Tender Mercies

Roaring another challenge, Luingirth returned, landing next to Tiamat and catching the thick neck of the black dragon head in his jaws. He clamped his jaws shut and tried valiantly to sever the head, but Tiamat's scales and muscles were to thick. The red dragon head turned to regard what was going on and it opened its mouth to spray its flames upon Luingirth's body.

Nordan knew it was his moment then. The beast still clutched him next to its neck. He summoned his hammer back and swung at the might red neck, smiling in satisfaction when his hammer connected and heard the sound of bones crunching. Nordan swung again, this time at the mighty fist that held him. It fell open in stunned pain and he fell to the floor heavily.

Picking himself up he ran towards where the red dragon head had fallen. With hate filled eyes the head saw him approach and snorted when he got close enough, flames leaping out at him. Nordan dodged to the side but still felt his hair singed and breath taken away by the heat. He jumped up and scrambled to the top of the red dragon head, then swung his hammer a final time, crushing the skull and slaying it.

Realizing it was soon to lose the battle, the black dragon head sought to escape from Luingirth. It used its remaining forelimb to claw at him. It's tail thrashed helplessly as Luingirth slowly squeeze the life from it. After several minutes, the incredible beast lay still, slain by the four companions.

Luingirth took a few steps away from Tiamat's corpse and sat down wearily. He began to tend to his wounds then, licking at them as a pet would. In many cases his scales had been rent to display torn flesh, and other areas were blackened or damaged by fire and acid. Martin was clutching the stump of his arm in shock. Fortunately for him the acid had cauterized the wound. Kelnozz walked over to Tiamat's body and was unhappy to see that the dragons body had fallen so that it was laying upon his other sword that was still in its side. Scowling, he sheathed his remaining sword and dagger and limped over to where Martin sat. Nordan joined them a few moments later, still grinning triumphantly.

"Now all we have to do is find the place to put the keys to release the dragons," Kelnozz said casually.

Martin looked at him, focusing on something for the first time. "I just lost my arm!" He shouted. "How in the nine hells am I supposed to fire a bow or ever wield a sword again? Enough with your dragons, I'm worthless now!"

"Martin, doesn't your grandfather have one arm as well?" Nordan asked, in far to good of a mood to be disturbed by Martin's outburst.

"Yes, so?" Martin spat out. Then what he said hit him. He began thinking about it said, "This must be a sign! Yes, that's it!"

"Grandfather, I will not fail this test!" Martin said, looking towards the heavens. "I will prove to you that I can survive this wound and be as great as you!"

Kelnozz looked to Nordan with a questioning look. Nordan just shrugged and looked around the cavern. A large tunnel led off from the back of it, easily large enough for Tiamat to move through. Nordan began walking towards it, with a limping Kelnozz following after. Martin stopped staring in fascination at his injury long enough to realize they were leaving him. He followed after, leaving a curious but weary and wounded Luingirth behind.

"So that was Tiamat?" Nordan asked after a few moments. "I'd though Tiamat to be the lord of dragons or something?"

"Nay," Kelnozz replied, speaking softly and slowly. "Tiamat was the guardian the chromatic dragons left behind to guard the seal and the good dragons. A chromatic dragon of each color was sacrificed in a great magical ritual to create Tiamat."

"You could have warned us it was there," Nordan admonished, even though his tone did not sound angry.

"Aye, I could have," Admitted Kelnozz with an apologetic smile, "but I forgot."

Nordan stared at the elf for a moment incredulously, then guffawed and clapped him on the back. Hard. The scowl and groan from Kelnozz reminded Nordan of his injuries. Martin caught up to them, his bastard sword gripped awkwardly in his off hand.

The tunnel continued on for nearly a mile underground before it ended in an even larger cavern, though this one obviously carved from the stone with its uniform sides and height. Easily 100 feet to the ceiling, it was five times that in diameter. In the middle was a great ring made from mithril and carved into the likeness of hundreds of dragons flying in a circle. It was suspended by mithril support beams extending to the floor and the ceiling. The same glowing gems that illuminated the outer cavern also illuminated it inside. The glow was reflected in here by the hoard of wealth that had belonged to the five dragons that had become Tiamat, as well as additional offerings and tributes in the 6,000 years since.

Kelnozz wandered over to the hoard, drawn by the promise of items and lore so old as to come from a time when the elven peoples were one and far mightier in the magic then they had since fallen. Like a moth to a flame, he was drawn towards a long sword that lay unsheathed amidst a pile of goblets, jewelry, silverware, and other weapons of power. He picked it up reverently, his wounds forgotten. He was certain that it was Llarothimaril, the blade of the great dark elven General Myragordamar, his father. The sword balanced perfectly in his hand, as though it had been meant for him. He nodded and placed it happily in the sheath that had been empty at his side.

All the companions cast about the treasure for useful items. Martin found what must have been a heavily enchanted long bow used by elven hunters from ages past. He fumbled about for quite a while before he was able to string it and replace his old bow with it. Neither Nordan nor Kelnozz had the heart to ask him how he was going to use a bow with only one hand.

Finding nothing else that they felt they must have, they turned their attention back to the inactive portal in the middle of the room. Kelnozz reached into the pouch at his side and pulled out first the glowing white gem, then a black gem that somehow emitted a black glow. He studied the portal and saw that there were places in it along the bottom where the gems were obviously meant to be placed. Trying each holder, he finally found the proper holders for both of the gems.

Instantly there was a flash of light. Kelnozz stumbled and fell back from the portal, gasping in pain but not heeding it as he stared up at the spiraling energies that now played across the portal and emanated out from it. He crawled backwards away from it and stood up finally next to his companions. Where the magical tendrils of energy touched him and his companions, a soothing feeling came over them, taking away their hurts.

They waited breathlessly, wondering what would happen next. After several long moments of nothing further happening, they relaxed enough to look around the room and at each other. Each marveled that the injuries the others had received seemed lessened. Kelnozz breathed easier and was able to flex his hand without the pain of smashed bones. Nordan no longer felt the sting from the dragons breath as fiercely. Even Martin felt calmed about his arm, though no signs of regeneration appeared, the angry raw flesh at the end had begun to smooth and knit itself into a stump.

"What now?" Nordan asked, letting his hammer relax and lower.

"I'm not sure, I had thought that we could release one type of dragon with each gem, perhaps we need all of them?" Kelnozz wondered aloud.

Martin moaned slightly and collapsed to the ground then. In moments both Kelnozz and Nordan were at his side, examining him. Other then the missing arm, Martin had no serious injuries.

"What's wrong with him?" Nordan asked, noting how painful his arm injury must be, but still surprised that Martin would be affected as badly as he was, especially considering the healing effect of the portal.

"The shock of the wound, I think," Kelnozz replied, equally surprised at the always strong but silent ranger's condition. "Come, there is nothing for us here, we must acquire the other keys to the portal. Let us take Martin to Innowendyn and continue our quest."

Nordan nodded and carefully scooped up the fallen ranger into his arms. Letting a lost longing look fall upon the dragon hoard, the companions left the portal and returned to where Luingirth waited.

Explaining what had taken place, they queried Luingirth as to what he thought of the portal. He was in agreement that all five of the keys were needed. As for Martin, he was as uncertain as the rest of them.

They tried everything from shaking to slapping to dousing water on Martin in an attempt to wake him up. When nothing worked, Kelnozz finally relented and sat down on the rocky ground. Taking off his boot, he removed his ring that enabled him to magically teleport to Loralost and placed it on Martin's finger. Searching through his pack, he finally found some rolled up parchment and some charcoal. He scribbled out some words on it, briefly describing what had happened, then rolled the parchment back up and placed it in Martin's shirt.

"What are you doing?" Nordan asked, confused by Kelnozz's actions.

Kelnozz did not answer, but instead reached his hand out and placed it on the ring on Martin's finger. He whispered a few words in ancient elvish under his breath. Nordan gasped in surprise when Martin disappeared, accompanied by a soft pop as the surrounding air rushed in to fill the empty space he had once occupied.

"What did you do to him?" Nordan said, alarmed.

"I sent him to Loralost," Kelnozz answered, putting his boot back on and standing up. "I had a magical ring that would succor me to Loralost. We could not get Martin out of here without traveling underwater, which in his state, would surely have been fatal."

Nordan nodded, understanding what had happened. "Where to for us?"

Kelnozz thought for a moment then headed towards Luingirth. "Cuivegirth, methinks."

"Aye, time to kill another dragon," the grinning barbarian followed Kelnozz to mount Luingirth's back.

*****

In spite of the alliance between the evil races and the chromatic dragons, the humanoids fled in terror as the great form of Cuivegirth settled down in front of Alesha's palace. In a matter of moments Alesha stood in front of Cuivegirth, hiding her displeasure at the dragon's tail having crushed a nearby barracks.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, oh great one?" Alesha feigned pleasure at seeing him.

"Thine friends hath breached two of the five seals. Tiamat hath been slain, it is nigh time they are dealt with!" Cuivegirth stated. "Thou will accompany me!"

Alesha ground her teeth in rage. Kelnozz was ruining her plans. First Kaergothryl, then Aglarond. To discover that her worst fears were confirmed caused her to see red. "A moment only, mighty dragon," Alesha said. "They force my hand sooner then I like."

Alesha summoned a page and after scribbling down some things on a piece of parchment, she turned back to Cuivegirth and said, "My armies have been set in motion. They are not yet at full strength, but if my intelligence is right, Kelnozz's forces are in even more disarray."

Cuivegirth nodded and offered Alesha a step up to his back, then with a snort of noxious breath, took to the air. The spiraled up high into the air before setting out on a southwesterly course.

Chapter 12

Kelnozz glared at the unconscious form of his friend. Unnaturally strong due to his special nature, Kelnozz still had trouble pulling the makeshift stretcher that the large barbarian occupied. Resigning himself to the work, Kelnozz redoubled his efforts and tugged anew on the crudely lashed together branches.

Nordan groaned when Kelnozz pulled the stretched over a rock and caused it to bump into the ground. The elf stopped and studied his wounded friend. Hearing him make noise was a good sign, even if it was one caused by pain. He had been injured very badly when they had ridden Elluviatel to the ground in less a landing then a crash. The impact had paralyzed the already wounded elder dragon, allowing Kelnozz the time to gather his wits about him and see that while he was in pain from a dozen places, none of them were mortal wounds. He then set to dispatching Elluviatel with his new long sword, marveling at how it sliced through the tough dragon hide as if it were warm butter.

Nordan had not landed as well, being thrown from the dragon when it hit and bouncing off a rock before he came to rest by plowing a rut in several yards of the hot sand of the desert.

Kelnozz had then quickly determined that Nordan still lived, and marshalling up strength he did not know he possessed, he ignored his weariness and hoisted the barbarian over his shoulder and carried him. For 2 long days he had trudged through the desert, resting as best he could during the hottest hours of the day, and walking through the cooler hours and the night. After 2 days he was exhausted beyond even an elves ability to comprehend.

His luck held true then, for he noticed the sand was turning darker. Stumbling blindly through the 3rd night, Kelnozz found that the desert had ended, tall grasses swayed in the gentle breezes, rubbing against his knees. He plodded on, walking through subconscious will more then anything, and only stopped when his balance betrayed him and slipped on a wet rock under the surface of the stream he was walking through.

Coming briefly to his senses in the cool water, Kelnozz grabbed Nordan where he had fallen and hauled him back onto the shore. Joining his comatose companion, he fell asleep instantly.

Waking up a few hours later, Kelnozz still felt exhausted, but when he realized they had found water and escape from the desert, his spirits lifted. He had slaked his thirst in the river then tried to force Nordan to drink some water as well, but he suspected his efforts had been wasted.

With small trees nearby, Kelnozz set about making a stretcher for Nordan, and accomplished it fairly easily. The first one had fallen apart after a few hours of pulling the heavy barbarian, but the second one had lasted Kelnozz the additional 2 days it had taken him to encounter the foothills he was now near.

Checking the sun for both time and direction, Kelnozz cursed again. He was on the western edge of the desert, weeks from any civilized towns or even roads. Sanctuary lay 3 weeks to the east and north of the desert, and he was easily two weeks from that point. To the northwest lay the Periphery, after another week of travel by foot. To the south lay the eastern edge of the desert and empty scrub land for many miles, turning into a hard caked salt flats for even further. To the West lay hills and barren lands inhabited by fey creatures for many miles, and beyond them, a swamp home to even more fell beings. In the midst of the swamp a settlement of tough humans had set up and flourished, however, so Kelnozz figured that Nordan's only hope lay in that direction, though it was well over a week of travel away as well.

With the sun sinking for the day, Kelnozz set the end of the stretcher he was hanging on to down and checked on Nordan again. His color was still very pale and his breathing remained shallow. Scowling again, Kelnozz set about to look for firewood for a campfire for the rest of the day. Some meat would do him well too, as he had been surviving on dried rations for many days now.

Kelnozz returned to where Nordan was resting with an bunch of sticks and grasses under one arm and the other arm carrying a pheasant he had taken down with a well thrown dagger. He set flint to steel and soon had a fire started. A brief foray into the surrounding wilds with his sword earned him more firewood, which he fed into the fire and soon felt its warmth spreading. He plucked the feathers off of the pheasant and soon had it spitted for cooking. It was then that he felt eyes watching him.

Glancing around casually, as though still unaware, Kelnozz searched for whoever it was that had come across them. He saw nothing, even after getting up and moving around a bit under the pretense of checking on Nordan. Kelnozz turned the pheasant again, unwilling to betray his instincts so quickly. He closed his eyes and focused on his senses. He smelled the pheasant cooking mixed with wood smoke. A soft warm breeze blew through the campfire, bringing the promise of warmth and greener grasses. The crackling of the fire relaxed him, as did the grass and leaves rustling against each other. Nordan's breathing was so shallow that even Kelnozz's elven hearing had trouble picking it up over the noise of the tree limbs groaning with their own weight and the gentle breeze.

Kelnozz's eyes flew open then, he looked up sharply, hands flying to his longswords simultaneously. A large leopard looked down at him, meeting his gaze unflinchingly from where it rested in the crook of a large tree limb overlooking the camp site. Knowing it had been discovered, the leopard leapt down from the tree gracefully and stood on the other side of the fire from Kelnozz. It yawned and stretched then, before laying down on its belly, still facing him.

Knowing a large cat to be a dangerous thing, Kelnozz eyed it wearily. He found it odd to see the leopard just sitting where it was, instead of running off and hiding or attacking. After a few tense moments, he sat down again and returned to roasting his pheasant. The leopard watched him for a moment, then began to bathe itself with its tongue. Kelnozz smirked at the sight, but remained wary in case it's behavior suddenly changed.

A few moments later Kelnozz judged the pheasant done, and pulled it away from the flames. The leopard's attention riveted on him as he ate. In spite of several days of unfulfilling trial rations, Kelnozz stopped before the pheasant was gone and tossed what was left on the carcass to the leopard. The leopard sniffed it a couple of times, then scooped it up in its mouth and hungrily chomped away at it. The pheasant disappeared in moments, leaving no sign of its passing save the pile of feathers that was even now blowing away in the breeze.

The leopard stretched again then rose to its feet. Kelnozz's hands rested cautiously near his long swords. He rose to his feet when the great cat moved closer to Nordan and began sniffing him, in particular his wounds.

"Back off cat, or I'll have more for dinner still," Kelnozz warned, his voice low.

The leopard looked up at him at the sound of his voice, head cocked to the side questioningly. It took a step back and then, before Kelnozz's eyes, it seemed to shrink into itself. It sat down on its haunches and buried its head under its paws, mewling softly. Before Kelnozz could do anything, it began to shift and change before his eyes. The fur grew shorter at first, then the bones began to move and flow under its skin. Its arms and legs grew longer, and a different sort of hair, golden and long grew out of its head. When it looked up again Kelnozz saw the features of a beautiful light elven woman. She stood back up as the change finished, nude but uninhibited.

Kelnozz drew both his blades and hissed, "Be gone, shape shifter! You'll have nothing from us!"

Her expression went from neutral to sadness. "Hold, traveler, I am no lycanthrope, I wish you and your companion no harm if you wish no harm to the lands around you."

"Not a were-creature? Then what are you? A light elven sorceress?" Kelnozz spat, his voice thick with the tone of distrust.

She sighed unhappily, her eyes looking to the color of her skin and then his. "I am a light elf, I grant you that, but I am no sorceress, I am a druid."

Kelnozz laughed sharply, "I should kill you now for the lies you speak, if not simply because you are a light elf. You have done me no wrong yet, leave now and I shall let you live!"