Dragon vs. Dragon, Rime against Reason

Returning to the temple with the head of the Kuo-Tuo whip, we found six potions accompanied by a message from the detestable Rime. Borrow guessed the contents of the draconic note correctly: we were to drink the potions of water breathing and swim south to rendezvous with Rime. Lacking any better ideas, Durthen, Borrow, and I quaffed potions and headed into the river with our capitate burdens.

Six hours of monotonic and claustrophic swimming brought us out into a river gorge within a cavern, wading knee-deep towards a bridge spanning us above. Durthen easily climbed the rough stone walls and lowered a rope for us. The bridge led to another dwarven door, and we entered into a disused complex. A mess hall and a temple of Kor were mostly bare and dust-laden, but a tremendous hall with high ceilings beckoned us back into the darkness.

At the far end of the hall, we saw a raised platform featuring a throne and a huge glinting pile of gold and treasures. One gem in particular caught my eye, a bright green match for the faded one atop my Kaballite staff. As we debated how to proceed, a booming voice accosted us and bade us leave. A huge copper dragon emerged from the darkness, and accused us of being selfish slayers of dragons. Fortunately the dragon spoke common, so Durthen boldly explained our presence (saving dwarves from Rime's terror) and our motivations in our past encounters with dragons. Apparently the dragon had heard about us from Rime, and it seemed likely that Rime was trying to play us off against each other. Remarkably, the dragon believed our story, and was even willing to trade amicably for some of the more exotic items we'd retrieved while down in the cave.

This happy interlude was brought to an abrupt end when Rime approached, flanked by four of his blackspawn raiders and accompanied by a larger half-dragon (later learned to be "Rot-tooth"). As they approached, ready for combat, Rot-tooth called out derisively to Ironfang (our copper acquaintance), disappointed that he hadn't initiated a fight with us. We tried briefly to negotiate, but Rime revealed that the dwarves were already dead. With that, they attacked.

Rot-tooth proved himself a powerful sorceror, focusing ray after ray of weakness and dizziness on Ironfang. The blackspawn were suspiciously well-prepared for battling true dragonkind, and I wonder if we were simply pawns in a larger scheme of theirs. Ironfang stoically endured an assault which would have killed any of the rest of us, while we chipped away at the edges of their force.

Durthen claimed the right of single-combat with Rot-tooth, some matter of honor to him. While we didn't completely understand, we complied (even Ironfang, at considerable personal risk). Durthen's charismatic valiance inspires that kind of indulgence now and then.

My own vendetta was with the corruptor Rime; this time, my hold monster finally stuck, and Borrow seized the opportunity to strike him down. Even with Rime out of the fight, things looked grim: Rot-tooth had prepared extensively for the fight (taking a page out of Malakar's book), and it was all Durthen could do to hit him as Rot-tooth danced around casting spell after spell at Ironfang. Ironfang was acting defensively for the majority of the fight, taking the brunt of the damage and helping to dispel or defuse Rot-tooth's magic. By the time Durthen finally wore down Rot-tooth, Ironfang was in deep trouble, but fortunately we were able to take down the remaining raiders by concentrating our attacks. As usual, my greatest contribution to the later stages of the battle was in keeping our deadly little dwarf invisible, so that he could wreak his usual havoc.

With Rime, Rot-tooth and the Kuo-Toa leaders dead, and with Ironfang more favorably disposed to us, I have more hope that we may adequately secure the caverns under Dragon Keep. There are still monsters about, and the thread of Abyssals in the deep, but the dwarves should soon be able to begin constructing layered defenses. Ironfang informed us that the underground river continues south to emerge in Tyranial forest, so there's another option if we are unable to return to the surface the way we came.

I believe that we have earned a brief respite, and look forward to returning to dragon keep with some of the spoils of our adventure, and with the two dwarves that we managed to save. I have unlocked the astral-spatiotemporal patterns necessary to teleport us back to Dragon Keep, and I am eager to try my hand at something longer range. This gem I traded with Ironfang for may allow me to unlock the great powers of my Kaballite Staff, and I believe Durthen is discovering similar depths in the Axe of King Gorek. Perhaps Malakar, Ili, and Erson will be disappointed to have missed the heartily satisfying defeat of Rime, but they should be happy enough with the outcome.