Death of a Dragon Killer

And so we found ourselves face to face with Gruul. His cyclops features scanning the cave for our presence, he could not have failed to hear our progress down the tunnel to his lair and the screams of the dying ogres we met there; soon enough we faced each other down. As we weighed each other up we 25 brave and true against the might of one solitary monster we reminded ourselves that this creature kills Dragons for sport. We were here to show him that not only had we killed dragons, but taken on a God and won. Any bravado was soon extinguished as Gruul raised one mighty fist and sent it crashing into the cave floor. As the reverberations bounced around the room, small chunks of the ceiling began to fall around our heads, it seemed that even the cave itself was against us this fight. With final preparations made, the order to charge was given. With Gwythyr spearheading the attack and Rugan and Daxu just behind we poured into the cavern, spreading around the place so that we might minimise any area damage he could bring to bear. Within seconds of the fight beginning what we feared was proved to be true. Huge chunks of the cave ceiling rained down upon us, forcing us to constantly move for fear of being crushed by the huge boulders that cascaded down. The second thing that we noticed was every now and again he would briefly focus his attention on one of the other Warriors and deliver such a blow that the shock of the impact could be felt yards away; Rugan and Daxu were in for an encounter of pain and suffering. We continued to warily attack for a while, ready to react in a second should he do something unexpected when all of a sudden he leapt slightly into the air and drove his fist straight down into the ground. Those of us stood close to him were flung into the air and away. As soon as we hit the ground again, a strange malaise crept over the entire group. Our limbs grew heavy and difficult to move we slowed rapidly, becoming statue-like until in no more than a few seconds we stood there, unable to move. Fortunately as soon as this began to happen, I sensed a powerful magic may be at work and surrounded myself in shadow. As soon as I did this I had full control of my limbs once more and could move freely again. Casting quick glances around the cave it seemed that the rest of the Rogues had the same thoughts. What our cloak did not protect us from was what Gruul did next. Perhaps my colleagues had only been wrapped in stone rather than turned to it as after the rest of the unit had become immobile the skin of stone around them shattered into thousands of shards flying around in all directions. Like 25 living grenades anyone standing within 20 feet of another person was hit by razor sharp pieces of rock. Those unfortunate to be held too close to one another really took a beating, but fortunately we were all still standing.

Running back in to the fight, I and several of the other Officers noticed something. Something was definitely different about Gruul. Had he grown taller? Our worst fears were confirmed when Rugan took a slap that if he were not made of sterner stuff probably would have broken him in two. The race was now well and truly on we had to finish him before he could get to the size that would finish us and the order to unleash hell was given. All the fury of Covenant was brought to bear upon him as mysterious artifacts obtained in the depths of the strangest and most dangerous of places were used. Secret techniques reserved only for the most desperate of times were employed and we prayed to our Gods that it would be enough. I myself had already activated one of my trinkets, a curious counting device that enhanced my speed greatly for a short period of time, and had released a tide of adrenaline into my system when I felt a great rage upon me. The Unraveller had awoken from its slumber and added its strength to mine. A mere second after this a felt a charge go down both arms almost simultaneously as both maces powers also awoke to lend even more speed to me. Within a mere 2 seconds, my arms were a blur as I poured everything I possibly could into the hide of this beast. Of course all this added haste and rage do wonders for your fighting prowess, but on larger creatures it also tends to draw their attention. Only just in time did we see it as first my compatriot in the arts of stealth, Raath, managed to raise his sword in time to barely deflect a hefty blow, then your faithful narrator saw only just in time the blow aimed directly at him and barely managed to throw himself out of harms way. We deemed it prudent that the beast think we were gone and vanished momentarily in a flash of powder. We continued our attack, dancing our way between the cave ins and praying that he did not notice us once more.

Thinking we had his abilities figured we continued for a short while until a strange reverberating sound began to echo around the room. It got louder and more painful until our casters could not concentrate on their spells. In a final last ditch attempt the healers threw all the timed healing spells they could at Gwythyr in the hope that they would keep him alive long enough for the effects to subside. It worked, but only just.

Again Gruul leapt into the air and again we were thrown back, though not as much as before because at least we knew what he was up to. As we fell back to earth, I noticed several people standing on rocks at the edge of the cave. They hadn't moved! Perhaps this was the key to restoring some order to an already chaotic fight? Again as I felt the clutches of the stone upon me I became one with the shadows and managed to find a space where there was nobody within many yards of me. As the crack of the exploding rocks filled the chamber I found myself unscathed and once more charged in to do combat with a much larger beast than the one we first attacked. Time was growing short for us to end this and again we did everything we could to end the struggle. For long minutes the battle raged as the cave ins became more frequent and the rocks much larger. Again Gruul grew to an even bigger size and again the created the reverberation that made spellcasting impossible. Eventually we saw in him that he was readying for another ground slam and in that instant all but a few ran to the rocks around the edge of the room. Those that made it in time were spared being hurled through the air and had more control over where they could go to avoid the deadly shower of sharp rocks that was about to rain down upon us. Once more we managed to get to places where we would take the minimum of damage and again we ran back in to carry on the fight.

Time was running short now. The blows that were raining down on Gwythyr were beginning to take their toll. Our healers were starting to tire also and we did not think we could keep it up for much longer. We estimated that we had a minute, maybe 90 seconds at most before people started dying, but we also noticed that Gruul for all his power and size was looking decidedly worse for wear; we went for it again. Using anything that had recharged its power from previously, we coaxed leaden arms into swinging that little bit harder. Everything that we had left was thrown at him in grim determination that he would fall before we did, after were we not the ones who had just cleared out Karazhan of the demon taint? We had slain not one but 2 Dragons and we had already dispatched Maulgar and his cohorts. In the furious effort to end his miserable existence, some casualties were inevitable. A few casters were caught unaware by a large rockfall, such was their concentration on the job in hand. I again was subjected to one of his vicious strikes but was too tired to get out of the way in time. His fist slammed into me, knocking the fight right out of me and left me, and several others, in a crumpled heap by his feet. It was a close run thing as we knew that any minute he could again leap into the air and cause us all to go flying back across the cave. In 30 seconds we knew that one way or another this fight would be over. In a last desperation move, Gruul did indeed leap and once more people were scattered to the corners of the room. This time we knew it would be the end and people were bunched up in ways that meant no one would be safe from the shredding that would take place when the shattering occurred. As people stood motionless, making peace with their Gods they awaited their fate...and waited and waited some more. With a groan that shook the cavern Gruul's legs gave way underneath him and sent him crashing to the ground. Whilst people were waiting for the end it seemed that the amassed curses, continuous spells and poisons did the job for us. All it took to push him over the edge was a Pyroblast from a diminutive Mage, Melyanna to finish the job. We were victorious but not without a price. Half the group lay dead or dying and the other half were frozen in stone, a precarious situation indeed if nothing happened soon. Fortunately for us the paralysation did not last forever and soon those surviving Priests, Paladins et al were bringing the souls of the fallen back to their mortal shells.

The mountains of Blade's Edge are a safer place once more, I hear there's a demon in Hellfire Citadel that threatens the air. Some demon called Magtheradon apparently, perhaps we'll go pay him a visit.