Hoard of the Dragon Queen part 1

Hoard of the Dragon Queen 1

Gharhak had spent the past few days wandering around the coastal village known as Waterdeep helping gather supplies that his crew would need for their journey north of here. There was one thing left on the crew’s list and that was to acquire a wagon with two horses that would cut the travel from two ten-days to about a few days instead. Gharhak was standing on a farm near the outskirts of the town talking to the owner negotiating a price for everything. After a quick back and forth between Ghar and the farmer they both clasped each others forearm in agreement for a price as the soft voice of Tempest could be heard behind the Goliath. “Alright sir, I’m here to haggle a price for a wagon and two horses from ya.” The farmer leaned to the side with a wide smile on his face as he let go of the shake.
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“No need, I settled on a price with your friend here.” Ghar turned to see Tempest stop in her tracks with a look of concern that began to fill her face as she shook her head. “No…no…n….. He is not allowed to negotiate prices, he does not know the value of coin.” “Well we already agreed to a price and I’m not gonna accept anything lower than what was said.” There was a moment of silence before the farmer spoke. “We agreed upon a price of seven hundred and twenty….” Ghar could see the anger begin to flood through the face of Tempest as she pointed a finger towards the goliath. “The extra cost is coming from your personal funds.” She reached into a bag searching around until she pulled a leather pouch out holding it in her hand for a moment. “I assume for this price we will be getting your two best horses and the sturdiest wagon you have.”
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The tanned farmer nodded a few times while turning away waving them to follow him as he walked around the back of the farm. Ghar walked along the muddy path down the side of the farmhouse, soon his view opened up and he saw a couple dozen chickens, cows and pigs walking through a field, he continued to look until in the far corner he saw what he was looking for. Ghar followed the farmer to where two war horses were currently getting harnessed into a wagon while Munin and Sialett where loading their gear and supplies into the back of the wagon. Gharhak and Tempest joined their companions climbing into the back of the wagon while Sialett climbed up front grabbing the reins, she gave a quick snap of the leather spurring the horses to move forward. There was a slight lurch as the wagon began moving forward along the muddy path.
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Turning away from the farm the party began to travel North along the High Road. The wagon continued to keep a steady pace as it rolled along the hills, Ghar pulled a wineskin out bringing it to his lips and drinking some ale as the wagon bumped along the path. A few hours later the sky began to turn shades of orange as the sun slowly began to fall behind the tree line of the horizon, using the little bit of natural light that was left they looked for a spot where they could set up camp for the night. Around a half hour later they found a thicket of trees that would give them proper protection from the elements as well as being hidden from sight of anything that would dare attack them. The next morning there was a loud groaning noise that echoed throughout the makeshift camp waking everyone up. “Can you be any louder Ghar? I don’t think the owlbears heard you.”
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Now that everyone was awake they took care of what they needed before climbing back into the wagon to continue their journey to the northeast towards Red Larch. While they travelled along the Long Road the wind began to increase suddenly with an intensity none had seen before. Tempest began to look all around in the sky for the source of the sudden change in weather, everyone could see that the clouds were getting darker as the wind continued to pick up. The wind suddenly died just as quick as it came leaving no cloud in sight leaving the whole party confused as to what had just happened. Sialett cracked the leather straps once more encouraging the horses to start pulling the wagon again.
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Towards the end of the second day Gharhak was able to see the Town known as Red Larch come into view as they peaked over the final hill a mile away. “Once we get into the town I’ll secure us a few rooms at the local inn. Munin you’re to make sure Ghar doesn’t try and negotiate any prices for anything.” Tempest glared at Ghar for a moment as the wagon slowed to a stop, looking around they were outside of a three story stone building with a slanted slate roof. Hanging just above the heavy wooden doors hanging by two metal chains was a sign that read "The Swinging Sword” Tempest told everyone that she would be back in a few moments and for them to wait for her.
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After waiting for a few minutes and growing bored Ghar hopped from the wagon and began walking across the street to a building that had a sign that Ghar recognized to be associated with a tavern. Walking inside Gharhak could see that the taproom was dimly lit with round tables spread throughout the floor with a long tabled bar area along the back wall. Walking to the bar the goliath sat on a stool that creaked slightly under his weight as a human male walked over to him tossing a dishrag over his shoulder. “What cani get ya?” “I’ll take some ale in ya biggest mug ya got” The owner nodded as he turned to walk away as the stool next to him scraped against the floor as it was dragged backwards. “You must be here to help find the missing delegate.”
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Gharhak had just put his order in at the tavern for an ale when he heard someone ask if he was there to help search for a missing delegate, turning his head to the side to see who was speaking to him the goliath saw a dwarven male with a long fiery beard looking towards him. Once they were looking at each other Ghar could see the eyebrow of the dwarf raise in curiosity as the male looked him over while rubbing his beard. “Hmm…. A goliath with a beard, that’s unheard of … unless.” The dwarf leaned to the side trying to sneak a peek towards the goliaths waist as a smirk crept upon his face, “As I suspected. You’re wearing a dwarven belt which grants its wearer the ability to grow a beard.”
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The bartender placed a tankard filled with ale in front of the goliath who raised it to his lips and began to chug the cold beverage. He turned his attention back to the dwarf when the building shook violently as an explosion echoed through the air. Screams filled the tavern as patrons dove under tables to try and protect them from anything that fall and crush them, Gharhak did the opposite and ran to the door so he could see what the cause of the explosion was. Once he was outside he looked around seeing multiple people running for cover screaming as smoke filled the streets, there was a loud screech overheard grabbing his attention.
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Looking up the goliath was surprised to see the giant wings of a blue dragon outstretched as it glided over the village. The dragon opened its mouth as a crackling of lightning sparked before shooting a bolt of lightning struck a building causing the roof to catch fire as some of the stone wall broke falling to the ground. The dragon circled the village once more as it shot another five-foot-wide blast of lightning that destroyed a few buildings in its path before the dragon flapped its massive wings twice as it began to fly away from the village.
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Looking around the area he was in Gharhak could see his half-orc friend running to anyone who was injured to help them in any way that he could. Gharhak saw two robed figures wearing what looked like dragon masks turn a corner swinging a scimitar at any villager who ran by killing them, just behind the robed figures he saw three reptilian creatures walking on their hind legs spinning a sling in one hand while holding a dagger in the other. A few feet behind the kobolds there was a reptilian like creature that slithered on all fours towards a villager who was trying to run to safety, Ghar could feel a fiery rage in the pit of his stomach as he pulled his Warhammer from his back.
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Muttering his selected word there was a burst of energy on the Warhammer as it ignited and was now ablaze with a magical fire, crossing the street towards one of the robed men. Lifting the hammer up to the height of his shoulder Ghar swung sideways driving the head of the warhammer into the ribs of the person causing them to double over in pain as their robe caught fire. As the man began to scream in pain from the fire spreading along their robe Ghar lifted the warhammer once more before driving it down over the base of the mans neck.
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The figure went quiet as the body crumpled to the ground in time to see Munar rushing to the corner with his longsword in hand, with one swing of the sword the head of a kobold was severed from the shoulders. While he saw the rest of his companions rush towards the frenzy of the fight he felt a sharp pain just over his right eye causing him to blink rapidly as one of the kobolds was placing a rock into his sling readying for another attack. Gharhak began walking towards the reptilian that attacked him just as he saw Tempest appear from nowhere slicing a dagger across the creature’s wrist making it drop the sling before she disappeared as quick as she showed up.
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The area began to grow dark as the sound of thunder rumbled above them causing the goliath to look up seeing a few dark grey storm clouds form above them, a second later he watched as a bolt of lightning raced towards the reptile in the back. The lightning bolt struck the creature in the back searing some of the scales angering it, the reptile slithered forward snapping its jaws out catching Tempest’s ankle as she tried to avoid one of the kobold’s.
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The third Kobold pulled a dagger from its robes and swung in a wide arc that deflected off the shell of the tortle who had summoned the lightning strike a moment ago. Gharhak saw the robed figure pull his scimitar free in a wide arc aimed for his chest, the blade of the sword scratched across his chest leaving a thin red line which slowly began to leak a crimson trail down the goliath’s stomach.
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The half orc put his sword away before holding his hands up in front of him touching his thumbs to each other and index fingers together forming a diamond, the negative space between his fingers began to glow a bright orange mixed with red as a cone of fire shot out hitting all three of the remaining reptile creatures setting them on fire. One of the kobold’s tried to attack the orc with its dagger but swung wildly as it tried to pat the fire out that sparked on its robe, using this distraction Ghar swung with his flaming warhammer twice.
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The first connected against the kobolds collarbone shattering it upon impact before the second landed on top of the skull caving its head in as it too fell to the ground. Tempest called out to everyone saying that they needed to leave the human alive so they could question them about this attack on the village as she threw one of her daggers which lodged itself all the way to its hilt in the reptile’s eye causing it to spasm for a moment before going still.
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As soon as Sialett moved in to swing his staff at the last Kobold a dagger flew by his face causing him to jump back missing his strike by a few feet, his head turned to the side to glare at his companion who almost hit him with his dagger. After hearing that she needed to be captured for questioning the last human turned her attention towards the person who offered the suggestion, lifting the scimitar up she sliced it across the shoulder of the Genasi drawing a blue liquid that trickled down her shoulder.
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Ghar muttered the code word for his warhammer once more extinguishing the flame as he lifted the hammer high overhead, he slammed the handle of the weapon into her shoulder causing her to drop her own weapon as she fell to her knees gripping her shattered shoulder while looking up at the giant goliath who had the hammer raised once more. “GHAR NO! We still need her alive to question her about this attack.” Hearing Tempest call out for him to let her live he debated really quick on if he would listen to her and spare the human or if he would ignore his companion and kill her.
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“Kill me now, I’ll never talk.” The woman spat towards the goliath as a smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth as she begged for death, Ghar swung the hammer with all his might aimed for her temple. He heard Tempest yell “NO!” as the woman’s head exploded in a bloody mess all over his body. “We needed her to talk, now we’ll never know why they attacked.” Ghar snapped his hammer to the side in an attempt to clean the hammer as Munar joined the group. “Everything will be ok, we’ll find someone else and question them. Let’s continue searching through the village to see who needs help, I’m sure there is plenty wounded who could use aid."
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After taking out the first group of hostiles that entered the village the group looked around for a moment trying to take in how much damage has been done to the city so far, Ghar could see multiple columns of smoke rising through the village. He could hear the screams of many villagers who were running trying to either find safety or loved ones to make sure that they were ok. “I’m going to help those who need medical attention, I’ll catch up with everyone later.”
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Ghar nodded to the half orc who addressed the group before turning and walking down an alley leading towards the heart of the village. A few moments later the sound of bells ringing echoed throughout the village delivering a message to all the villagers to head to the keep for safety. The group watched as the streets began to empty as everyone began moving towards the west side of the village, they looked around at each other for a moment before they began to follow to make sure everyone arrived safely.
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After a few blocks they spotted two more figures wearing robes quickly moving towards a family of four scrambling to get away from them. Rushing forward Ghar quickly killed the two figures while Tempest and Sialett helped the family to their feet and ushered them towards safety. Tempest led the group and family through the streets of the village letting everyone know when it was safe to move or telling them to hold as she stealthily snuck up on some of the figures taken them out.
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She gestured for everyone to move and a few minutes later the gate to the keep came into view, they all ran through the open door of the gate. They watched as the family continued to move further inside to safety while they stayed at the gate helping the last few people that were running into safety. They heard one of the guards call for the gate to be closed, a few of the guards rushed to the door only to look around at each other in confusion. From above they heard a voice call out once more. “Why isn’t the gate closing?”
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One of the guards stepped backwards and tilted his head up so he could yell back in response. “Most of the gate has been heavily damaged, we need to repair it before we close it.” The guard looked around as one of the other guards rushed away so he could find someone with the capabilities to repair the wall before his gaze found the group standing around. “We would be able to use your help in defending the gate while its being repaired, it shouldn’t take more than ten minutes.”
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The three adventures looked between themselves for a moment and nodded to each other before letting the guards know they will help if needed. They spread out in front of the gate making a small patrol route, a minute later they saw three hooded figures, three of the kobolds and one more ambush drake rushing towards the gate. Moving into a defensive position the three of them formed a line that they planned to hold while they fought these attackers.
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The closest hooded figure rushed towards the goliath swinging a club across the chest of the barbarian making him chuckle and smirk down at the man. Ghar heard a whizzing noise next to his head and looked behind the man to see one of the kobolds reloading a sling that they had just used trying to hit him. Looking over at the tortle, Ghar watched as a blue energy surronded his hands. As the tortle thrusted his hands forward a giant wall of water formed from the energy knocking all the enemies onto their backs as the wave crashed around them making a puddle on the land.
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Ghar rushed forward taking a swing with his axe as one of the hooded figures tried climbing to their feet, in one swift motion the blade of the axe cut cleanly through the neck of the figure cleaving the head from body. Using the momentum of the swing upwards the axe was now raised over the goliaths head who threw the battle axe through the air. The blade sunk deep into the back of another figure while three daggers planted themselves into the chest of the elf next to him. As soon as the reptile was dead they looked back towards the gate to see some of the guards rushing forward waving them to get inside so they could lock down the keep.
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The trio retrieved their weapons from the corpses before jogging past the closing gate, the ringing of the bells ended as the gate closed shut behind them while guards placed giant wooden pillar across the door to lock it. Once the gate was closed, they turned to see a man wearing fine silk robes walking towards them while speaking to a captain of the guards. “I’d give anything to know what we’re up against and why. For that, we need prisoners. Get me a commander, I’m sure one of the lower ranking ones will know what we want to know.” 
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The man stopped walking when he spotted the group standing around the gate. “You three! We owe you for helping get people to safety and protecting the gate as it was being fixed. Get me this commander to interrogate and we will reward you.” The man turned walking away leaving the captain to walk over to the group. “We can’t risk opening the gate anymore, but there are other ways we can get you outside the wall. Follow me.” The captain led the group up a set of stone stairs to the top of the wall where they could see some armed guards patrolling the top of the wall keeping watch out over the city.
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A few minutes later the captain stopped at a guard tower, reaching inside he pulled a rope ladder out and tossed it over the side. “When you capture a commander bring them back here so we can interrogate them about what they know.” Looking over the edge of the wall Ghar stepped onto the ledge of the wall and leapt forward free falling the twenty-five feet to the ground landing in a three point stance as Tempest and Sialett climbed down the rope ladder.
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The crew had not even run ten yards when they heard one of the guards yell out to them from atop the parapet. “THERE OFF TO THE EAST, THEY ARE TRYING TO BURN DOWN THE MILL” The group looked to the East of the village seeing buildings 500 yards in the distance begin to burn like giant candles. Everyone began running down an alley trying to get to the burning buildings as quickly as they can so they could help as much as they could. Ghar watched as Tempest disappeared into a side alley knowing that she would use the shadows to her advantage she would meet them where they were headed, he looked to his right and saw the Tortle running alongside him with a staff in his grip.
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“As long as the fire doesn’t spread too far I can take care of them quickly.” Nodding his head Ghar knew that his friend would need time to do whatever he had planned to put the fires out and he would give him as much time as he could. The glowing of the fires burned bright against the night sky lighting the way for the team as they passed a mixture of semi-destroyed to fully destroyed buildings.
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A few minutes later the crew could feel the heat of the fires radiating off the buildings that were already set ablaze, a little further ahead Ghar could see the forms of six individuals moving towards the mill so they could destroy a major asset of the village. Ghar saw a figure drop from the rooftops driving the blade of a dagger into the base of the neck of one of the figures making it crumple like a sack of rocks to the ground. The figures all stopped as this blue skinned woman fell in the middle of their group killing one of their own.
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Tempest pointed the tip of her dagger towards a figure in purple robes and yelled back to her companions. “Leave this one alive for questioning, kill the rest.” The head of the robed figure tilted to the side as they heard this woman call for everyone but him to die, not wasting another second he turned and threw his torch towards the mill trying to set it on fire knowing a fight is about to break out around them. The torch bounced off the wall and fell to the ground laying just outside of the building. One of the robbed figures drew a dagger as it saw its friend crumple on the side of him, in an arc it slashed the dagger across the chest of the woman leaving a scratch that had a slow leak of crimson fluid.
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The attack caught one of the guards by surprise making her swing her spear wide just missing her face by an inch. Dashing forward Ghar quickly closed the distance to the group as he pulled his axe free, pulling it back he whispered a word that caused the blade to ignite in flames. He swung the heavy axe downwards towards the guard holding the spear who managed to lift it just in time to block the first two attacks from the axe. Just as his last attack was blocked by the spear Ghar felt a tremendous force slam into his back knocking him off his feet and swirled him around knocking into anyone and anything before washing up on the ground.
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Looking around Ghar saw that everyone but one person had been knocked prone from the tidal wave that just washed through the alley putting out every building that was on fire. Everyone slowly pushed themselves up from the ground as the water flowed down the cobblestoned road leaving them standing in a puddle, turning at the right second Ghar saw one of the Kobolds slash towards him with a dagger that he easily swatted away from him while seeing that the flame on his axe was now extinguished.
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Tempest dipped her dagger into a pouch quickly and in the blink of an eye she drove the tip of her dagger into the shoulder blade of a man pushing the black liquid into his body causing him to drop his weapon clutching his shoulder as a venom coursed through his veins. As she pulled her dagger free from her victim she saw a spear pass where her head was a moment ago before it was pulled back and held at the ready. Ghar could feel a stinging sensation across his bicep as the man in the robe slashed his scimitar leaving a mark down the goliaths arm, before he could react to the robed man he felt another sting in between his shoulder blades.
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Reaching backwards he struggled to reach for the source of the problem, seeing that he was unable to grab the dagger that was stuck in his back he felt a fire burning in his stomach that fueled his attacks. Igniting the axe once more he quickly delivered two vicious attacks that cut the head off the mangled body of a Kobold. As the robed figure tried to move to the side to flank the goliath he suddenly stopped midstride unable to move at all.
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The remaining kobold fell to the ground shaking for a second after trading blows with Tempest who pulled a bloody dagger out from the reptilian throat shaking the blood off it. She stumbled forward a couple feet as the tip of the spear pierced her shoulder pushing her making her leap over the crumpled form of the kobold instead of tripping over it. As the man pulled the tip of the spear away from Tempest he didn’t see the blade of the axe that was in midswing aimed for his chest, the force of the hit pushed the man back as it caved in part of the breastplate.
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Ripping the fiery axe free from the armor Ghar brought it backwards and up over his head so he could swing downwards shattering the shoulder as the blade cleaved in about five inches. As he ripped the axe free from the caved in remains of the man he turned to see Sialett hit one of the figures over the head with her bo staff making them fall to the ground. With a look around Ghar saw that the only hostile remaining was the figure in the purple robe standing, watching everything that was going around unable to move. As he began moving towards the figure a bloodied Tempest stands in between Ghar and the robed figure.
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“Stop right now, we’re not killing this one.” She raised her voice and put more authority in her tone as he continued to walk towards the figure. “GHAR PUT THE AXE DOWN NOW.” She held her dagger out towards him not backing down from him, a second later he dropped the axe as his giant arm pushed her to the side clearing the path to the robed figure. Bringing his massive fist back he swung forward punching the man square in the face knocking him out cold, before the figure could fall Ghar caught him and flipped him onto his shoulder so he could carry him back towards the keep.
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“Don’t you think that was a little xtreme Ghar?” The goliath scoffed as he picked his axe back up. “They can break your spell and fight back anytime, he wont be able to fight back when he is knocked out for a while.” The crew silently walked back towards the keep and as they began walking up to the gate they heard one of the guards yell. “OPEN the GATES…….. SOMEONE GET THE CAPTAIN!” The gate slowly creaked open allowing the party to pass through before it closed behind them. A few moments later the captain of the guard arrived motioning for them to follow him, he led them for a few minutes until they were standing inside of a room that had a single chair sitting in the middle of the floor. Ghar sat the man in the chair while some of the other guards placed shackles around his ankles and wrists just as he began to stir awake.
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The captured man was beginning to stir awake a few moments after he was placed in a metal chair and bound with magical manacles as a precaution. The chains of the manacles rattled as he tried flexing and moving his limbs in an attempt to break free. Gharhak stood in the corner of the room watching as the man struggled against his bonds, from the other side of the room the captain of the militia approached the man. The captain lowered himself as well as his voice as he spoke calmly to the prisoner. “Tell me who you guys are and why you’re attacking this city.” The man slowly turned his head to the side until he was looking at the captain, a small smirk lifted slightly as the head shook side to side.
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“I’m not telling you anything, and you’ll watch as your city burns to the ground around you.” The captain looked around at everyone that was in the room to see if anyone had a plan to try and get information from the man, the goliath nodded as he pushed himself off the wall and slowly walked in front of the man while cracking his knuckles. Ghar shrugged his shoulders a couple times before he reached down grabbing hold of a finger, Ghar began to pull the finger backwards until it broke causing the man to bite down so he wouldn’t give the satisfaction of screaming in pain.
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The goliath grabbed another finger and broke that one following up with a few more, the man struggled to contain himself only allowing a small noise to break through. Leaning down so they were face to face the goliath growled “Answer the questions” Just to give motivation Ghar quickly bragged the mans broken hand and squeezed it with all his strength before stepping to the side for the captain to take the lead once more.
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“I ask once more. Who are you, and why attack this city?” With a grimace on his face the man clenched his teeth while shaking his head to the side, the captain side stepped waving his hand to the goliath once more letting him know to continue breaking the man. Over the course of ten minutes Gharhak would break a finger and wait for the pain to subside a moment before moving onto the next finger until his whole hand was broken. Everyone could see the man fighting the pain he was feeling as his body shook slightly. “Are you ready to speak yet or does my barbarian friend get to break more of your bones?”
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Ghar grabbed the man’s wrist and began turning it until it reached the point where if rotated anymore it would either dislocate or break. “Ahhh.” With a quick twist and pull Ghar dislocated and broke the man’s wrist causing him to finally scream out in pain.  “Ok, I’ll speak.” The man took a few deep breaths trying to collect himself while the captain traded places with the goliath. “We are the Cult of the Dragon, we’re gathering a great hoard that will usher in the reign of the queen of dragons.” At the mention of the name “Dragon Queen” Ghar could see the look of shock and surprise that flashed over the face of the captain.
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“The dragon queen is banished to Avernus, she can not come here.” There was a quick flash of a cocky smirk across the man’s face as the captain doubted what he had just heard. “Where are you supposed to bring whatever you take for the Dragon Queen?” There was a moment of silence between everyone until the captain slammed his fist down on the man’s broken hand encouraging him to hurry up and answer. “Outside the city, there are carts we put everything on and a select few bring it somewhere I don’t know as we head to our next destination.”
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The captain jerked his head to the side for Ghar and everyone to follow him out of the room. Once they were outside the room they began following the dwarven male through the halls once more, a few minutes later they entered the armory. “I must thank your crew for helping us out. Although, I fear there will still be more to come.” There was a moment of silence for a moment as the captain walked down one of the lanes looking for something specific, he stopped halfway down a lane turning to look at the crew before reaching onto a shelf pulling a giant hammer off. He whistled catching the attention of everyone.
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“To show my thanks so far and hoping it helps you in the future im giving this weapon to you.” The captain handed the hammer to Ghar who twirled it a few times in his hand before looking over the dwarven runes that decorated the face of the hammer. “This hammer has been enchanted that when spoken a command word it will ignite on fire for you.” Ghar’s eyes widened and he shook slightly with excitement at the mention of this while muttering the word “Fire”
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There was a look of disappointment as nothing happened as the dwarf held a hand up for Ghar to be patient. “You choose the word once you attune to it, also after you throw the hammer it will return to you right away.” The excitement returned instantly as one of the guards came rushing into the armory, once inside he doubled over breathing heavily, once he caught his breath he stood up straight taking one last breath. “Sir, there is a lone figure standing outside the gate staring right at the gate.” The captain smirked and smacked the stomach of the goliath. “I’d start concentrating on that now and you may get to use it right away. Lets go see what this is about.” The crew all turned and started walking through the halls once more until they were standing outside on the wall. Looking out towards the village they could see a lone figure about a hundred yards away standing perfectly still.
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After making their way from the armory back through the hallways of the keep the crew found themselves standing on top of a walkway once more. From his vantage point above everything the Goliath had to squint his eyes so he could make out the hooded figure that around one hundred yards out, staring in their direction. The figure stood just outside the dull glow of dying fires that littered the streets of the village. “Can anyone see who’s out there?” The captain called out to his guards, everyone leaned forward while straining their eyes to try and see who was waiting just outside safety of the keep. A moment later the soft voice of the tortle called out answering the question.
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“That’s a dragonborn standing out there, it’s too far and not in good light to see what color it is.” From all around them they heard an unfamiliar voice call out as if it surronded them. “Defenders of Greenrest! I’ve had a successful night and I’m feeling generous.” There was a slight pause that lasted a few seconds before the figure continued as multiple figures began moving closer to him. “Do you see these poor unfortunate souls? They’re useless to me, we have no need for them, so I’ll trade them back to you. Send out your best warrior to fight me. If someone faces me in combat and no one interferes you can have these prisoners back unharmed, if anyone tries to interfere…… well, they’ll die a painful death.”
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All eyes turned towards the goliath who was looking out at the figure with a smirk plastered across his face while he twirled the new hammer in his grasp. “Siennah?” The name was whispered catching everyone’s attention to one of the guards who was leaning against the stone wall of the keep. “Sir, he has my sister and her family. I gotta go save them.” The captain raised an eyebrow in curiosity to his guard. “How are you sure that’s your kin, its too dark to see anyone clearly.”
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“I’ve had a feeling that something was wrong, I haven’t seen them all night.” The guard began to lift one of his legs over the wall before he was pulled back, he began fighting against the grip of the goliath who was pushing the guard back towards the captain. “You’ll only get yourself and them killed if ya go out there, let the goliath go.” The guard struggled against the grip of Gharhak for another moment before finally giving in, letting a stranger save his family. Ghar felt a warm sensation flood through his body as the clawed hand of his friend was placed on his shoulder as Sialett spoke to him. “We won’t be too far away if you need us, keep an eye on everything and be careful of his breath. He can do a lot of damage with it.”
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The doors to the keep slowly squeaked open just enough to allow Ghar to exit and walk towards the dragonborn who was waiting for a challenge. As he walked closer to the group Ghar looked over the group seeing three people who were bloody and bruised huddled together before seeing a familiar person kneeling next to them with a swollen cheek and eye. “I’ll fight ya, let dem go.” Ghar saw the face of his half orc friend slowly lift as he heard someone he knows speaking out. “Ghar, what….are…you…doing?” Looking down at his beaten friend Ghar nodded towards the dragonborn.
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“I’m gonna take care of this bastard an yer gonna take care of these folk.” He nodded towards the half elf family who was huddled together looking frightened. Turning his attention to the dragonborn he could see the clawed hands pulling the hood down revealing the face of a dark blue dragonborn with yellow eyes glaring at him while shrugging the cloak off its body. Ghar watched as the hand curled around the hilt of the great sword that hung from the hip of the dragonborn.
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Anticipating the attack he took a step backwards as the sword was drawn in a way that would have sliced across his chest had he not moved when he did, moving once more the sword sliced downward as the dragonborn initiated the fight with the goliath. Ghar felt a familiar fire begin to burn in his belly as his grip tightened around the handle of his hammer, lunging forward he swung sideways hitting the armor that covered the rib area of the dragonborn.
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Following up with the hit Ghar swung the hammer in an uppercut that was aimed for under the jaw, the hammer glanced off the breastplate pushing the dragonborn back a step. There was a smirk across the face of the dragonborn as he playfully said. “My turn!” The dragonborn circled to the left of the goliath while he struck out twice with his sword, Gharhak blocked the first strike before feeling the sting of the blade kiss his forearm leaving a thin red line.
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Feeling the rage build inside of him Ghar leaned back slightly with his head before whipping it forward, his forehead connected with the cheek of the dragonborn making him blink a few times. Not letting this moment go to waste the hammer slammed into the breastplate once more, this time leaving a small dent in armor. The force of the impact made the dragonborn stumble backwards a few steps, he opened his mouth as a ball of electricity formed. Before Gharhak could react a line of lightning shot from the creature’s mouth hitting him in the chest.
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He felt a burning sensation in his chest as the lightning crackled off him leaving a good sized burn on his chest, looking down seeing smoke curl off his body. He felt the sharp sting of the great sword as it ripped across his bicep making him wince from the pain. Holding the hammer up Ghar muttered the word “Vorsa” which caused the runes on the hammer to glow orange as fire erupted around its head. Ghar could see the look of surprise that quickly flashed across the face of the dragonborn. Pulling his arm back he quickly threw it forward as he released his grip on the hammer, he watched as the hammer flew through the air colliding against the shoulder of the creature as a small burst of flame erupted from the hammer causing the dragonborn to flinch away from the heat.
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Before it could fall to the ground the hammer flew back into the hand of the goliath just as the captain had said it would. Gharhak could see that the dragonborn was starting to breathe heavily as he missed wide with two strikes. After missing the two attacks the dragonborn began to walk backwards trying to put some distance between himself and the barbarian. Once the dragonborn was a good distance away Ghar began running towards him while he threw the hammer towards his face. He watched as the hammer impacted against the face stunning the dragonborn as he leapt high in the air closing the last few feet between them.
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While he was in the air the hammer flew back to his grip, wrapping both hands around the handle he held the hammer over his head. As he fell towards the dragonborn he saw the crackle of the lightning begin to form in the open mouth of the dragonborn. The hammer caved in the skull of the dragonborn just before the lightning was shot at him. The body of the creature crumpled to the ground now that the fight was over, he muttered “Vorsa” once more putting the flame on the hammer out as Munar gingerly helped the family to their feet. Grabbing the dragonborn by its tail the goliath began dragging the corpse towards the gate walking alongside his friend.