Khûm – Chapter 6

“Spring of 68. Second Age. The Firewood.
Here’s the thing about plans. In our line of work, you must have one. You go out on that field with sword in your hand and nothing in your head, well, then, you and a lotta people you know are gonna get dead. So you make a plan. You gather intelligence, you send out scouts, you pour over maps, you talk tactics and strategy and operations. You try to predict what the enemy’s gonna do before they do it.
Good or bad, your plan gives confidence to the troops. Somebody smarter than me’s thought this through.
That’s the thing about plans, though. They’re shit.
Sixty years I’ve marched on campaign and not once have I seen a plan made by a commander in a fancy tent ever come to fruition. Yet, if you don’t have one, you might as well not leave your cot and let them stab you in your sleep.
A pisser, isn’t it? The only comfort I’ve found in that is that the enemy’s plans – are just as shit as yours.”
 – Beholder's Log, Hemson 32 68 2A

With their companions leading the Mystriarchy astray, Mouse slunk toward the unfinished statue of Havhed – lair of the dragon Tyrodax the Wyrmling – alone. Climbing the scaffolding as quietly as they can, it slowly began to dawn on the kobold thief what awaits them inside. Peering into the darkness atop the impossibly tall statue, they saw the faint glow of something red as fire deep in the statue's depths.
Meanwhile, the queen and the Commander's Tent were finally run to ground by the Mystriarchy – trapped in a box canyon near the foot of Queen Kavgra the Grand. Their leader – Father Yorad, Diarch of the Third Septum – approached them amicably, offering them terms. With many a meaningful glance, the mercenaries agreed to surrender to the superior force and marched their way back toward the hidden dragonslayers and their ambush.
As they descended deeper into the statue, Mouse first laid eyes on Tyrodax the Wyrmling. Asleep on his hoard of gold, he was curled possessively around the source of that eerie red light – a brilliant red ruby. Knowing precisely what they must steal, Mouse took pains to swap the ruby with a stone of approximately the same size and managed to avoid waking the slumbering beast in the process. Only at the very last moment did Mouse shout something – a Draconic name – to waken the dragon to their crime.
Marching through the Range of Sovereigns, the mercenaries and their Mystriarchy hosts all hear the dragon's roar of outrage. Thinking quickly, Remorhaz manages to convince the priesthood that the dragon's attack is imminent and they must seek cover. Terrified by stories of Tyrodax's wrath, they quickly take to the stones, unwittingly led towards the trapped canyon by Remorhaz's cunning.
Emerging from a crack in the statue, dragon fire on their heels, Mouse flees with all haste toward the trapped canyon. With surprising speed, however, Tyrodax emerges from his lair, swearing oaths of vengeance in Draconic, and swooping down to pluck the daring kobold in his claws. Try as they might, Mouse is simply not fast enough and Tyrodax snatches them by the knapsack and hoists them into the air. He does, however, see the trapped canyon and its dwarven ambushers until too late and blunders directly into the trapalanche.
Stones and snow pour down from above, crushing both dragon and kobold alike. The Mystriarchy disappearing into the surrounding stones, the mercenaries arrive just in time to see their moment of victory melt away as the snow trapping Tyrodax hisses into vapor and the enraged dragon lift into the air, promising painful retribution with fire between its teeth.

Campaign: The Menagerie
Game Date: Hemson 32, 68 2A
Starting Point: Range of Sovereigns
Player Characters:

• Griffon
• Mouse
• Remorhaz
• Umber