"Against you?  My dear Sspider, I am not against you, as apparently you seek nothing I value.  Nor am I with you, however, as you also offer nothing.  Perhapss these 'adventurers' will do better!"

"As far as assurances, I offer none, only the chance to become something other than my prey!  I may even be so humble as to sshare any treasures found here with those who prove useful, and oppose any who sstand in the way.  You'd best hope your adventurers do not offer more, Sspider, if you continue to hunt them.  He who proves useful to me would have a mighty ally indeed!"

"I do hope I can find them before you do then, so they might hear my offer of alliance.  I do enjoy a good hunt, so I shall refrain from removing you from the game right here and now.  I cannot promise that the elusive Sspider will not taste my breath when we next meet, however!"

Venomfang seems to sigh.  "I grow hungry, and weary of this exchange.  May the better hunter win, dear Sspider."

Venomfang suddenly stomps on the goat with a large rear foot, the crunch of bone replacing the suddenly absent bleating.  He clutches his dinner in his claws and appears ready to take flight, but he stairs back at you all for an extra second, allowing time for any reply.

----------------------------

The shield replies to Elra, "why, the Lord, of course."  "OH!  THE LORD!  YES!  I remember now!  I wanted to save him!  Did I save him?"

"What Lord? If you don't mind me asking?" Elra asks.

Ethan is torn between watching the huge dragon talk to his distant friends, and listening to Elra's conversation with the shield.

Both are interesting, so Ethan remains quiet, trying to take in both at the same time.

"When next we meet, if I have not found anything suitable to you, I invite you to kill me!"

As the dragon flies away, Arvel lets the illusions drop.

"I just pulled one over on a dragon."

He steps up to Zeke. He grabs the warrior by the shoulders and shakes him a bit.

"I just pulled one over on a dragon."

Rushing down the hall, he passes Ethan. Giving him a quick high-five.

"I just pulled one over on a dragon!"

Finally, he rushes into the room where the shield is being examined. Seeing Elra, in his excitement he pulls her into his arms and spins her around the room.

"I. Just. Pulled. One. Over. On. A. DRAGON!"

And he sets her down. Their eyes meet and he finally realizes what he's done.

There's a beat.

As the conversation was coming to a close, Fae paid close attention to the dragons mannerisms. Are we in fact fooling the dragon, or is he fooling us? Would be the question that comes to the front of the scholars mind.

There was something about Venomfang’s powerful presence that cautioned her to stay back, especially after witnessing the change in Zeke’s demeanour when he was called forth. Though, that didn’t deter Fae from curiosity’s doorstep. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins, tempting her to get a closer look, to experience the true power that flows from this legendary specimen.

As quiet as the shadow she was, standing there unnoticed during the whole exchange, Fae would finally give in. The wizard would take tentative steps forward as the green beast prepares to take off.

 Fae would continue to move forth as Venomfang readied for his accent. As she drew closer, she could feel the weight of his presence challenging her will to stand her ground. The scholar will draw a deep breath, reminding herself that Zeke is close by, as is Arvel and Tarja, uplifting her sense of confidence. Fae would ground herself in the soil as she watches the magnificent beast take its leave. Her violet eyes stare up, deep into the eyes of Venomfang as he’d rise, not averting his gaze from her own. She’d simply observe, rooted in silence.

When Venomfang soars out of view and Arvel breaks his disguise with his much deserved excitement, Fae still wouldn’t move. Goosebumps peppered her skin, her heart was fluttering out of control, and all her senses were heightened. It had taken all of her courage and the presence of their protector to keep her from cowering in fear. This weighed heavily on her, humbling her to the true power of a legendary beast.

As Arvel dashes away to share his excitement with the others, Fae will finally take some steps again. She’ll move in closer to the mammoth imprints left on the ground from Venomfang. The scholar will crouch down, running her hands across the grass and dirt before taking a seat there herself. She’ll stare up into the sky in the direction the dragon flew.

Fae will take out her notebook and begin sketching, recounting the events that just transpired.

Elra stares at Arvel, a little confused and shocked at first, before smiling and laughing, "You certainly did! I never doubted you could. Out of all of us your're the one with the tools for the job." She hugs him properly, and whispers in his ear, "Now try it again with the hobgoblins..." before pecking him on the cheek and letting go, turning to Gundren, "Here that Gundren? Arvel tricked a dragon!"

When the dragon is well and far away, Tarja returns to her usual form with relief.

I, for one, am glad the beast didn't pay any attention to me. Best stay out of the attention of predators like that. Not often that being a giant spider is inconspicuous!

I hope him and the Black Spider do some damage to each other. Both are a scourge on this land. Dragons don't make good neighbors, and that one seems determined to take control here.

Fae would look over her shoulder just in time to catch Tarja shifting out of her spider form. Still cool. She’d nod in agreement with the dwarf about not being picked out of the group by Venomfang, and that he was territorial. “An interesting web has been spun... I do agree. Let’s hope this works for us and not against us, should the real pair ever meet.”

Zeke exhales audibly as the massive Dragon flies off. 

'Well now, that was quite the adventure wasn't it. We may need to do a bit more prep before the next time we have to face him down.'  

 

The shield replies to Elra "why, Lord Havelyn of Calimport, of course!"  "OH!  That is indeed a good sign!  I worked for the Lord, yes!  I took care of him and his family, kept them safe... I hope?"  When a dragon is mentioned again the shield exclaims "DRAGON?" and his fear seems to resurface again.

Gundren just looks up at Eya with wide eyes and trembles.

Venomfang chuckles a bit at Arvel just before departing, commenting "I'm not so ssure Brinzak the Bold would allow me to harm the Sspider, or would he?"  He laughs again and takes to the skies, the rush of air beneath his massive green wings buffeting those members of the party that are outside the castle.  The impressive creature seems to head East as best the party can see in the partially moon lit sky.

"No, no more dragon," Elra turns back to the shield, "the dragon is gone now. Arvel made it go away..."

"Yes! Yes. The dragon is gone. Now to deal with the hobgoblins!"

Arvel begins pacing around the room maniacally.

"OK, put yourself in the mark's head. Hobgoblins. Martial. Straightforward. Rigid. Hierarchical."

"We'll need something swift. Something abrupt. Something impactful."

"IMPACT!"

"YEEMIK! Tell me more about the ceiling in the main entrance of the castle!"

Ethan smiles as Arvel walks in and returns the high five, giving a mildly curious look at his interactions with Elra.

When Arvel mentions an impact and shout his question about the main interest, Ethan perks up.

"Oh yeah, Yeemik mentioned something about a trap, didn't he?"

"I would like to have a look myself, see if there is anything I can learn, or maybe contribute...hmmm..."

Ethan starts trying to remember what he can about traps and structural engineering.

"ETAN! I need your engineering genius. Is there a way we can make the trapped ceiling in the main hall appear to be deactivated? I'm afraid I don't have an illusion that large. But if we could, sorry, if GROL could lure the hobgoblins into position..."

"Hmm, well it would depend on how the trap is constructed, also, um, there is a side entrance, the one we used to enter."

"What if they come in a different way?"

"Also, when are the targets expected to return? How much time do we have?"

Ethan walks out into the hallway and looks around for Yeemik.

"Grol is king, Etan. When the king demands audience in the great hall, they will snap to!"

Fae couldn't help but agree with Zeke's words, allowing their weight to fill the air for some time. She'd turn back to her pages realizing that it could take her a while to document and write the whole experience. As much as she wanted to stay here, a few thoughts bubbled up in her mind that may need addressing before she can settle into an evening of studies. The wizard would close her notebook and pack her supplies away before picking herself up off the ground, turning to face Tarja and Zeke. "Aren't we expecting more company this evening?" She'd pause before adding, "And are we expecting a fight?" Tilting her head to her own question. With Arvel's 'antics', she never truly knows.

Yeemik and the other goblins had been watching via various hiding spots in the castle.  Yeemik emerges and remarks "well, you're still alive, that's good."

"The ceiling?  Oh, yeah, well, there's that pile of stone up there and we usually have a trip wire.  Got rid of it just before the dragon came so you didn't get flattened.  We can put it back, but the hobbies know about it."

(That is what the goblins were propping up back in post 2023.)

"Hmm, how much stone do you have set up in the roof, enough to kill all of the targets?"

"Maybe we show them the tripwire is disarmed, and then have Yeemik up in the roof to manually set off the trap?"

"If the trap wouldn't kill them all, maybe we could actually rig another part of the castles to collapse."

Ethan ask Yeemik.

"Yeemik, how long do you think we have before the targets are likely to return?"

"Also, can you show me the trap?"