Rand was already marching back up the mountain, looking none the worse for wear.
"Some kind of magical booby-trap," Asha said. "Hold up, Rand. I think Killum needs to lead us since he can see magic."
"Just give me a second to pull myself together."
He tested his hip by lifting his knee. A jolt of pain shot through him, so he drank another healing potion. The pain started to fade away immediately. Each potion took a designated amount of time to heal. Taking two or more at once did double the rate of healing with some potions. After two potions, though, he did feel a little sense of euphoria, so knew not to take another until the cooldown period was over. There was a reason you weren't supposed to take more than one an hour.
"You don't need those healing potions anymore," Asha said. "I just healed all of my aches and pains with the spell I shared with you."
"Yeah, at what cost?" he asked. "I'm saving my mana for the dragon. Besides, I paid for these healing potions. I have to use them."
Asha had considerably more mana since she could afford to buy more mana boosting potions. Knowing they were going up against a dragon, he refused to cast any magic since leaving Knaresburg. He let Asha start their two campfires. She didn't seem the least bit concerned about using up her mana.
He climbed atop the boulder that stopped his tumble down the mountain. It was about two feet taller than him. Killum could see the dragon's lair, so used his Farsee spell to zoom in on the cave's entrance. There were skeletons of large animals, as well as some bi-pedal races. One looked like an ogre skeleton, while there was a pile of what looked like human skeletons.
As he looked, something huge and black rushed out of the lair. He quickly zoomed back to see the dragon flying up in a spiral flight path. Asha and Fergus cried out in alarm.
"Looks like the dragon's home," Rand said. "Tonight I feast on dragon steaks!"
"More likely the dragon will choke on your overblown ego when he tries to swallow you whole," Fergus said. "But I'm game for some lizard steak."
"Ewww, I can't eat a lizard," Tiana said. "Shut up."
"Get back into the trees before he spots us," Killum called, jumping off the boulder.
The whomp-whomp-whomp of the dragon's wing reached them, and all five took off running for the cover of the trees. Killum and Fergus reached the treeline first and stopped for the others. Tiana, Rand, and finally Asha ran up. The dragon's massiveness darkened the sky above, making them all look up.
"No one steals my treasure," the dragon's voice boomed.
He breathed a torrent of dragonfire at them. Killum sucked in a sharp breath, knowing he couldn't move fast enough to avoid fiery death. Asha spun to face the dragon, thrusting her fist out. The fire hit the shield and splattered in all directions.
"Good save," Killum cried. "Let's get deeper into the woods!"
They understood the forest offered no protection from his fire but it provided some places to hide. The dragon's roar of rage and frustration filled the air, shaking the trees. Killum led the way through the thickest parts of the woods to provide as much cover as possible.
His magical sight showed him glowing trees, bushes, and rocks. All were along game trails, so he blazed a new trail for his friends to follow. All the while the dragon flew above them and sent fire down to ignite patches of forest.
"You know the cave is in a clearing, so he'll see us when we reach it," Tiana said. "As a professional thief, I'm confident in advising you against trying to rob him while he's out and about looking for us and guarding his lair."
"We're here," Rand said. "And he'll kill us as we leave just as fast as if we steal his treasure."
"We have to kill the dragon," Killum said. "He's the ultimate monster in his dungeon. Kill the dragon, defeat the dungeon."
"There lies our problem," Asha said. "How do we kill a dragon? That's the biggest dragon I've ever seen. I don't even know how the game designers thought anyone could kill something like that."
"You accepted the quest."
"I was hopped up on adrenaline."
Killum and Asha glared at each other a long moment. The others watched them, with Tiana smirking. The thief turned away when the battle-mage turned his angry eyes on her. The tension wasn't broken until the dragon flew over them, just above the treetops.
"We're almost to the dragon's lair. I say we at least look the situation over before we decide what to do," Killum said.
He started moving before anyone could argue. They fell in line like always. Asha followed him, then Rand, Tiana, and Fergus. The way became steeper, with less foliage. At times they had to help each other up, pushing and pulling. He noticed Rand took the opportunity to "help" Asha upwards by pushing her on the butt.
More like copping a feel, Killum thought, giving the dwarf a dirty look.
They finally reached a level shelf on the side of the mountain, with the dragon's lair before them. Lying on their bellies just inside the treeline, the players surveyed the clearing.
Dragon's Lair. Home of the infamous Gyevikxus! Treasure and danger abound within. Enter at your own risk. All robbers will be eaten.
"It looks bigger up close," Rand said.
"Duh," Tiana replied. "I bet you have a high GPA back in the real world."
The cave entrance was more than big enough to allow the humongous dragon to pass through. Killum's attention was fixed on the dragon, too. The beast was calming down, and he worried it would return to its lair. Then when he looked down the mountainside, the battle-mage spotted something and smiled.
"Fergus, come here," he said, moving off to one side. He pointed down at a gnarly pine leaning out over a game trail. The tree was glowing red with a booby-trap spell. "See that twisted pine tree?"
It took a moment for Fergus to figure out which tree. Killum told him it was magically booby-trapped. He didn't know what the spell was, but that didn't matter.
"Can you hit it from here?" Killum asked. "I think it'll explode if you hit it with an arrow, and the dragon will think we're way down there."
The elven ranger grinned. The magical bow appeared in his hand out of thin air, before an arrow appeared in the other hand. Fergus took careful aim, and let loose. They all held their breath while watching the arrow's flight until it hit its target.
Ka-boom!
The dragon roared. Fire spewed in long streams through the sky. Killum waited just long enough to spot the monster flying toward the explosion. Then he ordered everyone to run to the cave and get inside.
Rand took off first, but his short legs didn't allow him much speed. Tiana used her ring to surge toward the cave, but she stopped to sweep Rand up in her arms before speeding to the cave. Fergus proved to be a helluva fast runner, as did Asha to a lesser extent. Killum found himself bringing up the rear, and quite winded by the time he was inside.