The southern outskirts were less dangerous than the swamp to the north. Instead of a thick bog filled with venomous creatures, the ground was rockier as they neared the shore, and the vegetation and scenery were less imposing. Still, Esther wished they had Snowy with them. This land wasn’t likely to contain snakes, salamanders, or crocodiles, but trolls, orcs, and stone giants could be equally deadly.
Gromphy found the hike challenging, and Esther suggested several times that he should summon Adam to give him a ride, but the goblin refused. They had climbed several hundred feet in elevation along a winding path before they spotted the first sign of drakes. They soared fifty feet above on the air currents flowing off the nearby ocean and accelerating through the rocky peaks. They weren’t carrion feeders but hunters looking for prey to burn. Esther felt safe, as she was about the same size as the flying firebreathers, but Gromphy would make a good meal.
Esther held Chill, her frost-enchanted rapier, in her right hand and summoned the shield from her bracelet on her left. It granted protection up to dragon fire. Gromphy had assured her that drakes only spewed normal fire, so she would be protected as long as she Raised the shield in defense.
It was hard to tell them apart, but Esther was pretty sure she saw two different creatures sailing about above them, often disappearing behind cliffs and stony peaks. Now she wished Psycho was with them. “How are we supposed to catch one of those?” she asked her companion. “I can’t exactly fly.”
Esther’s hand went to her gem pouch as the line left her lips. Inside was the undead stone she had helped Jace liberate from the lich’s tomb. With it, she could turn into a demonic creature with black leathery wings. A chill crept over her as the temptation to use the powerful object took hold, but as the pair rounded an outcropping and the morning sun hit her in the face, the chill left her, and her hand moved away from the pouch and stayed ready with her shield.
She had given the stone to Jace but then stole it back for herself shortly after. She hadn’t used it since but knew she needed to have it. But the morning sun burned brightly on these mountain trails, and she wouldn’t last long as a demon in the light. Flying wasn’t an option.
“Or yonder,” Gromphy pointed. He had also been watching the drakes, though he was interested in more than just counting how many there were. “They nary venture far from that peak.”
Esther looked to the south and saw the rise in question. Once her wise companion pointed it out, she saw it too. The drakes appeared to be wandering aimlessly over the jagged landscape, riding the wind, but they never got further than a few thousand feet from that peak.
“The nest?” Esther asked. Gromphy nodded. “So, is it like a bird’s nest? A bunch of young drakes waiting for mom to return with breakfast?”
Gromphy shook his head. “No mother. Eggs are laid, then soon abandoned. Youths hatch, hunt, and survive. They protect each other.”
“So they won’t like it when we take one of them,” Esther reasoned. Gromphy didn’t need to add his affirmation. Esther also knew she would be the one doing the taking. “I don’t have a plan. Do you?”
Gromphy went into his inventory and returned with his magical trunk. The extra-dimensional device had room to store a multitude of items, and after rummaging through it for a while, the goblin found three small statues. They looked like children's toys made to represent some four-legged animal. Gromphy placed them on the ground, infused them with magic, and soon three full-sized mountain goats stomped their hooves on the stone. Esther banged her rapier on her shield a few times to frighten them, and the goats scampered off into the rocky terrain.
The sound of the animals echoing through the crags and cliffs caught the drakes’ attention, and the two flying creatures swooped into view and began tracking the animals. One of the drakes cried out into the wind, and Esther saw the head of a third emerge from the nest and begin its pursuit.
“Clever,” Esther said. “But are there any left in the nest?”
“A brood of youths is usually four or five,” Gromphy informed her.
“Then we better get up there before breakfast is over.”
Esther began the ascent easily, leaping several feet at a time and running up steep inclines. She sheathed her sword but kept her shield available, using her free hand to grab handholds and maneuver through tight spaces. Gromphy couldn’t keep the same pace, but he was a goblin, and rocky mountainsides were his natural habitat. Esther was pretty sure she saw him sneak a few potions to aid him, but she didn’t say anything.
She was at the peak first, approaching from the back side of the cave. Soon she reached the drop-off and looked below. About eight feet down, a narrow ledge lay before an opening leading back underneath her. She strained to hear sounds from the cave, but all she could detect was the bleating of goats as the drakes found success in the hunt. Soon they would bring the kills back to the cave to share with their siblings, and Esther did not want to be there. Sneaking into the cave was the best option, but she was in direct sunlight, and hiding in the shadows wouldn’t work. She would have to drop down and take her chances.
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Glancing over her shoulder, Esther saw Gromphy was still a few moments away and didn’t want to wait for him. It would be best if the drakes were focused on her anyway. She pulled her frost rapier again and dropped down so she landed facing the cave’s interior. Two hungry drakes stared back at her from six feet away. The rogue took them by surprise, so she got to act first. She tugged on her hat’s brim, creating a stationary cylinder of darkness, which allowed her to Shadow Step deep into the recesses of the cave behind the drakes.
The two creatures were surprised to see the human disappear in broad daylight and drenched her position in fire. As Esther attacked from behind them, she was glad she hadn’t waited for Gromphy. If the goblin had dropped down after her, he would have been burnt to a crisp. Now she struck from the shadows and used Chill to deal multiple criticals to one of the creatures. Gromphy had told her they only needed one, and she had no choice but to kill the other.
The wounded drake cried in pain as the blade's cold magic burned into its soul. The single strike was more than half the animal’s HP, but its magical nature gave it too many bonuses to its Death Save to fall unconscious. The sibling turned about at the cry and made another fire attack on Esther’s new location. She Raised her shield, and the fire raced past her like water around a rock. Raising her shield meant she only got one attack that round, and the wounded drake retaliated by swiping its tail at her. Esther couldn’t Raise her shield and Dodge simultaneously and was tripped to the ground.
Now both creatures turned fully to attack her. Esther fought them off, taking a bite to the leg but scoring another hit on the nearly dead drake. They pushed her back into the cave, where the cavern opened up, allowing the drakes to spread apart. Esther tried to keep the pressure on the injured one, but soon the floor had dropped far enough to allow the animals to flap their wings.
They hovered over her, spread at an angle of over 90 degrees from each other. If they spewed fire now, she would be flanked and unable to block both. She Raised her shield toward the healthy drake, hoping the weaker one would have some penalty to his fire attack. He did, but it had nothing to do with his damage.
The one on Esther’s right opened up with a tremendous stream of flames, and her shield protected her. When the other tried to bring in air to make a similar strike, it swallowed a bomb. Esther glanced down toward the cave's opening and saw Gromphy had made his way inside and was holding a second device, frosty air flowing over its sides. He wouldn’t need it. The first bomb exploded in the drake’s mouth, and the creature was finished. It crashed to the ground with a bluish tint to its scaly skin.
The remaining creature cried out in grief and swooped down. It realized the human female was impervious to its fire, but the goblin would make a better meal anyway. Esther sheathed her sword, dismissed her shield, and raced toward the goblin too. Gromphy turned to throw his second bomb at the diving drake but missed and didn’t have the Dodge skill to avoid the attack. Esther reached him simultaneously, and all three individuals tumbled about on the ground for a few seconds before the combat resolved itself.
Gromphy rolled away, hurt but not dying. He looked back at the tangle of limbs and wings behind him and saw Esther Grapple her way onto the creature’s back. The drake was strong, and she needed to pin it to the ground to get a Secure Grapple, but once she did, she bent over and bit its neck. After sucking one level, Esther tossed her head back and screamed. Smoke escaped her lips.
“It's like drinking lava!” she cried. “It burns.”
“Be not an infant,” Gromphy scolded. “It must be done.”
“You drink it,” she retorted, trying to catch her breath. Since she let up, the drake flopped around beneath her, and she struggled to get it under control. It was slightly easier than last time since it was a level weaker.
“I shall restore thee,” Gromphy promised, holding up one of his ubiquitous healing potions. “Now drink. Its siblings shall return forthrightly.”
“Soon,” Esther muttered, adjusting her grip on the drake. “They will return ‘soon’ is all he had to say.” She sighed and bit back down. She took two levels this time before coming back up for air. The pain was intense, and she remembered how fire had burned her when using the undead stone. This felt like that now, with the heat invading her very soul. She knew she was in no danger of dying. The damage the blood did to her was undone as she absorbed the drake’s life as health, but it felt like she was about to burst into flames.
As the drake became weaker, the power of its blood and life essence waned, and in the end, Esther took the last five levels at once. Now the creature was at level one and the size of a small dog. It looked around curiously, unaware of what had just happened to it. Like the other drake she had attacked, getting it below half its levels didn’t send it into a death spiral. Regardless, Gromphy ran up to the creature after Esther released it, gasping and clutching her stomach. The healing potion he had advertised to his companion now went down the gullet of the drake.
Esther sat up, breathing slowly and trying to rid herself of the flame that still burned within her. She had absorbed the last few levels as mana but didn’t have the concentration necessary to cast a spell, so the excess washed off her into the ether. She watched as the goblin attached a leash to the animal, cast a sleep spell, and then stored it in his chest. Soon the trunk was back in his inventory, and he looked expectantly at Esther.
“Give me a moment,” she said, still trying to catch her breath.
“Tis all we have,” he argued. “The others will return . . .”
“Forthrightly,” Esther interrupted. “I know.” She struggled to rise and leaned against a wall as her head swam. She wanted to argue with the goblin more but knew he was right. After another few seconds of recovery, they moved out of the cave and down the peak.
The three drakes returned a few minutes later and mourned over the death of their sibling, but not for too long. Now they had three goats to eat and didn’t have to share them.