trans_9 | The Demon Dragon

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The Demon Dragon

The group had gotten an opportunity to gather some information on their mission’s objective, but morning arrived swiftly. In the distance, the forest from the day before still smoldered, though by now the blaze had mostly run its course.

Neese was in attendance, along with a smattering of the villagers. At her side were two familiar faces: Orson and Shiris, the two who had rode out to meet the crew earlier. Shiris looked vaguely mutinous as she clutched a cloth-covered parcel; Orson merely stood back a few paces from Neese, tending to a group of horses the village had provided for their use. The animals seemed a little skittish, as if they knew their destination, but were otherwise well-behaved.

Neese raised the long white staff in her hand, closing her eyes as if in prayer. “Marfa, goddess of creation, bestow your divine protection on these travelers. Guide them to their destination, and shield them from harm.” In response, a soft, warm light suffused the area; the crew would find their bodies just a little lighter, their stamina restored, and their anxieties soothed.

With that, she lowered her hands, blessing completed. “May you find your journey swift and safe,” she said somberly.

And with that, they were off.

Orson helped those of the crew that were amenable onto a horse, giving them some basic instruction on how to steer the animal or tell it to halt. For the most part, however, the horses knew what they were doing. There might have been a slightly uncooperative animal in there. Or two. But you know, for the most part.

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She hadn't known the woman had slipped past their numbers, having been too involved in her own thoughts. So she stood quickly and got her gear in check as soon as she heard the call.

"I'm trained in polearms and spears, but if there's anyone who could have a better chance at using it to their full advantage, go ahead. I'm more specialized in axes anyways."

As if the larger two-handed axes strapped to her back weren't proof enough.

Ha. Mages didn't use spears! Soren took the opportunity to cast another barrier spell over the remaining crew instead. "Not my area of expertise, I'm afraid. Perhaps a soldier or knight would be better suited to the task."

He knew he'd been right to lug around this Bolting tome. ~~Dohohohoh~~

"I have done training with sword,s axes and spears," Sofia answered. "If there is need for me to use one instead of my sword, I will do it."

Orson looked from Ronnae to Sofia, then tossed the remaining spear to Sofia. After all, you couldn't wield double axes if one of your hands had a spear in it.

"I'm not sure how well it will work," Orson said grimly, "But we can't go back for more help now. I will take us up the shortest path I know. Let us make haste."

With that, he began striding up the path to the mountain at a rapid clip, slipping past jagged volcanic rock with practiced ease.

Ronnae nodded and followed hurriedly after him. Even in her full gear, it seemed as if it didn't impede her at all, even in the harsh terrain. She made sure to keep an eye out for the rest of her team, places like these could make for natural hazards and they would need all their strength for the encounter they were about to face.

She caught the spear and began to climb up with them, her physique also making this relatively easy for her to climb up. She'd done far worse.

~~If only they had a hot air balloon.~~

As they climbed higher along the mountain path, approaching the mouth of the dragon's lair, the group would no doubt notice that the black, jagged stone along the ground was now also scattered with strange, triangular rock, bone white in color.

In fact, those that were familiar with dragons might recognize them as dragon's teeth, naturally shed over the course of Shooting Star's lifespan as the old ones wore down and were replaced.

The instant the first of them set foot over some invisible barrier, the change was instant. Where the teeth jutted out from the earth, half-buried, creatures erupted from the ground, looking for all the world like skeletal human warriors armed with a bristling array of swords, spears, and crossbows. Each set after the crew with weapon in hand, attacking without warning or provocation.

Orson looped his spear in a catch behind him and drew his broadsword instead, launching himself at the approaching horde of skeletons.

"This is what happened to the people who came before," he said with grim surety. "Those who didn't escape..."

Once again the beckon of battle brought a smile to Ronnae's face. Almost instantly she could feel the boiling sensation that brought her such joy from combat and her reddish aura began to form as she charged the first group with a gleeful smile, smashing hard into them, immediately drawing her two large axes and letting loose her deadly dance.

"Fight on through, don't linger for long, we have to get to Shooting Star"

Kicking off of one of the skeletons, she continued to press through, always making sure to keep her team in sight in case she needed to go back.

Oh. Skeletons. Wakka had never seen that before. Undead bodies in Spira kept their flesh. Sort of.

Well, no sense in letting them get anywhere near to being close to him. He pulled his arm back and let his blitzball fly at one of them, aiming for the head.

The skeletons, though their bones were strong, could be individually downed in a few hits. The only thing was that there were so many of them, all determined to keep the crew from their mission. They fell before the crew, but their numbers were still growing as more rose up from the earth.

Soren grimaced in annoyance at this new barrier to their mission, calling forth lightning with an Arcthunder tome in hand. Up above them, the sky, already thick with volcanic smoke, darkened as thunderclouds formed overhead.

"I've no time to deal with soldiers who have not the decency to stay dead. Return to your resting places, or be returned to them by force."

Swarms of skeletons, undead, geists, ghouls, and a plethora of other creatures had always been common to the Azerothian girl who was one of the main frontliners in the Northrend wars. She almost felt giddy fighting through the swarms with ease, dancing through then in a blaze of blades.

With the lance in her hands, Sofia quickly cast one of her spells (Bang), as small spheres of air appeared in the middle of the skeletons she targeted, suddenly exploding and sending out a blast of air and heat, like a miniature dynamite explosion.

Bone and gristle flew as they forced their way up toward the entrance of the dragon's lair, destroying each of the skeletal warriors in their path. Inside the entrance, there was a steep drop to the path below, a path that might better be described as a set of loosely connected, treacherous ledges. At the bottom, however, was a large hunk of solid rock... and atop it, the massive, maroon bulk that was Shooting Star. He seemed fixated on something, snout pressed up to the nearby jagged rock face.

There were two other things of interest here: the great, bubbling pool of lava that rose up from the volcano's core, not far behind the base of rock upon which the dragon was resting... and across it, on a separate island in the middle of the lava, an immense heap of glittering gold, bangles, crowns, and coins. Countless treasures, all stockpiled here in the heart of the mountain.

At the top of all these was a scepter, encased in large, pale blue crystal.

Orson motioned to the others, beginning the descent as quietly as possible while the dragon was distracted. He didn't see Shiris anywhere, but that didn't mean she wasn't down below, hidden somewhere out of sight. He steadied himself against the rock face, hugging the wall as he went.

Ronnae followed. Trained steps were taken to make sure she didn't make too much sound, even while wearing her heavy armor and equipment. The scepter was there in plain sight but... What was the dragon so focused on?

Had they caught him at a bad time? Something, somehow, seemed to be very wrong with this picture.

If Sofia could have spoken with Ronnae, she would have agreed. Instead, she was also wondering quietly if something was wrong. She moved with surprising grace, her hand still clutching the spear.

As they made their way down, their questions would be answered. The voices of Punchy and Shoutarou floated up from the passage where they were currently staring down Shooting Star. Abruptly, the dragon sent a brief blast of flame into the passage. It was impossible to tell if those inside were all right... but they didn't have time to worry about it now.

Shooting Star sniffed at the air once, twice, then turned, his eyes fixing upon Ronna, Sofia, and the others approaching from the other direction. So the humans had planned this, had they?

"Leave at once," the dragon thundered over the bubbling of the lava. "Or prepare to lose your lives."

Like Sofia hadn't heard that line being given to her before. The only response was to stay there and wait to see what their man in front of them decided to do. She was more than ready to fight the creature again, but didn't want to endanger the lives of the others.

Ronnae was upset, mostly because plans of maybe bartering or diplomacy had been shot out the window or became impossibly hard. But right now what mattered was the safety of her teammates and as such she wouldn't back down. Not afraid for the dragon, but for her friends.

She continued her descent alongside the others planning ahead as to what to should different situations arise.

Wakka held his blitzball to his chest tightly. ~~So manly.~~ He could have hit it from right here if he wanted to. But he didn't want to do that until everyone was in place, or the dragon tried to attack them. So he continued to move down with everyone else.

But he knew what he was leading off with this time. Triple Foul. No sense in playing games. Even though he was a pro sports player. And used a piece of sports equipment for a weapon.

Shooting Star suddenly roiled backward from the opening, opening a momentary window in which the crew could see the rest of their team -- Shiris, arm still extended and frozen, as if she couldn't decide whether to run forward or retreat, Punchy, who was slightly on fire, and Shoutarou, in his new form.

A slender spear, of the same make as the one Sofia and Orson currently held, protruded from the beast's snout.

As Shooting Star attempted to dislodge Shoutarou, Soren raised a hand high in the air, cradling his Bolting tome in one arm. The skies above, visible from the volcano's opening, were already darkening as he summoned a lightning bolt to strike at the dragon.

He was shelving negotiations for now. For better or worse, the others had made the decision for them.

...and it wasn't as though he were particularly fond of this dragon.

So much for being pacifists about all of this. Sofia realized that as Soren cast his spell, an opportunity arose for them to combine spells. As he did so, she did her own movements to cast Kazapple, sending additional bolts of lightning from the sky towards the dragon as well.

~~Double lightning across the sky!~~

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