The morning air was clear and crisp as the party set out from Penin, City of Marvels, on their trek to the ancient ruins of Forl, capital of the Kingdom of Agdarm during the Time of Titans, over a thousand years ago. Their first goal was to find Torknot, the Elder Treant who was thought to know the path to Forl.
A winding road snaked through the towering forests, swaying limbs dancing in the embrace of a strong wind from the north. They followed the signs to Torknot for several days, each one growing colder and shorter, until one night the silence was broken by the roars of a vicious pair of chimeras!
With decided speed, the dragonborn, Fang, rushed forth with hands in rapid motion, his golden tongue reciting practiced words, the powerful energies unleashing a wave of calming and friendly force. The chimera's heads bowed and twisted, roaring and growling in protest, trying to resist the druid's will. But slowly the monster fell before the mystical strength of the dragonborn's charm.
Shield held fast and sword bright, the barbarian, a champion of Penin, Lady Laziakka, sprang into action to face the second chimera. A she dashed ahead, the chimera spread its forelegs in defiance, the dragon-head unleashing a blast of fiery death. With her braced shield and strong legs, the high-elf leaped upwards, twisting in the air and escaping most of the searing-hot flames. She landed lightly with a balance earned by hours of practice in the trees of her homeland. Her sword darted and sliced, drinking the creature's blood with eagerness and feeding her rage. The lion-head snapped at the fighter, but her shield pushed it aside with a strength hidden beneath her delicate, elven frame. Distracted, Laziakka was unable to defend as the goat’s horns pierced her side and lifting her from her feet, drawing blood for blood.
A companion of decades, bonded in sisterhood of their race, moved to support the brave warrior. Thera, trained in the arcane traditions that mixed magic and war, pulled from the folds of her cloak a tiny glass rod entwined with fur string. Her hand reached high, elbow turning, as she pulled it down in a zig-zag, and from her dulcet lips rose the memorized chant, linking her to the elements. As her hand thrust forward, the glass rod shattered, the fur sparked, and a stroke of lighting split the darkness of night, the roar of quick thunder shaking the nearby trees. The bolt slammed into the side of the chimera, tearing into its wings and nearly slashing one asunder, burning its hind-quarters and rear legs.
Percy moved like Thera's lightning bolt! The human's speed was astounding as he leaped in bounds over the broken ground to join Laziakka in facing the remaining chimera. With a shout to focus his inner strength, Percy flew sidelong into the beast, his foot like a spear. The goat-head caved under the blow; its skull shattered. He landed and sprung, flipping backwards, his other foot plowing into the lion-head, forcing it up and backwards. Somehow, before he landed his flip, as his hands came around two quick jabs, striking the beast in the shoulder and left-front leg. The enormous, wicked creature nearly collapsed as its leg buckled.
The chimera lurched, the dragon-head facing mighty Laziakka and the lion-head eyeing the powerful monk. Even such a stupid monstrosity saw its death in those that stood before it. It had not heard its mate tearing their prey apart; no roar of flames, no roar of pride, only silence. With a deep inhale, the chimera turned and launched itself into the night sky, thinking to escape while it still had enough strength to fly.
But these heroes knew the evil of chimeras and would not suffer to let one escape. Dropping her sword, Laziakka pulled a javelin from the sheath on her back. Her figure turned as she threw it, propelling it with blazing speed. It speared the monster's belly and it bellowed in pain. Before the first has struck true, a second shaft flew after the first, lancing the chimera's lightning-charred hind-leg.
The beast wavered; its injured wing barely able to support the strong one in keeping it aloft. Thera was too far back now for her lightning to reach, so she invoked a far simpler spell, an incantation known to her since she first began her studies in the elves Fabled Hall in Kanen. But she place the power of her strongest magics into the spell, her fingers tapping the air before her, motes of green energy forming. They flew in flashes of light, bursting in a barrage of tiny explosions at the chimera nearly a hundred feet in the air above, tearing its wing from its back!
The broken monster fell, plummeting to the ground, as thousands of pounds of flesh, muscle, and bone spilled out. The black ichor of the chimera's blood wilted the grass, turning it black as the night sky above. The heroes turned as a roar reminded them of the other chimera to be dealt with, but their grimaces turned to grins as they saw the robust Fang sitting astride the creature's back. He smiled at the three of them, "What took you so long?"
(This was just a random encounter... what happened when we reached the ruins would be a couple chapters.)