It is my belief that Master Kinarnash was the one who triggered the events that forced the Dragon Expedition from Snushgud. I have no proof, but he was a most perceptive and capable mystic. If any alchemist could properly speculate as to the capabilities of the blood of one who consumed a drop of dragon blood, he would be the one. Similarly, if a method exists to extract the essence of a dragon embedded in such a manner, though I do not think such a thing is possible, he will possess the necessary skills to perform the procedure. I suspect he went to the head of the Narishand family, of which he was a minor scion, shortly after he heard me relate the full tale of the dragon for the first time. That family’s influence was undoubtedly utilized to place obstacles in the path of departure from the city.

In truth, this impact was minimal, for I did not enforce movement with any great urgency. This was based in a simple calculation: it was impossible to cross the Shdus Desert until next spring, and therefore even if we had left Snushgud the day after we arrived, it would have simply been a matter of waiting elsewhere in Shdustu. I felt that waiting for the promised Silversheen escort outweighed any potential gains to be acquired by leaving early. Additionally, I felt that gaining a greater understanding of Snushgud, and especially copying the maps I discovered there, was more valuable than additional time in Shnudidishgu, a locality already explored in detail by the expedition. This was, ultimately, another error in judgment on my part.

Had I waited to leave until the river froze over, as was originally planned, which generally does not occur until early in the twelfth month with the ground already covered by dirty snow, it would have been too late. However, once again the Divines showed favor to the Dragon Expedition and offered up the eternal bane of schemers: an unanticipated outside event. In this case, the inciting incident was seemingly innocuous. A team of miners, working in one of the deep ravines west of the city, broke through a seam and uncovered in the gap an ancient tomb buried beneath a mudslide thousands of years ago when the river leapt its banks and abandoned that course forever. This tomb contained a pair of guardian puppets, and these golems slaughtered the unfortunate miners and numerous guards at the pit before their energy expired and they were smashed to bits. This tomb, which seemingly predated even the poorly known era of the wizard-kings, contained strange writing in an unknown language, bizarre artistic motifs carved into the masonry, and most surprisingly of all, the bones preserved in the sarcophagus appear to mix those of a human and a gigantic serpent. If real, these potentially represented the remains of a legendary naga. The chapter house of Snushgud insisted on taking control of the investigation and dispatched a Frost Sorcerer named Lady Mijan to take charge. Lady Indili wished to accompany this effort, and I offered the services of the Dragon Expedition on behalf of the Sanid Empire in support of the chapter house. Lieutenant Kail, by this time freed of harvest duties, supplied his Silversheens as an escort, as had been previously arranged. Spared in this manner the expense of hiring mercenaries to guard the site herself, Lady Mijan readily agreed to this proposal.

Whatever the original plans of the Narishand family, they adjusted to the changed circumstances quickly. In some sense, I suspect they viewed my absence from the city as a boon, since a strike in the wilderness could be blamed on bandits. The mining camp was located four days journey to the west of the city. The assassins arrived on the third evening of our examination of the tomb. That edifice did indeed contain the remains of a naga, the legendary blend of serpent and human said to have been one of the first creations of wizards. These bones were almost impossibly delicate. The mine guards had caused one to crumble to powder simply by touching it. Lady Indili sketched them in detail as they lay, standing on a camp stool while I held the lamp over the coffin. Following this, Lady Mijan encased them in a block of ice for transport to the chapter house in Snushgud, where I assume they remain. I made rubbings of the relief carvings and inscriptions on the walls of the tomb. These images appeared to depict nagas using sorcery, something I would not have believed possible save that I had already witnessed such feats from the dryads, and that they may have ruled or controlled simple human communities in the river valley. One of the images even implied that these beings were objects of worship, a terrible blasphemy I find horrible to even record. Pity the unfortunate lives endured in ancient times. Regrettably, the artistic method was highly stylized, utilizing connecting images of straight lines, and therefore did not provide a lifelike image of the naga. Such studies will be left to other scholars, though Lady Mijan seemed a most capable personage even if her focus was shaped by intense interest in the properties of ice.

The assassins comprised a team of four. They entered the camp in the night, two men and two women armed with poisoned blades and spears. The Silversheens kept good watch, but these killers slew two sentries without a sound and made their way through the screen unnoticed. The dead were not found until far too late. As the sorcerer tent was located at the center of the improvised encampment, the assassins navigated directly toward it, avoiding the few people awake in the dark. They easily located my tent, which was adjacent, silently sliced through the felt wall, and moved inside to strike. A simple operation, one that would undoubtedly have succeeded had I been in the tent in question. I was not present, being inside the tomb taking measurements, as the long period on the road had trained me to operate with less sleep than before, and I spent many nights taking notes and copying maps by candlelight. The assassins, realizing their quarry was not present, attacked the surrounding tents in a rush.

The noise of this motion aroused Lady Mijan, a light sleeper. Like many sorcerers, she slept with her staff across her stomach in the night. Awoken in fright, blasted her surroundings in a wash of chilling rime. This blew the tent apart, halted the assassins, and revealed them in the light of distant fires. Nikkad by birth, Lady Mijan recognized the nature of the assassins instantly and, with a sweeping gesture, froze them solid. Lieutenant Kail, being the sort of soldier who both comes awake at the least perturbation and who sleeps with a sword under his pillow, bolted upright and exchanged swift blows with one of the assassins. He was gashed three times and required extensive hours of treatment from a skilled healer to purge the poisons from his body, but his opponent fell struck through the heart. The final assassin killed the unfortunate mine supervisor whose tent lay nearby, but as he emerged a massive shark shade snapped him in half. Regrettably none of the assassins were captured, but Lady Mijan claimed it made no difference, they would take poison rather than be imprisoned and were remarkably resistant to any form of questioning.

Word of this failure reached the Narishand family with surprising speed. How, I do not know, though I suppose they had agents among the mine workers. Means are unimportant compared to the actions taken in response. With the loss of the assassins was transmitted the knowledge that they had offended both the Chapter House and the Silversheens. Knowing that such circumstances would prompt both the prince and the rival families to retaliate against them, they chose instead to move preemptively.

I was not present to observe the events that followed in person, but Miali, watching all things in the city from the window of her harem apartment, kept a detailed diary of these events and Lady Mijan was able to supply me with a summary subsequently. Disregarding traditional restraint and the usual approach of securing leadership through knives in the dark, the Narishands chose to seize the city openly using their dominance among the local garrison. This was conducted under the auspices of General Fodashand, who was known to be a good friend of the current prince. That association did nothing to stem the ruthlessness of what followed. He called out hundreds of trained fighters and took control of the city in a swift and brutal coup. Dozens of elites from the four families were slain, along with their guards and retainers. This included the prince and numerous recalcitrant members of the Narishand family. Blood ran in the streets and several ancient mansions were gutted and burned.

I confess that I may have had influence on these unusual events, for I had met the general on multiple occasions. He possessed a keen interest in history and had listened quite carefully to my explanation of the history of the Husun Dynasty, including its numerous palace coups. It is possible he found this to be a functional source of inspiration rather than a cautionary tale. Whether or not this is the case, he was, in the moment, successful. Fodashand became prince, and the surviving members of the four families, mostly youths without any power of their own, swore loyalty to their new ruler. This effort was supported by the alchemists, who were willing to extend political aid in return for the acquisition of the ‘dragon-touched,’ meaning me. Such was the influence of Master Kinarnash and his allies. A great many other secret deals, with attached promises of wealth and patronage, were exchanged to secure the new regime, something Miali witnessed in many quiet meetings. The specifics matter little. The key consequence was that, in order to secure his rule of the city of Snushgud, Fodashand was obligated to capture me and drag me back to the city. Expecting resistance and wishing to silence any witnesses, he gathered three hundred soldiers and headed out to obliterate all at the excavation site.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Fodashand clearly intended to prove himself in battle and moved swiftly to assemble strength and depart. At the same time, I had remained in place, studying the excavation. The wait was necessitated by the needs of Lieutenant Kail, still recovering, and the desire to receive word from the city. Messengers had been sent both by the deputy mine overseer and Lady Mijan. These men, though innocent, were caught by Fodashand’s scouts and killed. We did not realize an assault was coming until the Silversheen sentries sighted the arriving force at sunset, barely a handful of kilometers distant. This most thoroughly forced the issue. The general turned prince was not interested in negotiation. He desired to prove himself by crushing the outnumbered Silversheens in battle. In the morning, he split his forces, sending half to the north to block any who attempted to flee north through the ravine and advancing the rest directly toward the mine.

I counseled retreat, but Lieutenant Kail refused this course. It was late in autumn. The skies threatened an early snow. Most importantly, the Silversheens were encamped and neither packed nor provisioned for a prolonged move. The soldier refused to lead his troops to their deaths on the steppe from cold and hunger. His military mind chose battle instead.

The mine was not defenseless. There was a ditch and modest earth wall to prevent rapid raids by Kharal riders. Lieutenant Kail believed that he could hold this position, shatter the initial assault, and then retreat under cover of darkness. The mine guards and overseers, who took up arms in the defense, agreed with this. In my role as leader of the expedition I released the Silversheens from the contract to do as they would. This reduced the Dragon Expedition to myself and Lady Indili once again, though we were this time better provisioned, having two horses and two camels to carry our baggage and supplies. Lady Mijan, better connected to the currents of Snushgud than any foreigners, deduced the plan of the alchemists and advised flight south to the swamplands held by the Rutar, for so long as the alchemists sought my blood no Nikkad settlement would be safe.

We left at dawn and did not witness the brutal clash that followed.

Lady Mijan, protected by the neutrality of the chapter house, observed the entirety of the Battle of Serpent’s Tomb, as it came to be called. She later sent a letter containing her observations to me, furnishing the following account.

Outnumbered three to one, the Silversheens made their stand atop the low wall protecting the mining camp. Fodashand led a direct assault on the gate, which was normally open and had been filled with bales of straw in improvised defense. The Nikkad had prepared screen pavises to block the crossbowmen and moved at the gate in full force. The attacking force advanced in silence, as the Nikkad do, but the mercenaries fought while singing out their traditional battle cry: ‘Shine silver. Shine!’ endlessly. Crossbows took a toll, more potent than the wicker screens could block fully, and piercing light armor easily at close range. The attackers responded with a hail of knives and darts to clear the wall. Lieutenant Kail countered by using oxen to drag the straw away and sortied with the entirety of his cavalry. This attack, which it seemed Fodashand failed to anticipate, smashed through the attackers, leaving them disordered and open to a general attack by all the remaining Silversheens and the desperate mine guards. The heavy swords of the armored mercenaries cleaved through the light armor of the Nikkad warriors easily, and their stout plate endured desperate retributive attacks well.

Lieutenant Kail rode in a wedge directly upon Fodashand, and took his head clean off with a single strike of his heavy saber. After this the purple-clad assault disintegrated, routed before the charge, and the Silversheens slew in a rage all who failed to escape into the ravine. Over one hundred and fifty had attacked, but fewer than twenty survived. This incident represented a brutal indictment of the Nikkad to face down heavily armed soldiers in open battle.

Their poisons, however, made themselves known by taking a terrible vengeance in the aftermath. Out of the fifty Silversheen soldiers, forty-one, including the valiant Lieutenant, succumbed to wounds or poison, and all their horses perished. The remainder were surrounded by the pinning force after it moved south in support the next day and slaughtered to a soldier. Having suffered brutal losses, and with their new prince lost, the remaining Nikkad returned to the city thereafter, taking Lady Mijan, unharmed, with them. A single squad only was dispatched in pursuit of the Dragon Expedition.

The consequences of this action within Snushgud were immense. Leaderless, the city exploded into violence as members of all remaining families slew each other and many lesser landholders and merchants made bids for power. It would be over a month before a new prince was chosen. Additionally, having heard of the death of the Silversheens, who had not threatened the city in any way, mercenaries abandoned the city in droves, leaving the walls manned only by severely depleted militia.

If this sad affair could be said to have a victor, it was Dukamun Khagan. Ten days after the new prince was finally crowned, his vast army arrived at the walls of the city. The tribute he demanded to convince him to ride elsewhere and leave the city unmolested was described by Lady Mijan as ‘everything.’ Barely able to supply a force capable of manning the walls, it was clear that any defense was utterly doomed, submission was the only possibility. Snushgud was stripped of gold, silver, and gems to the point of ripping them from the walls of the compounds of the nobles and melting down brocade in scarves. The prince walked out of the city gates and offered the khagan the silk of her own robes and sent her eldest daughter to serve him as a hostage for five years. Cellars and granaries were emptied, and the Kharal rode away in the snows with carts piled high with the fruits of the harvest.

During the winter that followed, the city suffered terribly. People boiled shoes and ate tree bark, but starvation remained widespread. A mob sacked the alchemist hall not out of vengeance, but to steal their herbs, though many were poisonous and killed those who made it to the stores. Fools attempted to invade even the chapter house, and Lady Mijan encased these fools in ice and left the morbid statuary that resulted in place for months as a warning. Miali, tragically, died of fever during the winter, her body too weakened by meager rations to endure. When a count was taken in spring, it was found that over thirty thousand had died in Snushgud and its immediate environs.

Doubtless the winter would have been a hard one under any circumstances, but the attempt by the city to seize the Dragon Expedition made matters immensely worse. I find that there is little sorrow in me regarding these choices. The leaders made these decisions, motivated by pure greed, and paid the price for their short-sighted vision. I grieve instead for the Silversheens, honorable and valorous as they were. There was no need for them to be forced into such a pointless battle, and there is no glory to be found in perishing of poison and infection after the fight is won.

I did learn a lesson here, in the incredible power of greed to motivate humans and the equally vast power of dragons to inspire it. Such feelings are not limited to those already distorted by wizardry but can afflict even the seemingly wise. In all subsequent retellings of the story, I edited events to say the dragon simply returned to its lair as we fled. I disliked such fabrications, but it seems Shdustu was not ready for the truth. I regret that without a proper fellowship of scholars, some things must be obscured behind lies.

Lady Indili and I easily evaded the Nikkad squad sent to pursue us by the simple method of lodging with a Kharal clan for two nights. They, alerted by us of the presence of this group, assembled a war party, uncovered the isolated soldiers, and slaughtered them with arrows so they might claim their weapons and goods. They accounted the information a generous gift. We were careful not to stay long, however, since it was likely the khagan would receive news from Snushgud and might well take similar action. Instead, we turned south, seeking the Rutar and an alternative path to return to the Sanid Empire.