- having defeated the enemies that Zephalarius did in his history
- the ground starts to shade & shimmer, fade away into mist then re-solidifies
- everything is back as it was, but the bodies of the creatures defeated are gone.
- Not alone, at the far end, an old man with a staff stands, staring at us with hatred… ancient… going all the way back to another age
- Is it possible this character perhaps is even from such an old enmity?
- The figure gesture,s and some of the stones spring to life!
ENGAGE!
- This time, when the scene fades, it truly does, and the heroes are returned from the dreamscape to the treacherous peak they ascended before
- You are high above a vast forest canopy, moving quickly. Below, you see an open area where a falls spills into a large pool and you spiral down next to the pool, eager to quench your thirst. But something feels wrong. You look up to see many small green drakes emerging from the water of an upper pool that spills down. Each begins to chirp, almost like a frog`s call, creating a cacophony of distress. That is when the falls behind them are suddenly disrupted as a huge green dragon crawls out of a cave opening that was behind it. The wyrm extends its wings outward and gazes down at you over the edge of the upper pool, hatred in its eyes.
You are entering another nightmare, mortals…in this one, Zephalarius faced off against Gallithalyn, a green dragon, and her green drake offspring; Zephalarius faced this foe over a decade ago within the Dragonwood. The gold dragon was investigating a mystery of some sort…the exact nature of it is not clear to me at this point. It is clear that Zephalarius believed the green dragon had information he needed, but was unable to extract it….
ENGAGE!
- the dream starts to solidify again… and an image of The Secret Master seems to form again but disappears as quickly as it appeared
- Pheig‘s voice: I’ve managed to hold them off, and you’ve almost defeated their trap, but they’re growing stronger – I’ll hold them off as long as I can… my mortal allies… hahahha
- There is heat and pain. You are rapidly descending through a massive gorge, a wound in the land that feels as if it is in agony. Small flying demons are here and there, but you ignore their futile attempts to stop you. Over to your right, you see the wall of the gorge bubble and melt next to a wide ledge of rock. Out of it pour foul hook-clawed demons, followed by larger ones that ooze chaos and destruction. A breach behind he who holds the horde at bay! You must cleanse it. With a flick of a wing you bank and land on the ledge, only now noticing the inward circling runes upon the ground that glow sickly green. The demons rush forth to meet you.
This is it, mortals! This is the memory you are looking for! It has become clear to me now what Zephalarius was seeking counsel for: he believed there was a traitor amongst the dragons that protect the Emperor`s city of Axis. Before reaching the Wyrm, he had to deal with the demons that emerged to stop him…and this is now you. If you fail here, the Secret Masters will eliminate the memory from the dragon, keeping you from completeing the weapon to threaten the dungeon with…
ENGAGE!
- Idris ⊕ uses a Positive 6 with The Great Gold Wyrm ⊕ to cast Empower as quick action then crushes the Nalfeshnee with Icy blade
- Legion ⊕ uses a Negative 6 with The Lich King ⊕ to use the dark energy to thwart one of the Nalfeshnee’s negative energy magic with an interrupt – stealing it from him
The whole area starts to shift again – flying – down…. a red light
hearing roars making walls of this pit shake – walls shake rocks fall and turn into imps swarming around you – bat them away with your dragon wings
Communing with GGW – somehow able to separate it’s consciousness while still battling the demons on the other side
Who has cut themselves off from your dreams? Who has fallen from your grace
you wake up
You’re back in Zephalarius’ cave
It would be wrong to say it’s all just a dream – you met the secret masters in their preferred forum and beat them – they know how powerful you are now
You managed to survive – sure you had Pheig‘s protection, but will that count for much in the future?
These questions swir in your mind as you see Szephalarius
Big, Beautiful Green orbs open – not at all perturbed by your presence, perturbed or scared… not thinking of you as a threat at all
Maybe because he knows you, or because you couldn’t possibly hurt one so old as it is
10 minutes of stretching and flexing its wings, and finally snakes his head around – it’s body powerful – it’s giving off some heat…. a furnace under the scales
Looks at you and has a curious look – Why do I think I know you? Have we met before?
Idris: We’ve not met before, but thanks to the secret masters, we’ve been I nyour mind, we’ve seen some of your memories
I was having such dire dreams – terrible battles from my youth. were yo uthere?
Idris describes the battles they fought to Zephalarius
It does not ask Idris any questions – just listens.
Have you saved me?
Idris: We may have saved some from a living dungeon – the stone thief that roams this world
After about 10m of silence, the dragon looks back and says “Most Peculiar” – so I understand I am to repay you a favour for saving my life. What would you like, little dragon?
Idris: our mutual patron guided me to you – saying you would be able to provide us with an Abyssal memory – “Much like the one we just shared, I aigmine. Yes, I can do that…”
Looking at Merian – the gaze is friendly and rekindles something in the Merian – when you first joined the knighthood and wanted to go out, believing in good
Little dragon – in my hoard over there, you will find a glass vial – please bring it here.
Merian bows and goes to retrieve it – it looks like a big wine decanter. The dragon holds it delicately in one claw, and with an index finger from it’s other claw, it pulls the memory, a mercury like liquid in the air, and drops it into the vial – “This is the memory of my journey to meet our great champion in the abyss. If you are looking for an abyssal dream – this could not be more appropriate. But for now I find that the memory is somewhat different – ” looks at all of you & winks “I remember fighting much more nobly”
Merian and Idris both nod – the dragon’s admiring gaze on them both
“I wonder now if I were to sleep, would it be more restful?” He yawns, stretches out its huge gold wings “I don’t know what you want with that dream, little dragons but be careful – even if in a dream, it should be looked after very carefully.”
Merian, “We will look after this with our lives.”
Zeph: You may need more than that. I shall dream again ,perhaps of you…
