First Strike

[Kaerisk]

(No story for this one yet~


Basically, there will be a raid on Maurger's lair this Saturday. I have not yet set up the time, but likely, it'll be around 10am Pacific. I'll be DMing the event - that is, saying what's going on, dealing with traps and whatever else might be encountered down in the lair - and it shouldn't last more than an hour or two. And no, Maurger's not going to be in the lair ;p

If you want to join in on the raid, drop me a line here or in game if you see me. I'm sure we can somehow weave your character into the story so that you would know about and would join Ausixen as he leads the attack. The RP'll be turned into a story for this post.

Sorry, there will be no purples. >.>;

Hope to see you there~)

[BrightCat]

Sounds epic. Sign me up. Wouldn't be too hard to work Callihan into the story considering Nyoko is part of it already.

[Nyoko]

And of course don't forget me! I'll be there.

[Shian]

You know I'm there

[Essra]

O,o sounds fun, but unfortunately my only characters that might wish to come are hatchlings. =/ Maybe eidolen would be usefull...like... once, with how taxing his spells are, but no other characters that could make any difference at all xDD

[Kaerisk]

(weeee, that was fun~ I'll be turning the log into a story and should have it up next weekend, so stay tuned~ Thanks to everyone who came out; we had a large turnout, a number of traps, and a cool battle sequence~ I hope to run something like this again sometime. Dungeons are much more fun when there's RP involved ;p)

[Kaerisk]

(So I was transforming this event into a story and I realized half way through the story at page nine that, uh. It's long~ So I'm breaking it up into two parts. This part lets us know where Mae is, the first couple of traps, and the discovery in the broodchamber. I'll get up the second half as soon as I can.

Again, thank you everyone who participated. It was a blast, even if it was a lot of work ;p)



“Are you ready?” Maekrux asked his grandson. Both stood on the terrace, overlooking the quiet valley.

“Yes. Please take care, grandfather,” Ausixen said.
“I will not be captured again, Ausixen. No one ever will again,” Maekrux said. There was no great scene, no moment of emotion or of hesitation. They did not need to speak these things anymore, for they understood one another. He took off into the sky, flying north to Dralk.

“I’ll make sure of it, grandfather,” the Purple Phoenix said to the wind.



Ausixen gathered together those who had volunteered to aid him – Xeffer first, who waited in Maekrux’s lair, and then Shian and Sombre in Chiconis. There he waited anxiously, speaking of going on a hunt with them, just in case Maurger’s spies were lurking about. When he heard from his grandfather that Maurger had arrived in Valkoth’s chamber with Semeneth, he led them south to the hidden hollow of Sak’tal. There, they met Nyoko.

“Is he gone?” Ausixen asked. Maekrux had already told him so, but he still asked. His heart was racing; there was still fear in coming back to this place, especially so soon after escaping it. But he had a duty to many to see this through – especially to his own unborn.

Nyoko blinked at the group; perhaps she had expected a smaller number. She confirmed that Maurger was gone.

Ausixen sighed and turned back to the group. “It will be dangerous in there. But I'll need you all to watch for me. I cannot be sure... I will not fall victim to fear while I am in there. So just prepare to watch for traps.”

Xeffer nodded and fanned out her large earfins, preparing one of her best senses for the task to come. “Ausixen, will you be leading the way? We must organize ourselves before entering,” she said.

Ausixen shook his head. “I should keep back and watch, just in case. I need to make sure we get what we came for. It would be best if you organize now while I prepare myself.” He turned back to the lair, facing it. His muscles were tense and his heart sought to rupture his chest. He couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t run and abandon those who had come to his aid. He couldn’t be sure Maurger wouldn’t immediately come back here. He couldn’t be sure that they would survive or evade the traps. He couldn’t be sure of anything. How could he hope to lead them?

Callihan landed near them. Nyoko looked at him with a slight frown. “What are nieo doing here?” she asked.

“I'm here to make sure you're safe,” he said with a gentle nuzzle. His tail flicked slightly, before looking at the others, as if self-conscious. Nyoko said nothing, but her eyeridges furrowed as if she were unhappy for some reason.

Xeffer was leading the organization while Ausixen stood aloof. “Very well... Though I think Shian should bring up the rear. She is quite large and would obstruct our view if she were ahead of anyone.”

Shian snorted. “And miss all the action? Iea would sooner go as khutit.”

“As you like. Do that, then,” Xeffer said.
“If nobody else volunteers, I will go first,” Sombre said.

Xeffer shifted her gaze onto Sombre, eyes narrowed and tone oddly cool. “Yes, you can go first. I will be behind you with my ears opened. My sense of hearing is quite strong, I'll be able to detect if someone's close by, hopefully.”

Nyoko looked over at the others for a brief moment before glaring back at Callihan. “Iea will take up the rear if nien da mind.” No one objected and Callihan stood by her side. Shian took her place in khutit form nearby them.

Ausixen took a deep breath. “I think I'm ready. Let's head inside.” Sombre nodded, leading the train of dragons into the maw of the cave and moving carefully all along the way.

The lair was larger than they had expected. Even the connection tunnels could comfortably fit two and a half adult dragons. They came to a branch right past the entrance and all immediately looked to Ausixen to direct them. He looked around and shook his head, trying to remember.

Callihan glanced around as well when he came down the entrance shaft, his senses piqued for danger. From what he heard this wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

“I don't remember any of this. Which way should we go? The evidence could be anywhere,” Ausixen said. Every time he tried to remember anything but the pain, there was a haze, doubtless put there by his tormentor.

“Straight ahead?” Sombre suggested.

Xeffer kept a short distance behind Sombre, her steps light and as silent as a dragon’s could be. “Go on then,” she said. The white led them past the side tunnel and deeper into the dark lair. “This place already looks like a maze,” Xeffer complained.

The group did not have to travel long before the path branched off again; indeed, it was quite a maze for those who did not know where to go. Ausixen stopped at the crossing. “Hold on a moment. Can you hear that?” he asked. A strange, ghostly sound seemed to echo throughout the cavern here, but its direction was hard to tell. It sounded almost like a dragon in pain.

Xeffer winced slightly as the sound hit her ears, nodding stiffly and holding her position. “Yes... There are too many passageways, it's hard to tell where it's coming from.”

“Iea d'na hear, but maybe if we go on,” Sombre said.
“Iea cannot hear it either...” Shian admitted.

“Let's try this way,” Xeffer said, pointing straight ahead. The group agreed and moved forward into a twisting tunnel, the sound getting stronger with every step. At last, they arrived at an unfinished mural. The sound emanated from behind the wall. The half-finished crest looked almost like it has been placed over another tunnel. It was a ghastly crest, depicting a skeletal dragon eating its own tail. It seemed to signify something. Sombre smelled it carefully, trying to determine if it was safe, but all she could smell was dust and mold.

Xeffer made a point to wait outside when Sombre stepped in, mindful that there could be a trap. The sound, however, was unmistakably coming from behind the grisly mural and those who could see knew something had to be done if there was an injured dragon behind the mural. Nyoko, kept safely at the back, closed her eyes and hummed softly to herself, her earfins flicking slightly before she opened them again while Callihan shivered. He certainly didn’t appear to like the place.

Xeffer spoke. “Sombre, it's coming from behind the wall. Is there an opening anywhere?” As Xeffer asked, Sombre threw a rock at the mural to no effect. Seeing no other resource, she approached the mural and found there was a place to pull on the mural. “Try to move it, I know there's a passageway just behind the crest,” Xeffer said. While Sombre kept her eye on the crest, she placed her paw on the hand-hold and pulled.

The moment she did, the sounds stopped and the trap sprung; the mouth of the skull-dragon spit out poisonous gas into the area directly in front of it. It was a crippling hemotoxin, strong enough to affect dragons. Sombre’s blood began to burn, lesions appearing on her scales.

Nyoko let out a squeak as she leapt back, glad that she wasn't in the room. “Get back!” she exclaimed. Callihan covered his snout with a wing as he also startled back.

“Sombre, get out of the room!” Xeffer shouted, taking a deep breath. Sombre scrambled as quickly as she could, the painful splotches on her white scales giving her a sickly look. She collapsed and rolled about in pain while Xeffer whipped her head forward and loosed a thick jet of violet flames into the room. The heat of the flames burned through the toxic gas, clearing the air. She continued to burn the room until she was sure the gas was gone.

Ausixen came over to Sombre, saying a prayer to Drulkar even as blood leaked from behind her scales. Placing a talon on her, he channeled Drulkar's divine flame into her, purging her of the poisons and healing some of the physical damage. “Nasty... and cruel. As I know him,” Ausixen said grimly. There was no one behind the mural – the sound was just to trick someone into setting the trap off. Sombre slowly got back onto her feet. “I have removed the poison, but can someone else heal her?”

Nyoko padded up to SombreNeige, humming soothingly as she cast a heal at the other Dragoness. “Calm now... ”

Xeffer urged everyone back to the previous branch in the path, to which they soon retreated. “Egh, sorry... Perhaps I wasn't the right one to do that, but I saw no other option. The air is cleaner here,” Xeffer said.

“It's alright, better than having us all poisoned,” Ausixen said.

“Aye... I had a feeling something was wrong, I should have said something,” Xeffer said.

“False walls with creepy skeletal dragons on them... not a good sign,” Callihan added.

“Should we go this way, or back to the other tunnel we passed?” Xeffer asked.

Ausixen shook his head. “Everything is a haze of pain,” he said. At least the action was keeping him focused.

Xeffer sighed and nodded. “We have no choice but to try every twist and turn, then. Go on, Sombre...” The group agreed to continue moving forward rather than go back, and so they took the other branch of the path.

Walking a short distance, they found themselves at a large chamber with two more exits. It appeared to be the most well traveled chamber and was quite comfortably wide. Unfortunately because it was so well traveled, it was impossible to tell which direction to go. Fortunately, there appeared to be no trap here, as no mural or ceiling came down on them.

“Drulkar! Another crossroad!” Sombre exclaimed. After a little searching, the group decided to turn right and continue following the wall, choosing to be thorough in absence of all clues to a direction.

Their path led deeper into the lair and to a turn that ended in a long straight shaft, leading down. A spiral walkway attached to the side for those land-bound. “Something doesn't feel right here,” Ausixen said. “But we still have to keep going.”

“Seems safe, but I'll fly down,” Sombre said, beginning the descent. Xeffer also pushed into the shaft, following her down. When no traps seemed to spring, the rest of the group began down, most walking along the path.

“Be careful, Sombre,” Callihan called as she neared the bottom.
When she touched it, the trap activated. Deadly spikes of rock shot out from the wall like spears of stone. Sharp spikes attempted to impale Nyoko, Callihan, Ausixen, and Shian, who were hapless enough to be on the path; at the same time, a large stone came loose from the ceiling, falling down into the center of the pit, about to crush Xeffer and Sombre. “Traps!” Sombre shouted before leaping out into the tunnel beyond.

Nyoko fell backwards as a spike shot out directly in front of her, exhaling before having to press herself against the wall to avoid the falling rock. She looked around wildly, her eyes searching for Callihan to make sure he had survived. Callihan screeched to a halt, claws scratching against the stone. With the boulders falling from above, he had little room to move and also pressed himself as close the side as possible without getting impaled.

Ausixen was cut across the arm by the spikes, nearly going straight through his wrist, but he pulled back just in time to prevent serious damage. Shian came beside him with ease – the spikes were large and dangerous against dragon-sized targets, but Shian was in khutit form and subsequently was in little danger from the widely-spaced spikes. She watched as Ausixen healed himself.

Xeffer had just enough time to look up and see the falling stone. Folding her wings, she allowed herself to drop down, her body crashing at the bottom with a loud thump. Wasting only a second to catch her breath, she scrambled to her feet and flung herself through the opening at the base of the spiral. The boulder smashed against the ground, narrowly avoiding crushing the black dragoness. The trap was mechanical; once it was sprung, it would not activate again. Stone debris cluttered the exit, separating Xeffer and Sombre from the group.

Amalteah had been awakened by all the havoc the traps had been making. She came around the corner to find out what was happening. She was startled to seeing Sombre and Xeffer in the corridor, keeping a safe distance. “What.. are you doing here?” With the rock in the way, she did not see the rest of the dragons. “What is going on here, Sombre? You are not supposed to be here.” She was focused on Xeffer, who she did not recognize.

Back in the tunnel, Ausixen hovered down, coughing on the dust. “That was particularly deadly. Something important must be ahead,” he said.

Callihan let out a tense sigh; that was a close one. Except for a few cuts from the spikes, he was otherwise unharmed. “Everyone alright?” He looked up and down the spiral shaft.

Nyoko nodded slowly as she lowered herself to go under the spikes. “A’na. Nieo alright there?”

Callihan nodded. “I'm fine, though my heart nearly leapt out my chest.” He carefully worked his way down to the bottom of the shaft. Shian hopped down to the debris and began digging it out with little effort, her well-trained crafting claws tearing through the stone, keeping choice pieces for her own lair work. Ausixen also began to dig with her, a shudder going through his spine. Why did digging feel so familiar?

Before long, an opening was made and Ausixen poked his head into it to see if the other two had survived. “Help us dig through this!” Ausixen called to dragons on both sides. Sombre turned around to help rather than answer Amalteah. Nyoko reached the bottom beside Callihan and carefully pushed the rubble out of the way to allow her entry. She remained in the back, her earfins twitching as she listened.

Amalteah hissed as she began to realize what was happening. The trap wasn't supposed to spring if the dragons who passed held good intentions for Maurger and his family. Hearing Ausixen's voice, she had no more doubt about it – this was a raid. Without further contemplation, she turned around and dashed for the chamber at the end of the corridor. Xeffer tensed, ready to chase, and loosed a guttural snarl. She made a quick advance, but stopped just shy of the opening to the next room. She paused there, wary of further traps.

Ausixen was the first to squeeze into the chamber, followed soon after by Shian. “Was that Amalteah?” Ausixen asked.

“Yes, it was. She doesn't seem pleased to see us,” Xeffer said, crouched at the entrance to the next chamber. Callihan pushed more debris out of the way so that it was easy for him to get through. The shaft seemed to be the only way in or out so far, he must have thought; it would be good to have the entrance clear enough to get out later, in case of dangers ahead.

“If she's running, she'd be running to safety,” Shian added.
“We had best go carefully. If everyone's alright, let's go in,” Ausixen said, preparing to lead them. He felt close to – to something. Something important.

A heavy rumbling noise echoed through the crowded corridor. A massive boulder made of fine stone and metal moved into the entrance of the next chamber. “Best hurry then, because ien are about to be trapped outside!” Nyoko exclaimed as she poked her head through the debris-filled exit.

“Quickly! We mustn't let her seal us out!” Ausixen exclaimed as he began to rush, Sombre at his side. Shian flattened herself against the wall to avoid being crushed by the rushing dragons. Xeffer, already there, tried to push against the stone, but the force closing the entrance was too great, leveraged by some unseen device. Amalteah had just enough time, however, and before Ausixen and Sombre could reach it, the entrance had sealed and locked into place. Ausixen hit his forepaws against the stone, cursing angrily.

“Go away! You have nothing to do here!” Amalteah’s muffled voice came from the other side of the wall. But if Amalteah was there, then the chamber beyond could only be-

“I've come for my egg, Amalteah! It does not belong to you!” Ausixen shouted. Yes, it must be the broodchamber! As Sombre tail-whipped the wall, trying to break the stone down, Amalteah attempted to contact Maurger. Ausixen knew that this was only a delaying tactic; they had to get through quickly, as Maurger was sure to know they were in the lair now.

“We have -much- to do here, traitor!” Xeffer snarled, clawing against the stone to no avail.

“Da will da help one bit, nien know,” Nyoko said, exhaling slowly.
Ausixen looked back at her; Nyoko was right. He turned instead to Shian. “Shian, you are probably the strongest of us. If you return to ancient size and the two of us push, we might be able to force this chamber open.” Shian agreed and Sombre and Xeffer made room at the front. Shian came forward and fell forward onto four legs as her wings and size returned. She roared and rose up on her hind legs again, using leverage and sheer weight to try and move the stone while Ausixen did the same. The two dragon pushed in concert, groaning and growling against the great weight of the stone. Ausixen’s will and Shian’s strength were too great; the ceiling itself cracked, causing the rock to fall backwards and open the passageway once more. It crumbled under its own weight, making the path in a bit treacherous, but Ausixen could wait not longer. He rushed into the chamber without the others.

The chamber beyond spared no expense for draconic luxury. A fountain of cool water sprung forth and recycled for easy drinking and washing, and the ceiling was covered in beautiful lattice work and colorful crystals. The main chamber was flanked by two blue crystals, large and emitting a comforting light. There were several rungs along the wall where eggs could be laid and protected, and it looked as if many of them had been used; Amalteah, however, had gathered all of the eggs and hatchlings to her in the furthest corner, holding to them tightly.

One of the hatchlings had resisted the coddling. A black with red striped decals and silver eyes sat and watched from his usual spot right behind the blue crystals. Shian charged in, catching up with Ausixen. The rest of the dragons piled in behind them at a safer pace. The commotion caused the black to snort. Were these the ones that were causing a disruption in his schedule? He stood, walked right out in the middle of the chamber between the dragons and his mother and lifted his wings. He wanted to know what kind of dragons these were.

Callihan looked at Osearir and blinked. He had met this hatchling before, but he didn't expect Osearir to be wrapped up in all this mess. Osearir also caught eyes with him, recognizing him.

“Glit’sita, young one,” Sombre said, leaning her head down to sniff him. He snorted and batted her head away, before looking at each of them in turn. So, these were the dragons that had invaded his lair? They weren’t going to hurt him, and likely not his mother, and so he silently walked aside. Once back in his spot, resting on his belly, he looked at Amalteah with interest – indeed, for the first time. He wanted to know what these dragons were after.

Ausixen furrowed his brow at the strange, seemingly feral hatchling, but decided it wasn’t his. He moved forward into the chamber. “Give me my egg, Amalteah.”

Amalteah had preoccupied watching Osearir in front of the pack of dragons, but could not do much herself. She knew she was at their mercy even though her motherly instincts told her to fight and protect the eggs and hatchlings. She was not foolish and did not dare to do any move, other than coiling herself as best as possible around the dear little ones. Her only hope was to buy time until Maurger could return. “Please - do not bring more misery to his life,” she said, referring to Maurger.

Ausixen looked at the eggs, trying to decide which of them was his. As he did though, he became increasingly more distraught. Each of the eggs was lifeless; they had been laid a long time ago, but had never and would never hatch. “Is my egg even among them?” Nyoko stood back, frowning as her tail flicked nervously.

Xeffer stole another glance at the black hatchling, deciding already she did not like it. For some reason, Sombre was over sniffing it again, which the hatchling did not appreciate, batting the big white head away. Xeffer still felt as though they were liable to be trouble because they were Maurger's spawn. Inching forward, she remained behind Shian, eyes and ears alert.

Amalteah nosed one of the dead eggs lovingly. “I have watched over it as if it was one of mine.” Shian growled at her.

Osearir stood up and walked around in front of the purple, watching his reaction. “Old.” He finally said, as if in that one word he had expressed the totality of his meaning.

“Old?” Ausixen asked, looking to the strangely fearless hatchling.

“Since I was born. Strange smells then. Old smells now.” It pained Osearir to speak so much, for no words had ever changed anything. But these foreign dragons would have no chance of understanding him otherwise. He looked at all around him, even his mother, with contempt. “Too focused on old, everyone.” He shook his head and returned to his place of rest, curling up without a care in the world.

Ausixen lowered his head. “My egg... never hatched...” He took a long time to mourn this fact, though he did so silently and without tears.

Xeffer felt a slight pang of sympathy for Ausixen; after all, they had come here to rescue his egg. From their time spent talking the night before, she knew its importance to him. This spurred her to release another gurgling snarl, and she eyed Amalteah with the utmost disgust. “Brood mare. Hardly a mother!” she spat.

After his moment of mourning, his sadness and fear turned to anger, though he kept it in check. He lifted his head to stare at Amalteah with similar disdain. “Those eggs are dead, Amalteah. Do them the proper respect of committing them to the Prime and to Drulkar, for the god's sake!”

“They are not dead! They can still hatch, I know they can! I can feel the life within, even if weak…” Amalteah nosed each of them caringly, speaking those words with blind hope.

Ausixen sighed, turning away from Amalteah. “Naive fool. Maurger will destroy you, too.” Callihan blinked, surprised that the eggs were dead. He couldn't see well from where he stood in the back. His frills drooped slightly, but still he tried to peer around the others. “Amalteah, do you know anything about what Maurger has done to Valkoth and Semeneth?”

Amalteah looked away and answered sharply. “No.”

“She’s lying,” Xeffer hissed.

Ausixen looked to Xeffer. “Even if she is, Xeffer, I'm not going to torture her for answers in front of her children. I wish to kill Maurger, not become him.”

Xeffer ceased her aggressive noise and eyed the purple quietly. “Ausixen... Hrrr, very well. Leave the traitorous creature here to think on her crimes, then,” she said.

Ausixen huffed. “Our search continues. Let us go back upstairs.” With a heavy heart and slow claws, senses dulled by the pain that only a parent who has lost a child can understand, Ausixen ascended through the ruined shaft, waiting for the others to join him.

[Kaerisk]

(And done until the next battle~ In this, we get the aftermath, see what happened to Maekrux, and still more deadly traps~

The next post will be a combined story. I will give further details when I put it up, but rather than try to do a huge event in game, it would be easier for each person to write in their character's actions if they so choose. In the meantime, on with the show~)



Maurger heard his matron’s call. Maekrux had been questioning, civility, every little detail of Maurger’s Desha Treskri as though he were interested in joining it. Maurger growled at the blue. “This was all a diversion! You sent dragons to my lair!” he exclaimed.

“If you have any proof of it, feel free to produce it,” Maekrux said calmly.

Maurger grinned. “As you like.” He placed a bit of himself onto the floor, and pulled on the gelatinous ooze. It stretched up into a flat, screen like object, upon which figures appeared in pink lines. “This is a view of exactly what is happening in my lair right now. My body is a part of that place – and just as I can reform my body as needed, so can I reform parts of myself that are separate to me. For instance, should I need eyes to see, I can look. Should I need ears to hear, I can hear. Listen.”

From the screen-ooze came sound, and that sound was not Maurger’s voice. “We have -much- to do here, traitor!” Xeffer snarled. The sound of her clawing against the stone matched perfectly to the screen of pink lines.

“Nothing more than a parlor trick,” Maekrux said. “And a rather distasteful one at that. Moving lines upon a black screen? Surely there are better things to occupy one’s time.”

“I cannot be so sure, Maekrux,” Valkoth said. The blue looked to him. “It is well known that this dragon has injured you in the past, and you recently spoke to me of supposed damages done to your grandson.”

“And it does seem odd for you to be *quite* so thorough in your examination of Desha Treskri, even given this perhaps reasonable fear,” Semeneth added.

“I admit, I am distrustful of Maurger. But I have been the victim of lair invasion by fellow dragons before, if under less questionable circumstances. I would never take part in such a raid on a dragon’s cave,” Maekrux said. The elders looked unsure. “If there is still doubt, then allow Maurger to return home and bring whatever evidence he can find there. I shall gladly wait here to be absolved of such heinous accusations.”

“This is acceptable to me, and I suspect Semeneth would agree. Maurger, do you agree?” Valkoth asked.

The gray stared at Maekrux for a moment longer, before nodding. “Fine. Make sure he doesn’t go anywhere. I need to save my home,” he said, leaving the cave and taking to the air. Maekrux followed him to the threshold, looking after him.

“Do I sense nervousness in you, Blue Phoenix?” Semeneth asked at the blue’s action.

“Yes, old friend, you do. For it brings me no joy to do this,” Maekrux said. Before they could question him further, he slammed his fists against the ashen ground, revealing a hidden rune, which activated. “I have something less-than-dragon to stop,” he declared, leaping from the group and into the air.

“Maekrux! What is the meaning of this?” Valkoth demanded, rushing outside with Semeneth hot on his tail. As soon as they passed over the rune, it activated, shocking them. It seared scale and burned out muscle, leaving the two paralyzed for a time.

“I hope you will forgive me when this is all over!” he shouted as he followed the gray.

Maurger moved to activate the travel gate, but dodged back as a powerful bolt of primal energy flew through his position. “Where are the elders?” he asked, turning on the Blue Phoenix.

“Indisposed,” Maekrux said coolly.

“I was surprised that you would come out into the open so boldly. Surely you know what it would mean if I brought you back into my fold,” Maurger said, digging his claws into the ground.

“I allowed you into this world, Maurger. That was my first, and only, mistake,” Maekrux said, claws crackling with primal energy. He tossed the bolt through Maurger, shattering him. But all that had remained was a shell.

The black had escaped into the ground. Maekrux flung himself into the air as jets of black ooze shot up from the ground, trying to capture the blue. One tendril wrapped around a hindleg, swiftly climbing up the scaled body of the dragon.

Maekrux had anticipated this. He dove down into the lava cauldrons of Dralk, taking the tendril with him. The searing lava coated the resistant scales of the dragon. The tendril gave a shrill scream as it was superheated by the molten rock, breaking apart into its composite elements. Maekrux rose from the lava, spreading burning wings. “Let us try to fix that mistake!” he challenged, leaping after the reforming black mass.



Back at the black’s lair, LungTien Temeraire rushed past the Purple Phoenix and joined SombreNeige in the broodchamber. Breathless from running and uncannily lucky to have avoided the traps, he called to her. “SombreNeige!” Nyoko pushed herself to the wall as the ancient lumbered in, nearly knocking Nyoko into the water.

“LungTien? What are you doing here?” Sombre asked, perplexed.

LungTien looked her over for wounds before he answered her. “I couldn't stay home while you were in danger...” he said. Callihan looked at him as if wondering from where he had come.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Sombre said in a trembling voice. She was still looking at Osearir. Speaking parting words to Amalteah, she walked quickly out of the room, followed closely by her mate. Shian looked at the chamber and Amalteah one more time, and then reluctantly followed them.

Nyoko shook her head and stepped forward once they were gone, humming soothingly at Amalteah. “Amalteah... may Iea examine the eggs? Niea know that Iea mean nien d'na harm.” Amalteah said nothing to her, keeping herself glued to the eggs, trembling a little bit.

“Leave her Nyoko; let her live in the fantasy world Maurger has made for her a little longer,” Xeffer said.

“That is da k'iea way, Xeffer. Aea is in pain. Can niea da see that?” Nyoko asked. Amalteah lifted her head to Nyoko, with a wary but trusting look. She lifted her wing slightly, showing the eggs. Nyoko smiled softly at Amalteah as she closed her eyes and turned her soft humming towards the eggs. She lifted a paw and gently rubbed one before looking up at Amalteah and nosing her gently. “Da worry, a'na.”

Xeffer could no longer contain her anger and shouted, “Pain? You know what she did to Ausixen! She is a traitor to him and to our kind; she is Maurger's consort. She cares only for him!” She snorted indignantly.

Amalteah was still shivering occasionally from the fear of the unexpected attack. She gave a glare to Xeffer, trying to be braver. “I care about every dragon, as does Maurger. You just can't see him like I do! You don't know him truly...”

Xeffer snapped her teeth and bared them in a malicious half-grin, eyes narrowed. “That's a lie and you know it! The only reason we don't know him like you do is because we're not sharing our hearts with that monster! Your mind is diluted and your senses are dulled! Wake up! For your hatchlings' sake if not your own!”

Nyoko lashed her tail in Xeffer's direction, trying to silence her, but the damage was done. Amalteah lowered her wing once more, resting her head on it, broken. It would not end here - it was just the beginning. For the first time, her faith in the future began crumbling and a deep sadness took root within her. “Leave.. please..” She wasn't glaring at Xeffer anymore. She was staring blankly at the dead eggs in her possession.

Callihan looked to Osearir rather than look at the broken dragoness to whom the others spoke. He was surprised that the black hatchling could stay so calm with the tension and intrusion by foreign dragons. Osearir looked back at him with piercing silver eyes, as if reading his mind and snorting fearlessly. Truthfully, he was a bit afraid, but he wasn’t about to show it. He now had much more to think about, having heard what he heard.

Nyoko lowered herself into a crouch beside Amalteah. “Get going, Xeffer,” she said. Xeffer hopped out of the way of Nyoko's tail, her focus still on Amalteah for a time. The others were more or less ignored, but as the Dragoness' resolve crumbled and she sunk into a visible sadness, Xeffer knew the deed was done, at least for now. Snorting loudly, she turned and stalked off in pursuit of the others. At Nyoko’s urging, Callihan followed her, leaving the two dragons alone to talk.



“Iea am sorry abot kor egg,” Sombre said to Ausixen, who had taken the short reprieve to set his heart right. Those words almost destroyed all his work, but he held firm. He had to. He had a duty to all dragons, even the ones who would never be born. They stood at the top of the pit as Xeffer and Callihan rejoined them.

“It... it is over, at least. No more wondering,” Ausixen said. “We still have a job to do here. There must be some evidence left behind...” he said, leading them back to a split. Looking into the next room, there were two exits to the right and left. “Which way?” he asked.

“It seems unfinished,” Sombre said, looking down the right path.
“We can look into each room.” LungTien said.

“That one first?” Ausixen asked. Xeffer grunted at the indecision, still quite moody from the interaction with Amalteah. The group moved near it. Only Sombre and Ausixen entered inside in case of traps. The tunnel walls were well shaped, which was strange because the area looked almost collapsed from a distance and further passage was impossible due to several tons of rock dropped inside. Ausixen came forward, placing a talon on the rock. “I dug stone and brought them here to fill up this gap, but why?” Ausixen’s head hurt remembering this. Something must have been hidden behind the significant amount of debris, but it would take far too long to dig it out now. He sighed. “If only I could remember what I was doing...”

“Trying to bury something perhaps?” Callihan suggested.
“That's possible. We don't have time to find out what, though,” Ausixen said.
“With all of us, we should get through the debris fast, no?” Sombre asked.

Shian came forward, having returned to khutit size, and looked at the debris. She judged how she could dig through it and the structural condition of the tunnel. “It requires more than just clearing debris. We'd need something to keep the structure intact as well,” she said.

“We spent a long time here already. Amalteah surely called for Maurger and I do not know how long grandfather can safely keep him occupied,” Ausixen said.

“Grandf... You mean Maekrux keeps Maurger busy? But... how?” Sombre asked.
“At this point, he's probably fighting. The ruse must be over by now,” Ausixen said.

“Let’s rush through the other rooms then!” Sombre exclaimed.

Ausixen shook his head. “Don't rush; there might still be traps about,” he said, but Sombre had already begun down the opposite path, walking swiftly through the seemly open space of the lair. “Lead on,” Ausixen said, smirking a little to himself. The train of dragons reformed, Xeffer following behind Sombre, Shian and Ausixen behind Xeffer, and Lungtien and Callihan holding up the rear.

The wall was sunken; from their angle, they had no chance to see it before they crossed it. A mural of spider webs unleashed its trap upon Xeffer, shooting a net coated in storm essence. Her claws scraped and scrambled as she swiftly tried to retreat out of its way, but the speed of the net was too great. Her head and most of her neck were caught in its tangled mass, currents of electricity coursing beneath her scales as she thrashed about to try and shake it off. Touching it with her paws would only harm them as well; between the shocks and this realization, it was difficult for her to free herself. Her shrieks pierced the silence of the lair and reverberated off the walls.

“Get that off her, quickly!” Ausixen shouted, as Shian scrambled to the side to avoid being crushed. Sombre turned around, hearing the commotion, and immediately rushed back to Xeffer’s aid, trying to get the net off of her. Her claws ended up getting shocked for her effort, but it was well tangled and hard to remove.

Callihan quickly dug around in his dimensional pocket for something that might help, as touching the net would just shock them too. He pulled out an Ornamental Spear and tossed it to Ausixen. “Here! Use this to get it off of her!” Ausixen caught it and looked at the spear quickly.

Xeffer bit back her shrieks and forced herself to try and remain in one place, hardly able to think with the searing pain that was shooting up and down her head and neck.

That’s it, Ausixen thought! The wooden handle wouldn't conduct electricity. Ausixen took the spear somewhat awkwardly in his paw and cut through the net with the sharp side. He then pried the rest of the net off with the wooden handle. When the net was finally removed, Xeffer groaned softly and dropped onto her side, maw parted as she fought to catch her breath. “That...” Xeffer muttered some choice words about Maurger.

Ausixen placed his talons upon Xeffer, chanting a heal spell in Drulkar's name. “Be still a moment.” She held still as Ausixen placed his talons on her, relieved as the healing energies eased her searing flesh and scales. “He certainly took all of grandfather's knowledge of traps. We should be ware...”

Callihan sighed. “Alright, no more walking past -any- murals.” Xeffer grunted faintly in thanks, heaving herself back up onto her feet. She'd felt worse, and would shake it off.

Ausixen looked past Sombre to the chamber they had been walking towards. It seemed the trap had been protecting that chamber. “This room looks important. Let us be careful going in,” Ausixen said.

Sombre led the way, but stopped everyone as soon as she looked inside. Sure enough, there was another mural. This one depicted a blue dragon with sapphire eyes that seemed to be watching them. “There is one mural... wait a bit,” Sombre said.

“Be careful, white one,” Lungtien said.

Sombre slinked into the larger chamber around the furthest wall, but it prompted no action from the mural. She jumped from one side of the room to the other, again, soliciting no response. Throwing a rock at it also did nothing; it just hung there silently.

“It seems that one is not a trap,” Sombre said.

“You haven't been close to it yet,” Ausixen said, though he felt bad for saying so. Sombre dutifully approached it, but even then the mural did nothing. “It might not be a trap. Sometimes Maekrux puts in murals for show, and that is just as frightening as any trap that might be in them,” Ausixen suggested. He walked into the room as well, standing in the center. The chamber was quite wide and allowed a large circular space to walk. The whole group could fit into the chamber easily.

Xeffer was eyeing the mural rather warily, but followed the others into the room regardless. Shian followed her, going to the far end to search around the seemingly closed or unfinished exits from the chamber. Lungtien came near his mate, who still stood near the mural. The last to enter was Callihan, peering at the mural like it was evil. “After having two out of three pictures try to kill us, who knows,” Callihan said.

Callihan’s paranoia was well founded. When Sombre had approached the mural, the trap had sprung, but it was on a time delay. It was not until they began to search that the mural began to spew out a frigid breath of mist, instantly dropping the temperature of the room as it entered. LungTien and Sombre were the first to notice. Sombre immediately torched the mist with dragon flame. The fire was initially effective, but it did not stop the source of the mist, which continued to spew into the chamber. Callihan and LungTien both reacted and blew their fire into the mist, once more burning it back, but causing no damage to the mechanism producing it.

“It isn't working!” Xeffer exclaimed.
“Get out of here!” LungTien shouted.

“There has to be something here! I’ll break the mural!” Ausixen exclaimed, crouching down and preparing to charge. “Just keep burning the mist and cover me!”

Sombre acted on her own, trying to strike the mural with a powerful gold rage, but without the protection of the flame, her claws were frozen solid before they could impact it. LungTien retreated, giving Ausixen room to charge, while Xeffer blew her breath at the mist. Seeing his chance, Ausixen ran forward as fast as his claws could carry him and slammed his body into the mural. The mural cracked and the mist stopped. His wings were a little burnt and frostbitten, but no worse for wear. He healed them as Sombre burned her hands free of the ice.

Ausixen shook his head, a little dazed from the impact. “That... seems to have done it,” he said.

Callihan gasped for breath, having been blowing his fire as fast as he could. He hadn't been in this much danger in moons! “Now what?”

Xeffer huffed in frustration. “This is never ending!”

“That is the purpose of the traps... make it so that you just give up...” Ausixen lifted his head as he spoke, staring at the broken mural. “But I am a Phoenix. I never give up.”

Xeffer seemed to calm down. “We will not, either.” LungTien returned to the chamber to help heal his mate. Ausixen looked around the chamber, digging at the two unfinished walkways. In one, he found what he needed.

The device was a simple construction of stone turned upside down to hide it; on top were two large globes and one small one. The two large globes held concentrations of shadow and primal, while the small one held a small piece of Maurger. Ausixen turned around and placed it on the floor so everyone could see it. “This is one of Maurger's immortality devices. Even if he should die, this little piece of him can break free and absorb the shadow and primal in these globes to revive. Fortunately, the weapon I use will negate that, but we can use this to force some information out of him.” Ausixen peered down at the goo in the small globe. “We might be able to find out what happened to Valkoth and Semeneth.”

Callihan peered down at the globes, his tail flicking. “Threaten his immortality a bit.”

“Yes, do it quick, before he comes back!” Sombre exclaimed. Ausixen reached down, about to activate the rune his grandfather had given him.

The ground shook. A creature had come from somewhere else in the lair, and now stood at the only exit from the room. It was something completely new; none had ever seen it before. Stone was hewn together in a roughly baboon-like shape, with powerful forearms of rock and smaller hind legs. The body was comprised of granite and the head was small; affixed on the head was a large gray eye, which stared at the group. Its most telling feature, however, was its black goo that held the creature together and animated it. It oozed out from the connections like congealing blood. The golem reared up and pounded its chest before charging into battle.

Callihan was at the rear and closest to the golem as it arrived; his earfrills flattened against his head. Fortunately, he wasn’t the target of the charge. The golem seemed intent on protecting the device Ausixen had discovered, giving Callihan plenty of time to breathe lightning on the golem; however, the stone was non-conductive and the golem did not slow. Sombre was next to notice, spreading her wings and leaping onto the beast, attempting to topple it. This did slow its charge, but its construction was sturdier than the ooze would have made it appear; the golem grappled with her and remained standing.

The golem must have been enraged that Sombre got in the way, because it swung its powerful forelimbs at her; Sombre had already disengaged and rolled away, narrowly avoided the rock. Her mate cast a powerful prime bolt and threw it at the legs of the beast, but it moved its thick forelimbs in the way to block the attack, taking only minor damage on them. While the golem was distracted, Xeffer slinked around to its side and tightened her stomach, gagging briefly and loosing a wide, thick spray of corrosive acid, aiming for the goo that held it together, rather than the stony limbs. The goo itself reacted, however; though the golem roared in a twisted, bubbling pain, the goo lifted up a part of itself and shed it onto the floor, taking the acid with it.

Shian was taken by surprise, having been focused on the device. Shian soon decided that this creature was best not fought in a weaker form and changed back to her Ancient size, rising up near Ausixen, who was rapidly putting the device away. While it did nothing to soothe the golem’s rage, it did place the device safely out of the way so that they could still get the answers from it – if they survived. He turned back and moved to charge the golem, but it swung its arms wildly, knocking him across the face and dazing him.

The golem seemed to be ignoring Callihan, a fact which he decided to exploit. He leapt upon the creature’s back, claws blazing with golden energy. The golem bucked wildly, trying to remove the dragon from his back, but Callihan dug his claws into the stone and held fast. The golem’s wildly swinging arms made it appear as if it had no plan; seeing the golem open, Sombre rushed in to attack, hoping to take out one of the smaller legs and hamper its mobility. As soon as she entered its range, the golem brought down both stone forearms, like columns of granite, onto her back with tremendous force. She managed to defend against it slightly, but she only succeeded in not breaking her spine.

Though unable to pry Callihan loose, the golem spotted the new ancient and reasoned she might be the greatest threat. Dragging the dragon along with it, he pulled his way towards the silver. It reached out, intent on choking her, but as it did, black ooze welled up and covered its hand. Shian’s natural response was to bite the hand; it was a poor choice as the ooze entered into her mouth and disappeared into her body. She did not realize it at the time, though, pushing the golem back with her strength and reaching into her pack for something she might use against it. LungTien focused on the ooze, believing the black joints and connections might be the easier target, and blew his icy breath onto them. The ooze was largely unaffected, though the stone cracked a little. Xeffer must have believed that the stone was LungTien’s target, as she cursed that she had not gained the ability to breathe ice as yet. She instead breathed fire to the opposite effect – the stone was uninjured, but the black ooze seemed to evaporate into wispy smoke.

Shian spit some of the goo from her mouth, not realizing the danger; she pulled out a Sword of Embers and thrust it at the golem, intent on taking out its eye; however, with it bucking wildly, the sword went short of its target, flying past the narrow head and into the creature’s shoulder joints, burning them viciously and causing the beast to wail. Ausixen rose up woozy from the daze, watching Shian’s act, unaware of her infestation. Below her, he saw a weakened and injured Sombre; he rushed to her aid, pulling her away from the golem and treating her wound. As more dragons realized the damage the flame could cause, they begin to join in, Callihan blowing his flame onto the creature’s back and Sombre rising back up to burn him at the front. The creature slowed down visibly as the joints began to fail, but it would not die without one last act.

The angry golem began to beat its powerful fists against the ceiling and floor, causing the cavern to shake. Dust fell down around the combatants, followed by pebbles. “Stop him! If he collapses this place, we'll be buried alive!” Ausixen shouted. LungTien blew another breath of ice onto the creature’s most injured forelimb, which broke apart under the stress of expanding ice and the slamming of it against the floor. Xeffer crouched low and leapt, crashing the full force of her body against them. With a powerful rip, she pulled the legs free of the weakened joints and threw them aside. They fell, unused, but still, it planted its torso and continued to hit against the cavern. The structure was becoming unstable. Ausixen leapt forward onto the last arm, tearing into it with gold claws of rage. The golem fell apart as it was struck dead. The remaining goo that was between its joints transformed into rats and scurried away into tiny holes. Callihan leapt off of the golem as it fell. He landed on his paws and stared at the rats scurrying about, his snout wrinkled in disgust.

“Holy Drulkar! I thought we were dead...” Sombre exclaimed.
“Is everyone okay?” Ausixen asked.

Xeffer had rolled away from the still-flailing golem while Ausixen finished it, picking herself back up and shaking off her scales, heart thumping loudly in her chest. “Aye, I'm alright.”

“I'm okay.” Callihan confirmed. He looked around at the others, panting for breath.

Shian reared up on her hind legs, spraying a large flame burst on everyone near the defeated golem. She suddenly charged at LungTien with fire on her claws. “Help!” she shouted.

Ausixen stepped between Shian and Callihan and covered himself with his wing as he was sprayed by the flame; it washed over him with some scorch damage. Callihan’s scale-less hide was of little use against fire, and he ducked down behind the shield Ausixen had provided, even as his wings were seared. “Shian! What are you doing!?” Callihan shouted as Xeffer and Sombre were also singed by the burst. LungTien was caught utterly off guard, standing there as a deer before a dragon.

“He got her... she's controlled!” Shian exclaimed.

Ausixen turned, batting away the flame with his wing. “This ends now!” he shouted, rushing forward. He slammed the palm of his talon into Shian's side, the rune's power activating and shocking through her body. While it did nothing to Shian herself, the goo within seized up and temporarily lost function; unfortunately, it also seized up around Shian's brainstem, preventing all impulses from reaching her body. She fell in front of LungTien before reaching him.

Ausixen rushed around the incapacitated elder. He didn’t have much time. “Hold on Shian...” He took the Soulflame Talon and used it to cut into her scales at the neck, where the lump of the ooze had formed. Once it was exposed, he wrenched the prime from the dark-primal goo and the shadow floated up into his face. He coughed on it, but Shian regained function. He took a moment to recover before sealing Shian's neck closed again.

Callihan watched the shadow as it floated up. “What was -that-?”

“It's what Maurger is, as I tried to explain before we were attacked… Maurger isn't a dragon. Not anymore, anyway... his entire body was converted into primal and shadow energy, meshed and molded together into something distinct from both. Dark primal, or corrupted prime. He's able to change his shape at will, and even split off pieces of himself to control others...” Ausixen explained with a bit of malice, brought on by the concentrated shadow. It would pass, though. Callihan frowned a bit. Maurger was way more dangerous than he thought. “Shian, are you alright?” Ausixen asked.

Shian shook her head, as if to make sure it was all gone. “I-I think so…”
Xeffer tipped her head to one side. Her composure returned once it seemed Shian would be alright. She glanced to Ausixen and furrowed her brow. “Is that perhaps what he did to our elders, then?” LungTien breathed deeply, before he cast a healing spell on his injured mate.

“Normally, he controls the elders at the neck - just like what happened to Shian. But there was no sign of that in Valkoth and Semeneth. There has to be another control...” Ausixen trailed off as he retrieved the immortality device from the wall again. Placing his left talon on the small globe, he activated the rune his grandfather gave him, causing pain to the piece inside. “Tell us what happened to Valkoth and Semeneth!”

While the gel inside had no mouth, it was able to pantomime what had occurred. It split apart to depict a scene of battle between an ancient and an adult. The adult won when he knocked the ancient unconscious by suffocation. The adult left only a bit of himself in the ancient, and it moved out fully throughout the body.

Ausixen smashed the two globes of shadow and prime. The little piece of Maurger shook violently in its ball as the two sources of energy disappeared. “He must have poisoned Valkoth and Semeneth as he did me, changing their moods and thoughts to suit him. Now we know what to look for,” Ausixen said. “Something less obvious.” He looked at each of them. “Let us get out of here; we have what we came for. Callihan, will you fetch Nyoko? I would not want to leave anyone behind when Maurger returns.” Callihan nodded and walked out of the battle chamber.

Xeffer turned her head towards Callihan's exit, earfins pinned back and expression bitter. “I do hope Amalteah has not dared to try anything on Nyoko, or I will make her regret it.” Ausixen led the way out of the lair, careful to watch for any traps that might have somehow gone missed. Once they were outside, Nyoko and Callihan soon joined them. Everyone was safely outside. “Egh, fresh air at last,” Xeffer said.

“A'na, though I cannot wait for the sky,” Ausixen said, looking up at the stone-covered heavens. It was as if they were still in Maurger’s lair.

“Yes... that makes two of us,” Xeffer said.

“Thank you for helping. Please be wary. Doubtless, Maurger will try something grand. There might even be an attack. We should be vigilant,” Ausixen said. The group agreed. “I will go to Frall with this new information and have him conduct a purging of the evil inside Valkoth and Semeneth. Then I will track down Maurger and kill him myself.”

“Iea will make sure k'iea hatchlings are safe,” Sombre said.
“Have we done everything we needed in this lair?” LungTien asked.

Ausixen looked back to it for a moment, a bit wistfully for his lost child. “A'na... there is nothing left for me in there.”

Xeffer raised her head, earfins held low in a show of sympathy. “I am sorry for your egg, Ausixen... We tried.”

“Be careful Ausixen... don’t hesitate to call if nieo need help,” Sombre said.

“I will. All of us have a stake in this. We still end this terror soon.” Ausixen paused a moment. “Thank you, for all your help. I could not have done it without you.”

The group said their goodbyes and began to leave.

“Let us go now! This place reeks of evil and corruption!” Ausixen exclaimed, leaping into the air. His heart was heavy, but steeled. The next battle began now. And what about his grandfather? He called out to him.



Lava erupted from the ground as Maekrux called volcanoes to his aid. He had kept Maurger from him well and had burned away some of his gelatinous body, but even Maekrux’s scales and body were failing under the heat of the lava and the weight of the rock. He panted heavily against the ground, head bowed low and dripping the slowly cooling magma.

“You haven’t much longer to last, Maekrux. Why not give up before you injure yourself too much?” Maurger asked. He stood opposite the Blue Phoenix, silhouetted by the erupting fissure.

“I no longer need to last, monster. The deed is done.” Stepping into his own active volcano with Herculean resolve, Maekrux coated himself in the searing lava once more. As he did, he recalled, leaving the battle behind and the circular shell oozing down as if he had been melted by the lava. Maurger sneered and cursed wildly, but he had another, all consuming thought on his mind: How was his family? He had to get home! He quickly flew through the travel gate, rushing back to Sak’tal.