The Companions of Tartiël

by Jeff Wilcox

  Thinking about it momentarily, Dingo slowly nodded. “All right. You do that. It only takes a couple buildings to find enough supplies for a week, considering the clerics and Caineye can all cast create water, and a few of the clerics can also cast create food and water to supplement what you guys manage to bring in.”

  “We’ll do it by burrowing out to the nearest house,” I explained. “Once we’re away from the temple, we can walk around aboveground, since Caineye’s spells will only hold for seven minutes. Then, once we’ve filled our sacks, or, in my case, sleeves, with stuff, we’ll burrow back again. Xavier, can you think of anything I’m forgetting?”

  He shook his head, and Dingo nodded. “All right. How long are you going to be doing this?”

  I looked at Xavier and Matt, who merely shrugged. It was sort of my plan to begin with. “Well, I guess for a couple days. It makes more sense to stock up now and keep the food fresh. I doubt even the clerics’ purify spells will work on piles of dirt.”

  Matt chuckled. “I’m imagining a cleric casting that spell on the ground somewhere, and—poof—a birthday cake springs up on the grass.” We all laughed at the idea, even coming up with a few more inane spell bloopers. However, when I brought the question up in a slightly more serious tone, Dingo assured us that no, we couldn’t reconstruct someone’s million-year-old birthday cake from a patch of dirt.

  “However,” he said, “on your third day of collecting supplies, I want all of you to make me some Spot checks.” We all rolled our d20s and added our modifiers. All of our rolls totaled higher than 20, Caineye taking the lead with a 29, Wild trailing with a 23, and Kaiyr in the middle with a 26.

  “Jeez.” Our DM scratched his head and raised his eyebrows. “Well, it’s as you’re between buildings that all of you happen to glimpse a shadow flying overhead. Kaiyr and Caineye, since you rolled higher than twenty-five, you two make out the form to be a black dragon.” He waited while we all resounded with “oh, shit” and similar bits of wisdom. “It seems to notice you, as well, and begins flying directly toward you.” Flipping open his Monster Manual, he turned to the page regarding black dragons and then jotted down a few notes on a spare sheet of paper. “What do you do?”

  I scowled. “I brace for impact,” I quipped. I hadn’t had Kaiyr memorize any immediately useful spells today. “I’m going to stand in the street between the building and the temple, out in the open, and assume Total Defense. That brings my AC up to thirty-two.”

  “Don’t forget that when you take Total Defense in my game, you also add your maximum bonus from Combat Expertise,” Dingo reminded me.

  “Ah, that’s right. Thirty-seven,” I amended. “As if I needed it to get any higher.”

  *

  Kaiyr took up a mobile, defensive stance in the city square before the temple of Alduros Hol, where all those he had sworn to protect now cowered as the approaching black dragon let loose a terrifying roar. Its shadow flashed over the trio on the ground, and although the blademaster felt a jolt of unease momentarily weaken his stance, he shook off the dragonfear and steadied himself.

  Caineye and Wild had taken up positions in or near the shadows; Wild had disappeared into the alley, while Caineye took cover and called upon the powers of nature to grant him the ability to call lightning bolts down from the sky, like he had done the other day against the “wolf patrol,” as the group had taken to calling the enemy groups. He thanked the gods that today was overcast and threatening to storm; the added natural energy would make his lightning bolts more effective.

  The dragon wheeled in the air for a second pass, and as it did, it opened its terrible, horn-flanked maw and let loose with a stream of steaming acid, diving low to deliver it in a long stream that caused the cobblestones to boil and melt. Kaiyr, ready for the attack, nimbly dodged aside from the dragon’s breath, which continued as it flew by and rose into the air. The tail end of the attack splashed onto the great tree containing the temple, searing a hole high on the trunk.

  “We have to keep it away from the temple!” Kaiyr heard Caineye call out frantically from behind him.

  “Indeed. I have no means of reaching the dragon and must frustrate it until it attacks me directly. It is not so large; its patience should flee it quickly. Have you any spells that might bind it to the earth?”

  Caineye’s response came after a moment’s hesitation. “No. I can only hurt it,” the human replied.

  Kaiyr nodded. Then, sending a message through the amulet of telepathy the group had received from the Terth’Kaftineya a few weeks ago, he sent a message to the current bearer of the amulet paired to his own. Lady Solaria, we face a black dragon right now. Gather those inside into the sanctuary and stay away from the walls.

  O-okay, came the reply.

  Wild, winding up his crossbow in the shadows, watched his companions and waited for the opponent to strike.

  The black dragon made several more passes, spitting acid from its maw in great lines that tore up the street. Finally, after five such passes, as the dragon opened its mouth to send more green liquid in Kaiyr’s direction, a great bolt of lightning leaped down from the sky, transfixing the dragon and causing its muscles to spasm. Faltering in the air, the black dragon crashed to the ground, throwing scree and cobblestones into the air, along with more than a few of the scales covering its hide.

  Kaiyr rolled out of the way of the dragon’s crash-landing, finishing the movement on his feet and already rushing back at the dragon, which roared in fury as it pushed itself to all fours.

  The two met in melee combat, Kaiyr scoring a hit on the dragon’s flank that cut loose another shower of black scales. Then, after his initial strike, the blademaster relented slightly, taking measured attacks against the powerful foe.

  The black dragon, only slightly smaller than the draconic shadow the group had faced outside Andorra, was nevertheless a more powerful opponent, swatting at Kaiyr with the deftness of a cat playing with a mouse. This mouse, however, was proving cleverer and more agile than the cat. The blademaster ducked under and leaped over the dragon’s talons and dodged aside whenever the horned head came in for a vicious, acid-dripping bite. In return, the elf managed to land a few minor blows on the dragon; unfortunately, these small victories did little more than further enrage the already incensed creature.

  “I will kill you!” roared the creature in Draconic, a language Kaiyr knew. The blademaster ducked as another of Caineye’s bolts of lightning crashed down from the sky, scorching the black dragon’s hide and momentarily stunning the beast.

  “You shall fall here,” Kaiyr replied calmly in the dragon’s tongue as it turned away from the blademaster to pursue the druid, who kept calling down bolts of lightning. But the blademaster would not let the dragon escape. When the dragon let down its guard, Kaiyr surged forward, scoring a telling blow along the creature’s side that partially disabled one leg. “I am your opponent, beast!” the blademaster intoned contemptuously.

  The dragon suddenly forgot all about Caineye and spun around, its tail whiling about to slam into Kaiyr. The blademaster had known it was coming, thanks to his intuitive prescience. The blow, however, struck harder than he had expected, and although he twisted to avoid most of the impact, the blademaster still found himself thrown to the side, landing on his feet and skidding across the cobblestones.

  Wild clucked his tongue at the battle. His crossbow had done him little good in this encounter, his bolts clacking uselessly off the dragon’s thick, scaly hide. Sneaking closer in the alley, he winced as he saw Kaiyr swept aside by the dragon’s tail.

  Taking up a position just inside the shadows of the alley, Wild leveled his crossbow at the dragon again as it reared its horned head back to bite down on Kaiyr. Aiming quickly, Wild’s arms jerked slightly from the recoil as he pulled the trigger.

  Kaiyr heard the whistle of Wild’s bolt as it sped toward the dragon, and he looked up just in time to see the little projectile bury itself in the dragon’s eye. “My… my eye!” the gre
at creature roared, thrashing about and nearly knocking Kaiyr over with its tail.

  Just then, Caineye raised his arm to the heavens and called down the last bolt of lightning his spell could grant him. The black dragon twitched and jerked, the magic cutting through its defenses. Seizing the moment, Kaiyr charged back at the dragon and bounded into the air. As the black dragon regained its senses, it noticed the blademaster’s falling form coming right at its neck—just as the killing edge of his soulblade came crashing down on the weakened scales there. With a crunch and sanguineous fountain, the dragon’s head fell from its serpentine neck. Blood pooled on the ground as its heart slowed to a crawl, and then to a stop, and the light left its one remaining, green eye.

  Kaiyr stepped back from the rapidly expanding, red puddle and released his soulblade. His chest heaving with exertion and his entire body sore from having been battered by the dragon’s paws and tail, he barely noticed Caineye and Wild approach the dead dragon.

  *

  “I approach the dragon’s body, watching to see if it decides to move again,” Wild said, “and after pulling off my shirt, I reach inside the base of its neck.”

  I snapped to attention, roleplaying my character. “Master Wild, what are you doing?”

  Matt winked at me. “Why, Master Kaiyr, I’m surprised you don’t know. Traveling dragons sometimes like to eat some of their own treasure so they can regurgitate it later to sleep on. Gold and gems are like mattresses and pillows for dragons.”

  I raised one eyebrow and kept my expression neutral as a blademaster. “Disturbing.”

  Xavier nodded, chiming in, “Wild’s right, though. Dragons can eat their hoard, especially if they cast a particular spell beforehand, called hoard gullet. Rather useful bit of magic, as long as one doesn’t choke on the gold pieces as they go down.”

  “So,” Matt said, clapping and folding his hands together, “do I find anything?”

  Dingo nodded. “Yeah, you do, actually. Aside from gross things like kidneys, spleens, and the remains of small children, you manage to pull out three hundred and fifty plat, nine thousand gold, two emeralds, an amber gem, an amethyst gem, a silver comb, a golden circlet with four aquamarines, a scroll case with two arcane scrolls, a potion of haste, and a +1 dagger,” he told us over the course of several minutes of rolling for random treasure.

  “Just how big was this dragon?” I asked out of curiosity.

  “By the rules, it was a Large

  [41] dragon,” he said.

  I knew my dragons, and black dragons are one of the smaller types of chromatic

  [42] dragons. If Blackie here was about the size of a horse (minus his wings), then he must have been quite formidable. “Wait… you used its frightful presence ability on us, which means it has to have been at least a young adult.”

  “You got it,” our DM said. “CR nine.”

  I whistled, and Matt and Xavier let out surprised noises, too. “CR nine? Damn, we must be good. We’re a bit battered, but we took that baddie out pretty easily.” I paused, reflecting momentarily on our past encounters with enemies. “Dingo,” I said at length, “have we ever fought any encounters that were at or below our level?”

  Dingo gave me a puzzled look, then sat back, thinking about it. I voiced my thoughts aloud. “Let’s see, the werewolf and wererats were probably EL

  [43] three… then there was the level-five wizard when we were at second level.”

  “The shadow dragon at Andorra,” Matt added helpfully. “I think you said it was CR eight, Dingo.”

  “And Sayel. I distinctly recall her making attacks against our level-five characters with something like a plus twelve bonus. And that was after I knocked her favored weapon from her hands, too,” I said. “And then the encounters in the city. I think the only really easy encounters we’ve had were the two guards in Andorra and the patrol of wolves and humans here in Ik’durel.”

  “Damn, we’re good,” Matt repeated my earlier sentiment. We dithered on for probably a good ten minutes before running out of ways to extol our characters’ abilities and our own playing skill.

  “So, about that D&D game we were playing,” I said, “it’s probably best if we get back to the temple with what we have today.”

  Dingo nodded, and I face-palmed when a slow smile began to spread across his features. “Okay. Well, you head inside. The temple is quiet.”

  “Well,” I said, “I did tell everyone to duck and cover. I use the amulet. Lady Solaria? It is safe. You can come out now.”

  We all waited for a response. Dingo let the pause hang ominously in the air. Finally, he told me, “You don’t receive a reply. However, I want all of you to make Listen checks.”

  We all rolled, and we all beat the DC set for the check. “Well, you all hear a whimper coming from behind the door that leads to the dormitories. It sounds canine.”

  Xavier cursed and motioned outward with his hand. “I rush to the door and throw it open.”

  “Wait, Master Caineye,” I said. “It could be a trap.”

  But my roommate shook his head. “I don’t listen, Kaiyr. I don’t care. If Vinto’s in trouble, I’m going to his aid.”

  I shrugged. “Fair enough. I’m just roleplaying.”

  Dingo sat forward in his chair and caught our attention. “Well, Caineye flings the door open. Vinto is there, standing on all fours, but his hide is covered in small cuts… and most of his tail is lying on the ground about ten feet away.” He did not shrink back under the dangerous look Xavier shot him. “Kaiyr, as you get there, you see no enemies, but you do spot the other amulet. It seems to be partially embedded in the wood of the ceiling. It crackles, resounding in all of your ears rather painfully, before a voice emanates from the amulet—”

  “An audible voice?” I asked for confirmation.

  “Yes,” Dingo replied, “you can all hear it. It says: I warned you not to trifle with Warteär Nomen. Now, you face the consequences of your actions. Your insolence has cost your pretty plaything a pair of beautiful eyes and her tongue. I took a few other souvenirs, too. I look forward to the moment I face you in battle.

  “The amulet crackles again and falls silent,” Dingo finished. “What do you do?”

  I took the initiative, figuring Kaiyr would be quick to freak out about Solaria. “I snatch the amulet from the ceiling and stow it in my sleeve as I tear down the hall for Solaria’s room, cursing, Gods damn him to the deepest pits of the Nine Hells!”

  “We’ll follow,” Matt said, speaking for his character and Caineye when Xavier nodded.

  “I get to her room and throw open the door,” I said, just as Matt was about to tell my character to wait.

  Dingo shrugged. “All right. Are you hit, flat-footed, with a twenty-eight?”

  I glanced at my character sheet. “Well, I can’t be caught flat-footed, since I’ve got uncanny dodge, but twenty-eight is higher than my un-buffed AC, anyway.”

  Dingo raised his eyebrows and shook his head as though in apology. “Well, you’re taking…” he said as he rolled a d4, “three damage, and I need you to make me a Fortitude save.”

  “Poison?” I asked, and Dingo nodded. I just smiled. “All right. I’ve got that extra plus three for my lesser armor crystal of stamina, so I’ve actually got a plus eleven against poison.” My d20 clattered across my desk, and when it stopped, my face fell. “But that means nothing when I roll a two. How bad is it?”

  Dingo picked up a d8 and rolled it. Much to my relief and his disappointment, it landed on a 1. “You take a whopping one Dexterity damage. However, you can see inside. The room’s dark, but you can make out the form of Solaria on the bed. She’s breathing, but other than that, the level of light here is too low to tell anything else except that there’s some kind of cylindrical object hanging over her head.”

  I marked the ability damage down on my sheet, rather unconcerned, since it only marginally affected my abilities, and I had my rod of bodily restoration I’d bought upon arriving in Ik’durel. I was
going to wait for another minute to see if I took more Dexterity damage before using the rod, in order to maximize its effectiveness. “All right, I’m going to—”

  “Master Kaiyr! Wait!” Matt interrupted. I paused, looked slowly at him, and lowered my gesturing hand. He went on, “Something tells me this isn’t the only trap Warteär Nomen set for us, if he came all the way here. Let me take a look here first.”

  I sighed for Kaiyr. “Very well, Master Wild. You are right. But… please hurry. I stand aside so you can search for traps.”

  Matt picked up his d20 and looked over at Dingo. “I’m going to spend three rounds searching, Dingo, to make sure I don’t miss anything.”

  The DM motioned for him to continue. “Go ahead and roll three times, and just give me the highest number.”

  Matt did so, rolling on top of his Complete Adventurer, as always. “All right!” he exclaimed after his third roll. “My highest roll was a nineteen! With modifiers, that comes to… a thirty-one!”

  Dingo raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “I don’t believe it, but you find the trap. It’s definitely a magical trap.”

  “Can I tell what it does?”

  “With that high of a roll, yeah. You determine that the magic is cast over the doorway. Anyone passing through that square triggers the trap. But rather than harming the person who enters, the trap will release the magic causing the canister over Solaria to levitate. You’re not sure what’s in the canister, but after looking at it, you can tell it’s very fragile.”

  Matt nodded. “All right. I explain this to the group.”

  We all sat back and thumbed our chins for a moment. Xavier shrugged and spoke up first. “If we wait a day, I could memorize a couple dispel magic spells and blast away at the trap until I dispel it.”