Book of Ellagar

Chapter 4: Bastion

Their emerald dragon guide let out a roar and moved from the island's shore to where the cultists leapt out of portals. The dragon called to his sisters, "defend and rend!". Ellagar counted six smaller dragons heading to battle the invading cultists.

He looked back at Ellagar. "Stay here. My sisters and I shall welcome them." The dragon slithered away, and soon painful screams and roars echoed nearby.

Thelara and Ellagar prepared to protect the children at all costs. The screams and roars of battle grew fainter, the swamp returned to ancient slumber. They waited on edge. Finally, Thelara relaxed, "I'm hungry - let's get a fire going and a proper meal!"

Ellagar laughed, "Indeed I doubt dragons need two half-trained druids as backup." The sound of battle moved further away, and the land felt calm once more.

Thelara moved eagerly to help Ellagar, both relaxing for the first time in months. The growing dread that had forced their flight to sanctuary had been rewarded with allies, and the blessings of a rare Mother Tree. Ellagar had grown fond of Thelara's calm supportive presence and was glad that circumstances had thrown them together.

Ellagar placed a hand on Thelara's arm, "Thank you for staying with me, I am not certain I would have managed without you."

Thelara smiled, and gently laid her hand over Ellagar's. "I am happy to be here, my dear sister-druid! Now let's get these little ones fed and we can regain our strength. The sun will set soon – and after these ones are asleep, we can enjoy the moonlight."

The group worked together, the children hovering close to Ellagar and Thelara. They had come so far, and for now they had sanctuary under a Mother Tree. They relaxed knowing they had each other, and the protective whispers of the swamp. They had the dragon guardians, and Grandmother's guidance. Ellagar thought of the scrolls she had been avoiding. Still for now, this was enough.

Thelara stiffened and sniffed the breeze. Her features darkening. Ellagar's scales tingled a warning, before she saw any danger. A surge of dark magical energy swept from across the water.

The swamp's whispers grew to a roar, the waters churned, and the vegetation on the shoreline began to writhe angrily. The air grew thick with a building pressure, as if the very fabric of the swamp was pushing back against an unseen enemy. The ground trembled beneath their feet. The Dragon Cult had unleashed something horrible.

Thelara's eyes widened. "Ellagar, this energy it is all wrong. You stay here, I will protect us."

Ellagar nodded gravely. "The dragon said the cultists had breached the swamp. They must have found a something to break past the wards." She turned to the children, her voice firm but gentle. "Verak, Ardvek, stay here. Do not move from the tree's embrace."

The boys nodded, their faces a mix of fear and wonder as they watched Thelara march towards the shoreline, her bronze scales shimmering in the dimming light. Ellagar could feel the tree's energy pulsing around them, a living barrier to whatever approached. Ellagar moved with Thelara ready to aid.

The swamp screamed in agony around Ellagar. There was something in the water - she could feel its darkness. It did not belong here. A foul stench moved towards them. She glanced back to ensure that the younglings were with the tree. There was no sign of the emerald dragon or his sisters. The cultist initial attack must have been a diversion.

The fetid water roiled, releasing more smell of rot. Something massive moved under the waters.

The first monstrosity that emerged was a twisted mass of scales and tentacles, a creature born of nightmare and corrupted magic. It slithered onto the island, leaving a trail of ooze behind it. The island screamed from its touch. A dank retching smell rolled off its corrupted body. The dragon cultists had brought horrors from other worlds, creatures that should not be in these lands. Ellagar's heart raced as she recognized the unmistakable foulness of the Other Realm, a place where madness reigned supreme. The cultist were themselves mad if they thought they could control these beasts.