<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Dragon-slaying music!  8-)</div><div class="spoiler_body">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7oUk9WizNc<br/></div></div><br/><br/>Operation Kill Telethrax (for lack of a better name) was an all-or-nothing attack, staking everything on a single decisive strike to eliminate him. The dragon was playing a long game, a war of attrition with his monster breeders that favoured him. Going up against a dragon head-on would never be an easy option, but at least if the players struck against him now, he wouldn't yet have an army of monsters at his command. Besides, everyone was getting tired of hiding behind walls, and the simple fact that for once they were taking the initiative, instead of merely reacting to events, was surprisingly effective at lifting morale. The odds were narrow, but if there ever was a time for an upset, this was it.<br/><br/>Everyone had gathered at the teleportation circle in the bazaar, divided by Zombs into three teams. The "A" team - Rayne, Starstrike, Zombs, Grogza, and Sabrith - were going in to hit Telethrax and hit hard, making a beeline straight for him and ignoring everything that wasn't directly blocking their way. The "B" team would follow close behind, with players like Lizzy, Moonshadow and Ledude in their ranks - not quite levelled enough to face a dragon, but able to hold their own against any would-be monster reinforcements returning from the sewers, protecting A team's back so they could focus solely on Telethrax. If they could they would rescue as many prisoners as they were able and send them back through the teleporation circle. The "C" team would be a reserve, making sure that the bazaar end of the circle remained firmly in player hands, and standing by in case they were needed. Leaving the fort, their home base, completely unmanned was a gamble, but a calculated one. Even if monsters managed to force their way in while the fort was unguarded, if it meant taking out Telethrax, then it would be worth it. And if not... nobody wanted to dwell on such dark thoughts, but deep down they knew that even stone walls would not keep out a dragon's wrath forever, if they failed.<br/><br/>While Starstrike set up a crystal ball to scry on Telethrax's lair, the longer-lasting buffs were passed around. Tensions rose. The clock was ticking, and barring an obvious trap, they were now committed to the assault. A hush fell as an image flickered to life in the crystal ball - a grand underground hall that once would have taken one's breath away, carved out of the stony depths of the earth with a pair of rows of columns of natural stone left standing to support the ceiling high above, studded with glowing crystals. But now the walls and columns were overgrown with slimy masses, a web of pulsating fleshy tubes and tendrils wrapped around irregularly shaped lumps spaced out on a muddy, puddle-filled floor. Starstrike moved the scrying sensor down the chamber, passing by one of the lumps. Gasps were uttered, faces were set grimly, and fists were clenched, for the human-sized lump was in fact a young woman, whether player or NPC they could not tell, entangled as she was in so many tentacles as to be almost indistinguishable from them. Her belly was swollen almost grotesquely, no doubt bearing a monster within, but even then the tentacles showed her no mercy, lazily pumping in and out of all her orifices without pause.<br/><br/>The sensor floated out of the hall and deeper into the lair, and the scene suddenly changed: this chamber was bright, dazzling even compared to the one previous. The light given off by the crystals studding the walls glinted off of mounds of gold piled high, motes of multi-coloured fire flashing from the gems interspersed among the coins. Curled up on top of this treasure hoard like a sleeping cat was a black dragon, his ebony scales like polished mirror reflecting the golden glow below him. His horned head did not move, but without warning one eye opened, revealing a slitted pupil of soulless back against a vivid green iris that stared straight at the sensor, looking out the crystal ball as though taking in the assembled players in his gaze.<br/><br/>Then the image winked out; Starstrike had cut it short. "The scrying sensor's invisible, so he probably doesn't know we were spying on him," she said, but sounded unsure.<br/><br/>"Chamber's empty," Zombs said, ever focused on the mission. "Just old man Telethrax napping at home. We are go!"<br/><br/>The A team rushed to take their places in the teleportation circle as the final buffs were cast on them, and then the circle glowed - the bazaar disappeared from their sight, replaced a moment later by the tendril-infested hall they had seen in the crystal ball just before.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Rayne's buffs and prep</div><div class="spoiler_body">Cat's Grace (+4 Dex)<br/>Haste (extra attack when using full attack, +1 attack, +1 AC, +1 Reflex, +30 speed)<br/>Heroism (+2 attack, +2 saves, +2 skill checks)<br/>Protection from Evil (+2 AC, +2 saves)<br/>Resist Energy (10 acid)<br/><br/>25 +1 Dragon Bane arrows<br/>1 Greater Dragon Slaying Arrow (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-weapons/specific-magic-weapons/slaying-arrow)<br/>(Lizzy: "I don't know if you've used slaying arrows before, but normally they aren't very reliable. They're expensive, you only get one shot, you've got to hit <em>and</em> the monster has to fail a fort save for it to work. But my brother once told me that in times of great need, the fort save is skipped and it comes down to your skill alone. I don't know if that helps...")<br/></div></div><br/><br/>There was no time to stop to help the prisoners, besides, that was the B team's job. The sound of the teleportation circle tranferring more players into the hall echoed from behind them as the A team rushed for Telethrax's treasure chamber. Every moment counted, if the dragon was awake, every moment was a potential opportunity for him to buff himself or prepare a deadly trap. The entrance to Telethrax's personal cave yawned up ahead, an archway shrouded in darkness - there was no time to pause or check for traps, and they rushed through!<br/><br/>The moment the last of them stepped over the threshold, a great slab of stone dropped down behind them with a deafening boom, sealing up the entrance to the treasure chamber and trapping them all in the darkness of the boss room. Unlike what the scrying had shown them earlier, it was pitch black, and the only sounds were their own hearts beating in their ears and their agitated breaths - had the scrying been foiled by an illusion? Or was this a trap?<br/><br/>Someone, either Sabrith or Grogza, took a step forward and stepped on the edge of the mound of treasure, causing coins to clinker as they shifted under the weight of the footstep. At the sound, a pair of glowing green points blinked into existence high up in front of them, followed by a snort of breath of a very large, very pissed off creature.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">"What cowering worms dare enter uninvited ye lair of Telethrax, scourge of cities, pillager of towns, bane of knights, ravisher of women, father of beasts? Cherish thy despair, for naught but the void awaits thee!</span><br/><br/>With that, Telethrax let loose a roar as he unleashed his deadly breath, enveloping the party in a deadly spray of acidic vapour! The cold fingers of fear and despair sought a grip on the would-be dragonslayers' hearts!<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Telethrax combat</div><div class="spoiler_body">Telethrax, black dragon (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/dragons/dragon/chromatic-black/black-dragon-mature-adult)<br/>Breath attack! 49 acid damage, DC 23 reflex save halves, Resist Energy further reduces 10 damage.<br/>Frightful presence! Become shaken (-2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks), DC 20 will save negates.<br/></div></div><br/><br/>"Daylight!" Starstrike shouted, lifting her holy symbol high in the air. It shone with the glory of the sun, light driving back the darkness that filled the room until it was lit up once more, revealing that they were in fact fighting in the same golden chamber among heaps of treasure that they had seen earlier!<br/><br/>Sabrith and Grogza let out feral roars as they lifted their axes and rushed towards either flank of Telethrax. The footing was treacherous, coins slipping underfoot forcing them to struggle for each step, not too different from trying to run on a sandy beach - but their<em>hasted</em>steps brought them swiftly up to their foe!<br/><br/>Zombs was hanging back, eyes half closed as he concentrated and murmured a long chant. A magic circle had materialized in front of him, it was obviously a summon monster spell to call in more reinforcements.