chsdbacks Page 65
Page 65
Dealing with a strong, mature dragon and its retinue was no easy task, so Elentara recruited several other helpers. Unexpectedly, the most powerful of them all, the half-green dragon two-headed giant "Bonecrusher" whom Elentara described as repulsive and whose mother disliked the most, actually refused the offer to share the wealth of the otherworldly merchant.
If this half-dragon giant were willing to join, dealing with the strong, middle-aged dragon would be a sure thing. But for some reason, it refused. Erentara's plan needs to be changed. As long as some benefits are shared, what kind of partner can't be found in this glorious city?
“Let me think… we might need a ‘trustworthy’ mage right now. Do you have any candidates?” Elentara picked up her pipe again, added fresh tobacco, lit it, and lay back on the sofa, taking a deep drag.
"Yes, during the conflict with Baichuan, I met a powerful and ruthless mage. Most importantly, he was incredibly greedy, like a dragon..."
Hundreds of kilometers north of the Glorious City, in the Krypt Garden Forest, a massive green dragon with sickly, dull olive-green scales and black-edged wings and ruffles lay sprawled on a pile of moss-covered, mushroom-covered gold coins. With a serpentine face, she stared at her greedy, ignorant servants struggling for their future in a crystal ball. An enigmatic smile played on her crocodile-like jaws, and half of an elven thighbone peeked from the crease of her jaw, swaying with the movement of her upper and lower jaws.
She always had this kind of snack in her mouth, which is where the name "Old Chewbone" comes from.
In another crystal ball placed in front of the old chewer, a two-headed giant with dragon wings on its back and its body covered with fine green scales respectfully lowered its two bald heads, quietly waiting for its mother's command.
"It's a good thing you weren't stupid enough to collude with those two," the green dragon said casually. "Otherwise, I would have had to throw you to Hylassk as experimental material. A half-dragon, two-headed giant, the mad mage would definitely be very interested in you."
The Bonebreaker's figure visibly trembled, but he quickly regained his composure and continued listening.
“Go and destroy all their connections with me, smash up the divination room, eat everyone who has contacted you, open the floodgates and let Hylask’s pets in, then hurry back here.”
After speaking, the ancient green dragon, whose aging was not natural, closed the communication channel through the crystal ball, still muttering softly, "How could someone as cunning and shrewd as me raise such a bunch of stupid slaves who go and provoke those annoying dragons of the Keepers of the Secrets?"
Chapter 200
It's one thing to have intentions, but to find outside help and then directly target the main group—what kind of mess is that…?
130. Three messages
Time in the vast astral plane is stagnant relative to the material plane. This may be due to a difference in clock frames, or it may be a peculiar rule applicable within a specific range, but it is definitely not a true stop in time. Life forms from the material plane, upon entering the astral plane, can clearly perceive the strange sensation that their entire state, from life to magic, is frozen in time at the present moment. Even when facing death, they can survive eternally thanks to this stagnation of time, until they leave the astral plane.
That was a means for some powerful beings in the material world to prolong their insignificant lives when they had no other choice, but for most beings who could travel through the astral plane, it was just a transit point on a long journey.
The astral plane is far too vast. Its seemingly eternal appearance may be magnificent at first glance, but under the endless passage of time, only a desolate monotony remains. Moreover, aside from the fixed passages and recorded routes, the astral plane is far more dangerous than the material plane. The floating islands drifting in the astral plane are actually the corpses of unknown gods; legendary creatures whose true forms are almost impossible to glimpse in the material plane roam throughout the astral plane; and even the abominations despised by the gods are mostly active within it.
Even Archbishop Artanis, who possessed immense divine power in the Dragon Vault, seemed to be hiding within the Astral Plane—Casaros couldn't discern whether the Astral Plane within the Dragon Vault was truly a corner of the Astral Plane, but its intuition told it so.
Having donned the Goron skin and aboard the Iron Dawn, Casalos had no immediate plans to venture deep into the Astral Plane. He traversed the safe passage recorded by the Mind Flayers back to the surface of Sword Bay in the Prime Material Plane, instantly traversing a long journey from the Thurte Peninsula to the outskirts of Waterdeep.
As usual, I established magical communication with Waterdeep, disguised myself, landed on the sea, raised the sails which were more decorative than practical, and sailed towards the magnificent city that was still below the sea level. Taona's magical message then rang out.
"You missed me, that's why you're in such a hurry?"
In the past, Tao Na would always wait quietly for the Dawn of Iron to enter the port before making contact. Standing at the port and watching the magic ship slowly return was her unique pleasure.
"What, don't you miss me?"
"Of course I want to..."
"Then why do you only come back once in so long?"
"The journey is so long, I've already tried to shorten the trip as much as possible, this time I..."
"Hehe, I know. Tell me about those stories from other worlds when we meet. I contacted you in such a hurry to remind you to be careful."
Casalos was even more puzzled: "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing serious, just a bunch of reckless bastards in the city eyeing your goods." Tao Na's tone wasn't tense, but rather tinged with sarcasm: "To deal with you, they recruited a few spellcasters to participate in the operation, including Tooth Shaving. Although you and it don't get along, it remains our staunch ally."
"..."
Casalos was speechless. He shook his head and instructed the kobolds to prepare for an encounter, then continued to be affectionate with Toona from a distance, asking her some questions about the attackers.
Toona was unaware of the attackers' motives and specific objectives; she obtained this information solely because those unfortunate individuals had recruited Razor. Razor had acquired the attackers' apparent force deployment and, before the operation, handed it all over to Toona to relay to Casaroz for appropriate precautions—even though Casaroz had deliberately built up his reputation, Razor didn't particularly like Ratam Birol, the dragon; their relationship was merely that of reliable allies under an agreement, not true friends. Razor would fulfill his duties as an ally, working with Casaroz to resolve this "crisis," but he didn't want any further entanglement with Ratam; Toona was the best intermediary.
Casalos didn't have much to worry about; different dragon relationships would allow it to hide even better.
Before the magical communication with Toona had even ended, Kenneth Zmnor, the Bronze Dragon Bard of Deepflow Lake and the current head of Dragonflight's propaganda department and intelligence network, also sent a message. The Bronze Dragons had also received intelligence about the Waterdeep gang's intention to attack the Dragon. As allies of Casalos, the righteous Bronze Dragon naturally reminded Ratam Birol to be on guard, and finally inquired whether Ratam needed support.
After declining the Bronze Dragon Bard's paid service, a third contact came in—this time from the Charleson boy. The main topic of his communication was still intelligence about a possible attack by the Waterdeep gangs. Unlike the inside information that Toothshaker had obtained from Toona and the intelligence on the Tidecaller's gang movements, the Charleson boy's intelligence was extremely detailed. He had investigated the background and movements of almost every member involved in the operation, finally allowing Casalos to figure out who was targeting him.
"Old Bone Chewer" Claugilia Mata, yet another evil dragon eyeing Waterdeep.
From a god-like perspective, this cunning and scheming green dragon is one of the most famous dragons in the entire D&D universe, far more well-known than Grommash Hellscream and Flamebringer. Conversely, few on the continent of Faerûn know of its existence. Even in Waterdeep, which has suffered numerous calamities at its hands, no one realizes the true terror of this green dragon—in fact, the people of Glorious City believe that Old Bonechewer has long since perished at the hands of their former dragon-slaying party.
Old Bone once orchestrated and carried out one of the most famous serial scams in Faerûn's history. Using a magical artifact called the Dragon Deception Ring, he transformed himself into a silver dragon and then tricked Lord Sellin, the head of the renowned Broken Fjord family in Waterdeep, into hiring him to eliminate a green dragon that was attacking his family's ranch—which was clearly Old Bone himself.
The cost of hiring the silver dragon was, of course, exorbitant, but the frequent and destructive attacks by the green dragon had begun to shake the foundations of the Shattered Fjord family, forcing Lord Sellin to scramble to raise the hefty commission. Just as Lord Sellin had finished raising the money, Old Bone Chewer, disguised as the green dragon, attacked the location where the commission was kept, stealing and hiding it. Then, Old Bone Chewer transformed back into the silver dragon and flew back over the ranch, using illusion magic to create a fierce battle with the green dragon, repelling and chasing it out of everyone's sight.
Not long after the great battle, the wounded silver dragon returned to the Broken Fjord family's manor, claiming that it had successfully dealt with the green dragon and that Sellin no longer needed to worry about it. As the final part of the deal, the silver dragon demanded that Sellin pay the promised commission.
Faced with the overwhelming power of the Silver Dragon, Lord Serlin had no choice but to find alternative funds to make the payment. The treasure, enough to fill an entire cargo ship, was accepted by Old Bone Chewer with a smile.
The dragon's attack has ended, but the calamity for the Broken Fjord family has only just begun.
131. Attack
Old Chewbone had no intention of letting the Broken Fjord family go. From the very beginning, its plan was to completely drain the Broken Fjord family dry.
It contacted Lord Serlin in its true form, threatening him with a vengeful campaign against the Broken Fjord family. If Lord Serlin did not want his family line to end with him, he would have to pay twice the amount of gold coins that the Silver Dragon had paid as compensation.
At this point, Lord Serlin finally realized that he had fallen into the green dragon's trap. While comforting Old Bonechewer to buy time, he spared no expense in building a real dragon-slaying team in Waterdeep in order to completely eradicate the green dragon that was threatening his family.
Old Bone Chewer, having noticed Lord Serlin's actions, immediately launched a surprise attack on the Broken Fjord family's manor, destroying the entire estate and killing many members. Lord Serlin was also severely wounded and fell into a coma. The remaining members of the Broken Fjord family were momentarily stunned, and in their terror, they agreed to Old Bone Chewer's conditions, handing over a large fortune in exchange for...
Chapter 201
Take personal safety into account.
At this point, the Broken Fjord family's fortune was completely depleted, and they were on the verge of bankruptcy.
Old Bone's blatant attack on the noble mansion of Waterdeep City ignited the combined fury of the secret lords and nobles of Glorious City. They assembled a powerful dragon-slaying team led by several legendary professionals, stormed into the Krypt Garden Forest, stormed Old Bone's exposed lair, killed the evil and tyrannical green dragon, and hung its head atop the Griffin Tower at Waterdeep's Spire as a deterrent.
However, if that were the case, there would be no such thing as the Bone Gnawing Gang targeting the living creatures of Casalozion.
The dragon-slaying party from Waterdeep killed the wrong dragon! They killed a green dragon named Draklitta, who was vying with Old Bonechewer for control of the Crypt Garden Forest. After attacking the Broken Fjord family, Old Bonechewer ceded his territory to this still-too-young green dragon, then hid with a fortune in gold, watching as the Waterdeep dragon-slaying party used Draklitta as a scapegoat before quietly returning home. While draining the Broken Fjord family's wealth, Old Bonechewer also used Waterdeep to eliminate his rival, completely bringing the entire Crypt Garden Forest under his rule.
Now, the green dragon has its sights set on Casalos.
To be precise, it was targeting the dragon Ratambirol. Unlike the domineering red dragons like Flamebringer and Grommash Hellscream, Old Bonechewer had no ambition to become the ruler of Waterdeep. Its goals were more focused on accumulating wealth and some peculiar hobby; otherwise, the dragon wizard Maryl wouldn't have allowed it into the dragon barrier. Casaloz, disguised as a dragon, had pioneered a new trade route for luxury goods and rare artifacts for Waterdeep, siphoning off the city's wealth annually equivalent to the combined fortunes of four or five Broken Fjord families. It was only natural that it would be targeted by a greedy green dragon. In Casaloz's mind, the fact that it had waited until now to act was a result of the old dragon's distorted perception of time.
However… based on the existing intelligence analysis, the Bone-Gnawing Gang's actions seem a bit too direct and hasty, not quite like the cunning Old Bone Chewer. So, was the Bone-Gnawing Gang's attack an unauthorized action by Elentara, or just one link in Old Bone Chewer's most adept series of schemes?
Casalos raised his neck to the same height as the mast lookout tower, looked at the fast-moving galleys that had risen to the sea level, and the dark storm clouds that were looming over the Iron Dawn, and stopped the kobolds from preparing to fire.
"Let them come over, we need some alive..."
There's not much to say about the battle; the attackers were certainly well-prepared, but they chose the wrong target.
The high priestess of Queen Ambori summoned a storm that covered a radius of several hundred meters around the Iron Dawn, banishing the ability of ordinary dragons to fly.
Casalos is no ordinary dragon; minor, harsh weather can hardly prevent it from taking flight. Moreover, the modified Iron Dawn is a magical warship capable of astral navigation, so how could it be hindered by a small, unnatural storm? However, it has no intention of taking flight to gain aerial dominance. Whether it's the Bone-Gnawing Gang's unauthorized actions or Old Bone Chewer's elaborate scheme, the old silver-coin green dragon with its four crystal balls is undoubtedly using magic to monitor every corner of the battlefield. Casalos doesn't want to reveal too much of its power. This isn't because it's afraid of scaring away Old Bone Chewer, but because Old Bone Chewer is a crucial part of its future plans. As long as it doesn't personally intervene, it's not time to alert the enemy.
It simply sat calmly on the deck of the Iron Dawn, sheltered by the defenses erected by the ship's dragon vein sorcerers, steadily preparing the most classic magic missile spell of the Evocation school. Round after round, it fired a series of purple magic projectiles from its wing hooks, smashing the fast-moving boats to pieces.
The storm also hindered the small boat's approach. The attackers' spellcasters lacked the range and accuracy of Casalos's spells, and the Iron Dawn's thick armor and the shields erected by the Dragonvein Warlocks were impervious to the low-level spell bombardment. Razor was also mingling among them, secretly sabotaging their defenses. They were powerless to fight back.
The small boats eventually managed to outnumber Casalozs's monotonous magical missiles and squeezed their way to the Iron Dawn, beginning their planned boarding action.
The storm gathered over the deck of Iron Dawn, enveloping Casaloz, who was disguised as a dragon. Pirates, carrying scimitars, leaped onto the deck of Iron Dawn by pulling on the ropes attached to the mast, and engaged in close combat with the half-dragon kobolds.
At Casalos's signal, the kobolds suppressed their urge to unleash a torrent of abuse, retreating cautiously into the ship's cabins, using the terrain to "defend" against the onslaught. Thus, the pirates surrounded the lone Casalos on the deck, where he engaged in a desperate struggle against the dragon's tail, wings, and claws. Blood and limbs flew in the storm as he managed to gain a foothold. Meanwhile, spellcasters from the attackers boarded the ship one after another, beginning lengthy spellcasting preparations under the cover of the warriors.
With nowhere to retreat or escape, the raider leader, confident of victory, ascended the Iron Dawn, assuming a triumphant posture as he awaited the dust to settle.
Just then, Razor, who was mixed in with the spellcasters, suddenly sprang into action, instantly shredding the throats of several focused mages with his Dragon Fang Dagger. He then revealed his ferocious Fang Dragon form, stirring up a new vortex of flesh and blood within the spellcasting group.
When the storm subsided, only two dragons, their scales covered in bits of flesh and blood, remained standing on the deck of the Iron Dawn. They spread their wings and took to the sky, using magic and claws to sink all the ships within their sight, before sailing into the harbor of Waterdeep alongside the magic ship.
132. I was tricked.
"How does it feel?"
In Waterdeep, on the waterfront, Casalos, now in human form, strolled aimlessly down the street, hand in hand with Toona. They turned from Diamond Street to Ivory Street, where the Temple of Beauty came into view. Toona said unhappily, "I never expected to be tricked by that ugly green lizard."
“That’s very much in line with its style.” Casalos shrugged indifferently.
Indeed, it was tricked by Old Chewbon. Now Iron Dawn is blocked outside the port gate and has not been granted permission to enter the port. The Treasure House has also been forced to close its doors and cease operations. Even Taona and other Hidden Dragons have been greatly affected. The anti-Hidden Dragon sentiment in Glorious City is now at an all-time high.
The plaza in front of the Temple of Beauty was packed with people. Among them, two down-on-their-luck bards were performing something with great enthusiasm, while a fellow who was either a mage or a sorcerer was helping them with illusions to create a commemorative image. It was the battle between the dragon Ratambirol and the members of the Bone-Gnawing Gang on the Iron Dawn.
The transitions between shots in the commemorative images are quite interesting. Very little is shown of Casalos's transformed dragon form; the focus is primarily on those attacking Casalos. The dragon is always shown from a low angle, revealing only a glimpse of its form, making it appear terrifying and oppressive. The massive dragon body obscures the specific environment, and the bloodied corpses and terrified faces beneath its claws make the viewer unconsciously overlook the clothing and weapons of the Bone Gnawing gang members. Through the changing angles and shots, the entire commemorative imagery makes it seem as if Casalos is slaughtering different innocent people in different places—many of whom are familiar faces from Waterdeep.
The battle scenes with Shaving Teeth are similar, except that they include many scenes of its humanoid form stabbing the caster in the back, as well as the important transformation process.
"Although the production was a bit rough, it may be due to time constraints. It must be said that Lao Jiao Gu understands the language of camera work and is much better than Chao Yongzhe in terms of camera movement."
After watching for a while, Casalos commented, "This has made me admire its talent. Should I spare its life?"
Old Chewer deliberately edited and spliced together the battle footage of Iron Dawn that he had monitored with his crystal ball, then hired a group of greedy adventurers to play these videos on a loop throughout the streets and alleys of Waterdeep. Coupled with the embellished narration of bards, the people of the Glorious City...
Chapter 202
They witnessed firsthand several brutal massacres of the "fishermen," "sailors," and "nobles" of Waterdeep by the "evil dragon" Ratambirol.
It turns out that the seemingly charming and elegant merchant Ratambirol from another world was actually a murderer who had brutally murdered hundreds of innocent people in Waterdeep!
The general public in Waterdeep now has a completely distorted perception of Casalos's merchant, and the business image it had previously cultivated is likely to be destroyed.
"You still have the nerve to comment on this?" Tao Na was furious.
"It's nothing serious, our business is still going smoothly."
While the emotions of the ignorant lower classes are easily stirred up, the clientele of the Curiosities Shop are primarily nobles and large merchant guilds with numerous advisors; public opinion has little impact on their profits. The Curiosities Shop, used for exhibitions, had to close to avoid trouble, and the Iron Dawn was blocked outside the port gates, but its cargo was secretly transported away by ships to its intended destinations. Currently, the only real impact is on the reputations of the two dragons.
"Isn't this a business matter? Don't you care about your reputation at all?" Tao Na gritted her teeth, took Casalos's arm, and placed it on its waist. "If you don't care, fine, but what about us?"
Shaving Teeth was a staunch supporter of hers and a core member of Toona's group. He'd gotten himself into a mess because of it, and his carefully cultivated image as a human mage had become public enemy number one in Waterdeep. He couldn't even enter the city without changing his identity. Meanwhile, Casalos and Toona, before their true human forms were revealed, could still move freely in Glorious City. But if things continued this way, the secret lords might not be able to withstand the public pressure and could very well expel the entire Toona group.
"If it doesn't work out, just leave. What's so great about this lousy city? I'm on good terms with a red dragon, and her city isn't any worse than this... Ouch, you're really pinching me!"
"Alright, stop fooling around, tell me what you're up to!" Tao Na loosened her grip and asked Casalos as she rubbed Casalos's face.
"Human form is so fragile, even a pinch with this little bit of strength will hurt." Casalos curled his lip: "I already said it's not a big deal. Think about it, who really controls public opinion in Waterdeep?"
Tao Na finally realized what was happening: "You recorded the whole thing?"
“No, who would have thought that Old Chewed Bone would actually learn this…” Casalos replied casually, and then continued to explain before Toona’s expression changed: “But if you don’t have one, can’t you just ‘act’ it again? I can also use camera language. More than half of the bards in Waterdeep are on my paycheck. It’s not hard to change public opinion. It’s not difficult to reshape me and Tooths into victims who were bullied to the point of having to fight back—that’s the truth, after all.”
"Then why don't you hurry up and take action? Every minute you delay, how many more people will see you as evil dragons!"
"No rush, let that old green lizard have his fun first. Besides, if I retaliate now, it will seem like I was prepared all along, which could easily provoke some self-righteous people to turn against me. It would be better to wait until some smart people notice the inappropriateness of these cropped photos, then have the bards go after them, overcome difficulties to complete the investigation and evidence collection, and then the reversal will be much more effective."
Casalos also reached under Tona's clothes and stroked her soft breasts: "Besides, that green-skinned lizard sold out all its people in the city. It's impossible that it would do this just to mess with us. There are definitely other big moves waiting in the future. Let's pretend we can't fight back and wait to see what it's up to. It would be even better if we could lure it out of its lair."
"Are you really prepared to deal with it?" Toona asked doubtfully. "Although it has always liked to play these tricks and schemes, that doesn't mean it's weak. Rake said that even if it joins forces with the Thinker, it might not be able to defeat Claugelia Mata."
“That’s an ancient green dragon with the rank of level 4 Druid and level 4 Rogue, and it also possesses a large number of high-level magical items.” Casalos shook his head: “But this time it’s not us who are going to cause trouble for it, it’s Old Roar.”
"What?" Tao Na was genuinely surprised now. "How could this be? And how did you know?"
"Hehe, guess..."
The dragon claw pinched the budding flower; now, the important matter was at hand.
133. Calculation
Casalos cherished the time he regularly spent with Toona, a indulgence it only had once every few months. Therefore, it had no intention of dragging Toona into its own conflicts; its identity as a dragon wasn't a good guise for handling serious incidents. So, it temporarily forgot about the ever-watchful Old Bonechewer, and after a few days of carefree fun with Toona in Waterdeep, it left with the words "I'll handle it," and, carrying the newly issued wanted poster from the City of Glory, boarded a ship and left the Prime Material Plane, appearing as if it were making a hasty escape.
With Ratambirol's departure, Old Bonechewer's propaganda offensive lost its main target, and its popularity waned. The voices of the "intelligent" finally began to emerge. Soon, renowned adventurers and bards approached these "intelligent" individuals, beginning to investigate the true story behind the massacre of Waterdeep's inhabitants by the Goron Interdimensional Merchant. The truth behind a meticulously planned robbery and the subsequent counterattack gradually surfaced… but this was far from enough to erase Goron's brutal slaughter of hundreds of "Waterdeep citizens"; the edited footage was simply too deeply ingrained in people's minds.
This was merely the prelude; the deeper exploration of the story continued. Not long after, the leader of the Bone-Gnawing Gang in Waterdeep, who should have died at the hands of the dragon, Lady Elentara, a renowned business noblewoman from Glorious City, and Dingdang, the leader of the Waterdeep pickpocket organization who participated in the original Ocean Heist, all made an appearance in Waterdeep. In front of everyone in the Grand Theater, they conducted a public face-to-face interview with Kenneth, Waterdeep's most sought-after bard.
The two women tearfully recounted their experiences of being brutally controlled by the evil Green Dragon, revealing the details of the robbery and their tragic fate of being abandoned as cannon fodder by the Green Dragon. The true faces of the supporters behind the Bone-Gnawing Gang and the pickpocket organization were exposed.
The term "Old Chewbones," referring to the tragic family massacre in the Broken Fjord, a name that had been fading from the memories of the people of glorious cities but remained a nightmare in the hearts of the nobles, has re-emerged into the public eye.
Subsequently, the all-knowing Kenneth found the adventurers who had been showing the photos around Waterdeep and obtained the original photos from them, recreating the entire robbery from the "most authentic" perspective.
The Bone-Gnawing Gang and the Pickpockets had actually colluded with the infamous Moonshadow Isles pirates and the priestess of the Bitch Queen, deploying dozens of galley pirate ships to lay a trap in the open sea, creating a storm to surround and corner Goron Ratambirol's merchant ships. Had it not been for the sudden outburst of Razor, an infiltrator of the Bone-Gnawing Gang, who destroyed the spellcasting group's suppression at the critical moment, Goron would likely have had his head chopped off the deck.
Public opinion finally shifted again, and Ratambirol and Toothshatter's reputation among the people of Waterdeep reversed, transforming from evil dragons who slaughtered the inhabitants of Waterdeep into valiant dragons who fought to the death against pirates...
"How is the situation?" Casalos asked the half-dragon kobold elder, whose name could not be mentioned, within the unchanging astral plane.
"All done!" The latter, with a long sigh of relief, barked proudly and replied, "Old Bone Chewer's prophecy spells are indeed very powerful. Even though we were on the Astral Plane, we couldn't shake off its pursuit. However, compared to your loyal servant, it is at a complete disadvantage in terms of professionalism, spellcasting level, and auxiliary items. I have prepared a perfect disguise. From now on, it can only follow the mark to the distant Astral Plane, exploring some unknown world to aimlessly search for non-existent targets. It will have no chance of detecting us again... unless you reappear in Faerûn as a dragon in a large number of public appearances."
"That's good. Let's go back to the outskirts of Water Deep. Are everything ready?"
“埃
Chapter 203