The Dragon Spirit

The arrival at the volcano was surprisingly tame. The volcano was flowing, lava running down it's side in rivers. Doom was rather uncomfortable as were many of the other members of his group. The Dragon Tribe clearly had some sort of protection from the heat if they were capable of living here. A fact Kasi made very clear by her own lack of issue with the heat. She had in fact previously stated that she was immune to heat Doom remembered as he trudged forward. They stayed away from the flowing lava as best as they could, but even so Vox was constantly casting and maintaining protection from fire spells in order to keep them alive and conscious.

Eventually they arrived at a camp halfway up the Volcano's side and were stopped by a pair of guards. Doom noted that like Kasi they wore basically no clothes, being completely naked except a simple support strap for the women underneath their breasts and the men having a simple cup of leather just covering their testicles while their cocks were left to hang free.

Kasi approached and the guards backed off for a moment and then gave her a gentle nod and she spoke, "I have returned and I have brought with me an army of the Darkness and the Dark's newest champion who seeks an audience with the Dragon," she announces and the guards look over the others with her and seem to momentarily narrow their eyes upon spotting the members of the Doom Tribe, but after a bit they seem to relent and Kasi leads the way further into the camp.

The camp is made out of stone and fabric made out of the hide of some kind of red skinned reptilian creature. Upon asking Kasi informed Doom they were Salamander Hides and they were naturally immune to fire which made them useful materials for the Dragon Tribe. The largest stone shelter was their destination and Doom and Kasi entered alone. Inside there was a middle aged woman who looked almost like Kasi though with noticeably larger breasts and she was adorned with the markings that seemed to denote a Shaman. In her case a pair of claws tattooed on the back of her hands, markings reminiscent of scales on her arms and legs and each cheek, the same second pair of draconic eye markings as Kasi above her normal eyes and her belly tattooed with multiple lines to evoke a scaleless draconic underbelly. On her back were also marked a small scaled dragon wing on each shoulder blade. Surprisingly she did not have the same dragon head nipple piercings as her daughter

"Welcome back, Lachissa," she greeted Kasi and then bowed her head to Doom, "and welcome Chosen of the Darkness," she adds.

Kasi hisses, "My name is Kasi Lanoche... I discarded the name Lachissa Volund when I joined the followers of the Black Night," she corrects and the Shaman woman smiles weakly.

"You will always be my little Lachissa, Kasi, no matter what," she says and then turns her attention to Doom entirely as Kasi crosses her arms beneath her breast, looking annoyed. "You wish to have an audience with the Dragon. I can grant such an audience. You will have to meet the Dragon at the top of the Volcano and you will have to go alone," she explains.

"If that is what the Dragon desires, than I will do so," Doom answers.

"Before that however, sit with me," the Shaman says and Doom steps forward and kneels in front of her, "my name is Sacharissa Volund. I have been the Shaman of this tribe for twenty four years. I am Forty four years old. I became the Shaman at twenty years old and had Kasi the same year," she informs Doom who stares at her waiting for a point. She doesn't continue.

"Yes, and?" he asks after a bit.

"I understand you are undead as well as a Spirit like the Dragon..." she continues and he waits patiently and then suddenly gasps as her hand shifts into a large draconic claw that grabs his head and yanks him forward suddenly so she's directly face to face with him, smoke coming from her nostrils and fire burning in the back of her throat as she speaks, "Kasi is my little baby and I have learned much in 24 years of service. I know for example that even though you are undoubtedly more powerful than I, you are weak to fire and I could kill you right now with a breath. This is not a threat, this is a promise. If you hurt my baby girl I will immolate you," she says and Doom stares into her mouth, seeing the flames there. He tries to remember how long ago Vox had cast flame resistance on him. He was feeling discomfort from the heat, but wasn't sure in the moment if that meant the spell was gone. He was having trouble thinking as her breath seared his ectoplasmic shell and then she spoke again, "Is that clear?!" she bellows and he nods quickly before she releases him, her draconic arm and features vanishing and she smiles, "good, I am glad we understand each other," she says.

"God, mom... You're so embarrassing..." Kasi mumbles behind him and Doom trying and failing to pretend he's not fleeing scurries out of the structure as quickly as he can. Once outside he quickly affects a calm demeanor and turns his attention to the top of the mountain and summons Vox and two Doom Tribesmen who are carrying Olivia with them. He grabs Olivia who has woken by now but is silent and barely struggles or reacts as the tentacles wrap around her de-limbed form. Her cheeks are stained with tears, but her eyes now are dead and devoid of hope. An utterly broken woman.

Vox recasts flame resistance on Doom before Doom begins to ascend the Volcano.

Traversing the volcano is difficult, the ground becoming less stable and more treacherous as Doom approached the top and the edge of the Caldera.

Eventually he reaches the top and as he looks down at the Lava boiling down below, the searing heat and ashy smoke making him feel terrible he calls out, "Dragon?! I have come to speak with you!" he declares and in response the volcano begins to shake and Doom has to brace himself against the ground and then out of the Lava bursts a massive creature. It lands on the opposite edge of the volcano, it's massive claws gouging the stone and it's wings spread out and curl around the caldera cutting the entire area off from the sun, the entire top of the volcano encased in the Dragon's spiritual wings. Its entire form is ectoplasmic like the shell that surrounds Doom, but nevertheless it is also more tangible, more solid than Doom.

"What do you want?" the Dragon speaks, it's voice booming and echoing in the enclosed space.

"Your assistance..." Doom states and then carefully holds Olivia out to the Dragon with his tentacles. Olivia's despair slightly shaken as she stares with horror at the imposing form of the creature before her. The stumps of her arms and legs wiggle desperately as she starts to struggle and the Dragon's head nears, looking her over.

"Oh goddess... Please... Please I changed my mind! I don't want to die!" she screams and then the Dragon chuckles.

"I accept your offering," he says and Doom tosses Olivia into the air. She screams loudly before the Dragon snaps her out of the air, his teeth puncturing her torso making her scream cut off with a pained "urk!" before she begins to scream again feeling the dragon biting down, his teeth digging deeper into her body, rending her flesh. She's tossed into the air again and the dragon catches and swallows her, her screams becoming silenced as Doom watches her slide down the Dragon's ectoplasmic throat. Her form no longer struggling, blood leaking out of massive tears in her body she's clearly already dead from the bite that perforated most of her form. Soon she is settled in his gullet, still visible, though her form slowly becomes less visible as her existence in this realm seems to become less concrete and her form is subsumed by the Dragon. "Now then... Champion of the Darkness... What assistance do you want from me?"