A night’s sleep did me a world of good. I’m sure there was fey magic fuckery going on, but the idea that I’d spent a whole day getting fucked into oblivion and was still conscious enough to think just showed how insane this new world was at times. Of course, that was balanced by the fact that I now had an impossibly powerful nigh-deity that wanted me as his slave-wife, apparently. So, there was that.

I was just fortunate that Indsamling seemed to be the type that preferred people to submit to him, rather than the one who took by force. He was a Twice-Born, like myself, which meant that he had more tricks up his sleeve than even a normal Leshay. It was likely that he was one of the most powerful beings on the mortal plane right now.

But Indsamling wasn’t my immediate concern. As I stood upon the deck of the Will of Winter and looked out, to the south and east, I sighed, knowing what was coming, even though I could not yet see them. The dragons were coming, along with the archons who drew them here. The diviners had already checked, and said they were little more than ten miles out, and flying fast.

Captain Frostknife was urging his crew into action. “All hands! Prepare for battle! Ready the cannons! They’ll be in range first, but have the ballistae manned and loaded as well!. Focus fire on the smaller dragons, start clearing them from the sky.”

Turning to me, the Iceforged swashbuckler said, “Your Majesty, the Will of Winter and Kobold’s Guile are both enchanted to have some resistance to fire, but the Hidden Palace of House Faydark is just a castle upon an island. Their stone walls have no more protection than normal stone against a dragon’s flames. They are strong, being reinforced stone masonry, but will they stand up to the assault?”

“The walls atop the island are only part of the structure as a whole, Captain. And the shades upon its walls are simply there to launch attacks. They are more akin to unthinking golems than living constructs such as yourself. They will draw fire, certainly, but they can be replaced, and may prove a critical annoyance to the dragons who target them. All the same, it would be best to end this sooner, rather than later. How many guns can we bring to bear against the dragons?”

“From this altitude? Seven at once, Majesty. Three on the deck, and four from the hull. If they go much above or below our current altitude, that will change, of course.”

“Then you may fire as soon as we are in range. How long for them to reach us, do you think?”

“With their speed? Twenty minutes, I should say. Certainly within the hour.”

“Perfect. Then, I think I should do something to welcome them. Send word to the other ships to expect inclement weather.”

“Aye, Majesty.”

As Frostknife went off to do that, I concentrated on one of the magics that my prestige class had given me. Once per month, I could call upon my magic to create an effect called ‘Fimbulwinter’. It was a powerful spell, allowing one to manipulate the weather in a wide range. However, the long cast time, and the fact that it drained away a small fragment of my XP to cast, meant that the benefits were not worth the cost, even if it could last for months at a time.

Simply put, I hadn’t fought many battles in the open field, where wintry weather could prove useful. Now, in a battle against dragons in the open air? Every little advantage helped.

Melinda’s Fimbulwinter duration: 4d12 = 32 Weeks

Snowfall: 1d20+10 = 28

Snowfall Depth: 1d6+1 = 5 Feet

Wind: 1d20+10 = 27

Wind Speed: 40 MPH

Melinda loses 100 XP.

Ten minutes it took to draw forth the magic. At once, clouds began to gather over us, and the wind began to pick up. But it took another ten minutes for the effects to be fully felt, with a blizzard in full effect! Visibility came crashing down, so that you could barely see further than your hand’s reach. Though dragons may have keen senses, they were no more equipped to see through a blizzard than any other creature.

And it was not just the snow, but the wind! Granted, that did not affect the dragons so much, but the archons would be hard pressed to join in the fight if they were reduced to doing whatever they could just to hold on to a dragon’s back. They were no larger than a normal person, after all, and everyone on deck was holding on to keep from being blown about, at least on my ship. I could not see the others, of course, so I hoped that they were fine. The blizzard would not affect our cannons or the ballistae, but normal weapons would suffer at range, thanks to the wind blowing them off course.

“Nicely done, your Majesty!” Frostknife shouted over the wind to me. “The dragons cannot use their numbers to overwhelm our defenses if they are unable to coordinate their flight. And the archons will not be able to add their abilities to the mix effectively, either!”

I smiled, but my attention was quickly turned back out into the newformed blizzard. While getting an accurate shot was normally impossible in such conditions, that really only went for targets the size of humans. When you were looking for creatures the size of a building, well, picking out general shapes was a bit easier.

“There!” One of the iceforged cried out, pointing into the blizzard.

That was enough for the Captain, trusting in the magical weapons at his disposal. “FIRE!”

Initiative

Will of Winter

Kobold’s Guile

Hidden Palace of House Faydark

Kulrys

Ancient Brass Dragons A-F

Ancient Gold Dragons 1-6

Will Of Winter’s Cannons CL Check: 1d20+20 = 40 (Success)

Cannon 1’s Force Shot damage (AGD 1): 5d12 = 42 (Force)

Recharge: 1d4 = 4 Rounds

Cannon 2’s Force Shot damage (AGD 1): 5d12 = 40 (Force)

Recharge: 1d4 = 3 Rounds

Cannon 3’s Force Shot damage (AGD 1): 5d12 = 27 (Force)

Recharge: 1d4 = 3 Rounds

Cannon 4’s Force Shot damage (AGD 1): 5d12 = 23 (Force)

Recharge: 1d4 = 2 Rounds

Cannon 5’s Force Shot damage (AGD 1): 5d12 = 34 (Force)

Recharge: 1d4 = 4 Rounds

Cannon 6’s Force Shot damage (AGD 1): 5d12 = 34 (Force)

Recharge: 1d4 = 4 Rounds

Cannon 7’s Force Shot damage (AGD 1): 5d12 = 50 (Force)

Recharge: 1d4 = 3 Rounds

AGD 1’s Fort Save (Massive Damage): 1d20+28 = 30 (Success)

Seven cannons roared as one, and seven bolts of magical power streamed forth. All seven converged upon the dragon that had been spotted in the distance. Hearing anything over the wind whipping past us was impossible, of course, but I pictured a pained roar in my head. That had to hurt the beast, after all.

“Bring us about!” roared Captain Frostknife. “And ready the ballistae for the first beast to get in range!” As the crew did that, I quietly readied an attack myself. Would only be fair to greet whoever came to see me, after all.

Kobold’s Guile CL check: 1d20+20 = 37 (Success)

Kobold’s Guile Attack Roll: 1d20+25 = 44 (Touch AC) (Hit)

Miss Chance (Concealment): 1d100 = 45 (Hit)

ABD A’s Fort Save (Disintegrate): 1d20+23 = 26 (Fail)

Damage: 40d6 = 146 (Magic)

Recharge: 10 rounds

ABD A’s Fort Save (Massive Damage): 1d20+23 = 36 (Success)

A bolt of inky blackness reached out from the snow, where I thought the Kobold’s Guile to be. The bolt flew straight and true, striking another indistinct shape in the mist. Fartooth must have decided that, with the dragons all being of the type that could withstand fire, they’d be better off leading with the big gun. Unfortunately, the dragon didn’t fall from the sky, so we had to presume they were still alive.

Hidden Palace’s CL Check: 1d20+20 = 37 (Success)

Cluster Cannon Shot 1 (Kulrys): 5d12 = 34 (Magic)

Cluster Cannon Shot 2 (Kulrys): 5d12 = 37 (Magic)

Cluster Cannon Shot 3 (Kulrys): 5d12 = 24 (Magic)

Cluster Cannon Shot 4 (Kulrys): 5d12 = 26 (Magic)

Cluster Cannon Shot 5 (Kulrys): 5d12 = 53 (Magic)

Recharge: 1d4 = 3 Rounds

Kulrys’s Fort Save (Massive Damage): 1d20+53 = 74 (Success)

A flurry of bolts flew from the top of the keep where the sisters were leading their part of this fight. Unlike Fartooth’s vessel, or mine, they went straight for the biggest, baddest creature in the mix, clearly the leader of this band. It… definitely did damage, but that is about all that could be said about it. The main dragon barely even flinched at the onslaught.

Hidden Palace’s CL Check: 1d20+20 = 35 (Success)

Kulrys’s Ref Save (Lightning Bolt): 1d20+40 = 50 (Success) (Evasion, No damage)

Kulrys’s Ref Save (Lightning Bolt): 1d20+40 = 50 (Success) (Evasion, No damage)

Kulrys’s Ref Save (Lightning Bolt): 1d20+40 = 56 (Success) (Evasion, No damage)

Kulrys’s Ref Save (Lightning Bolt): 1d20+40 = 50 (Success) (Evasion, No damage)

Kulrys’s Ref Save (Lightning Bolt): 1d20+40 = 48 (Success) (Evasion, No damage)

Kulrys’s Ref Save (Lightning Bolt): 1d20+40 = 53 (Success) (Evasion, No damage)

Spectral Defender 1’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 33 (Miss)

Spectral Defender 2’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 38 (Miss)

Spectral Defender 3’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 42 (Miss)

Spectral Defender 4’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 37 (Miss)

Spectral Defender 5’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 46 (Miss)

Spectral Defender 6’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 51 (Crit Threat)

Confirm Crit: 1d20+31 = 41 (Normal Hit)

Miss Chance: 1d100 = 59 (Hit)

Damage: 1d8+5 = 8 (Force)

Spectral Defender 7’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 43 (Miss)

Spectral Defender 8’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 48 (Miss)

Spectral Defender 9’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 36 (Miss)

Spectral Defender 10’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 33 (Miss)

Spectral Defender 11’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 33 (Miss)

Spectral Defender 12’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 36 (Miss)

Spectral Defender 13’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 50 (Miss)

Spectral Defender 14’s Attack (Kulrys): 1d20+31 = 35 (Miss)

Kulrys’s Maximized Breath: 240 (Fire)

Recharge: 1d4 = 4 rounds

The largest dragon, which had to be this Kulrys we were warned of, flew at the sisters’ island. The defenders unleashed a storm of lightning as he pulled closer, but somehow the massive dragon seemed to dance around the blasts as though they weren’t there. Glowing arrows flew up, bolstered by what had to be Vestele’s Brilliant Aura spell, but even so only one managed to strike the dragon. His defenses were no joke, even compared to the other dragons!

Kulrys breathed upon the outer wall of the castle, flames baking the stone. But the wall remained standing, thanks to the reinforcement it had. The fighters on the wall, however, were bathed in flames. Fortunately, they were projections, and were actually immune to attack. Lucky, that.

ABD A’s Breath Weapon (Kobold’s Guile): 10d6 = 41 (Fire)

Recharge: 1d4 = 4 rounds

ABD B’s Breath Weapon (Kobold’s Guile): 10d6 = 39 (Fire)

Recharge: 1d4 = 1 rounds

ABD C’s Breath Weapon (Kobold’s Guile): 10d6 = 42 (Fire)

Recharge: 1d4 = 3 rounds

ABD E’s Breath Weapon (Hidden Palace): 10d6 = 21 (Fire)

Recharge: 1d4 = 4 rounds

I saw lines of fire streaking through the storm, over where the Kobold’s Guile and the Hidden Palace were. Not as many lines as there were dragons, though. Perhaps some of them were maneuvering for position? Flying through the storm would give them trouble, I’m sure.

Will Of Winter’s CL Check: 1d20+20 = 40 (Success)

AGD 1’s Ref Save (Lightning Bolt): 1d20+19 = 30 (Success, half damage)

Damage: 10d6 = 30 (Electricity) (Half Damage)

AGD 1’s Ref Save (Lightning Bolt): 1d20+19 = 35 (Success, half damage)

Damage: 10d6 = 38 (Electricity) (Half Damage)

Melinda’s CL Check: 1d20+32 = 41 (Success)

Melinda’s Attack Roll (AGD 1): 1d20+40 = 58 (Touch) (Success)

Miss Chance: 1d100 = 56 (Hit)

Frostfell Blast Damage: 18d6 = 71 (Cold) (Vulnerability, 1.5x damage)

Vile Spell Ring: 9 Vile Damage

AGD 1’s Fort Save (Massive Damage): 1d20+33 = 45 (Success)

AGD 1’s Breath Weapon: 20d10 = 84 (Fire)

Recharge: 1d4 = 1 round

Melinda’s Reflex Save: 1d20+60 = 68 (Success) (Evasion, No damage)

AGD 2’s Breath Weapon: 20d10 = 137 (Fire)

Recharge: 1d4 = 1 round

Melinda’s Reflex Save: 1d20+60 = 64 (Success) (Evasion, No damage)

Twin cones of flame bathed the deck of the Will of Winter. But the ship and crew were all immune to the flames, thanks to the enchantments placed upon the ship. Honestly, anyone who had a ship made out of ice, even blue ice, and did not protect it against fire attacks was too stupid to be allowed to breed. And as for myself? Well, even in the wind and snow dancing out of the fire proved far too easy for me.

But this fight was only just beginning.