Twilight's assault was Veldan's cue to strike. Rushing across the room, he pressed his back to a rocky column. Two fingers toyed with the ring on his finger as he muttered some words, the gem flashing various colors as the wizard peeked across the room. Biding his time for the right moment during Highness' reaction, Veldan whips around the corner and fires off another blast of sizzling green energy with everything he's got, striking the dragon across its back and wings.

"That'll soften up that hide of yours!" Veldan grinned, but his bravado cracked a bit catching the dragon's gaze, ducking back behind the column.

Shaw felt the flames hit his back as he ducked out of his way, he was thankful for his heritage at that moment. Shaw stood up snapping back to the red wyrmling he raised his hand ready to unleash another bolt of radiant energy. He saw an arrow down the kobold sorcerer, followed by a splash of acid under Highness's belly and then finally his eyes caught the Goliath, bloodied on death's door rushing in a crazed rage. Shaw then remembered a promise made earlier that day "you watch my back and I'll watch yours". He changed his mind, rushing behind the barbarian and performed his strongest healing spell. "This is going to sting!" He shouted. Red and yellow flames spurted from his hands, once against cauterizing the wounds and then healing them.

Shaw glanced to the side his eyes meeting the wyrmling's, he saw the arrogance in the dragon's eyes. "I'll show you there is more to flames than just fire." Summoning his internal divine energy he forced his simplest spell from his hand faster than he had ever before. The Sacred Flame dropped from above Highness bathing and searing her flesh in radiant light.

Shaw looked down at his skin and frowned noticing it fading back to blackish tone.....he was running out of magic. 

Erxuk, badly burnt, takes cover while whimpering about his wounds. He takes the metal ball he picked up earlier, places it in his sling, and lobs it at Highness. It clocks the dragon on the side of the head, leaving some broken scales near its left eye.

Highness is looking rough. 

Passing Hunter's Mark onto Highness Tal aimed his bow at the flying dragon. Unable to get a clear shot he released his arrow only to find the arrow bounced lightly off of the scales of the wyrmling. Huffing in exasperation Tal quickly notched another arrow for another clear shot.

"You disgusting, monstrous beast!" Krenak said as he noticed that the wyrmling was getting ready to fly once more. "I'll show you what it means to be one of the dragon descended!" With that, halbard crackling with radiant energy, he swung down, digging the blade deep into the dragon's hide and nicking one of the beast's wings.

Highness roars in agony as the halberd bites through their scaly hide. The wyrmling flaps their wings, kicking up some dust in your faces as they take flight towards the exit in the center of the cavern ceiling. Highness stops upon seeing some reinforcements show up and sets furious eyes upon them.

"You and the others deal with them or I'll come back and eat you alive!" The spawn of Thordak screams in draconic before slipping away into the tunnel. The fearful kobolds draw their daggers and prepare to fight for their Highness.

Razz leaps over to the reinforcements, landing with a resonating blast as the natural energies around him send ripples through the floor, slightly damaging the incoming Kobolds.

"Well there goes the glory kill," Veldan laments with a sigh. "This tale just got a lot less interesting." No sense worrying now, they had to clear the rabble and get word above ground.

Whipping the rapier from his belt, Veldan's humming resonated off the blade. Light on his feet, the wizard dashed towards the kobolds, bounding over their line with a twirling flip. Muttering a few short words as he came down, and landing ever so gently on the tip of his foot. 

However, the noise that came from the landing was anything but gentle. The air itself rippled as a wave of sheer sound exploded out from Veldan, turning the frail kobold bodies into bloodied bags of bones as the sound of the blast bounced off the solid stone walls multiple times, reverberating with something not too far from having a gong struck right by your head. 

"Ahhn!" Veldan winced and staggered, clutching his head as the brutal echo hits him last. "T-that was not on purpose!"

Frustrated as Highness flew up through the tunnel above them, and unable to get in a hit, Krenak shrugged off the concussive force of sound from Veldan before rushing towards the remaining kobold. Eyes bright with divine fury, he brought his halbard down in a lethal chop, slicing through the reptilian head and down through half of the torso. Giving a grunt as he lifted the heavy weapon, he looked around furiously before shouting, "Where is she?! Where does that tunnel lead?!"

Tal closed his eyes and stretched out his senses to the mark, he could sense it. Highness was scrambling through the tunnels, taking turns left, right and back again. Oddly she wasn't moving further away rather around...almost behind them...but where was she headed? All of a sudden it clicked. Tal's eyes flung open and he gasped, "She's headed for the Kobold Village!" Eyes darting to Krenek he knew they couldn't let that happen. "Krenek, I don't know if she intends to kill them or recruit them but if we intend to get there first we need to start running now!" She was almost there, they had about a few minutes at most.

The cold of fear warred with the heat of rage coursing through him, and without uttering a word, Krenak sprinted, putting everything he had into reaching the village before the dragon. 'I cannot let her hurt the little cousins, not any more!' he thought furiously. 'I cannot let an innocent be harmed while I can do something about it, not again!' Sudden memories about the destruction of his home temple almost caused him to stumble to the ground, but he quickly righted himself and ran on, chased by the ghosts of his adopted family.

With a whistle, Veldan drew Twilight over as he passed underneath the mouth of the tunnel. "Follow after it, darling." He glanced up onto the dark opening. Twilight went wide in a circle before going into a glide straight through the tunnel after Highness.

"Who knows what a clever thing like that is planning. Or hiding." Veldan's eye wandered to the hoard that the dragon had been sitting on, but with a shake of his head righted himself and took off in a run after Krenak.

Most of the group had already started running down the hall in chase. Shaw's eyes went over the incredibly injured kobold. "Erxuk, looks like you could use a hand." Shaw rested his hand on the kobold's scaly shoulder, yellow and red flames erupted closing and healing the wounds. "Your wounds will still take some time to heal, this is the best I can do for now. Catch up when you can." Shaw turned, put up his cloak, covering his fading red skin.

"About one more powerful spell, I think" Shaw thought with a frown. He sprinted down the hall attempting to catch up with the rest. 

Erxuk's face takes on a horrified expression. "Wes needs goes now!" He screams, almost running off before Shaw can heal him. You all bolt after him down the tunnel, rushing as fast as you can against the uphill incline. It takes you two minutes to get back to the beginning area of the passage and you can already see a group of about ten old, young, and feeble kobolds running in the opposite direction. They scream at Erxuk in draconic and are wailing and shaking, but he orders them to retreat into the passage. From the cave mouth about thirty feet ahead, you hear a roar and an explosion of flame flashes from around the corner. Steeling your resolve, you all ready your offenses and quickly head into the fray.

It is chaos. The small huts are burning, dead kobolds lie incinerated or torn apart on the ground; they didn't stand a chance. The smell of burning flesh and garbage is horrid and the smoke hangs like a black shroud covering the ceiling. And in the center of the square where once the kobolds of Erxuk's tribe were so hopeful just moments ago, the harbinger of their doom, Highness, spawn of the Cinderking, cackles in the midst of the desolation. Seven red-shirted kobolds are taking prisoners, tying up those left of Erxuk's people with bits of rope, cord, and wire they find lying around. You realize that they are presenting these captives as tribute to Highness' rage when you find that Highness' claw is resting on the same sickly, sniveling kobold that Razz tried to intimidate during your first encounter. 

"Die, traitors! Let all of you pathetic worms know the price for treason against your Highness!" The wyrmling warbles as they slowly shift their weight upon their prisoner, who screams in agony before a crunching noise is produced and the kobold goes limp. Their eyes, burning with madness, turn to you.

"Still alive?! Rrrgh... Kill them! Kill them all!"

Erxuk bolts into the room with a steely determination in his eyes. The inventor takes cover behind a natural stone column and tosses a glass vial of liquid at Highness, but it hits the ground right before their talons and burns the stone beneath it. Cursing, he presses himself against the pillar.

Whipping his rapier out once more, it began to hum as Veldan muttered a few words, fingers tracing shapes before his ring focus flashed green and another jet of acid splashed against the wyrmling. He walked ahead, transposing himself between his companions and the remnants of Highness' followers, teeth clenched.

"This beast is mad. We can't let it escape!"

He knew Higness was murdering all those innocent Kobolds and knew she had to die. Watching Veldan thow acid at Higness he saw an opening. He had already killed Skreeva not a few minutes ago and he knew Highness was next on that list. Aiming just under the belly near the acid marks left from the continuous fighting. 

Tal looked into the wrymlings eye and in Draconic said, "All things must die Higness, meet your father in Hell!" Looking back at his mark, he loosed an arrow, striking the point on her chest near her heart. A flash of green from the Hunter's mark also blasted out of the wound. A moment passed as Tal witnessed the life leave the wyrmling. In satisfaction and mild shock Tal stood there ruminating, 'just like that, the hunter and the hunted, the dead vs the alive.'

Staring at the other Kobolds that had fallen sway to Higness he screamed out in Draconic, "The Wyrmling lays fallen, She no longer holds sway over you! Put down your weapons and we will leave your village in peace!" He had taken notes from Krenek, he saw that diplomacy had worked before, but he wasn't sure this time it would. He silently notched another arrow just in case.

Highness drops to the floor and gasps for air. "Im...possible... not like..." They sputter before the wyrmling breathes their last. All of the kobolds that were ready to fight for Highness gasp and stand frozen as the dragon dies. They hear Tal's words to them and they immediately drop their weapons and begin untying their prisoners. There is silence all around except for the crackling of flame as all the kobolds - those aligned with the wyrmling and those with Erxuk, stare in awe and slowly approach Highness' corpse. Erxuk emerges from his hiding place and comes up to the tyrant's face, gingerly poking it with his dagger. No one utters a word; these creatures can't believe what they just witnessed. The inventor finally climbs onto Highness' body, stands over the assembled kobolds, and clears his throat before speaking in draconic.

"My brothers and sisters, after months of tyranny and oppression and fear at the hands of Skreeva and Highness, we are free. If it were not for these strangers, we would still suffer as slaves. These kobold-friends have proven that not all the people from above want to kill us like Highness and Skreeva said. We must join them in friendship if we wish for something like this to never happen again. Spread the news through the warrens! Highness and Skreeva are dead thanks to Chief Inventor Erxuk and his friends from the world above. I will lead us down a new path."

The kobolds cheer, former enemies embrace one another, and several kobolds approach all of you and hug your legs, shake your fingers, and call you "big friends." It is an adorable if somewhat awkward display. As Erxuk sends runners out to inform the rest of the kobolds in the caves, he turns to you and smiles. 

"Thank you. You have truly saved us. We will recover from this.There are still several warrens throughout the caves that will be happy to hear that Highness and Skreeva are dead," the inventor says in draconic. "We will return all we have stolen in Highness' name to the chiefs of Emon. Remember our deal; many of my people have suffered greatly for revolting against Highness. Please tell the Emon chiefs of my offer to keep the sewers safe. We do not want to hurt anyone anymore. Promise.

"Yous bes good big friends to kobolds," Erxuk says, switching to his broken common. "Thank yous for helps. Lets looks at shinies, makes sure no one takes be-fore we gives back." 

He begins heading down the passageway and you follow, discovering the chamber to be empty save for the dead kobolds and the small, glimmering horde.

As filthy and ugly as these little creatures were, Veldan couldn't help but feel a sense of purpose as they all tripped over themselves to thank him. He smiled a bit, and was about to say something in return when Twilight landed gracelessly on his shoulder with a thump. "Ngh." He grunted, glancing over with his smile fading and dismissed Twilight with a flick of his wrist.

While being ushered back towards the wyrmling's lair by Erxuk, Veldan shot a glance backwards at the corpse, then looked over towards Razz. "Now that's a head I think you should sever, my friend. Perhaps the city will be inclined to give us a bonus for such a herculean effort." He posited with a raised brow.

Shaw was visibly uncomfortable with the attention the kobolds have given him."By Bahamut, you are all rather friendly," he said with a mild grown. "I believe Krenak would be more accommodating to your affections," Shaw said as he moved gingerly through the group up to the hoard. "Hmmm and interesting stash." he mutttered. "Veldan! I'm afraid my magics aren't terribly useful in a situation like this. Do you suppose you could learn anything more about these items through arcane means?"