Room8c
Jora reaches toward the mirror and it rushes forward to engulf them. The cold chill of the mirror cuts deep into their cores. In the blink of an eye they are standing in the same white room but something is different.
The mirrors have disappeared from view and instead, the group finds themselves standing upon a carpet of gold coins and gems.
“Holy shit, we’re rich,” Conrad says and reaches down to grab a handful of gold.
A rumbling growl, so low that its vibrations can be felt deep in their chests, fills the room.
A primal fear freezes each of the adventurers in place. The part of their brains which remembers what it was like to be prey to the great beasts takes control and, rigid with fear they turn slowly to see the dragon looming over them.
As in the vision, its scales seem to glow a deep, fiery red. Its luminous yellow eyes pin each of them in place.
“You dare steal my treasure?” Its voice is the rumble of an avalanche or the thunder of a summer storm.
“Conrad, stop,” Jora says and then, remembering the vision in the mirror, he turns toward the dragon.
He feels as if he is encased in amber as he tries to move. His right hand drops to his sword and he stands tall before the enormous beast.
“We do not come to steal, we come to face you.”
“You are foolish, human. I wonder how you will taste?”
“You’ll never know, you overgrown lizard.” Conrad draws his sword as he speaks.
With a shout, Conrad and Jora charge the dragon, swinging their swords.
Safir and Lamia race toward the dragon’s flanks brandishing their staves
Jora’s sword strikes first. The chest of the dragon looms over him as he brings the weapon into contact. Hitting the monster’s scales feels like hitting a stone wall. The sword rings and the force of impact makes his hand numb.
The others hack and slash in turn, each attack as ineffective as Jora’s.
“I am no mere beast to be harmed by weapons as pitiful as yours,” the dragon says.
The monster flaps its wings and the four friends are blown across the room as if by a gale. They slam into the marble wall with bone-shattering force.
Safir’s skull cracks and she falls to the ground unconscious. Lamia and Conrad whimper when they land, cradling broken limbs.
Jora tries to rise but his limbs refuse to cooperate. He no longer feels his arms and legs. He tries to look down at himself but cannot move his head. He stares at the rearing dragon, unable to move or feel his body. The dragon’s chest glows as it inhales deeply. The glow extends up the monster’s long throat and finally illuminates the inside of its gaping jaws.
The last thing Jora sees is a torrent of fire spewing from the monster’s mouth to engulf the wounded group.
The flames are so intense that Jora and his friends only scream for a matter of seconds before being consumed and turned to ash.