Session 18

To be honest, I had forgotten we had a dragonborn captive. It wasn't until we reached the base of the volcano that Slicer started to protest ardently. Almost begging us to turn back.

"Crazy. All of you. Crazy. We can't kill the dragon. The dragon kill us!" The red dragonborn was tugging slowly against his restraints, desperate to head back to the jungle. To hide.

Yaup yanked Slicer's bonds, dragging him back beside the cleric like a bad dog. “Behave, dragonborn."

"Why is he still with us?" I asked Maziel in Elven. "He's a Tiamat worshiper, and we're going to kill a dragon."

"He knows the lay of the land," Maziel responded, eyes on the stone wall in the distance. She wiped her brow, feigning calm in this heat. It would only get worse.

"What do you know about the dragon, Slicer?" Maziel asked, switching back to Common.

Slicer gaped at the drow. "Can't kill a god."

I snorted. "Can't kill or won't?"

Slicer bared his sharp teeth in a peculiar smile. "Who wouldn't want to kill the king keeping us here? We slaves."

The group exchanged glances.

"If we untied you and returned your weapon, would you join us?" Maziel offered.

The dragonborn seemed to consider us seriously for a moment. "You think we can? Then what?"

I shrugged. "Kill it, break the curse, go home. In your case, freedom."

"Home? Out of Solstice?"

I nodded.

Slicer raised his shackled wrists.

Yaup turned to me, then to Maziel who nodded. With a sigh, he cut the dragonborn's bonds.

"Run, and we'll kill you." Dagon said with a grin, but there was no humor in his promise.

Together, we continued closer to the volcano. We traversed the dry cracked earth until we approached the stone wall of a fortress. We slunk out of sight and hunched beside a rock outcrop. Atop the ramparts we spotted movement. They were giants in steaming armor, their faces wreathed in manes of fire.

Maziel calmly considered this before announcing her answer. "Nope."

"I can climb it!" Cosmo chimed in.

"Nope," Barnaby mimicked Maziel's words.

"This can't be the only way in," Klotonk said, fanning his face.

"No," Slicer admitted. "Cavern pass. Somewhere close."

We all eyed the dragonborn distrustfully.

Maziel turned to me. "Taelim. Nature check."

"You mean commune with it?" I corrected smartly.

"Just do it. We'll keep watch."

With a huff, I dropped to the floor and closed my eyes. I felt cool droplets falling on my face, and knew Klotonk was casting gentle frost rays. I tried not to laugh as I focused. After a few minutes, the world nearby revealed itself to me. I swallowed hard, then collected myself before I reported my findings.

"There's a path," I said at last. "It leads into the center chamber...where there's a lake of lava. Dozens of other caverns beyond that, but I couldn't see much. Likely ruins or something."

Maziel chewed her lip in thought. “All right,” she said slowly. She gestured past the outcrop. “Lead the way.”

The underground entrance was hidden well. When we found it, the passage delved deep beneath the surface. We fooled ourselves into believing it might be cooler. It felt like an oven instead, and we continued to creep closer to the flames cooking us.

As expected, we exited beside the volcano’s base. We quickly discovered another route that opened up toward the heart of the volcano, then snuck our way through. The cavern was huge, from its high ceilings to the bubbling basin down below. The magma lake stewed at the bottom of our overlooking cliff, and stretched far into the distance. Lava poured from a fall in the volcano’s backside, and rivers spilled into dark tunnels at the cliff’s feet. In the center of the molten lake, an island rested all alone.

"Now what?" I said, wiping sweat off my face.

"We take the boat?" Cosmo offered.

"Oh sure, let's go find a boat. We can sink into the lava and die horribly, but--"

"No," Cosmo interrupted, standing at the edge and pointing. The kender directed our gaze down a winding path to the lake. There a metal boat floated lightly on the surface.

Reluctance was overruled by Klotonk’s curiosity. We followed the gnome along the path, as he babbled about the boat’s arcane possibilities.

"I'm not touching--" I started, but was cut short.

Dagon leaped into the boat and settled back comfortably. "Huh, I thought this would be hotter. It's actually kinda comfortable."

Annoyance crossed Maziel’s features. She turned to the rest of the group as if to caution us, but we were already scrambling into the boat. She uttered a curse, and hesitantly climbed aboard the vessel.

Yaup's overenthusiastic muscles seemed to deflate when he realized there were no oars in sight.

"How do we go?" Dagon demanded, leaning dangerously over the side of the boat.

Klotonk put his head in his hands thoughtfully, muttering aloud. "Definitely magic. But what school? Perhaps if we just...no. I wonder if--"

"Go forward boat!" Dagon stomped his boot.

It obeyed with a lurch, to everyone’s surprise.

"Huh..." was all Klo managed.

We glided forward in silence. The occasional magma bubble popped with a hiss as we continued, unaffected over the molten lake.

"Is that a man?" Cosmo blurted, drawing our eyes to the lone figure on the island ahead. "Boat! Boat, go to the man!"

We veered slightly, and drifted close to the shore. There was indeed a man of stone, an expression of fear preserved on his face. He wasn't carved, but petrified.

"What do we do with him?" I asked, studying the stone instruments at the man’s side. He seemed like a bard. Was a bard.

"Nod our respects and move on." Maziel replied, arms folded across her chest. She was focused on the structure ahead, built into the stone itself. No one opposed her, partly because it was already a tight fit on an already questionable vessel.

"Boat, go that way" Maziel pointed her gloved finger. We glided forward, and I took one last look at the figure who didn't belong here.

The boat landed ashore, and even I was grateful to be on solid ground, however hot the earth was beneath our boots. I peered up at the multi-story stone archways that delved deeper into the volcano. We moved inside, pushing past the double doors, funneled by the near freezing in comparison hall. We quickly grasped where we were. A crypt.

Even if the lava lake was right outside those walls, behind these doors, coldness dwelled. I tried not to think about what might be causing it as we continued along the long, empty hall.

Soundlessly we pressed on, eventually stopping at the intimidating barrier before us. Inside the rectangular room, a massive door barred our way. It bore the symbol of Tiamat--the five-headed dragon.

At once Slicer dropped to one knee and folded his hands together, praying.

"Are you serious?" I questioned, hovering beside him.

"This is holy ground, half-elf! We must pay respects." The dragonborn snapped, returning to his reverence.

To my surprise, Klotonk joined Slicer, as obliging as ever. Even Maziel considered her options, then drew close in her own meditative way.

I could feel my blood boiling. Granted, I wasn't exactly a lover of Tiamat. Her dragons and cultists tried to take away the most precious thing in my life. Illium. There were hundreds of casualties on the day we returned to save my city. Tiamat accomplished one thing with certainty, she had made an enemy out of me.

"You're all kidding me right?" I growled, stomping toward the door. "Screw prayers toward Tiamat! She's not getting shit from me!" With that, I booted the door in an attempt to kick it open.

I was met with a fiery blast that sent me tumbling back, boot smoldering. I cursed in every language I knew before staggering to my feet and facing the door head on.

"Try your best," I dared it.

The acid splash came next, drawing another string of profanities from my mouth. Maziel called my name and tried to approach.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" I warned, forcing the drow to stay put, mouth ajar. As far as I could tell, the door hadn't bothered them. Also, I was pissed, locked into apparent combat with a magic door.

Following my middle finger, icy shards almost impaled me. I savagely crushed the ones that scratched me in a dozen places.

"Taelim, you're being ridiculous!" Maziel called, but didn’t approach. No one did, not while I goaded the door.

Then came the electricity, dropping me to my knees. I was shaking, whether from fury or exhaustion, I couldn't tell.

"Pray, half-elf." Was all Slicer said.

I cursed his mother in druidic. In a daze, I wracked my brain for what dragon ability was left. Admittedly, I recalled it with fear: poison.

"Pray to Tiamat!" Someone or something said.

I smiled darkly and refused. "Death first."

The space exploded into poisonous fumes, but I was already gone. In that instant, Mug, the cat with a crazed grin, appeared in front of me.

"And I thought I was crazy!" Mug chuckled before he teleported us to the other side of the door.

I slouched against the wall with a sigh. The door swung open, and  my friends barreled across a blessedly empty room.

Maziel grabbed me by the collar. "That was stupid!"

I snickered and turned my gaze away, grunting something unintelligible that might have been, "Don't tell Feeps."

Nothing more was said on the matter, primarily because I ignored the ensuing stares and comments. All we could do was move on.

By now we had worked our way up another flight of steps. We passed preparations rooms for the dead, alongside collapsed tombs. There were halls of alcoves bearing the bones of the long dead. All Tiamat followers.

It didn’t take long to realize the crypt led nowhere. Still, it wasn’t an invaluable use of time--to some of us. Cosmo and Dagon bolted off to loot. The rest of us waited, overlooking the lake from the crypt veranda.

"I'm thinking we head down the river beyond the lake. That passage seemed promising." Maizel said to the rest of us, formulating a plan.

"We find the treasure horde, we find the dragon!" Yaup said, raising a fist as if already imagining glorious battle.

"Palace has gold. All his offerings. The drow is right. That is the way." Slicer said in a low voice, finally seeming to grasp we were doing this.

As if Maziel had been keeping time in her head, she called out to where Dagon and Cosmo had gone. The kender returned first, grinning. But not the dwarf. Maziel tried again.

Nothing.

I could see Maziel's annoyance in her posture. She was probably considering leaving him. Then, a cool breeze blew over us. Cold and unfriendly. Laughter echoed down the halls, a chorus of it.

Boots thundered from the blackness and we all braced for what was coming.

Dagon slid to a halt, panting. "Hey, guys. I'm all done. Let's go!"

We didn't budge, and the icy presence grew stronger, laughter echoing. A shimmering form materialized behind Dagon, and soon we were encircled. They pointed at the dwarf.

"This one has defiled our sacred ground!" They screamed, forcing us to draw closer together.

Our eyes fell on Dagon, who reddened and smiled innocently.

The dwarf shrugged and drew his maw. "Eh, let's kill them. They're supposed to be dead anyway."

The ghosts attacked, and utter chaos ensued. Our weapons cleaved through empty bodies, and our arrows passed through with seemingly no effect. Klotonk and I were forced to fire off spells dangerously close to our party. We tried and failed to duck away from shrieking apparitions that swiped into our bodies, hitting an unseen mark.

"What did you do!?" Maziel roared at Dagon, dodging out of a ghost’s reach. She fired a shot into the apparition, and it shuddered and disappeared. More materialized to fill its place.

"Nothing!" Dagon lied through a half-fast laugh.

"DAGON!" Half of the party demanded in unison.

"Some stupid amulet!"

I'm pretty sure I might have told Dagon to give it back, that's what the rest of the group was yelling. Only, I had frozen in place. Something grasped my body from within, holding tightly, and I couldn't do a thing about it.

"Taelim?" Klotonk glanced up at me, momentarily forgetting the heat of battle.

I wanted to answer him, to scream something was wrong. I couldn't talk, move, react. I was possessed. Soundlessly, I turned and headed away from the party, each step forcing me forward against my will.

I was drawn away from the crypt, out onto the veranda thanks to the presence within me. At once, the heat of the volcano hit me like a wall. Then I saw it. The lake of molten lava. Absolute fear seized me, but the ghost pushed me on.

Fight, Taelim. Fight it!

But I couldn't. It seemed to be laughing in my head despite every attempt to break free.

"Taelim!" The party was calling, suddenly fully aware of what was happening.

I swayed at the edge while the ghost chuckled somewhere within me.

Oh gods. No way.

Together we fell, splashing into the lava. I felt it release its hold, but it was too late for me to react. All I knew was agony.

Yaup called forth ceaseless protection spells in the name of Kord. They weren't enough to stop the pain of burning alive. They just kept the skin from sliding off my bones as I began to sink below the lava. I screamed and drowned and begged for it all to stop. Then I blacked out.

It was over almost as soon as it had begun. I awoke on the shore outside the crypt, and I could smell my burned clothes and skin. Even my magic-embellished armor had hardly survived.

"You're okay now," Klotonk was saying soothingly as I blinked up at him in a daze. There was a massive spectral hand floating behind him, fingers dripping with lava. Bigby I think he called it.  

I managed to sit up and take in the damage. I was in once piece, still shimmering with traces of magic barriers that made it so. Aside from portions of missing clothes and ugly burns, it was nothing that I couldn't mend with magic. Once I stopped trembling.

"The ghosts?" I uttered hoarsely.

"Gone," Dagon replied sheepishly. "I threw the amulet back..."

I nodded and lay back down wearily. Maizel motioned it was time to rest, and I whole-heartily agreed. I, for one, wasn’t about to move.

Worst vacation. Ever.