Hello, Everyone!
Last time, our heroes finished their Zone of Truth chat with a Bang! – Mary discovered that Reina was spying on them and had Aurum confront her. That resulted with the group no longer being welcome to the Lavore Residence, and so they started thinking about the next step in their mission. They tried to scry on Racox (a.k.a. the Dry Hand) who was--allegedly--on his way to summon the White Queen, but the scrying turned out unsuccessful.
And so, the group decided to head to Pamagos – Racox' last known location.
The teleportation circle took them directly to the barracks in Pamagos. There were two guards there who jumped in alarm upon seeing them emerge from the portal. They pointed their weapons at the group and started asking questions, but Aurum, Bruno and Mary showed them their ‘Agents of Pamagos’ documents and that seemingly alleviated their uneasiness.
“We need to see Dynatos before moving forward,” Bruno said. “Explain what’d happened in the Swamp of Agony, tell him about Tesaya’s lies and the dragon’s release.”
The protests on No. 1 Freedom Street were still ongoing, so it turned out that Dynatos Perres was no longer working from his office. Instead, he was leading the country from his home.
It was very early in the morning when the group emerged from the barracks, as suggested by the long shadows of the surrounding buildings and the lack of people in the streets. They’d last been in Pamagos only four days ago, but the atmosphere in the city was very different now. Mr. Perres’ people had been busy. ‘Wanted’ posters and flyers were hanging on multiple walls. Mary recognized the crude sketches of Kalien, Racox and Nurvureem, as well as Jared and his goons. The flyers, fluttering on the wind and pinned to the buildings, were warning of false religions that were aiming to take advantage of the ordinary people. The streets towards Mr. Perres’ home were mostly deserted, but Mary wasn’t sure if it was because of the early hour, or if there was something more ominous in play.
Turning another corner, the four of them were startled by a loud horn sounding from behind. Mary grabbed her wand and held it tight. She saw, at the corner of her eye, Aurum brace up. Bruno, hammer at the ready, went back to check the source of the sound, and Agatha’s eyes scanned the top of the nearby buildings.
“Heads up!” she said, “There’s an awfully big shadow over at that wall!”
They didn’t have to wait long for the reveal. Only a few moments later, a monstrous head rose on the nearby roof, two black horns curving at its sides. Mary’s breath stuck in her throat, realizing who that was.
With acid dripping from her jaws and eyes full of malice, Nurvureem towered above them.
“You’ve chosen an awful time to come see us,” Aurum said.
“ON THE CONTRARY,” the dragon spoke, making Mary’s heart scream in horror. “IT’S THE PERFECT TIME FOR BREAKFAST.”
She grinned widely and leaned down, claws crumpling the roof tiles under their weight. Then, she pushed back from the roof and leaped to the ground. The few early passersby screamed and bolted in all directions.
Mary looked at Aurum. Couldn't he talk their way out of this situation, like before?
But the bard had taken a fighting stance, his hands glowing with lightning. This time, it wasn’t just an accidental meeting. Nurvureem had come to kill them.
They had to fight.
The light from Bruno’s Holy symbol spilled into the street. A shining spiritual hammer appeared next to Nurvureem and smashed at her, but it barely made a scratch. Aurum released his lightning in her face but she waved it off with a chuckle.
She was looking straight at Mary.
And Mary stood in stupor, seeing her doom in the dragon's eyes. Her thoughts were circling, repeating, scrambling inside of her head. Suddenly, she felt herself picked up and carried, and she realized that Agatha was taking her away from the dragon.
"It's not the time to freeze, Mary," the tabaxi huffed as she let go of her. "Light her up!"
Nurvureem stood up on her hind legs, twenty feet above their heads, and thrust her sword into the ground. It sank deep into the cobblestone, scattering debris all around.
"IMVAERNARHRO!" the dragon shouted, and the ground between Mary and Agatha opened up into a pit. Lava erupted from it and splashed on the street. An old woman who hadn't been quick enough to evacuate, screamed in pain and toppled on the ground.
Mary made a step towards her, trying to remember how to stabilize someone and keep them alive.
"Mary!" Agatha screamed. "Leave her!"
"But she'll die!" Mary cried in reply.
"If you don't concentrate, we'll ALL die!"
She was right. Mary gave the old lady one final look and cast Mirror Image on herself. Her illusory duplicates appeared and made it hard to determine who the real Mary was.
But Nurvureem was quick. Quicker than they'd expected. She swung with her tail and smashed onto Bruno, sending him flying into the closest wall. Then, looking straight at Mary with her hungry green eyes, the dragon threw her head back, opened her mouth and shot out a torrent of acid.
There was no time to jump out of the way. The acid splashed on Mary and Agatha, burning through their clothes and melting their skin. The pain was so unexpected and so intense, that Mary almost fell unconscious.
Almost.
She screamed, but along with the pain and fear, there was fury in her voice. An inferno exploded from her hands, sending a powerful blast back at Nurvureem's face. The dragon thundered a step back. Mary almost fell back from the fiery wave herself.
Somewhere in her periphery, a crossbow bolt clattered on Bruno's armour. Kalien had joined his Mistress from the rooftops. With them both in the mix, this fight was beginning to seem really unwinnable.
"Hey, group!" Agatha called out from somewhere behind Nurvureem's legs. "Mundus says he can get us out of here! Just get to me and hold tight!"
A weird sound--like scissors slicing a sheet of metal--filled the air, and when the dragon moved aside, it revealed the tabaxi standing up, sticking her wooden dagger into what looked like a crack in the fabric of reality.
The dragon roared. With one beat of her webbed wings, she flew in, right next to Mary. She swung with her tail, hit a Mirror Image, then growled.
"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE HERE, WRITER!" she said. "FERNUS!"
Her sword burst in flame, bringing heat into Mary's face. She winced, expecting the blow, but it got cut short by Bruno’s Guiding Bolt and Aurum’s Lightning. The dwarf and the bard sent out shots at the dragon and sprinted towards Agatha and Mary.
"You've got this, Mary!" Aurum called out, making her heart leap.
Nurvureem brought her sword down on top of Mary, but she managed to scramble out of the way at the last moment. Her feet were buckling under her weight but she managed to take a few steps towards Agatha.
But then, a new pit of lava opened, right where Mary’s feet were. The flaming liquid splashed her, and the new shock and the pain were enough to make her whimper. Mary fell in, and the heat emanating from the lava enveloped her whole being.
She was done for.
But then she wasn’t. The light from Bruno’s Holy symbol filled her body with healing magic, and she gasped, scrambling back from the lava pit.
She looked at Agatha. The crack around her wooden blade was widening, and the tabaxi was waving for the others to come to her. Mary knew she had to run, too… but at the same time she felt anger overtake her.
It couldn’t end up this way! Nurvureem shouldn’t be left unscaved! Mary was scared, but she wasn’t helpless. She had power.
She could hurt the monster.
She pointed at the dragon and felt necrotic energy burst out of her wand. It hit the side of Nurvureem's face, sucking it out, crumpling it, draining it of all vitality.
Nurvureem gave out a horrifying shriek.
She leaped towards Mary and thrust her sword into her. The second of the Mirror duplicates got impaled and screamed before shattering. The dragon swung again, and again.
And she finally hit. Mary felt the burning blade enter her body with the awful feeling that this was the end. She toppled to the ground, taking one last ragged breath, and the last thing she saw before she lost consciousness, was the dragon's mouth stretch into a lopsided grin.
Poor Mary. She just can’t get a break! Nurvureem has been in her nightmares ever since they met for the first time, and now it seems that it is finally over.
What do you think? Will she die?
Only one way to find out! See you next time!
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide, the Glossaries (Part 1 and Part 2)
and the Map for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: Mary Windfiddle's story is my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum, Bruno and Agatha) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.