Post by Sir Caedric Moore on Dec 21, 2015 10:48:58 GMT -8
My Heroes Guild Journeyman 2 entry and the fourth installment of my part of the Rise of the Wyrms collab.
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-Ballad of the Dragonslayer-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Northwatch Caverns, northern border of Orevale Hold...
The cavern trembled - and so did some of the men - as a deep resounding roar echoed from further in the cave. The dozen or so Valeguard Rangers that Sir Caedric had chosen for this quest readied their weapons, tossing bags and packs to the rough bone-strewn floor and turning this way and that as they gazed into the darkness.
"Well, Boy-o - looks like you've done it now," the big knight jested ruefully, clapping his captain on the back and grabbing his spear from its resting place against the icy wall of the cavern mouth.
"Hush, Layton."
A few moments passed, and the echoes of the dragon's roar subsided. Sir Caedric Moore - Captain of the Valeguard - raised his hand to signal that the men hold positions and then gestured for the party to keep quiet. He nodded his head - first left and then right - at two of the party's younger rangers and beckoned them come forth silently.
"Dean, Ronald..." the Captain said in a low voice, looking each of the men in the eyes as he did. "You two will take flank - Dean, on the left; Ronald, you've got the right side. I want you to maintain a slight lead over the rest of the party, but keep to the shadows and move slowly; use what cover the cavern provides." With a slight wave of his hand, he gestured for the two to head forward, but then called them back suddenly with a short, loud whisper. "No torches. We want his eyes on us; not you two." The young men nodded and slunk off into the shadows of the icy cave.
The rest of the party awaited their captain's command with weapons drawn, black cloth soaked in some flame-retardant oil - the Garhims often used it for sails - wound about their shoulders and around their heads. Sir Caedric motioned, and the party rose as one, those with shields moving to the front and the sides as the rest fell in behind their captain and his aging shieldman, Sir Layton Connors, who held his shield aloft and his long spear outstretched, awaiting any danger that might surprise them from the darkness. Step by step, the rangers moved slowly forward through the cavern - and down the path went; down into the heart of the mountain - the only sounds accompanying them being the soft tread of cloth-wrapped boots and the dripping of water from the innumerable stalactites above where they puddled on the floor or landed on similar spires of rock beneath them; Caedric remembered they had been called "stalagmites" in one of the books he'd read in the library, but many of the men called them "dragons' teeth".
Eventually, the sound changed to one of water dripping onto water and the cave walls to either side suddenly stretched away into blackness as the party came upon a vast, subterranean lake. Caedric motioned for the party to hold and at that he struck a match and lit his torch, throwing light and shadows across the cave and illuminating the ground around them - which was littered with bones and eggshells. They were standing in the creature's nest.
No sooner had the torch been lit than the air was rent by another roar - this one close-by and deafening - and the party was buffeted by wind as a great black shape detached itself from the ceiling of the cave, landing amidst the group on the edge of the lake. The male was big - slimmer than the female and maybe a bit smaller overall - but still huge; massive, compared to anything most men or even most Garhims had dealt with. These were knights of the Valeguard, and every one among them had either been there when Orevale was reclaimed and the female Echowyrm first appeared to gorge herself on the dead and dying or had been a part of the battle with her at the feet of the mountains a week's time ago. They showed no fear, each sparking a match and igniting their own torches that guttered and spun in the wind that was the dragon's breath. It sounded like a winter's storm that blows down hard and cruel from the mountains, yet the heat of it was enough to cause a grown man to swoon and the stench was sickening - overpowering at this close range.
The dragon reeled backwards at the sudden burst of light in the darkness and roared once more, this time answered by a chorus of other cries from the dark ceiling of the cave. Caedric craned his head upwards, wary of taking his eyes off of the dragon, and saw the source of the cries: the dragon's young - dozens of them - hanging from the ceiling or clinging to the walls of the cavern like great bats. A pall of smoke hung around them and here and there a small blast of fire erupted.
"SHIELDS!!!" Caedric yelled, dropping his torch and pulling the great shield from his back. The big male mirrored his offspring, unleashing a torrent of fire on the party of Rangers in an attempt to scatter them or obliterate them entirely, but the party held strong, shields held aloft in front of them, warding off a literal inferno. The moment that the dragon ceased the torrent, the captain shouted, "FIRE!!!" as those who had been crouching behind their comrades rose and unleashed a barrage of bolts from their crossbows. Many found their mark in the wings or the softer flesh of the dragon's neck, but most glanced harmlessly off of its thick scales as it roared once more in frustration. Caedric knew, however, that there was no time to waste, gesturing to his men and shouting, "LANCES!!! as those who had waited on the sides now lowered their shields and charged the beast. "ATTACK!!! DRAW YOUR SWORDS!!! THE DRAGON DIES THIS DAY!!!"
---------
Dean couldn't believe his eyes - dozens of dragons lined the ceiling of the cavern, writhing and screeching like demons from a nightmare. And there, across the lake, the big male tore into the party of rangers - likely killing them all, he thought - and here he sat, motionless behind a stalagmite, gripped by fear. He had seen many things in his service to the Valeguard - even leading the charge against the female Echowyrm a week prior - but the sight of so many dragons and the stench of their filth overpowered him. And so he remained hidden, and he wept, awaiting a death he felt would be imminent and terrible.
---------
With a mighty yell, Caedric spun and threw his great shield at the dragon, smacking it cleanly across the muzzle. The spiked ball-and-chain of his morning star was lost - strewn somewhere among the bones and bodies of the dead and dying - and he needed something to provide a blunt impact to stun the dragon as he closed the distance. His broadsword would do him no good, now, and he sheathed it, grabbing his shieldman's greatsword as it was tossed to him and charging headlong at the thrashing monstrosity. The dragon recovered from the impact, fury flashing in its eyes, and locked its sights on the man in shining armor running towards it. Brandishing the gleaming Zweihander in a deadly arc, Caedric dodged the lunge he predicted would come and sliced the dragon's neck clean through, sending its head spinning with the force of the blow.
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
As always, comments and criticism are welcome and appreciated!
Ronin
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-Ballad of the Dragonslayer-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Northwatch Caverns, northern border of Orevale Hold...
The cavern trembled - and so did some of the men - as a deep resounding roar echoed from further in the cave. The dozen or so Valeguard Rangers that Sir Caedric had chosen for this quest readied their weapons, tossing bags and packs to the rough bone-strewn floor and turning this way and that as they gazed into the darkness.
"Well, Boy-o - looks like you've done it now," the big knight jested ruefully, clapping his captain on the back and grabbing his spear from its resting place against the icy wall of the cavern mouth.
"Hush, Layton."
A few moments passed, and the echoes of the dragon's roar subsided. Sir Caedric Moore - Captain of the Valeguard - raised his hand to signal that the men hold positions and then gestured for the party to keep quiet. He nodded his head - first left and then right - at two of the party's younger rangers and beckoned them come forth silently.
"Dean, Ronald..." the Captain said in a low voice, looking each of the men in the eyes as he did. "You two will take flank - Dean, on the left; Ronald, you've got the right side. I want you to maintain a slight lead over the rest of the party, but keep to the shadows and move slowly; use what cover the cavern provides." With a slight wave of his hand, he gestured for the two to head forward, but then called them back suddenly with a short, loud whisper. "No torches. We want his eyes on us; not you two." The young men nodded and slunk off into the shadows of the icy cave.
The rest of the party awaited their captain's command with weapons drawn, black cloth soaked in some flame-retardant oil - the Garhims often used it for sails - wound about their shoulders and around their heads. Sir Caedric motioned, and the party rose as one, those with shields moving to the front and the sides as the rest fell in behind their captain and his aging shieldman, Sir Layton Connors, who held his shield aloft and his long spear outstretched, awaiting any danger that might surprise them from the darkness. Step by step, the rangers moved slowly forward through the cavern - and down the path went; down into the heart of the mountain - the only sounds accompanying them being the soft tread of cloth-wrapped boots and the dripping of water from the innumerable stalactites above where they puddled on the floor or landed on similar spires of rock beneath them; Caedric remembered they had been called "stalagmites" in one of the books he'd read in the library, but many of the men called them "dragons' teeth".
Eventually, the sound changed to one of water dripping onto water and the cave walls to either side suddenly stretched away into blackness as the party came upon a vast, subterranean lake. Caedric motioned for the party to hold and at that he struck a match and lit his torch, throwing light and shadows across the cave and illuminating the ground around them - which was littered with bones and eggshells. They were standing in the creature's nest.
No sooner had the torch been lit than the air was rent by another roar - this one close-by and deafening - and the party was buffeted by wind as a great black shape detached itself from the ceiling of the cave, landing amidst the group on the edge of the lake. The male was big - slimmer than the female and maybe a bit smaller overall - but still huge; massive, compared to anything most men or even most Garhims had dealt with. These were knights of the Valeguard, and every one among them had either been there when Orevale was reclaimed and the female Echowyrm first appeared to gorge herself on the dead and dying or had been a part of the battle with her at the feet of the mountains a week's time ago. They showed no fear, each sparking a match and igniting their own torches that guttered and spun in the wind that was the dragon's breath. It sounded like a winter's storm that blows down hard and cruel from the mountains, yet the heat of it was enough to cause a grown man to swoon and the stench was sickening - overpowering at this close range.
The dragon reeled backwards at the sudden burst of light in the darkness and roared once more, this time answered by a chorus of other cries from the dark ceiling of the cave. Caedric craned his head upwards, wary of taking his eyes off of the dragon, and saw the source of the cries: the dragon's young - dozens of them - hanging from the ceiling or clinging to the walls of the cavern like great bats. A pall of smoke hung around them and here and there a small blast of fire erupted.
"SHIELDS!!!" Caedric yelled, dropping his torch and pulling the great shield from his back. The big male mirrored his offspring, unleashing a torrent of fire on the party of Rangers in an attempt to scatter them or obliterate them entirely, but the party held strong, shields held aloft in front of them, warding off a literal inferno. The moment that the dragon ceased the torrent, the captain shouted, "FIRE!!!" as those who had been crouching behind their comrades rose and unleashed a barrage of bolts from their crossbows. Many found their mark in the wings or the softer flesh of the dragon's neck, but most glanced harmlessly off of its thick scales as it roared once more in frustration. Caedric knew, however, that there was no time to waste, gesturing to his men and shouting, "LANCES!!! as those who had waited on the sides now lowered their shields and charged the beast. "ATTACK!!! DRAW YOUR SWORDS!!! THE DRAGON DIES THIS DAY!!!"
---------
Dean couldn't believe his eyes - dozens of dragons lined the ceiling of the cavern, writhing and screeching like demons from a nightmare. And there, across the lake, the big male tore into the party of rangers - likely killing them all, he thought - and here he sat, motionless behind a stalagmite, gripped by fear. He had seen many things in his service to the Valeguard - even leading the charge against the female Echowyrm a week prior - but the sight of so many dragons and the stench of their filth overpowered him. And so he remained hidden, and he wept, awaiting a death he felt would be imminent and terrible.
---------
With a mighty yell, Caedric spun and threw his great shield at the dragon, smacking it cleanly across the muzzle. The spiked ball-and-chain of his morning star was lost - strewn somewhere among the bones and bodies of the dead and dying - and he needed something to provide a blunt impact to stun the dragon as he closed the distance. His broadsword would do him no good, now, and he sheathed it, grabbing his shieldman's greatsword as it was tossed to him and charging headlong at the thrashing monstrosity. The dragon recovered from the impact, fury flashing in its eyes, and locked its sights on the man in shining armor running towards it. Brandishing the gleaming Zweihander in a deadly arc, Caedric dodged the lunge he predicted would come and sliced the dragon's neck clean through, sending its head spinning with the force of the blow.
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
As always, comments and criticism are welcome and appreciated!
Ronin
