Hello, my readers! In this chapter, our adventurers face and fight Firkraag in his true form, that of a red Dragon. Enjoy and please, read&review *smile*
Warning: graphic violence
Author note: many, many, many thanks to Theodur for the precious suggestions! *smile*
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...So tell your mother, your brother, your sister and your friends
Tell the others, your lovers, better not be present tense
'Cause I want everyone to know that you are mine and no one else's!...(Christina Aguilera, “Ain’t no other man”)
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CHAPTER 26
Firkraag’s proper lair was an enormous cave, lit only by a few torches and its walls sported long black scorched stripes, left by the Dragon’s fiery breath. The creature was comfortably lounging at the farthest end of the cave, but sat up with a smile when he saw the party approaching, "Ah, Margaret Dawn, you came at last. It was an interesting game, but now it has lost its fun".
"For me, it’s never been funny to begin with. You summoned me here, so you could at least be so kind as to explain me the reason for it", the Ilmatari replied, absolutely calm. "For my fun, for my curiosity, for the memory of past transgressions". "And since I have never met you before, I guess these “transgressions” you mentioned are related to someone I knew, right?".
Firkraag nodded, bending his neck to look her in the eye, "Good, you’re smarter than I thought. Yes, you are right: I had a little scuffle with the man you consider your father, that Khalid. He and some of his Harper friends attacked me some time ago and I still carry the scars of that meeting. Since I can’t take my revenge directly on him, I will torment his spirit by destroying you", he said, a smug smirk curving his snout, "Wherever he is, I’m sure he’s seething with anger now".
Meg arched an eyebrow, "So you want to destroy me, uh? You think you can do worse than what Kivan did to me? Because I highly doubt it". "Kivan? Ah, yes, the Elven ranger. My spies told me he didn’t leave Baldur’s Gate in your company. And now you say he destroyed you?", Firkraag was clearly intrigued, "But he was one of your companions, wasn’t he?".
"For a while, yes", she smiled to herself, the plan was working: as long as his attention was focused on her, the others could get into position unnoticed, "We parted ways after the final battle, because he killed the one person I loved more than anything in the world". "So this Elf turned on you?", his eyebrows shot up with incredulity, "That puny dokaal turned on a Bhhalspawn? He must have had a death wish, then".
"He actually did: his wife was killed and he felt that, after avenging her, he would have no more reasons to live. You have no idea how utterly depressing it was to have that pointy-eared brooder around", she made a show of rolling her eyes and the Dragon laughed. "I can imagine it. But I’m curious: why didn’t you kill him, then? As a Bhaalspawn, it would have been an easy task for you. After all, murder is part of your being, isn’t it?".
"Oh, you know, it’s not fun to murder someone who wants nothing more than to die", she replied with a shrug, then grinned and winked, "It really kills the mood". Firkraag nodded his understanding, "I know what you mean. Nice pun, by the way". "Yeah, I knew you would be smart enough to understand it: I mean, you’re a Dragon! And a red one too! The red one is the best one, everyone knows it", the Painbearer flattered him, though her words about “the red one” were actually meant for Edwin. As a wizard, of course.
The wyrm preened and puffed his chest, dripping smugness, "Ah, you have good taste, I see. Yes, we reds are the best of the best and I am obviously the best of all reds. I must admit that you’re better than I expected, Child of Bhaal. I think I can even allow you and your friends to leave unharmed, after all".
"I appreciate this gift, but if I may ask your Highness a little favour?". "Ask away". "It would be a sign of true greatness on your part to allow Taar to leave unharmed too". He gave her a blank stare, "Who?". "Taar. Garren’s son", Margaret Dawn explained and Firkraag shrugged. "Ah, the child.
Yes, yes, you can take him. I have no further use for him anyway. Here’s the key to his cell", he said, distractedly tossing her the item. She bowed, "Thank you, lord Firkraag", she turned to Ajantis and handed him the key, "Sir Ajantis, go free Taar and make sure he gets home safe and sound".
The blond paladin of Helm nodded and left, while the Dragon lay back on the floor. "Well, now you have what you came for, no? I’m tired of playing, so you can take your leave. I want to sleep". "Oh, you will sleep, your Highness...", Meg smiled and her smile was cold and cruel like the Slayer’s, "But you won’t wake up anymore. NOW!".
At her order, two contingencies cast by the mages hit the creature, lowering his magic resistance and draining part of his life-force, while the rest of the party attacked with their weapons. Firkraag let out a furious roar, "How dare you! I...", he trailed off as Edwin’s spell silenced him, thus preventing him to activate any kind of protective barrier around himself. The Thayan smirked, "Serves you right, you ugly hyperfed lizard (His voice was giving me a headache)".
A web erupted from the rocky floor of the cave, wrapping itself around the Dragon’s wings and legs, while a bolt of lightning struck him on the head, damaging his right eye. He opened his maw to spit a cone of flames, but his attack turned out to be barely useful against the fire-protected fighters, while he was vulnerable to the ice-based spell that Aerie cast against him, freezing his right ankle.
Despite all of this, Firkraag fought hard: his talons struck with both speed and precision, leaving behind long bleeding gashes on the unprotected flesh of his enemies and making big dents in their armour. One of his blows hit Castalia’s left side, knocking the wind out of her and breaking three of her ribs with the force of the impact, so Jaheira was forced to fall back and heal the paladin woman, while sir Nathan placed himself before them with his large shield raised to protect both women from the Dragon’s attacks.
In the meantime, Firkraag’s tail whipped the air and the next swing caught sir Terence square in the chest, sending the Tyrran crashing against a wall, where his head impacted roughly against the rock and it was only thanks to his helmet that his skull remained intact. This time it was Meg who took care of the healing and as soon as his legs could support him again, the paladin rejoined the fight, his bastard sword hissed like a snake as he slashed at the creature’s belly, opening in it a long cut that immediately started to bleed.
Anomen’s enchanted Flail was inflicting serious damages too, with the areas frozen by its ice head shattering in crimson splinters under the squire’s powerful blows and the poisonous head injecting deadly fluid in the Dragon’s bloodstream through the wounds, while Edwin summoned a pack of Gnolls to help them in the fight, then cast all of the offensive spells he had at his disposal, weakening the wyrm as much as he could.
Meanwhile Jaheira summoned a huge cloud of insects which started to bite every tender spot they could find in the Dragon’s flesh, distracting him from his furious attack for few precious instants and Minsc hacked at the tail with his enchanted halberd as a woodcutter would hack at a tree, his face alight with his usual enthusiasm. "Haha! Feel the Boot of Justice, you evil Dragon!", he shouted gleefully, "Minsc and Boo and their brave companions will take you down!".
The Dragon threw his head back with a silent screech of pain, then lowered it in the attempt to roast the Rashemi ranger with his fire, but a translucent ball of energy surrounded the man, courtesy of Aerie and the flames harmlessly slid off the sphere.
At last, the blood loss caused by the numerous wounds and the effect of the poison started to make Firkraag feel dizzy, his vision blurred and he felt himself weakening more and more with every blow he suffered, until he fell to the floor, unable to stand.
It was then that Minsc landed the final blow: his halberd bit deep into the creature’s throat, slashing the carotid artery open and a fountain of blood sprouted from the wound, coating the Rashemi in it and knocking him off his feet with its flowing force. The effect of the silencing spell ended with a “snap” and the Dragon used his final breath to curse Meg, "May you burn in the Abyss, child of Bha...", he wheezed, his voice trailing off into silence as life left him.
Margaret Dawn rolled her eyes with a snort at that, "Oh yeah, that’s so very original, you nurh petisse. Wish that I had a gold coin for every living being who told me that!", she muttered, approaching the ranger, while Anomen, Jaheira and Aerie took care of the other fighters. Firkraag’s fury had caused such injuries that all three of the healers had to exhaust their healing spells and even then, their companions still had to make use of a few Healing Potions to regain their health completely.
Yoshimo, whose place was well away from the front line in order to protect the spellcasters, slung his Heartseeker bow back on his left shoulder and after dusting his leathers, he searched the walls of the cave for a secret passage: since there seemed to be no hoard in the cave, there must be a treasure room somewhere nearby, he reasoned.
His keen eyes spotted an indentation in the western wall, so he pressed it and a section of the rock slid sideways, revealing to him the most beautiful sight he’d ever witnessed in his whole life: piles and piles of gold coins, gems and even illithium stones covered the floor of an enormous room. There were enough riches to pay a king’s ransom a dozen times!
"Sekai no hikari, I think you should see this", the bounty hunter called, his lips curving in a wide smile. The Painberar joined him, curious, "What is it, sensei?", she asked, but when she saw the content of the secret room, her knees buckled and she sagged like an empty sack, her eyes filled with tears of joy, Oh, Ilmater, it can’t be...I must be dreaming, she thought, "Someone pinch me". "If you insist", he grinned and pinched her shoulder.
"Ow! I didn’t mean it for real!", she protested, but couldn’t help smiling back, "We can save her now, can’t we?". "Yes, my friend. We can". Their five companions joined them and she quickly instructed them to fill their packs with as much gold coins and gems as they could carry, as she herself also stuffed nearly four kilos of illithium stones into her Bag of Holding.
"We’ll take some Dragon scales too, enough to make at least two big suits of armour. And of course, after we’re in a safe place, Jae will count all of these riches and we’ll split them into eight equal shares", the Ilmatari stated and Edwin frowned. "Eight? In case you took a blow to the head and forgot how to count, there are only seven of us", he said.
"For now, but Immy will join us soon and she is entitled to her share, like everyone else", she replied, omitting to mention the couple of gem necklaces she’d secretly snatched for the pink-haired thief as a sort of “compensation” for all the time she’d spent in a cell and the two gems she already knew how to use. "Umpf. Well, it does make sense. Eight shares it is (Mine will be enough to live like a king for years anyway)".
The young woman turned to the paladins, "There’s enough riches for you too, ladies and gentlemen", she said, gesturing to the hoard, but Catalia shook her head with a condescending smile. "It’s kind of you to offer us a part of it, but we can’t accept: as paladins and members of the Order, we can’t take any kind of payment for our work. We have our stipend and that is enough", the female Tyrran said, eliciting a contemptous snort from the Red Wizard and a roll of eyes from Yoshimo.
"Oh, okay", the Ilmatari shrugged, "The rest of the hoard will go to Garren Windspear, then: after all, these are his lands". Aerie, who was closing her pack, noticed something on top of a pile of gold coins and called, "Meg, there is a big sword here". The Painbearer joined her and frowned, "It’s a two-handed sword. And I sense a holy power emanating from it".
Sir Terence gasped when he saw the sword, "Holy Gods...It’s Carsomyr!". She blinked, "Carsowhat?". "Carsomyr", he repeated, his eyes filled with both excitement and reverence as he carefully lifted it, "It’s sacred to our Lord Tyr". Castalia was instantly at his side, her pretty face solemn, "This day is blessed: the sacred weapon has finally returned to us, after having being lost for centuries", she spoke reverently, "We must take it back to the Order Headquarters".
Meg frowned at that, "Now wait a minute...", she tried to say, but Anomen cut her off gently. "It is the best course of action, my lady: the sword belongs to the Order and it is up to Prelate Wessalen to decide who will have the privilege to wield it". His leader pursed her lips in annoyance, but nodded, "All right, then. Now let’s get out of here, I need some fresh air".
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While the paladins went back to Garren’s cabin, Margaret Dawn and her party went East in search of the Dryad’s Grove, to give freedom to the captive Dryads who still languished in Irenicus’ dungeon. The Grove was breathtakingly beautiful, with tall luxuriant trees and multicoloured flowers surrounding a huge circular lake, the crystal clear waters of which murmured gently and invitingly. "This place is so... ", Jaheira trailed off, founding herself speechless before such beauty and her ward smiled.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. But now we must find the Fairy Queen, we will rest later", the Painbearer said. "Why are you looking for me?", a melodious voice came from the trees and a figure seemed to emerge directly from the bark of a large poplar: it was an unearthly attractive female, similar to a Human, but her skin was a light blue and her grass-green hair was decorated with fresh leaves and multicoloured blooms, like her luxurious green dress.
"Are you lady Vaelasa, the Fairy Queen?", Meg asked and the creature nodded. "I am she. What brings you to my realm, my dear child? Are you here to join us in the eternal fun?". The young priestess took the acorns out of her pack and handed them to Vaelasa, "Well, no, I’m here on behalf of three Dryads we met in a dungeon. These acorns belong to them. They are captive and...".
The queen exulted, "You brought the acorns! Now the trees of Ulene, Cania and Elyme can be reborn!", she carefully buried the acorns in the soft ground and three slender willows sprouted at once, their barks opened and out of them came the three beaming Dryads, safe and sound. Ulene threw her arms around Margaret Dawn’s neck happily, "You freed us! Thank you, kind godchild, thank you so much!", the Dryad exclaimed, placing an enthusiastic kiss on the Human girl’s cheek.
Cania and Elyme followed suit, hugging and kissing the embarrassed Ilmatari and praising her kindness, then all of them left to restore their connection to the Grove. Vaelasa looked at the leaving Dryads with affection, then turned to the adventurers, "I can never thank you enough for freeing my sisters. Will you stay for a while? It will be a great pleasure to have you as my honoured guests", she said, shooting a sultry gaze at the men of the party and especially at Anomen.
Margaret Dawn gritted her teeth, her temper flaring and her eyes flashing golden, "Thank you for your kind offer, but we are on a tight schedule, so we can’t linger. Farewell, queen Vaelasa", she replied in a low growl, clutching the squire’s hand in her own in a vice-like grip and practically dragging him along as she left.
Well, well, well, the Slayer chuckled, You’re jealous, aren’t you, little Goddess? You can bet your ugly snout that I am!, she shot back, seething, How dare that blue-skinned bitch look at him like that? I should gouge her eyes out and rip her throat off for her insolence! I should tear her to shreds so small, that only the ants could see them!
Yes, she deserves to be punished with extreme severity for her lack of respect. Her fate should work as an example for all of the women out there and I would be most honoured to assist you in dealing out the punishment, mistress, the creature said, its tone unusually humble, Just say the word and I will gladly put my strength, my claws and my fangs at your service. Together we will make sure that nobody will dare to try and steal what is yours ever again.
She couldn’t deny that the Slayer’s offer sounded extremely tempting, but before she could answer, Anomen’s voice snapped her back to reality. "Please, my lady, could you slow down a bit?", the young man pleaded, his heavy pack making it hard for him to keep such a quick pace. The Ilmatari stopped and suddenly realized that she was still gripping his hand in hers, "Oh! Sorry", she hastily let go, blushing, "It’s just that I...Well, I, uhm...".
"She wanted to make sure that Taar is fine", Jaheira came to her rescue, "Even if Ajantis is a paladin now, he was alone and these lands are infested by Ankhegs". Meg nodded, smiling gratefully to her guardian, "Yeah, those horrible stinking beasts...I remember the first time we faced one of them: it was terrifying, that monster seemed invincible".
"And now we’ve managed to kill a red Dragon". "We did, but without the help from Castalia’s group, I doubt that we could have come out of the fight alive...We barely made it even with their support. I thank Ilmater that we had them fighting at our side", the Painbearer replied, then put her pack down, "Tell you what, we rest here for a while and then we’ll resume our trip, but at a slower pace, okay?".
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When they reached the cabin, they found out that Taar and all the five paladins were safe and sound and they couldn’t help chuckling at the sight of the boy fawning over a very embarrassed Alybeth. "Ah, here they are!", the black-haired female paladin exclaimed as she saw the adventurers, grateful for the diversion, "Now we can take our leave. You will go back to Athkatla , I guess?".
"We’re headed there, yes", Margaret Dawn confirmed. Taar pouted, "You’re leaving so soon?", he whined, but then his eyes brightened and he took Alybeth’s hand in his, "My lady, my Bringer of Light, I will always think of you while we’re apart. This distance will make our love even more epic and tragic and I will be happy, knowing that you’re out there doing heroic deeds in my name".
She forced herself to smile, gently freeing her hand from his, "I am flattered by your words and I don’t want to hurt your feelings, my young lord, but there is no love bond between us, so...". "Oh, I know! But in every book I read, the hero or heroine always has a distant love, in whose name they joust and thoughts of whom give them strength.
I just thought it would be very noble and paladin-like for me to offer myself as your distant love", he replied adamantly, "And I know I’m too young for you now...But maybe you will wait for me?", he asked hopefully, making his best puppy dog eyes at her.
"Er...Forgive me, but I can’t make this promise", Alybeth said softly, "But you will always have my respect and my esteem". The poor kid was floored, "Oh. All right", he muttered, "So...Goodbye, my Bringer of Light". "Goodbye, my young lord". Both the paladins and the adventurers bid Taar and Garren farewell and exited the cabin, destination: Athkatla.
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Nurh petisse = ugly kobold (Draconic)
Nurh = adjective ugly (Draconic)
Petisse = kobold (Draconic)
Edited by Nimloth, 19 February 2018 - 06:40 PM.