"O mighty Dragon!" said Vesemir, stepping forward after gathering enough courage not to appear trembling. "I am responsible for this party, and truthfully, treasures and wealth are not why we are here. I swear! It is knowledge and knowledge only that I seek."  

The dragon turned. 

[b][color=ed1c24]"And for that, you are willing to die, And sacrifice your companions?"[/color][/b] he thrummed. Fire, brighter than the rest danced around his skeletal jaw and nostrils. At the same time, his eyeless head tracked the desperate movement of hybrid-serpents below him, who were trying to crawl away like a bug escaping rampaging boots. 

[b][color=ed1c24]"Truth you say?!"[/color][/b] The dragon rumbled with a devastating sound that shook Verdant and Viridiant to the ground. [b][color=ed1c24]"Your kind are smart, So I heard. Look at your friend. Wise, why don't follow their example and go back to your spires, write your papers in peace rather than wasting time with incomplete truths? Hmmm? Last chance, O, brave adventurers!"[/color] [/b] The dragon said mockingly. 

[color=ed1c24][b]"This will be my last warning, though the futility of it was blatant, know that I, Viladred'sača, said the warning out of goodwill. Should you continue this foolishness, I shall not be the one who hinders you today. It's your lives to waste, and Ostianor always hungers for more souls to harvest."[/b][/color]

Viladred'sača did keep his word. The immolated dragon crawled back, nonchalantly toppling one of the trees where his front carpus was perched. Yet as he retreated, his head lowered, and like a gentle whisperer, he breathed out another wave of poison mist and finished the deed with an ancient Word of Power. 

[i][b][color=ed1c24]"Qíva, ettyrar al rhovan! Sangre dakhiar, wa meren mayattya tambëhûm dethna nait letsulca!" [/color]
[/b][/i]

The dragon then leaped swiftly into the air, blowing the remaining poison mist as it whipped its mighty wings and disappeared into the dark sky. 

The poison mist, slowly but surely crept out of the treelines, layers of pile tint of blue that formed like a living wall that urges whoever stood on its way to buzz off and never come back. 

[b]"Get back you two!"[/b] Cried the archeologist, there was a hint of dejection in his voice. Clearly, the dragon's words had left a bitter taste in his mouth. 

Despite that, the fact that the flying monstrosity had retreated brought tremendous relief to nearly everyone else.

[b]"That damn dragon got a roundabout way to say scram..."[/b] shrugged the human mercenary. 

"That's not all," replied the masked elf. "It has something to do with crushing us with roots and feasting on them as they decompose."

"Ah, shit! That's enough ancient trickery for me in one day! Boss? Are we not going back? Retreat for today and let them lose our tracks?" 

The two other elves, the archer and Vesemir answered with ominous silence. That kind of silence one would expect coming from those who were either desperate or greedy. Either way, their stance was clear; to push through. 

"This one is relentless." said the masked elf. "Treents!" 

Two enormous creatures arose among the trees-- no, they were the trees themselves that had come to life, adapting the form of shaggy, bipedal beings that resemble golems clad in gray and green wood bark. Their legs were a pair of limbs formed from many strong roots twined together, while the arms outstretched from the trunk like an unnaturally elongated branch that ended in six splits of claws. A single, orb-like thing glowed from the head adorned with branches and leafy twigs. For now, it only looked at the party, waiting for its brethren to fully adjust their stances, and let the poison mist initiate the attacks for them. 

[b]"Eblana."[/b]

[color=fff79a]"Yes sir!"[/color] 

The blonde elf raised her hand, manifesting light on her palm, and spread it out to enchant an existing dome that already surrounded the party. 

The paralyzing effect that gripped Verdant's body had waned gradually but she was still at risk of getting it again if she didn't move fast enough to escape the wave. 

[b]Verdant Necrotizing Wither status: 0/5. Times afflicted: 1 [/b]