time the whispers began, Oliver jumped back, his sword flying out of its scabbard. Oliver's breaths were heavy and uneven, his eyes darting across the sparse tunnel. A tunnel which began to feel as if it were crushing him between it's walls. Tears began to well in his eyes, the emotion which he had suppressed welling up to finally overtake him. "Deserter." The word stuck like a dagger into him. "Deserter." The voice which had been so loud in his mind was being overtaken by his own. A cacophony of noise beginning to send Oliver into a daze. "Deserter." He heard it say, and thusly he responded to himself. "Deserter." It was what he was. It was how he had lost her, and now, "Deserter." There was no more truthfully dishonorable failure than his. The dragon erupted from the ground. "Dishonorable." "Deserter." "You abandoned him." "Deserter." It's voice receding from his mind and leaving only himself. His arm was burning now, and Oliver could not have it more put out of his mind. He was a failure, a deserter, a scoundrel. The word did not stop repeating itself within his mind. "Deserter." And then....

And then, clarity.

Oliver looked up at the mass of darkened scales before him with clarity. There was darkness about him, but he was not afraid. He was a knight. He had to rescue his darling princess from this beast. The beast which had taken both her and his child, and the one which had so cleanly defeated his dear brother. He would stand his ground despite the cost. He was no deserter. He was a man of great renown, a royal knight. And he would save them both from this monster, no matter what impediment to sight or sword he might have. He grabbed his blade with both his hands, making sure not to injure his baby son, who stood atop the beast's head. He spoke, in crystal voice, "I will end your reign of terror." Though the rest of the party heard Nothing more than a chittering laugh from him.

Baconhands Athanas SilverFlight Dominaiscna

 

[Baconhands]

The creature chuckled at Keenan's taunt, its head, though not invisible, crept slowly forwards until its mouth was a mere foot away from the soldier's head. This movement slowly pushed Isolde and Kadri out of the way, with Kadri suddenly feeling winded from launching the spell at her target. "My my," the dragon said, audibly grinning. "Aren't you a brave little boy. Not even a lineaged. Do you know what I am? Who my grandfather is? I am-"
As the dragon reared back Destrian's bolt landed on its snout. Though clearly surprised, the dragon quickly regained its composure as the purple energy dissipated, revealing the dragon's form for a moment and the cavern it was standing in. The shadows of its wings extended from wall to wall, though due to midnight shade of its scales it was possible that these were its wings. The mouth of the creature opened during that brief moment, revealing teeth apparently made of onyx with some easily as big as one of the party member's torsos. As it took a step back, the rest of the form disappeared as darkness enveloped the chamber once more. A deafening roar echoed from wall to wall. The initial wave of sound slammed into Kadri, knocking her off her feet as she desperately tried to shield her ears.
The roar lasted only a few moments, though it easily felt like an hour had passed.
"A coward's tactic! I should have expected no less. Know this, humans, lineaged and non, I will make your deaths swift. For I will not be as callous and dishonourable as you. And since I believe you should know what your doom looks like..."
The flapping of great wings could be heard and the lights from the stones returned, revealing a huge chamber, easily two hundred feet across and hundreds of feet high. The room itself appeared circular, like a dome made of stone. Scattered around it were hundreds of statues, weapons, shields and armour - trophies from previous fights, Kadri guessed. Though they were in pristine condition, as if they had never been damaged at all. There was no sign of an artefact.
Kadri looked up at the winged beast, and indeed, its wings did seem to stretch from side to side. It was exactly like in the stories, with terrible claws that seemed to be made from obsidian that glinted like spears in the minimal light. It was flying easily 100 or so feet above them, and it seemed to be grinning down at them, as if daring them to make the first proper move.
The lineaged scrambled behind a set of armour, using it as temporary cover as she tried tor egain her energy to launch an attack at the creature.
SilverFlight Dominaiscna Athanas 11254man

 

[A Not So Wonderful Story]

Velma would have been in the chamber not long before the others had arrived. She had used her only invisibility potion to sneak around the dragon, masking her scent and appearance as she acted on instinct. So far, her target had been the back of the dragon's head since she couldn't get to the chest. It was a foolish plan from the start, but for some reason the girl was going for it, trusting in her skills to assist her in the slaying of this dragon single handed. However, she had only made it behind the dragon's tail before it began to move about and speak it's tongue. She cursed silently and rolled backwards behind a stone.
What in the hell? I didn't even touch it!
She thought to herself. She then heard it speak, and knew it wasn't directly towards her, gritting her teeth. She would look over to see the group. She counted five that she could see, and was unable to hear the words that were spoken. As soon as the dragon recoiled, she would leap from behind the rock, hurrying to get an arrow as the dragon became angry. Once the gust of winds knocked her light body around a bit, her invisibility immediately broke.

As the dome of a chamber illuminated from the stones, Velma would barely be visible on the opposite side of the group. She stood in her black robes, making her relatively difficult to notice instantly. Not that they would be looking at the girl anyway, who wouldn't focus on the dragon before them anyway? If one were to focus on the girl, they would see her bow already knocked and pulled with an arrow as she pulled back with all the strength she had. An entire hundred feet that could have been avoided now distanced her in the dragon, making her struggle much more than she had too. She clenched her teeth, her entire body stiff as she tried to aim as precisely as possible. She was aiming for the joint of the dragon's left wing. Why? Well, she noticed a shiny sword and shield on Keenan and thought that would be put to much better use if she could get the beast onto the ground. Her breath slowly exhaled before she let go of the arrow, praying to her Aspect that it would make its mark. The girl would stare intensely at the joint as her arrow flew, still stiff and hopeful.
Baconhands SilverFlight Dominaiscna Athanas 11254man

 

[Dominaiscna]

Being behind Keenan, Isolde heard his whispered words and felt fear settle along her spine, not for herself but rather for him. Was he intending on being their distraction? Facing the dragon alone while another ran for the relic? Her worries were confirmed as he stepped forth to taunt the dragon. What if something were to happen to him while he was using himself to protect them? Instinctively, she reached out to his arm, her hand icy cold even through his armor. Her voice echoing his name quietly in the space between them... tinged with concern, urgency and fear. "Keenan... " SilverFlight

However, he was not the only one with the intention of taking on the dragon. Destrian who Isolde figured was also haunted by the voices, was screaming out in rage. In his eyes, she saw a fuming hatred that genuinely frightened her to her core. For him to wear such an expression... what had he seen? What had he heard? However, before she could consider anymore, Destrian was launching himself at the dragon, ending any possibility of a civil and diplomatic way out for the team. Athanas

Oliver who was thankfully back on his feet and in relatively good working order, was also ready for the fight... at least that was what it seemed like as he stood before the dragon. He faced the beast with his sword drawn, lifting his head towards the dragon, a chittering laugh escaping his lips. His eyes glimmered with something... something undefinable.. as if he were facing his destiny. Isolde could only feel the fear building within her. There was something terribly wrong with him, with the clarity of his eyes. 11254man

As Destrian's bolt it the dragon on the snout, it reared back and let out a deafening roar. The chamber around them shook violently and the sound wave threw Isolde to the ground as she to protect her ears. Desperately, she lay curled up on the ground with her eyes tightly squeezed shut, paralyzed.. waiting for the sound to stop. It sent ringing through her ears and Isolde could have sworn she heard the voices creeping at the edges of her mind. "No... please no..."

Once the roar had died down, Isolde raised her head from the cold stone to behold the dragon, hundreds of feet in the air above them in all his splendor. In that moment, she was struck by how beautiful and magnificent a dragon is... yet at the same time, her body was weighed down with fear as she could physically feel the power radiating off of the creature. How could they face such a powerful beast? How could they take on the dragon? A chill descended over their body as the rational side of her mind came to a conclusion.

They were going to die.

Pushing herself to her feet, Isolde felt resolve strengthen and stabilize her shaking limbs. She focused on steeling her mind, slowing her breathing and reaching out with her senses. Her magic flooded out from her core, instilling a new kind of chill into the air around them. She was searching, searching the expanse of the chamber, the vast space of the caves, into every crack and crevice. She needed water. She needed ice.

If they were going to die, then they would die with honor. They would go down fighting. And if the voices had been right... she closed her eyes feeling fear and anxiety clutch at her heart. If her fate was already set in stone, then she would live with it till the bitter end.

Baconhands A Not So Wonderful Story

 

[Baconhands]

As the dragon ascended, Kadri noted a peculiarity where its tail had been. A young woman, maybe a bit younger or older than her, was also present in the chamber, and it had appeared as if the dragon was unaware of her. Who was she? How did she get in here undetected by both the dragon and the party? It was apparent that she wasn't exactly a servant of the winged nightmare above them as an arrow was launched towards the creature's wing. Kadri followed it with her eyes, watching as the tip of it buried half an inch into the joint. The dragon turned to face the new threat - it didn't look injured, but it was annoyed as if it were reacting to a bug bite rather than an arrow shot.
"You insolent retch!" It hissed. The dragon started for the newcomer, its front claws outstretched, swooping like a bird of prey.
Kadri observed its behaviour with curiosity. As it came within grabbing distance of its target, it seemed to purposefully avoid the trophies it had collected. She thought for a brief moment, before she shouted to the others, "Try to keep it busy! I think I've got an idea!"
SilverFlight Dominaiscna Athanas 11254man A Not So Wonderful Story
With that, the lineaged grabbed the helmet from the rack of armour she had taken cover behind and placed it on her head. A quick glance around followed by the seizure of another trophy, a pair of leather boots, led to Kadri quickly chanting an incantation, and in a flash of lightning the lineaged had disappeared from sight, manifesting once more on the other side of the chamber, obscured from view behind a weapon's rack that was brimming with a dozen bastard blades and axes.

The dragon, having heard this, turned its head. Three of the intruders were grouped together, still relatively close to the entrance of the cavern. A low rumbling stirred in its gut as it landed. Several pieces in its collection fell, clattering to the floor. Its focus remained undisturbed however, as its mighty maw opened. From its mouth a billowing, scalding smoke rolled forward like a storm cloud, enveloping the group in a thick, opaque shroud.
SilverFlight Dominaiscna 11254man

 

[SilverFlight]

A dragon that invoked honour. That was new. Keenan could understand the desire for a straight fight. It made him respect the beast even as it promised to end them.
An icy touch jerked his attention away from the beast and he was met with worry in Isolde's delicate, blue eyes.
He turned back to her, placing a hand on hers and squeezing it reassuringly. "It will be all right." He promised. "Stay close to Kadri."
Destrian's attack struck the dragon and it roared. Keenan didn't waste any time darting forward, trying to aim a strike at their foe, but it spread it's massive wings and Keenan was nearly blown off his feet as it lifted off into the air. Keenan moved into the cavern, keeping his shield up and his sword ready.
The hiss of an arrow whistled through the air and Keenan looked up in time to see the dragon falter, its voice booming in anger. It lunged at the girl perched close by, bow still in hand.
"You're not getting her if I can help it." Keenan said as he started at a run towards her. Suddenly the dragon met them, eyes glowing with malice. It spewed a noxious smoke that rolled down to greet them. Keenan put up his shield, as he had always done against magical attacks, but the smoke crept into his lungs and he coughed violently, shaking his head as the spell worked itself into his mind.
Somewhere in the distance there was a worried bark, but it seemed so far away. Then the fear took hold of his heart and wrung it like a wet cloth. For a brief moment it was so overwhelming he could barely breathe. Suddenly the dragon seemed the least of his concerns. He staggered back from his friends, looking about wildly, at war with what he knew and the dangers his mind was screaming at him to avoid.
"Stay back!" He yelled, tripping on a mound of gold artifacts in an attempt to get away from them. Then his eyes fell on Isolde and he frowned, bringing a hand up to his temple, trying his best to fight the spell he knew had been cast. He could feel his mind slipping, feel himself losing to it.
"Stay back..." He trailed off, this time making it sound like more of a warning than a threat.

Baconhands Dominaiscna 11254man A Not So Wonderful Story

 

[Athanas]

Destrian's still sane side almost took over at the sight of the massive creature hovering overhead.
"Welp, that's about as far as We're going. So much for redemption. Good job on angering it, you Imbecile"

Destrian took pause, the bolt still charging at his hand. Perhaps this would be for the best. He'd die here, in a place where no one could find his corpse. He wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else. The world would finnaly be free from the monster.

But then the dragon coughed smoke, enveloping most of his companions in a thick cloud. The sound of them coughing brought him out of his stupor. He deserved to die, that much was certain. But Isolde did not. Keenan did not. Oliver did not. They were kind. They had come here wanting to do good. Their fate was not to die in a god-forsaken mine!

Destrian recovered from his daze, his anger returning. The dragon was hurting his companions. his friend. No matter what, the dragon wasn't walking away.

Destrian drew his knife, and, without thought, slashed at his torso. The howl of pain he let forth was probably loud enough to rival the dragon's-yet he didn't wavet. A large stream of energy poured out, all concetrating at his hands, and he merely had to release it. 5 bolts were sent crackling, hitting the dragon's wing- each with the force of a long bow arrow. Having gained the dragon's attention, he scrambled atop a nearby pile of breastplates.

"You cowardly, miserable dog! I am the one who challenged you, and yet, you run away from me and hurt my companions instead? Hah! I've seen peasant girls with more courage than you. Come, face me, you pathetic excuse of a dragon!"

His ceaseless taunting was not only about bolstering the resolve of his allies, how ever: Destrian was hoping to goad the dragon into swooping down upon him.

 

[Dominaiscna]

However, as Isolde raised her head to look in the direction of the dragon, she was instead met with a storm of noxious gas, enveloping their group of three. The gas forced its way down her throat and she coughed, feeling like poison was burning down her throat. Immediately her gaze flickered to search for her closest companions, fear clutching at her heart... but the light around her flickered out like a flame and she was cast into complete darkness. For a moment, it was just her... by herself ... alone in the darkness. But then, it was like the ground beneath her feet had given way and she was falling, losing touch with the blackness of her surroundings. Her hands instinctively went to her face, fingers feeling at blind eyes but there was nothing she could do. She was lost.

Letting out a soft whimper, she cried out "...someone, please help..." but only her own voice echoed back to her from the expanse of nothingness around her. "...please..."

And as if someone had flipped a switch, all at once, all her senses came back to life. The sounds, the smells... and for a moment, even the dim light of the chamber was too much for her eyes. But soon enough, her pale blue gaze found Keenan and relief bloomed in the sea of fear within her heart, like a single crack on the surface of a frozen lake. However, as she called out his name, he abruptly stumbled away from them, from her and it was at that moment that she noticed how different everything looked. The world around them seemed more sinister...torturous. The faint shadows convulsed and writhed with something dark and alive. The light from the walls seemed harsher... like a spotlight glaring down at her. And Keenan... she saw something in his face, in his eyes, that she never wanted to see. Distrust. Caution.

Fear.

His words echoed in her mind, a single drop causing ripples across the silent surface of her mind.

Stay Back.

And all of a sudden, the voices were back. Their words clawed their way into the constructed calm of her mind, ripping down the barriers she had carefully put up. She heard their curses again and again, ringing in her ears, and now she saw their predictions reflected in the fear and distrust of Keenan's eyes.

You are a monster.

"...No... stop it..." she tried to speak yet her voice cracked, barely louder than a whisper, "...I'm not... I.." She did not want to believe the voices that roared within her head like a storm... did not want to believe their words. Somewhere in her mind, she knew it was magic... all the work of the dragon, but it was getting harder and harder to fight against the spell he had cast. Unconsciously, her mind started drawing in the slivers of water from around the chamber as she backed away from Oliver and Keenan, the air around them cooling and dropping rapidly in temperature.

Again, she felt a familiar sensation creeping over her... like during their first battle. She was losing control to fear.

11254man A Not So Wonderful Story Athanas Baconhands SilverFlight

 

[A Not So Wonderful Story]

Velma would clench her teeth as the dragon turned to her. She cursed at herself for not poisoning the arrow before hand, perhaps it would have some sort of sickening affect on the beast. She watched stiffly as the dragon came swooping down at her in a ferocious rage. She quickly looked around quickly to see her options. As she saw Keenan rush towards her, she immediately accepted the protection, lifting a forearm to Keenan's lower back as she dropped to a knee to support the knight and his shield. As she saw the smoke envelope the area, she lifted her mask to cover her face, taking a deep breath and holding it. She heard Keenan begin to hallucinate, and coughed lightly as she had still breathed a small amount. Apon looking at Keenan, she saw a bloodied body of her first victim, screaming at her to stay away. Upon remembering her innocence of her first kill and how much it devastated her, she almost threw up right there as she turned her head away, squeezing her eyes tight as she rushed out of the smoke. She would surely help the knight, but was no use to him when they were both in this state. Besides, he had spoken as if he was going to kill whoever came near anyway. She gasped for fresh air as she panted through her mask, opening her eyes to see Destrian's reckless rage towards the dragon. She watched as the bolts he launched hit the beast's wing. This thing was heavy duty, she was going to have to create a weak spot, and arrows definitely wouldn't do that. She slung her bow around her torso and pulled her arm back into a lock, her hand frothing and bubbling as a ball of green acid dripped onto the ground. She gritted her teeth as she let out a mighty growl, heaving the hissing ball of acid into the air.
"Hah!"
She yelled out as she watched the acid splatter onto the side of the dragon's neck, sizzling like an egg dropped into a hot pan. She was gambling on the dragon thinking it was part of Destrian's attack, since they both attacked simultaneously. That way, she would be able to go retrieve the knight who assisted her and calm him down. A plan was formulating in her mind, and if she could calm him down, it would be so crazy it just might work.
Baconhands SilverFlight 11254man Athanas Dominaiscna

 

[Baconhands]

Kadri looked round her piece of cover, noticing the dragon had landed. She looked to Keenan, Isolde and Oliver, noticing the smoke enveloping them. It was as if a lead weight dropped - had she been too late in enacting her plan? The smoke cleared after a few seconds and, while the trio appeared disorientated, they were alive! It appeared as if Destrian was trying to take on the dragon by himself, though the woman that was already here was supporting him. This would be an ample distraction, Kadri thought.
She grabbed a weapon from the weapons rack, a one handed ax carved with runes that appeared to glow when the weapon came to her hand. The same utterance escaped the lineaged once again - a flash of lightning enveloped her and one appeared between Keenan and Isolde at the same time. Barely a second later and Kadri had appeared between them. She held out the weapon for Keenan to take, and the pair of leather boots she had grabbed earlier were being held out for Isolde.
"Keenan, take the ax! Isodle these boots are for you. I'll be back with something for you in a moment Oliv-" Kadri stopped her sentence midway. The temperature was almost freezing her. Her eyes filled with panic as she looked at her fellow lineaged, and she dropped the ax to the ground in front of Keenan, turning squarely to face Isolde. "No, no, Isolde, remember what I said to you. Do you remember what those books said? Did you read them? Tell me what I said, what they said."
While she was trying to sound calm, she couldn't help the panicked nuances that wormed their way into her voice.
SilverFlight Dominaiscna 11254man

The dragon's wings were peppered by Destrian's strikes. Three holes, each the size of a fist, tore themselves into the organic canvas that made up the dragons wing. The dragon, furious, turned its full attention on the upstart lineaged that was recklessly standing on a pile of his trophies! It snarled and lunged, seeking to grab Destrian and squeeze him like he was in a vice, unaware of the acid that had landed on its neck.
Athanas
The acid damaged several of the dragon's scales, two of which dislodged themselves and fell to the ground. As its body turned to face the lineaged of Awramaar, its tail swung round knocking several armour stands over, launching them unintentionally at a high velocity towards Velma.
A Not So Wonderful Story
The sound of the chainmail, plate armour and helmets clattering against the ground made the dragon roar in frustration. "You all walk into my chamber, and yet this foolish boy says he is the one to challenge me. You're all nothing but low-born thieves. Damaging my trophies, seeking to take which I rightfully won! All of you sniveling insects are the same!"
@Every_one

 

[SilverFlight]

Keenan's head reeled. The panic that whirled through his mind forced him to see his friends as enemies. They were friends...weren't they? No, they were trying to kill him. No!
Suddenly something collided with him. He was knocked clean off his feat, a mass of fur and drool landing on top of him. Blue let out a deep bark right in his face and stared down at him with a whine. Slowly, he recognized her. Images came to him of Blue as a puppy, of training her, having her out-perform so many larger dogs. He was so proud of her...She was a friend. The poison's hold on his mind began to slip.
Nearly winding him a second time the massive war dog bounded off his chest and over to Isolde, nudging her with a square muzzle.
Keenan followed the dog with his eyes as he forced himself up. Isolde...she was...a friend too. He remembered her gentle smile, her quiet, delicate speech, and the ice-blue eyes that held so much fear and worry. Fear of what others thought of her...what had the poison done?
The lightning strike made him flinch and he forced his shield up, only afterwards looking upon what had been thrown down by him. He and Kadri noticed Isolde's condition in the same moment. His breath froze in the air.
Kadri tried to bring back the memories of the spells. Isolde needed to be clear-minded enough to hear them. Keenan started forward, closing the distance between them in a few jogging strides.
"Isolde! You're all right." He reached her and hesitated only a moment before slowly wrapping his arms about her. His shield brushed against her frigid skin. "You're all right...come back to us..."
Baconhands Dominaiscna

Blue the dog, was not finished yet. As Keenan came back to his senses she turned and set her small black eyes on the dragon. It was on the ground now, reachable. Blue bolted, small ears folded back in the wind, her jaws flung wide. She dodged the tail. Tail bad, don't go near tail, and hurled herself bodily under the dragon's left leg. Blue scrabbled for purchase before sinking her teeth deep into the soft, unguarded underarm of the beast. Baconhands Athanas A Not So Wonderful Story

 

[Dominaiscna]

Ice was creeping its way into her heart and fear filled her veins. In panic, Isolde kept trying to tell herself to not believe anything, that the voices.. their words.. it was all lies. Lies.

You are a Monster.

She remembered his face. He was scared... they were all scared. She saw it in their eyes. She saw her reflection. She saw a monster. They were scared... afraid. Afraid of a monster.

...good person... ...good work... ...a great mage... ..saved my life... ...looking out for me...

Everything... it had all been lies. Lies. All Lies.

Instead of feeling anger, she felt a incredibly sadness.. and fear. A tear streaked down one side of her face as she backed away from Keenan and Oliver, as if seeking to find an escape, to run and hide away. But there was only darkness around her. ...no escape. Despite the empty space, Isolde felt like a cornered animal, surrounded, trapped and unable to escape as the shadows closed in.

A warm touch forced her eyes away from the faces of her companions and down to Blue. For a moment, she wavered at the familiarity of the dog's face and the warmth of the affection in its eyes. "...Blue..." she breathed, the name feeling familiar on her lips.

But then, other beings closed in on her. Her eyes met Kadri's... her lips were moving and sound met Isolde's ears yet it was as if she was underwater, each word muffled and distorted beyond comprehension. From her face, she saw distrust and hostility that were not there and shrunk away from the other lineaged. In a moment, before her stood someone else entirely. Not Kadri... but Aminah.

You are a Monster.

"Please, I'm sorry..." Isolde whispered, glimmering eyes meeting Kadri's yet not truly seeing her. Another tear streaked down her cheek, trembling like her voice. "...I didn't want to hurt you, please... I'm sorry... Mom..." In anguish, she closed her eyes to the voices, trying block out the world.. the senseless sounds. Unconsciously, magic started gathering in her clenched hands as her breathing picked up with her panic.

But suddenly, there were arms around her, embracing her closely. For a moment, she panicked, blindly trying to push herself away,... but there was no feeling of danger. Instead she felt warmth. A voice called to her and though she could not make out the words, she felt familiarity and her mind echoed one sentence.

I'll always do my best...to protect you... Isolde...

She heard their voices now. Kadri... and Keenan.. heard them calling to her. They were not angry or fearful... their words were comforting.. and their voices, warm. Weakly, Isolde rested her forehead against the slope of Keenan's shoulder, feeling fear release its grip on her and the poison dispel from her system.

After a moment, she lifted her head. Her eyes met Keenan's for a few seconds before she turned to look at Kadri, getting her bearings. A dark feeling still hung over her, betrayed by the trembling of her body, but she was better. Awkwardly, she stepped back from the knight, one hand lifting to wipe the remnants of tears from her eyes. "... I'm sorry..." she said in a weak voice, managing a wavering smile, "I think I'm fine now, I'm back. ...thank you... "

11254man A Not So Wonderful Story Athanas Baconhands SilverFlight

 

[Baconhands]

Kadri stood perplexed at what Isolde was saying - she was teary eyed, trembling and apologizing to her... mother? The lineaged shook her head; this couldn't be happening, not now, not here. She was certain the distraction being run wouldn't last long, and her thoughts were vindicated when the dragon's voiced boomed another statement. Her eyes had turned to face the creature for a moment, and when she looked back she found Isolde in Keenan's embrace. Kadri noticed the lineaged of Selta calming down but she still wasn't in the state that Kadri needed her to be in. Placing the boots in front of Isolde, Kadri looked her in the eyes like a young teacher instructing a new student, "Isolde. You can't lose control of yourself now. You are the master of your emotions, they aren't the master of you. Please put those on." She indicated to the boots.
Dominaiscna
Her eyes turned to the axe, its head a wonderful shade of silver that glinted remarkably in the lights of the cavern. Keenan hadn't taken it, and so Kadri grabbed it and scurried back. It felt well balanced, at least from Kadri's inexperienced perspective, and she placed it next to him, "Wield this. Please. I think I know how we can get out of this fight."
SilverFlight
She distanced herself from Keenan, Isolde and Oliver. She continued to look at Keenan, trusting him to realize what she was trying to do, "Make sure the dragon knows you have it! I'll get something for the oth-"
Kadri's sentence was interrupted as the dragon's tail slammed into her side, a byproduct of it quickly turning to try and shake off the mutt that had latched itself to its leg. Her lungs quickly emptied themselves of air. She was sent flying about 50 feet to the side of the chamber, airborne for a precious few seconds that let her try to cast a teleportation spell, only to have it fail as no words escaped her lips. Her back hit the stone with an audible crack. The pain engulfed her in an instant, resonating from the base of her skull to the bottom of her spine. She could only let out a small cough, however, before her body crumbled to the floor and her vision faded to black.
Dominaiscna SilverFlight 11254man Athanas A Not So Wonderful Story

 

[A Not So Wonderful Story]

Velma saw the dog reached the knight, sighing with relief before turning to see several racks of armor flying at her, she gasped and braced as best she could, but the several hundred pounds of steel and iron would knock her off her feet and into the nearby cave wall. She would wheeze out in pain as she looked down to the throbbing pain in her side.
"Shit..."
It seems as though a helmet had scratched her pretty bad, but she was lucky not to be impaled. If she didn't tend to the bleeding soon after this fight, She would surely be in trouble.
Damn this dragon! These robes cost a fortune!
She pulled out a potion of soothing, downing it in a couple gulps and catching her breath as she became aware of the scene. She thought rationally. Alright... There are a lot of these guys, they definitely stood a chance. Shrimp wouldn't be much help here, he couldn't fight beasts this size effectively. She looked to the group of three huddling together to calm down some girl... This didn't seem like the time for a therapy session to Velma. Quickly after, she watched one of them slam into the dungeon wall unconscious, cursing to herself softly. One down, another panicking, the other in a mindless rage. Wonderful. She stood up, her hand beginning to froth and bubble once more. Individually attacking wasn't getting anywhere.
"Oi! Silver Boy!"
She yelled out to the knight.
"Do you know how to use that blade or does it just look pretty?"
She let out another grunt as she hauled a second ball of acid at the Dragon's neck, silently motioning to Keenan to look at what she was doing. She quickly turned back to the dragon with bent knees, awaiting it's next attack. If it knocked the knight out as well, that would be a problem for her. As for the girl they were calming down, how do you use someone you know nothing about? She wished they showed up at the cave at the same time, that would have made this work a thousand times better.
Aspects, she had better start moving before that dragon notices her!

Baconhands SilverFlight 11254man Athanas Dominaiscna

 

[SilverFlight]

Keenan smiled a little awkwardly as he met Isolde's eyes. "It's that bloody dragon. It breathes a fear-inducing gas that my shield can't deflect."
Kadri approached and now that Isolde was in control she gave her very sound advice.
"Kadri's absolutely right, and we're not out of this yet." He took up the axe, hefting it in one hand to memorize its weight and handling.
"That beast hasn't touched any of these artifacts since we got into the cave." He noted, hoping he was onto what Kadri had planned.
As she started forward however the dragon's tail slammed into her.
"Kadri!" Keenan yelled as he watched, powerless as she was propelled away from them. When she hit the ground she didn't rise.
"Damn!" He swore, though maintaining a level head. He turned back to Isolde.
"I know I am asking a lot of you, but I need your help...we need it. Can you find a way to slow that creature down? I think I know what Kadri had in mind, and if we're going to help her and the others, we need to end this fight, now."
Dominaiscna Baconhands

A voice called out to him as he was about to turn back to their foe. At first he looked affronted, and then a half smile appeared on his face. He flipped the axe deftly in one hand in answer and charged forward. In the other hand he grabbed a gilded lance from the treasure pile, plowing it into the gold before his feet and using it as a pole-vault to propel himself up to the dragon's back. Once there he scrambled forward, aiming to plunge the axe straight into the part of the beast's neck that had been exposed by Velma's acid.
A Not So Wonderful Story Baconhands

 

[Baconhands]

The creature had not been seriously injured, yet. It was aware of the dog biting its underarm, but it appeared as if the dragon was treating it more like a bug bite - an irritant that it wanted to get rid of as soon as possible so it could focus on what it considered to be the bigger threats. Blue's bite had caused it to bleed however, and it was aware that the hound could deal more damage if left alone. The initial pain had caused the dragon to try and spin to face the new threat; now it had reared up on to its hind legs, with Blue still hanging on. Another sting met its neck as it started to descend, slamming its front legs into the ground with enough force to make the chamber shake. However as it landed Keenan's axe fell against the weakened area that been worn down by Velma. The head of axe buried itself deep, and when the axe was removed blood sprayed out like a fountain. The dragon bellowed once more, its roar full of anguish and frustration. The blood ceased flowing a couple of seconds later.
"Damned, retched insects. You insult me by using my own collection against me? And each of you insist on damaging it further?" The dragon's voice rumbled, as if it were whining. Its eyes filled with fury a few moments later. It was aware of Keenan still on its back and it once again took flight. Its eyes spied the unconscious form of Kadri and it landed beside her, a claw resting over her. It almost seemed to grin as a moment later it uttered something in an ancient tongue and darkness enveloped the chamber. When light returned two seconds later, the dragon and Kadri's artefact remained, but the unconscious lineaged was nowhere to be found.
SilverFlight Dominaiscna Athanas A Not So Wonderful Story 11254man