"Wow. You elves are fast," he said, bent over huffing and puffing.
"No. You're just slow," Fergus said.
"It's the armor. You try to run with this much weight strapped to you."
"Uh-huh," Asha said, grinning. "Heavy armor. Right."
There were countless bones in the entrance. Mostly deer, pig, and cow bones, but there were bones clearly human or elf. The floor of the cave was practically paved with broken and crushed bones. The air had an odd sulfuric stench that they finally decided must be what a dragon smelled like.
"Where's the dragon?" Tiana asked. "I don't see it anywhere."
A big black shape dropped from above and hovered a good hundred feet from the cave, glaring bloody murder at them. Killum's heart sank. There was nowhere to hide from dragonfire in those confined spaces. So he balled his left hand into a fist and aimed it at the beast.
Lightning bolts cracked the air as one, two, three shot out and struck the dragon in the chest. The monster roared, but was otherwise unfazed.
"Well that sucks greasy monkey balls," he muttered.
"Ewww," Asha said, giving him a disgusted look. "Let me try."
The dragon arched his neck, head pulled back. It was a move Killum knew meant he was going to breath fire at them. The sorceress stepped forward, while the others scrambled to find cover. He watched her lift her right hand and a shiny, crackling lightning bolt of remarkable size and power appeared in her hand.
Asha threw it like a javelin at the dragon.
It thundered through the air, shaking the ground. Her bolt stuck the dragon with a rattling Ka-Boom! He flinched, and when he looked up the dragon was nowhere to be seen.
"You killed the dragon!" Killum cried.
"No. I don't think so," she said, looking around warily. "But I think he's stunned and out of it for a little while."
"Time to loot his lair," Rand said. "Wahoo. I'm going to be rich!"
"We. We are going to be rich," Tiana said. "We're a team, you idiot munchkin."
"No. We came to conquer this dungeon, so that means we have to set up an ambush to kill the dragon," Killum said. "The quest isn't over until the dragon is defeated."
"I was afraid you'd say that," Asha said.
Chapter 32
While the dragon recovered lower on the mountain, the adventurers headed for the heart of the dragon's lair. Dragons lived super long lives, and collected treasure into huge hoards. The older the dragon, the greater the treasure hoard.
"After we kill the dragon, and then kill Lord Kathro, we'll move the dragon's treasure to the castle," Killum whispered as he led the way down the dark, twisting cave. "Then we can set our respawn sites at the castle and use it as our base of operations."
"I like your confidence," Asha said. "But killing a dragon that large isn't going to be easy, much less conquering a castle controlled by a powerful necromancer and his undead army."
"Women think too much," Rand said. "Fight. Kill. Conquer."
"You're a brave fellow, Rand," Asha said as she followed Killum. "But nothing will save you if your face bumps into my bum again when I stop."
Tiana giggled. Killum stopped and looked back at the dwarf. He was bright red, shaking his head. Asha wouldn't listen to his pleas of innocence.
"Now we know why he always chooses a dwarf as his avatar," Fergus said. "Genius."
"Genius?" Asha asked.
"Yes. I'd like to motorboat your ass, too."
Asha's face burned red. Killum was amazed they'd left her speechless, since she was used to the sexual innuendo. There was always some flirting and suggestive language in their group.
"Hey now," Killum cried. "Let's keep our minds on the task at hand."
She looked relieved. The others still watched her with amusement.
"I agree," she said. "This conversation is making me uncomfortable."
"Exactly. We're here to defeat this dungeon, claim all of the treasure and glory, and get out alive to enjoy it," Killum said. "We can all sit around and admire Asha’s sweet tush later."
Everyone nodded and snickered. Well, Asha just sighed and shook her head. The battle-mage patted her on the shoulder before turning back to continue.
He noticed the first booby-trap glowing a very faint blue. It was a bone the size of a chicken leg next to the wall. Since they were walking as close to the wall as possible, it was well-placed.
"Don't touch," he said, pointing it out.
"Does your magic allow you to see what the spell does?" Asha asked.
"No. All I see is the glow of magic. That one was a pale blue. The tree that exploded was red."
It would be nice to have access to an online manual to study up on spells. He wondered if they were still working out the bugs, or if they were trying way too hard to make it as realistic as possible. His silent reverie was interrupted by what he spotted ahead.
"That's interesting," he said.
There were four stones embedded in the wall. Two were ankle high, and two near the cave's ceiling. All glowed red, and there was a red glowing web stretched between them. In his mind red meant danger, and so far on that mountain it signaled explosive.
Beyond the magical barrier the cave split up into five tunnels. None of the other tunnels were larger or showed any indication of more use. Killum didn't want to split up, much less waste time going down tunnels with no treasure at the end.
"What's the matter?" Rand asked. "Pick a door and we'll see what we win."
"There's an angry red barrier stretched out across the tunnel," he said. The battle-mage pointed at the four stones. "For all I know, the explosion might blow us out of the cave and into Purgatory for five years."
"Find something to hide behind," Asha said. "I'll hit it with a thunderbolt."
No one had a better idea, so they moved back up the cave and around a bend. Killum had everyone lie on the floor and press up against the wall.
"Let the blast go past us."
"Asha will probably be a projectile, too," Fergus said. "I bet she'd leave a bruise."
"She can bruise me all she wants," Rand mutters.
"Shut up," Killum snapped. Then he called back to the sorceress, "We're ready."
He stayed at the corner to see what she did. Mostly, he wanted to ensure she didn't do anything too dangerous. She already had two deaths in five days. More often than not she took dangerous chances.
Killum held his breath when she called up the thunderbolt. Before she threw it, the sorceress held up her left fist and activated her magical shield. Then she threw it with all of her might. The bolt thundered through the barrier and struck the stone walls beyond.
Ka-BOOM!
When the dust settled, Asha was still standing behind her shield. The red glow of the barrier could be seen in the dust, so she knew her attempt had failed to destroy the barrier. Killum stood up and was about to join her and discuss what to try next, when Asha let out an angry cry and charged the barrier behind her magic shield.