Dragon Bones in the Dark

The morning sun greeted us with a gentle warmth, casting a hopeful light on our situation. Reynis, thankfully, had remained human during what was left of the night, his monstrous alter ego seemingly taking a well-deserved nap.
 
With renewed purpose, we packed our bags and set off for Hollowhill. This ancient tomb, now suspected to be a secret hideout for those pesky demon-dragon cultists, held the key to Reynis' curse and, perhaps, the key to stopping their nefarious plans.
 
Gael and Hayley led the way through the dense forest, their noses practically glued to the ground like particularly enthusiastic hounds. After what felt like hours of navigating tangled undergrowth and swatting away overzealous insects, a sight materialized in the distance – a lone hill, proudly bald amongst the sea of trees.
 
As we approached, a faint outline of a stairs leading up the slope emerged. Reaching the top, we were met with a collection of rubble, a testament to some long-forgotten structure. A broken elven statue, its graceful form now marred by shattered pieces, stood as a silent guardian.
 
In the center of the rubble, we found a gaping hole. A low stone wall encircled its perimeter, hinting at a descent into the earth below. Liliana announced that her darkvision revealed remnants of winding stairs leading deep into this dark chasm.
 
Tying our ropes together, we created a makeshift lifeline. Alistan, weighed down by his ever-present armor, and Dadroz, the epitome of caution, descended with the grace of particularly slow snails.
 
As we went deeper into the earth, a faint glow emanated from below, promising (or perhaps threatening) a hidden chamber. Finally, we reached the bottom, our feet landing on a surprisingly solid surface.
 
Before us lay a circular room, illuminated by flickering torches. Four imposing doors, each bearing a faint resemblance to those found in tombs, guarded the room's exits. They bore no markings, offering no clues to their destination.
 
Despite the dust and the undeniable tomb-like atmosphere, the chamber was surprisingly well-maintained. Torches flickered on the walls, casting an eerie orange glow. The distinct lack of cobwebs and a general sense of order left one undeniable conclusion – someone, or something, was living down here.
 
We descended into the heart of Hollowhill, a sense of foreboding growing with each step. Dadroz took point, carefully checking the ominous doors for traps. His vigilance was rewarded (or maybe not) when he discovered a nasty-looking poison dart cleverly hidden on one of the doors. His attempt at disarming it was, shall we say, less than successful. Thankfully, his reflexes were on point, allowing him to yank his hand back just as the needle snapped forward.
 
The remaining doors seemed less enthusiastic about impromptu acupuncture sessions, so we opted for one that wasn't actively trying to kill us. Dadroz managed to swiftly unlock the door with such speed that we weren’t sure if the door was even locked in the first place.
 
The scene that greeted us behind the door was not for the faint of heart. The chamber was a twisted mockery of a holy space, converted into a macabre ritual room. An altar, stained a worrying shade of crimson, bore draconic symbols that sent shivers down my spine. Skulls and severed heads adorned the walls like grotesque trophies.
 
A figure was visible among the shadows – a bald man, nose buried in a dusty tome. He looked up, startled by the light filtering through the doorway. Before he could utter a single word (probably something along the lines of "Intruders!"), Dadroz lodged an arrow deep in his shoulder.
 
The bald man, his scream echoing through the chamber, unleashed a massive fireball. A nostalgic pang shot through me – a reminder of the fiery magic I once wielded with such ease. Thankfully, his attempt at fiery obliteration seemed…lackluster, compared to my past pyrotechnics. We all managed to scramble to safety, singed but (mostly) unharmed.
 
Liliana, channeling her inner fey warrior, launched a magical blast at the man, but it merely grazed him. Hayley conjured a forest of spikes, momentarily hindering the movement of the cultist and a stone guardian that had sprung to life by his side.
 
Seizing the opportunity, Gael let loose an arrow, finding its mark on the golem's rocky hide. Feeling the heat of the battle, I summoned a flaming sphere, positioning it strategically near the bald man. A satisfying sizzle filled the air as the flames licked at his side.
 
The stone guardian, seemingly unfazed by Hayley's spiky welcome mat, lumbered forward and delivered a mighty punch to Liliana, sending her sprawling. Alistan rushed to his sister's aid, the two forming a temporary barricade against the golem's relentless advance.
 
Meanwhile, the bald man, sporting a burnt arm courtesy of my fiery intervention, found his voice again. Another fireball erupted from his hands, this time packing a bit more punch. Thanks to my flame-mage training, I managed to absorb most of the impact, but the rest of the team nursed some nasty burn wounds. Alistan might even have lost an eyebrow in the fiery blast.
 
The battle raged on, a chaotic ballet of spells, arrows, and a surprisingly resilient golem. Sensing the need for a decisive move, Liliana grabbed her sword and sliced the stone guardian to pieces with a single hit in a display of impressive swordsmanship.
 
"Surrender," she demanded of the bald mage, her brother Alistan flanking her for added emphasis. Just to hammer home the point, I lobbed a frostbite spell above his head, followed by a well-placed flaming sphere for good measure (gotta keep the branding consistent, right?).
 
Suddenly, a shout of warning from Gael pierced the air. It seemed our elven friend had spotted reinforcements arriving through another door, an observation promptly confirmed by a barrage of dark magic conjuring some very unpleasant-looking shadowy weapons.
 
The mage, desperate to save his skin (or at least what was left of it after my fiery intervention), muttered some cryptic words. Alistan, poor guy, went rigid, temporarily frozen by the mage's spell. Thankfully, my flaming sphere wasn't discriminatory – it continued to singe the mage's robes even as Liliana launched an eldritch bolt at his face. The combined assault seemed to do the trick – the mage shook his head, his face a mask of pain and fury, as Alistan thawed out next to him.
 
Hayley announced that more cultist goons were piling in. These two, unlike their weakened leader, seemed fresh and eager for a fight. Thankfully, their dark magic was as shoddy as their fashion sense – both their shadowy weapons missed their mark (Dadroz and Gael, take a bow!).
 
The battle transformed into a chaotic melee. I continued my personal vendetta against the bald mage, while Alistan, seizing his opportunity, landed a well-placed pommel strike to the head, knocking the mage unconscious. Job well done, Alistan!
 
Turning our attention to the newly arrived reinforcements, I yelped as a dark weapon grazed my ear. Deciding discretion was the better part of valor (at least for the moment), I retreated around the corner, launching magical bolts behind me like a fiery, retreating gremlin.
 
Around the corner, I watched as Alistan, channeling his inner knight in shining armor, charged into the fray. He managed to disarm one of the cultists, causing them to drop their very menacing-looking dagger. Hayley, joining the fight, cast a spell that warmed my fire-loving heart – her very own firebolt! Take that, cultists! With it, she managed to finish off one of the goons in a blaze of glory.
 
Meanwhile, Liliana and Alistan held the remaining cultists at bay, while Dadroz patiently picked them off one by one from afar. It wasn't long before the last cultist crumpled to the floor, joining his comrades in the great cultist nap in the sky.
 
With a sigh of relief, I approached the altar, drawn by the pulsating runes. Studying them closely, I realized they were imbued with dark magic, their purpose seeming to twist humanoids into draconic creatures. Yikes!
 
Alistan chimed in with a remark about having "two copper pieces" now – one for each time he'd encountered a cult trying to turn people into dragons.
 
As I kept studying the runes, it dawned on me that I could use the altar to reverse the curse that had been placed on Reynis. But darn it, I needed a "polymorph" spell to fully reverse the curse, a spell that was on the edge of my power back when I was at my peak. It seemed so far away now.
 
Looting the unconscious mage (hey, gotta finance future adventuring gear!), we found a key (score!) and, even better, his spellbook! It was like a magical Christmas morning – familiar fire spell runes, the intriguing mysteries of "hold person" and "knock," and… a basic polymorph spell! Perhaps there might be a way to convert the description held within the spell book into something that I could even with my limited power.
 
With newfound motivation (and a spellbook to pore over later), we unlocked the northern door, revealing an old tomb converted into a cultist barracks. Not exactly a five-star vacation spot. We did find a suspiciously broken wall on one of the tombs – someone clearly wasn't respecting the dead here. Gael stumbled upon a beautiful statue of an Elven god – the protector of forests, according to Hayley. A quick prayer for the disturbed spirits later, we moved on.
 
The eastern door beckoned next. Key in hand (courtesy of our unconscious friend), we revealed a desecrated chapel. Dark runes adorned the walls, mocking the sacred space. New statues, depicting regular-looking humans, stood sentinel in the corners. There was also a circle in the middle of the room – never a good sign in these spooky places.
 
Hayley, with an edge of recklessness that I am not used to from her, stepped into the circle. Big mistake. The statues, fueled by dark magic, sprung to life. Time for round two!
 
I, channeling my inner pyromaniac, summoned my trusty flaming sphere and hurled it at one of the statues. Boom! Liliana, Alistan, and Dadroz, with a battle cry worthy of bards, charged the remaining statues. The clang of metal on stone echoed through the chamber as chip after chip flew off the statues.
 
These things were like slow-moving golems, thankfully. It gave me ample time to pepper them with magical bolts. The rest of the team weren't having much luck with their weapons – let's just say the statues weren't exactly known for their delicate constitutions.
 
Gael, managed to bring another one down with a well-placed arrow. Alistan, bless his brave (and slightly foolhardy) heart, charged into the fray, taking on a statue head-on. Liliana, channeling her inner warrior princess, delivered a final blow, shattering one of the statues into a million tiny pieces.
 
With teamwork (and a healthy dose of fire magic), we finally surrounded the last statue and pummeled it into submission. Whew! Talk about a workout.
 
After our lively statue smackdown, we caught our breath and tackled the desk in the desecrated chapel. Papers, glorious papers! We found blueprints and a collection of letters addressed to a mysterious "Professor" – our recently-unconscious mage friend, no doubt.
 
The letters themselves were a goldmine of intel. Apparently, they'd performed some dark ritual and crowned a champion (yikes!), who was then sent off to Keralon to further their nefarious cult plans. Most importantly, it seemed a valiant group of knights (that's us! - well, Hayley, Dadroz and Alistan, but we helped!) was a major thorn in their side, preventing them from meddling with the alliance between the Fenhunters and Keralon. Take that, cultists!
 
Returning to the main chamber, we discovered our bald buddy the mage had displayer-beast-ed his way out of his bonds and vanished. Good thing I snagged his spellbook before!
 
Gael, our tracker extraordinaire, sniffed out a hidden tunnel beneath a table. Picture a badger hole crossed with a particularly claustrophobic drainpipe. We also spotted tiny tracks – an invisible imp, perhaps? Ignoring the potential claustrophobia and imp-related shenanigans, we squeezed into the tunnel, following the mage's trail deeper underground.
 
The tunnel eventually opened into a vast cavern, so deep we couldn't even see the ceiling. Running the numbers of the distance traveled, we realized that we were under the very foundations of the village! A distant incline hinted at a possible exit, and a small underground lake added a touch of eeriness to the scene.
 
Liliana, cast light-up spells so we weren't navigating in complete darkness. And what did we find in the center of the cave? A pile of stones… that upon closer inspection turned out to be a giant dragon skeleton! And next to the bones was our old friend the bald cultist mage! Talk about a surprise houseguest.
 
Just as the bald mage started chanting over the skull (probably not a good sign), Gael knocked him out again with a swift blunted arrow. Crisis averted, at least for the moment.
 
We examined the skeleton, finding a few stray green scales. Just to be safe, we removed any lingering runes the mage had placed on it. Sadly, no dragon hoard in sight.
 
Gael and Dadroz discovered a massive crystal embedded in the wall, covered in vines like a neglected houseplant. It looked pretty damaged, with cracks crisscrossing its surface. They called me over for a closer look, but honestly, after the whole statue fight and imp-avoidance tunnel crawl, I needed a breather. Told them I'd be over in half an hour (gotta prioritize self-care, even in a dragon cave!).
 
While they waited, they spotted a shimmer – the invisible imp, back for round two! Luckily, Gael's arrow reflexes were on point, and the imp met its demise with a satisfying poof.
 
Finally, after a much-needed rest, I joined them at the crystal. Using my magic, I detected an aura of… well, magic! Specifically, abjuration and conjuration. After a bit of magical analysis , I concluded it was a protective crystal, deliberately hidden by the vines and dirt. It seemed like this crystal was blocking access to an unknown alternative entrance.
 
We then squeezed our way back through the claustrophobic tunnel, emerging back into the dusty ruin feeling like particularly dirty noodles. After that whole "dragon skull" incident, we decided to finish exploring the remaining doors. South was next on the list!
 
Using the handy-dandy key collection liberated from Mr. Bald Mage, we unlocked the door. Inside, we found another unfortunate statue of the old Elven god – seems these cultists weren't big on interior decorating.
 
There was another locked door in the room, leading to what appeared to be a storage room. Jackpot! We cracked it open, revealing a treasure trove of shiny objects – gold, enough art to rival a museum, and even a strange-looking armor worked from a very tough metal. Score!
 
Feeling flush with our newfound riches (and maybe a little greedy – hey, adventurers gotta get paid!), we moved on to the other side of the room. Another door, this one leading to a rather fancy tomb filled with… well, a whole lot of bones. Not exactly the most inviting place, but hey, we couldn't leave any unexplored nooks and crannies, right?
 
As brave Liliana stepped into the tomb, things got a bit… lively. The bones, as it turned out, weren't just decorative. They started twitching, then assembling themselves into horrifying skeletal creatures! One looked like a half-formed dragon, missing half its body but still sporting menacing claws. The other looked like a giant, lumbering man with a bull's skull for a head – not exactly the kind of dinner guest you'd invite for tea.
 
Liliana, channeling her inner paladin, unleashed a blast of divine fury at the dragon skeleton. It definitely took a hit, but that one remaining eye seemed to glare back at her with defiance. Time to bring on the heavy artillery! I summoned a flaming sphere, and launched it at the dragon. It slammed into the skeletal beast, leaving behind a trail of charred bone. Nasty, but effective.
 
Liliana, realizing direct confrontation might not be the best strategy, cast a magical shield around herself, deflecting the ferocious bites of the skeletal dragon. Dadroz let loose an arrow, but it whistled harmlessly through the rattling bones.
 
Alistan, seeing an opening, charged forward and struck the dragon in a critical weak spot. With a satisfying crack, the skeletal beast crumbled, its bony parts scattering across the floor. Take that, you creepy bone dragon!
 
The minotaur skeleton, meanwhile, lumbered towards Liliana, its horns glinting menacingly. Thankfully, my flaming attacks were doing their job, slowly roasting the bony monstrosity. Dadroz and Gael joined the fray, peppering it with arrows. The creature's movements became sluggish, the injuries taking its toll. Finally, with a final, decisive blow from Liliana, the minotaur skeleton crumbled, joining its dragon brethren in a pile of dust and bone.
 
Panting and slightly bleeding (but victorious!), we surveyed the carnage. Taking a closer look at the remaining bones, it became clear these weren't just any skeletons. They were a mishmash of different creatures, some of them looking suspiciously like the young draconics who had gone missing. Yikes. It seems these cultists were up to some seriously creepy experiments.
 
We collected any remaining valuables (gotta pay for therapy after all this) and exited the tomb, a little shaken but definitely richer (and maybe a touch traumatized).