It is now March 3rd...and Darian has finished his training. All of you are healed up and ready for action.
Darian flexing his muscles after all that training says, "Are we ready to go do some more exploring?"
"About time!", says Lore, miserable and shivering from the cold.
"Sure am!" Gilstrock says enthusiastically. "Let's go! Only, first, one of you Clerics should get that cursed sword off of Jesse."
Jesse smiles slightly and responds, "Well... Ummm... Salaam has already helped me with that..."
"Now, how do we get to the dungeon?" asks Valdar, looking at all the snow. The brutal winter has continued unabated. There is almost 6' of snow on the ground, now, with drifts in places to more than twice that depth. "We never used to get winters like this...
"Salaam, can we borrow your portable hole again?"
With a wide grin on his face, Salaam nods his head in the affirmative...and takes out his hole.
You all climb in but Valdar, who folds the hole up and then casts teleport.
A moment later he opens the hole again, and you climb out...to find yourselves in the passage just inside the double doors which are the entrance to this area. They are closed.
Darian looks around trying to remember where they have been. "Hey, did anyone update the map? I'm kind of lost..."
"If you guys don't like my mapping," says Orlon, "Stiff could always take over the job. I hear that the Wizard has a map making business on the side."
While you are standing about, the double doors behind you suddenly burst open, and you find yourselves staring at a pair of hoary old white dragons.
Occa and Valdar are the only ones not surprised.
The elf spins about and unloads a magic missile spell as Occa does...
Valdar's magic missiles hit a dragon as they both breathe on you simultaneously.
Darian, realizing that he can't do much in this situation, puts his shield in front of him and tries to hide behind it.
Arrrgh! hits the deck and misses the brunt of both attacks...taking only 48 hit points in total.
Orlon avoids the worst of both attacks and takes 32 hit points of damage.
Occa also dodges the worst of both attacks, but still takes 48 hit points and drops.
Lore, Pharian, Jesse and Darian are frozen solid and killed.
Gonzo takes 48 hit points of damage in total...as do Salaam and Valdar.
Gilstrock takes a direct hit from one blast but is not quite in the full path of the second...72 hit points of damage.
Salaam spins his hammer and throws it at the head of the nearest dragon, conking it but not killing it.
Valdar unloads a second magic missile into the same dragon...blowing its head off before it can breathe.
However, that does not stop the remaining dragon from letting loose again...
Valdar dodges again, and only takes 24 hit points.
Salaam, busy catching his hammer, takes a direct hit and is killed.
Gilstrock takes 24 hit points of damage and falls...
Arrrgh! takes another 24 hit points and still he stands.
Orlon takes a further 16 hit points...
Occa is killed.
Gonzo also takes another 24 hit points and still stands.
The only person not surprised is *still* Valdar, as he unloads another missile spell into the last dragon...hurting it somewhat but not enough to stop it from breathing a third time...
Valdar again dodges the worst of the attack and takes another 24 hit points of damage.
Arrrgh! and Gilstrock are killed, though, while Orlon and Gonzo fall unconscious...
When Orlon and Gonzo finally come to, you find yourselves lying prone on the floor of the passage, which is littered with bodies. The two white dragons are also lying there, quite dead.
Valdar is standing by, looking pale and shaken.
"It looks like Arrrgh!, Lore, Darian, Occa and Salaam and Gilstrock bit it," he says, seeing that you are conscious. "Jesse and Pharian have their rings of regeneration, so they will be alright.
"What do you want to do? I don't think we should stick around here..."
Orlon tells Valdar "I think we better get that portable hole that Occa carries, put everyone in it, then teleport back to basecamp to heal up."
Valdar nods and gets the hole from Salaam's corpse. He opens it up, tosses the corpses in, followed by the rest of you, closes it again, and casts teleport.
When he opens it again, you are back at base camp.
Not long after Valdar teleports the party out, the stay-at-homes in base camp are surprised to see the elf return. He looks to be in rough shape.
Opening Salaam's portable hole, Orlon and Gonzo crawl out. They are badly injured.
Next, Valdar gets Pharian and Jesse out. While unconscious, their rings of regeneration are helping them along.
Finally, he pulls out the corpses of Arrrgh!, Occa, Lore, Darian, Salaam and Gilstrock.
Jesse will continue to slowly revive. "Orlon, Valdar.. what happened? Where is everyone?" When she sees the rest of the bodies, the bard will begin to cry... sobbing in the snow... oblivious to what else may be happening.
"We were surprised by a pair of dragons," the elf explains, before turning to Stiff.
"Could you wish the dead people back to life...or should I go to Sandas for that?"
"Cut it out, Jesse," says Pharian, unsurprisingly, when Jesse starts to cry.
Jesse looks at Pharian. "What... what is your problem? Why do you attack me so? Is not a person allowed to grieve for fallen comrades... For friends... If you do not wish to grive, do not, but leave me alone."
The bard walks away and begins to strum a mournful dirge on her lute.
Stiff sees the situation.
"What the? I'm glad I was'nt there to be frozen as well. So lets see, I even have that spell memorized, so this should be fast. I wish Arrrgh!, Occa, Lore, Darian, Salaam and Gilstrock were alive and well".
The drums roll, the heavenly chiors sing, and the dead bodies become alive again.
"Thankyou, Stiff!" says Valdar, doing his best Ed Sullivan imitation.
Pharian shrugs at Jesse. "Well, as you see, they're fine now, so all the tears seem rather melodramatic."
Occa awakens and says, "Thanks Stiff...I appreciate that!"
Gilstrock sits up. "What the..." he says. "Dammit, bloody dragons think they can up and kill me!" He looks around, and adds meekly, "...and a bunch of the rest of us too, it seems."
Lore gets up off the ground as if startled and looks around. "What happened?", he asks.
After rising from death, Salaam immediately goes to Jesse and comforts her. He holds her tight and says, "Thank Thoth, that you are alive, I don't know if I could lose you afetr just finding you." he says with a smile as he kisses her on the lips.
"I was afraid... that ... that" she says.
"Its ok, love..." Salaam says as he hugs her tightly.. "Thank Thoth, you are alive.. We are together now." he says as he kisses her...
Jesse kisses her cleric again... "Perhaps... perhaps we could go and talk about this in private?" she asks, eyes expecting.
"Thank you for your wish" he says to the mage and nods his head in Stiff's direction, "I owe you.."
"We'll be back.. later.. " Salaam says as he loosk at his beloved... "much later..." he says as he lifts up Jesse in his arms and kisses her as he walk away with her....
"Oh yes..." replies Jesse, melting as she is carried away.
"But Jesse," calls Pharian after her. "I thought you were in mourning."
As Jesse nuzzles her head on his shoulder, Salaam turns back and gives a look of quiet to Pharian.
Occa rolls his eyes and says, "Not you too! Geez. I think I am going to be sick." He looks at the whole group and says, "Can we keep this love thing hidden? Can't you all, if you are going to fall in love with whoever, just sneak around? I can't take this mushy behavior."
Occa winks at Tracy.
She winks back.
Darian opens his eyes and sits up. "What a curious experience... But, it is one that I hope never to repeat again."
He looks over at the rest of his recently dead companions. "I guess I wasn't the only one that had a tough time living through that."
He tests his limbs carefully before standing up. He walks over to Stiff and gives a deep bow.
"Thank you very much, arch-mage Stiff. I realize that someone as powerful as you has little need for someone like me, but if I can ever be of any assistance, please let me know."
Occa looks at Salaam and then shakes his head and says, "And they call me crazy!" He walks over to Salaam and pulls out a bottle with a turkey on it. "I often find that when I feel a bit out of control this helps....they call it 'wild turkey'".
Looking over at Jesse and Salaam gushing all over each other, Gilstrock looks back at the others.
"Whelp. They're gonna kiss, but I'd rather bash some heads. Where're those damn dragons??? This time, though, let's go at 'em with a coordinated battle plan. If the rest of you haven't finished them off already, that is."
"I'm afraid I did," says Valdar, holding up a blackened magic missile finger. "I'm sure there's more in there, though," he adds.
Gilstrock eyes Occa's bottle, and says, "Say... I'm feeling a little out of control!"
Occa smiles and says, "Alright then!" He tosses the bottle over to Gilstrock and says, "It is good stuff."