Interlude MCCIX: Of Winged Shadows
Of Winged Shadows
Eleventh Day of the Ninth Month 294 AC
Garin had never wanted to be a dragon rider, not even as a boy when he had first heard the tales nor when he had met one who counted them kin. A galley was best, a boat was good, a horse would do in a pinch, but no son of Braavos would want to fly through the air on the wings of a willful beast who would eat you as soon as look at you. It was a good thing then that he was on the back of not a beast, but a friend.
Blasts of icy wind formed from a mouth of crimson scale as wings opened wide to catch the arcane wind. Fire roared at their back and frost before them. Perhaps it was the might of their magic, perhaps it was the speed of their advance, perhaps it was just luck which even the gods could not discount in their battles, but none there were to stand against them. In the roaring of the flames Garin heard only spite and rage as he held on for dear life, up the lift shaft, under the withering hail of force bolts, unerring even in the smoke and dust of their advance...
Viserys, Ser Richard and Garin take 37 Damage
"Ready!" He could hear Richard behind him, hanging on to a back spike with one hand as he took out his launcher. "Aim!"
Aim? It was all Garin could do not to giggle, which hurt too bloody much to do. It was a damn wall, the last thing you needed to do was aim. Magic lashed out in a line of white light while Viserys shuddered under them, struggling against the wards. Correction, it was a hole.
"Shoot!"
The sound of the word was swallowed by the explosion of the bombs smashing against stone and for a moment all Garin could do was continue hanging on for dear life. He really was not supposed to ride dragons.
Then they bounced off the bloody stone.
"Fuck!" the fire was getting closer and from behind them the chanting of the one in its midst all the louder, echoes on the inside of his head.
And us using our best wizard as a battering ram, Garin wondered if he could run down the spine and fight on the tail. Then Viserys smashed into the stone again, some spell Garin could not make out in his roar. Finally the stone gave way, wings snapped open like sails on either side.
Just like a ship....
For the first time in years Garin Drekelis felt nauseous. It turned out that if you had enough falling rocks, no amount of skill could help you dodge them. There was probably a very profound saying in there somewhere and he would be sure to write it down as soon as the world stopped dancing before his eyes.
Garin and Ser Richard take 21 Damage
Lightning roared out of the batteries closest to the main bunker and thunder boomed fit to shatter stone, but for this they had been ready. They had known to expect lighting and for all the blasts were strong enough to hole a spelljamer or even put a hole in the side of one of the moonchasters it was merely lighting, not whatever primal force the dread wizard had used against them down in the depths and lightning could be warded against with spells woven in advance. The glare of the lightning bolts firing might have even been what prevented more distant batteries from getting a proper aim on their position.
Thank you Daenerys, Garin thought as they finally made it clear of the first ward line. And thank Moon, Tree and Sea we made it out of there alive.
(Viserys at 32/355
Ser Richard at 56/211
Garin at 52/222)
It was on that day under skies of smoke and flame that Garin Drekelis, High Inquisitor of the Imperium, made two vows. First that he would never ride a dragon again unless his life depended on it, and second that he would learn to look for traps better.
What next?
[] Military deployment calculations
[] Post-mission meeting with the rest of the Companions
[] Write in
OOC: The deployment calculations will be delayed if you choose those until I have access to the PM because the rolls actually came out quite well for you and I do not want to re-roll and get worse ones.
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