Age of Dragons

Dragons--I had thought them extinct. In fact, I've heard that no one had seen them in hundreds of years. Yet now, within the span of a day, we've seen two. Have they returned? If so, from where? Why are they back? And most importantly, do their appearance have anything to do with what's been happening across the lands?

After the door was shut, we needed to find a way out, or find a way to kill the dragon. I healed those who were hurt, and tried to hold the door shut for as long as I could. Fortunately, Borrow searched the walls, and found a small crack in the wall, which turned out to be a secret passage way leading out of the room! We quickly moved toward corridor, which was only a few feet wide. After we entered it, we had Borrow go back and make sure that the door was closed -- completely this time, so that if the dragon broke in, he would not be able to find the hidden door.

We continued a ways down, opening into an empty room. We found another hidden passageway and kept going. Eventually, we encountered a pair of Nothrogs -- how did they get in here? We weren't able to get much out of them before they attacked. They weren't much of a match for us, and after we dispatched them, we kept exploring the ancient Dwarven halls. In the next room, we found ourselves in a grand hall. It was possibly the dining hall or perhaps the training grounds for Dwarven warriors. In either case, four Nothrogs seemed to be standing guard in the room, and they leaped into action. They seemed to be well trained and highly motivated, but still no match for the five of us that weren't blinded by the dragon. I speculated that they must be more of Nassiral Hate's elite guard.

In the next room, we encountered the smell of roasted meats and other cooking. An elderly Nothrog was standing near a stove and he didn't seem to be paying attention. He quickly surrendered as he we called for him to drop what he was doing. He didn't seem to be the meanest Nothrog around, and actually provided us with good information about what to expect. He told us that the Nothrog legion came with the black dragon, and that most of the legion had left already, with the best pickings of the slain silver dragon's loot. He said that one lieutenant was still around just down the hall, and that they had also captured a prisoner. We tied him up and told him that we'd be back.

We found the room that belonged to the commander. He was a tough Nothrog, but we defeated him without too much difficulty, because he was heavily outnumbered. These Nothrog don't know the meaning of surrender. Inside the room was a few notes and a piece of paper with Dwarven writing on it. We found the Dwarf prisoner in the next room. He explained that his name was Barricade, and that he was captured not too long ago. We rested for the evening and the next day, we prepared to fight the dragon.

Using the Dwarven note we found, Borrow and Obegard managed to figure out the puzzle to unlocking an ancient Dwarven Protector spirit. Then, the three priests, Barrin, Barricade, and I cast as many defensive and offensive augmentation spells as we could and set forth back into the tunnel. It didn't take long before the dragon appeared. He blasted several with a line of acid, but he made a tactical error in choosing to stand in the corner -- it allowed Obegard to trap it there with a well place sheet of sticky webbing. Ili and the Dwarves started in to attack as I tried to sap its strength using a spell. The dragon's natural resistance foiled my spell, and I also saw that several flurries of Obegard's magic missiles seemed to just get absorbed by the dragon's hide. However, all this time, the dragon was still trapped, and Ili, Barricade, and the Dwarf Spirit were pounding away. I moved in to attack as well. I called upon all my power and determination and hacked at the dragon twice. The first time, I cleaved a deep wound in its side, which caused it to reel back in pain. That left him open and vulnerable, and with my second strike, I aimed my blade at its neck, striking true and cleaving the dragon's head with one mighty blow.

It was done. The dragon had been slain, and Stoneyvale should be safe...for now.