Unforeseen Consequences

Mira and Narco dash through a frenzying street, weaving through screaming walls of panicking people. They look for GG, Gambit, and Free Stuff, hoping to regroup.

“So, you still feel like sparing the dragon was a good idea?” She yells at Narco over the screams of the crowd.

“It wasn’t supposed to leave the castle. It never leaves the castle.”

The two are in full sprint, running toward the sound of the dragon. They make it past the sea of people and continue running towards the sound of buildings burning. “Gee, I wonder why it’s here then? Could it be that taunting it 100 times without a fight angered it?”

Narco looks towards the pillars of smoke and ash. “It was only 59 times. And again, it never leaves the castle?”

A wave of flames pour through a street. “Then I guess I must be dreaming and we’re actually still at the castle…” Mira ponders for a second. “And what do you mean 59 times? You counted?”

“It’s 1170 divided by 20. No time to explain!” Narco shouts as they both turn the corner.

They immediately stop as they see the behemoth. Crimson scales, a calculating yellow eye, claws curled enraged. It lets out a roar into the sky. Two blurs can be seen dashing around its feet while GG charges up a spell.

Mira and Narco nod at each other as they split up. She joins GG atop a building, and he dashes in to help who they presume is Gambit and Free Stuff.

Mira crouches next to GG, aiming her staff at her allies. She knows she needs to time her ward spells perfectly.

The three at the dragon’s feet continue to slash and dodge, keeping completely aware of the dragon’s stomps.

“So this is what it’s like to fight a dragon for real.” Narco comments as he continues to swing his sword. The scales keep any attacks from penetrating, but if given enough time they could be chipped away. Yet time is not on their side as the dragon unleashes a volley of fire balls, destroying several houses and streets.

Gambit hides beneath the dragon's tail, staying out of its vision and getting easy sneak attacks with his Shadowborn trait “Blood Cursed Bow” which costs health to conjure and fire. Free Stuff is raging in his orcish form swinging a wooden beam he picked up from the rubble of a house as an improvised weapon. “I’ve played a few fantasy Deep Dives before, but I’ve never felt a rush like this.” Free Stuff responds just as he slams his wooden beam against the dragon’s ankle, shattering the beam. “I need a new blunt weapon.”

As Free Stuff uses his arm strength to accelerate his movement speed, the dragon turns to swipe him with its tail. A large ward immediately shields Free Stuff from the brunt of the damage, but he is still knocked back a dozen yards, pushed against a destroyed building.

“I can’t ward you from dragon’s fire! Run!” Mira gets through to Free Stuff who is losing control to his rage.

The dragon’s mouth smokes and puffs with fire as it is about to unleash a breath attack on Free Stuff. However, instead of running away, Free Stuff grabs another perfectly placed beam in the rubble behind him, and charges head long toward the dragon. Before the dragon could unleash its attack, Free Stuff two-hands the beam and uppercuts the dragon with it, directing the fire ball upward.

“Or, you know, do that.” Mira and GG give each other glances over the recklessness of Free Stuff’s attack.

GG returns to concentrating on her spell, finally finishing it. Words come flooding out of her mouth, as her jaw strains from being forced to say them. “From the hands of Kracht who granted man mercy, I condemn you. Weakness Tier 3!” From the dragon’s shadow, dark hands emerge and grab at its scales. Once touched, the hands fall back into the shadow, leaving dark spots all along the dragon’s body. The party members on the ground are too distracted to notice, but as soon as they land their hits, they notice they are starting to shatter some of the scales.

Shocked from the experience, GG takes a step back and grabs at her mouth. “It’s so strange. My mouth just moved on its own.”

Mira doesn’t have time to focus on GG, as she is carefully watching the battlefield and deciding where to place her wards. “All mages say incantations when casting spells of a certain level. Though they usually have to memorize theirs.”

Back on the front lines, Narco slashes clean through the dragon’s back ankle. Gambit keeps targeting the same area, racking up critical strikes with successive extra damage. Free Stuff dodges through the dragon’s legs and shatters the shin on the dragon’s other back leg.

The dragon falls onto its belly, unable to support its own weight, as the team quickly moves away. The dragon roars again, this time with startling force, causing the team to freeze for a second. The dragon uses this time to flap its wings and start flying.

“No you don’t.” GG casts another spell. “Stone Burst!” Several stones manifest in front of her, then rapidly launch at the airborne dragon. The dragon takes evasive action, twirling desperately around the barrage of stones.

“Don’t worry guys, I got this!” A lone mason with a hammer comes running from down the street. “In the name of Devrum, I shall slay this monster.”

“No, you idiot! We got this!” Narco shouts as the man continues to run toward the dragon. “You don’t even have a ranged weapon!”

The man unintentionally distracts GG, allowing the dragon to circle back around and rain fire from above. The dragon cuts through the town, leaving a path of scorched debris behind. The man continues to chase the dragon as the party’s concern for his safety wanes. While Free Stuff and Narco chase after the man to try and stop him from throwing his life away, Gambit joins the mages on the roof.

“Mira, can you prepare a healing spell?” He asks.

“No. Unlike my wards that use my own mana, the only healing spell I know is from the Sunshine Church.” Mira is focused on Free Stuff and Narco as they run after the man running after the dragon. She sees that Gambit looks confused by what she said. ”It’s stronger but only works in the daytime.”

“That’s unfortunate…” He trails off. Gambit stands next to them as they face the dragon as it flies over the village.

GG looks over at Gambit and has a gut feeling he’s about to do something reckless. “What are you planning?”

“To end this quickly before more buildings burn.” He utters before jumping off the roof. He claps his hands together. “Shadow Warp.”

Gambit fades into shadows that appear to fold inward upon themself. Above the burning town, the dragon roars unchallenged by the melee fighters on the ground. Free Stuff throws the occasional rock, while Narco focuses entirely on stopping the Devrum fanatic. In the sky, a series of runes appear lurking above the dragon. A bubbling shadow appears from within the runic patterns. The runes shatter at the emergence of Gambit. Gambit lands on the dragon’s back, and casually walks along its spine to the head. The dragon hasn’t noticed Gambit’s weight thanks to his nimble foot stealth feat. The dragon’s scales are still stained from the spell of weakness, creating a perfect weak spot on the back of its head.

“I really should have thought about the landing.” Gambit mutters to himself. He draws his Blood Cursed Bow and takes aim. “Six-fold cursed shot!” As he releases the arrow, the shadow of the arrow becomes five other arrows, all overlapping each other and following the same trajectory as the first. The first shatters the scale, as the rest penetrate the area in quick succession. Each one counts as a sneak attack and lands a critical hit. The dragon wails in pain, bucking its head back. Gambit has become dizzy from the blood loss and loses his footing. He and the dragon fall from the sky. “Is this how I die?” The thought flashes in his mind, realizing that this is more than a game, and death could be permanent. He closes his eyes. He is powerless to struggle against the result of cause and effect.

As he plummets to his death, GG aims her staff carefully. “Graceful fall!” A white sparkle shoots across the village’s sky and intercepts Gambit perfectly. Gambit’s fall slows immensely. The last thing he sees before passing out is GG in the distance giving him a thumbs up.

The dragon luckily crashes into an already burnt part of the town. Eventually, Gambit’s body finds its way down next to the dragon. Everyone rushes over to the scene. The Devrum fanatic climbs on top of the dragon’s corpse and shouts to the heavens. “Victory! Today humanity has triumphed!”

The party ignores him as their HUDs indicate they have leveled up. Chief Verlyn stands in front of the slain dragon and raises both his fists. “It seems our great heroes have once again saved our village!” He turns to them and bows. “We are forever in your debt.”

Mira looks at everyone and blushes in shame. “No, we couldn't possibly accept such praise.”

“I insist. You have saved us from this dragon, who was surely sent as an emissary of evil. I cannot discern why the dragon has come today of all days, but it matters not. You all have saved us, and…” Chief Verlyn kneels before the heroes. “Truly, we are forever in your debt.”

Mira tries to explain, but can’t find a truthful lie that makes the party look good while still being honest. Instead, she chooses to let the town celebrate in ignorant bliss.

Coughs can be heard coming from Gambit’s badly injured body. His bloodline’s magic is dangerous, using his life force in exchange for powerful spells and curses. Mira walks over to him and apologizes. “I’m sorry Gambit. You need to hold on a little longer. Once the sun comes up, you’ll be as good as new.” She says trying to sound cheerful. Narco and GG hold Gambit’s hands, comforting him until then.

Free Stuff however, looks at the dragon’s corpse. “You know Mira, it would be a waste to leave this dragon as is.”

Puzzled, she asks, “what are you suggesting?”

“You think if I cut it up and harvested the materials for a blacksmith, you would carry it until then?”

“I’m not your servant. Do you know how heavy it would be to carry around the raw ingredients for a full set of dragon armor? Why don’t you carry it instead of trying to burden me with it?”

Free Stuff just sighs, slowly picking the dragon apart by himself.

It would be nine hours until sunrise. Gambit would be brought to his room in the inn, which is now free of charge. There he would toss and turn, suffering in a dull discomfort for the entire time. When dawn finally hits Mira and her staff, she immediately heals him to full health. As promised, he is as good as new.