Posted by Irzen, Serna, Scribe & Willow
on 7/8/2009, 10:47 am, in reply to "Re: A Brief History of Aurilaz & The Talisman"
"Oh," Kana said a bit deflated. Then seriously, "Why don't we talk to her instead?"
"We…what?" The Gamer looked at Kana in confusion. But before he could formulate a reply, the Ranger interrupted.
"But why stop with Tiamat, High Lady Alyson?" added Willow Bark with a rhetorical question, "With such a power in his possession, he could control both Bahumat and Tiamat and by default both good and evil Dragons throughout the Realm. Venger has little reason to stop with just controlling Tiamat when the whole of The Realm would be laying at his feet."
"Willow, just call me Alyson, ok?" shaking her head, "My point being that we're more likely to run into Tiamat than Bahumat. Seriously, you think the dragon king is gonna leave Arcadia by his own volition? No."
"I shall call you High Lady Alyson in deference to both your rank and your position, my lady," replied Willow Bark evenly, "But you are not Alyson. You are merely a dark shade of the woman that I love. For me to call you anything less than what you are would be an insult to the memory of the woman that I once knew."
"Bahumat left Arcadia to pass judgement on that mean, nasty witch Gonathradi didn't he, High Lady Alyson?" chirped Serna attempting to change the conversation from the lover's spat into which it was beginning to devolve, "Why wouldn't he come back here again if he really needed to do it."
"Agreed," Irzen nodded, "But I might have a plan to secure us The Talisman." Turning to War Scribe, the Drow asked, "Scribe, we know that Dragons are sentient, that they once had a civilization with its own culture, its own mores and its own rules."
"Correct," confessed the Drowling, "So what are you driving at?"
"What I am driving at are rules for a truce," the Dark Elf smiled, "Scribe, do the Dragons have any rituals for making conversation, making peace or parlaying without involving any bloodshed?"
The Drowling paused for a minute and then answered, "Well, there is one ritual which could do the trick, the people who would be doing the talking would have to wear white robes, tattoo their faces with the three draconic symbols for the word 'peace', carry laurel leaves in their hands and approach Aurilaz unarmed. All of this is provided she decides not to ambush the negotiators and send them back to the rest of the group as a pool of black acid. Still, the ritual would take three people to do it properly. Why do you ask?"
"Overwhelming odds. Certain death. Fifty fifty chance, she decides to boil us? What are we waiting for?" Seriah replied with sarcasism.
"Because I cannot see a way around it," Irzen answered almost hopelessly, "I cannot think of a more deadlier enemy to fight on her own home turf than this Black Dragon. Tommy, I believe that you are right, Aurilaz has had a century to set up wards, glyphs and traps that would make Grimtooth proud. Even if this Myron Ironbane would be willing to help us, if Aurilaz has done some serious remodeling to her domain, he may be as lost as we would be in trying to reach her through any hidden passages he may find. And if we try to sneak in, her intelligence network might pick us up and you can bet that any human intelligence she has could be augmented by the local flora and fauna such as trees, birds, even the rocks themselves. Kana, I also believe that you are right, we should talk to Aurilaz. We dare not attack a creature that has a perfect record for ambushing her opponents. She is an ancient Dragon who has probably fought more battles, seen more bloodshed and forgotten more strategy than we could ever experience, see or learn. For once, I believe we are going to have to have to be straight up with the bad guy and be honest in our intentions. We should try and talk her into giving us The Talisman BEFORE we resort to violence in some suicidal attempt to take the artifact away from her."
Irzen turned towards Alyson, Kana and Tommy, "And I cannot think of three people who would be better suited for the task at hand. What do you say, guys, would you be willing to undergo some wacky ritual so we can NOT fight a Black Dragon and hopefully talk Aurilaz into loaning us The Talisman at the very least?"
"Wha-!!" The elementalist gasped, "Nice of you to 'volunteer' us, Irzen. And what pray tell are you going to be doing should this go sour, hmm?"
"First, High Lady Alyson, I am NOT volunteering anybody for anything," began the Drow Swordsman tersely, "I am merely ASKIING you three to take on a mission for which each of you are uniquely well-suited. I am ASKING Tommy to go because he is The Gamer and his magical abilities could prove useful if things go south with Aurilaz. I am ASKING Kana to go because of her healing ability which could also prove to be useful if one or both of you get hurt either in The Topaz Mountains or along the way. And I am ASKING you to go because of your affinity to Dragons and your knowledge of all things draconic. If you choose not to go, tell me now and I will ask someone else or I'll go myself."
"As for what we are going to be doing if things go south with you and Aurilaz," concluded Irzen, "I am going to ask you to whistle up Quake and Mermidon and keep them with the rest of us while you three are in there with Aurilaz. If things go badly, we'll blow the lid off the mountain and get all three of you out. We'll be your backup should you need it. Any other questions, my lady?"
Tommy nodded thoughtfully. "I don't know about a 'wacky' ritual, but your idea fits with the general direction I was going. So, refuge in audacity? Instead of sneaking, walk in plain as day, with pomp and circumstance, daring her to squish us without talking first? I like it. Any thoughts on what we might offer her in exchange for the loan? It'd be nice if we could bring something to the table instead of waiting for her to say 'sure, but first I just need you to do this one little thing for me…' We don't have time for that, and it can get just as bad as 'thank you, but our Princess is in another castle.'" He looked around. "The floor is open for discussion."
War Scribe put her hand under her chin and thought for a minute.
"I'm up for it," Kana ageed. "And as for the 'this first', we discus with her the reasons why we need the Talisman. Maybe exagerate what will happen if we don't get it back in time; as in Venger won't just allow the people to change back, but send them into her area to attach her and her followers as well."
"A good idea," confessed The Swordsman, "But I think we need something a bit more concrete than an exaggerated threat--especially considering who we are dealing with here."
"I know! I know!" War Scribe screeched as she jumped up and down like a jackrabbit in heat, "I'll be right back!" With that said, the Drowling disappeared from view only to reappear a moment later with a small wreath in her hand.
"Here we go!" The Drowling presented the wreath to the rest of the group, "Dragon's Bane! The one thing ALL dragons fear--and with good reason! If you guys offer this up to her so she can destroy it--or use it against someone who could attack her in the near future--then I am certain that she will be more than willing to loan The Eleventh Talsiman to you. What do you think guys?"
"Wow!" gasped Serna and Neven in unison.
"Where in the Realm did you get Dragon's Bane, Scribe?" Irzen asked with a look of complete confusion upon his face, "Do you know how rare this stuff is?"
"Yep!" the Drowling beamed from ear to ear, "I got it right here. After all, this is an Arboretum, you know. Practically all the plants that ever existed in The Realm or exist in The Realm now are here. Granted they are not as well organized as one would find in The Garden of Zinn because they are scattered throughout the Arboretum, but they are here nonetheless."
"Still, if you doubt my words," War Scribe held the wreath aloft as she approahced The Elementalist, "We can always try it out on someone. How about you, Alyson, wouldn't YOU like to wear a wreath of Dragon's Bane? Muwhaha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"