Many thanks to those who have reviewed, favourited and are following this story. :)
I've decided to redo the fight scene in this chapter (so this is a re-post rather than a new chapter), as I wasn't really happy with how I'd dealt with Firkraag, and when Kyn pointed it out it gave me the extra incentive I needed (I think my cowardice regarding fighting dragons in the game crept into my writing...). So thanks for pointing it out, and I hope you like the proper fight scene! :D
Chapter 11: Dragons of the Prime
Their suspicions had proven correct: Firkraag had left a veritable army of hobgoblins between his newly conquered lair and the upper levels of the ransacked castle. The group had travelled through a series of increasingly scorched and battered sitting rooms and storage chambers; it looked as though the dragon had at least set his soldiers to work on cleaning the castle of his victims if not the chaos those murders had left behind.
If not for the idea of sending their fighters in first to masquerade as hobgoblins – and for Jan's ability to achieve this request – it seemed unlikely that they would have reached the gates to the dungeon. The element of surprise had allowed the party members with warrior leanings to do the bulk of the work, meaning that the four wizards could conserve their spells – but forcing Jaheira, Anomen, Aerie and Viconia to dole out more healing spells.
When at last they stood before the gates to the lowest level of the castle, Elatharia paused to peruse the map Garren had drawn them. If they were to defeat Firkraag as well as save Lord Windspear's daughter then they would need to split up – the logical conclusion was that in order to defeat a dragon they would need to wield the dragonslaying sword he had stormed the castle to hide.
"What kind of man keeps a dungeon in his castle?" Aerie sounded nervous as Elatharia rolled up the map and returned it to her bag of holding.
"A sensible one," Edwin promised, leering at her.
"Ugh, you horrible brute! Keep away from me!" the avariel told him as ferociously as she knew how, moving forward to take Elatharia's arm as Yoshimo managed to pick the lock in the door which would take them down to the dungeons. In a much quieter voice, Aerie continued, "I don't know why you keep him with you, Elatharia. He frightens me."
"Perhaps I keep him because he is frightening," Elatharia suggested wearily, glancing past the avariel's blonde braids to the Red Wizard, who was leaning against the corner of the next corridor and watching them with a glower.
"I believe human men of this area had dungeons built into their castles to dispense justice where necessary upon those who dwelt in their hamlets," Jan put in unexpectedly from where he had been munching on a turnip and watching Yoshimo pick the door's lock, "Miss Aerie, I doubt it is quite so horrid as you imagine. Or at least…it was not intended to be by the founder of this castle. Unless he was a terribly nasty dragonslayer – and well, I suppose that is possible and maybe even preferable…"
"We are ready," Jaheira cut in now, coming up to Elatharia's side as Yoshimo slowly inched the door open, Valygar and Minsc standing just behind him and prepared to attack anyone of ill intent who waited within.
When nothing but an unlit stone stairway greeted them, Haer'Dalis stalked ahead a few paces, all but disappearing into the darkness. He reappeared a moment later and took in the expressions of all those before him, making a sweeping gesture behind himself.
"The way is clear, although it sounds to me as if more of our foes wait within."
"C'mon then!" Korgan exclaimed, barging past the rest of the group to stand before the tiefling with his axe in both hands. Haer'Dalis just smiled calmly back at the ferocious dwarf, "Me axe be bloody ready!"
"I see that, my War Dog," Haer'Dalis laughed, stepping aside and gesturing down the stairs, "After you."
The other fighters followed, leaving Elatharia, Edwin, Aerie and Viconia with Yoshimo facing away and his bow ready, watching the long dark corridor in which they waited with Haer'Dalis lingering in the doorway down to the dungeon. Jan was examining the mechanism of the lock which Yoshimo had broken. They stayed quiet, listening to the rush of their companions' heavy feet down the stairs, no longer disguised by the Illusionist's spell. A few moments passed and then came the tell-tale shouts or battle, the clash and ring of steel on steel and clattering of heavy armour. Korgan's roar of rage was outdone only by Minsc's.
Aerie was lingering nervously at the mouth of the passageway, peering around Haer'Dalis while the tiefling leaned calmly against the doorway. Elatharia stood ready behind them, though it was hard not to repetitively glance over her shoulder back down the dark corridor. Here it was very still, the only light coming from Edwin's cantrip above their heads, and the vaulted corridor seemed to stretch on forever in the gloom, connecting servants' quarters to the stairs leading to the upper parts of the castle. Many torches stood unlit in sconces along the white-washed plaster walls and it was a relief at least for their more heavy-footed companions to have moved away from the tiled floor upon which every step seemed to ring like a gong.
"I-I'm not sure about this," Aerie uttered at last when the muffled sounds of battle continued on from beyond the dark passage before her.
Edwin turned with a poorly concealed jump to glare at her with a hiss for her sudden words, gesturing sharply for silence as she looked around. Evidently Elatharia was not the only wizard feeling nervous without their more battle-ready companions at hand. Haer'Dalis and Viconia were both good fighters, but both were still limping or weakened from previous injuries.
"Jaluk," Viconia sighed, earning a deep frown from the Red Wizard, "If we are going to be accosted in this place then we will face foes either from there," she gestured around the corner, "Or ahead of us. And I would be able to see any creatures approaching in that darkness, even if you cannot." She glanced at Yoshimo, who was well-placed to see down both corridors but pressed her lips together and said nothing about him as if thinking better of it.
"And I have absolutely no reason to trust you, drow," Edwin snarled, his rings glinting in the conjured light as he gestured expansively at Viconia. She just raised an eyebrow – currently midnight blue rather than white thanks to her disguise – and smiled, knowing such a response would enrage him more.
"You two can be very similar," Elatharia sighed, stepping between them, "Even if both of you think the other is…whatever it was you were both about to say," she pre-empted them wearily, glancing back up over her shoulder to see Edwin's eyes narrowed down at her, annoyed and cheated of his intended words.
Viconia snorted and turned away, sharing a look with Haer'Dalis that foreshadowed the avariel's next words.
"The fighting has stopped! We should go to them!" Aerie stopped hopping from foot to foot long enough to announce this before darting into the darkness, her mace clutched in one hand and gleaming faintly in the lack of light before she vanished down the stairs.
"Oh well, looks like we have some cleaning up to do," Jan noted, pausing as he passed Haer'Dalis in the doorway and looked up at the tiefling thoughtfully, "Well, I suppose it sounds like it. Can't see through walls, you know." And then the gnome headed off after Aerie.
"After you, my Cuckoo," Haer'Dalis offered to Yoshimo rather less amenably than he had shortly before to Korgan, raising his voice a little to get the Kara-Turan's attention.
The bounty hunter sighed as he turned about, settling his bow over his shoulder with apparent certainty that it would not be needed in the close-quarters below. He sent Elatharia a mildly wounded look when she nodded for him to go next as the tiefling had suggested. She and Edwin followed without needing to discuss such tactics. The Transmuter caught Haer'Dalis's smile as he looked to Viconia next but if they shared any words she did not hear them.
"Perhaps we will have been lucky and the more pointless members of this troop of baboons will have been slaughtered as they deserve," Edwin muttered as they made their way down the steep steps, his light bobbing above him and illuminating his frown from above, casting dark shadows beneath his brows and cheekbones. His eyes flashed deep brown in the bright light as they stopped in front of an open doorway at the foot of the stairs and he noticed Elatharia watching him, "What?"
"Nothing," she denied, peering around the corner quickly to ascertain that there were no casualties amongst their friends – several hobgoblins littered the fire-lit stone chamber beyond, one lying on top of a shattered table, "Only…the moment I start to think you look like a Red Wizard you go and say something so utterly stereotypical that I have to surmise that you are, in fact, an impostor."
"What!?" his angry exclamation had Aerie whirling about from where she was inspecting a cut in Anomen's upper arm.
Such was his venom that Mazzy looked up sharply as well from cleaning her short sword, hefting both her shield and weapon in readiness. Elatharia suspected that Mazzy would not need much provocation to face off against the Red Wizard.
Elatharia just shrugged in response to his incredulous response, feeling a little…giddy in truth. Bhaal's golden light was flickering at the corners of her vision, her heart pounding when she looked upon the bodies of the fallen hobgoblins. The realisation ought to have made her feel sick, and probably would later, but in that moment she smiled and stepped past Edwin into the room to see Yoshimo and Jan already working on breaking the lock of a metal door across the room, Jaheira calling calming words to whoever waited beyond.
Edwin seemed to have decided to ignore her comment, entering the room more cautiously, stepping gingerly over the blood-slicked floor with a grimace. It was hardly a new situation for him but he was obviously loathe to get his boots more dirty than they already were. Rolling her eyes at his behaviour, Elatharia headed for the locked door which had the attention of their two professional thieves, sparing a glance for the other, taller doorway beyond the chaos of bodies and broken tables. That way lay the vault of treasure Garren had promised…and where the hoard was, so would be the dragon.
Haer'Dalis laughed upon entering the room, much to the shock of nearly all of their companions. Viconia raised her eyebrows at him but seemed far less horrified than Mazzy…or Aerie. Korgan grinned too, wiping gore from his breastplate and settling his axe on the one standing table.
"Such chaos!" the tiefling cried, "This flock has done itself proud!"
"Haer'Dalis, there is never pride in slaughter," Mazzy corrected curtly as Elatharia reached Yoshimo's side, peering over his shoulder and through the narrow grate in the door long enough to see a pair of wide eyes looking back at her. Suddenly her heart was pounding for far less positive reasons than before, a wave of nausea rising. Looking away sharply she noticed Jaheira's gaze upon her now, eyes narrowed thoughtfully and a little too perceptively.
Minsc was leaning on his greatsword at the druid's side, Valygar watching from the shadows behind him. Where the berserker appeared to be rather out of breath, covered almost as badly in gore as Korgan, the other ranger was calm and still, dark eyes taking in the various different interactions within the group without comment.
Edwin was glaring at nearly everyone, Haer'Dalis smiling as Mazzy berated him, Anomen watching Aerie's face perhaps more intently than he thought he was as she bandaged a cut on his arm. Korgan was still grinning, evidently proud of the mess he had caused. Viconia looked anxious, crossing the room swiftly to join Elatharia's side just as the Transmuter was mustering the serenity of spirit to speak with Jaheira and risk the druid's intemperate acerbity.
"Should we not be more cautious?" Viconia demanded quietly, gesturing to the wooden door in the wall nearby, "If the Windspear lord was correct then the dragon lingers not far down that door – tis a poor place in which to await one's foes unless well defended."
"It is large enough to let him turn into his dragon shape in there," Elatharia reminded, "Even if he can't get out that way," she paused a moment, trying to still the shaking in her hands before continuing, still very aware that this was a former dungeon in which she stood, though it looked like the place only kept one functioning cell, "Though it seems rather strange that he kept so few guards, comparative to the size of this place."
"Most likely he knows that he is quite powerful enough to face us alone," Edwin cut in, grimacing towards Korgan as he passed the bloodied dwarf, "He is a red dragon, after all. (Must I provide all of the sense for this band of fools?)"
"Precisely the kind of thinking I would have expected from a red dragon, Red Wizard," Jaheira noted dryly, earning a smirk from Viconia. Even Elatharia felt slightly amused by such a comment, though she pulled away automatically when the druid touched her arm, "Both of them are right, though," she continued, a frown appearing at Elatharia's response, "And I will need to leave you soon to take back Garren's daughter."
"(Hardly a loss)," Edwin muttered, then a little louder, "Take the ranger with you."
"Your concern is heart-warming," Jaheira noted coldly, stepping in front of Minsc when the berserker straightened, about to speak and break his promise to Elatharia, "But it will not be necessary. I will attempt to return in time to aid you." She paused, evidently holding some comment back, and then their attention was averted to the metal doorway now groaning open.
"D-did my father send you?" a young girl asked, stumbling free from the small cell in which she had been standing. Behind her stood just a bucket and some foul-smelling straw. Edwin coughed and turned away.
"He did, child," Jaheira promised, stepping up to speak to her even as Yoshimo and Jan backed away, "What is your name?"
"I-Iltha."
The girl looked a little older than ten, thin and dirty but still dressed in the velvets of nobility. She had a chance to stare around the gory room with wide eyes, taking in the dead hobgoblins and the band of adventurers scattered around, before Anomen stood and strode towards her with a relieved greeting. Upon seeing a familiar face, the child relaxed a little, offering a weak smile and attempting a courtly greeting of her own before her eyes filled with tears and her chin began to wobble and she rushed into her relative's arms, heedless of plate mail and the blood of slain hobgoblins.
"Perhaps I should take her," Anomen suggested as he stood now, patting awkwardly at the back of the girl's head when she continued to cling to him, sniffling. The Helmite looked a little alarmed at the prospect of the child, but also knew it was his duty.
"Perhaps," Elatharia agreed, tearing her stare from the open cell again and looked doubtfully at the druid by her side, "Jaheira would have been quicker with her shapechanging."
"It would be kinder to the girl to let Anomen take her – though the quicker the better," Jaheira disagreed.
"I will go with him," Aerie put in now, smiling down at the girl's wide eyes when Anomen settled her back onto her feet between them, "I can cast Haste after all."
"Fine," Elatharia agreed now, looking over the rest of the group with a concerned frown. No one seemed injured, but they would need to act quickly if Firkraag decided to attack them; though the corridors were narrow and all of the doors built in expectation of humans she did not doubt he was expecting them in that cavern not far below them, and that he could cause chaos at any point if the mood struck him, "But there is no way I am staying in this castle and waiting for a dragon to attack us. We will have to take our chances and kill him while you are gone."
Anomen looked more than a little crestfallen as the promise of glory slipped from his grasp but Aerie just nodded firmly, taking Iltha's hand and smiling determinedly. They left with smiles and offers of good luck from Minsc, Mazzy, Valygar and Jaheira – Jan offered the girl a turnip which was taken with hungry thanks much to the horror the group.
"Yer plan be preferable to waitin' for those weaklins' to return," Korgan growled once they had gone and the rest of the group gathered at the centre of the gory room, "Ye sure our foe waits beyond those doors?" he gestured to the doorway behind Elatharia with the head of his axe.
"Firkraag has led us this way quite determinedly," Viconia noted, frowning, "It seems too easy. As if he knows something…or is more powerful than we expect."
"He is a red dragon, Viconia," Edwin reminded disbelievingly, "He obviously does know many things you do not and is undoubtedly more powerful than you expect!"
"That should probably have been 'we', Red Wizard," Jaheira suggested darkly from Minsc's side, both facing Edwin across the circle.
"Ha! Unlike another mage who once travelled with you, I am not so easy to kill, druid," Edwin sneered when Minsc let out a cry of anger, the Rashemi looking to Elatharia to be permitted to finally be rid of the Red Wizard.
"The next time you try to get yourself killed before a battle like this…I'm going to let you," she told Edwin flatly as Minsc was calmed by a frustrated Jaheira. He glared down at her…but said nothing.
"Well it seems we hardly need a red dragon to destroy us, really," Jan pointed out cheerfully enough, looking exceptionally small between Valygar and the towering form of Minsc. He hardly seemed to have meant it constructively but the words had that effect; the group fell silent for a moment, Minsc shaking with the effort to restrain himself. He had sworn to avoid talking to Edwin and certainly not to attack him, after all.
"I have fought alongside red dragons in the past," Haer'Dalis put in now, calmly standing between Viconia and Korgan with his wrists wresting on his sword hilts, flashing a grin when every member of the group gaped at him.
"Ye did what?" Korgan demanded, looking up at the tiefling in a new light.
"And they are always intemperate, prone to violence and fits of rage, power-hungry, selfish…and egotistical," the bard continued, unperturbed, his dark eyes narrowing with amusement as he glanced at Edwin, "Much like our Red Wizard, only much larger."
When Viconia and Elatharia laughed at that, Edwin fuming even more, Mazzy stepped forward with a stern expression – an intimidating sight in her half-plate despite her small height.
"I would wonder at how and why you were fighting with a red dragon and not against one, bard," she noted coolly, "Though now is not the time to ask. Elatharia, we need to acquire this dragonslaying sword if we are to have a good chance against such a foe."
"I think that fighting with a red dragon is probably more of an achievement than fighting against one, Miss Mazzy," Jan suggested, "There is a story there – and I would like to hear it!"
Elatharia found that she agreed with the gnome more than the halfling, but Mazzy had a point about the sword, Carsomyr. When she pulled out the map from her bag of holding, perusing the way Garren had marked for them, she knew what they would have to do. Edwin nudged her all the same.
"Please tell me you have a plan, oh mighty master," he mocked, stepping closer to look down over her shoulder and determine what she was thinking for himself. Ignoring the brush of his jacket against her shoulder, Elatharia looked up to the rest of the group now and momentarily noticed Jaheira's disgusted look aimed towards the Thayvian.
"Our leader always has a plan, friend," Yoshimo noted softly from nearby, where he was restringing his bow just away from the others. Edwin started to snarl something about the use of the word 'friend' but Elatharia ignored him.
"We will need to send someone to get the sword," she agreed with Mazzy's earlier statement, "Garren has marked the way from here; it is kept in that cavern beneath us, but is also accessible via a passage hidden in the chapel of Lathander on the floor above us. Mazzy, I'll need you and Minsc to go for it – once we cast all the protective spells we can."
"Alright," the halfling nodded, glancing up at the still-fuming berserker with understanding.
Not well known for her wisdom, Elatharia found that she was rather proud of herself for separating those who might have had more cause to fight each other than the red dragon, turning to Edwin and gesturing Jan and Viconia over.
"Alright, fellow-wizards. I'm going to need every abjuration and protection you know cast on as many people as possible. Viconia, the same from you. This is going to be worse than the shadow dragon."
Once they were ready it was hard for Elatharia to bring herself to wait even a token length of time for Mazzy and Minsc to get to the chapel and start to get to Carsomyr. She and the other spellcasters had cast every augmentation and protection that they knew and the power of the magic surging around her was dizzying, her Fireshield flickering around her, every movement hasted. It seemed they were all suffering from this problem to some degree and eventually they relented, going to the doors down and finding them unlocked. At this revelation, as they began to descend the spiral staircase down, Elatharia began to doubt. Was Firkraag even there? Was he actually waiting outside, ready to swoop upon Anomen and Aerie as they left?
At the bottom of the spiral staircase was a small chamber, just big enough for all of them to gather and take a nervous breath before opening the vault door beyond – also surprisingly unlocked. The room beyond was indeed more of a cavern, illuminated by many bobbing lights and hewn unevenly out of the mountain's stone further into the rock than the rest of the sprawling castle. The skulls of many dragons, huge pure white bone lined with horribly sharp black teeth, hung from the ceiling along the walls, dwarfed by the size of the place. At the far end there stood a large stone box adorned with detailed graven images but it was too distant to make the pictures out clearly. Elatharia did not need to look at the map to know that was where Carsomyr was held. The ground was paved in smooth, tightly-aligned granite slabs that glittered faintly in the conjured lights and the walls were, though uneven, decorated in impressively colourful murals depicting ever more dramatic dragon battles, one for each skull.
And at the centre of it all, standing amidst a chaotic mess of half-open chests and the scattered jewels and coins which spilled from them, was Lord Jierdan Firkraag. He had his back to them, dressed in the same black and red velvets as he had been when last she saw him, his black boots gleaming in his conjured lights, and a handful of gems were just spilling from his fingertips at the sound of the group's entry. It looked as though the boxes and chests of finery, weapons and jewellery had been dragged down here rather messily and hoarded at the centre of the room. Garren's claim that this man was in fact a dragon started to seem more plausible again.
Firkraag turned slowly as the group formed up just in front of the door, with Jaheira, Valygar, Korgan and Haer'Dalis fanning out to stand in a protective arc in front of the others. Viconia stood only a few steps behind them, the three wizards waiting anxiously after her. Yoshimo was hovering nearby, an arrow nocked to his bow and the weapon held deceptively relaxed at his side.
"You come here prepared for battle after slaying my guards," Firkraag noted almost wearily, taking a few steps forward until Elatharia could make out his eyes. The pupils were slit vertically like a cat's, the irises glittering red. When he smiled chidingly, several of his teeth were pointed and black like those of the skulls around him.
"You gave us little choice," the Transmuter responded, forcing enough strength into her voice to let it carry…and trying not to glance anxiously past Firkraag to the box holding Carsomyr, "You set an ambush for us. Not very welcoming, that."
"Ah, but you had already determined the truth of the lord of Windspear, Bhaalspawn," his words slithered through the air and sent something like fear and rage crawling up Elatharia's spine. He spread his hands, still smiling, "Have I not done you a great service, godchild? Have I not caused as much death and murder for you as you could stomach? Do you not feel…closer to your father?"
My father died out on the Coast Way. My father died on the Coast Way. But all she said was:
"Are you saying you disguised Garren Windspear's men as ogres and hobgoblins and placed an Illusion upon their minds to make them think that we were the monsters just for me? Did you also burn down the hamlet, steal his daughter and loot his castle for me?"
"The Illusions – yes. I am old, and I needed something to entertain me. Why else did you think that I invited you here? But the hoard and the castle are mine, Bhaalspawn," Firkraag denied her, "Be glad for the chaos I gave you. Now I am bored and would prefer it if you left me to my spoils." And he genuinely sounded like it, too.
Elatharia sighed, glancing at Edwin and seeing the Red Wizard watching her closely, ready to loose his next spell as soon as Firkraag realised the reality of the situation. His expression was set, but there was something wild in his eyes. Fear. They were all feeling its insidious power.
"That is rather a shame really," she smiled now, focusing on the power crackling around her and her companions, and on the golden glow of her heritage which once more impinged upon her reality. Her skin was crawling with the need for this, "Because if you'd just give over all of that gold I might just leave you alone."
Jaheira's shoulders stiffened at those words, hearing the tone in Elatharia's voice and evidently not liking it. Firkraag shrugged, looking around at the room as if needing someone to share in his disappointment.
"Well, if it must be this way, Child of Bhaal. Perhaps I should have expected no less from you than murder."
"Perhaps," Elatharia agreed.
Then the man was changing, warping and growing. Before his red-scaled hide could grow to its full extent Elatharia saw a flicker of movement behind the stone container holding Carsomyr, the bob of one of Mazzy's braids, the gleam of a huge and brilliant white blade…and then Minsc's bald head. The berserker's roared battle cry rang out just before Firkraag reached his full natural size, great leathery wings unfurling and his long body uncoiling, mighty spiked tail whipping across the ground and scattering his hoard.
Korgan seemed to look up straight into that horned head with those fiery eyes and those massive adamantine teeth sharper than enchanted blades…and where a weaker person might have quailed and even fled, the dwarf charged forth with a roar to rival Minsc's, waving his axe. It took a moment but the others followed, leaving the wizards and Yoshimo free to choose the best long-range attacks they knew. Elatharia looked to Edwin to see him staring up at the dragon almost blankly, feeling all of the fear that she knew she should have if the golden madness was not threatening to drown her. She took his arm and shook him even as Jan's first spell fizzed against Firkraag's rearing form, shattering the first level of his magical protections. Edwin looked down at her with a start.
"This is your time to shine, Conjurer," she reminded him.
A grin grew on his face and he nodded once, stepping away to bring forth his first spell and tear down the mighty dragon. Magical energy began to whirl around him quickly and the tattoos at his neckline took on a fiery radiance. Elatharia spared a moment to stare, the part of her that was Bhaal greedy for such power, and then turned to the dragon as he made a swipe for Korgan and Valygar – both barely dodged.
A laugh bubbled up in her throat and she fell into her next spell without another thought, seeing Mazzy struggling to lift Carsomyr's shining blade past its ornate holding box. With Minsc and Korgan staggering back with cries of berserk rage from Firkraag's initially lazy tail swing, Jaheira and Viconia called up their more short term augmentations and began to run for the sides of the hall, ducking behind taller boxes or piles of coins to inch their way more cautiously into the fight. Haer'Dalis was nowhere to be seen, but Elatharia could hardly concentrate on this while she finished her spell, focusing on Mazzy's waiting form.
Carsomyr was a beautiful sword, its enormously long pattern-welded blade shimmering with white fire in the presence of a living dragon. It would have proven problematic for Mazzy to wield, since the halfling was not much taller than three feet and the two-handed sword was probably taller than she was. But Elatharia's spell now transmuted Mazzy, possibly against her will, into an ogre of all things – the paladin stumbled for a moment in this new, longer-limbed shape, before looking to join the fray.
Firkraag had other ideas however, rearing up with a roar when he saw the shimmer of Carsomyr before him. With a flap of his wings he sent chaos reigning in the room; the air snapped and rippled, pulling Minsc, Valygar and Korgan from their feet and sending them careering in opposite directions. The dwarf flipped once in the air and landed heavily against the far corner of Carsomyr's holding box with an audible crack. His stunned body slipped out of view not a moment too soon, for as Mazzy staggered to keep her feet, the white blade shining before her, Firkraag flapped his wings again and sent coins and chests scattering wildly across the room, forcing Minsc back flat as he attempted to regain his footing and half-covering Viconia in a spray of coins, knocking her to her knees.
Elatharia had been about to cast again, but the wind was too great, whipping her hair back and forcing her to back up several steps. Edwin held onto his spell, however, and the chattering of the host of mephits he had summoned could be heard moments before the creatures flapped their way over the Transmuter's head, spreading out and keeping high in the huge hall.
Firkraag was just warming up, though. Literally.
As Jan's first spell crackled through his protections, the dragon took in a mighty breath – and that sent Minsc, Jaheira and Viconia scrambled back even further in spite of their protections. Mazzy stood firm however, still ploughing through the whipping winds created by the dragon's flapping wings, and held her sword out before her. The fire poured out in a great river – and it broke over Carsomyr's shining edge, arcing harmlessly around Mazzy and lighting up the whole room in rippling red light.
Yoshimo's arrows burned and vanished in its heat, skittering harmlessly off Firkraag's hide as they had been, but somewhere in the chaos of raging winds and roaring fire, Jan's spell and another of Edwin's had torn through Firkraag's protections. The shimmer around his proud, serpentine body had lessened considerably, and he lashed his spiked tail irritably as the mephits nipped, cackling, at the appendage's more sensitive underside. He seemed rather distracted by the inexorable advance of Mazzy, roaring out another blast of fire – and this time he melted the coins around the transmuted halfling, molten gold bubbling, hissing and running down over itself towards her like a sudden tide of meltwater. Stern-faced (insofar as her expression could be read when she looked like an ogre) she hopped quickly out of the way, running headlong for the dragon even against the buffeting of his wings. More mephits swooped down on him, this time for his head, and he swiped up at them.
Valygar and Minsc took this as their cue to drag themselves to their feet, as did Jaheira. They looked at each other a little wildly for a moment before the three of them ran for the dragon with loud cries. Another pair of spells swooped for the dragon, crackling with magic that Elatharia could not recognise. These Abjurations were inexorable in their quest, sending Firkraag's last protective spells fizzling out. Realising this, he reared up on his two back feet to avoid Carsomyr – but off balance like this he could not stop all of them, and Minsc ran howling for one back leg, while Jaheira aimed more carefully for the exposed belly of the dragon with her spear. She seemed set to wait for Firkraag to drop his weight down upon it, and to roll out of the way of his descending bulk. Meanwhile, the mephits were swooping around his head, sharp claws aiming for his large, vulnerable eyes. He swiped at them again, roaring as Minsc's greatsword drew first blood across his leg. Valygar's Corthala Blade bit deep into his other leg at almost the same time, and the dragon staggered back. Unable to keep such a bipedal position, he dropped…and Mazzy was ready with Carsomyr. The blade slashed at his wing, rending through the thick leathery membrane and leaving in its wake a sizzling, dripping wound.
Firkraag screamed, and thrashed in fear more than pain, knocking Minsc away again and forcing Valygar and Mazzy to retreat at speed. The mephits swooped for his stomach as he dropped, and Jan's explosive crossbow projectile crashed into his side, forcing him to twist down onto Jaheira's spear. Elatharia noted the druid rolling away, but it looked like she had sustained a long cut to her face from the dragon's serrated hide. But Firkraag's protections were down, and he was off balance.
"Now!" Elatharia shouted to Viconia, and the drow leapt to her feet several paces away. They fell into their spells together, knowing the plan.
Firkraag was too afraid of Carsomyr to consider the spellcasters clearly, but his large fiery-red eyes met Elatharia's for a moment as if in understanding. Perhaps I should have expected no less from you than murder. She found herself grinning, pulling back from her spell before she could commit and instead reaching for a specialised Transmutation. Edwin cursed at her side as the air rippled around her with magic, sending coins and stacks of scrolls, even a chest or two, flying up before her just as Firkraag's fiery blast roared across the room, giving her a wall of protection. It was a hard spell to hold, keeping so many separate objects in levitation, and her whole body was trembling with the effort as she released her hold on them. Sheets of molten gold and cinders spattered to the ground, but it had given her the time she needed to ignite another Fireshield around herself. And it had distracted the dragon from Viconia's best debilitating spell.
Doom seethed through the air towards Firkraag just a second after his fiery breath died down. Jaheira, Minsc, Valygar and Mazzy were all cowering behind boxes and pillars, cloaks flaming and hair singed in spite of Edwin and Viconia's protection spells. The dragon noticed the darkness slithering towards him, and the fizz of magic rose up around him as he reached for a spell of his own. But Jan's next stunning missile crashed into him, and without his magical protections…he staggered straight into Viconia's spell.
Elatharia laughed in relief as the dragon snarled, slumping fully onto four feet now and crouching lower, tail lashing. Dead mephits were strewn, smouldering, at his feet. And there, above him, as his shining scales dulled and his wounds oozed black blood, was Haer'Dalis. The tiefling had somehow scaled the walls of the hall, perched now upon one of the high rafters with his swords in his hands. He shouted out a jubilant cry for the chaos of the moment…and leapt upon the dragon's back.
Jan's next projectile hit Firkraag, and now Edwin was chanting words of power that cracked and fizzed with venomous energy. His tattoos roared with red light, and he was grinning manically as icy destruction swirled about him in a building tornado.
Firkraag made to breathe fire again when the fighters charged him, but as Elatharia's Greater Malison rippled into him, clinging to his being before oozing into his wounds, that fire sputtered and died. He stamped with all his weight instead, buckling the ground and sending molten metal and blazing hot rock spraying in all directions. Only Mazzy held firm against that, and Firkraag thrashed again to shake off Haer'Dalis. This time he succeeded, the tiefling rolling away and landing with a heavy thud – not before his swords had left two horrible rents in Firkraag's hide. Elatharia fancied she could see the gleam of the dragon's ribs.
Then Edwin's best destructive spells, of ice and acid, poured from him in a torrent, his hands moving so fast that his spells seemed to blur into each other. Cone of Cold, Melf's Acid Arrow, Cone of Cold. Death Spell. All Elatharia and Jan could do was follow his inspired lead.
Firkraag staggered and his eyes rolled. Yoshimo's next arrows arced through the air and stuck in his chipped scales. His skin smouldered beneath, one wing limp at his side. He roared in pain, half-delirious, when Minsc's blade tore through his other wing and Jaheira's spear pierced his hide at the curve of one leg. A stinging barrage of magic missiles from all three wizards, the swing of Viconia's hammer against the back of his knee as Minsc roared through his own pain to cut through the dragon's other leg…and Firkraag crashed to his stomach. Then Mazzy, still in her ogre form, had stepped forward with eerie calm and plunged Carsomyr through the dragon's fiery red pupil. And all he could do was scream…and die.
When the dragon's body crashed to the ground the whole cavern shook, sending a few loose rocks scattering around them and shaking those closest to him off their feet. For several long moments after this, silence reigned amongst the group as if none of them could believe what they had just achieved. Jaheira ran to check on Korgan, where the dwarf was just dragging himself dazedly out from behind Carsomyr's holding box. Viconia ran to Haer'Dalis's side, calling up healing energy to correct the awkward bend in his arm. He was conscious, and grimacing in pain even as her magic fixed the problem.
Eventually Jan started to cackle in delight, and then Minsc roared for victory though he had a deep gash on his head which was pouring blood down the side of his face. Even Valygar was smiling…until he looked towards Edwin and saw the magical energy dying down around the Conjurer and the Transmuter beside him. Returned to her original form, Mazzy stood and stared at Carsomyr in mute awe, the blade's white light dying down as the dragon's life left him.
They were all out of breath and dazed after what had happened, most with a few holes burned in their cloaks and a few more notches in their blades, but eventually the group began to converge at Firkraag's immense body. Mazzy pointed out to Jaheira that she ought to heal her own head wound now that Korgan was back on his feet, the dwarf wincing with a few in breaths and with a black eye but no longer in a wretched state. Now that Haer'Dalis was pulling himself back to his feet, Viconia begrudgingly offered healing aid to Minsc – who was starting to look a little faint.
"I believe this battle will be immortalised in song for centuries, my Tiny Hawk," Haer'Dalis noted, his voice a little hoarse as he limped over to join the group. Viconia rolled her eyes, but Mazzy – whom he had addressed – just continued to stare down at Carsomyr even as Elatharia remembered to return the halfling to her true, smaller form.
"I think…I think you might be right," Mazzy agreed at last, eyeing Edwin in particular in a new light. She was frowning at him, all the same.
"And no doubt I shall be the epicentre of that song, tiefling?" the Red Wizard inquired proudly, smirking when no one immediately disagreed.
"It was not your magic that won the day, Red Wizard," Valygar disagreed sharply, "It was the bravery of Haer'Dalis and of Mazzy as part of a combined effort. Your wild magic was as dangerous for us as the dragon."
"Oh, certainly, I am used to the pathetic grudges of your kind," Edwin told him, too pleased with his show of power to be too venomous, "You are welcome, idiot. (If I had wanted to kill him, he would be dead.)"
"Enough o' this chatter," Korgan coughed out, shaking his dazed head to clear it before gesturing at the piles of wealth and ancient items around them, "What about the treasure, groundlings?!"
"Indeed, good Sir Korgan!" Jan nodded brightly, grinning widely towards Edwin with a knowing look. It seemed that perhaps only the spellcasters in the group were truly aware of what the Red Wizard's surge of spells had really done to Firkraag at the end. The Red Wizard's tattoos were still glowing with vestigial magic, and he seemed a little intoxicated by his own power.
Smiling to herself, Elatharia moved to start gathering up the treasures of Firkraag's hoard while the others bickered and preened. Jaheira and Viconia continued to deal with the wounds of their companions, and Korgan had to hack apart sections of the melted gold with his axe. The Transmuter promised him a proportion of the gold for his toil, though it all went into the bag of holding for Imoen's fund – since it would be too heavy to carry otherwise. Garren Windspear had told them they could have any spoils they found, after all.
Still, Elatharia doubted that several of her companions would favour what she had in mind, so she suggested rather vaguely that Valygar, Jaheira, Minsc and Mazzy return to the cabin of the true lord of Windspear while the rest of them lingered at the castle to gather the sum (she claimed) Garren had promised her. In truth, she needed them gone so that they could go through the castle and take what they wanted or needed – all the sooner to save Imoen with.
Mazzy and Minsc, taking this suggestion as concern for the welfare of the lord and his daughter – and possibly of Aerie and Anomen on the road that way – agreed readily. Valygar was a little less willing, eyeing the three wizards warily but obviously preferring, ultimately, to be out of the stone castle. When Viconia pointed out that Korgan and Haer'Dalis, apparently sprightly as they were now, would need more healing before they could travel that night, no one could argue with her. The group would split into those who wanted to stay behind at the castle for the night, and those who would return to check on Garren Windspear. There was no need to discuss what those groups would be.
Jaheira lingered at the door once Mazzy, Valygar and Minsc had headed through. When she remained even while Edwin moved over to the fallen body of the dead dragon, imperiously waving over Haer'Dalis, Elatharia approached her but turned about to see what the Conjurer was demanding of the bard. Whatever he requested of him made the tiefling laugh and the Red Wizard fume in the face of such an impertinent response. Korgan, Jan and Yoshimo were happily rifling through the hoard for the most expensive looking gems, and Jaheira was frowning at her.
"Do you have some more disapproving words for me, Jaheira?" Elatharia enquired, turning to face the druid with a little more venom in her voice than she had intended.
"I…" Jaheira paused, and then she looked back out across the room to where Korgan, Jan and Yoshimo were looting, and Viconia was watching Haer'Dalis help Edwin remove some of the dragon's hide, "I…would have words with you when we reconvene here tomorrow, Elatharia," she said at last, evidently thinking better of having this conversation immediately.
The Transmuter doubted it was fear, or trepidation. Perhaps it was…tact? The thought seemed alien to her in regards to the druid but she just shrugged and inclined her head in agreement. The idea of another moral discussion with Jaheira was hardly pleasant, but at least the druid had given her a little warning. And after her apology at Valygar's cabin there was a hint that she might be trying to make up for her past harshness, for what it was worth.
The two spoke no further words, Elatharia keeping her stare fixed upon the outcome of whatever madness had induced Haer'Dalis to agree to Edwin's request for aid. It seemed that Jaheira hesitated only a moment more before turning and heading back through the door and up the spiral stairs after Mazzy and the others. Only once she had left, the door clanging shut behind her, did Elatharia approach Viconia, whose expression seemed caught somewhere between amusement and incredulity as she watched Haer'Dalis and Edwin.
"It is so typical of the Red Wizard to require such morbid work…and not be capable of enacting the deed himself," the drow noted from where she was standing a few steps away from the man and the tiefling, arms folded and her true appearance once more evident, long white hair spilling down over her yellow cloak, "I would say that it is entirely to do with his inferior and pretentious Thayvian culture," the priestess added, sending a sly sidelong glance towards Elatharia as she continued, "But I think it is truly because he is physically incapable."
"I think it's the culture," Elatharia disagreed, smiling at the hint of humour in Viconia's voice – they had both started the day in bad moods, as Aerie had observed earlier, but the defeat of a dragon could improve anyone's mood, probably, "And of course Haer'Dalis has those two enchanted short swords. I think the first thing they teach young Edwins in Thay is the belief that you should never do something yourself if someone else can do it for you. Except magic. That they will always do themselves, where possible."
And Edwin had certainly shown that earlier, reminding her with his apparently endless stream of spells against Firkraag of just what had captured her fancy in more innocent times near Baldur's Gate. When he cast his spells there was far less of a hint of that imperious nature because he knew he was powerful in that moment. There was just the joy of magic, as he had told her before. I was as you were. Seduced.
"If it were not for his show of power before I would be wondering at why you favour him so, khal'abbil," Viconia was saying as if reading her mind, flashing perfect white teeth when she smiled now at Elatharia's blush.
"Well, I could say similar things about the tiefling, Viconia," Elatharia shot back, smothering her laugh behind her hand when the drow reeled at the words, her expression falling and body tensing, "…and that's a guilty response if ever I saw one."
"I do not…darthiir spawn…you…"
The Transmuter was too busy laughing and not at all interested in Viconia's reflexive tendency to use insults when unable to defend herself with lies and deception. Haer'Dalis heard her laughter and looked over his shoulder at them with a grin, his eyes moving from drow to half-elf for a second or two before his eyebrows raised as if in understanding. Viconia huffed and made to turn away, but Jan came tripping towards them, a large box barely held in his arms rattling loudly and Korgan following with a proud look on his bearded face, carrying an even larger box.
"I dinnae what you two schemers're plottin' but we've wine and beer a-plenty fer the drinkin' tonight!" the dwarf promised, depositing his box next to where Jan was just all but dropping his in front of Elatharia, "And after such a great fight, I say we deserve it!" he glanced around at Edwin and gave a grunt, "Even the Red Wizard, after that show!"
Author's note: I don't think I've ever managed to defeat Firkraag in the actual game this early - but Elatharia-in-story can have a much larger party than Elatharia-in-game. :P
The chapter title is a quote; more fully 'dragons of the prime, that tare each other in their slime, were mellow music match'd with him' from Tennyson's In Memoriam AHH.