[Dundee Slaytern]

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"Come on, Rena! Think of all the loot we can have! Free, easy loot!"

"No."

"Minsc will let you snuggle with Boo at niiiight, if you agreeee!"

"I can't hear you, I can't hear you. Tralalala-lalalala."

"Fine. I didn't want to have to do this, but you have left me with no choice!"

~~~~ ~~~~

Twenty hours later... in the North Forest.

"I can't believe we're related by blood... To blackmail your own..."

"Believe it, Sista! I just did what I had to do for the betterment of the party!"

"Just what did you whisper into her ears, Imoen?", Jaheira inquired.

"Tell anyone, ANYONE, Imoen, and I will surely grow fangs and claws to rip your heart out. My soul's eternal damnation be damned."

"Oh relax, Rena. This plan is foolproof! We have fought Dragons before, and what was the one thing that all of them shared in common?", Imoen said, as she waved her hands across at Minsc and Kelsey.

On cue, the two answered, "They all aim for Rena."

"That's right! You are an unstoppable magnet for forces beyond human comprehension-"

"Oh joy."

"- and because of that, the rest of us are more or less free to do whatever we want to them."

"Somebody... anybody. Please make this madness stop."

"Imoen may have used questionable methods on gaining your co-operation for this venture, but even I must express my confidence in this plan. Absurd as it may seem to anybody else who have not fought the battles that we have."

"Oh Ao, not you too, Mazzy!"

"I confess I have no idea why the Shadow Dragon and Firkraag expressed so much interest in your non-well-being, but my eyes and ears do not deceive me. You, Rena, are always being targetted. I understand that in an earlier encounter with a Red Dragon, the same thing happened."

"It could have been a coincidence!"

"Three times in a row? The deal is sealed, so goes the saying. If anything, you get to laugh at us if things do not go as planned. We will not be as well protected, but you will be."

"I am not planning on laughing at any butchery of my friends..."

"A commendable spirit. Enough talk though, we still need to come up with a plan. I understand that we are facing against a Purple Dragon and a Red Dragon?"

Jaheira answered the question, "Yes, we are. The Purple Dragon spews Lightning, while the Red spews Fire. We already know how Red Dragons behave, so the Purple Dragon is our biggest concern. Rena will most likely be targetted by the Red Dragon, so we will not need fire protection. We will just need her to run away from us to a safe distance where the Red Dragon's breath attacks will not reach us."

"I still hate this plan."

"Oh hush, Rena. You will be wearing the Cloak of Mirroring. The Red Dragon's breath attack won't be able to hurt you," was Jaheira's swift response.

"Well yes, that might be the case; but I still do not like the idea of being constantly bombarded by fireballs the size of Golems."

"So you do admit it's gonna happen!", Imoen squealed.

Rena bit her lip and went to a tree to sit down and sulk.

Jaheira sighed and continued explaining the plan, "With Rena directing the fireballs away from us, we can concentrate on the Purple Dragon, whom I shall now refer to as Purp. To repeat myself, Purp spews Lightning, so we will need to use our Potions of Insulation and/or scrolls of Protection from Electricity. The scrolls last for twelve hours, so we can cast them now here, in the North Forest, and they will still be in effect once we reach Small Teeth Pass, an eight hour journey."

"I take it that we will drink our potions once we reach there?", Mazzy inquired.

"Yes, we will. Rena has the Cloak of Mirroring though, so she can just start running once the Dragons notice us. Once Purp uses its' breath attack on us, Kelsey will cast Time Stop and do whatever it is that he does during a Time Stop to bring Purp down."

"What if he foddles us during the Time Stop?", Imoen innocently asked.

Kelsey's face immediately went ashen with mortification and he shrilled, "I MOST CERTAINLY WILL NOT!"

"Natch! Just yanking your chain, Kelsey! *laughs* "

Regardless, Jaheira deadpanned, "Mother Nature would let me know if Kelsey does any... unwarranted hanky-panky, and appropriate punishment would be meted out."

Mazzy suppressed a cough, as she tried to hide her amusement.

"Moving on. Once Purp has been dealt with, we will advance to the Red Dragon with summons, while Rena STAYS BEHIND. Can you hear me, Rena? This part is important!"

Rena grunted in discontentment, and Jaheira accepted that as acknowledgement.

"The Red Dragon no doubt, though only Ao knows why, will relentlessly try to attack Rena. This leaves us free to attack it at will. The only danger comes from its' occasional wing-buffet, which we can easily avoid. Any questions so far?"

None were raised, and so the strategic meeting was over. Scrolls of protection were casted, and the party trudged forward to Small Teeth Pass.


To be continued...