The green dragon dove toward the ground, its breath weapon causing green vapor to coalesce around its massive jaws.

Andy saw a small window of opportunity. Concentrating on his breathing, he allowed the thoughts in his head to go silent as time slowed down. He activated Fluid Strike, leaping toward the dragon and bringing his sword over his head.

As he cleared the distance toward the dragon, he replayed the memory of Morwen's shredded neck just moments before, the way blood had pooled up in her mouth and run out the sides. Her blank stare. She was an exceptionally spirited fighter, and just in the last few days had proven an excellent companion and a challenging teacher. She was a good person. To see such a strong fighter reduced to a gurgling blood fountain… it was disturbing.

Andy felt protective of Morwen. She was on his team, and she had gone down at the hands (or, rather, the jaws) of the green dragon. Andy felt a spark of anger ignite in him. Just what he was looking for. He activated Wallop.

Just a few days earlier, Andy wouldn't have been able to combine Fluid Strike and Wallop without becoming completely exhausted. Now, though, he had an extra level in Combat. He couldn't go all day combining feats together, he still didn't have that kind of legendary energy. But he could often strike both fast hard now.

The dragon was diving toward him, the distance closing in slow motion. Its jaws were opened wide and its breath weapon was on the verge of explosion.

Andy dodged to the side, a bit too fast for the heavy dragon's airborne inertia. He brought his sword down on the dragon's neck.

It bounced off the scales.

Maintaining his Fluid Strike and holding on to the anger fueling his Wallop, Andy tried again, but this time he went for the leathery skin of the dragon's wings. His greatsword pierced a wing, tearing through it as the dragon hit the ground, its green vapor reaching a critical mass and exploding toward Andy.

Time sped back up as the dragon's breath weapon engulfed Andy. The green vapor burned more than anything Andy had ever experienced. The back of his neck, his arms, his eyes, his nose and throat. The green, acidic bioweapon began causing his skin to itch.

Andy focused hard. The pain shot through his nervous system as if torturing him was his body's purpose. It felt like he was being consumed from the inside and the outside all at once. And the persistent itching… that was something new.

I'm fucked, Andy thought. But I still have a short window to prevent this monster's escape.

Andy pressed through all the pain in his body and continued thrusting his greatsword through the dragon's wing, driving it into the ground like a spike.

I hope this holds him down long enough for Arlene to take him out, Andy thought. I'm toast.

Andy fell to the ground, green vapor rising off his body. The dragon struggled to stand up, but its wing was effectively bound to the ground by Andy's greatsword.

"Damn you," the dragon hissed as it contorted, trying to grasp the greatsword with one of its arms. Finally, the dragon's hand found the hilt and began heaving.

"Andy!" Arlene called.

Andy looked toward her. Her face was a portrait of shock, horror, and concern.

Andy still felt as if he were being consumed by acid. The pain was unreal. He struggled to speak at all. All he could think about was the pain. His body cried out to be free of the suffering it was undergoing, but there was nothing he could do except lay there. Andy began to curl up, but the friction of skin against ground only exacerbated things. He laid still.

"Damn you," the dragon said again as it heaved itself upward, freeing the sword from the ground and from its pierced wing. The dragon tossed the sword to the ground behind him, ensuring Andy couldn't get to it.

"Die!" Andy heard Arlene call from behind him.

An Alchemy Bomb hit the dragon, but it was no use. It did not penetrate the creature's scales.

Andy reached within. Perhaps now was the time to tap into his warlock feat, Drain. As the pain from the acid damage began to fade into a dull throbbing, Andy focused on the dragon, on its brutality and its arrogance, on the quickness and thoughtlessness with which it had downed Morwen. Andy focused on the dragon's disregard for dignity.

A spark of something, not a righteous rage for justice… but rather a spark of something darker, more dangerous, more all-consuming… A spark of hatred erupted in Andy's chest as he activated Drain.

The green energy tether erupted from Andy's chest and connected to the dragon's. Immediately, Andy felt some vitality returning as the itchy pain and nerve damage began to heal rapidly.

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"What is this!" the dragon said, flapping away clumsily as the color began to fade from its scales. The hole in its wing prevented it from taking off into the air easily. The dragon finally stumbled out of range of Andy's Drain feat, but Andy felt healed up enough to get back up.

Andy rose to his feet. His skin still showed signs of massive chemical burns, but it had already turned to scar tissue and had begun to fade a bit. His sword was still too far behind the dragon for him to retrieve.

The dragon then reached toward its throat, picking a small gem out of its scales.

"That's enough," the dragon said as it held up the sparkling white gem. The dragon disappeared, going completely invisible.

"Damn!" Andy said. He could still hear the dragon stomping toward them, and he could see its shadow, but now things were going to be harder.

"I've got it," Arlene called.

A glowing red arrow streaked past Andy and lodged itself into the invisible dragon, creating a definite red, energetic aura around the creature.

"Tracking arrow," Arlene called. "That should help!"

She's good.

The dragon, or rather the glowing red outline of the dragon, hurdled toward Arlene. Apparently it now deemed her the more direct threat.

As it passed him, Andy drew his slender dagger and leapt toward the dragon, hoping against hope that his blade would find purchase between the lizard's scales, allowing him to mount it.

It did.

Andy threw himself onto the dragon's back as it bucked wildly, still barreling toward Arlene.

Andy wrapped himself around the dragon's neck, using his knife blade to pry off as many scales as he could. The dragon was still invisible, but as soon as a scale popped off, it emerged into visibility. Thankfully, the use of Drain had caused the dragon's natural armor to become frail and brittle.

Andy began repeatedly stabbing the scaleless area he had created on the back of the dragon's neck.

"DAMN YOU!" the dragon repeated as it began bucking, finally spinning with such velocity that Andy went flying through the air toward Arlene.

Andy hit the ground with a thud. It hurt, but not nearly as bad as the acid had. He scrambled to find the dragon again.

"You ok?" Arlene asked, an arrow notched in her bow.

"I'm good," said Andy. "I've cleared a spot off the back of its neck, there are no scales there, so if you hit it, it should be effective."

"Perfect," Arlene said, keeping her eye on the target. "Let's just hope that the invisibility wears off soon."

No sooner had the words escaped Arlene's mouth than the dragon's cloaking magic faded, revealing its green, scaly form.

Andy was standing beside Arlene, now. The dragon was heading toward them, and his greatsword was about thirty yards behind the dragon. The dragon's weak spot was behind them.

She can't hit the weak spot facing the dragon, Andy thought, so I'll need to get it to turn around.

"I'm going for my sword," Andy said as he began to sprint toward the dragon.

"What are you doing!?" Arlene called.

I just told you, Andy thought, joking to himself. But it was an understandable reaciton.

As Andy sprinted toward his sword, the dragon's whiplike tail flew toward him. He had seen this attack take Morwen down.

Andy jumped, pulling his legs as close to his chest as he could. The dragon's tail went right under him, leaving Andy unscathed.

Andy continued sprinting, right past the dragon.

"Fool," the dragon said, continuing its rampage toward Arlene.

He's not following me, Andy thought. Damn, maybe I've miscalculated.

Andy cleared the distance to his sword as fast as he could. Picking it up and looking back toward the dragon. It was practically on top of Arlene at this point, and Kermit was still in the midst of his Intercession for an incapacitated and nearly dead Morwen not far behind. This could be very bad. This could be a slaughter.

Andy needed to think of something fast.

"Over here you wormy-ass bitch!" Andy called.

The dragon stopped in its tracks and turned around violently.

"You have learned nothing!" the dragon said as its breath weapon began to accumulate green vapor. The dragon began to charge toward Andy now. "I will ensure your maximum suffering, you insolent fool!"

Perfect, Andy thought. He lifted his sword into a defensive posture.

The dragon reared its head back as its breath weapon continued to charge.

"Now!" Andy called.

An explosion of purple flame burst from the dragon's back as Arlene's Alchemy Bomb combined with Righteous Wrath to deal maximum damage to the dragon's exposed weak spot.

The dragon let out a beastly roar as the breath weapon dissipated. It fell to the ground, twitching and convulsing.

"Got him!" Arlene called.

Andy brandished his sword as he ran toward the beast.

"Not today," the dragon said in a weak, whisperly growl. It summoned the remaining energy it had left to leap into the air, spreading its wings.

The dragon didn't fly so much as glide clumsily out of range, heading toward a cluster of hills and over the horizon.

"We can't let him get away!" Andy called. He ran toward Arlene, eager to regroup and go after the monster.

Andy arrived by her side, pointing toward the direction of the dragon's escape.

"No," came a frail voice. It was Morwen.

Andy felt a wave of relief. The fighter was conscious again, thanks to Kermit's Intercession.

"You did well," she said weakly, coughing. "Let him go for now."