Those Aren't Butterflies

We had been traveling down the passageway maybe half an hour when we came to a bend in the hallway that opened into a dimly lit room. Garn held his hand up for a halt and we did. He called Kyri to the front and the two had a quick, whispered conversation. She shouldered her bow and snuck forward using the wall as concealment. Peering around my party, I could see a pair of huge orange butterfly wings fluttering but not much else.

The green-haired elf returned shortly and we huddled around, eager to hear what dangers lay ahead of us. “Looks like the room was used for grain storage, but four fey drakes have come across it and are having a feast. Pretty things, but definitely hostile. Now normally I would say we could take them out easily with a couple of well placed arrows or bolts, but they keep dipping down below the sacks. We’re going to have to draw them out to get a clear shot.” Great, I thought, a place where we need Rhegar to come in swinging and he’s off looking for passages.

We shuffled forward to the end of the hallway, trying to keep as much cover for ourselves as possible. Markas let out a shrill whistle to catch the attention of the fey drakes. Collectively, they turned to our position. Two dropped their grain sacks and sat back on their haunches, hissing. The other two rushed forward on monarch-colored wings. Vixi let loose a curse that knocked the nearest one to the ground, but it recovered quickly. Markas roared out a challenge in the Raven Queen’s name and blinded the second, and a hand axe thrown by Garn tore into a wing. Maddened, the other two fey drakes rushed forward to help their companions. Markas leapt away from an attack, while the blinded fey drake swung wildly. The other two clawed at Garn, but the boys were doing a good job keeping the attacks off us.

Suddenly, a pair of crossbow bolts thudded into the wall and I heard the warlord swear in Draconic. Seems like the mutated butterflies weren’t the only thing in the storeroom. Kalena dropped a fireball behind the drakes but only manages to catch one in the fiery blast. I could see blood dripping off Garn’s chainmail, so I sent a healing prayer his way. Inspired by Kalena, I sent a burst of flame down on a drake with purplish scales. Vixi fired off a crackling eldritch bolt, but the drake soared upward to avoid the blast. Garn battered his new spear on the drake in front of him before he released his icy breath with a great roar. It caught the purplish drake almost point blank. For a moment it sparkled with an icy brilliance before it crashed onto the floor, shattering to a million pieces.

Markas had been expertly fending off the attacks from two of the fey drakes. I heard a whispered prayer slip from his lips, thanking the Raven Queen for his new suit of plate. The third remaining fey drake caught a claw across Garn’s shoulder just before a crossbow bolt sunk into his shoulder. Halfway down the room I saw a gnome duck back behind the grain sacks, laughing an evil little laugh as he did. Kalena rushed up next to me. Angrily she cried out, “You’ve tasted ice. Now you will taste fire!” as she dropped a fireball where the gnome disappeared. Clearly the gnome hadn’t gone far, as it shrieked when the fireball exploded. “Ice tastes better” it whined.

I yelled for Garn to turn about and he did, saying, “Technically, that one didn’t taste ice.” Carefully I wrapped my hand around the bolt sticking from his shoulder. “Sorry.” I said as I ripped it from the flesh. Another quick prayer stopped the blood flow. “Thanks.” He mumbled before turning back to the fight. Behind me I heard Vixi curse as a drake avoided another of her spells. A mighty blow from Markas’ spiked chain split the skull of a fey drake with a reddish cast to its scales. It collapsed, pixie dust spilling from cleft skull. Despite his injuries, Garn ducked under one of the drakes, trapping it between the two of us. I battered the startled fey drake with my quarterstaff.

“I wish I could see those damn gnomes.”Kyri says as she fired at the drakes. Another fireball exploded among the grain sacks and Kalena snickered when the gnomes screamed. Markas swung his chain forward, tearing through one wing of the drake in front of him. Seeing her chance, Vixi took off the other one with a well placed blast and it fell to the ground in a cloud of pixie dust.

The last remaining drake turned and grappled onto Garn. Distracted by the fey drake, he didn’t notice the gnomes until their crossbow bolts thudded into his unprotected back. I could see his eyes widen right before he dropped to the floor. Kyri screamed and fired two arrows at the laughing gnome. They hit; one in the forehead and one between the eyes. It fell back, spraying blood across the grain sacks. Kalena ran forward past the drake, which swung wildly at the wizard. She skidded to a stop on the grain covered floor and threw a blast of icy coldness at the gnome, freezing it to the floor. Still enraged, she turned and fired at drake. It burst into a cloud of rainbow sparkles.

Wiping the shimmering dust from my face I knelt beside Garn. Removing the two shafts I wove together a couple healing prayers to stabilize the dragonborn. “Wake up so we can yell at you for your stupidity.” I growled softly in Draconic. Beside me Vixi muttered to herself in some demonic tongue as she smiled. She disappeared briefly as the remaining gnome flew backward into a pile of sacks, screaming as it died. She reappeared next to the corpse and plucked the crossbow from its dead hands.

Markas came up behind my shoulder. “Can we move him?” The others had come over and looked at me expectantly. “He took a lot of damage, I’ll need at least an hour to get him mobile.” I replied. “It would be better if we could stay somewhere close for a couple hours. I know I need rest now, and after healing him, well I would be pretty useless if we have to fight again.” “I think we could all use a rest.” Kyri replied, “This is as good a spot as any. It only has two entrances and we can post lookouts on both. Plus Rhegar can catch up to us.” The others agreed and we set up a makeshift sleeping area between the grain sacks.

A couple hours later, Garn stirred on the floor beside me, waking me from the nap I had been taking. “What happened?” He said weakly, trying to sit up. I pushed him back down. “Move and you’ll be sorry. I used a lot of energy and spells putting you back together and I will not be happy if you make me do it again.” Satisfied that my patient had made it, I called Vixi over to get the dragonborn some food and fill him in while I got some proper sleep.