To say chaos erupted within the establishment would be an understatement. Everyone leaped from their seats, seemingly all at once. Feet stampeded on the hardwood floor as they all clambered out through the front entrance. It was a complete bottleneck of bodies, pushing and shoving one another. Some very unbecoming words were exchanged between otherwise ‘dignified’ nobles and their freeholder counterparts.

Alistair watched the spectacle in silent amazement. He barely even registered that Broderick and Kevin were on their feet beside him. The paladin tapped Alistair on his shoulder to properly get his attention.

“Come on, we’ll take the back entrance,” Broderick said, winking. “Fewer people to deal with.”

Together, the three of them made their way into the back. Alistair kept dragging his pack with him out of habit. They watched the innkeeper take his wife below into the cellar and seal the trapdoor behind him. It wouldn’t be worth watching the fight if it meant risking your life to a dragon’s attack.

Kevin and Broderick opened the door and took a look outside. The Caldwell boy turned around and groaned out loud. He glared at Alistair as the other supplicant brought up the rear, lugging his rucksack behind him.

“Hurry up, would you!” he hissed.

“I don’t see it yet,” Broderick whispered, his eyes glued to the sky outside. He turned back to the other two as they gathered their wits. “We’ll get outside and transform. Follow me.”

Alistair decided this would be a good moment to find a place to stash his things. He found a nice corner and did his best to keep the backpack out of sight. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if the tavern caught on fire or was smashed to pieces, but it made him feel better. He made sure to grab the cold iron pikestaff. It felt so damn heavy in his normal, human arms. So much so that he had to carry it with both hands.

Before they left, another person came up behind them. It was another loner that had been sitting at the bar. Alistair noticed that beneath their oddly shaped helmet they had particularly dark skin. In their hands, they carried an odd-looking instrument that he had never seen before. Broderick glanced back and saw this new arrival. It looked like he recognized them in some fashion.

“You’re Etressi?” the paladin asked, astonished.

“That is right.” The man spoke with a heavy accent. He was clearly foreign but Alistair had sadly never heard the word ‘Etressi’ before. More and more he was starting to curse his rural origins. “I will take to the roof with this.” He held up a long stick made of wood and iron.

“Sharpshooter?” Broderick clarified. The Etressi man nodded, smiling. The paladin started to chuckle and gave him an approving nod. “Good to have you.”

The Etressi slipped past them and out into the alley. He moved what Alistair now knew to be some kind of weapon over his shoulder sling and then began to climb the wall. His leather armor was lighter and more segmented, and beneath it, he wore a loose-fitting tunic. Around his neck, the Etressi had some kind of scarf or head cloth of a dusty tan color. His skill at climbing, not to mention the speed, was breathtaking.

The paladins followed the Etressi out into the alley. Together, they heard loud shouting and curses from the opposite end of the building. Then, an ear splitting cry from what could only be the dragon. It was close, too close.

The three of them transformed into their relic mantle bodies. Alistair became the red Aegis, Kevin the ever-burning Flame, and Broderick assumed the form of armor made of Ice. The supplicants took a moment to witness what a ‘Paladin of the Ice’ looked like fully transformed.

Broderick’s body retained the same general shape as theirs, but the armor was a pale-blueish white, transparent in parts, and sharpened ice crystals covered the outside of him like a porcupine. In his hands, he wielded a blade made purely of ice. His sword’s thickness made it look oddly sturdy, and the serrated edges gave it a dangerous look.

The ice paladin looked between the two of them. He seemed to take a moment to determine what equipment, if any, they planned to use. Alistair wielded his pikestaff still, now in one hand thanks to the added strength. Kevin still had his father’s sword, Deadsbane, and it was once again wreathed in flames like the rest of his armored body. It was a two-handed weapon even in his enhanced state, so he had nothing to shield himself with.

“Alistair,” Broderick called out to him. His voice whistled like the wind on a winter morning. “Move around and try to stay among the other knights and soldiers. Your magic ability to grab attention away from enemies won’t work on the dragon, so you’ll have to draw its attention some other way. Don’t forget to strengthen the other men with your Inspire ability.”

He turned to the smoldering Kevin. “You’re in luck, Kevin. With the Flame mantle, the dragon’s breath shouldn’t do much harm to you. Together, the two of you can grab its attention when it goes in for an attack. The Aegis can handle the claws, the Flame covers the breath.”

“And what will you be doing?” Kevin asked, sounding annoyed. He wasn’t used to being bossed around.

“I’ll make sure to ground the dragon if it happens to take off. With luck I can hit the beast with my Freeze effect to keep it from moving at all. Together, the three of us should be able to bring it down. Just don’t get separated and try to go it alone.”

They were in agreement on how to go forward. There could be no more time wasted. The group started to run around the building so that they could join the fight. A loud crack, almost like the sound of lightning, came from the roof above. The Etressi must have had his sights on the target.

They rounded the corner back to the village square and were greeted by a terrible sight. In the minute or two they had been apart from the knights, half their number were already dead or dying. Screams filled the air. Blood and carnage were everywhere, and in the middle of it all was the largest creature Alistair had ever seen.

A dragon, no a ‘Greatwyrm’ according to the Sight’s name, sat in the middle of the village. Like a cat ready to pounce it remained low to the ground on four legs the size of tree trunks. It bit and snapped at any warrior brave enough to get close. Its long neck afforded it great range in comparison to the knights and freeholders, most of whom were equipped with simple swords and shields.

One glance and Alistair knew even his pikestaff wouldn’t afford him any advantage with the sheer size of the beast. His eight-foot-tall Aegis body maybe was about half of its height, factoring in the length of the neck. The thick ashen-colored scales covering the creature’s hide looked as thick and sturdy as a block of stone. Only the thing’s underbelly looked at all vulnerable to an attack, but with its low stance, the dragon hid the weakness well.

The creature turned toward them as if it had a preternatural sense. Its strange, slitted eye narrowed on them as if it recognized their level of threat. The greatwyrm roared out a challenge and a warm light began to flow out from within its outstretched maw. Alistair knew something bad was about to happen.

Broderick, thinking quickly, dashed in front of Alistair and stabbed his ice sword into the ground. There was a short rumbling before a pillar made of ice emerged from beneath the ground. Not a moment too soon as the dragon’s fiery breath washed over the street they occupied. The fire was so hot it melted a solid chunk of the ice on contact. Their vision was obscured by a cloud of steam as Broderick fought to maintain the shield.

Alistair felt helpless as he stood there, unsure of how to help. To his left, Kevin was actually still in the path of the breath. Just as Broderick had said though, his Flame mantle allowed him to weather the attack without much trouble. The Caldwell boy held up one arm in front of his helmet to shield his eyes. His feet were braced over scorched ground to keep from falling over from the sheer force of the flame breath. Otherwise, he looked unperturbed.

The intense fire attack ended as the stream slowly shorted out from the beast’s snout. With the way clear, Kevin didn’t hesitate and ran forward with Deadsbane lifted high above his head. Broderick dismissed the ice pillar and it shattered into a million pieces onto the street around them. He too ran forward, sword in one hand and the other channeling more magic.

Alistair broke into a sprint and made to wedge himself between the ailing knights and the long dragon’s neck. He really regretted not having a shield of some kind at that moment. Lucky for him, there were plenty strewn about the ground to choose from. They were small kite shields made for men half his size, but they would do in a pinch.

As he ran, he activated his Inspire ability like Broderick asked him to. Another pulse of energy rushed out of him to those within the village square. Almost every knight and freeholder were swept up in the reddish-gold light. It even managed to reach Kevin and Broderick as they did their best to pull the dragon’s attention away from the wounded.

Despite the ability’s low level, its morale boost was enough to wake some of the knights from their stupor and rally. Some focused on pulling the wounded back behind solid cover and into shelter. Others took a page out of the paladins’ book and rushed forward to rejoin the fray. Kevin and Broderick had managed to pull the greatwyrm’s attention to the other side of the square, leaving its vulnerable rear for the knights to attack. These brave warriors, emboldened by the Lady’s chosen, let loose a thundering warcry as they went for the dragon’s vulnerable back.

Alistair ran with them, adding his own shout to the mix. He forced down the butterflies and fear in his stomach. On the battlefield, it was impossible to plan your next move with any kind of certainty. In a way, it felt like his body was moving for him. His instincts took over and adrenaline made it feel as if time had slowed. It was then that he saw the beast’s tail whip out toward them like a snake.

The tail swept through the charging knights like a scythe against wheat. Bones were shattered, legs were tripped, necks snapped from the sheer force of the attack. Alistair raised his shield arm and felt the narrow end of the tail smack against him. The strike knocked the wind out of him and his vitality took a significant hit. His shield shattered in his grip, but it did manage to blunt the blow and stop the tail in motion. Before the dragon could pull away, he grabbed the tail and planted his feet, trapping the appendage beneath his armpit.

The beast wriggled in his grasp as it attempted to pull away. Again and again, it smacked the tail into Alistair’s side. Even with the lack of room to generate force, each swing packed enough weight that he knew it was only a matter of time before he had to let it go.

Then, he noticed something strange. The greatwyrm’s skin turned a pale blue and ice crystals formed all over its scaly body.

Greatwyrm

“Frozen” status effect

Immobilized for five seconds!

Words swept over Alistair’s vision. One of Broderick’s spells or passive abilities must have worked. All the fight and strength the dragon once had was gone. The tail was frozen stiff just like the rest of its body. Alistair took that moment to let it go and ready his pike. The remaining knights shook off their amazement and finally made it to the dragon’s legs. With their steel swords, they began to slash and pierce at its scales, but they were having precious little effect.

Alistair saw the ice starting to break and shatter off the dragon’s body into small pieces. The moment of triumph was over almost as soon as it began. Broderick’s frozen effect couldn’t sustain itself for long against a creature of this kind of strength. He heard a frustrated shout from Kevin and a bath of flames washed over the dragon’s body from the other side. The fire, presumably launched from Kevin’s fingertips, seemed to have little effect on the creature as it continued to stir from its frozen prison.

Thinking quickly, Alistair took the pikestaff in both hands and lifted it high above his head. With all of the Aegis’s mighty strength, he sent the pointed end piercing straight through the dragon’s tail. He impaled it to the cobblestone ground beneath them, trapping the beast. It wasn’t clear at that moment if the cold iron had any added effect against the creature, but he heard a pain-filled cry come from its mouth.

The dragon’s wings up until this point had gone unused. Now, they flexed and buffeted those on the ground with strong gusts of wind. It was attempting to lift up off the ground. Kevin and Broderick both threw magical projectiles of ice and flame at it, even striking its soft underbelly, and yet the beast still gained altitude. Alistair knew that with its strength the greatwyrm would rip the pike right out of the ground, no matter how deep it was buried.

So, he did the first thing that came to mind. He latched onto the tail with both hands and prepared to keep the beast from leaving. Not his most brilliant plan, but he was already in the thick of it before logic caught up with him.

Over the next few seconds, things spiraled downhill quickly.

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The tail snapped itself free of the pike. In its wake, the cold iron weapon had left a solid hole clean through the scaly skin. Alistair’s initial thought to act like an anchor didn’t last past the first second when he realized too late just how strong the beast was in comparison to his own weight. He felt his feet leave the ground as the dragon lifted him effortlessly on its way out of the village.

Beneath him, he saw the survivors looking up at him with a mix of dread and shock. He must have looked ridiculous at that moment, a burly giant hanging on for dear life to an even bigger creature’s tail. The people below him shrank exponentially each second Alistair was lifted further into the air. Soon they were like ants and the village a motley brown speck on the green earth below him.

There was a glow of light and he saw something rush up at him from the ground. It was like a cannonball had been launched from the village; it was so small and fast. But it wasn’t a cannonball, but another armored body like his own. The Sight told him it was Broderick, but this time instead of an ice body, he was instead in a suit of green armor. Wind flowed out beneath him to facilitate his flight up toward the departing dragon. He must have transformed again, turning into a Paladin of Wind.

“Let go, Alistair!” he called out to him over the whipping gusts of wind. They were piercing clouds now. Visibility was getting worse. “Let go of it now!”

Truly terrified to look down, Alistair did as Broderick commanded. He let go of his grip on the dragon and felt his heavy body become like a stone. It plummeted toward the ground with none of the grace a proper flyer might display.

Broderick caught up with him quickly. They met just as Alistair was maybe halfway down to the ground below. He wrapped his arm around the Aegis’s thick forearm and summoned the wind beneath him again. The two of them slowed somewhat, but they were still hurtling down toward the earth like a falling star.

“Transform, Alistair!” His voice carried over the wind that surrounded them. Broderick shook his winged helmet. “I can’t support the Aegis’s weight!”

Alistair did as he was bid and became human again. He was putting his life fully into the seasoned paladin’s hands. The effect was immediate. Without the Aegis’s weight, Broderick managed to slow their descent into something more manageable. Wind formed beneath their feet so thick it was almost like a cloud itself had been spawned to catch them.

They floated together back down to the earth where the rest of the men waited. The knights formed up around the square and cheered as they saw the two get closer. Kevin was there too, back in his human body. He crossed his arms and waited impatiently for the show to be over.

It was with great relief that Alistair touched back down to the ground. There was nothing quite like the feeling of something solid beneath his feet. If it wasn’t a matter of life and death the feeling of flying might have been fun, but he certainly wouldn’t describe any moment of that ride as enjoyable. The whole thing was truly terrifying.

Alistair fell to his knees to try and get a handle on his frayed nerves. Beneath him, his legs felt like liquid. The pounding of his heart was up in his ears, his throat dried out, and his jaw clenched from stress. Broderick landed next to him in a much more dignified manner, still on both feet without as much as a scratch on him. The paladin immediately fell to one knee and placed a steadying hand on the supplicant’s shaking body.

“You’re fine, Alistair.” He patted him on the back and offered some needed advice. “It’s just the adrenaline, let it wear off.”

“Thanks for saving me,” Alistair said in between steadying breaths. “I’d never made it back.”

Though he couldn’t see Broderick’s face, he could hear him smiling from the inflection of his voice.

“Hah, you’re an absolute madman. Grabbing onto the tail like that.” Broderick offered a gauntleted hand to him. “What were you thinking?”

Alistair tried to smile as he took the offered hand. He let himself be pulled up to his feet to stand again. His stomach still felt queasy and his legs shook a bit, but he would be alright.

“Not sure, really. I just thought to try and stop it is all,” he replied, sheepishly.

Kevin and the other survivors closed in around them. The time for revelry was long past, sadly. There were countless bodies strewn about the wreckage of the town’s square. With the dragon gone, they had to focus on salvaging what was left and saving who they could. Alistair spotted at one building still burning from the dragon’s attack, and at least a few more with shattered walls from its initial rampage. It would have been worse if the knights and paladins hadn’t been around to keep it occupied.

“Let’s work on bringing the wounded back to the tavern and finding some villagers to help us. We’ll need to raid their supplies of linen and gauze. Even better if they have a herbalist or cunning woman around,” Broderick said. Everyone watched in amazement as he took a new, third form. A knight of deep blue, armor plates curved like crashing waves, with strands of free-floating water surrounding him. “I’ll deal with the fire.”

For the rest of the day, Alistair and the others just focused on saving lives. After the excitement died down and he had a chance to breathe, he reflected on what went wrong. They underestimated the strength of the dragon, or at least most of them did. Alistair was sure that if Broderick hadn't been there, everyone in the village would have been dead: he and Kevin included. The paladin just brought so much more to the fight with his various powers, all of which were more evolved than theirs.

It showed just how much more work the supplicants had to do to catch up. Alistair could only pray to the Lady that this quest wouldn’t be the death of him. He wanted to reach that kind of strength someday. Everyone looked up to Broderick. No one hesitated when he asked them to do something. Their faith in his experience was unshakeable. His kind demeanor and his sense of humility merely added to his reputation as an approachable person. Alistair and Kevin, each of them arguably the hero of their own story, were engulfed by this man’s immense shadow.

And he was alright with that. There was so much to learn just from being around someone like that. Alistair hoped that Broderick might be the one to shed some light on some of the answers he was after. For now though, those questions would have to wait.

----------------------------------------

Evening was upon them in no time. After the day they had, every single one of the gathered warriors were exhausted. Some rested within the tavern, which had somehow managed to survive the dragon fight without much more than a few scorch marks. Others were forced to sleep in tents and other makeshift shelters erected in the same square that had been the site of the battle. Casualties being what they were, the wounded and dead were moved under whatever shelter could be found.

Alistair was graciously offered a room by one of the knights. They had been one of the first to the village and managed to snag a room before others arrived. When word spread that the paladin supplicant would be sleeping outside in a bedroll, the noble was quick to offer his lodgings. It was the least they could do for a hero like him.

He was about to refuse out of politeness when Broderick encouraged him to accept the offer. For one, it wasn’t being given to him out of some feudal or religious obligation. As hard as it was for Alistair to believe, the men really did recognize his actions that day as something resembling a hero. He had saved more than a handful when he caught the tail mid-strike. They wanted to repay him in some small way.

More importantly, Broderick wanted him to get a rest in a proper bed so that he could regain what vitality he had lost. The fight did a number on all of them, even those blessed with the Lady’s strength. Tomorrow would be a difficult day as they would have to ride out and pursue the dragon before it managed to lick its wounds. They all needed to be in top form for that to happen.

Sad as it was for the knights and the rest to admit, but the paladins were really the only ones that stood a chance at hurting the thing. Not even the Etressi’s weapon, something that Alistair learned was called a ‘musket’, could crack those scales.

The creature was apparently much older and stronger than most wyrms, and so it was severely underestimated by those who had answered the call. No one had seen a creature with that kind of thick hide in decades, centuries even. The knights had been expecting something a bit bigger than a drake or wyvern. Those were the much more common cousins of the dragon, with severely less resistance to bladed weapons and paladin magic.

Given the information they had now, it was decided that the remaining knights and the rest of the ‘normal’ humans would act as scouts to find traces of the dragon. Their horses were mostly untouched by the dragon, thankfully. Only a few had been eaten before the news reached the tavern and the battle properly commenced. With their speed and numbers, such a task would hopefully be more manageable than if the paladins were to go alone.

So, with all these jumbled thoughts of strategy and the rough plan of the day ahead, Alistair retired to his room. Another feather bed, how lucky. His room even contained a window to the outside as well. Not there was much to look at this late at night.

He had managed to find his rucksack and brought it up as well. All of his things were still accounted for, thankfully. The cold iron pike, now adorned with dried dragon blood, had also been recovered from outside. It leaned against the wall well within arm’s reach of the bed. Having all his things within reach gave him a strange sense of comfort.

Alistair was just about ready to strip out of his clothes when he noticed something strange. The window was open. He blinked once, then twice. The darkness lifted as the Sight enhanced his low-light vision again. Alistair swept his eyes across the room and locked onto something. There, in the corner, stood someone cloaked in shadow.

A hood covered their face, but he vaguely recognized them as someone that had been sitting at the bar. Not the Etressi, and not Kevin or Broderick. Another loner, this one lithe and tall. Someone he lost track of in the chaos of the battle.

“Took you long enough,” the stranger said. The voice was familiar. Feminine, with a fey lilt.

“Ilvara?” Alistair called out, surprised.

She shed her hood and the Sight did the rest.

Ilvara

Winter Elf

Pathfinder | Level 5

“I thought you would see through my disguise sooner, but then that burly man with the slicked hair got to talking to you. The three of you looked so precious it felt wrong to interrupt.” In the week or so since they last spoke, her sarcasm and dry wit certainly hadn’t gone away. “Especially the part where you gave such a fierce glare to that pretty boy with the fire necklace. I didn’t think you were capable of it.”

“Did you have a reason for breaking into my room?” he asked, unamused.

“Yes, actually.” She casually leaned against the wall. “Though, I want to make it clear I certainly didn’t ‘break’ anything to get in here. Daoine aren’t known for their locks, nor for your sense of awareness apparently.”

“Did you come here for the bounty?” Alistair tried to steer them back on track instead of letting her have her jabs. Winter elves really loved to twist the proverbial knife, apparently. “I didn’t see you fighting.”

“That’s because I didn’t come here for any bounty.” She stood up from the wall and approached him. Her ornamented ponytail swished behind her sharp ears. “I wouldn’t expect daoine to know anything about the physiology or behavior of the ‘Draca mór’, but where as you see a monster terrorizing a region, I see an intelligent creature searching desperately for something.”

“Searching for what?” he asked, still confused.

Ilvara sighed, her temper getting the better of her.

“Listen closely. You can tell by the ashen shade of its scales that it’s from the north, near the mountains your people call Grayreach. My people live within the depths of mountains like that. I’m quite familiar with creatures like this.” She spoke with a labored elegance. Ilvara was clearly knowledgeable about many things and yet loathed having to explain them. She hadn’t the patience for it. “It’s a male, one of advanced age based on the size of it and the thickness of its hide. Males wouldn’t range this far south for sustenance or sport, so it’s here under duress.”

Alistair had a look of confoundment as he tried to follow her explanation. This only served to frustrate her more, but nonetheless, she continued on. She was in too deep and wanted to get all of her thoughts out of the way.

“That leaves two options,” she said, holding up two thin fingers. “It came here to find its mate, which is unlikely given that there’s no way a second dragon would have gone unnoticed. It leaves only one conclusion.”

“And that is?”

She shrugged. “It has to be looking for an egg. Someone must have gotten into its lair and stolen it. The female might have been wounded, or the brood was too large for her to abandon. So, she sent the male down here after it.”

“How are you sure it’s an egg the thing is after? What about revenge, maybe?” Alistair asked. He couldn’t imagine someone sneaking into a dragon’s home and stealing an egg. The thing would have been huge, and heavy as hell.

“Revenge? Most certainly. It’ll kill whoever stole the egg as long as it can find them. Draca mór are magically gifted creatures, and they have a strong sense of smell. That’s how it knew to come down here. And that’s how it’s known to hit every village along this path. Someone came through here with that egg.”

This added a considerable amount of context to the events of the day. The last few villages, including this one, all had apparently hosted someone that had a stolen dragon egg. Their destruction was a tragic accident as an enraged father hunted for his kidnapped child. The scenario was almost too familiar for a dragon to share with a human. He almost felt sorry for it, in fact.

Still, it didn’t excuse the dragon for killing so many innocents along the way.

“How do we fix this?” Alistair asked.

“How do you think?” Ilvara had her hands on her hips and gave him a tough stare. “We go find the egg and give it back. No more dead daoine, and the draca mór can go back home where he belongs.”

As if in response to the winter elf’s proposal, the Sight activated. Words were drawn before him as a new quest presented itself.

Quest of Retrieval

Find the Lost Dragon Egg

Description

The Geevshey pathfinder offers a kinder alternative. Rescue the egg from those who have stolen it, and present it to the dragon. In return, peace may return to this land without further bloodshed.

Rewards

Large Ashen Greatwyrm Reputation Gain

Moderate Universal Renown Gain

Small Duchy of Isen Renown Gain

Small Winter Elf Renown Gain

Milestone Progress

One Favor from Greatwyrm

Alistair’s interest peaked with the last bit. A favor from a dragon, you say?

“Where do we start?”