It had all happened very quickly. One moment, they were all sneaking up through the rocks and weeds toward the guard tower, the next moment something huge and dark had appeared in the sky. Then, before they could even react, the dragon had landed right between Calista and Lefty where it drew itself up to full height, leaned down over the little wizard and said, “Boo.”
It was in that moment that Calista had decided it was time to run. Not that she was opposed to standing and fighting or even rescuing someone here and there, but when there was an actual living, breathing dragon involved, sometimes it was better to execute a tactical retreat.
She would have followed the dwarf and the goblin, but the dragon had landed between her and them. She also would have tried to help the wizard, but he had fainted at the first sight of then dragon. So in Calista’s mind, it had been time to cut bait. It wasn’t her fault really, it was the party’s.
Calista had been shocked, frozen even. The sight of an adult black dragon standing before you was enough to make anyone freeze. Fortunately, Calista had been shaken out of her shock the moment Lefty’s unconscious form had collided with the ground.
Leaping over a rock, she had sprinted through a thorn bush and then hurdled over a log. Dust and smoke were suddenly everywhere, but she pushed through it and took aim for the north, hoping to go around whatever ambush might be waiting. Slowing to a jog, she still managed to collide with a rock, which she bounced off and then ducked under a skeletal tree. There, the cloud had dissipated and just as she emerged from the dust and smoke, she had encountered a squad of goblins sneaking up a side path. A pair of arrows hissed past her head as she turned and raced up the last stretch of bare earth to reach the outer wall of the keep. More arrows clattered against the stone wall as she ran toward the tower. Looking back, she heard the dwarf roar a battle cry. She turned to look but could see only a cloud of dust and smoke where her friends were. There followed the sound of an axe meeting flesh and though she could not see the blow, she knew the dwarf had just sent someone to their maker. Rounding the corner, she found herself face to face with the two gnolls who were only now waking up from their magically induced nap. She ripped her sword free and cut the first gnoll’s throat before he could draw his weapon. As her first foe fell, bleeding, she saw the second gnoll draw a long, serrated cutlass. Nasty weapon, too bad you hold it like an amateur. Parry, counter thrust, parry, parry again, riposte. The gnoll’s sword fell to the ground. It’s nice not being level one any more. She smiled at her helpless foe. The gnoll was trying to back away, hoping it could flee. Calista thought for a moment if she should spare its life. Then thought better of it. It’s a gnoll. I could use the experience. With a sudden thrust, she stabbed it in the chest and listened as the hyena man let out a death rattle.
She wrenched her sword free and spent a glance back at the battle. The cloud of dust and smoke still obscured most of her view, but she could hear that the dwarf and the goblin had fought their way to the front gate. The dragon had been clever in its ambush. Not relying solely on her own power, Vevic had brought goblins up around the side of the fortress to trap them against the walls. The little green monsters were everywhere, swarming all along the side of the mountain. There was no where else to go.
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She ran through the arch, into the base of the tower and hit the door at a run, slammed the double doorway with her shoulder and bounced off to land on the dirt floor. “Son of a bitch,” she cried as she picked herself up. A glance back told her the goblins had finally spotted her and were racing across the beaten earth to get her. Grabbing the door handle, she tried to pull it open. Locked. A quick inspection told her it was barred on the other side. Thank heavens its not a key. Improvising, she used her Emberblade to stab the slit between the doors and lifted up. She felt the blade hit the bar and with a jerk, she jarred it free. Another glance back. The goblins were almost to the archway. Pulling the right door open, she slipped inside, slammed it shut and replaced the bar.
She turned around and found herself face to face with another goblin. This one, however, was carrying a bundle of rope down the stairs and when he saw her, his eyes filled with panic. Before the little green monster could react, she brought her Emberblade down and split his skull.
As she knelt down and took the coil of rope off the corpse, she heard footsteps and hurried cries coming down the stairs. How many of these creatures does this horrid woman of a dragon have? With her Emberblade, Calista could probably stand in the stairway and kill goblins all day, but now was not the time to be thinking of acquiring experience points. Her friends were all either soon to be captured or dead and if she didn’t find a way to escape, then their entire endeavor would be for naught. Cat’s Eye’s tunnel has to be around here somewhere. Thinking quickly, she activated her newest Delver ability: [Dungeon Sense].
Immediately, a tool tip populated along the wall beneath the stairs. What’s that? She could see it had highlighted something sticking out of the mortar. Leaning closer, she could read the tool tip: [Dungeon Sense: Hidden Button.] Crouching, she crept below the circular stairway and found a mismatched stone pressed into the mortar. She pressed it andsuddenly everything turned. Stone grinding against stone as everything rotated around her and then a dry, dusty “Clunk!” as she came to a stop.
I’m in either some kind of hidden passageway or hidden room. Her [Dungeon Sense] ability hadpassively picked up the hidden buttonand suddenly she was very, very thankful she had decided to stick with the Delver class. Accessing her inventory, she pulled out her torch. With a spark from her tinderbox, the stick billowed into flame.
She was sitting in a narrow passageway just tall enough for her to stand. To her right was a stairway that led down into the dark, while to her left was rubble and broken mortar. Right it is, then. She stood and dusted herself off.
After a few feet, the passageway began to descend and slowly slope downward. Each step was an adventure as she watched for traps or loose bricks. However, as she made her way down the narrow passageway, the most dangerous thing that appeared was a rat that scurried back into the wall. Soon, a door appeared at the edge of the light and a few steps later, she found herself standing in front of a iron barred door with a heavy lock set into its handle.
But is it trapped? She lifted her torch as she inspected the door. She knew that somewhere beneath this place was a dungeon of some kind. Had she stumbled into the very passageway they had hoped for when they had sneaked through the gate? Could this be a doorway down? It certainly looked like it was. After several minutes of inspection, she decided the door looked safe and pulled out her lock picks. Only three tumblers, good. It took her less than a minute to get the lock to click and then she pushed the door open.