Nail Arrives

Done via email

Nail could not believe his recent luck. It wasn’t that it was bad, it was as if Tymora and the other goddess’ of luck were spitting on him. He had meant to get back to Arabel and see Deuce, Reece, Tabra and the kids but then a group of Zhentarim raiders had decided they needed his hoard. After that fight, Nail decided he should move his hoard to a new spot, and leave some traps for any who knew about his old place. Of course, it had taken a while to get everything moved and set up the new area, as well as change the old around a bit. Then, his new area had been in the territory of a mated pair of wyverns. And wyverns don’t make deals. No matter how reasonable Nail was, they didn’t budge. Of course, it may have broke down completely when he gave them those rashes but he couldn’t say for sure. Anyway, he was a dragon, and he didn’t bow down to a couple of wyverns. So, after showing them he was in charge and they were around at his sufferance, things calmed down.

Nail decided he needed more of the good Arabel Ale, a dark ale that was bitter, and so had gone to Arabel to look up his friends. He hoped the Inn keepers didn’t have great memories. He would hate to have to lose his wings but they marked him too much. And anymore it was the only way he could be served. It’s not his fault that people pick fights with him! Sometimes it wasn’t even his fault! I mean, who knew they only had one mate? By the time he got to looking for his friends, it turned out they had gone on an adventure! Figures. Tabra was really nice, though, and told him how they had gone to sell some wares in Suzail. Nail had thought this was a good plan as there was a specialty ale in Suzail, called Suzale, that was also quite tasty and would be just as good. Assuming that Inn keeper also had a short memory.

Nail arrived in Suzail a few days later than he had intended. He couldn’t resist the Five Fine Fish Inn in Immersea and the brews they have there. And he could keep his wings there! Actually, their house wine was his preferred drink there. And he loved being in elf form when he ate! He could eat and eat and eat and not gain any weight. Of course it took a lot more and he would have to feed on a cow or two later in his own form, but he could go for weeks before he had to do that. Nail could go live off of metals, especially copper, and some select gems if need be, but he figured that the humans ate cows, so why not him?

Therefore, when Nail found himself wondering Suzail looking for them, it turns out he missed not only Deuce and Reece, but also another group from Arabel! And they were going after a temple to Shar! And Nail wasn’t sure what he thought of the Dragon’s Claw. The Inn itself was fine but he wasn’t sure of the name. Was it insulting or not? He was coming up with a very good trick when he realized if he didn’t get going, he would miss the group. He took to the air as his winged elf form but as soon as he was out of sight of the town, he turned into his natural shape.

Ahhh, thought Nail, there was nothing like flying in his natural form. He liked being an elf but it still paled compared to being a dragon. What didn’t, thought Nail? He was heading east when he felt something. And he saw it. A Shadow Dragon. A shudder rippled down Nail, at the implications of it. His parents had used tales of Shadow Dragons and how they were created as a way to scare him when he was still under their wings. Nail had to do something. It was bigger than him but with surprise and some good blasts of his breath weapons, he might be able to slow it down.

Nail approached it from behind and above and let loose with everything he had. His first breath weapon, a cloud of gas meant to slow opponents, caught it right in the face. Nail quickly followed it up with a blast of acid, catching it on the wing. He waited for the wing to melt away but nothing happened. It twisted around, looked at him and . . . laughed. Nail hadn’t expected that! He charged in with teeth and claw ready.

Nail hit the dragon’s form and passed right through! It was a shadow illusion! He started a wing over to get out of the way but was too slow. Claws dug into his sides. One grabbed and pinned a wing. Nail thought he was going to be dropped, they weren’t more than a few hundred feet above the ground but the Shadow Dragon kept holding onto Nail.

“Wait, my brother,” the Shadow Dragon rasped. “There is no need to fight. I have seen it. I have seen these humans. They have some fine days and a few times a decade, they are almost noble even, but they are still but nothing compared to us dragons.” Nail tried to twist to a better position but the Shadow Dragon tightened his grip more, ripping through the membrane on his wing. Nail wouldn’t cry out. He wouldn’t.

“The only time the warm two legs have been truly efficient is when they served us. I have read our histories, my brother, and it’s true. When they served us, they had purpose and knew what it meant to be noble.”

“What are you saying?” gasped Nail. It was all he could do to try and twist his neck to face it. His breath weapon was almost ready again and perhaps a shot in the face would work. However, the Shadow Dragon moved to a better position so that Nail couldn’t reach it.

“I am saying that after I have my vengeance on the one who did this to me, it will be our time again, my brother. I have found several groups of noble reptiles, perhaps even . . . well, I have found those who understand better than the two legged warm ones. I don’t want to hurt them, or indeed anyone, unless they stop this from happening. They will serve greatness! What else could they want?”

“Freedom?” spat Nail, still trying to twist in the Shadow Dragon’s grasp. Nothing he did seemed to work, though. It just had too good of a hold on him.

“You will change your mind, in time,” the Shadow Dragon said, chuckling. “Until then, think about what I have said.”

Nail felt the dragon tear his other wing slightly and then let go. Nail was ready and he readied himself to attack. However, a glance at the ground told him that he was closer than he thought. And with two torn wings, he would have to work not to slam hard into the ground. He could do nothing about the Shadow Dragon. Not now, anyway.

It was close but Nail managed to land fairly well. He only took out one of the cows and it hadn’t cushioned his fall as much as he would have hoped. And, since it was dead then, he figured a meal wouldn’t be bad. He would need his strength to heal himself. If only he had some ale to go with it.

Nail thought about the Shadow Dragon. This was bad. His kind had had their time. That was long ago, outside of the living memory of dragons. They didn’t think that way anymore. It had ended badly for the dragons, trying to keep the warm bloods-. Humans and elves Nail thought, don’t think like it. Having them as slaves, anyone as slaves, is not the way to do it. He liked having friends among them. It was so much better.

Nail found he was near Immersea and he went there to rest. He couldn’t fly for at least a week, perhaps more. And he would recover better in his elf form anyway.

Nail had been wrong. It had taken nearly two tendays for him to heal fully. He had forgotten how devastating another dragon’s attack could be! Or, his own attacks, he thought. Perhaps he did spend a bit too much time as an elf. However, that didn’t matter now. Nail had to warn the others with what he knew.

As soon as he was able, he flew to Arabel in Avariel form, again to Tabra and Reece’s, hoping to catch up to them. And again, it seemed as if luck was not on his side. Not only had he missed them by a few hours, but they had headed in his direction! If only he had paid more attention to those on the road below, he might have seen them. Ah, well. Nothing to do but try and catch them. Tabra said they had headed to some elven ruins in the King’s Forest. Nail knew of several sites and headed toward them.

Nail knew he found the correct ones when he felt the magic. They had either activated some strong magic or stumbled across it, because it hadn’t been this powerful before. Or, what if Deuce had activated it? That could be bad! Nail saw them among the ruins just as they went through some sort of portal. It looked like it was anchored to an old archway there. He had to get there before it closed! Nail pushed some magic at the portal, hoping it would keep it open in time, as he went into a dive. Even with his extra magic, the portal was closing. He landed in a full sprint, pulled his wings in close to him, and started running as fast as his two elven legs would let him. He could have gone faster in dragon form but didn’t think he would fit through the portal. As it shimmered, the magic about to be completely gone, Nail jumped for it.

Notes

• The group liked some NPCs and I wanted to go with Nail as he is more interesting and has more potential for me. This also gives them some fighting skill the group needs.