>>5735997>>5735858>>5735834Time is of the essence and, in the end, stealth ahs never been your forte. As for introducing yourself at the front gate, well, you can’t imagine that ending well.
“We could intercept the ship on its departure, and sink it!” suggests the excitable Archer.
“Maybe,” you grant him, “but if we fail at THAT point, we will have no further recourse.”
Olu nods, and you silently shiver at the OTHER reason to avoid such an enterprise: you would be out at SEA, surrounded by WATER.
>Aquaphobia TriggeredNo, you think not. Instead, you decide your move must be swift and decisive, and must take place tonight. To this end, you remove your Amulet of Disguise and don your Amulet of the Dragon. Oluwadamilare keeps watch as you attune you shift your shape first to your natural form, and then attune energies to the latter amulet so as to once more take on the augmented, winged <Dragonshape IV>. It is a time-consuming transition, and you are rather conspicuous by the end of it—taller than any man, rippling with armoured, copper scales and with a mane of flowing fire-red hair, with a twenty-foot wingspan.
“That armour has a great deal of flexibility, to fit you in so many shapes and sizes” Olu comments.
“Elvencraft,” you boast. “Thank your female for me next time we see her.”
You both laugh, Oluwadamilare’s expression turning wistful as he thinks of Jazkarmel, his Drow lover and the leader of the encampment where you commissioned this set. It is no substitute for your shoggoth-cuirass… But as far as non-magical materials go, the dyed and gem-studded matrix of spider-silk, ghoul-leather, and giant beetle chitin really cannot be beat for comfortable, versatile protection.
You instruct the Archer to remain below, watching the fortress’ lower levels to monitor guard activity. If you should fail to return, he is to come to your aid or alert the others, depending on the plausibility of an extraction. You flex and fold your newly regrown wings as you give these instructions, reacclimating to the limbs. As with the loss of your tail in human form, it is ever a strange sensation, but as a True Dragon at heart, these wings feel… RIGHT. In your mind, when you picture yourself, you are still the copper-pink, orange-haired Dragonborn you ever were, but this flighted form is the ‘Theral’ that the world knows, and needs, and which Prince Rufos shall soon learn to fear!
