2 27 09

Cassius Brand stood over the makeshift altar to Tiamat, taking in the scene before him with a quiet resolution. Though the thing was made of heavy black stone, its lopsided nature suggested a hasty construction, and a loose assortment of bones of various sizes adorned its top. On the wall directly behind it, five different colors of paint had been garishly cast in haphazard arcs, casting a crude depiction of the Goddess and her five chromatic dragons.

The young cleric of Bahamut frowned and let loose a long sigh. "It must be destroyed," he said in a matter-of-fact tone that seemingly brooked no argument.

A loud snort sounded behind him. "Ho! What's this now? How do you expect to destroy this solid stone altar? Pray that it turns to dust?"

Cassius addressed the Dragonborn warrior without turning his gaze. "Surely you understand why this must be not be allowed to exist Benjaar? Especially you?"

"I think you've misunderstood me, priest." Benjaar sidled up next to Cassius and took a turn appraising the scene in front of them. While the human was certainly above average in height and breadth, the Dragonborn made him look positively adolescent. "Benjaar," he continued, "fights for two things: ale, and females." He then cracked his neck, as if that settled the matter.

"Forgive my kinsman. Sometimes his directness is his way of separating himself." Dreya Bloodcoil, Dragonborn Paladin of the Raven Queen, addressed them from her post at the corridor leading out of the room. She was only slightly smaller than Benjaar, though her polished scale mail and large two-handed flail suggested she was no less dangerous.

Benjaar snorted again, and Cassius realized this was a favorite habit of his.

"Crude though this is, perhaps it is better if it remains undisturbed." This new voice came from Olan, the eladrin scholar who, while appearing frail, had already proved his usefulness in combat, much to the surprise of the others. "Perhaps if we had the time to study it, we might -"

His words were interrupted by a loud smash as Cassius brought his two-handed morningstar down heavily onto the altar, sending bits of shattered animal skull flying everywhere. Benjaar swiveled his head to look at the cleric. "Feel better?" he asked.

"Much. Now help me tip it over." With that, he dropped his weapon and bent to begin heaving at the stone edifice.

"Humans. Be sure to lift with the knees…" Benjaar uncrossed his arms and lent his considerable strength to the task. Within a few seconds, the pair had toppled the stone altar, causing a terrible racket in the process.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License