Paradise Lost

Alleania is pursued by the demon-possessed Dragon as Carn races to help the Drow Matron.

25.

Paradise Lost

 

They were waiting just outside the doorway to the passage, and from the expressions on their faces, Amala knew something terrible had happened.

“The Dragon just crashed through the city.”   Zeatt announced as they exited the passage.

“He seemed to be in a desperate hurry.”   Alvis added, “He didn’t even spare his army.   He melted the city gates and simply smashed his way through as if he was chasing someone.”

“Alleania and Devin perhaps?”   Aurei pondered.

“Or Carn.”   Amala added, trying to be hopeful.

 

While her father told them about the blocked passage, Amala went up the stairs to see the damage for herself.   Though the high walls of the Ar’Rilla compound hid much of the destruction, she could hear the cries of the injured and the shouts of desperation coming from beyond the walls.

The air was now much fouler, filled with dust and smoke from the path of devastation taken by the Dragon.

She climbed the stairs to view the scene from the parapet and it was even worse than she imagined.   Much of the city was on fire or leveled.   The Goblinoid army was annihilated, though handfuls of them wandered, injured and dazed, in the ruins.  

 

It was a horrible scene to behold, but as Amala gazed down on the devastation, movement caught her attention.    It was a large form, running in the path of the destruction.   From the parapet, she could tell it was a Bugbear with cloth wrapped around his face in order to breath.   The air was too foul to identify him clearly, but Amala knew who it was without a doubt.

He was too far away to hear her shout, but she knew she had to follow him.

Running down the stairs, she found her parents as they were entering the courtyard.

“Carn is alive!”   She yelled to them, “He’s running after the Dragon!”   She quickly explained what she had seen and was greatly relieved when her father agreed with her that they needed to pursue him.

Moments later, Amala and her parents were racing through the rubble and debris, following the same path and wondering what they would do if they caught up with the Dragon.

***

 

He was gaining on her.    Alleania could now hear the roar of the Dragon echoing through the curved passageway.    There were no side passages or connecting tunnels she could take, and though she was nearly exhausted from her desperate flight, she did not dare stop to rest.

It wasn’t far now, this she knew, but the nagging thought occurred to her that she could end up trapped once she reached the cavern.

Yet she had no other choice.

 

All at once the passageway opened out into the cavern.   Alleania sighed in relief, but kept moving into the large chamber.   She had been here many times, though not recently, and the Drow noble house that had taken control of harvesting the bark of the tree had not changed anything.  

Large piles of white bark had been gathered in many places in the cavern and several wheelbarrows and tools were scattered around.    Apparently the Drow workers had been evacuated when the Goblinoid invasion began, for the cavern was empty.   

 

Alleania flew toward the huge white tree.  All around on the floor were piles of curly white bark from the massive trunk.     Above her, about thirty feet away, the trunk of the tree disappeared through a hole of solid adamanthium and continued on to the surface to become the Great Faesidhe Tree within the Clearing of the Ages.

The Dragon would not be able to maneuver much here, but she hoped he would try to pursue her around the great tree and then she could flee back up the passageway.    Flying around the backside of the tree, she reassumed Drow form and leaned against the bark to give her exhausted muscles a few minutes of rest before the demon-controlled Dragon arrived.   

She could certainly hear him coming - the roars echoed and shook the metallic walls of the cavern.    Glancing at the Gem of the Oscinate, she was amazed that such a simple looking piece of jewelry could cause so large a problem.    She undid the clasp and slipped it around her neck.   Now she would not risk dropping it as she flew.  

A short minute passed and the floor began to rumble with the approach of the terrible beast.     With a weary sigh, Alleania assumed bat form again and verified that the necklace was still around her neck.    She then fluttered to the middle section of the great tree, completely hidden from view of the doorway.   Alleania knew that the demon would sense where she was, but she was going to make sure he came to her before she fled again.

 

She heard the Dragon enter the room with a terrible, ear-splitting roar.   But to her alarm, he did not go further inside, but guarded the doorway.

“THIEF!” He bellowed, “I SENSE YOU ARE HERE.   YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME NOW, VAMPIRE.    THE GEM WILL NOT CHANGE WITH YOU WHEN YOU BECOME GASEOUS WHEN I KILL YOU.   I KNOW OF YOUR PLAN, FOOL!    HIDING BEHIND THE GREAT TREE, YOU THINK YOU ARE SAFE.    BUT I HAVE COME TO DESTROY AND TAKE BACK WHAT IS MINE!”

There came a long intake of breath from the Dragon.   Then suddenly the whole room seemed to ignite.   Dragon fire filled the chamber from ceiling to floor.   She was protected from the blast by the width of the tree, but the piles of Dart’loxinchu burst into flames at once; filling the room with a thick smoke that no-one could see through.

The Dragon again took in a deep breath and again bathed the room with fire.   She heard the flames as he plastered the great tree with fire.

Then the blast ended, and yet again the Dragon took in breath and then belched it out as flame.

After that he did it again.   Then again, and still another blast.

 

At first the great tree withstood the terrible fire, but after several minutes, the wood began to smolder and abruptly burst into flame.

It burned passionately, a pillar of white-hot fire in the middle of the room.    Alleania backed away from it, but would not come around it, knowing that the Dragon waited for her.   

By now even the walls were dripping molten metal where the Adamanthium melted from the fury of the fire.    The room felt like an armorer’s forge.    All that could be seen was the brilliant glow of the burning Faesidhe Tree.   

She was trapped.

The Dragon would wait until the tree was consumed if he needed.    As soon as she moved, he would attack, and though she would not be destroyed, but would only become non-corporeal and return to her coffin (if it still existed back in Hor’olorbb), she would lose the Gem of the Oscinate.     Then, after regaining the anti-magic Gem, the demon controlling the great Dragon would finish destroying the Underdark, and then perhaps the surface world.

 

The Faesidhe tree began to crack and break apart as the fire ate it up.     Although it was of huge size, the intensity and temperature of the Dragon fire was consuming the tree as if it were made of dry leaves.     It was a nightmare scene to behold.

Molten Adamanthium began dripping from above her and Alleania looked up at the hole where the tree disappeared into the ceiling.   The tree and the metal-rich stone were white-hot.  

Then the tree made a great snapping sound and with a roar, it collapsed, filling the cavern with hot pieces of burning wood and glowing embers.   

Even Mazzikim’ruhin backed partially into the passageway to escape the collapse.   Alleania had no choice but to fly upwards out of the way of the embers.

But as the tree fell into the cavern, the Drow lady also felt a slight gust of cool air from far above.     An insane idea came to her mind.    The Faesidhe Tree exited the Underdark high above on the surface, in the Clearing of the Ages.    Now that the trunk had collapsed, perhaps she could escape through the hole where it had stood.

She really didn’t have another choice.    If it didn’t work, at least it would delay the demon from reclaiming the Gem.   She had to try.

 

So Alleania began to fly upwards before the cloud of smoke cleared enough for the Dragon to see her.   Up she went through the smoky hole, up and up, blindly through the gap in solid rock.   She wound around and around as she rose, and the Vampire was very fearful that the demon would realize what she was doing, then rush into the cavern and shoot a long blast of fire up the hole.

But luck was on her side and she was nearly to the surface before the demon realized what she had done.     She heard the Dragon roar from far below her, but she fluttered out of the smoke into the Clearing of the Ages only minutes after the sun had set.

 

Chaos reigned here.    The top half of the great tree had toppled, destroying several Faesidhe buildings.    It still burned, and Elves ran every direction in dumbfounded panic.   For them it must have seemed like the end of the world.  

Thankfully none of them noticed a large bat wearing a necklace.   Getting her bearings for a moment, Alleania, though exhausted, flew toward the east, over the top of the trees, heading toward Westmark.   

She found herself praying - praying!- that she had taken the Gem out of range from those below.

It was all she could do to help them.

Reviews

[Elina]

"The air now was much fouler..." It will sound a bit better if you change the order to "The air was now..."
"From the parapet she could tell..." You'll want to add a comma for clarification "From the parapet, she could tell..."
"It was unbelievably large and all around it on the floor was a pile of pieces of curly white bark." This feels like a bit of a run-on sentence to me. It isn't, exactly, but it does have that feel to it...perhaps a little rewording?
"...she reassumed Drow form again..." The "again" is a bit redundant, since you've said she "reassumed" her Drow form.
"...could cause so large of a problem." You can remove the "of."
"...hidden from view from the doorway." Possibly change the second "from" to "of." ?

With each chapter I read, the story only grows more wonderful. I am so enjoying this!