A wyvern? What in the Abyss is that? Dmitri’s imagination churned as he listened to Essel share some knowledge about this dragon-kin. He sat on a stump fidgeting with his old worn boots. The soles were beginning to wear through.

His thoughts continued to wander during the description, “poisonous stinger”… that sounds nasty and we’re going to need somebody to engage it so it doesn’t fly away. Let’s see… Dmitri looked around at his companions, sizing them up as they discussed the topic. Ajari…no, he’ll be most effective with his bow. Septos… no, he will probably want to attack it from horseback. Essel… his role will likely involve his illusions or other magic but nothing up close. Ginny… well, he does have that frog and some handy magic but I don’t know that would he would want to go in close to fight. Hmm… shit. I’d better volunteer before it becomes a topic. This is probably gonna kill me.

Dmitri looked nervous. The blood had drained from his face. He stepped forward, “I’ll do it. I’ll engage the beast. I have some anti-toxin that can protect me from its poison.”

After some discussion, there were no significant objections to his suggestion. Some magical protection from Erastil’s grace would be a good idea. He’d need to pray for that spell.

The party headed out. The journey was uneventful but every hour that passed caused the knots in Dmitri’s stomach to tighten further. By the time they arrived it was difficult to keep food down. He was shaking and only his silent prayers helped him keep it together.

A few scattered sheep-parts demonstrated the power this beast had. Dmitri could tell by the enormous tracks in the dirt that this farmer was not exaggerating. If anything, it was probably bigger than a horse. A scorpion-like stinger on an animal the size of a horse… Vomit quickly rose to the back of his throat but he choked it back down as he pointed north, took a breath and steadied his voice, “The beast went that way.”

Tracking it down wasn’t the plan however. Septos wanted to make a stand here. It made sense.

Soon the time came. Ginnelthob swooped in to report a sighting. The group scrambled into position. Dmitri hunkered down into the illusionary flock of sheep. It looked like the beast was taking the bait. It swooped around several times before closing in. Dmitri’s adrenalin was pumping. Despite the cold he was sweating. He hoped it couldn’t smell the feces escaping into his trousers. With a roar, Dmitri charged and struck true into the beast’s chest. He hit it just about as hard as he could but it barely hurt the thing. It retaliated… heavily. The blows came one after the other, seemingly from all directions. The stinger was the worst part but fortunately the anti-toxin seemed to work. The rest of his companions took action, an entangling spell to attempt to trap it, some solid blows from Ajari’s bow, magical missiles returning stings of their own, and finally Septos’s blow from charging on horseback with his lance. But it still didn’t go down. It had Dmitri in its talons and seemed about to escape so it dropped him. More arrows and the massive beast hit the ground. It was over. Dmitri crawled out from behind it and raised his thumb into the air… not sure if his companions were too worried but just in case he wanted them to know lived.