Their mission had been simple on paper.  Track the pirates into an archipelago of small islands in the southern reach of the Shattered Sea, about fifty to one hundred miles north of Alman Arastokhet, by using some stealthy sky darts.  Board, eliminate the dreadgoblin crew, and secure the crate of stolen sky shards.  The first two things had happened easily enough but the sky shards had already been offloaded.  With the new situation the challenge they faced had increased.  

Isiah picked up the last of his recoverable arrows and walked back to the other three.  “I’ve got twelve good arrows.”  Caelian was finishing up putting a salve on Kaspar’s shoulder and using a cantrip spell to mend his chainmail.  Miah was watching the sky while absently picking huckleberries and popping them in her mouth.  The stand of pine trees continued to burn but the wind had shifted slightly and smoke was now drifting their direction.

Caelian closed up her healing kit and put it in the backpack by her feet.  “I can cast Cure Wounds three more times.”

Miah picked up her quarterstaff.  “I’ve got power for two more proper spells.  My cantrips worked well when we boarded the skyship but won’t be so useful against devils with magic resistance.  Kass?”

Kaspar stretched his arm and worked his shoulder back and forth.   “Ready to hack and slash.”

“All right, then,” said Isiah.  “Shall we go?”  They started walking north, quickly ordering themselves in a box formation.  Caelian and Kaspar in front separated by ten feet, him on the right and her on the left, weapons ready.  Isiah was behind Caelian and had his bow out with an arrow ready in his other hand.  Miah walked behind Kaspar using her quarterstaff like she was on a stroll through a garden.

They didn’t speak as they walked.  They knew what Jozinferal could do to them.  Two previous encounters had left them bloodied and lucky to be alive.  

Each kept to their own thoughts as they moved through a brushy patch of small trees, keeping the fold of land to their right in order to mask them from the north.  Once through the trees they saw a grassy field with large stone ruins laying across them.  It took a moment for them to realize it was some kind of large tower that had fallen over and maintained most of its structural integrity.  It lay half buried in the ground with vines crawling up the sides.

They gathered at the edge of the clearing and watched the ruins for a while.  No visible movement.  Isiah thought he saw an opening that led inside and pointed it out, about halfway along the length of it.  “What do you think?  Give it a quick check and keep moving north?”  There were nods from the group and they started out across the clearing at a brisk walk, one at a time and staggered by twenty feet.

About halfway across the field Isiah slowed and turned to look back, thinking he’d heard something.  The smoke continued to drift in hazy clouds behind them.

Bursting out of the smoke came a large wyvern with silver and blue scales.  It flew with powerful strokes of its wings, two clawed legs curled up underneath and a long sinewy tail laid out behind it.  Isiah stopped and brought up his bow.  “Behind us!”

The others turned but it was too late.  The wyvern dove at them, mouth agape with long teeth and the tail whipping around.  Isiah sighted in on the base of its neck and got off one arrow, piercing its scales with a deep hit, before it crossed the remaining distance.

As the wyvern passed over Isiah it raked him with one of its claws.  Isiah tried to dodge out of the way but the talons ripped open his shoulder.  Then its tail swung around, which ended in a wicked looking stinger.  The point of the stinger missed but the rest of the tail smashed into Isiah like a giant’s club.  The thief took the strike full in his side and was lifted up and thrown through the air, body spinning out of control.

Miah dropped prone and watched a shadow pass over her.

Caelian turned to see the wyvern practically in the middle of them.  Without thinking she called on her Medallion of Ayanwu to send up a flare of radiance in front of her.  Powered by the Force of Light itself, the medallion channeled pure brilliance and showered the wyvern with searing radiant damage as it flew overhead.

Kaspar turned and could do nothing.  The wyvern bellowed and flew well over him.  It wheeled in the sky, wings out and turning back towards them.

Miah got to her knees and shouted a spell.  A single swirling pattern on her staff glowed light blue.  She raised a hand, three fingers pointed up and then pointed level.  With a deafening thunderclap, a bolt of lighting streaked out and hit the wyvern dead center.  The winged beast was knocked back and dropped to the ground.

Kaspar ran towards it.  Before he could get within range the wyvern thrust up with its wings and whipped its tail underneath itself, stabbing out with its stinger.  The barb hit him low in the chest and sunk in deep before a flex of the tail ripped it out.

“Kass!!” shouted Caelian.  She ran hard, mace and shield moving with her pumping arms, giving no thought to her own defense.

The wyvern dropped back to its feet, wings flapping angrily, a huge bleeding scorch mark across its breast.

Kaspar looked down at the blood welling up behind his armor.  He felt his body seizing up and he went to one knee.  His eyesight blurred and he pitched forward, paralyzed.  He could only listen as the wyvern stepped on him, hissing and spitting and sinking its claws into his back.  He heard Caelian cry out and heard the clink of her armor and thud of her boots as she ran towards him.  He could do nothing as he listened to her run towards the beast that had just dropped him with one strike of its tail.

About a hundred feet away, lying in the grass, Isiah groaned and tried to roll on his side.  He coughed hard and sprayed blood all over the clover, then rolled back.

The wyvern’s tail swung around again for a strike at Caelian.  She kept running and raised her shield at the last second.  The stinger slammed into it and threw her off balance.  She sprawled out on the ground, trying unsuccessfully and ungainfully to stay on her feet.  

Her attempts at staying upright only brought her closer to the beast.  It hopped forward and whipped its head down like a striking snake.  Its teeth clamped down hard on her shoulder and created a row of bleeding wounds.  Then it tossed her aside and she landed in a confused clump of metal and weapons.  With a coordinated flip of its tail, the wyvern stabbed its stinger into her side.  Caelian felt the paralysis come over her as she reached out towards Kaspar.  Then her vision blurred. 

Miah couldn’t see where her brother had landed and Kay and Kass were laid out on the ground.  The wyvern whirled its long neck around and its eyes focused on her, the only one left standing on the battleground.

The entrance to the collapsed tower was more visible now and only forty feet away.  She pointed a finger and released a ray of frost which struck the wyvern in the breast and probably only helped cool down the ragged wound she had given it before.  Then she shouted and waved her quarterstaff while running for the tower entrance.  She could only hope that the beast’s instincts kicked in and it chased her like prey.

It did.