Friendly Dragons

Expedition

Natalya and the rest of the party find themselves in the desert where they wander around until they all pass out from heat exhaustion and confusion. They wake up to find themselves in a brass dragon's lair feeling well rested. The dragon introduces himself as Ukris and asks them for help retrieving a magical candle for a dragon he admires from the blue dragon Sethrekar's liar. He also informs them that the chromatic dragons have been meeting suspiciously. They agree to help him.

Natalya felt miserable as they walked through the desert. Everything looked the same. They had been out there for hours in the terrible heat and their water was running low. Eventually they saw a small oasis a few hundred feet away. They hurriedly ran toward it and Tarin leaned down to the water when they got there. He scooped some into his hands and into his mouth before coughing up a mouthful of sand. The oasis suddenly vanished and Natalya felt overcome with confusion and thirst. "Great, instead of dying by execution we'll just die of thirst out here." Nerlureel exclaimed. They kept walking until they saw a giant rock. Tarin went to it and tried to sit under the small amount of shade it provided. Suddenly it sunk into the ground and vanished. "This place sucks!" He complained. Natalya studied the sand where it had disappeared but wasn't sure what to make of it. Suddenly they saw the rock rise up from the ground a few yards away. The half-orc drew his sword and ran up to it and slashed at the rock. As his sword met the rock he was blasted back by a bolt of lighting. Natalya felt the ground shimmer with electricity. They heard what sounded like thunder come from the ground and then it all stopped as the rock sunk back into the ground. "What the hell?" She said looking around as the heat and confusion got to her. Tebi was holding Kai who had passed out on the ground. She noticed everyone else was also sitting and looking exhausted and confused. She slowly sat down in the sand feeling defeated. I'm so sorry Fenneck. She thought as her vision blurred and she succumbed to the heat of the dessert.   Natalya woke up in a pool of shimmery water. She was in a very ornate, enclosed room. She looked around and saw the rest of her companions also in the pool, still sleeping, wearing their undergarments. She cautiously stood up and made her way over to her clothes lying against the wall. She put them on as her companions woke up. Where the hell are we? She thought. She looked at Kai and Tebi hoping they would recognize this place as some important building in Sivania. They looked equally confused though. "Where are we?" Tarin asked looking around. It was a large room and a large pool. Natalya felt a sense of dread come over her as she remembered the only place she had seen something like this before. She looked at Nerlureel who also had a look of fear in his eyes. "Be quiet Tarin." Nerlureel said harshly. Natalya looked for their weapons but they were no where in sight. "Put your armor on." Nerlureel told Tarin and the others quietly. Natalya moved quietly over to the door and looked out around the corner cautiously. "What's wrong? What is this place?" Tarin asked loudly. This fucking kid. Natalya thought as she hoped the resident of this pool wasn't home. She started walking through the hall way. It was fairly large, which sent a shiver of fear down her spine. Sethrekar. She remembered Fenneck's tale about the blue dragon who live in this desert. She turned around and saw her companions following closely behind her. She saw shadows moving up ahead and froze realizing there was nowhere to hide. Suddenly from around the corner a large brass dragon flung his head around the corner excitedly and ran toward them. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Tarin screamed and ran back towards the pool. "NO no no! Please don't run! Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" The dragon stopped and pleaded kindly wagging his tail. Natalya was perplexed. "I am terribly sorry for startling you all! I'm just so excited! It's been so long since I've had guests. I do apologize if I am a little rusty on my etiquette." The dragon said politely. His wings looked like two large sails that extended all the way down to the end of his tail and he had two big fins on his head. He resembled a big puppy dog to Natalya, especially factoring in his demeanor. "You...you aren't gonna eat us?" The half-orc asked in a gruff voice. "Oh heavens no! How awful! No, I think you're mixing me up with the other dragon from these parts. He will eat you. I actually saved you from him and his mind tricks out there in the desert. Sethrekar can be quite cruel sometimes. He's the blue dragon that this fiefdom is named after. I do hope you never have the misfortune of meeting him." The dragon said quickly. He had a quirky, excited accent. "Please, come join me in the conversation hall and I can get you your things and some food and water while we talk!" He excitedly turned and scurried off back toward the way he had come. Natalya looked at Nerlureel who looked as shocked as she did. He shrugged and looked over at Tarin who was standing frozen looking up at where the dragon had been in shock. They stood for a moment, not sure of what was going on, until the dragon popped his head back around the corner, "Please folks, it's right this way!" He left again and the party hesitantly moved forward. As they turned down the hall they saw it open up into a large room with a stage like area where the dragon was now curled up comfortably. They hesitantly walked up to him. "Oh good good. I hope you all feel well rested now?