Staring into the depths of the forest filled him with an odd sensation as the rickety boat crossed.

He couldn’t call it dread. It wasn’t a negative emotion. Nor was it quite awe, either. He knew intrinsically what a forest was, having read about them. He’d seen trees, none quite so verdant as these.

But to stare into what must have been hundreds, thousands? Going on for miles? It was something else.

The old growth forest loomed over them like the mountains. Something ancient and beyond them. Whatever called itself ‘The Forest’ must have been a powerful Spirit. Ulgrin felt his knees wobble as he realized he could no longer see the horizon.

Just distant trees slowly fading into one another.

This side of the river was practically untouched by humanoid hands. He sent one last glance over his shoulder at the town and took a deep breath. Then he strode forth. Navigating this place would prove challenging. It wasn’t like a road or mountain trail where one could simply follow a line. No, he learned this place was almost like a maze.

Raelza led them deeper in, the light dimming above. Ulgrin noticed a sense of calm come over her, eyes no longer squinting in the bright noon sun's light. Saezz seemed to have a similar adjustment in his mood, but less relaxed. More alert. Cautious, yet now within his element.

Ulgrin was glad to see he wasn’t the only one struggling with the change in environment as Alyss tripped over a root.

Thankfully, his armor seemed to ward off the worst brambles and burrs.

One thing he did notice was the noise. Birdsong filled the air along with the rattle of insects. Distant animals let off warning sounds, mating calls, and social noises. Ominous creaks of dead trees finally collapsing. He and his party were given a wide berth, but their presence hadn’t ruined the atmosphere.

The forest knew they were only visitors.

Their drow companion guided them like she’d personally grown up in this place. She rode Wreath through various obstacles, the agile Thornshield easily leaping past and around the giant roots of trees. Much like a graceful mountain goat, he mused.

Several hours passed before they found anything of note. Ulgrin raised his hand for everyone to stop.

“What is it?” Alyss asked, head on a swivel as she scanned the environment.

He grunted. “Disturbance in the soil. Something beneath it,” he gestured to a fairly well hidden mound beneath the detritus and debris of leaves.

“Saezz is impressed you noticed that.” The lizardman spoke, crossing his arms and nodding.

Appreciating the compliment, Ulgrin withdrew a spade from the pack on his back and knelt, brushing away the forest floor. It would be hard for anyone to tell the difference between this and another rock, but he knew his stone. Rocks weren’t shaped like that. A rigid L-shaped mound had formed around whatever was deep in the dirt.

His shovel quickly excavated enough to find the cause. A long, metal pole, the tip of it just barely poking past the ground. Pulling it free, he found it to have been at least ten feet long.

At the end was an extension similar to that of a sign post. Wear and tear had long since worn the metal surface down smooth. His companions helped him pull the heavy object free and lay it on the ground. Then they stared at it, quite confused.

Saezz gave a rumble. “Perhaps this was used to guide a way, as a marker or sign? It’s ancient, that much is true.”

“It looks like steel, but it hasn’t rusted at all.” Alyss said, brushing away some dirt from its surface.

Ulgrin promptly licked the metal, much to his companions' chagrin. “Hmm. Yeah, it tastes like steel.” He pondered that for a moment and then gnawed on it a bit. “Some other metals included. It’s a strange alloy, not one I’ve heard of.”

“Can dwarves just do that? Eat metal?” Raelza boggled, staring at him like he’d grown a third head.

“We can, yes. I’m no smith, but I know the common materials.” He paused. “Were you not paying attention when I was eating those gemstones? I’ve bought a few and eaten them at meals.” He’d tried not to splurge too much with their dwindling coin, but it was always tempting.

“I thought that was hard candy!” Her eyes widened in shock.

Alyss laughed, shaking her head. “Yep. Funnily enough, the feces of dwar-” she was promptly interrupted by Saezz poking her in the head.

“Saezz does not want to hear about Dunvi excrement.”

Moving the conversation away from their eating habits, Ulgrin patted the thin pillar. “Well, it’s a sign we’re in the right place. Anything that was left behind hasn’t been buried too much. This thing was at an angle, so this area has only experienced a small amount of change in the thousand years or so.”

“It’s good to know we didn’t come here for nothing,” Alyss mused.

Ulgrin tucked away his shovel and lifted the pillar up with a grunt. “Since we know there’s going to be something, let's head east. Should probably see about taking care of the Lindwurms.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Got it,” Raelza said, pulling out her compass and leading them.

Eventually the sound of burbling water became loud enough to hear. More concerning, however, was the lack of anything else. It seemed like all signs of life had disappeared, leaving only the whistling of wind and waving branches.

Saezz spoke up, barely more audible than a whisper. “A predator lurks here. One that is strong.”

The four of them drew their weapons and became more alert.

Approaching the river they found it empty. Just a hundred foot gap of air and water before returning to forest once again. Ignorant of the struggles of flesh and blood, the waters continued flowing northwards.

Raelza spoke up, casting her gaze down the river. “We’ll need to head further north. The fisherman was further away from town than this. Not far, though.” They nodded and followed the drow. Keeping to the cover of the woods, they stalked north. Stealth wasn’t his forte, but the sounds covered up his worst excesses.

Before long they managed to spot it. This side of the river had a large mound of clay, mud, and dirt sticking out of banks. It seemed the Lindwurms had dug a proper burrow, adding onto it and making their home. The only entrance appeared to be through the water, making it a challenge to approach.

“We are downwind, which is good.” Saezz said silently. “They should not catch our scent for now. What shall we do?”

Ulgrin hummed in thought. “Raelza, do you think you could snatch some prey and bring them into the woods?”

She nodded. “It’ll take some time for me to find a deer or thunderer big enough, but I should be able to shoot one. Alchemist, do you have any poisons in that bag of tricks?”

Alyss nodded, digging around. “Well, I’ve got a mild paralyzing toxin, ooh and a blood breaker tonic. That one is great, it makes them bleed quite a bit more.” She then paused. “These things are going to be large, right? Fifteen feet long? My poison’s only going to have a minor effect on something so big.”

“Anything is better than nothing,” Ulgrin said.

Saezz frowned. “Poison is for honorless cowards. How will we consume our prey as is right and just?”

“Worry not, friend.” Ulgrin replied. “Only one of them will get a dose. The other one will be plenty healthy and ready to fight us to the fullest.”

“Very well,” the lizard replied, though he didn’t like the compromise.

Finding a clearing, the three of them settled in and waited for Raelza to return. She emerged from the woods, grunting and hefting the corpse of a ceratopsid. Leptoceratops, he remembered. A smaller species of horned-thunderers, lacking the horns and great crest.

She carried it to the center of the clearing before dumping it and drawing a knife. Stabbing deep, she spilled the creature’s life blood onto the ground along with its guts. Then she dumped several vials worth of poison into the mixture, ensuring at least one of their enemies would be at a disadvantage.

Walking back over, she knelt in the brush alongside them. “Think you could use your wind to send the scents over to their nest?”

Ulgrin nodded, moving to position himself to be opposite the Lindwurm burrow. Conjuring a wind, “Gale. Gather. Thrust.” A light breeze picked up from his hand, sending the coppery scent eastwards.

He kept the stream up for a few minutes before ceasing. He needed the mana for the fight to come.

Sure enough, a draconic shape emerged from the edge.

Two powerful three-clawed forelegs pulled the creature as it slithered around trees. Pale green scales covered its body, ending in a ringed white marking on its tail. Two backwards-facing horns crested its gaping maw and piercing eyes. The creature possessed quite a few teeth.

Ulgrin held his breath as the Lindwurm approached. It sniffed the air, serpentine tongue flicking. Black eyes locked onto the prey that had caught. It scanned the area, but they had hidden well. Ulgrin had partially buried himself to aid in camouflage.

Sensing no enemies, the draconic creature greedily dug in. With the size of its jaws, the ceratops was devoured in but a few bites.

The Lindwurm let out a burp before a low-hissing call emerged from its throat.

Movement in the trees behind it revealed the creature’s mate, a slightly larger female specimen. The two coiled together before the male Lindwurm positioned its mouth above the females and started to regurgitate.

Only, it coughed, failing. The poison had started to kick in, and the creature’s body locked up, limbs not quite responding.

“Attack!” Ulgrin called, emerging from his dirt hole and channeling magic. He called upon the stones and rocks below, “Rock! Gather! Launch!”

Dozens of small projectiles were sent forth towards the larger female Lindwurm. Most of them bounced off of its tough scales, but one of them hit home and struck it in the eye. The creature recoiled back, an angry shriek filling the air. Injuring the eye had it reeling and off balance. A twang beside him revealed Raelza firing her own projectile and a crossbow bolt stuck deep in the creature’s left leg.

Alyss wasn’t slacking either, whipping a sling-thrown grenade at the two. An explosion sent the two creatures reeling, peppered with shrapnel. Still, all the damage they’d dealt thus far had been skin-deep.

Ulgrin watched as Saezz and Wreath charged, capitalizing on the surprise. The lizardfolk leapt, his blade finding purchase in their scales as he landed on the female’s neck. He stabbed in and out, gripping tightly for life as the dragon flailed. Following closely behind, their Thornshield’s charge impacted the snake-like monster’s leg.

Despite the sheer size difference, momentum meant it fell over with quite the injured bone.

He cast a glance to the pole of metal he’d set down nearby and a plan came to mind.

“Keep them off balance!” He called, rushing over to it and channeling energy. “Force. Momentum. Gather.” The pillar lifted into the air and wobbled as he gathered more and more energy.

Another bolt was launched, an annoyance, as Raelza discarded her crossbow and charged in.

She joined Wreath in distracting the poisoned Lindwurm, keeping away from the creature’s snapping jaws thanks to its inability to properly move. Slashing cuts created more holes, from which green ichor practically flowed like the river they had followed.

As for Saezz, he seemed fine. One disadvantage of being a snake was the lizardfolk was fairly safe clinging to the back of its long neck.

The creature flailed like a bucking sheep, but he held strong. Powerful muscles bulged as he clung to the creature’s neck. His dagger cut deep, but it was a papercut with how large the thing was. Even a dozen stabs failed to do more than piss it off, but blood loss would eventually bring it down no matter how tough.

Unfortunately, it figured out how to get rid of him. The Lindwurm swung its neck towards a tree and a loud crack filled the air as Saezz impacted it. He groaned in pain, grip slacking enough for the creature to jerk its head like a whip and send him flying away.

Beside him, Alyss cursed and slung another grenade. Another sticky pot of goo this time. It slowed the creature, but it proved strong enough to break the bonds within seconds. It had only worked as much against the Pteranodon Patriarch due in part to its lightweight bones. This one outmassed it by at least two times.

The draconic creature charged, forelimbs picking up speed towards them. Alyss frantically spun another bomb, but it was approaching quickly.

Ulgrin let out a curse and ceased chanting. Power had built up. With physics on his side hopefully this would work.

Spinning the end of the pole towards the Lindwurm, he spoke a single word. “Loose.”

A gust of wind filled the air as the force sent the pole rocketing towards the dragon. With his magic and the creature’s own momentum combining he watched in awe as the vaguely spike-shaped pillar punched straight through. Its eyes widened as the monster went somersaulting backwards.

Now pinned by what was effectively a ballista bolt, the Lindwurm flailed in death throes. Ulgrin’s aim had been off, and the strike had merely hit the left side and not where he assumed the heart was. Damn. He’d have to work on that.

Saezz emerged from the brush, a snarl on his lips. He leapt onto the dying creature and climbed up its neck towards the head. Climbing like an ape, he knelt on the creature’s head and used both hands to drive his blade deep into its skull. His strength managed to punch through and it seized up.

Then collapsed.

Suddenly, the other Lindwurm let out a bone-quivering scream of anger that had them all stumbling back. Rage filled the dragon’s heart at their slaying of its mate. It seemed to throw off the poison affecting it and uncoiled to its full height.

The battle wasn’t over yet. Far from it.

Ulgrin and gang are what I would consider somewhere between fifth level and eighth if this was equated to Dungeons and Dragons. They're strong, but definitely not the toughest on the block. Properly conveying that relative strength is difficult, but I've hopefully bridged the gap. Oh, and Saezz is a horrible prestige class that somehow works along with a rare and obscure race from some splatbook. Why the DM allowed this we may never know.

No words for the Lexicon today.