Saturday, December 7, 2019

Master of Strings Ch109: Green with Fury

The newly arrived green dragon craned its neck toward the dragon whose wing was injured by Jin. The dragon flexed and with a sickening crack followed by a roar of pain, the wing seemed usable again.

Alaroc had been charging at them before leaping into the air for a dual chop with his swords. The uninjured dragon snapped his wing out and bashed Alaroc to the ground before it shouted loudly in common, "ENOUGH!"

Zilo and Jin halt their charge as Jin shouts, "IT CAN TALK!?" Zilo looks back to his friend and says,

"Of course it can talk, all dragons can talk." Zilo lowers his bow, tilts his head and says, "Wait, you aren't one of those who just thinks of dragons as mindless beasts are you?" Jin looks to the bard confused and Zilo facepalms. The formerly injured dragon speaks up,

"That is so offensive, seriously man. Just because of our appearance, people always think of us like animals." Zilo cuts in front of Jin and bows to the dragons and says, "I am so sorry for him, he's not very knowledgeable about dragons like me."

"How do you know so much about us small fry?" Asked the uninjured dragon. Zilo pops back up and responds,

"Funny enough, where I come from my people serve a dragon. He's not green, like you, but Duskfang the Pinnacle is very wise and strong."

"Never heard of him, but he sounds extra-planar."

"Indeed he is, Plane of Shadows. Have you been?"

"No, but it sounds nice."

"You'd be wrong there, but its still home."

The two dragons lumber up and ask, "Now then, why are you all here intruding on our land?"

Sparky scratches his head and points over his shoulder toward the cliff saying, "This Shadeville land though. How your land?"

"That is no concern of yours goblin, now..." The green dragon's eyes sparkle for a moment and Sparky goes stiff. "Tell us why you are here." Sparky follows up in a monotone voice, "Looking for the dragon who people owe money to."

Alaroc rises onto his sword as a brace and shouts, "Sparky! Why would you tell them!" Zilo makes a quick cast of Detect Magic and sees that Sparky seems to have been put under a Charm Person spell.  The dragons look to each other and speak in draconic for a few sentences before looking back to the heroes and saying,

"We can't let you interfere." And the dragons rush forward snatching both Zilo and Jin in their claws. Alaroc rose to assist, but he was immediately pinned to the ground by the other green dragon. Zilo snapped out his hand and played on his violin a quickly cast a Hold Monster on the dragon. The Dragon freezes and its flight stopped entirely.

Jin looks down to the ground and as the dragon's flight speed wains he asks, "Zilo, that spell doesn't keep them in place does it?"

"No, it just freezes... them..." The two began to feel gravity take hold as they struggle to break free of the dragon's grip. Meanwhile, on the ground, the dragon that pinned Alaroc is just about ready to rip his head off. When the other dragon crashes into the two of them and all 5 creatures lie in a pile on the ground.

Sparky finally gets ready to fight past his fear and decides to make a move. The goblin puts forward both of his little arms and a small Fireball spell begins to form in his hand. As it grew to be shot from his hands, he brings his left arm back making a single fist pump that becomes covered in magical power then he thrusts his fist into the ball of fire. it pulsed with radiating heat. He then maneuvers his right hand and one-by-one points at Zilo, Jin, and Alaroc. Finally the goblin shouts

"Selective Empowered Fireball!"

 The orb flies forward into the pile. Zilo looks at the ball that burned much harder than a typical one. The bard flashed back to his assassination attempt and shut his eyes gripping the grass beneath him. then... nothing He didn't feel any heat.

As he opened his eyes and maneuvered out of the pile-up he saw that he and his friends were all unburnt, but the two green dragons were not. all things considered after the fall and attacks from before, they were not in top form, plus Sparky was still shaking in fear.

Zilo hoped slightly back to be about 30ft from the shaking goblin and his violin and bow fell to his hand and he played his newest song that was a Soothing Performance that permeated all of the bard's allies with its dulcet tones. Suddenly, not only were they all back at full, but the music relaxed Sparky's nerves and his fear evaporated.

Jin and Alaroc both made a quick strike at both dragons before they both hoped back to Zilo. Jin spoke, "Dat's one hell of a lullaby Zilo!"

"Thank you, I wrote when-"

"SCATTER!" Yelled Alaroc, and as Zilo looked back to the dragons, both were hissing with a green mist floating out of their maws. Suddenly both of them unleashed a gout of vitriolic skin melting poison breath that covered the area all over the 4 heroes.

Sparky was down with his grey-green skin turning even more vibrantly green, and Zilo was clinging to his body as he fell to his knees from the influence of the poison. Jin and Alaroc managed to stay standing, but only barely.

Zilo looked back to Sparky who wasn't breathing, he was on Death's Door and his death only a half dozen seconds away. Zilo sprinted, his poisoned body willing itself forward before he slipped and slid into the goblin just in time to cast a Cure Critical Wounds. Sparky was breathing, and beginning to stir again.

Zilo looked back to the dragons. With their size and power, they were batting Alaroc and Jin about like playthings. His friends need far more power to take down these foes. That's when Zilo got an idea. He leaned down to the stirring Sparky and whispered,

"Hello barkeep, I'm Alaroc! I'll take a water please."

Once again, Sparky's eyes flare as flames take the place of his pupils and he snaps up. The Goblin's muscles flexed as he brings down both his hands into the ground. The dragons had flown about 25 feet up, ready to sweep down and finish the two warriors when a spell is heard across the battlefield.

"LEASHED SHACKLES!"

Suddenly a chain made up of an orange/red energy erupted from the ground and clamped onto the lower dragon's arms and legs. The other dragon flew over trying to bite the chain and free its mate. Jin ran over to the chain, intent on running up it to attack them when he heard from behind him"

"MONKEY NO!"

Jin turned to see Sparky holding in his hand another fireball, but this one was even bigger, stronger, and hotter than the one he threw out earlier. As the goblin forced the fireball forward Jin hit the deck and Sparky shouted,

"MAXIMIZED FIREBALL!

The orb of fire erupted from Sparky's hands and engulfed both dragons. The flames' heat reached all the way back to Zilo and Sparky and the fires lasted for what felt like a lifetime. Finally, as they dissipated, two charred dragon skeletons fell to the ground.

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