An acrid haze filled the air, the smell of smoke and ash thick in Ithilian's nostrils. It wasn't the first time he'd been to the Bone Pit, nor was it the first time he saw signs of dragon activity here, but the one he had helped slay here before hadn't come close to wreaking this kind of destruction. This was the work of a high dragon, and likely a fair number of her brood. There were enough clawed footprints in the sand to confirm that.
They were gone now, though. What they left behind of the mining operation was nothing more than charred and torn bodies, mostly consumed by the hungry dragonlings, and the wreckage of obliterated equipment, things that couldn't be eaten, though some of the bite marks indicated that they had certainly tried for a little while. It was safe to say that the mining efforts here were going to be shut down for some time. This place was heavy with the deaths of many souls. Ithilian didn't need to be a mage to feel it. It could practically be seen.
"Keep your spacing," he reminded the others. "Don't give her an attractive target." She would return soon enough, he didn't doubt. From the looks of it, she was looking to make this place her lair, to settle here and try to raise her young. That would of course be bad news for the city. The Bone Pit wasn't exactly right outside the walls, but it wasn't far, either. This needed to be dealt with. Ithilian wasn't happy about being convinced to come out and battle a high dragon, but it needed to be done, and the job needed the best.
Almost all of the best had been roped in like him. Ithilian wasn't even sure where the effort began. With Sophia, perhaps, or maybe Ashton. Hubert would have either gone to mercenary help, or the guards, depending on who he trusted and if he was willing to pay. Regardless, the word had spread to both groups, and now a decently large strike team had been assembled to go into the dragon's new lair, and remove the creature for good.
Certainly, the advice to spread out was good, but it would make matters a little more difficult for Nostariel. Even her roughest, most widespread heal spells could only be cast over an area so large, and she knew from experience that there were a lot of ways a dragon could injure people in various positions relative to her. Still, that was why she was wearing, along with her usual armor and arms, a leather bandoleer full of blue mana potions. Given that nobody else in the team was much for healing, she knew she had to be prepared to take on that burden herself. A bit further to the left, Rilien stood in an accustomed position near Lucienās shadow, unruffled as ever. His dark leathers had replaced his usual silks and linens, several more blades than usual sheathed about his person. Not entirely unwarranted, considering the last time theyād done this kind of work, many years prior.
Perhaps out of stupidity or misplaced excitement, Sparrow stood in her allotted position with her top-heavy mace balanced across her now-slender shoulder. Nowadays, it looked out of place. Proper training had enabled her to pick it up again. Good thing, too. She missed it. The weight in her hands, and the momentum she felt swinging it around was bar none. With Aurora's most recent lessons under her belt, she felt as if she could take on anything. A dragon? No problem. Little bone-licking dragonlings scurrying under her big talons, flapping wings, and fiery gullet? Easy as pie. She did not, however, roll her eyes at Ithilian's advice, and promptly distanced herself a little further from the others. She'd also donned Amalia's handcrafted leathers for this occasion. It shifted with her comfortablyāno clanking and no discomfort. Perfect for dragon-slaying; and hopefully, strong enough to keep her from burning to a crisp, or being skewered in half.
While Rilien stood to Lucienās left, a few of the Lions occupied the right. Those who had not already been dispatched for the day, and were therefore able to fight a dragon on short notice. Of course, a few of them were looking a little green around the gills at the prospect, especially Estella, but she seemed placated when he told her that they would be asked to combat the younger ones only, unless things went very, very badly. Cor actually seemed a little disappointed, but Lucien was willing to bet that wouldnāt last very long.
Amalia had come a little better-prepared to this fight than her last one with a dragon, and all of the weapons she carried on her person this time were stout, thick, and sharp, because she stood a better chance of puncturing the creatureās hide than slashing it open. She didnāt make a habit of carrying anything long enough to suffice for the latter. She shifted her weight slightly from one foot to the other, arms crossed over her chest.
Aurora had not come completely unarmed, not against a high dragon. Not only would it had been foolish, but also suicidal. She leaned lightly on her staff and kept herself loose in preparation for the upcoming fight. Her staff was a simple affair, a long, thick wooden rod with a white focusing crystal embedded in the tip. Stretching one more time, she hefted the rod and gave it a spin above her before stopping it as she held it out to the side. It had been a while since she had used her staff, but it wasn't too hard for her to adapt it into her style.
Nearby where Nostariel stood there was Ashton, an arrow already nocked and held at half-draw. On the other side of her was Ashton's sergeant, the woman named Vesper with her shield at the ready and her sword resting on its edge. Behind them, a count of three more guards accompanied them, all patiently waiting for the dragon to make its appearance. "So, I'm calling it now. When we kill her, I'm claiming her head and mounting it. I've already got the perfect spot in mind for it," he said with a chuckle and a wink to Vesper.
"We have to survive first, Lieutenant. Let's do that before you start thinking about any promotions," Vesper replied to the chuckling of the other guardsmen. Of the Guard, he trusted these men and women the most to keep their wits about them and to not shy away from fighting beside apostates. Which wasn't much of a problem, none of them were about to do anything to further the Templars control over their city, much less turn their Lieutenant's apostate friends into them. The trust ran both ways. "Of course, Ves. I plan on it," Ashton added with a grin. Fear was absent in his voice, instead an excitement replaced it as he bounced on his heels, eager to get started.
Sophia wasn't sure if they were hunting, however, or merely offering themselves up as prey. She held a position near Lucien, though she heeded the advice of Ithilian's, keeping a fair distance and preventing any clusters from forming. The last dragon she'd fought hadn't gone cleanly at all, but that was years ago, and she'd only had two allies to help, not the small army here today. The land already looked like a battleground. Soon it would be in truth.
The beast could not hide the sound of her heavy beating wings, though in the center of the Bone Pit, it was difficult to tell which direction she was going to come from, with the way sounds bounced around the cliffsides. Ithilian spotted her approaching from the south, coming over the cliff's edge into view, and immediately called it out, though they had only a few moments to react before she laid down her first blast of fire, an intense blaze being put down right through the middle of the assembled warriors, effectively splitting them in two for the time being.
The high dragon proceeded to swoop around to her left and land before those furthest into the sandy basin at the lowest point of the pit. On the other side of the blaze, a small horde of dragonlings emerged seemingly from the earth itself, coming out of their subterranean domains now that their mother's presence emboldened them.
The Lions were quick at attention, and almost as soon as the younger dragons had begun to emerge, the mercenaries were present, working in tight clusters of two or three, so as to keep their backs covered. All had judged it was better to handle the small ones in melee, save Tessa, whose job it was to act as spotter, finding what little high ground she could and keeping one eye on the large dragon and one on her comrades, ready to direct them to move if anything should markedly change in the flow of events. She also added the occasional arrow to the fray, but in order to avoid drawing any of the dragonlings to her position, she did not fire at full speed.
Lucien, meanwhile, took point. It was, perhaps, a fairly safe assumption that doing so was his job in this situation, and he didnāt mind. Part of him rather relished in the opportunity. Everburn, he slid from its place at his back, the cool metal of the sword slowly heating until it glowed, the enchantment in fine working order thanks to Rilien, the metal tempered strong enough to withstand its repeated use. Though he often wore lighter armor than plate these days, he was presently in as much of it as he could be without sacrificing his ability to move. He knew quite well that fire was not a dragonās only danger. Rilien ran as he had the last time they faced down a dragon, a step behind and slightly to one side of Lucien, quite literally in his shadow. He carried a blade in each hand, the lengths asymmetrical, both trailing frosty air from the metal of which they were made.
Amalia, split off from that half the party by the initial jet of flames, decided to fan to the left and seek to flank. Sheād do best up under the dragon, where the scales were softer, but it would require some ingenuity to get there without the creature noticing.
Nostariel, also cut off from most of the party, chose first to put out the flames, too late to make waiting more convenient for Amalia, but perhaps valuable to those who wished to see the other side of the battlefield. She would be best off closer to the back ranks anyway. When the flames had been extinguished, she drew Oathkeeper from her back and nocked an arrow to the string, treading forward considerably more carefully than most of the others. She would need to keep an eye on as much as possible, and in that sense, her role was not so different from Tessaās.
Sparrow shrugged her shoulders one more time, and luckily, hadn't been in the direct line of dragon-fire spewed in the middle of the Lions assembled there. It appeared as if no one had been injured, but it was difficult to tell with all the ash and dust flying around them in fat plumes. She squinted at the glinting creature flapping around them. Its wings were damned loud enough to drown out the clanging of metal and shrieks of those dragonlings, but her heart was pounding the loudest. Pure energyāpure excitement bugling through her veins. This was much different then their encounter in the Deep Roads. Betrayal had dampened her spirits, but this, this was a mighty hunt, and she needed to stretch out her muscles. It felt much like waking up.
She, too, struck out on her own, glancing over at Rilien and Lucien dashing forward from her peripherals. She approached around the Lions as a brisk jog while dragging her mace through the dusty terrain, occasionally skittering skulls and bones in its wake, while focusing magic through her upper arms, forearms and fingertips. She focused it straight through the haft of her blunted weapon and into its flanged head. Become one. Strengthen her arms. Surround herself with the Fade's heaviness, until she felt like bursting. Digging her heel into the ground, Sparrow drew back her mace with a grunt, tensed her arms, and slammed the mace across one of the dragonlings gaping gullet. It snapped back with spittle flying, allowing the Lions to pounce.
She did not wait. Instead, she lurched forward again, dragging the mace, spattered and all, behind her. What would it feel like, crushing it against this dragon?
Wordlessly Ashton issued a series of hand gestures for Vesper and the rest of the guard he'd brought. In turn, Vesper replied with one of her own and took the others, and made their way as a group to the Dragonlings in order to aid the Lions. Before they got too far, Ashton called for his sergeant to wait for a moment, "Ves." He held her gaze for a moment before glancing toward Nostariel. Vesper followed his gaze and nodded her acknowledgement before leading the men across the field. "Right," Ashton muttered to himself, moving forward to the High Dragon ahead.
Initially cut off from the rest of the battlefield, Aurora aided Nostariel in snuffing out the flames separating them. Once the path between the sides of the field was open, Aurora tentatively approached the dragon and stopped once she reached a comfortable distance. Unlike her other friends, this was her first dragon, and she wasn't aware of just how big they could get. However, she'd seen Amalia peel off at first to approach the dragon from the flank, and she intended to make sure that she got there in one piece. Swinging her staff in a wide arc, she focused her energy into the crystal at the tip, and into the second arc she flung a heavy stonefist directly at the dragon's maw.
Not too far behind the stonefist, an arrow followed. Ashton pulled beside her, though still a distance away to avoid clustering. He drew another arrow and sent it down field seeking the same effect that Aurora was, though instead of Amalia, he was looking to cover Lucien and Rilien's approach. He tilted his head and nodded at Aurora before going searching for his next arrow.
Sophia had maintained a position somewhat close to Lucien, but the dragonās initial flyover had put a large wall of fire between them before turning to land on his side, leaving her to be beset by an encroaching horde of dragonlings, very similar to the kind sheād fought here years ago. While Nostariel was working on removing the flames, Sophia moved to guard her back, cutting down one smaller dragonling with a clean slice down into the neck. Soon she was able to maneuver closer to the Lions, holding her position with them and cutting down the scaled beasts as they came.
āBehind you, Sparrow!ā she called out, pointing out the dragonling trying to chase down the half-elf from the rear.
Ithilian meanwhile climbed swiftly up to a spot of high ground, a flat rocky plateau overlooking the sandy basin below. Tessa had already arrived there by the time he took up his position, taking out his longbow and crouching down, adding powerful long range shots to their arsenal against the dragon. Unlike the other archer up here, or Ashton below, Ithilian had nothing to worry about other than placing the correct shots.
The high dragon was none too happy with the reception she had received, and wisely refused to remain in place, shrugging off the initial attacks. The stonefist from Aurora however served to get her attention, and when the dragon took off briefly to reposition, her blast of fire was directed at the mage responsible.
They were gone now, though. What they left behind of the mining operation was nothing more than charred and torn bodies, mostly consumed by the hungry dragonlings, and the wreckage of obliterated equipment, things that couldn't be eaten, though some of the bite marks indicated that they had certainly tried for a little while. It was safe to say that the mining efforts here were going to be shut down for some time. This place was heavy with the deaths of many souls. Ithilian didn't need to be a mage to feel it. It could practically be seen.
"Keep your spacing," he reminded the others. "Don't give her an attractive target." She would return soon enough, he didn't doubt. From the looks of it, she was looking to make this place her lair, to settle here and try to raise her young. That would of course be bad news for the city. The Bone Pit wasn't exactly right outside the walls, but it wasn't far, either. This needed to be dealt with. Ithilian wasn't happy about being convinced to come out and battle a high dragon, but it needed to be done, and the job needed the best.
Almost all of the best had been roped in like him. Ithilian wasn't even sure where the effort began. With Sophia, perhaps, or maybe Ashton. Hubert would have either gone to mercenary help, or the guards, depending on who he trusted and if he was willing to pay. Regardless, the word had spread to both groups, and now a decently large strike team had been assembled to go into the dragon's new lair, and remove the creature for good.
Certainly, the advice to spread out was good, but it would make matters a little more difficult for Nostariel. Even her roughest, most widespread heal spells could only be cast over an area so large, and she knew from experience that there were a lot of ways a dragon could injure people in various positions relative to her. Still, that was why she was wearing, along with her usual armor and arms, a leather bandoleer full of blue mana potions. Given that nobody else in the team was much for healing, she knew she had to be prepared to take on that burden herself. A bit further to the left, Rilien stood in an accustomed position near Lucienās shadow, unruffled as ever. His dark leathers had replaced his usual silks and linens, several more blades than usual sheathed about his person. Not entirely unwarranted, considering the last time theyād done this kind of work, many years prior.
Perhaps out of stupidity or misplaced excitement, Sparrow stood in her allotted position with her top-heavy mace balanced across her now-slender shoulder. Nowadays, it looked out of place. Proper training had enabled her to pick it up again. Good thing, too. She missed it. The weight in her hands, and the momentum she felt swinging it around was bar none. With Aurora's most recent lessons under her belt, she felt as if she could take on anything. A dragon? No problem. Little bone-licking dragonlings scurrying under her big talons, flapping wings, and fiery gullet? Easy as pie. She did not, however, roll her eyes at Ithilian's advice, and promptly distanced herself a little further from the others. She'd also donned Amalia's handcrafted leathers for this occasion. It shifted with her comfortablyāno clanking and no discomfort. Perfect for dragon-slaying; and hopefully, strong enough to keep her from burning to a crisp, or being skewered in half.
While Rilien stood to Lucienās left, a few of the Lions occupied the right. Those who had not already been dispatched for the day, and were therefore able to fight a dragon on short notice. Of course, a few of them were looking a little green around the gills at the prospect, especially Estella, but she seemed placated when he told her that they would be asked to combat the younger ones only, unless things went very, very badly. Cor actually seemed a little disappointed, but Lucien was willing to bet that wouldnāt last very long.
Amalia had come a little better-prepared to this fight than her last one with a dragon, and all of the weapons she carried on her person this time were stout, thick, and sharp, because she stood a better chance of puncturing the creatureās hide than slashing it open. She didnāt make a habit of carrying anything long enough to suffice for the latter. She shifted her weight slightly from one foot to the other, arms crossed over her chest.
Aurora had not come completely unarmed, not against a high dragon. Not only would it had been foolish, but also suicidal. She leaned lightly on her staff and kept herself loose in preparation for the upcoming fight. Her staff was a simple affair, a long, thick wooden rod with a white focusing crystal embedded in the tip. Stretching one more time, she hefted the rod and gave it a spin above her before stopping it as she held it out to the side. It had been a while since she had used her staff, but it wasn't too hard for her to adapt it into her style.
Nearby where Nostariel stood there was Ashton, an arrow already nocked and held at half-draw. On the other side of her was Ashton's sergeant, the woman named Vesper with her shield at the ready and her sword resting on its edge. Behind them, a count of three more guards accompanied them, all patiently waiting for the dragon to make its appearance. "So, I'm calling it now. When we kill her, I'm claiming her head and mounting it. I've already got the perfect spot in mind for it," he said with a chuckle and a wink to Vesper.
"We have to survive first, Lieutenant. Let's do that before you start thinking about any promotions," Vesper replied to the chuckling of the other guardsmen. Of the Guard, he trusted these men and women the most to keep their wits about them and to not shy away from fighting beside apostates. Which wasn't much of a problem, none of them were about to do anything to further the Templars control over their city, much less turn their Lieutenant's apostate friends into them. The trust ran both ways. "Of course, Ves. I plan on it," Ashton added with a grin. Fear was absent in his voice, instead an excitement replaced it as he bounced on his heels, eager to get started.
Sophia wasn't sure if they were hunting, however, or merely offering themselves up as prey. She held a position near Lucien, though she heeded the advice of Ithilian's, keeping a fair distance and preventing any clusters from forming. The last dragon she'd fought hadn't gone cleanly at all, but that was years ago, and she'd only had two allies to help, not the small army here today. The land already looked like a battleground. Soon it would be in truth.
The beast could not hide the sound of her heavy beating wings, though in the center of the Bone Pit, it was difficult to tell which direction she was going to come from, with the way sounds bounced around the cliffsides. Ithilian spotted her approaching from the south, coming over the cliff's edge into view, and immediately called it out, though they had only a few moments to react before she laid down her first blast of fire, an intense blaze being put down right through the middle of the assembled warriors, effectively splitting them in two for the time being.
The high dragon proceeded to swoop around to her left and land before those furthest into the sandy basin at the lowest point of the pit. On the other side of the blaze, a small horde of dragonlings emerged seemingly from the earth itself, coming out of their subterranean domains now that their mother's presence emboldened them.
The Lions were quick at attention, and almost as soon as the younger dragons had begun to emerge, the mercenaries were present, working in tight clusters of two or three, so as to keep their backs covered. All had judged it was better to handle the small ones in melee, save Tessa, whose job it was to act as spotter, finding what little high ground she could and keeping one eye on the large dragon and one on her comrades, ready to direct them to move if anything should markedly change in the flow of events. She also added the occasional arrow to the fray, but in order to avoid drawing any of the dragonlings to her position, she did not fire at full speed.
Lucien, meanwhile, took point. It was, perhaps, a fairly safe assumption that doing so was his job in this situation, and he didnāt mind. Part of him rather relished in the opportunity. Everburn, he slid from its place at his back, the cool metal of the sword slowly heating until it glowed, the enchantment in fine working order thanks to Rilien, the metal tempered strong enough to withstand its repeated use. Though he often wore lighter armor than plate these days, he was presently in as much of it as he could be without sacrificing his ability to move. He knew quite well that fire was not a dragonās only danger. Rilien ran as he had the last time they faced down a dragon, a step behind and slightly to one side of Lucien, quite literally in his shadow. He carried a blade in each hand, the lengths asymmetrical, both trailing frosty air from the metal of which they were made.
Amalia, split off from that half the party by the initial jet of flames, decided to fan to the left and seek to flank. Sheād do best up under the dragon, where the scales were softer, but it would require some ingenuity to get there without the creature noticing.
Nostariel, also cut off from most of the party, chose first to put out the flames, too late to make waiting more convenient for Amalia, but perhaps valuable to those who wished to see the other side of the battlefield. She would be best off closer to the back ranks anyway. When the flames had been extinguished, she drew Oathkeeper from her back and nocked an arrow to the string, treading forward considerably more carefully than most of the others. She would need to keep an eye on as much as possible, and in that sense, her role was not so different from Tessaās.
Sparrow shrugged her shoulders one more time, and luckily, hadn't been in the direct line of dragon-fire spewed in the middle of the Lions assembled there. It appeared as if no one had been injured, but it was difficult to tell with all the ash and dust flying around them in fat plumes. She squinted at the glinting creature flapping around them. Its wings were damned loud enough to drown out the clanging of metal and shrieks of those dragonlings, but her heart was pounding the loudest. Pure energyāpure excitement bugling through her veins. This was much different then their encounter in the Deep Roads. Betrayal had dampened her spirits, but this, this was a mighty hunt, and she needed to stretch out her muscles. It felt much like waking up.
She, too, struck out on her own, glancing over at Rilien and Lucien dashing forward from her peripherals. She approached around the Lions as a brisk jog while dragging her mace through the dusty terrain, occasionally skittering skulls and bones in its wake, while focusing magic through her upper arms, forearms and fingertips. She focused it straight through the haft of her blunted weapon and into its flanged head. Become one. Strengthen her arms. Surround herself with the Fade's heaviness, until she felt like bursting. Digging her heel into the ground, Sparrow drew back her mace with a grunt, tensed her arms, and slammed the mace across one of the dragonlings gaping gullet. It snapped back with spittle flying, allowing the Lions to pounce.
She did not wait. Instead, she lurched forward again, dragging the mace, spattered and all, behind her. What would it feel like, crushing it against this dragon?
Wordlessly Ashton issued a series of hand gestures for Vesper and the rest of the guard he'd brought. In turn, Vesper replied with one of her own and took the others, and made their way as a group to the Dragonlings in order to aid the Lions. Before they got too far, Ashton called for his sergeant to wait for a moment, "Ves." He held her gaze for a moment before glancing toward Nostariel. Vesper followed his gaze and nodded her acknowledgement before leading the men across the field. "Right," Ashton muttered to himself, moving forward to the High Dragon ahead.
Initially cut off from the rest of the battlefield, Aurora aided Nostariel in snuffing out the flames separating them. Once the path between the sides of the field was open, Aurora tentatively approached the dragon and stopped once she reached a comfortable distance. Unlike her other friends, this was her first dragon, and she wasn't aware of just how big they could get. However, she'd seen Amalia peel off at first to approach the dragon from the flank, and she intended to make sure that she got there in one piece. Swinging her staff in a wide arc, she focused her energy into the crystal at the tip, and into the second arc she flung a heavy stonefist directly at the dragon's maw.
Not too far behind the stonefist, an arrow followed. Ashton pulled beside her, though still a distance away to avoid clustering. He drew another arrow and sent it down field seeking the same effect that Aurora was, though instead of Amalia, he was looking to cover Lucien and Rilien's approach. He tilted his head and nodded at Aurora before going searching for his next arrow.
Sophia had maintained a position somewhat close to Lucien, but the dragonās initial flyover had put a large wall of fire between them before turning to land on his side, leaving her to be beset by an encroaching horde of dragonlings, very similar to the kind sheād fought here years ago. While Nostariel was working on removing the flames, Sophia moved to guard her back, cutting down one smaller dragonling with a clean slice down into the neck. Soon she was able to maneuver closer to the Lions, holding her position with them and cutting down the scaled beasts as they came.
āBehind you, Sparrow!ā she called out, pointing out the dragonling trying to chase down the half-elf from the rear.
Ithilian meanwhile climbed swiftly up to a spot of high ground, a flat rocky plateau overlooking the sandy basin below. Tessa had already arrived there by the time he took up his position, taking out his longbow and crouching down, adding powerful long range shots to their arsenal against the dragon. Unlike the other archer up here, or Ashton below, Ithilian had nothing to worry about other than placing the correct shots.
The high dragon was none too happy with the reception she had received, and wisely refused to remain in place, shrugging off the initial attacks. The stonefist from Aurora however served to get her attention, and when the dragon took off briefly to reposition, her blast of fire was directed at the mage responsible.