[Stomoxys]

Before the creature landed, the sky was covered by a thick layer of dark clouds. Afterwards, it was suddenly clear and Amna shone down on us from above. On closer inspection, the creature did not really look like a snake. If anything the body reminded me of the strange creatures called sea horses that are said to live outside the coast of The Homeland. However, this creature had four short legs with huge talons and a head that reminded me mostly of a crocodile. The dragon certainly did not look like a Person with wings.

The dragon looked down on Grogg, who shouted for Lunari's help. From my position, on the far side of the creature, I could not see if anything happened. Wolfram, standing next to Grogg, favoured direct action and threw a knife. However, it was taken by the wind and went flying.

Getting behind a nearby rock, I created an image of a new troll. If missiles were ineffectual against the dragon, creating distractions and confusion would be more useful than trying to hit it with my staff. Besides, if Grogg and Wolfram were going to use their normal tactics, anything that could take damage for them would be an advantage.

Just then, the dragon roared. From my position behind the creature, it felt as if the air was vibrating and the ground was trembling. Grogg and Wolfram were standing directly in front of it and it looked like they struggled to stay on their feet. As if answering the dragon, Grogg roared out a yes, while Wolfram ran at it, chopping at its wing with their sword and dagger.

Wolfram hit and the dragon roared again. Even though the wing was lacerated, the creature barely seemed to notice and swiped at Wolfram with the remains. Grogg took a step towards the beast and roared that they were tough. They seemed to be able to understand the creature and communicate with it. Their conversation was as friendly as you would expect, though. I began instructing the image of the troll to attack and heard Hylda scream from the hill that Grogg was indeed tough.

Wolfram continued their struggle, but were knocked off their feet by the winds just as my troll came running towards them. I realized that by adding extra twists and turns, the image was able to roar and even cause the ground to tremble when storming forward. I am not sure if it actually caused the ground to shake, or just stimulated the senses to create the illusion. I suspect the latter.

The dragon ignored the illusion and pounced on Grogg instead. Despite the shattered wing, the creature ran so gracefully it appeared to be floating over the ground. It came crashing into Grogg and sent the troll flying with a series of load curses. Wolfram and my image came running after, but before they could reach it, the dragon did a pirouette and roared again.

Grogg got back on their feet and yelled at the dragon to call for its mother, they would never surrender. While it was a powerful beast, its appearance was far less than what I had expected of a creature that covered the sky with storms and gave even the stars pause. If this was just a spawn, it would make much more sense, and improve our chances of survival considerably. I began creating another troll.

The troll and the dragon kept roaring at each other while Wolfram charged at the beast again. This time it was prepared and sidestepped Wolfram's strikes. In response, it snapped at Wolfram's head with its jaws. Wolfram had a heavy helmet that covered their entire face, but I could see blood running beneath it and Wolfram fell backwards.

My troll reached the dragon and hacked awkwardly at it with its axe. While careful study would have revealed that something was wrong with the troll, it was not obvious in the heat of battle and the dragon dodged away from the strikes and tried to bite the head off the troll. As its jaws passed through nothing, I saw an insulted expression on the dragon's face just before Grogg's maul connected at full force. The second troll had now received its instructions and charged forward chanting for Ogra.

The dragon pounced on Wolfram again who barely managed to roll out of the way. Grogg tried to hold their ground again, but was sent flying by the onrushing beast. My trolls ran after the dragon, waving their weapons and roaring while I conjured a third into existence. The dragon must have realized that the images could not actually harm it, because instead of trying to dodge their attacks, it roared at Grogg again. They still appeared to be a nuisance though, but I did not bother to send in the last image. Instead, I began gathering energy for a direct strike.

Grogg yelled for Hylda to find their shadow while Wolfram got up on their feet. Their helmet had several perforations and blood was flowing, but they did not appear to be in immediate danger of passing out. Another roar from the dragon was answered by Grogg that they would rather die than kneel and the troll lurched forward again. Once again, the dragon flowed forward and rammed Grogg out of their way. However, Wolfram was standing behind Grogg with their sword at the ready. When the dragon came bearing down, Wolfram used its momentum to impale it on their sword.

The dragon screamed and went crashing past Wolfram, ending in a heap. Grogg yelled that they hoped Palo would choke on Vanjan while Wolfram ran after the beast and stabbed it several times with their sword. The creature began to dissipate while Grogg stumbled over to the remains. Before they could reach it, the dragon disintegrated completely and something that looked like a spirit hovered above it. However, unlike spirits, I could see it clearly without the ring.

I managed to contain the energies and it looked like I held a blazing ball of star light in my hands. The hovering spirit was an excellent target, but I was not sure how to direct the energy at it. I did not know if it would have any effect either, but there was only one way to find out. Grogg charged right through the spirit, while Wolfram had started transforming into the demon bear.

The spirit looked like it was about to jump up into the air and the wind whispered so all could hear that we had already lost. Wolfram shouted something about shadows and gestured on the ground. I made a throwing gesture to direct the ball of energy at the floating shape and a bright beam of starlight shot forth from my hands. My muscle memory was used to account for gravity, but the beam went straight ahead, overshooting the spirit.

Grogg shouted for Kra to stop the dragon, but it was already taking of at an incredible speed. On its way up, I saw what Wolfram had meant, as a shadow corresponding to the dragon shot across the ground. Kra cawed wildly and fluttered upwards, while Grogg threw themselves after it and tried to grab the incorporeal tail. It was unclear if they missed or went through it, but the spirit did not slow down. Grogg was furious, but realized that Kra had no way of keeping up and called the raven back.