The Fall of Northwind Keep

Gold coins clattered and spilled from the corners of the red dragon's maw, while outside the cavern, the chimera watched with an unblinking stare. In its greedy gaze lay not only anguish over the lost hoard, but also a flicker of resentment—an emotion that vanished in an instant, for it dared not show such things before the red dragon. Cassius took note of it all, but he hardly cared. In truth, he felt a smug sense of satisfaction, like a homewrecker flaunting what he had just stolen. For a chaotic evil monster like this, showing kindness was completely futile. A chimera was incapable of unconditional loyalty; given half a chance, it would stop at nothing to devour its master and claim supremacy. As an old saying from his past life put it, "They fear power, but cherish no virtue." For creatures of its ilk, nothing held truer. The only thing the red dragon could do was exploit its strength while maintaining an overwhelming, fearsome aura, ensuring it would remain a mere thrall forever, without the slightest opportunity to turn the tables. [Metallic Scales has reached maximum level (5230/5000)] [Acquired new trait: Gilded Scales] Gilded Scales: AC +3, Constitution +1 [You have consumed an excessive quantity of the gold element. Flowing gold will adhere to the surface of your body and the depths of your heart. You can actively trigger Gilded Shell, causing the gold within your body to form an outer plating across your exterior, greatly increasing your Armor Class and turning the appearance of your scales to gold.] "Turn my scales gold?" A curious notion suddenly sprang to mind. From what he recalled, no gold dragons were known to dwell in Anzeta. Could he perhaps...? Whatever the case, his means of self-preservation had expanded once more, leaving the red dragon well pleased. Paying no heed to the chimera's utterly resentful gaze, he had it continue guiding him deeper to explore Giant's Mouth Cave. *Still not at the end?* Cassius wondered. The place was far more intricate than he had anticipated. Several tunnels reached down into unfathomable depths, making him wonder if they were truly natural formations or the handiwork of dwarven stonemasons. Not far off, a narrow side cavern billowed with scalding white steam and spat out occasional flecks of magma, which made the red dragon feel right at home. "Keep going in." Cassius motioned for the chimera to lead. Yet the creature, desperate to cling to life, merely whimpered and begged, refusing to set foot inside under any circumstance. "Master... hot... danger." "Will die." After all, it had submitted to the red dragon to save its neck, not to cast its life into molten rock. It possessed none of a true dragon's immunity to fire. "A strange place." "Still, with elemental reactions this intense, it's better to wait until I'm fully prepared before venturing in." "As for a name, let's call it the Bottomless Cavern." After a moment's thought, Cassius decided to leave it alone for now. At the end of the day, he was still just a juvenile red dragon. Carving out a domain in this wilderness was already taxing enough, to say nothing of facing whatever unknown horrors lurked subterranean depths. If high-tier abominations like beholders showed up, he had no guarantee of walking away alive. "You may go for now." "Thank you, Master." The chimera let out a breath of profound relief. Disregarding its injuries, it bolted back to the chamber where its treasure was stashed and scrambled to relocate the remaining hundreds of gold coins. Even with its battered wings near the breaking point, it stubbornly took flight, wobbling across to the far cliff with its hoard to bury the precious relics in a new hiding spot. "As expected of a beast with dragon blood." "Truly obsessed with wealth." Cassius shook his head in disdain. And so, Cassius claimed the outer chambers of Giant's Mouth Cave as his first lair, temporarily sealing off the inner passage with boulders. The chimera was banished to a smaller hollow on the opposite cliff face, where it would serve as the red dragon's thrall to guard his doorstep. In Cassius's view, he had treated the creature rather well. At least he had left it some savings, hadn't he? Many modern corporations never offered even that much... "Prestidigitation!" As Cassius finished his incantation, a cubic foot in the corner of the cavern turned clean and tidy, the stale, foul-smelling bloodstains wiped clean. Like a draconic janitor, the red dragon used magic to sweep the cave inch by inch and foot by foot. "That brainless beast truly knows how to ruin a place. In a cultivation novel, a cave like this would count as a 'blessed grotto-heaven,' yet it turned the whole thing into a slaughterhouse," Cassius muttered, surveying the blood-smeared floor. Ahead lay another pile of bones. Just as the red dragon was about to clear them away, his gaze fell once more upon a skull with goat-like horns. The skull was not particularly old—perhaps a few weeks at most. Traces of flesh still clung to the bone, surrounded by buzzing flies. From its human-like proportions and the broken tailbone, he could tell it was a tiefling. Tieflings were born of human bloodlines, their silhouettes generally resembling those of humans. Yet fiendish heritage left unmistakable marks upon their flesh: horns grew from their brows, thick tails four to five feet long trailed behind them, their eyes were solid orbs of a single unbroken hue, and their skin came in various striking colors. These people of infernal descent typically congregated in human settlements. They were not inherently evil, yet they were met at every turn with the distrust and prejudice in other people's eyes. Cassius pondered for a moment, recalling a questline from his previous life. *A tiefling, without a doubt. Could this be from the Fall of Northwind Keep quest?* Fall of Northwind Keep: [Northwind Keep, also known as Fort Kovarnaz, is a city on the frontier of the Northern United Kingdom, bordered to the north by the Storm Heights. Home to over thirty thousand people, including more than a thousand tieflings, it is the domain of Count Lachman.] [A century ago, the aging Duke Brad Lachman, distraught over his fading lifespan, struck a pact with a wicked necromancer and transformed himself into an immortal vampire. Now he has awakened once more, bound by an oath to deliver one thousand lives to the necromancer within ten years to complete a grand ascension.] [In the months that followed, dozens of townsfolk vanished without a trace, leaving not even a corpse behind. Brad Lachman seized the opportunity to summon a grand assembly and deliver an infamous "Bloody Speech," pinning all blame onto the tieflings—branded as "fiend spawn"—and claiming they were offering human sacrifices to devils.] [Thus began a "righteous" massacre. Enraged mobs swarmed the city, dragging defenseless tieflings to the stake. Men, women, young, and old alike were burned alive on charges of consorting with fiends.] [Mezrolash, a tiefling paladin formerly of the city guard, fought back with all his might, escaping the clutches of the duke's soldiers. Leading three hundred surviving kin northward toward the Storm Heights, he established a refugee settlement known as the Ruined Home.] One of the players' early main quests had been to ally with the tieflings, expose Duke Lachman's true colors, and put an end to the tyrannical vampire. Northwind Keep was also the most important "starter capital." *Could the tiefling refugee camp be near this area? Maybe I can use this questline to... claim Northwind Keep for myself.* After all, it was a player hub. Seizing the city meant virtually holding sway over the players themselves. Having lived through multiple game versions and understanding the players' paramount importance, Cassius knew the potential rewards were astronomical. With that in mind, the red dragon summoned the chimera once more, pointing at the remains on the ground. "Where did you find these creatures?" The chimera padded forward, lowered its lion head to sniff the skull, and replied, "Horned humans... taste bad." Cassius glanced at the chimera's torn wings, which looked wholly unfit for long-distance flight. There was no need to rush, he reasoned. His own strength was not yet overwhelming, and he could begin by bringing the local beasts under his banner first. "Go back and heal your wounds for now." "Yes, Master."