BEDAugust 8

In case you forgot between yesterday and today I'm simply catching up on my Dungeons and Dragons campaign journal. Enjoy.

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I figure there's no point in turning back now, so I begin to march over the next bridge towards the stalactite. Death is coming for everyone, and I might as well meet it in the jaws of a dragon. It would make a better story. I don't bother to hide my approach, the dragon likely already knows I'm there anyway. Everyone trails behind me, I'm not sure if they want to come, but I've discovered that when I make the decision to go the rest of the party often follows. I imagine it's because I carry the biggest weapon. As we're walking Rouge trips over something and hits the ground hard, sending and echo through the cavern.

A low buzzing starts up somewhere in the cavern, and I ready my great axe, figuring whatever it is will be coming for us. The buzzing gets louder and louder and a large black cloud begins moving towards us. As the cloud gets closer we can discern that the cloud is made up of black reptilian insects which Shallahai identifies immediately as stirges. The stirges surround us and we begin to hack and slash our way through them. There numbers seem almost endless, and I'm not entirely sure we're going to get any farther, certainly not this way. That's when Ariella decided to take matters into her own hands. She launches a series of fireballs that take out the majority of the stirges. Of course she also hits Garr and the Dread Pirate Roberts, but seeing as the other option was getting devoured by reptilian insects neither of them seem to mind. We make short work of the remaining creatures and continue across the bridge.

Even before we reach the stalactite I can smell the metallic scent of blood. The air is thick with it, and it's not blood newly spilt, it's the scent of old blood, the blood of the long dead. The scent only gets stronger as we enter the stalactite and make our way up the stairs towards the flickering fire. At the top of the stairs is a large open room, like a cathedral, and sprawled across the flood is the body of a giant red dragon. The dragon has been dead for awhile, and blood pools around it. There are more stirges covering the body and the blood pools. They are feasting on the creature and drinking the blood.

As we enter the room I feel a strange sadness to see such a magnificent creature of fire lying dead and decaying. That's when I notice that the carcass is moving, as if there is something feasting on it from the inside. I move boldly closer, ready to face more stirges, but what raises from the red dragon's body is not a stirge. A large snakelike dragon with scales of black pearl raises it's head and stares me down. The Dread Pirate Roberts speaks to it in a language I vaguely recognize as draconic. I wonder at him knowing such a language, and make a note to look into him a bit more later. The dragon, however, isn't as interested and merely returns to devouring the carcass.

With the dragon intent on it's meal I take a better look around the room. Across the way I can see a large door, which I recognize as leading to the treasure room. I know I must get to it if our mission is to be completed and Kough healed. I search the room for anything that could prove useful and that's when I noticed them. Tucked behind the carcass of the red dragon, a nest of black pearl dragon eggs. Well shit.
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 Until tomorrow.