A/N: And here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Dungeons and Dragons. I only own my original ideas.
Chapter 11: Strange Bedfellows
Meepo led us through the halls, occasionally calling out 'Ticklecorn' ("Password", Meepo explained). After a short journey through the halls, with other kobolds giving us a wide berth, we arrived in a long, ornately decorated hallway, with worn carving of entwining dragons on the walls. Along either side of hall, I spotted kobolds in piecemeal, but highly polished armor, holding pikes too large for them. At the end of the room, on a small throne there was a kobold in a tattered white robe
"Visitors?" said the kobold, "If you come in peace, approach and speak with me".
I immediately noticed her spoke much more fluidly than Meepo. We stepped up, and I could feel the guard's eyes on me.
"Greetings to you all," she said, "I am Yusdrayl. What brings you to my clan's halls?"
"We seek the source of the blights which have been plaguing the area," said Krisyra, "What has drawn your clan to this place?"
"Kobolds are heir to dragons," said Yusdrayl, "As the mightiest among my people, I have led a brave few to this ancient holy site, where dragons, like your companion there, were worshipped long ago. Here, we occupy the temple where the great Ashardalon once resided".
"We heard tell of goblins selling strange fruit in the nearby village," said Charles, "do you know anything about that?"
"The Outcast… Belak was his name, he lives below," said Yusdrayl, "He grows the fruit, which he gives to the goblins. The dragon-thieving goblins are his servants!"
"What about the blights?" asked Krisyra.
"You know of them?" said Yusdrayl, "the twig blights are pets of the Outcast. They are more numerous below, in the Twilight Grove".
"What about the stolen wyrmling?" I asked.
"The goblins stole our dragon! If you return Calcryx to us safely, I shall grant you a reward. Meepo can accompany you if you desire".
"That would be appreciated," I said. "He knows this place better than my companions or I do".
"Very well," said Yusdrayl, "He will lead into a back route into the goblin's territory".
Just as we were preparing to head out once more, Yusdrayl spoke up once more.
"Hold for a moment, dragon," said Yusdrayl, "I wish to speak to you".
"Go on ahead," I said, "I'll catch up".
I watched my companions head off, and then turned back to Yusdrayl.
"You are a different than most of your kind," said Yusdrayl, "I can tell: most red dragons would treat all as beneath them. You instead treat those you travel with respect. How did this come about?"
"To put it simply, my siblings drove me from the nest when I was very young," I said, "kindly humanoids took me in, and allowed me to survive. Once I was no longer a wyrmling, I set out to find my way in the world".
"I'm certain it's quite the tale, but I will not keep you too long," said Yusdrayl, "We recovered Calcryx's egg from a Duegar outpost, and she's is important to our clan. She's still quite young, and must be protected… once she's stronger, she will take her proper place as our queen, with me as an advisor. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I do," I said, "I'll find Calcryx for you. I agree that a child must be protected, no matter who it is".
"Good," said Yusdrayl, "now, you better get going".
I headed out, following the directions the kobolds gave me, and soon caught up with my allies in the chamber where we first encountered Meepo. He led us through a passage to the east, and soon enough we emerged into a disused chamber. As we entered, I heard the scratching of feet along the stone floor. A quartet of giant rats skittered out of the rubble, coming after us. The first rat came after Lydratir, but he sidestepped the attack. The next rat went after Krisyra, but it too missed. Krisyra responded with a swing of her scimitar, swiftly downing the rat. The third rat went after Charles, but its teeth couldn't pierce his armor. Lydratir, swiftly drew his blade, and took down the rat before him. I pushed my way into the fray, and swiped my claws at the one of remaining rats, severely wounding it, but it remained standing. The rat bit me in retaliation, its teeth digging into my paw. Narcrath stepped over, and finished off the rat which had attacked me, his dagger cutting it away. Charles brought his greatsword around, and cut the rat in half.
With the area clear, we moved on to the next chamber. This chamber contained an ancient, ornately carved fountain on the eastern wall. It depicted a diving dragon, its mouth open. I noticed Narcrath was examining the fountain closely, his eyes glowing with arcane power.
"There's some sort of magic imbued into this fountain," said Narcrath, "Not sure exactly what it's about, but it seems like some sort of conjuration magic".
"Hold on, there's some sort of inscription here," said Krisyra, "not sure what it reads".
I looked closer, and recognized it as Draconic.
"It says 'Let there be fire'," I said.
As I said this, the fountain suddenly reacted, a stream of red liquid pouring out of the fountain, collecting in the basin. Narcrath examined liquid, and then pulled out an empty flask, collecting the fluid.
"If this is what I think it might be," said Narcrath, "then it will come in handy".
I watched as Charles tried the door to the west, only to have to dodge out of the way of a scythe with swung down from the ceiling. After the trap returned to its slot, Charles pulled out an iron spike and hammered it into place blocking the mechanism. He tried the door again, and this time the door opened. On the other side, we found an altar of sorts, carved of black obsidian with images of dragons. Atop it, a single candle burned, casting the room in a dim light. On the north and south side of the room, there were a series of sarcophagi. We moved into the room, and started examining the altar, when the sarcophagi bust open, revealing five skeletons.
Lydratir whipped out his bow, and fired an arrow into one of the skeletons, causing it to stumble slightly. I turned my focus to the north, noticing the three sarcophagi were all close to each other. I grinned, and unleashed my fire breath. One caught the full blast, but the other two raised their rusty shields to reduce the damage. One of the skeletons I'd blasted stepped forwards, targeting Lydratir. Its blade managed to slip past his armor, albeit just barely. I heard the sound of feet running up behind me, and I turned just in time to see the skeleton's blade glance off my hide.
Narcrath pulled out a small diamond, which quickly lit up with arcane energy. It suddenly shot out a small orb of energy, flying right at the skeleton which just attempted to attack me. Just before it struck, it shifted into an orb of lightning, severely damaging the skeleton. One of the skeletons I'd damaged stepped up, and leveled its bow at Narcrath, its arrow finding its mark. Charles swung at the skeleton who'd attacked Narcrath, his greatsword sending its bones crumbling to the ground. Another of the skeletons stepped towards me, its blade failing to pierce my hide. Krisyra summoned a small burst of fire, striking the skeleton near Lydratir and taking it down.
The fifth skeleton also stepped towards me, and once more failed to harm me. Lydratir turned his aim, and fired on one of the three skeletons attacking me, sending its bones scattering. I whipped my tail around, bashing one of my foes apart. Narcrath stepped up to the last skeleton, and brought his quarterstaff down upon it, finishing it off.
With the area now clear, my companions checked the items on the altar, retrieving a potion, as well as a crystal whistle. Just as they were stepping away, something caught my attention: a part of the altar's carving was slightly misaligned. I stepped over and pushed that section aside, revealing a small coffer. Within, I found a set of six green gemstones, each carved into a likeness of a dragon. I slipped them into one of my pouches, and we continued on our way.
A/N: And there we go! Next time: our heroes continue their adventure deeper into the Sunless Citadel. See you then!