The great lava dragon reared its head and spewed a column of fire their way; Lawrence shoved Domingo to the ground and knelt, but Ilchymis, much closer to the danger, had to leap to one side and sprawl out flat to avoid the blaze. The flames licked at the walls, scorching the stone with great black marks, and it didn't take a genius to understand that if they got struck by an attack like that, they would not survive it.
Domingo rose up onto one knee and fumbled with his crossbow, blue bolts launching from the deadly weapon to pierce at the enormous creature's skin. If the dragon felt the blows, though, it did not show it; as Domingo hurriedly reloaded the crossbow he looked up to find Cupil assaulting the much larger monster in the form of a bright green hammer.
Ilchymis was dodging around gracefully, looking for an opening between the falling rocks and the tongues of flame that he might cast a spell, but it was all for naught. Lawrence sprinted up to his side then, brandishing the broadsword in his left hand, and vaguely the mage wondered how Lawrence meant to attack from a distance when a sizeable chunk of rock fell from the ceiling and landed with a soft gloop in the lava just ahead. Lawrence leapt onto the stepping-stone and whipped his blade in an arc, scoring a hit along the lava monster's neck, but it seemed encased in rock and this, too, did little damage.
"Confuse it!" he shouted over his shoulder, and as if on cue blue-tipped crossbow bolts whizzed from the back of the chamber, seeking the dragon's eyes but missing their mark. Ilchymis started to mutter a spell under his breath.
The roar of the dragon rent the chamber again, dislodging still more boulders from the ceiling, and the hammer-shaped Cupil had to fly out wide and smash a rock that would have crushed the immobile, spellcasting Ilchymis. In the moment that this occurred the monster had an open shot at Lawrence, and a swipe of its spindly claw sent the helmsman spinning back onto the platform, where he collapsed with a groan. The broadsword skittered away. Domingo diverted the dragon's attentions with still more blue bolts, and Lawrence was able to crawl to safety.
"WEVLUM!"
In the confusion Ilchymis had at last completed a spell; great torrents of water cyclones sped through the chamber, converging on their towering target and causing some damage. Great cracks appeared in the rocklike hide of the dragon, symbolizing weakness, and with a battle-cry Lawrence leapt back onto his rock and thrust his sword into one of these. The lava creature howled all the louder and attempted to bat the mercenary away, but he had gauged the distance between his rock and the platform behind him and jumped back onto the latter, out of harm's way. The Warrior's Heart gem on Ilchymis's hand was glowing an angry red, frantically attempting to restore the mage's spirit.
As of yet Domingo had not played a very crucial role in the battle, but that changed in a second. As Lawrence cut quickly at the cracks appearing in the creature's neck and chest, Domingo sighted its head down his crossbow and launched away a pair of blindingly quick shots; miraculously the bolts took out the dragon's eyes, and it howled its loudest cry of agony and rage yet. Knowing he could do little more from such a great distance, Domingo dropped his crossbow and drew out the curved kukris, diving forward with Lawrence and renewing the frontal attack.
Panting a little from the effort of spellcasting, Ilchymis looked up. Cupil was doing something very curious; it was whittling away at a jagged-edged rock, attempting to loosen it, and all at once the mage realized why: the spearlike stone was poised just above the dragon's head and would certainly deal a devestating blow. Straightening up, Ilchymis set to muttering under his breath again.
Domingo then did something both brave and stupid; he leapt up, grabbed the dragon's neck, and swung himself up onto its back. This angered the creature more than ever, and it lashed its neck in an attempt to buck him off, but Domingo dug in with his kukris and held on with all his might, refusing to be shaken. Lawrence slashed again and again with the broadsword, widening the crack, and vulnerable flesh was almost visible beneath.
Ilchymis opened his eyes, looking victorious, and shouted, "CRYSTALES!"
The spell overshot the dragon, and Lawrence was ready to scream expletives when he saw the spell's true target: Cupil had finished loosening the spear-shaped rock, and the ice spell promptly froze it solid. With a last mighty swing, the Silvite creature sent the icicle spear plummeting down upon the lava monster's head. Ilchymis collapsed, exhausted; Domingo scrabbled to keep his footing, and Lawrence stabbed through the rocky exoskeleton and pierced the dragon's soft underbelly.
Hot blood gushed over his hands, immediately festering into blisters, but Lawrence dug the blade in until the dragon ceased to thrash and collapsed motionless. Domingo slid smoothly down the monster's neck and landed nimbly beside the mercenary, who released his sword and fell, nursing his bleeding and mangled hands.
"You know, that really wasn't so bad!" Domingo admitted with a hearty smile.
The look Lawrence gave him closely resembled the dragon's.