The Slaying of Drax

By Cancer

      I looked over at Hitokiri, he was pinching his nostrils. The putrid smell emitting from the cave must have been overwhelming for him. I on the other hand was not bothered, the smell of death and decay is a smell I am well accustomed to. Balthazar made a few last moment preparations and then strode into the darkness. I could hear Hitokiri cursing from within the cave and I knew he had not made it past the trap. I converted myself into a mist state and slipped into the cave. Our assassin friend needed a moment to recover, so I took it upon myself to clear some of the hatchlings out of the passageways. The less dragons we had to deal with, the better. Their blood was refreshing, I could taste the beasts power as I leeched out its lifeforce. I could only imagine what the mighty lord of this cave would taste like. As I was about to head back to my party, Balthazar came striding down the tunnel behind me. He tapped his foot impatiently and yelled down the corridor behind him, "Hurry up Hito!" Hitokiri stumbled down the tunnel just barely dodging a falling slab of rock. He muttered to himself, while he brushed some dust off his armor. Balthazar pointed at a bend in the tunnel across from a large pool of water. Hitokiri nodded and snuck around bend and scouted the area. He returned a few seconds later and reported, "There he is, he's got three fledgling dragons with him." Balthazar nodded and said, "Alright, forget the little ones, lets just take out the bastard." I nodded in agreement. We all made our last minute preparations. All at once we burst around the bend and into the dragon's nest. Drax was startled by our prescense and let our a roar to sound the alarms. He bellowed with a voice like a thousand drums, "Mortals!! How DARE you invade my domain!" I guess he didn't realize he was dealing with more than just mortals, but he found out soon. I lunged forward and tried to bite the beast, but this ancient wurm's hide was thick and my fangs failed to penetrate it. Quickly, I sprung back and began my spellchant, as I knew the counterattack was on the way. I saw Drax's jaws rear back and flame begin to build in the back of his throat, but he was not fast enough. The force of my stun spell sent the dragon sprawling backwards. Balthazar saw his chance, he rushed in with his warhammer raised high. He swung down with a bonecrushing swing. Hitokiri followed suite. He juked several hatchlings and tried to position himself behind the creature so he could stab it in the back. Just as he was nearly there, two more hatchlings appeared from the darkness and lunged at Hitokiri. He managed to elude them, but his backstab failed to connect. Due to Drax's stunned state he still managed to make a critical blow on the beast. Drax regained his composure just in time for me to cast another stun spell upon him. This time the beast shrugged off most of the spells impact. Drax roared, "You and your allies are strong vampire, but no match for us!". Drax's voice boomed throughout the cave and seemed to draw the hatchlings out of nowhere. With as much force as I could muster I drove my blade deep into the beasts stomach, finally piercing his near invincible hide. He lurched his head forward to bite me but I unleashed a perfectly timed stun spell that sent his head reeling backwards and slamming into the wall. Balthazar and Hitokiri rushed to my aid, delivering several crucial blows, and finally the massive beast fell limp and lifeless to the ground. Our battle was not over yet tho, by now there were 10 hatchlings upon us. The three of us stood back to back as the creatures circled around us. Thats when I noticed it. A jeweled scroll was resting upon Drax's spilled intestines. Now, as spells are of great interest to me, I couldn't help but lunge for it. As I broke formation, five of the hatchlings darted towards me. I snatched the scroll, but as I turned around I just barely had time to get my arm up to block the hatchling from taking my head off. Another latched onto my leg while the others raked their claws against my body. I had no choice, I quickly reached in my pocket and pulled out a hazy potion and vanished. Though I did not make it to his treasure vault, I got what I had come for, so I was content with my accomplishment. Though I had secretly hoped to land a bite on Drax and perhaps turn him. A Vampiric Dragonlord would make a fine addition to my guild...