The Drow on the high platform spoke with a nonchalant tone, seemingly emboldened by her position. Behind her, a large barrel was delivered to her side, connected to a pipe that extended down towards the crowd below.
Whether it contained poison or acid, it was likely lethal. Lynn glanced at Count Karyel and noticed his furious expression; it seemed that this was originally his trap. He had intended to pour acid or poison from above to slaughter the adventurers, transforming the cave into a hell of toxins.
His plan was sound, but it had now been co-opted by the Drow.
The Drow's ambush had been shockingly silent and deadly; they had quietly seized the high ground and acquired the dangerous materials. It was probable that the other vampires in the cave had already met their demise, making the Drow the unexpected champions against the vampires. Now, they sought to eliminate everyone present: as long as the adventurers were dead, the knowledge of the Gnomish weapons would die with them, and the trade routes would remain secure.
They were here to kill and silence, leaving no survivors. The balance of power had shifted dramatically, and these newcomers were now the true masters of the situation.
"Uryss, I have always treated you well. Is this how you repay me?"
Karyel's demeanor darkened as he faced the Drow priestess named Uryss, his aristocratic airs stripped away by anger.
"Oh, have I been ungrateful? Is that wrong?" Uryss replied lazily, clearly unconcerned. "Boring man, do you really want to argue? Perhaps you should take it up with the God of Justice and see who is right. I suspect both you, a vampire, and I, a Drow, would find ourselves facing the same fate."
Uryss seemed to bear no affection for Count Karyel, her words dripping with mockery. She surveyed the others, signaling her intent to kill, but her companions were still struggling with the barrel, forcing her to tilt her head and speak again.
"This acid barrel is a bit troublesome; after all, it's not mine... Just a reminder, the acid that will kill you was prepared by the Count, not me. My intent is solely to eliminate the Count... and a few stragglers."
"Do you think you have me cornered?" Karyel retorted, his voice low and dangerous following the deaths of his subordinates.
"If you wish to flee, I won't stop you, but do you honestly believe you have a chance to turn the tables?"
"You underestimate me." Karyel sneered, reaching into his robes. "I'm a mage; mages always have backup plans. The traps outside were indeed meticulously designed by me, but they are not my final trump card. My ultimate weapon has always been right here."
"What weapon? You aren't about to pull out a Nethar scroll, are you?" Uryss responded with a half-hearted joke. But her expression quickly changed. Karyel produced a small statue from his garments—a red dragon carved from carnelian, lifelike and stunning.
Uryss knew this was no mere crafted trinket.
"Want to kill me? You should consult her first—welcome your arrival, Red Comet, Shamirafabul!"
Red light erupted from his hand, illuminating the dark hall. A dragon soared above the chamber, its fiery scales shimmering like live embers, casting a radiant glow throughout the cave.
Lynn recalled tales he had heard of Drizzt and a statue of a black panther named Guenhwyvar. He remembered playing games that featured statues of ravens, goats, and even lions. Back then, he hadn't paid much attention to such items; after all, in a world of magic, there were far more exciting things than animal statues.
However, when Karyel unveiled the red dragon statue, Lynn could only curse inwardly: this man had truly gone beyond reason, while others conjured animal statues, he had directly summoned a dragon!
Were these two things even comparable?
Dragons were always the most fearsome beings, and the emergence of this giant beast drastically altered the dynamics of the situation. The good news was that the dragon was not yet ancient, so it wasn't overwhelmingly powerful; however, the bad news was that it still possessed significant strength, and it seemed disinterested in distinguishing friend from foe.
The dragon opened its mouth, unleashing a torrent of flames upon everyone below, indiscriminately scorching both Drow and adventurers alike.
The entrance to the cave had been blocked, and the confined space made evading the dragon's flames incredibly difficult. The unfortunate Drow, perched near the narrow passage, initially thought they had a vantage point removed from the ground-level conflict. However, the dragon attacked from above, and the tight confines of the tunnel offered no refuge.
What was even more terrifying was that the barrel beside them was highly flammable. As the dragon's fire struck it, the barrel exploded, engulfing all the Drow in a fiery inferno.
Yet, there was no time to contemplate the Drow's fate; this was a brutal massacre. Encountering a dragon's flames in such close quarters was a nightmare.
In the chaos, Eirich seemed to unfurl a scroll, activating a magical barrier around himself as mercenaries hurriedly gathered around him. Some managed to escape the impending doom, but others were not so fortunate. For instance, Ganda, a member of Lynn's party, was directly engulfed in flames, writhing in agony on the ground, though he had yet to succumb.
Lynn stood a short distance from Eirich but was too late to reach the safety of the barrier. Just as he resigned himself to the cruel twist of fate that had led him to perish in dragon fire, something stirred within him. He halted, allowing a strange energy to envelop his body.
Blue-violet flames manifested around him, appearing eerie yet lacking any heat; in fact, they seemed to insulate him from temperature. Lynn watched as the dragon's flames passed by him, brushing against him like a gust of wind, causing no harm whatsoever.
What was happening? Why had he chosen to conjure these ethereal flames?
He himself was puzzled, feeling as if he had been compelled by an unseen force to act. However, once the strange flames enveloped him, that feeling of control vanished, leaving him momentarily bewildered.
What exactly was happening, and what kind of power was this?