—The personal account in the Lady Oskendorser, as excerpted from her personal correspondence and journals:

My sovereign…

Lady Helena, I killed my kin; many of them. It was so easy. I knew exactly what I needed to say to make it happen. That’s what happened, and as always I will report to my happenings. I desperately wish I was more surprised by the cruelty and depravity that overcame me, but at least I feel boundless disgust. That disgust, paradoxically, is a comfort. There is little else to say; no excuse, no reasoning, no understanding exists to explain the monster I became… yet, I need to understand.

Back to Greenest

We escaped the camp with nothing else but Leosin and returned to Greenest. Leosin was less than pleased with the method of his extraction; “Now they know about us. I’m grateful to be alive, but now the enemy is unpredictable.”

Jah-Quatt questioned Leosin about the contents of a cave we observed at the encampment. He confirmed the theory that it contained black dragon eggs. Osfyr further asked about the plans for resurrecting Tiamat. “Tiamat is not dead,” Leosin told us, “Tiamat is in the nine hells.”

Back in the castle at Greenest, we found things were recovering from the evacuation that took place during the raid. The civilians and other residents were being healed and re-settled. Governor Nighthill received us with thanks, giving us a tour to show us that they were rebounding well, despite the missing treasures.

A short time after our return, Leosin had calmed significantly, and spoke to us with apologies. “You saved so many; I should have been more grateful. You’ve done so much for Greenest. I spoke to Charlie who’s allowed me to ask for one more thing: Will you return to the camp? ” We were quick to agree to the request.

Leosin continued, “We need confirmation of what’s in that cave, and we may be low on time because of the choices we’ve made. They may have moved on already, but it is essential that we have more information.”

Planning amongst our party, we decided to approach the cave during the day for ease of scouting. Leoisn wouldn’t be joining us as he needed to meet with someone else concerned with the dragon cult’s activities in Eltuel. However, a dwarven paladin named Harbek would be coming along.

Harbek introduced himself to us as a Paladin of Torm; “I have been seeking to help destroy evils across the land!” He had heard of our group and was eager to assist. Immidiately there was tension between Harbeck and Uvan; the former apparently not appreciating the latter’s race.

Returning to the Encampment

We set out to approach the raiders camp and it was apparent even from a distance that things had changed there dramatically. There were small plumes of smoke rising here and there, and the guard towers and makeshift stables had been abandoned. The activity level had sharply decreased from the last time we saw the camp. From the mouth of the camp, we saw two distinct sets of tracks; one heavy and leading west – presumably with the stolen treasures from Greenest in tow. The other set of tracks was light and nearly all belonged to kobolds, who had headed east.

To approach, we split the party in two: Never, Jah-Quatt, Harbek, and I climbed up to the cliff flanking the side of the camp that housed the cavern. Burzum-Ishi, Osfyr, and Uvan climbed up the opposite side, which had burned-out guard towers. From the cliffside above the cave, we could more clearly see what had happened to the camp. Most of the kobold dwellings had been burnt down, but a few of the human tents still remained. The rest of the tents had been presumably packed away with the raiders heading west; notably, the command tent had gone missing.

From the opposite cliff, the remainder of the party noticed movement in the cave below us, and relayed the message by gesturing to Never. Jah-Quatt decided to investigate by scurrying down the cliffside as a spider, entering the cave. There, she encountered armored dragon cultists who seemed to be alert, seeking. By her description when she returned, I recognized them as the humans who most easily took down kobolds during our previous visit.

The party rejoined on the cliff above the cavern to plan further. From the guard towers, Burzum-Ishi, Osfyr, and Uvan had recovered a rope ladder we might use to approach the cavern below. As we discussed at length possible options, Uvan forced the matter by shooting a flaming arrow at a tent below as distraction; we needed to descend quickly. I held onto Jah-Quatt to descend using the rope ladder and Never would allow the rest to descend easily with feather fall at the signal.

Into the Cavern

Osfyr, Jah-Quatt, and I were first to reach the mouth of the cave. Osfyr gave the signal for the rest to join after noticing the enemy retreat further into the cavern. Once we were all assembled, we cautiously headed inward. Immediately we were ambushed by the two cultists, who had hidden themselves earlier. Fenrir – Uvans wolf companion – and Never were victim to the surprise attack. Burzum-Ishi was quick to act in putting one enemy to sleep, and at Uvan’s direction I tied the cultist up. Uvan, Burzum-Ishi, and Jah-Quatt finished off the remaining enemy with little struggle.

With the immediate danger behind us, Jah-Quatt and Uvan scouted ahead deeper into the cave, finding there a staircase and a cliff, with darkness beyond. Scouting further, they found a dense carpet of large fungi, with two paths cutting through it to the left and right. Burzum-Ishi lingered near the mouth of the cave to see whether or not we had been noticed.

Meanwhile, Osfyr and I prepared to interrogate the enemy. Sitting before the cultist, I ungagged him only to be immediately spat upon. “Traitor,” he growled at me. Perhaps I should have been offended, but it felt justified. I struggled to pay attention as Osfyr began interrogating the cultist, with little success. However, my mind snapped back to attention when Osfyr roughly grabbed the man’s hand and severed a finger, eliciting screams of agony. Quickly, I warded the cultist against further attack, much to Osfyr’s irritation. With torture no longer an option, Osfyr instead searched the cultist for clues on his person, coming up empty.

Once the pain subsided enough, Never attempted to extract information from the enemy as well, using imitations of Leosin’s words. However, he only managed to elicit laughter. Burzum-Ishi had returned from the mouth of the cave and joined us for one last attempt, trying to charm the enemy.

“We want to make sure you get out of here,” she said.

Yet the cultist only laughed more, responding, “You should join us. Tiamat will love you.”

Before I could think it, I found myself dropping my ward and gagging the cultist again. I stood and turned away, muttering “Tiamat will betray you, too.”

Osfyr and Burzum-Ishi approached, picking up the cultist to finish him off.

Malicious Mushrooms! Batty Bloodsuckers!

Meanwhile, Jah-Quatt had decided to very carefully descend the stairs beside the cliff which led to the fungal mat. She quickly discovered the last step was trapped, as it propelled her into an aggressive clump of violet mushrooms, leaving her to struggle out. When Osfyr and Burzum-Ishi threw the cultist off the cliff, Jah-Quatt only barely managed to catch the already-dead man before he disturbed the dangerous mushrooms again. Instead, she set his body down on a less dangerous portion of the mushroom patch – while shouting frustrated warnings up about the dangers below.

Despite the warnings – and much to Jah-Quatt’s irritation, Burzum-Ishi descended the stairs and triggered the same trap- leaving her tangled in dangerous fungi. Fortunately Never loosed an arrow at its roots, making quick work of the danger and freeing Burzum-Ishi. After that, we were all able to move easily to the chamber beyond.

We found the following chamber to be dotted lightly with similar fungus. Bats fluttered about, squeaking in the silence. A glance upward revealed there were many of them clustered above our heads. Huddled near a torch I carried, Never and I heeded that there were also dead bats scattered along the floor. When Never quietly advanced and lifted one, he found it partially eaten- and in Leosin’s voice quietly said, “I’m nervous.”

When Uvan, Osfyr, and I attempted to sneak into the cave, by some miracle the horrible noises our equipment made did not disturb the bats. The whole party was able to move safely through without sharing the horrible fates of the corpses littering the floor.

From there, the cavern split into three paths and we proceeded left, drawn in by lantern light. We bumbled through more traps – with Never and Burzum-Ishi falling into waiting spikes – but made it into the next chamber regardless. There we found the chamber housed a dark pit, with the sound of drakes below. A gate sealed a staircase leading down into the pit, and keys hung on the wall nearby, quickly taken by Osfyr. Opposite of the pit were training dummies, implements, and leashes; tools for the care and keeping of drakes, no doubt. As we approached, the drakes became restless.

Harbek suggested we placate the drakes with some of our rations, so we offered them jerky. Satisfied, they became quiet – and our semi-stealth was restored. All too quickly, however, it was robbed of us once more; in proceeding up the stairs, Osfyr triggered a trap and an alarm. Rubble from the ceiling came crashing down. Uvan and Osfyr narrowly avoided the biggest rocks, but Fenrir took a mighty blow. Fortunately, he wasn’t mortally hit.

Debacle in the Stairwell

Before the dust could even settle, armored men were descending the stairs with shouts; three of a sort we had encountered previously, and two stronger looking men. The narrow stairwell made it difficult to see if more men were approaching or not. Osfyr was more than ready for their approach, and with two swings of this weapon, two enemies fell to the ground. The remaining three men descended on him in a pile but struggled to land a single blow.

From the very rear of the party, Jah-Quatt rushed forward into the stairwell to let an arrow loose, only for it to whizz by and clink off a cavern wall in the chaos. Meanwhile, Harbek blessed those in his reach – Uvan, Jah-Quatt, and myself – with an encouragement, “Torm goes with you!”

We continued our defense, but the narrow stairwell and passage was difficult to fight in. Osfyr was at the top of the stairs now, blocking the way for the enemies to descend below. He was protecting us but as a result, being savagely targeted himself. Jah-Quatt was quick to drop her bow and try and attend to Osfyr’s worsening condition.

Harbek turned heel and headed back down toward the chamber with drakes, There, he readied to attack and commanded, “Osfyr, fall back! We’ll route them back here!” Uvan fell back beside the dwarf, reading his arrow – soon joined by myself, javelin in hand. Osfyr finally got an opening and unplugged the stairwell. Behind the three men remaining, more guards piled down the stairs in pursuit.

Now unhindered by anyone blocking the way, one of the stronger men’s gaze fell upon me, and his expression intensified. Rushing past friend and foe alike, he grabbed me and shoved me mightily toward the pit of drakes. I struggled out of his grasp before he could slide my feet over the edge. Over his shoulder I caught sight of Jah-Quatt letting out a mighty cry as she perfectly timed a thunderwave up the stairwell, killing two enemies, with a third collapsing at the top of the stairs.

Harbek turned his attention to the enemy who grabbed me, shouting and swinging his weapon, “Don’t you touch her!” The enemy only barely managed to stay on his feet but was nimble enough to dodge follow-up attacks from Uvan and I. As I stumbled past the enemy in my failed attack, I felt something wet splat onto my snout and a hoarse whisper, “Kinslayer!”

Osfyr was at the bottom of the stairs attacking remaining guards, but they wouldn’t stay down. As moments passed, more of the enemies seemed to be keenly aware of my presence, regardless of who was facing them in battle. One of them growled, “We have our orders!” and in the blink of an eye, it seemed every enemy was upon me. A mighty blow to my head, then my gut, and I lost consciousness.

Going dark for only a moment is a truly bizarre sensation. It felt as if enough time had passed that the battle would have surely ended, but when I rouse once more we were still in the heat of it. Jah-Quatt was hovering over me with a look of urgent concern. Turning my head, I saw the blurry form of Harbek shoving an enemy into the pit of drakes. Then, the sickening sound of bone and flesh being torn and broken by strong jaws. Somewhere else in the room, I heard Uvan’s bow and Fenrir growling – followed by the clattering thump of our last enemy falling.

Shrine of Tiamat – Battling Cyanwrath’s Devotees

It had only been minutes, but the silence following the battle was a relief. Uvan, Osfyr, and Harbek scouted ahead in the direction from whence the enemies came, Fenrir following close at their heels. They found an abandoned barracks for kobolds, where we took a moment to collect ourselves, heal, and rest a little. There was little of value in the room beside some money Harbek found, which he unselfishly shared with the party. Otherwise, there were a plethora of dragon-themed tokens and chachkies. They had a familiar air to me; one that turned my stomach.

The stairs that led out of the drake chamber and into the barracks continued onward, back toward the direction of the main hallway, but descending deeper into the darkness. When we were all ready, Uvan led the party downward, carefully checking for traps along the way. After we were fairly sure it was clear, Osfyr took front once more, and we entered a new chamber. It was evident immediately; this was a shrine to Tiamat.

Entering the shrine only made my stomach twist more. The chamber had been enlarged and polished. Warm, humid air accosted us. In the center of the chamber was a bench, and laid out upon it was the body of Cyanwrath – the very one Jah-Quatt had dueled and Osfyr had bested. Beside the bench were two cultists, who noticed us quicky. When they spotted Osfyr, their faces twisted with unbridled rage and they quickly drew their weapons, “You murdered our lord! FOR CYANWRATH!”

I, foolishly, rushed to engage the enemy first despite my wounded barely-conscious state – followed by Osfyr. They were swinging their axes erratically and recklessly, their enraged grief driving them. The rest of the party were quick to join the fray. Jah-Quatt transformed into a bear, and Harbek’s hammer took on a red-hot glow, setting fire to the enemy engating Osfyr on contact. Jah-Quatt swung at the enemy I was fighting before looking toward me and grunting. Thanks to my own awareness of my aching body, I understood her warning; I needed to disengage. I backed away from the cultist in front of me, but he pursued and struck me across the legs with his axe. I twisted my hands into Jah-Quatt’s bear fur, and it became the only thing keeping me conscious and upright.

From Jah-Quatt’s back I saw Uvan, and Fenrir, and Osfyr attacking the flaming cultist, who was still fighting despite the flames licking his flesh. Osfyr landed a savage finishing blow, tripping and skewering the cultist to the ground. Now we had only one enemy to deal with. Jah-Quatt swung her claws at the remaining cultist, but he dodged aptly, still fixing his eyes on me as his target. As the clutist raised his axe to strike me, Harbek approached from behind and restrained him. I stumbled away from Jah-Quatt’s back just in time to avoid being hit – only for the cultist to turn to Osfyr instead. I retreated and the remainder of the party closed in on the enraged cultist.

Taking one hit after another, the cultist broke free from Harbek’s restraint and bellowed, “I’m going to Valhalla today and you’re going with me!” He swung his axe at Osfyr but failed to fell him.

Fenrir had circled around the enemy’s back and with a savage bark, sunk his teeth right into the enemy’s rear-end. That was apparently the last he could take, and the cultist fell to the ground, dead.

Once again there was peace – but for a moment. Harbek began examining the carvings on the cavern wall. There were depicted many dragons, most of them painted black. Uvan, meanwhile, couldn’t resist a chest that was nestled in the corner. But like so many things in the cavern so far, it was a trap – and the chamber was quickly filled with burning acid vapor. Lungs burning with pain, we stumbled toward an unfamiliar exit rather then returning from whence we came. Bursting into a new chamber, Uvan quickly tended to Harbek who had gotten the worst of the acid. I collapsed against a wall to catch my breath and use some magic to heal as well.

We began to explore the new room. Upon rising to join, I found the pain of my wounds much less bearable then previously – so I climbed back atop the still-bear Jah-Quatt, who was kindly tolerant. From her back, I had a better view of the chamber. Caged wooden steps led down into a pit below, not unlike the drake room. In the dark pit we could make out large eggs, three-foot-tall at least, as well as Tiamat’s usual wicked cohort of kobolds and drakes, who had long since noticed us. They were the first kobolds we had seen since we left the encampment for the first time.

The clack of wood against stone drew our attention to the steep dropoff of the pit, where kobolds had leaned up a ladder. Before we could react, something was lobbed up and fell squarely in front of Osfyr, Uvan, and Fenrir – and then violently exploded. I just barely made out Uvan’s prone form beyond the smoke before another explosion happened right in front of Jah-Quatt and I, sending me flying from her back to the ground. A third incendiary device – apparently this one full of glue – was narrowly dodged by Harbek.

Osfyr, worse for wear from the explosion, returned to his feet to attack the kobolds at the top of the ladder. He knocked one-off before a second scrambled up, locking eyes with me and squealing, “It’s her!”

The Wyrmling

Having had my fill of being targeted, I panicked and stumbled to my feet to run. The kobold was quick to speak again, this time in draconic, “We have one ready for you!”. His hopeful tone of voice stopped me in my tracks.

I turned and with a wavering tone, in draconic, yelled, “Stop the fight!”

The kobolds acquiesced and immediately retreated back into the pit. The kobold who had spoken unlocked the gate at the bottom of the stairs, saying, “Please, come down.”

The turning tides surprised me enough to dull my pain, and I descended the stairs wooden with the party just behind. The female kobolds surrounding the eggs chanted softly as we approached. Uvan cast his dancing lights out, illuminating the eggs in the center of the pit. The middle egg was cracking, seemingly encouraged by the chanting.

With a quick sidelong glance to the party behind me, I tightened my grip on my weapon. Seeing the understanding in their eyes, I turned back to the kobold leading me, asking, “Are they hatching soon?”

“Yes,” he answered, beaming at me, “We saved this one for you, we expedited it!”

Seeing his smile, my heart twisted with guilt so bitter I could taste it. Was it possible that these kobolds somehow did not know what I had done? After all, the cultists and guards we fought seemed to know. This deception had to end. I reached out and gripped the kobold before me by the shoulders, “I admire your dedication to Tiamat, but you should know” – I had to swallow to keep myself from wavering – “you should know, I betrayed you.”

As I let go of the now wide-eyed kobold, I intended to reach once more for my weapon – but before I could, I felt a shove at my back. I bumped past the kobold in front me and found myself eye-to-eye with a freshly hatched black dragon. For a moment, everything else in the world fell away – there was only the eager gaze of the monster before me, squealing as it imprinted, and a sour lump of dread in my throat.

From behind me, I heard a panicked kobold whisper, “What have we done? She wears the mark of the hated one!”

The situation came crashing down back into my consciousness all at once. Thrusting a hand out to the drakes lurking in the shadow, I commanded them to stay – then pointed to the unhatched eggs as I drew my weapon. Harbek quickly dispatched one, leaving a horrible sticky unbirth to spill onto the floor. Uvan slew the kobold who had lead us into the pit. Devastated, the remaining kobolds did not fight but instead began chanting again. As if in response, a fleshy tentacle descended from the ceiling and grabbed a nearby drake, smashing it against the wall; it was a roper.

Osfyr destroyed the only remaining egg and a kobold in one swing, leaving no unhatched eggs left. Amongst the chaos, the black dragon wyrmling was holding my gaze. Experimentally, I pointed up toward the ceiling, where the roper lurked. The wyrmling was quick to obey, flying upward to attack the target clumsily. The roper gently pushed and grabbed at the wyrmling with its tentacles, trying to stop the assault. Meanwhile, Jah-Quatt,Harbek, and Uvan disposed of the remaining kobold and drake in the pit.

The wyrmling squirmed in the roper’s weak grasp. I draconic, I commanded it to break free – which it did – and the roper lashed out violently. Grabbing Jah-Quatt by the ankle, it began pulling her upward. Osfyr quickly sliced the offending tentacle and released Jah-Quatt, and we retreated to the shrine. With a command of “come”, the wyrmling obediently followed. The shrine was still a little acrid from the trap we had sprung previously, but it was tolerable now.

The party rested for a time in the shrine room. There, we were rejoined by Darik, a human guard of Greenest, and Burzum-Ishi. As we rested and I wrestled awkwardly with the wyrmling, Fenrir made busy following his nose about the room. Eventually, the wolf found a narrow passage leading to a rope ladder. Uvan followed him and called Osfyr over to inspect as well with a, “Get over here”. With Uvan’s dancing lights, they could see the rope ladder went up a chute and ended in some kind of barrier of neither rock nor wood.

Harbek returned to inspecting the carvings on the wall, as he was when we first entered the shrine. He recognized the imagery of Tiamat emerging from the well of dragons. Meanwhile, Uvan urged Never to inspect the trapped chest. Finding the trap had re-set, Never mimicked Leosin’s voice – “I’m nervous” – and gestured for the party to take cover. Then, carefully, he opened the chest and diffused the trap. Inside were many gems, and a scant smattering of jewelry that had been stolen from Greenest. Darik took the stolen jewelry, and the remainder of the party divided the gems.

The wyrmling grew increasingly restless as the party wandered about the shrine. He began yelping at me but refused rations from my hand. Only when offered the finger of one of the freshly dead cultists in the room did he eat, reluctantly. It was clear fresh meat would have been his preference.

Osfyr looked on as I fed the wyrmling with what may have been derision. “What are we going to do about this dragon? I could dispatch it for you.”

I had already been feeling ill – from my injuries, from the acid trap, and from the shrine to wickedness we currently inhabited – but Osfyr’s suggestion wrung my gut further. “No. If it becomes a problem, I’ll be the one to dispose of it.” At that moment I couldn’t place my feelings about the dragon but I knew disposal, at least, was my responsibility.

Furlam Escapes our Grasp

Eventually, the party all gravitated toward the ladder and chute Fenrir had discovered. Never led the way up the ladder, finding it solidly built. The barrier at the top was the bottom of a woven rug, clear of traps as confirmed by Never. Listening carefully, Never heard moving beyond the rug, and descended to transmit the sound to us with his mimicry. We discussed our plan for moving forward and decided a full assault would be best. Osfyr led, with Darik and Harbek on his heels – the most wounded took up the rear.

Osfyr reached the top and pushed the rug back to find a fully furnished room lit with oil lamps – and currently occupied by Frulam, who stood behind a desk. Osfyr was quick to command, “Don’t move.”

Frulam indeed did not move, but instead summoned spirit guardians that took the form of chromatic dragons around her. She taunted Osfyr so loudly, it could be heard from the bottom of the chute; “Come on!”

Darik was right behind, and opened fire on Frulam with his crossbow, eliciting only laughter from her. Harbek and Uvan scrambled in after. By the time Burzum-Ishi made it to the mouth of the chute, the room was crowded with reinforcements. Osfyr grabbed a chair and swung it at Frulam, hitting her hard – but she barely flinched. In a commanding tone she hollered, “Disarm!” and Osfyr’s weapons dropped from his hands as if having a mind of their own.

Furlam’s spirit guardians honed in to attack the party. Darik switched to his sword and slashed at Frulam, breaking her concentration. The spirit guardians flickered out of existence, leaving an opening for Harbek to join in the fray against her. Uvan and Burzum-Ishi engaged with the other dragon cultists who had entered the room. Jah-Quatt dived under the desk Frulam stood behind, and rolling onto her back, kicked it up, over, and straight into three dragon cultists near the door of the room, knocking them over. She then jumped on the upside-down desk with a mighty sound and crushed the cultists underneath.

Reinforcements continued to crowd into the room, crawling over the upturned desk and expired coworkers and began imploring Frulam to escape. Quickly, Frulam protected herself with a sanctuary spell and slipped away, but not before Osfyr could get one more hit in. The party turned to the remaining cultists, and took them down one by one. One, in particular, took a perfectly aimed arrow to the throat from Never’s bow. Another practically fell into Never’s sword. Uvan sniped at enemies from a corner. Burzum-Ishi put several of them to sleep – one of which the wyrmling ate savagely.

The remainder of the battle was crowded and difficult to parse; I recall seeing a cultist Darik stabbed in the back collapse straight into Uvan’s arms. Another cultist was struck through the eye when Never tripped on the desk and accidentally loosed an arrow. Yet another panicked cultist was half-frozen by Burzum-Ishi. I don’t recall what became of that one.

Osfyr tried to pursue Frulam, but found himself blocked by more cultists when he left the chamber. He fought them with support and healing from Jah-Quatt. Slipping by a prone – but very alive – cultist to find Frulam, he was misdirected by an illusionary path. Returning in frustration, Osfyr finished off that last cultist with a swift boot to the face.

With the battle done, we inspected the now-crowded chamber. The dragon cultists we defeated carried special scabbards, which we took. From the wall, Uvan retreived a map that seemed to provide evidence of where the stolen treasures from Greenest were headed. An arrow was drawn from Greenest west toward Beregost, following the trade way, then heading north. Nearby it was noted, “Everything freighted north to Naerytar.” A note also accounted for the treasure we found in the shrine to Tiamat.

We had finished exploring the cave. Exhausted and embattled, we found a place to rest before our mission to follow the money continued…

My burden, Lady Helena…

Dearest sovereign, what am I to do? My sin and deception have weighed on my heart to break it. Now, that sin has borne fruit as a wicked beast of Tiamat, in flesh and blood.

But, how can I feel such ill will toward a mere infant? The wyrmlings’ first moments in this world were moments of sheer horror. We killed it’s siblings and caretakers in cold blood and I made it participate. It was gifted to me in joy yet I received it with cold dread and hatred. Yet, aren’t black dragons evil incarnate? Am I merely letting the innate charm that all infants possess confuse my heart? Is so horrible an entrance merely the fate of such a wretched creature?

I have never encountered a black dragon until now, but I have seen engravings and read about them. Before anything else, the appearance of this wyrmling is strange. Even the carvings in the shrine to Tiamat looked strikingly unlike the wyrmling before me. Where is its’ terrible boney mask? It must be something developed in maturity. Alas – but that isn’t even what I intended to write…

Indeed I have not encountered a black dragon, but I have encountered the servants of one. No more terrible, detestable, and broken beasts have I had the misfortune to meet: Sadistic, hard-hearted, irredeemably wicked. A black dragon’s servants take reverent joy in finding the purest thing they can and crushing it, slowly. If a black dragon’s evil is so great it can corrupt all it touches in such a way, how can we possibly let the wyrmling live?

And yet, how can I possibly kill it. After all… it is my burden.

It is my sin. It is me – a wicked beast of Tiamat.

Will Bahamut forgive me for hesitating in that inscrutable moment?

Next Chapter: To Baldur’s Gate