Chapter Ten
The next morning saw the party rested and refreshed. Despite the fight during the night the party managed to still get a full night's rest. Samash and Kuku had recovered from their wounds from the previous night against Valen through healing and rest. Ari had volunteered to take watch inside the tiny hut after she'd gotten her four hours of sleep. With a quick breakfast and a check of all their gear the party was under way back up the river. There was a light rain in the jungle, mists coming up from the forest floor. On the boat Chaucer resumed his place at the front of the boat to control water around the craft to make rowing easier while Goilon set himself up to survey the riverbanks as they traveled. Tamar sat in the back with Kevin and Adora feeding them snacks in the light drizzle while Ari sat next to her meditating, her cloak's hood up over her dreads. Kuku and Samash rowed with renewed vigor after their nights rest and sped the group along the river.
Ari opened her eyes to appreciate the jungle critters that ran along the shore as they floated past. She smiled to herself feeling that she had a direct influence on the safety of the jungle critters through her exploits with the party. Being a steward of the jungle was something she took pride in and cared about passionately. Looking around the boat she smiled to herself once more, happy with the family she had made of this group. Looking at Chaucer she thought for a moment.
"Chaucer, didn't ya study up on de crown wit Bilben before wi left?" she asked the grung as he moved his hands in waving motions to shape water.
"Indeed, I did," Chaucer stated with a smile. "He showed me texts and images of the crown from his years long studies. I'm kind of an expert on the thing now, praise the King in Yellow."
"Would ya say ya ah familia wit de ting?" she followed up with.
"Oh absolutely!" the grung said excitedly. "He even showed me the rest of the set in his library and I got to hold the scepter."
"Den why doncha cast locate object so wi know when ta get off ah de riva. Mi tink wi should be at least witin ah tousand feet," Ari replied with a soft smile.
"Genius," called out Chaucer. He promptly stopped what he was doing with the water and shifted his focus to casting the locate object spell. Pulling a forked twig from his component pouch the grung made the motions of the spell and recited the incantation. Within moments his eyes lit up and he smiled. "We're on the right path," Chaucer said with confidence. "I'll have to cast it again later because the spell only lasts ten minutes, but it is within the thousand feet of the spell's restriction," he said excitedly. "It'll be on the left of the boat."
Samash and Kuku looked at each other in relief. They already knew that as the strongest members of the party that all the rowing was up to them. To hear the first half was almost over was reassuring. They put the oars to the water and continued to push forward, the rain picking up slightly. Tamar pulled her cloak out of her pack and draped it over her shoulders, pulling the hood up. Up front Goilon tracked the movements of a pack of velociraptors that came down to the river's bank to drink. He watched them carefully as they passed by the beasts.
By lunch time they had pulled off the river and moored the boat under a tree. They sat and shared rations before pressing on, being careful not to leave any signs that they'd been there lest another assassin be on their tail. Before setting off Chaucer cast his locate object spell once more and excitedly led the way through the brush and undergrowth of the jungle. Ari walked at his side helping him pick out the least difficult paths through the tangle of underbrush. Soon they came to a small clearing. It was a depression in the ground with giant bones sticking up like an overturned ribcage of some huge monster. The ground was soft and muddy in some places, with moss and mushrooms thriving in the damp environment.
The party stood silently just inside the edge of the jungle, staring at the site of Needle's Bones in anxiousness. Inside the bones of the famed Needle slept an adult green dragon, nestled within the overturned ribcage. Tamar looked at Chaucer and extended her hands towards the dragon questioningly as if to say What is this? This wasn't supposed to be here. Chaucer could only shrug his shoulders. Samash motioned for the party to fall back out of earshot of the dragon and gathered them together.
"Okay, we're going to need a plan of attack," he said softly. "We didn't come all this way to go back empty handed. What's everybody thinking?"
"My first thought is getting it to use up all of its resistances on spells and abilities that won't hurt us to waste," replied Chaucer. "If this is its lair it can choose to be resistant to attacks a number of times per day."
"Keep it from flyin," chimed in Ari. "If it takes to de air on de attack wi will be ata disadvantage. Mi have a spell fe dat." Samash nodded his understanding to Ari.
"While the casters waste the dragon's resistances, we need to be hitting it hard and fast," mentioned Kuku. "Keep yourself moving though because you don't want to get hit."
"And spread out, lads," added Goilon. "Don't bunch up to give it a single target. Stay out of reach if ye can."
"I'll stick to the shadows," said Tamar. "It's where I do my best work. I can poison my bolts to help it burn through its resistances."
"Don't bother," piped in Chaucer. "It's a green dragon so it'll be immune to poison. Also be careful of its poisonous breath and frightful presence. If you have anything to grant you resistance to poison or being charmed I'd use it now."
"Mi cyan offa a spell ah resistance to de ones dat'll be fightin up close," Ari said looking at Samash and Kuku. "Chaucer, ya might want ta consida polymorphin inna ah t-rex fe dis one," she said to the grung. "If ya do it right ya cyan grapple him neck inya mout an control hims head."
Chaucer nodded his agreement. "But before that I should pop my hypnotic pattern to get it to waste one of its resistances." The party all nodded their agreement.
"Alright, it sounds like we've got a decent plan," said Samash softly. "Here's how it'll go. Ari, you hit me, Kuku, and Chaucer with your resistance spell first. After that Kuku and I will get in position to either side of the dragon about 30 feet away. Tamar and Goilon will stay back at a safe range and make their attacks from the jungle's edge after Kuku and I rush in. Before that happens Ari will cast her spell to keep the dragon from flying while Chaucer casts his hypnotic pattern. Once those fire off Kuku and I will rush in on either side of it's chest while Chaucer Polymorphs and takes the dragon head on. By this time Goilon and Tamar should be opening fire and Ari will cast spells to force the dragon to waste more of its resistances. From there it'll be hack and slash until the thing is dead," he added as he finished. "Any questions?"
"Do we have to kill it?" asked Tamar. "What if it isn't even a threat?"
"Green dragons are inherently evil," replied Chaucer as he gathered his material components from his pouch for his upcoming spells. "If we're going to get that crown we have to go through that beast, and it won't be pleasant."
Ari began casting her resistance spell on Kuku, Samash, and Chaucer as the grung readied his spell components in the order in which he would use them. Kuku readied his greatsword while Samash pulled his halberd from around his back. Tamar loaded a crossbow bolt while Goilon hefted up Big Medicine and nodded that he was ready.
Samash and Kuku moved into position around the sleeping dragon while Tamar and Goilon took aim from a safe distance. With a word and a rush of magic Ari released her earthbind spell on the dragon and the fight began.
The dragon awoke with a roar having felt the magic wash over him. Opening his eyes he saw the hypnotic pattern on the ground before him and laughed with evil malice. "Who dares to sullen my slumber in my own lair," the dragon boomed as he raised up trying to take flight, ignoring the hypnotic pattern spell. His wings beat out and kicked up dirt and leaves as he struggled to take flight. Confused and angry he whipped his head around in time to see Kuku and Samash rush in while bolts and bullets flew in from the jungle foliage. The earth suddenly tremored beneath him as Samash and Kuku laid into the dragon with their weapons. Choosing to ignore the Earth Tremor spell the dragon whipped his head around towards Kuku and let out a belch of poisonous gas at the kenku.
Kuku masterfully dodged out of the way of the gas as a tyrannosaurus rex charged in from the woods straight on to meet the dragon headlong. Rearing back the dragon beat its wings down on Samash and Kuku as it brought its head around to face Chaucer in his polymorphed state. Behind him two more volleys of bolts and bullets shot out to rattle the dragon in the chest. He laughed in response and brought his claws up to tear at the charging dinosaur. As Chaucer charged in he was struck with the powerful claws, ignoring the bloody attack as he went in for the dragon's neck. As he bit down the dragon whipped his neck out of the way and belched another cloud of poisonous gas at the rampaging tyrannosaurus.
Chaucer staggered back as an ice knife shot out from the trees hitting the dragon in the neck. With a low grunt the dragon shrugged it off and laughed at the parties' efforts. In the darkness of the trees Ari smirked. That had been the last of the creatures resistances. With a wave of her hands she called out an incantation as she gripped her spell focus, holding it forward towards the dragon. Suddenly the earth erupted beneath him as stone and churned earth reached up around his feet. In the midst of his attacking Samash with his claws the dragon barely noticed. Ari quickly followed it up with her stone shape spell and brought the churned earth and stone to collapse against the dragon, forming stone manacles all the way up his legs. The dragon let out an angry roar as he whipped his head around to attack, not anticipating Chaucer being there. The tyrannosaurus rex caught the dragon's neck in its mouth and bit down with ferocity. In a panic the dragon lashed out with his tail, striking Samash and knocking Kuku off balance as more bolts and bullets littered the dragon's side.
Ari came walking out of the forest with an eerie calm about her. As Samash hit the dragon with his halberd of wounding and Kuku let out his flurry of blows Ari continued to walk right up to the dragon. She placed out a hand, palm out, as another volley of bolts and magic bullets shot out from the forest. Waving her hand in a somatic motion and reciting the spell's text, Ari unleashed her blight spell on the dragon as it bellowed in pain, trying to release its breath weapon at her but finding it hadn't recharged from the last time.
Chaucer stumbled back over and once again bit into the restrained dragon's neck, pulling it this way and that as he shook it in his mouth. By now Samash and Kuku had moved to the underbelly of the dragon's chest and hacked away with halberd and greatsword while Goilon and Tamar continued their barrage from the forest's edge. The dragon attempted to use its frightful presence but found only Samash weak enough to resist the charm. The barbarian grew frightened and rushed off leaving his halberd behind. By now Kuku had climbed onto the dragon's back and was hacking at the back of its neck, through thick scales and tough sinew. Tamar and Goilon now stood just outside of the forest edge out in the open, firing bolt and bullet as they slowly walked closer to the dragon.
Ari finally popped her polymorph spell and joined Chaucer as a tyrannosaurus rex, biting into the dragon's neck as well. Together they pulled away from one another and slowly tore the dragon's head clean off of its body, the body falling limp in its stone prison. The tyrannosaurus rexes dropped the neck and head from their mouth and quickly returned to their natural form, moving over to the site of Needle's Bones. Upon the dragon's death Samash returned to his senses, shamefully walking back to his halberd and his party. Kuku slid down what was left of the neck and hopped down, squawking as he landed. Tamar and Goilon shouldered their weapons as they approached and met up with the rest of the party.
"I hope that thing wasn't sleeping on the crown. I don't much feel like moving a dragon corpse," stated Tamar.
"Let's go ahead and start digging around," said Kuku as he hefted his greatsword onto his back in its scabbard. "Spread out to make it faster. If we're quick we can make it back to last night's campsite by dark."
The party split up, each of them searching a ten-foot area around them as they went along. Coin and jewels littered the ground along with fine pottery and artistic pieces. Tamar was pocketing the coin and gems as she went, leaving the silver and copper behind. Chaucer took a couple of diamonds into his component pouch while Samash and Kuku picked up fistfuls of treasure and poured it into their packs. As the party searched they saw no sign of the crown within the piles of treasure.
"We're going to have to move that dragon somehow, aren't we?" Tamar lamented.
"Mi tink mi ave a trick fe dat," piped in Ari as she came up beside Tamar. "Everyone stand back. Mi don wanna crush ya." Ari held out her spell focus as she moved her hands in a synchronized manner, quietly reciting the incantation of the spell. Slowly the party began to see the ground beneath the dragon shift and bulge, the dragon's corpse beginning to lift up into the air as the natural stones beneath it pushed it up above the ribcage of the ruins. Tipping the corpse down the side of the ribs Ari brought the earth and stones back to where they were originally and ended her spell.
"That's handy, Las," commented Goilon. "I think you've used that one more than once," the hunter said in his thick highlander accent.
Samash and Kuku immediately moved into the pile of treasure that had been under the dragon, wading in thigh deep to more coin and jewels, trinkets and baubles. Tamar gracefully walked atop the treasure, carefully surveying the piles for anything resembling a crown. Chaucer hopped around on top of the treasure before remembering he had his own spell that would help out right now. Spending his last spell slot the grung cast locate object one more time. In his vision he saw a blue glow under a pile that had been under the dragon's belly. Hopping over to it he began to dig. Goilon saw this and waded into the treasure and went up to Chaucer to assist him. By now the group was all watching with anticipation. The grung and the dwarf dug deeper until Chaucer finally pulled up a crown of gold. "We've got it!" he yelled. "Praise the yellow king we've found it."