Red Death

Taar clutched the cell bars and pressed his face between them, dirty but unhurt. “You came! I thought I’d be eaten!”

“By the orcs?” Valygar asked.

“No, by Lord Firkraag.” He had no chance to explain this further as Yoshimo bent to pick the lock to the cell. “It’s no use, Firkraag told me only he holds the key to open it. You’ll have to get it from him.”

Yoshimo stood, nodding. “He’s right. Even a rogue as talented as I cannot open it.” He grinned apologetically.

Ajantis readied his sword. “We must confront this monster and punish him for his many crimes. Then, we can take the key and free young Taar.” He stepped over a fallen orc guard and marched to a dark stairway leading into a pit.

The rest followed. “Stay with Taar,” Jaheira commanded Yoshimo, who bowed and took a seat at the former guards’ table.

The six party members cautiously walked down the stairs, weapons ready for anything. They had fought vampires, ghasts, wolfweres, orcs, golems, and shadows on their way here and were barely able to arrive at Taar’s cell intact. While a short rest would have been welcome, they were worried that any delay might have decreased the chances for Taar’s survival, so they had pressed on.

With Ajantis in the lead, they reached the end of the stairs and an enormous cavern. The paladin stopped and stared at what lay ahead. Aerie, next in line, bumped against his sudden halt, followed quickly by the others, before they, too, stared.

A colossal red dragon filled the cavern, emitting a faint red glare. Golden yellow eyes stared down at them as insects, debating whether to squish them as they stood or play with them. Its wings, though folded across its back, brushed either side of the stone walls, and the beast’s head almost scraped the ceiling. The entire party’s hearts stopped beating for a second as the dragon spoke.

“Ah, finally you have come, Gorion’s child. I grow weary of this game, and I do wish to meet you so very much.” The dragon’s voice boomed through the walls, the stone floor, the bones of the group. “You come here for the child, whom you may keep. My interest in Windspear has ended. It is you, now, I look to.”

Ajantis muttered, “So Lord Firkraag truly is a monster.”

The dragon turned its golden gaze to him. “This monster remains a king, knightling. You would do well to remember that, lest you end up like your poor, fallen comrades.”

Ajantis would have charged Firkraag had not Jaheira and Valygar held him back.

Tybalt took an unsteady step forward. “W-why have you an interest in me? And how do you know my father?”

The dragon rumbled a laugh, sending the party to its knees as the room shook. “Still pretending to be normal, are we? Ah, Bhaalspawn, I did not know your father, nor should I care to meet him. I knew Gorion. He and his little Harper friends thought to best me a few years ago, and I thought to repay the service. When I learned of his death, I instead turned my attentions to his heir: you.”

Tybalt wondered how long ago this had been, since Gorion had put aside his adventuring days since before adopting him. He reminded himself never to anger a dragon and let it survive. “What good could killing me do?”

Firkraag tilted his head as if confused. “I never said anything about killing you, spawn of Murder. No, I intend to let you live. Live and continue your amusing little journeys that I may watch and laugh as you slip into darkness, losing your soul along the way.”

“Our Lord has a touch of the poet in his heart, it appears,” Haer’Dalis said. “He wishes to make a play of us for his amusement. Only I fear we cannot laugh along with him.”

The dragon ignored this. “You fascinate me, Bhaalspawn. A living incarnation of murder before me, yet so fragile that I could snuff your life out before you knew what had happened. Don’t look so scared, I promised I wouldn’t harm you.” Firkraag chuckled. “You are free to go. Leave me, lest I grow bored and decide to eat you.”

Ajantis brandished his sword. “You must pay for your crimes against the Order and Lord Windspear!” he cried. “Relinquish Taar and your life, or face the consequences!”

Haer’Dalis frowned. “I can’t imagine many worse consequences than death, my hound, so your threat holds no weight.”

Firkraag showed his full, gleaming teeth. “Little paladin, I have swallowed many of your kind before. What makes you think you should be any different?” He pointed to a pile of treasure to the side, containing a number of suits of armor and large weapons.

Ajantis saw the trophies and yelled a battle cry before charging the dragon sword first.

“Ajantis!” Aerie cried, then stamped her foot and began chanting. Jaheira cursed and followed suit. Valygar slipped behind the dragon to try to get in a sneak attack.

Haer’Dalis looked at Tybalt. “Well, my raven, you do land us in some interesting situations.” He gave a brief kiss before drawing Chaos and Entropy and approaching the dragon.

Tybalt stood in a daze as his companions attacked the dragon. Who dared fight a dragon? He was about to run back up the stairs when he thought of Haer’Dalis. He couldn’t leave the bard to die, even if it meant dying himself. He drew his longsword and took a deep breath before charging.

The battle was a blur to him and he remembered little afterward. He remembered being caught in an immense fireball and flying through the air to crash into stone. He remembered seeing Aerie’s still form lying next to him, hearing cries of pain and fear. Jaheira had summoned earth elementals to distract the dragon, but Firkraag was more interested in delivering as much pain as possible to the party.

Ajantis and Valygar had both managed to give significant wounds to the dragon, but despite this Firkraag still had the upper hand. The group was wearing down while the dragon didn’t look to be tiring. Haer’Dalis now approached to accelerate decay.

Firkraag swatted the tiefling aside without even glancing at him. The bard landed on the floor and did not move.

“Haer’Dalis!” Tybalt shouted. He dropped his sword and knelt by the man’s side. Haer’Dalis wasn’t breathing.

“Do you care for that halfbreed, Bhaalspawn?” Firkraag asked. “I suppose vermin like you would be attracted to one another.”

Tybalt screamed and ran to the dragon, wanting nothing more than to break the beast’s neck and drink its blood. “I’ll kill you!” he shouted, clawing at the scaly hide. He had dropped his sword and used merely his hands to rip ineffectively at the scales.

The dragon laughed at this useless display of rage before raising a claw to wipe away the nuisance. “I was going to enjoy watching your progress, god child, but you give me no choice but to end your journeys early.”

“Not if I can help it,” Tybalt muttered. His hand had found a gash left by a sword, whose he couldn’t tell, and it plunged into the wound, a deep red glow beginning to surround him. His eyes grew black as he channeled his rage into the wound, thinking of the fallen Haer’Dalis and all the evil the dragon had committed.

“What are you doing, worm?” Firkraag roared. He attempted to swat Tybalt away, but he lurched to one side and struggled to maintain balance. “Enough! I will destroy you!” Again, he could not make good on this promise, as he swayed unsteadily and sank to all four feet. “No…” His voice trailed off weakly.

Tybalt screamed, but the sound was inhuman. A deep rumble accompanied by tortured screams issued from his mouth, sounding like an underworld cacophony more than anything else. His entire body flashed dark red, blood red, and the light engulfed the dragon, obscuring the two from sight. A boom rippled through the air, and the light was gone.

Firkraag appeared to have shrunk inside himself. His scales had collapsed around his form and his size had shrunk, as if all of the fluid in his body had disappeared.

Tybalt still stood, but his face was frozen into a wild snarl. He glared at his companions and scuttled into the shadows at the far end of the cavern.

“Tybalt!” Jaheira cried. She had used his distraction with Firkraag to check on both Aerie and Haer’Dalis, and had restored them to stable condition. Valygar and Ajantis stood nearby, watching the shadows in concern.

She approached the darkness. “Tybalt, you must regain control! You are safe now, Haer’Dalis is safe. The dragon is dead, please come to your senses!”

A snarl answered her. She held back her tears, but her voice carried sadness. “Please, Tybalt. We have worked so hard to keep you safe. Do not throw it all away now. We have won; you must come back to us.”

Haer’Dalis had limped over to her. “My raven, do not give into the chaos which is your heritage. Entropy has its place, but too much too fast is unhealthy. Everything has its time, and yours is not now.”

Tybalt crept from the shadows warily, his eyes darting about like a cornered animal. He barred his teeth as he crouched low to the ground.

Jaheira smiled while biting back tears. “Tybalt. We are your friends. We love you. Do not give in to your father.”

“Aye,” Haer’Dalis said. “You are far too marvelous to leave us, yet, my raven. The play isn’t over.”

Slowly, Tybalt stood, shaking his head as he walked forward. He groaned, shutting his eyes from everything. When he opened them, they had gone back to their normal dark brown. “I’m…I’m sorry,” he whispered, before collapsing to the floor.