Tide of Shadows

[Academia Nut]

Volemack inhaled deeply, so deeply as to breathe out his ravenous cone of cold all across the sky and freeze his enemies solid. But as he did so, a thought caught his mind. How exactly would that work? In that moment of questioning, something went utterly wrong.

The swirling crystals of ice caught in his throat for a moment, freezing into a solid block of ice that could not be exhaled. Coughing, Volemack managed to spit out the reverse throat lozenge, but it seemed that he had managed to freeze his ability to exhale his draconic breath weapon shut.

He also noticed just how ridiculously heavy Bartel was for the first time and the two of them began a generally downward turn.

[Comrade Tortoise]

"M'Lady Knght, if I could perchance ask a favor of you? I have a bright idea... Not that those are rare for me mind you. I had to cast detect thoughts to get inside Fehl's head. It is a mind effecting spell. When Bartel cast his fear removal spell. This is not actually a mind effect. So I will like to try an experiment. I will cast a cantrip. This will serve as a control for spellcasting. If you would be so kind as to pray for some sort of divine assistance, a resistance or blessing prayer would work, that will be the independent variable. If we both get sent into the dream, we will know the trigger is magic use. If you do, but I do not, we will know that any divine prayer will let you in, while I must use specific effects. If neither of us get let in, only specific effects for either of us will let us in. Does this sound workable to you?"

"I have already stated I am not going to do so, M'lord Mage," Ceridwen answered in a calm tone of voice, still carressing the cobra's head. "As I recall, I stated another sleeping body would not get us back to town. Therefore, I will not be joining your Experiment, as I am busy making sure we all get back to town safely. Perhaps you should be thinking of this as well?"

"Fair enough Lady Knight. It was but a suggestion. Well worth doing at a more opportune moment I suppose." He looked down at his familar "Gods I swear, if one didnt know any better they would think he was starved for attention... You even have him twitching his tail"

[Rogue 9]

Instinctual fear began to grip Bartel as they suddenly began an uncontrolled dive before he forced the panic down. "It's a dream. Only a dream." He tried to will the fall to stop.

[Academia Nut]

Bartel's feet suddenly met solid purchase, causing him to float in mid-air with apparently nothing supporting him despite the sensation through his boots that he was on a solid surface. Volemack on the other hand did not seem to automatically believe in this groundless-surface, and so he passed on, but now that he was no longer carrying the fully armoured human his wings caught the air and arrested his fall.

[Charon]

Eight was looking from the wizard to the paladin as they spoke, silent but watchful, as though he was examining them. Then the construct turned its attention to the silent halflings who still rode with them.

[rhoenix]

Meanwhile, Fehl was looking as if he were daydreaming, mumbling a half-familiar word here, or tracing part of a symbol in mid-air there as he lay on his back, looking up at the sky as he rode along in the cart.

[SirNitram]

The priest-friend was flying! He was safe. His Fundamentum was aching with the glut of elemental energy not properly released. And the priest-friend had said something.. A dream? Could this be a dream? No, a nightmare, surely! But he had carried Bartel, far too heavy, and wheeled through wyrms that should have eaten him..

Bahamut, grant me what I need against this horror..

Trying to overpower instinct and terror at his predicament, Volemack exhaled, forcing the remainder of stuck power forward and purging his system of the excess magic. Through his instincts, the patterns of an advanced spell flickered by, but here..

[Attemping to cast Animate Breath to create a powerful ice paraelemental]

[Academia Nut]

Volemack's Fundamentum was still stuck shut by something, something that was convinced he couldn't do it, thus he couldn't get even the first stage of the spell to initiate, let alone the more complex animation process.

Meanwhile the dragons had begun the return part of their flights, the one Bartel had wounded zeroing in on him while the other aligned with Volemack's flight path. Both of the strange dragons had murder in their eyes.

[Rogue 9]

Bartel looked right back at the dragon charging him. It was time to call on another aspect of the Cudgel, this one one that he was readily familiar with: Retribution.

"Back to dust with you," he hissed, pointing his finger at the oncoming dragon.

[Attempting disintegrate, 7th level spell of one of his domains.]

[SirNitram]

Volemack was getting dizzy. The engorged organ, bloated with power, was restricting the airflow, and making him feel lightheaded in his bid to remain airborne. Yet ice wouldn't flow! Why not? Bahamut wouldn't abandon..

A momentary flick of attention across the wastes told him. Bahamut didn't answer because there's nothing left. All there was in this wasteland of dragon bones were.. These chromatics. All the horrible old stories of Tiamat winning. And trapped in this horrible place, unable to escape, was him and the priest.

And the priest was the only one doing anything effective.

Volemack began to get scared, then angry. It wasn't fair! Just him! The Chromatics picked the one dragon left to hunt for sport, and it was him, and he was tiny and couldn't do anything!

Like every dragon threatened, Volemack puffed up as big as he could with the constricted windpipe. It was an intimidation tactic, really, useless against such larger foes, but it was a response to getting angry. He couldn't spray his breath normally. But then, the Fundamentum discharged under another condition.

Balling his little set of claws into a fist, he smashed it violently against his ribcage as he faced his tormented. Again and again, trying to trigger the violent reaction..

[Academia Nut]

With a sudden rush, three dragons exhaled their breath weapons simultaneously. Volemack's cone of cold caught the onrushing shadowy creature full in the face while he adroitly dodged out of the way of the cloying black tendrils emitted by the enemy.

Bartel on the other hand was struck full in the chest by the blast of negative energy, a piece of his soul dragged away by the darkness, leaving him weakened and diminished.

[Rogue 9]

Bartel gritted his teeth as he felt the near-overwhelming cold of his life force being sucked away. 'No, not like this,' he thought to himself. He hefted his mace.

His shield wasn't readied, but at this point, that was all the better. He brought his left hand to the weapon's haft, letting his holy symbol dangle, as he began to charge through the air towards his assailant. "DIE!" He brought the mace down, calling on Cuthbert for strength and channeling retributive power through the weapon as he did so.

[Smite + Feat of Strength + 2-handed grip + Power Attack for 3 = pain.]

[SirNitram]

Desperate pleas to the Lord Of Metallic Dragons vanished into the darkness. Sobs of terror were consumed, near heard. Cries of anguish at the endless piles of bones were for naught. All that was left was his friend. His friend, caught in the chest by the Purple Dragon's breath.

No.

No more.

Swelling as large as he could, Volemack swung around with one wing tight against him to speed up. Practically firing himself upwards, he roared a battle challenge at the shadowy dragon, as he rushed in, claws first, the bite a quick third after the dual slashes.

[Academia Nut]

For a brief moment Volemack grew to enormous size... for Volemack... and ripped into the enemy dragon, ripping into the cat sized creature and leaving it to fly off slightly lopsided from the gouges in its side. Bartel on the other hand, despite calling upon godly might was unable to actually hit the other dragon, which peeled off high and wide, looping around for another strike as it inhaled, preparing to breath the dark, soul draining smoke over Bartel once more.

[Rogue 9]

Bartel wasn't about to give it the chance. Channeling pure, righteous retribution into his mace once more, he charged through the air at the thing, bringing the mace around in a wide underhand swing as it began to glow a reddish white with power, coming up at his attacker's belly.

[Smiting again, PA for 3.]

[SirNitram]

There was effort, remaining puffed up like this. Part of him kept insisting he was smaller, weaker, that he shouldn't be able to bite this little thing in half. Yet the memories were there, bright and vivid, not faded like his inherited ones. Forcing his mind into the knot of the new size, the horse-sized dragon beat wings furiously. The tiny dragons could evade him now. He needed a new plan.

Reaching the right point, wings folded in tight and Volemack fell like a stone to try and get close to Bartel, to protect him from the other thing as it prepared to breath.

[Academia Nut]

Adroitly twisting their bodies, both priest and dragon managed to dodge the stream of shadows, preventing damage to their souls in the process, leaving the shadow dragon left out in the open, ready for retaliation while its partner was still moving away.

[Rogue 9]

'You get one more shot, make it count,' Bartel thought grimly to himself as he wound up his mace, the weapon once again glowing with the reddish light.

[Last smite barring a Will save, PA for 1.]

[Academia Nut]

With a thunderous crunch the skull of the dragon was caved in, causing it to go spiralling past towards the ground far below. If it wasn't dead yet then it surely would be in a few moments.

[Academia Nut]

In the waking world, the sun was starting to rise, both Bartel and Volemack having been asleep for hours, everyone carefully watching the slow, steady rise and fall of their chests that signified they were still breathing.

As fingers of light began to crest the horizon, painting the clouds in the sky with brilliant oranges and vibrant reds that faded into royal purples and cobalt blues, the two began to twitch slightly.

Within the dream, as the shadow dragon slain by Bartel crashed into the ground, the whole of reality seemed to come apart, sections of sky breaking off like old paint flaking from strange art, leaving sections of absolute blackness both from where they fell and where they landed. Eventually even the dreamers were consumed by the growing void.

Their eyes fluttering open, both sleepers returned to the world of the waking, Volemack's head feeling slightly clearer than before and both of them no worse for the wear for their conflict.

[Charon]

Eight had cared little for the sleeping occupants, instead taking the time to look over his gear with a great deal of care. As the pair awoke, Eight looked over at them. "About time. Paladin, your charge is awake!"

[LadyTevar]

Ceridwen's head jerked around, looking back into the bed of the wagon with obvious relief, breathing a prayer of thanks to Bahumet. "Volemack, you silly lizard, what did you think you were doing?! Your mother would turn me to icicles if something happened to you!"

[rhoenix]

Upon seeing this, Fehl only grinned. "Took you two long enough - we're almost back to town. It's nearly sunrise!"

He chuckled at this, and went back to...whatever it was that he was doing with finger-gestures and his notes.

[Comrade Tortoise]

The wizard had long since dozed off into a light sleep and when all the commotion of the waking happened he opened one eye

"He is fine... Better than he was going in anyway" he said, before closing his eye again. The snake curled up next to him for warmth

[Rogue 9]

Bartel shuddered and sat up as quickly as he could still clad in armor. "There was one more..." He looked around at the wagon. "How long were we out?"