There be Dragons about

Mahlajai had been quiet ever since arriving at the ruined Argynvostholt mansion. Whether this was due to the hag's magic or by his own choice was anyone's guess. But as the woeful warriors set about to prepare for the arrival of their scale skinned quarry, the hair on the back of the djinn's neck began to stand on end. He began looking around in every direction but saw nothing but his senses had not fooled him before.

When he saw nothing he spoke aloud to those nearby, his body was starting to shiver "Do y'all recall how before we came on this excursion I asked you about your experiences with dragons....do you recall how I told you I had spoken with one once?"

As the gathered group seemed to recollect the event he proceeded, "I am getting the same sense I got when I met him, as in I think this is the same dragon." Mahlajai turned to Gohzrik. "You said the dwarves referred to this dragon as Mr. Ferrovax....I don't know that name.  But if I am right and this is the same dragon I spoke with-we need to get out of here. The dragon I spoke with was imprisoned in my temple.  Nothing is supposed to be able to leave that place once its been locked up."

Mahlajai turned to face Rahsaan and said, "Voriel, remember the thing that attacked us....I think I know what and who it is now."

Mahlajai's pale sickly face went nearly ghostly white, "The Knight...he said not to give it your name....the dragon knows True Names."
He turned to face the Holy porcupine knight and the cleric of Ezra, "Say a prayer for us. If we survive this I promise to never mock another priest as long as I live."

The Djinn looked back to the gnome, "It's been nice knowing all of you."

Gohzrik frowned.

“If you aren’t going to have faith in us or yourself than you may as well run away and hide before it’s too late. A lack of confidence leads to second guessing which can be deadly in fights.”

He turned away from Malajai and slowly looked at everyone while he spoke.

“Here’s how I see it. This dragon is less powerful than Strahd. If we can’t overcome this dragon, we can’t beat Strahd. We may as well give up now. It’s that simple. Putting our lives on the line was something we’ve been doing since we met the Vistani. This is no different. It doesn’t matter what powers this dragon does or doesn’t have because the end result is still the same. We will win because we don’t have a choice if we want to destroy Strahd.”

Gohzrik hands were shaky but calmed themselves as he drew his blade.

“It has been said that every battle is won by will, not strength. Is our will to destroy Strahd and save this land stronger than the dragon’s will to destroy us? We will find that answer out soon. It’s okay to be scared to lose,... scared to die. As long as you hold your head high and continue to fight. That fear can lend you strength you never knew you had.”

When Mahlajai brings up  the danger they face, Rahsaan’s first instinct was to exclaim, Why did you  not say that earlier?. No. Those were the words of Rahsaan the street urchin. Not of Rahsaan Morninglord priest.

Still in the middle of a warm up stretch, he instead replied, “If this is the same creature that came to Voriel and you, it came to me as well in the dwarven kingdom . It tried to convince me to abandon Voriel, claiming he was a fiend who served the Lawgiver.” He looked to his outstretched right arm, “and not long after, that happened. I do not have any other experience with dragons, but this does not sound like the ones from the stories of kidnapped princesses.”

Rahsaan's pupils bled to white as his voice said in Voriel’ tone, “The djinn’s concern is founded. When it appeared to us in the ethereal realm, it had the power to wrestle control of my divine fire  away  from me. I would suggest in addition to introducing yourself, avoid using fire. And I also say we cannot run. We have attracted this fiends attention already. I’d rather try and try to surprise it than just hope it leaves us alone.”

He then looked to Eylylyn, “And I am sure  in your studies you have come across dream- plaguing dragons before, right?”

The wizard turns a chagrined look to the urchin.

"Actually, no. The problem with dream lore, particularly the things that can haunt dreams, is that the only specimins available for study are nearly always quite mad. It's extremely difficult to find any reliable sources in the matter. You likely know more on the matter than anyone else alive just because you were attacked and didn't go insane."

She straightens out the hems of her resplindant golden mage armor, pulling the hood slightly forward to obscure her undead features.

"Dragons, according to some schools of thought, are quite nearly manifestations of pure magic. Each type represents a different elemental force, and the Red Dragon is generally regarded as the most powerful and dangerous. They are evil to their core, with no exceptions. They are liars and decievers who delight in the suffering of lesser beings. They are greedy, far moreso than any mortal. Especially the Red. And they are ancient. So ancient that Naming might be almost intuitive to it. You must reveal nothing about yourself to it. Any clue as to who you are will make guessing your True Name that much easier, and once it has your True Name you are his."

She looks down at her own robes embossed with the Eye of Azilan over the chest. Sighing to herself she waves a hand with a minor effort of will and changes the sigil to two masks over a Holly wreath. One mask grinning manically as if in mid laugh, the other contorted in obvious torment. She looks back up to her companions, eyes somber and devoid of their usual cheer.

"I will do everything I can to check its power. That said the longer this fight goes on the more likely we all are to die. I am not nearly arrogant or blind enough to say I am any kind of match to it 8n terms of magic, so hit it hard, hit it fast, and for the love of everything you hold dear, say a prayer for us."

Sir Mercurion listened to his companions, nodding along with what he hoped was a cunning smile. He held his accursed helmet in the crook of his arm, his other hand resting on the cross guard of his sheathed longsword.

"So, we have before us a particularly wicked and uncircumstantial beast, one that knows, or is possibly made of, sorcery."

He stepped away, looking about the ruin, with its chill walls and dreary aspect, and he sniffed at the air. "I have seen this worm in my dreams too. This battle is preordinate, I am certain of this." He whirled back toward his companions, paused, his face contorting into an enigmatic look of confusion and halting pain.

Then he sneezed, hard; enough to make his armor and weapons rattle.

Then he continued:

"Pardon me- this nitrous creature is little different from that devilish Strahd, is he not? Keep courage in your gut and steel in your legs, my friends, irregardless of their length! We are the vanguard of the light in this dark and tremulant realm."

The Tabaxi nods along as Gozrik speaks.

“If we don’t face the dragon now, apart from Strahd, we risk facing them both at the same time, which is certainly a fight we cannot win.”

She looks around for any doors with locks.

“Worst case scenario, I use my key to create a portal back to the dwarves or back to Villaki.”

Aspen narrows her eyes inquisitively at Eylylyn.

“What is a True Name? What happens if a dragon learns it? How do we keep him from learning it?”

Eylylyn turned to Aspen.

"A True Name is a perfect descriptor of a thing that goes beyond mere factual knowledge or understanding. It is the essence of a thing or being. To know a True Name is to have total mastery over whatever belongs to that Name."

Out of the rubble if the mansion a tiny pebble Bob's up and floats over to the Wizard who catches it and holds it up for all to see

"If I spent a hundred years studying this rock; where it came from, who mined it, who shaped it, when it was built into this house, what minerals compose it and the geological processes that produced this specific rock I might have a grasp on the bare edges of it's True Name and nothing more. Just for a rock. True Names are so mindnumbingly complex that even a brilliant mind trained in the arcane cannot usually wrap around even one Name."

She holds the stone up for a moment, then drops it.

"Living beings are far more complex, as are their Names."

She locks eyes with each of her companions for a moment.

"Usually, only you know your own True Name. I don't mean the little things we call each other, or the name your parents gave you. Your True Name is something else, but your calling name will have echoes of it in the way you speak it. You cannot help but reveal some of yourself in that way, even if you can't consciously call your own Name to yourself. Going up against something as ancient and malevolent as a red dragon, it's best to hedge our bets."

To follow up on the wizards explanation,  Voriel added, “Another layer of complexity is that  a True Name is not always  something you you can put on a tag, or something even spoken. I know other angels whose names were the sound of legion of troops marching to battle, or the sensation of sunlight on bare skin. As a result it is nigh impossible for mortals to control powerful spirits. It would take an exceptionally powerful mage to warp reality enough where they could even express the name.’”

“Even mortal language has the power to stir other creatures, but just a single syllable from the right words found throughout the planes can call the dead, the light, the darkness, the elements .  . .”

He suddenly had a spark of realization as he looked back to Malajai, “Wait! If we are going up against a fire- based dragon, what was that word you said? The one that stopped me from incinerating you?”

The djinn gave a pointed look at the dwarf. “My response to this isn’t due to a lack of faith or doubting your combat capabilities. It’s because I remember how the fight with Strahd went-a fight he chose away from his home turf. Here we are fighting this dragon on his terms. I don’t mean this as insult when I say, I know more than you about what is in jeopardy, and by that same token, I also know the safeguards that were in place that would have needed to be over come in order for this dragon to be free. You make a grand assumption to think this dragon is weaker than Strahd. Any red dragon is a dangerous creature...but one that can wield the power of names....” he trails off.

Mahlajai looks to Aspen, “There’s nothing to really prevent a skilled Namer from learning your name, but like the saying goes, Knowledge is power. The more names of his you know the less control he’d have.....what all have you heard the dragon called? Or barring that, what name do you all want to refer to him as? If you don’t know any name the more people you have that agree on a name the more it might affect him. ”

Mahlajai turns to look at Voriel, “I mean it’s not a perfect solution but it might help. Infierno will snuff out the worst of the flames but it won’t stop them all.”

As his new friends conversed, Zahrys couldn’t focus on any of their words. His ears surely registered the sounds, but at that point a new being walked into the room and an uncanny feeling swept over him. Zahrys deep in thought, Now what was it that Gerard used to always say?

The more perceptive of his friends may see him as unfocused and distracted.