The dragon took a whiff of the dense air just above their heads, then abruptly turned away.
"I smelled you long before you came here," he said, his head swaying to and fro, "long before you trespassed."
The wardstone was still warm in Lidia's hand, but she had no idea if it was still working. The only evidence she had was that the dragon wasn't currently trying to eat them.
"You little fleshy creatures just can't resist, can you?" the dragon said, sniffing another corner. "Slay the dragon, get the hoard. How utterly predictable. I don't suppose anyone told you that there is no hoard? Or any treasure here at all?"
They remained silent, slowly starting to back towards the open door.
The dragon skulked on his short legs, pacing as though restless, his massive black claws scraping down the grey mosaic tiles upon the floor. "Well, I suppose one could hardly blame you. When the Shade Lord waxes in power, you will need all the treasure you can carry to fly from this doomed place."
The dragon parted the fog as it moved. The dense fog curled upwards, swirling around the great beast; for a moment, it allowed a glimpse of the opposite wall.
As Mazzy had said, the dragon was guarding the main altar to Amaunator here. Much of it glinted gold in the dim light: gold sunrays spreading upon the floor, a gold table for the supplicants and worshipers, gold leaf covering the stone on the opposite wall, nearly floor to ceiling. And presiding above it all was a stern gold statue, a golden man crowned with the sun and wearing a long golden train, holding a pair of scales in one hand and the sun in the other.
Then the dense, black fog swirled around the altar again, and the image was gone.
The dragon turned back around. It bared those fierce, black teeth again, and with the cruel red gleam in its eyes, it headed straight for Mazzy, Valygar, and Lidia.
They all had the same thought, running straight for the open door, not attempting to close it behind them — only a being of massive strength could handle those stone doors. Their footfalls echoed through the enormous room, but they no longer cared.
The only time they slowed down was to glance over their shoulder. The shadow dragon didn't give chase but instead spread its massive wings, letting out a throaty laugh and giving this parting shot:
"That's right — run if you can! And if you happen upon the woodsman, tell him I send my thanks."
He opened his mouth. A massive cloud of oily, coal-colored smoke rolled out from between his jaws, settling around the entire entrance to the room.
Mazzy and Valygar had made it through the door, practically leaping to one side of the room, flattening themselves against the wall as the smoke curled past them.
Lidia had almost cleared the room when the dragon's breath overtook her, filling the space around her, leaving a foul taste in her mouth. The surface of her skin went cold, stealing the vigor from her limbs. The wardstone glowed brighter and hotter until it nearly scorched her hand.
A fog settled inside her skull and everything went dark.
Lidia stumbled onto her hands and knees, scraping her palms upon the ground but still stubbornly clinging to the prophet's stone. Even though she was reeling from the shock, she held fiercely to one thought: to keep moving forward.
A few more paces, and then she felt the flagstones under her hands become rougher. Two sets of firm hands took her arms and pulled her aside.
"Are you all right?" Mazzy asked, her voice full of concern.
Lidia felt a brush of wind against the chilled skin on her face, and then Valygar swore under his breath.
She tried to focus, but a mist still filled her brain, and the words were slow to come. "I…I can't see anything."
Then, finally, a thought slowly rolled through: she'd felt like this before. She put forward another effort to speak. "Still, we should go."
"Very well," Valygar said. "Up you get."
He hoisted Lidia's arm over his shoulders and helped her to her feet.
They kept moving forward much slower than they would like, but there was no sign that the dragon was interested in following them. So they passed through the pillared hallway without incident, not stopping until they'd made it to the large anteroom.
As they went, the fog from Lidia's vision soon lifted. Before long, she was able to walk on her own. Still, she had some difficulty keeping up with Valygar and Mazzy. They were both swift-footed already, and she found herself tiring faster than usual.
Once or twice, Valygar tried to speak up, but Mazzy brusquely interrupted him: "We'll discuss this at camp."
They eventually made their way back to the room protected by the tiles, following the path of the dead god's name until they had rejoined the others.
They hadn't been gone for an hour, but the rest of the Company had already settled into their tasks. Aerie was deep into puzzling over the symbol of Amaunator. Anomen had left and taken Minsc along. So any discussion that concerned the entire party would have to wait.
Lidia still struggled to think clearly. She tried some techniques her mentor had taught her, reciting a series of prayers by rote. It still took more focus and effort than it should have.
She realized that some magic in the dragon's breath had stolen some part of her life force away, similar to what the shadow-creatures' draining hands had done. Most likely, she'd need a restoration spell again before facing down the Shade Lord or the dragon, but until then, she could manage.
In the meantime, she tried to reassure the others that she was doing well, to prop herself up and avoid alarming them. But Mazzy, especially, didn't seem to buy it.
"I saw what the dragon did to my friends," she said. "I would urge you not to exert yourself more than you ought."
After over two hours, everyone had returned.
"All is quiet," Anomen said. "And, as I suspected, whatever wards this temple once had are completely gone. There was one thing I found, however, that was strange. We ventured outdoors, despite the danger, and examined the other entrance."
"It is not the kind of evil that one can jab a thumb into, and that is Boo's least favorite!" Minsc said. "But that did not stop Minsc from trying."
"There is a small hole above the door," Anomen continued, "and its contents seem to be pure negative energy."
"Maybe…maybe this symbol is like a stopper," Aerie said, holding up the golden sun the group had assembled. "I did try to detect some magic, and…I'm not sure, but I think there's some kind of protection spell it still has. It's…well, it's almost like a scroll somehow."
Some of the others gave her strange looks.
She nervously cleared her throat. "I mean…I mean, it seems to have a spell built in that a magic user can release. It's really old, and I don't think I understand it completely, but…but there are some pieces meant to repel negative energy."
Lidia listened intently, pushing past her sluggishness as best she could. "Good work," she said. "One piece of this, almost solved. We'll…we'll talk about what spells to prepare tomorrow."
"Of course," Aerie said. "Just say the word, and I'll get it ready."
"As will I," Anomen said. "I have already purged the spells I had memorized in anticipation of this."
Lidia felt, then immediately contained, her disappointment. Without a restoration spell, she'd have to go forward in this state — at least to her, remaining in this temple another day was out of the question.
It was just as well, she thought. Probably better if he didn't cast it for two days in a row.
"What about the dragon's lair? Did…did that go all right? I mean…Lidia, you don't look well," Aerie said. "Every now and again, you've gotten this pained look on your face, ever since you came back."
"The dragon breathed on me, but I'm fine. I'm dealing with it," she said. She took a moment to rally and collect her thoughts, then continued: "He's sitting in front of the main altar. In the same room, I mean."
"There's no getting to the Shade Lord without going through the dragon, not unless we can rid ourselves of him first," Mazzy said. "The wardstone hides us from his sight, true, but dragons have many ways of detecting an unwanted presence."
"We did learn another thing or two," Valygar said. "In the tale of this place, one piece, at least, is clearer to me now."