BEDAugust 9

More Dungeons and Dragons story!
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The eggs make me hesitate for a moment, but as the dragon continues to feast on it's fallen enemy I figure why not just try to walk across the room. As I creep around the room towards the large doors the dragons stops it's feasting. It doesn't make a move though, so I continue moving across the room. I make sure to keep far from the eggs as I can and manage to make it to the door. Milk and the Dread Pirate Roberts also begin to cross the room, but they get closer to the eggs than I want them too. Shallahai looks at the eggs and says they seem to be petrified and dead.

The dragon continues to watch me, and it gives me the creeps. It seems to exude death. It smells of death and looks like death and as it stares at me I can feel death creeping up behind me. It reminds me of the way Dread Pirate Roberts sometimes smells when he lets his guard down. Just when I'm deciding to turn around Pixie and the Dread Pirate Roberts start speaking to the dragon. The say the dragon claims the treasure is locked and it's hers. Dread Pirate Roberts converses with the dragon at length, and they even speak in something that isn't Draconic, something older. As they talk I figure I might as well make my way all the way to the door. I get to the door and easily unlock it.

That gets the dragon's attention. Before I can even blink it has swung around and bent down so it's head hovers inches from my face. I imagine that someone who was afraid of death would have been shaken by that, but I was raised a warrior and I just found out my father is a Demon Prince, it takes more than a dragon to scare me. I face the dragon and push the treasure room door open with my foot. I don't speak draconic but I raise a large bag of gold and figure my message is clear enough.

The dragon speaks, and I find myself able to understand, although I don't speak Draconic. The dragon says her name is Tzevokalas. She says that if I add the jeweled gold scimitars I acquired then I'm free to take what I like. I have no attachment to the scimitars, so I agree. I drop my gold and the scimitars and Pixie and I waltz into the vault. The room is filled to the brim with treasure, but I know better than to touch anything other than the healing tub. The crystal tub is easily recognizable, and Pixie shrinks it so we can easily carry it away.

As we leave Tzevokalas thanks us for the trade and promises she won't attack us...until we leave the dwarven city. It's nice of her to give us such a head start. We leave the city slower than we entered, hoping the delay would perhaps make the dragon forget about us and return to devouring the red dragon's corpse. As we exit the city a large shadow passes over the moon, it seems the dragon hasn't forgotten us after all. Shortly after that we realize the horses are gone, which makes outrunning the dragon seem almost impossible. Luckily she doesn't seem interesting in attacking us.

After a LONG, hot, and boring walk back to Zog's tower Garr decides perhaps we need an escort to get the tub back to the temple and Kough. Garr hires an orc shaman named Oog, who is strangely weaponless, carrying just two kukri shaped sticks and a dagger. Pixie, Rouge, and the Dread Pirate Roberts all go speak to Zog. The Dread Pirate Roberts speaks to him alone, which is strange as they don't know each other. I have no interest in an escort, but I was curious to know if they were still have trouble with the bandit king. I go to find the captain of the guard, only to learn that he was killed a few days ago outside of the Wailing Griffin.

I let the others do as they please and go to the tavern to see if anyone knows anything. The barmaid says she remembers someone matching the Bandit King's description. She tells me he didn't order a single drink but simply sat in the tavern and spoke with a gorgeous blonde wizard (her words not mine). She says the Bandit King stayed the night the evening the captain was killed but left early the next morning, before she'd even set out breakfast. She even helpfully points out the wizard the Bandit King spoke to. I recognize him as Russel. Garr spoke to him earlier about being a member of our guard but was suspicious about him being evil and turned him down in the end.

I sit down across from Russel, prepared to question him. Imagine my surprise when he calls me Riley. Very few things startle me, but a complete stranger knowing a name I share with no one will do it. I momentarily forget that I'm there to ask him about the Bandit King as he tells me he knows who I am. Russel explains he knows my father Pireal. He says Pireal is a high level Demon Prince and rules a lust level of the abyss. He also casually mentions that Pireal has another child, a boy named Raven. I have a brother. Eventually I remember my mission and Russel informs me that the Bandit King was simply looking for his weapons.

I leave the tavern with many thoughts racing through my head. I have my father's name now, and more than that I have a sibling. A whole new world has opened up to me, one where I might have family again. I'm still in a daze as we head out with Zog and Oog. I'm happy for the two day walk, as it will give me time to think about what I've discovered.
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Until tomorrow.