Exhausted from his fight with the priestess Svendack, Malak slumps to the floor. He quickly falls asleep, and dreams... The draconic disciple is standing on a rocky outcrop that juts out over a stormy sea. Looming above him is a colossal, five-headed dragon. Slavering jaws of red, black, green, blue and white snap overhead, perched on massive serpentine necks. Five sibilant voices resonate speak as one: Welcome, our scion. We are Tiamat. We have summoned you to perform a task . Wounded and exhausted, Malak is in no shape to argue. He asks, "what do you need?" Tiamat does not answer directly. Instead, she gestures with a single claw towards a blank section of the rocky shore. A moment later, Loki appears there, returned to halfling form. First... this task may be too great for you to take on alone. Nocticula has loaned us the use of her scion. Tiamat the goes on to describe the task at hand. Long ago, Baphomet stole one of the Dragon Queen's eggs. It is currently being held in a pocket dimension, protected from prying eyes and magical rescue. Malak and Loki's job is to rescue the egg, but their talents will be sorely tested. For while she can teleport them to the dimension (and extract them once they have the egg), she can interfere in no other way once they are there. To aid in the quest, Tiamat offers to enhance one skill for each hero. Loki chooses to enhance his stealth, while Malak asks for an improvement to his ability to use magical devices. Tiamat grants their requests, then teleports them away. Baphomet's pocket dimension is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a giant maze. The heroes quickly discover that it is also protected from magic of any sort, so that they are truly dependent on their skills. The halls of the maze are also littered with traps, secret doors, and various minions. The companions' progress is slow and painful. At one point, Loki is almost unable to press on, but he manages to find succor in his pipe of demodand keif, and the party continues their exploration. Eventually, Malak and Nor make their way to a chamber containing a huge lake of acid. Narrow pedestal rise from the lake's surface, requiring the adventures to leap from island to island, and a noxious cloud hangs over everything. Malak is somewhat protected by his natural resistance to acid, but Loki is forced to leap through the air at every pedestal, flinging his tiny body through open apce over certain death. After crossing the lake of acid, the party discovers Tiamat's egg on the far shore. They retrieve it, and Tiamat recalls them from the maze. The Dragon Queen is grateful, and rewards the two scions with customized magic items. Her five heads nod simultaneously in salute. Then, battered and bloody, Malak falls back asleep. Everyone who played gains 20,000 XP.
