Greenest is saved thanks to you. But there is more to be done. You are now understanding the truth of your enemy. You will need as much help as you can get moving on. There is more power that awaits you, a secret I've kept from your enemies. Follow your instincts to find it.
"Rise and shine!" Zavier called out, waking up the entire camp. "It's time to move out!"
Calder woke up, having taken the first watch and leaving the other two watches to Fargrim and Zavier. Camp was made some distance away from where the Cult of the Dragon was encountered. Packing up was simple enough with the trio working alongside Robert and Skylar, who had a full night of sleep. Afterwards, they set back on their journey, soon finding the trail. It was only then that Calder, having led the way, held his hand up for a stop. It was time to address that feeling he had with him about where his path took him.
"I need to make a detour," Calder announced. "The trail should be easy to follow enough on your own."
"Where are you going all of the sudden?" Zavier asked, quite surprised.
Calder pointed west. "There."
"There's nothing there, just some hills," Robert said. "The Cult is this way."
"I don't know how to explain it, but something is pulling me this way. It's some kind of magic."
"It isn't any magic I've heard of," Zavier shook his head with a frown.
"Calder's magic is more subtle," Skylar spoke up. "You have noticed that he has been casting spells, have you?"
"He has?" Zavier asked, with a raised eyebrow. Robert shook his head and Fargrim shrugged.
"I didn't even know how to do whatever it is I've been doing since we arrived in Greenest," Calder said. "I'm a hunter. I know how to shoot a bow. But these spells are new. I'm hoping to find more answers there."
"Let him go," Fargrim started to walk down the trail. "We're wastin' time."
"You two go on ahead with him," Skylar told Zavier and Robert. "I'll go with Calder."
"I have no idea how far the journey will take me," Calder admitted.
"It doesn't make a difference with me. If something happens, I want to be there."
"I suppose we should be going," Robert said, looking back to Fargrim.
"Onward!" Zavier declared, following after Fargrim.
With a nod of approval from Skylar, Calder started to lead the way west, trusting his instincts to take him where he needed to go. Skylar followed behind him. Calder still wasn't sure why she did. He could protect himself well enough, as he proved in Greenest. She would have been better off helping the others in case they ran off into trouble. Still, she practiced magic. She may have answers. It was only after several minutes passed that Calder spoke up.
"Can I tell you something without you telling me I'm crazy?" Calder asked.
"I haven't called you crazy yet and I'm following you somewhere you don't even know," Skylar answered with a smirk.
"Right. I think that my father is guiding me."
"Is he still alive? I thought he didn't make it."
"I… I don't know. I heard a voice three nights ago, and then, I could cast spells. I heard a voice last night, and now, here we are."
"I can't say what it is," Skylar admitted. "Magic can be like that sometime. But I trust you Calder. You're honest, and if you think this is where you have to go, then we'll find out why that is."
"Thank you," Calder said with a nod, although his thoughts were clouded with doubt.
Zavier, Robert, and Fargrim followed the trail for several hours. Although none of them were as proficient trackers as Calder was, with how unhidden and large the Cult of the Dragon's trail was, they had no problem following it. The grassy plains and hills they walked on soon turned into rugged stone as they started to climb uphill. Boulders and ridges surrounded the trio from all sides, with other paths converging on them.
While he did his best to keep up, Zavier had his limits. Fargrim and Robert were more than capable of pressing on by themselves but he was desperate for a break. With a hand signal, Zavier motioned for a pause in walking, and sat down on a sturdy rock while Fargrim and Robert surrounded him.
"We should keep going," Robert suggested. "This isn't a good resting spot."
"I am not resting," Zavier shook his head. "A new lesson has come to mind and I must share it immediately."
"Right now?" Robert gasped.
"Right now!" Fargrim nodded. "Master Blackwood comes up with lessons on th' spot. As loyal students o' his, we must listen te his wisdom."
"That's right," Zavier grinned. "Today's lesson is a lesson on morality. As your mentor, I am quite disappointed with how you decided to strike down that man."
"But Master Blackwood, he was a cultist te those vile dragons," Fargrim protested, crossing his arms. "An' not just any dragon, but Tiamat, th' Dragon Queen!"
"Do dragons actually have a queen?" Robert questioned.
"She's more o' a god than any queen."
"My student is quite right, as he has learned from me. Yes, he was one of her followers, a fanatic unlike any other, but if we do not show mercy-"
"He was part of the force that sacked my home and held my family hostage," Robert pointed out with a frown. "And you want to offer them mercy?"
"There's more to it than that. If we kill our enemies after they are defeated, what does that make us?"
"What does morality have te do with huntin' dragons, Master Blackwood?" Fargrim asked in a challenging tone.
"Not all dragons are evil, you know."
Fargrim spat on the ground at Zavier's proclamation. Robert spoke up first. "But aren't dragons beasts like the blue one we fought?"
"There's a difference between chromatic dragons, such as the one that assaulted Greenest, and metallic dragons. When you're a professional dragon slayer such as myself, you learn that the metallic dragons are actually good in nature."
"If they were so good, then they would be killin' th' chromatic dragons instead o' doin' whatever is they do."
"The point I am trying to make is that not everyone is truly evil and that we should be careful with-"
Zavier's lecture was interrupted when a stranger stumbled off one of the adjacent paths and onto the path the trio were one. It was a man much like Langdedrosa but quite different with red scales instead of blue. Instead of armor, he wore plain clothes, and instead of a mighty sword he carried a simple staff. Even though Langdedrosa was more dangerous in appearance, the man before them looked more draconic, with a longer neck and lizard-like face. He stood up, dusted himself off, and looked over at the trio of adventurers with a scar covering over his left eye. Zavier had heard of such a being before, a dragonborn.
"Fargrim…" Zavier muttered as a warning.
"He's chromatic!" Fargrim declared and then charged forward.
Zavier and Robert were unable to stop their dwarf companion from running ahead, his greataxe pulled out. Zavier and Robert chased after their companion. The dragonborn gasped and started to run away.
"I need back-up!" he called out.
"He's callin' fer his cultist pals te help him!" Fargrim shouted.
"In that case, we should stop chasing him and-"
Zavier's warning was interrupted when an attacker slid down a ridge to their side and slammed a shield into him. He fell onto the ground and only had a few brief seconds to look up at his attacker. She was a tiefling, as Zavier had seen them before on his adventurers. Much like the man they were chasing, her skin was red, but flesh instead of scales. She wore chain armor designed to accommodate her tail and carried a battleaxe alongside her shield. Two horns poked out and curled backwards in her curly brown hair.
Zavier let out a shriek when she raised her battleaxe to slam down on him but Robert was quick to step to his defense, shoving her back with his shield. Zavier stood up, noticing that Fargrim had caught up to his quarry, who turned to face the dwarf. Zavier took several steps back as the dragonborn dodged Fargrim's axe swings and Robert crossed blades with the tiefling. He pulled out his rapier but was hesitant to rush into combat. He had a distinct feeling that this was a big misunderstanding. A cult that worships Tiamat may very well have dragonborn and tieflings, but these two didn't feel like cultists.
Zavier heard footsteps behind him and turned around, rapier poised to strike. Before him, trying to flank behind the group, was a pale-skinned woman with round green eyes and long flowing black hair that fell across her back. If she was an adult, she was barely past her teenage years, and was easily a foot shorter than Zavier. She wore leather armor with a hood lowered down and wielded a longsword that was nearly as long as her (how she even lifted it up was beyond him). Unfortunately, Zavier said the first thing that came to mind out loud.
"Aren't you a little young to be a cultist?"
She glared at him, her grip tightening on her blade. "Do you doubt my skills?"
"Uh, I didn't say that," Zavier took a step back, hoping he was reading too much into her not saying no to being a cultist.
"I'll show you!"
Zavier parried her longsword swing with his rapier, taking a step back. He glanced over his shoulder, hoping that Robert or Fargrim would step in from having him fight a teenager with an inferiority complex. Alas, they were busy in their own fights. Fargrim had landed a blow on the dragonborn's hip, and while it was a nasty blow, he remained standing long enough to strike the dwarf across the skull with his staff. Robert and the tiefling were caught in a stalemate: Robert's armor was sturdy enough to take the hits he couldn't block, but he was too inexperienced to land a single blow on his opponent.
Zavier turned around just in time to sidestep away from a longsword strike from his assailant. With a smirk, he jabbed forward with his rapier, cutting her across the cheek. She stepped back, bringing one hand to the bleeding cut, and gritted her teeth in anger as Zavier chuckled.
"Now I doubt your skills," Zavier taunted.
"Damn you! Do you know what I am capable of?"
Zavier's head perked up when he heard rocks shifting on the ridges surrounding them. A rather large boulder was rolling down towards them from one side, intending to bash into the six fighters. Zavier was quick on his feet, and followed by the young woman, who also saw the incoming boulders, dashed off to the side. However, Zavier knew that any good trap wouldn't just stop with one boulder, and jumped off to the side just in time as a boulder from the other side came down. He took a bow.
"And that's how to avoid-"
Zavier stopped his praise to see that he was the only one spared from the boulders. His opponent was struck, as was his allies and their foes. There was a collective groan of pains, with the dragonborn man on the ground. The tiefling gasped to see her companion in such a state while Zavier looked up to see several men in black leather, who were responsible for pushing the boulders. There were around nine or so, eager for battle.
"Doltin!" the tiefling called out, running to the dragonborn's side.
"I guess these aren't friends of yours?" Zavier asked the woman to his side, who started cackling.
"The Cult of the Dragon finally shows their cards," she finishes cackling and grinned.
"It's a relief you're not with them, at least."
"THEY SHALL BURN IN HELLFIRE!"
The woman dropped her blade and started to chant, and pointing with both hands, launched out three orbs of flaming fire. They struck into three of the ambushers, burning them alive. Zavier's eyes shot up in horror as they screamed in agony before collapsing onto the ground. To think that he had taunted the girl capable of unleashing such destruction and hoped that her anger at the cultists would allow for him to slip away. Two of them started to stand up, chanting as well, as golden flames battered against the woman, who remained standing despite it all.
Robert stepped up to Zavier, pulling out his crossbow in favor of his sword and shield. "Are you okay?"
"No, I am not," Zavier shook his head. "That girl could have killed me!"
"Those cultists are going to kill us unless we stop them."
"Right, right."
Robert took aim with his crossbow but the boulders that struck him must have damaged its mechanisms as it jammed. He cursed and started to try to fix it in the middle of combat. Zavier looked around in time to find Fargrim, charging up the ridge towards one of the cultist spellcasters. The poor man didn't stand a chance against Fargrim, who nearly cut him in two with his greataxe. A cultist wearing armor charged forward, swinging his sword down on Fargrim, who rolled away just in time. Zavier thought the best way to save face was to aid his student.
"I'd be careful if I were you!" Zavier called out to the armored cultist. "It's starting to get a little hot!"
Zavier held out his hand towards him and chanted a spell. The cultist started to scream in pain as his armor turned red hot from heat, singing him. Heat Metal was a dangerous spell when used on someone wearing armor. Zavier picked it up recently, seeing it as a good way to disarm a foe, but his newfound friend's methods had him reconsider. The cultist was left defenseless for Fargrim to cut his head from his neck.
As the woman finished off the final spellcaster with a beam of crackling purple energy that pierced his chest, Zavier turned to face the tiefling and dragonborn. While he was distracted in battle, the tiefling had somehow healed Doltin, who sat up with a grimace on his face. The remaining cultists gathered together, hoping to take advantage of their weakness, and slid down the ridge. The tiefling held her shield out and stood between the cultists and her companion, blocking their scimitars with it and her battleaxe.
Doltin rolled off to the side, facing the cultists vertically, and opened his mouth to take a breath in, before exhaling fire. The cultists screamed as they were set aflame, although this time around, Zavier wasn't as horrified. It wasn't like he was taunting the dragonborn. Two of the cultists fell dead while a third remained standing, his grip on his scimitar firm. Doltin dashed forward, and while he had dropped his quarterstaff from the boulders, he made up for it with his fist, which burst into flames as it struck into the cultist's face to end his life.
The woman turned to face Zavier, her longsword appearing in her hands. "Let's finish this!"
Robert quickly pointed his crossbow at her, although Zavier wasn't too confident that it was unjammed. "Try it!"
"Parley! Parley!" Zavier waved his arms, getting everyone's attention before their fight resumed. "We have the same enemy!"
"You too fight the Cult of the Dragon?" the tiefling asked.
"We do! I am Zavier Blackwood, he who dragons dare not face for their lives become forfeit! With me is my student, Fargrim Torun, and sir Robert Markguth of Greenest!"
"Seriously?" the young woman rolled her eyes. "You attacked us first and you think we can be friends."
"Now, uh, Arzenya, let's not be hasty," Doltin spoke quietly, fumbling for his quarterstaff. "It's just, well, you know, out of all of us, you ought to realize they're not cultists."
"But the dwarf attacked you!"
"And he's sorry," Zavier looked to Fargrim, who held his axe in his hands. "Say it."
Fargrim glared at Doltin but ultimately relented, lowering his weapon. "Sorry."
"Thank you, and well, I forgive you," Doltin bowed.
"Introductions are in order," the tiefling started. "I am Nameia, of the Order of the Gauntlet. Under my charge is my prisoner, Arzenya Jenona."
"She's a prisoner?" Zavier gasped. "She just killed four people and you think she's a prisoner!"
"I'll make it five if I have to," Arzenya grinned with a wink.
"Now, if I may, there is a, well, good reason we're traveling with her," Doltin interjected. "Oh, but, uh, where are my manners? Doltin Lorziros, as your, well, service, I suppose."
"Get on with it, Doltin," Robert said, lowering his crossbow to continue fixing it.
"You see, well, I've been summoned by an old friend of mine, Leosin."
"He's been captured," Fargrim said bluntly.
"Ah, but you see, that's what I thought when I saw Greenest under attack. That's where, uh, we were supposed to meet at. I figured that it was all part of his grand plan, since that's kind of what he does, you know. So, I traveled after the raiders, and that's when I came upon Lady Nameia and her charge."
"I've been tasked with dealing with the Cult of the Dragon and I shall see it through," Nameia declared. "Arzenya is a former member of the cult that we were able to capture."
"After I barely escaped with my life from an ambush, mind you," Arzenya pointed out.
"And so, because she has information on the Cult of the Dragon that you let her roam free, burning people to a crisp?" Zavier finished with Nameia nodding.
"You're really dwelling on that a lot," Robert pointed out. "Doltin did the same thing too."
"I don't think Doltin's going to murder me," Zavier looked over to the dragonborn, who nodded in agreement.
"I won't kill you," Arzenya said with a smirk. "Yet, at least."
"That's very reassuring."
"Enough!" Namiea banged her battleaxe against her shield. "We've explained who we are and why we are here. It's your turn."
"Zavier, if I may," Robert looked at him questioningly. Zavier gave a quick nod. "I'm from Greenest. We fought the Cult of the Dragon there, and well, I was terrified until these two showed up with their companions. They drove away the dragon and saved many people that day, and inspired me to follow after them. We want to deal with the Cult of the Dragon and save Leosin's life, same as you. Let's work together."
Nameia looked back at Doltin, who nodded in agreement. She turned back to Robert. "We are in agreement. We intend to find the camp and set up camp hidden away before taking any action. We'll come up with a plan together."
"And it'll give us time to wait for our remaining companions," Zavier nodded, hoping that with a number advantage, he would be safe from Arzenya.
"Doltin, work with one of them to scavenge any armor and masks that you can," Arzenya commanded. "The rest of us will continue onward."
"Uh, yes, right away," he looked at Robert. "Care to help me?"
Robert nodded and the two started to loot over the dead cultists. Nameia led the way forward on the path with Arzenya glancing back at Zavier.
"I'd watch your back if I were you," Arzenya taunted one last time before walking off after Nameia.
"Don't ye worry, Master Blackwood," Fargrim reassured his mentor. "Ye've slayed dragons before. What's one girl te ye?"
"You're right, my student," Zavier forced a grin and walked alongside the dwarf forward. "What's a little fire to someone like me?"
Hours passed by with Calder and Skylar traveling west. Calder still didn't know what awaited him, but he could feel that they were coming closer. They climbed up the green hills that Robert spoke of but Calder didn't see anything that stood out to him. It made him realize that maybe he was wasting time, chasing after what voices in his head are saying. He would be better off with continuing on the quest of dismantling the Cult of the Dragon with the rest of the group. He only hoped that the others would get by without him and Skylar.
Still, the journey wasn't all that bad. Skylar passed the time, asking questions about Calder's home in the frigid north was, and how he was adjusting to the sudden changes. He didn't have much time to dwell on his situation, first occupied with finding Greenest and then dealing with the chaos of the Cult of the Dragon. Now that they were traveling, perhaps aimlessly, he had time to process it all. The changes were big but he tried to make due with what few similarities there were. His travels weren't all that different from wandering the tundra.
"I always knew that the lands outside of my home weren't as cold," Calder said at one point. "But now that I'm here, I'm realizing just how warm it is."
"We're lucky that it isn't winter," Skylar chuckled. "That certainly would have been a cold first impression."
From that point, Calder pressed on for a few more minutes, making light conversation before stopping. They were on top of a hill and Calder could feel the magic pulling him down. The ranger was quick to realize the truth and quickly ran down the hill, followed by Skylar. He circled around the hill until he found what he was looking for: a cave entrance. At long last, he was about to find whatever it was he's been charged to find.
Calder nocked an arrow on his bow and led the way in. Skylar held out her hand, quickly casting a spell to light up the cave for her to see. It was incredibly small, just a single chamber, and there was nothing in there at first look aside from some rocks. Yet, Calder felt himself drawn to one rock in particular. He knelt by it and realized what it was. He quickly wiped his sleeve over the surface, his hand glancing against the leathery surface. His sleeve removed the earthly stain over the egg, which glinted with silver.
"Robert never mentioned any kind of beasts that would lay an egg like that," Skylar mentioned, kneeling down next to Calder.
"There's more to it than that," Calder glanced back toward the cave entrance. "There were no tracks that led here, of man or beast."
"Intriguing," Skylar noted. "Do you think a dragon brought it? They can fly."
"I don't know much about dragons, but surely, they wouldn't leave their eggs alone."
"Whatever it is, you were meant to find it. I think I'll have enough room in my backpack. Maybe Zavier would know."
Calder laughed. "I would think that Fargrim would know more about what it could be, but you're right. We'll take it and make our way back to the others."
Skylar was careful with handling the egg, cleaning it off as quickly as she could before taking it in a bundle of cloth into her backpack. Calder led the way out of the cave and back in the direction they last saw their companions went off to. He no longer felt the magical pull, which made sense. He found what he was looking for. It was a matter of figuring out what he found though.
A/N: Hey. I'm not sure if I should say I'm back. Life keeps coming up with stuff that brings along writer's block, so I have no idea if I can keep posting. But I'm here now, with a new update.
Alright, let's talk about this chapter, which, in my mind, is a more controversial chapter in terms of the sudden change in story. The appearance of three new characters who will join the main cast and a sudden detour to find a dragon egg probably isn't what people were expecting. Let's talk about these changes.
It wasn't just my idea of the story that changed over time, but overall, there were several other factors that came up. When I first started writing Defense of Greenest, I was rather inexperienced with Dungeons and Dragons. Additionally, at the time of writing, only Xanathar's Guild was up. So, I thought it was best to change some of the mechanics behind the characters.
The main change to the current cast is Calder, who, instead of taking the Beastmaster archetype like I planned, is instead going to become a Drakewarden. If the Drakewarden was out when I first started taking notes, he would definitely be a Drakewarden just because it fits the theme of this campaign so well. I just needed to set it up and this was the best way I could think of it. In addition, there are some minor notes to bring up. Zavier has been swapped over from the College of Lore to the College of Etiquette, as I feel it fits his character better. Meanwhile, Skylar has always been a Storm sorceress, but due to my inexperience, I never really showed off the basic features she had. Expect that to change.
And with the changing of mechanics brought forth the idea to change the story. Doltin, Nameia, and Arzenya were three characters I came up with during the weekend when making these changes. I had always intended to introduce more characters to join the main cast, so these three are actually based on characters we would have seen later. I changed them greatly, and if I were to restart this story, I would likely have included them as starting cast members.
I don't intend to restart this story, but at one point, I do want to go back to edit it. When I saw the errors on the Google doc when I pulled it up, I did not see how I could make so many mistakes. I want to keep the story moving forward, but given that this will be the first impression people get of this arc, I do need to go back one day. No story changes will be made with those edits.
Overall, this is a transition chapter. I have high expectations for the story moving forward. Feel free to follow the story if you like it and leave a review if you feel inclined to.
Until next time.