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| Details |
| Author: | Alli |
| Summary: | A 7th Legion team of the 2nd, 5th, 9th, 11th, and 13th EUs works together with a Cobalt team including Alysson, Yveris, Colson, Cressidha, Estel, Mordecai, Dane, Jocoza, Thalstan, Tadget and Velrin pass through the gates into Nefarian's new lair. They search for the black dragon, but instead find several experimental dragons and an unexpected gnomish friend. ~5600 words. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
The 7th Legion engineers have found a way to get the gate open, using the guts of the Omnotron Defense System. The lair and laboratory of Lord Victor Nefarius, or Nefarian, lies beyond the gate. Far below, a circular path surrounds a pit of roiling lava. Helpfully, an iron platform elevator awaits for the troops. It seems that Nefarian wants to welcome his guests before he kills them.
High Commander Halford Wyrmbane inspects his troops, who stand at attention at his approach. Pacing up and down the lines, Wyrmbane notes any damaged armor, incomplete wound healing, etc. and gives brisk, terse orders to help get everyone back into top condition.
Thalstan's armor is a little battered, but seems to be in working order.
Jo seems fine. She changed her dress.
It seems being in the mere presence of Wyrmbane inspires Atley to discreetly step off to the side to inspect his own battered armor and weapon, with the privacy and urgency of someone checking to see if they have something in their teeth. A moment later, he rallies up around Cobalt Company, and casually eyes the 7th Legionnaires he doesn't know, perhaps performing his own, secretive inspection of their gear and appraisal of their demeanors.
Colson remains a calm centered stoic paladin in proper rank and order, waiting patiently for the continuation of the military operation.
Velrin stretches and experiments with guards using her new weapon. It’s quite unfamiliar to her but she’s taking to it like a natural. She appears quite pleased with the new challenge, like a child who’s been given a fun new puzzle.
Mordecai stands next to Colson, fidgeting with the sleeves of his robe.
Cressidha wanders around passing out conjured water for those who need refills.
Estel does some stretches. She looks like she is still having fun so far today.
Tadget appears to be napping.
"All right, soldiers!" Wyrmbane says crisply. "It's time to move out. We're heading straight across. Look alive, now! Light only knows what he's got in store for us."
Tadget is instantly awake.
Kerlo prepares to move out behind Highlord Von Zeldig.
Cressidha looks alive.
Several drakes and dragonkin leading some kind of two-headed doglike monstrosities patrol the circle. The team prepares to fight their way through. This is still not a defending force, more like a daily patrol team.
Thalstan nods at Dane, Kerlo and the other 7th Legion warriors and moves in to fight.
Atley returns the nod after sipping some water provided by Cressidha, having dumped the rest of it right on top of his own head. He draws Thunderfury and moves to take up Thalstan's flank, eyes on Wyrmbane.
The enemy patrol spots the army coming their way. There's a moment of hesitation, and then the two dragonkin and their dogs move in to attack. Two drakes swooping in from above. It may say something about Nefarian's leadership that they would rather attack a small army than admit to fleeing.
Velrin snaps to attention and melds into the shadows of the hall. She emerges behind one of the dragonkin and launches a wide slash at the base of its neck with her blade.
The dragonkin falls, and its dogs launch themselves at Velrin.
Atley raises his shield upwards as a sort of makeshift roof to shield himself from swooping drakes as he charges in and raises Thunderfury, severing two heads on one dog-beast with a single strike. He kicks the decapitated quadrupedal corpse over.
Mordecai Shields Velrin, granting her a Light-imbued burst of speed.
Jo charges up a pyroblast and releases it into a drake's face. It staggers down to the stone clumsily, where Thalstan cuts it down.
Tadget hops around making quick little stabs at any enemy that moves, then darting out of range before they can retaliate.
The rest of the patrol is dealt with quickly, and the team continues to the far side of the lair.
The doorway at the other side is in a style that requires the troops to circle around a corner before they can see the room beyond.
Wyrmbane makes a series of silent signals directing his troops in what order to move around the corner.
Jo also makes gestures, but they're more of the come on, let's go in variety than hand signals.
Atley makes eye contact with Jocoza and nods, jaw set. He turns to Thalstan and grunts before he takes his turn to move around the corner and into the room beyond.
Lt. Paine sends his felguard around the corner on the front lines.
When they enter, they see a peculiar sight - an empty room surrounded by mounted dwarven shields, each of which has a Dark Iron ghost hovering in front of it.
Atley squints and shakes his head, perhaps trying to put names to faces, seeing if he recognizes any ancient blacksmiths among the ghosts' numbers.
Wyrmbane says in his quietest voice, which still carries easily to the farthest of his soldiers, "We're going to need to disperse those phantoms. Engage when ready."
Estel, who is ready and shielded, attempts to shackle the closest ghost in golden chains of Light.
The ghost is shackled
Atley looks to the others, nods slowly and coordinates, pointing Thunderfury at a nearby phantom before he charges in to engage with the undead smith on his side.
Some of the 7th Legion priests take a page from Estel's book, more shackles coming down on a few more of the ghosts not long after.
The remaining ghosts seem to notice the living and move in to attack.
Velrin picks her target and holds her crescent up to go lips and whispers something. She rushes forward to engage.
Atley rushes in to strike and shield bash at the phantom to the far right with brutal, precise strokes.
Siege Engineer Quarterflash brings up the rear, his strange six-legged conveyance full of explosives and other tools trundling noisily along behind him, seemingly of its own accord. He lets the others handle the fighting while he organizes his tools.
The ghosts fight back, but fall before the Alliance team one by one. Several remain still in shackles, staring at the living. Then… there is a sound from the far back of the room, something stirred by the noisy clash of combat.
Atley squints and lightly bends his knees, drawing back towards the center of the room as he tries to get a look at this new, ominous threat.
A black dragon glides in from the shadows, casting its head around as if listening for… something. Someone, multiple someones, who are here uninvited.
Velrin looks up at the dragon and narrows her eyes with deadly focus.
"Now we're talkin'!" Tadget says, sheathing her daggers just long enough to crack her knuckles. Tadget attempts to slip through the shadows unseen toward a weak spot in the dragon's hide…
“Ah… I see you have happened upon subject 25463-D,” Lord Nefarius calls from somewhere unseen. “My useless minion Maloriak promised him sight beyond sight, senses beyond the realm of mortality. In the end, all he gave him was blindness.”
The dragon yells, “I have no need for eyes to see my enemies. Your clumsy footsteps and foul stench give you away!”
Is the dragon talking to Tadget? Who can say.
Tadget swears and leaps away just as a dragon limb lashes out to exactly where she was hiding so well… from sight. Oops.
Lord Nefarius yells back, with some irritation, “Atramedes, are you going deaf as well as blind? Stop shouting and just kill them all.”
Atley scoffs with faint confusion and dark amusement as he steps forward, rasping on his shield with Thunderfury to try and draw the dragon's attention as he marches into the center of the dais.
Atramedes moves forward into the raid, making an odd clicking sound in his throat.
“Is he… usin’ sonar?” Thalstan asks in astonishment. “He’s like a bat!”
The dragon is perfectly happy to kill loud people. He whirls on Atley and launches an attack with tooth and claw.
Marina throws splashy water up at the dragon!
"DID YOU JUST SHOUT AT SOMEONE NOT TO SHOUT?" Tadget yells in Nefarian's general direction.
At Tadget's shout, Atramedes turns his head directly towards her and shouts, "There you are!” Lot of shouting going on today.
He spews a cone of flame directly at Tadget, hitting anyone in the way.
Atley leaps in front of Tadget, crouched low, broad shield raised to try and protect them both from the onslaught of flame.
Thalstan shifts in place next to Atley, bringing up his own shield to improve the coverage.
"Nice meat-shielding!" Tadget gasps, using the opportunity to run away. Silently. She is not great at fighting blind dragons.
Estel keeps putting Shields around people. She can do so silently.
Mordecai cannot do so silently. Every few seconds, he whispers, "Shield." Oh, to be a priest who doesn't have to speak the Power Words out loud all the time.
Every time Mordecai whispers, the dragon's head twitches. He is paying attention.
“Atramedes, the heroes are right THERE!” Lord Nefarius snaps. “Stop playing around with gnomes and kill them.”
Tadget clearly REALLY wants to yell something. But she can be taught.
Atley grits his teeth, sweat trickling down his temple. He growls at Thalstan under his breath, "Split — up. We divide its attention — and kill it." He gives one last nod before breaking out to his left at a full sprint.
Thalstan nods and lumbers off to the right, not trying to hide his footsteps.
Velrin keeps her distance and harasses the dragon with throwing knives, trying to keep its focus split.
Jo blinks away silently, keeping spread out from anyone else.
Siege Engineer Quarterflash, seemingly idle at the rear of the battle, has in fact selected a particular grenade and appears to be looking for just the right place to throw it…
“As you wish, master,” Atramedes says. “You cannot hide from Searing Flame!”
Atramedes opens his maw and fire pulses into the room, settling uncomfortably on each living being. The fire clings and pulses, the discomfort forcing people into movement.
ow ow ow ow ow Tadget mouths as she tries to avoid the fire.
Jo steps, biting her lip as she hears the pained sound she's making.
Thalstan's battered armor is making a disturbing noise.
Atley raises his shield to try and protect himself but can't quite keep steel, forced to dry and bleed heat in some way.
Cressidha calls up her ice barrier and arcane ward to try and ward off the fire.
Velrin downs a potion to help stave off the worst of the fire's effects.
Quarterflash's eyes light up with an Idea - he hurls his grenade at one of the round dwarven shields that had formerly had ghosts lurking in front of them.
The grenade explodes not far from the dragon's head. CLANGNGNGNGNGNGNGGGG! goes the explosion as it reverberates off the shield.
The spirit bear in the room roars at the noise of the grenade.
The crashing sound of the grenade on the shield disorients Atramedes and he spins around, confused and auditorily ‘blinded’. Hastily, he wings into the air, clicking constantly to get his bearings back.
Thalstan brings his gun around and gets a few shots off on the flying, disoriented dragon. His aim is considerably more true than it would have been months ago, thanks to Oranna's workshop.
Atley narrows his eyes at Quarterflash's idea, and turns away from the dragon, racing over to one of the other shields, bashing the dragon bone spike on Thunderfury's hilt against it at full strength. CLANGNGNGNGNGNGNGGGG!
Atramedes rises higher, shaking his head to and fro as if to clear his ears.
"That's it!" Wyrmbane cries. "Keep it disoriented!"
Atramedes seems to hear something, and starts tracing a line in breath-fire on the ground, inching toward Mordecai.
Colson steps between the line of fire on the ground and Mordecai, readying his own shield as necessary, and another for Mordecai.
"Love, Dane, do it again!" Jo yells, and it totally sounds like she thought she said Kerlo's name there.
Atley races to a shield nearby and bashes into it with his own shield at full speed.
“I really should clean out that room,” Lord Nefarius says. “These shields are proving quite the nuisance.”
Kerlo tosses another grenade at a different shield. For some reason his face is very very red.
The dragon reels back, losing its thread of fire, and then decides to go with another tactic. He screeches, the sound echoing through the chamber, and quickly follows up with a fireball to the loudest echoing location, which happens to be the cluster where the 5th EU stands. The fire hits several 7th Legion soldiers, who cry out, revealing their location, and then quickly attempt to move away.
“Yes, run! With every step your heartbeat quickens,” Atramedes laughs. “The beating… loud and thunderous, almost deafening! You cannot escape!”
Atley rushes to a third nearby shield and outright punches it with his sword hand and a snarl of exertion to try and draw Atramedes off of the scattering 7th Legion soldiers.
Atramedes screeches, stunned into momentary confusion, and he drops awkwardly to the stone ground. Almost plaintively, he cries, “How many of those do you have?”
"GO IN FOR THE KILL!" yells Wyrmbane, who apparently isn't worried about attracting the dragon's attention just now.
Jo spins up some fire, ready to follow that order.
Thalstan rushes in with a shout, sinking his axe into the dragon's hide.
Velrin darts in at lightning speed to slash mercilessly at the dragon.
Tadget puts on her stabbin' shoes. (She does not change her shoes. They're all stabbin shoes.)
Atley similarly charges in, tirelessly moving at a blinding place in his platemail to strike at the side of Atramedes' throat.
Between stabs, Tadget can be heard exclaiming between gritted teeth: "I….. HATE…. DRAGONS!!!"
Atramedes fights, clicking frantically to locate enemies, but his vaunted hearing is still thrown off by all the loud sounds. He eventually succumbs to the combined attack and collapses, dead.
Mordecai circulates between groups of people, murmuring healing prayers.
"Well, that was interesting," Jo says, dusting off her hands.
"Well done!" Wyrmbane cries once the room falls still in the wake of the dragon's demise. "And yet still, Nefarian refuses to show himself."
From the way Wyrmbane paces back and forth, you can infer that he is grinding his teeth with frustration under that helmet of his.
"We must press on until we have cornered him and forced him to face our combined might!" He points with his sword. "To the left of the entrance, there - that is where we shall proceed."
Atley nods slowly and glances around at the others before he grunts. "Aye, sir," he growls lowly at Wyrmbane, giving Thunderfury another spin to stay loose.
The path is pretty clear, except for the corpses of dragonkin, monster dogs and drakes scattered along the walkway.
Behind the doorway to the left of the entrance, the team finds a room with a broken floor, where a three-headed dragon snoozes in a pool of water. Behind the dragon is a cage, and from the cage comes a very familiar voice crying, “Help! I’m trapped in here!” It is Pip Quickwit.
A little robot, similar to the alarm-o-bots of Gnomeregan, rests near the cage.
Atley immediately raises a shield. "Hold fast. Ought to send a scout."
“My friends! And you brought more friends! Leaping Leper Gnomes! You're a sight for sore eyes.” Pip Quickwit beams at Dane, Velrin, Tadget and Thalstan. “I was worried the giant magma worm out front would deter visitors. Now that you're here you can give me a hand. Quick, come over here, that dragon will sleep through it no problem.”
Thalstan looks to Dane and then to Wyrmbane for direction. Are we approaching the unwise gnome?
"You have got to be kidding me…" Tadget grumbles. She folds her arms and glares at Pip.
Wyrmbane makes his way over to the cage and peers at the gnome. He says as quietly as he is able - a sort of rasping half-whisper - "What can you tell us about the situation here?" He points at a nearby 7th Legion scout and to the cage; an attempt at lockpicking ensues.
Thalstan carefully makes his way around the edges of the room towards the cage.
Jo follows a little behind.
Atley nods slowly. "Quickwit…" He sets his jaw in surprise and looks to Wyrmbane, gesturing to the imprisoned gnome with Thunderfury. "This one's on our side, but he can be impulsive." he advises, before giving Velrin a discreet nod to quietly undo the lock. Looking back to Pip, he asks, "Any sign of that greenskin mate of yours?"
Velrin and the 7th Legion scout waste no time in dealing with the lock.
Cressidha just gets into place with Marina, ready to fight a three-headed dragon as soon as it inevitably wakes up.
"Raz? Oh, no, he was way too loud to sneak in here like I have," Pip confides. Since he was so successful and all, see. "And don't worry about picking the lock - I could easily escape this simple contraption, but I'm much too busy. The situation there is a three-headed dragon, but that's really not the most interesting thing!" Is anyone going to ask what the most interesting thing is? Pip bounces on the balls of his feet.
Atley exhales heavily, eyes slowly opening and closing. "And wot' is," he inquires dryly of the imprisoned gnome, irritation bleeding into his tone.
Wyrmbane looks like he's about ready to turn the gnome upside down and shake him until the information falls out, but he lets Atley talk.
Pip smiles at Dane and then nods towards Thalstan and Tadget. “Remember a few weeks ago, when you found me in the belly of a beast? It wasn't strictly voluntary, but I discovered something truly incredible. The beast seemed to be able to consume almost anything with no ill effects.”
"Like gnomes, aye," Thal says, raising an eyebrow.
“Exactly, like me. I ran some tests on the residual digestive fluid coating my suit and….” Pip trails off. “Say, you haven't seen my skinning knife anywhere, have you? I seem to have misplaced it.”
Atley flashes a look to Wyrmbane before he looks around at everyone present. After turning back to Pip, he shakes his head with a grunt. "No."
"You know this… fellow?" Wyrmbane says to Atley.
Atley sighs quietly and nods at Wyrmbane. "Aye, sir… Sommat'. He's brilliant, and on our side, but his methods can be reckless. T'may be just wot' we need right now."
"Ye were sayin'?" Thal prompts.
“Oh yes, the bile; it's amazing stuff. With the proper catalysts it renders anything to which it's applied practically immortal, subject to certain restrictions,” Pip says in excitement. “I've been harvesting it with my reprogrammed Bile-O-Tron 800 and I'm certain I've got the mixture right this time. I just need a few volunteers to test it out against a suitable creature. Or forty-eight. Forty-eight will do. What do you say, friends?”
Mordecai seems increasingly anxious the longer the three-headed dragon goes without waking up.
"Perfect!" Pip beams, and leans against a nearby lever. “Oops! That lever activates the Bile-O-Tron.” The bot starts up, spewing some kind of bile everywhere. “Just let this stuff get all over you, trust me.”
Atley deadpans Pip, motionless, as he gets slapped in the face by industrial gnomish bile.
Wyrmbane jumps back, but it's too late. The legend has been splattered by the Bile-O-Tron. Please leave this out of the report.
Atley exhales slowly as he looks down at his tabard. "…Cheeky."
Jo winces as bile splatters her pretty mage robe.
Thalstan tries to keep it out of his beard. It's hopeless. He grunts irritably.
Colson regards the bile machine with the stoic expression of the Aspenwoods, as a paladin who had definitely done weirder things, his expression not altering as the bile spews over him.
Chimaeron snorts loudly.
Tadget wipes bile from her face. "I swear to the Titans if I ever see you again, Quickwit…"
Mordecai squeaks as he's covered in bile, shielding his eyes.
Quarterflash believes every single thing the gnome is saying, but alas, he was not near enough to get sprayed by the bile. He approaches and scoops up some that splattered on the floor, applying it as though it were sunscreen.
Chimaeron grunts and opens one eye.
“Ah, Chimaeron, a living testament to my scientific prowess,” Nefarian says from somewhere unseen, seeming to have perked up since Atramedes defeat. “I reworked and twisted his form countless times, and the final result is truly something to behold.”
"Behold THIS, lizard-licker!!" yells Tadget. But she doesn't do anything. Maybe she's testing to see if Nefarian has sightlines to her.
Nefarian doesn’t answer, so maybe he doesn’t.
Atley growls at the detached voice and starts to move away from the others, raising his bile-covered shield.
Chimaeron wakes up. All three heads roar at the intruders. This dragon doesn’t look prone to chatting it out. One of the heads spits a glob of caustic slime at Velrin, splashing them and the general area. It sizzles through armor and flesh, but mysteriously does not kill.
Tadget looks at the awakened dragon, which she may have awakened, and shrugs as if to say, well we were gonna kill it anyway, right?
Velrin yelps in pain and tries to shield herself with her arms.
Atley breaks out into another sprint to try and cover Velrin, shield raised.
"Velrin!" Jo cries, but she has no ability to heal people. She is a mage.
Thalstan runs to the front by Dane's side swinging at one of the three heads.
Suddenly, one of the heads crunches into Atley's armor, with a massive bite. It doesn't look survivable, but somehow, Atley is still alive. Maybe it's the bile. A second head rears back to do a follow up strike, this one likely more deadly.
Atley growls and struggles in vain to try and wriggle free from the giant jaws of the three headed mutant.
Quarterflash runs up toward the heads, striking his blade against his shield with a sharp sound and crying out, "Don't break your teeth on that massive warrior! Look how small and helpless I am!"
Chimaeron turns, distracted, and drops Dane to focus its three heads on Kerlo. The dragon is so large compared to the tiny gnome warrior.
Mordecai's Prayer of Mending chimes across the battlefield from Velrin to Dane.
Thalstan steps over to hold a shield over Dane while he recovers.
Kerlo braces himself and holds firm, shield at the ready. He really is just going to try to tank a three-headed dragon right now.
Jo's eyes are hearts for a moment at the image, and then she's just terrified as she watches Kerlo hold his own.
Atley falls to a knee, feverishly shaking his head back and forth. He gives Thalstan a brief nod before he stubbornly pushes himself up.
Colson sets a [Beacon of Light] once more on Dane, focusing his heals between Thalstan and Dane.
With the bombardment of healing, Atley takes to Kerlo's side, rejuvenated, striking and defending against one of the three heads.
Thalstan shouts at one of the heads, drawing it back off Kerlo.
Velrin drags herself back up onto her feet. She has to use her crescent to steady herself.
Highlord Von Zeldig casts a little protection bubble on Kerlo with an air that suggests he is very used to doing this.
The dragon sends globs of caustic slime about the room in spare moments as it fights the warriors, hitting a variety of 7th Legion soldiers.
Atley barely manages to shield himself, and anyone behind him, in time to avoid this caustic slime, this time.
One of the 7th Legion mages dies to a glob of caustic slime, and is resurrected by a 7th Legion druid almost before she hits the ground.
Suddenly, the dragon stops paying attention to Kerlo, Dane and Thal, and flails out at everyone. Heads biting, claws clawing, it rips through flesh and bone on a number of soldiers. Yet, no one who is wearing the bile falls. This is more than the usual 7th Legion or Cobalt durability. It’s probably the bile.
Thalstan grunts as one bite crunches part of his armor inward, and then seems surprised to find he's still on his feet.
Atley does what he can to try and block at least some of the flurry of strikes from the monster. "Hold fast — !" he booms.
A 7th Legion scout who somehow managed to avoid the biting-clawing frenzy but watched about five people get sliced to bits suddenly goes looking for some extra bile.
Velrin screams in pain, not getting a chance to recover and join the fight.
Jo looks down and grabs at a vicious slash across her midsection, crying out in pain. Still, though, she keeps to her feet.
Atley and his raised shield gets pummeled multiple times with near-deafening slams of metal. The enchanted shield, coated in bile, manages to hold, but he's being battered like a ragdoll.
Mordecai cries out as a talon rakes across the back of his head, but the bile seems to keep it from being a lethal injury.
Estel does her very best to keep as many people on their feet as possible.
Tadget catches one of Estel's heals and gives her a thumbs up before lunging forward in her own slashing frenzy.
“Like I said! It makes you practically immortal!” Pip pipes up. As if on cue, one of the heads chomps down on the Bile-o-Tron. It makes a sad little mechanical noise, and falls over. “Aww. Poor little fella. I’ll get him fixed up once I’m out of here. Be careful, the bile will wear off soon!”
"Noooo!" Kerlo cries as the machine is destroyed. "Our biiiiile!"
Cressidha grits her teeth as she hurls ice at the dragon.
Marina, who is about 50% water and 50% bile currently, sloshes with alarm.
The notoriously difficult to heal Velrin pulls back to drink some potions.
Mordecai does his best to heal Velrin regardless. Maybe she's more likely to subconsciously accept the Light coming from him.
Atley's voice booms. "Press the attack! //This is it!" He raises Thunderfury and tries to make the monstrosity shed a few pounds in a single strike to his haunch.
Suddenly, one of the dragon’s heads nips at another. It turns on itself, howling with rage, and a kind of dragon-head bite war commences. The third dragon head lobs another caustic slime at Dane.
“Stop fighting yourself this instant, Chimaeron!” Lord Nefarius cries in fury. The dragon does not appear to be listening.
The dragon recoils from the slice to its haunch, and one head, at least, is still fighting Atley.
Atley spots the other two dueling out the corner of his eye and immediately tries to disengage, Thunderfury lowered, but shield raised defensively as he tries to backtrack.
Tadget parkours ostentatiously all over the dragon, making little slices here, little stabs there.
Suddenly, Chimaeron’s three heads turn back to the soldiers, their internal feuding complete.
“Uh oh!” Pip squeaks. “He looks pretty mad now!”
"If you're not gonna help, jam a sock in it!" yells Tadget at Pip.
Velrin seems to be looking a bit better after getting help from Mordecai, but she’s still very pale. She hangs back for now and switches to her bow.
Chimaeron goes into a berserker rage! He turns aside from Dane and Thalstan and Kerlo, and heads for… Cressidha!
"Move!" Atley yells, trying to intercept Chimaeron to slash at one of its eyes, sprinting tirelessly, a flash of steel and crimson.
Cressidha, who is a delicate mage, pulls an impenetrable ice block around herself immediately. Not having any of that, thanks.
"Not my socks though!" Alysson objects.
The dragon veers off from Cressidha and goes directly for… Alysson!
"N-nice dragon fellow," Alysson says, backing away. When he realizes it's really coming, he starts to run.
“This fight has gotten a bit stale; allow me to spice things up!” Lord Nefarius says, the fury gone. Shadows filter into the room and settle around each member of the combat. Then, the shadows start to rapidly leech away life, strength and energy from each person.
Estel attempts to keep people shielded, although the shields no longer heal for as much as they might have.
Mordecai panics as his healing spells become ineffective.
"Do not… give up…!" Wyrmbane commands, but there is something akin to despair in his tone.
Atley immediately tries to shield bash one of the shadows, to no avail. He staggers in place, great weight shifting around.
"Kill … the… dragon!!" Wyrmbane commands through gritted teeth. Because no one had thought of that.
The dragon chases Alysson for a while, until it is distracted by Tadget!
"EAT ME!" Tadget yells. "GO ON, EAT ME!" But when it moves to close its jaws on her, she just… isn't there anymore.
Velrin struggles to stay upright as she looses arrow after arrow at the dragon.
Jo flings as much fire as she can at the dragon, but she's slowly crumpling to her knees.
Around the room, one by one, the more injured 7th Legion soldiers begin to succumb to their wounds.
Atley finally doggedly shakes his head as he stumbles towards Chimaeron, swinging Thunderfury at its chest with stubborn perseverance, upon his last stand of vitality.
The dragon loses track of Tadget and goes after Atley!
"NO! Not here, not in the festering bowels of—" Wyrmbane, normally taking the large view of the battle and calling out strategies, lunges forward to join the melee.
Thalstan struggles to strike at the dragon, sinking his axe in again and again as the shadows leech away his life.
The dragon gives one last swipe at Atley, and then turns to Jocoza!
Jo stares blankly at the dragon, on her last legs.
Velrin senses that if they’re going to win it's now or never. She bares her fangs and takes up her crescent again. “Elune give me strength!” Velrin prays and then howls and charges the dragon.
Yveris struggles to keep people healed, but her expression is one of horror and despair as her efforts don't seem to make much difference.
Atley gets swept right off his feet and goes flying through the air, landing with a clang. Already, the mass of steel and tangled limbs starts to move as he sluggishly tries to climb to his feet.
Thalstan looks like he may only have moments left, but he aims his axe for one more blow against one of the dragon's necks.
Wyrmbane drives his massive blade into one of the dragon's limbs, attempting to hobble it.
"Look for a weak spot underneath!" he yells.
Velrin leaps high into the air and sets her feet on the bottom of the ring of her crescent to bring it down like a portable guillotine.
Wyrmbane's blade, Thalstan's axe, and Velrin's crescent bite into the dragon.
Chimaeron falls with a howl of fury, his heads tumbling down. As he does, the shadows loosen their grip and slither out of the room.
Atley stops halfway back to Chimaeron and catches his breath. He presses the hilt of Thunderfury to his chest as his broad shoulders slouch with relief. He raises his gaze and looks to the others appraisingly.
Jo staggers back against the wall, her face pale.
"Light be praised!" Wyrmbane rasps. Is he… no, he wouldn't be on the verge of tears. He's Halford Wyrmbane. "Light be praised…" he repeats, an exhausted echo.
Atley grunts.
Velrin hops down from the dragon and immediately collapses. She’s still breathing but she seems to be out cold.
Thalstan staggers back, pulling his axe free of the creature's neck with effort. He falls to a sitting position.
“Hmm…” Lord Nefarius says, and it almost doesn’t sound like he’s talking to the heroes at all. “A shame to lose that experiment.”
“Great job, guys!” Pip says with a cheer. Pip steps out of the cage and retrieves his mangled robot. "Well, looks like it's time for me to go and have more adventures."
Wyrmbane stops him with the flat of his sword before he can toddle off.
"You," he rasps. "You will give a full debriefing to Alliance Command."
The Scarlet Bride begins to resurrect members of the 7th Legion, veil drawn over her face.
Pip shrinks back a little at the sword, but bobs his head agreeably. "Or that. Yes, or that."
Atley growls quietly with faint amusement to finally see someone try to instill some military discipline in Pip. He doubletakes Velrin on the ground and tiredly jogs over. "Healer! On me!"
Mordecai moves over to Velrin. He has left tear tracks in the bile residue on his face. He kneels beside her, hands shaking, to heal her.
Jo looks around at the injured and dead. "We need to… fall back? Recover."
"We won, though, aye?" Thal says, leaning against the haft of his axe, too weak to sit upright. "We won."
Slowly but surely Velrin manages to open her eyes, “Mordecai…?” She reaches out a hand but is too weak to hold it up for long. She turns her head to look at Dane, “This new weapon is good… Thank you…”
Atley growls with amusement and takes the hand to yank Velrin to her feet. He gives Mordecai a short nod of reassurance. "Well done," he growls to the Chaplain before he releases Velrin. "Aye," he tells Velrin. "So it seems. Your duty's to live and wield it."
Mordecai mumbles, "It's me. We won." He looks pale.
Velrin pants and coughs. “Good…” she says to Mordecai. She grabs Mordecai’s shoulder for support and tries to keep a brave face for Dane.