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To backchannel a little bit, here is a recap of what happened in part 1. The narrator literally tames a dragon, as you might guess from the title. Onyxia the dragon is as of yet only tame when it comes to his ‘father’, the narrator. As such, she causes a lot of whatnot to everyone else. The narrator’s persistence for his ‘daughter’ shines through and is something to be seen, especially of how he teaches the innocent child basic morality.
Well everyone, it is time for part 2 of Onyxia’s grand adventure.
For the sake of speeding this up a bit, I have decided to jump ahead a little further into the campaign, as most of what happened in-between really was not that interesting. To sum things up though, Onyxia and I basically fell into a daily routine, with me doing my best to teach her moral values, while she did her best to keep her temper under control. However, after 14 years of being together, it felt like I had hit a brick wall with my daughter, for no matter how hard I try, she still was not willing to embrace a good and virtuous life.
Sure, she was not killing anyone, and behaved herself for the most part, but she still treated everyone around her with an obvious disdain. As for my farmlands, business continued to grow at a slow and steady rate, and I even managed to obtain a few dinosaurs and mammoths to add to my ranch as well. All in all, things were looking very good as far as my finances were concerned, but I was still spending a lot of money just to keep the farm afloat. By this point, aside from hunting down new animals to add to my ranch, I had pretty much delegated the daily upkeep to my staff. I would still step in to train some of the more difficult animals, who usually required an enormous handle animal check in order to be properly reared. I even went out and bought a Ring of Sustenance so that I only needed to sleep just two hours a night. This meant that I had more time to work on the farm and raise my beautiful daughter.
Speaking of which, Onyxia had now grown to the size of a large dog, and she was slowly getting stronger and smarter with every passing day. Her scales still did not shimmer or shine as I wanted them to, but neither did they darken or dull any further. I was relieved to see this of course, but I was also at a loss, for I simply could not figure out how to help my daughter advance any further at least as far as her alignment was concerned. During this time, I even started taking Onyxia out on minor quests, and she soon learned that hunting down bandits and trolls was a VERY fun pastime.
As you might imagine, trolls found Onyxia especially terrifying since her acid breath negated their precious regeneration, and as such, my daughter happily enjoyed chasing them down with impunity. She savored every battle and revelled in every kill, and although torturing her enemies no longer held her interest, it was clear that she still suffered from a blinding amount of rage. I suppose that if I had wanted to, I probably could have convinced my daughter to adopt the worship of Gorum who is basically the God of weapons, battle, and war, but I simply could not bring myself to lead her on that path.
I wanted her to be good. I needed her to be good. And above all else, I knew that if I helped her to embrace a life of violence, I would eventually lose my daughter to the bloodlust that possessed her.
No, she needed to have a purpose that was greater than herself, but sadly I had no idea what that purpose might possibly be.
And little did I know, with the news of a traveling caravan showing up at my farm, everything about my life was swiftly going to change.
Now, up until this point, my ranch had built up one hell of a reputation due to the wide variety of exotic animals that we sold on the farm. Because of this, many other interested parties began to take notice, and several of them greatly desired to sell me some of their creatures as well. As you might imagine, I was always open to the idea of raising new animals, and I could not wait to see what this traveling caravan would offer.
When it finally arrived, a good portion of my followers and I came out to greet the merchants with smiles on our faces, for my farm was also widely renowned for its generous hospitality and trustworthy staff. I knew it was important to be friendly towards traders, and I always wanted them to feel welcome on my ranch.
“Good day to you, sir. It is a pleasure to finally meet you,” the lead merchant called out, a man in his late thirties with a stylish well-trimmed beard. “I have been traveling for almost three weeks to make it to your establishment, and I am confident that my merchandise will be well worth the effort.”
“I am sure that it will,” I said in response, before politely reaching out to shake the man’s hand. “Let’s see what you have got.”
To my surprise, the merchant was not kidding about the quality of his goods, as the man proudly took me on a tour through the caravan, showing off the numerous beasts that he had at his disposal. A dire bear and an elephant were the first to catch my eye, but the thing that really grabbed my attention were the large man-sized eggs in the second to last wagon.
“Are those… roc eggs?” I asked in genuine awe, as the merchant merely smiled and nodded his head.
“You have a keen eye, my friend,” he said in a flattering tone. “Those were very hard to come by, but I had heard that you have been wanting them.”
“Well, you heard right,” I said in response, as I could barely contain my excitement about finally raising some rocs.
However, it was around this time that Onyxia had finally made her arrival, as she suddenly flew in and landed near one of the wagons, causing several of the caged creatures to growl out in response. Now, to be honest, I was not very worried that my daughter would cause trouble, for she usually behaved herself whenever I was around. Yet for some bizarre reason, while I was bargaining with the merchant over the price of his goods, I noticed that Onyxia was acting a bit strange.
She was constantly sniffing the air as if searching for something, and after roaming around the caravan for a couple of minutes, her head suddenly shot up and she let out a loud roar.
“Here!” she yelled in draconic. It was still the only language that she understood. “Father, come quick! They have them trapped here!”
Without even thinking about it, I quickly rushed over to see what was wrong, for I knew that Onyxia would not call me ‘father’ unless the situation was incredibly serious. When I finally found her though, my daughter was clinging tightly to the wooden door of a wagon, as she gazed through the barred window and yelled out once again.
“Look. You must look,” she urged me frantically, and as I stepped up to the window and looked inside the wagon, the only thing I noticed were three small oval-shaped objects lying in a bundle of hay.
After making the proper knowledge check, I quickly discovered that those objects were none other than a brass dragon’s eggs.
“Save them! We must save them!” Onyxia declared hotly, yet before I could respond to my daughter’s demands, the sound of the merchant’s voice quickly captured my attention.
“Ah, I see you have found my most prized possessions,” the bearded man stated happily. “I had intended to sell those eggs to a nobleman in Brevoy, but I would gladly let you purchase them if you have got the coin to do so.”
When I asked how much they cost, the merchant calmly replied that they would be 60,000 gold a piece which meant that even if I sold all my magical items and used up all my savings, I would only be able to afford two eggs at the most. With that in mind, I asked if he would be willing to let me purchase them on a credit, to which the merchant immediately laughed and waved me off with a smile.
“I am afraid I can’t do that,” he said rather bluntly, whereupon I quickly attempted a diplomacy check to try and change his mind.
I rolled a 14, but it still was not enough.
“As much as I would like to, I am afraid that’s out of the question. These eggs are simply too valuable to be given out on credit. Now then, I seem to recall someone wanting to purchase some of my roc eggs, and I would certainly be more than happy to conclude that transaction.”
I asked the merchant to give me a moment while I considered the situation, as Onyxia continued to stare at me with a desperate look in her eyes.
“Father, we must help them!” she stated once again.
“I am not sure if we can,” I tried to explain. “The eggs are too expensive. I don’t think I can buy them.”
“But… but father…” Onyxia said in a slightly wounded voice.
“Listen, my daughter, you cannot ask me to steal from this man. Those eggs are his property, and we have no right to take them.”
“Yes, I know that but…” she paused for a moment, as if silently searching for the proper words to say. “This… isn’t right. I know that this is wrong. We cannot let this happen. We have to do something!”
“I am sorry Onyxia, but I am afraid--" I stopped myself in mid-sentence as I suddenly realized something.
In all these years that I have spent with my daughter, this was the first time that she had ever declared something to be ‘morally wrong’. Up until this point, she never seemed to give a damn about doing the right thing, yet in this very moment, that was exactly what she was doing. She knew that it was wrong for these eggs to be sold into slavery, and it did not matter that the merchant had every right to do so.
Now, I want you all to understand that under normal circumstances, I never would have considered stealing from someone with this character and especially not from a merchant, for I knew that if I did, it would only invite trouble. My goal had always been to establish myself as a respectable farmer with an honorable reputation, yet as I felt my daughter’s gaze upon me, I realized that what happened next could very well change her life.
She was watching me, waiting to see what decision I would make, and I knew that whatever I did would have a major influence on how she viewed the world.
Do I choose the righteous path, or do I simply play it safe and let the merchant go?
With a reluctant sigh, I slowly drew my sword and ordered my cohorts to do the same, and within the span of a few seconds, the caravan was quickly surrounded while the merchants were held at knife-point.
“What is the meaning of this?!” the lead merchant yelled out, as I slowly approached the man with a firm and determined look.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience, my friend, but I fear I must insist on taking these dragon eggs off your hands,” I said simply, before ordering one of my cohorts to unlock the wagon and retrieve the eggs.
“Y-you… you would dare steal from me?!” the merchant asked incredulously, as his palms began to shake with undisguised rage. “You monster! You fiend! I will have your head for this!”
In response to the merchant’s ramblings I rolled an intimidate check, and with a result of 19, the man was quickly silenced. However, as my cohort finally finished retrieving all the eggs, I decided to try and make amends by paying the merchant 10,000 gold pieces and dropped them in his wagon.
“Consider this money my down payment for now. If you would be so kind as to visit me again, I promise to pay you more in the next coming weeks.”
The merchant merely glared at me with dark hateful eyes, before turning on his heels and slowly walking away.
“Oh, I can assure you that you have not seen the last of me,” he called out over his shoulder, before finally reaching the lead wagon and urging his driver onward.
As the caravan pulled away, I quickly turned my attention back to Onyxia who was currently watching my cohorts with a mixture of awe and surprise. It was as if she was finally seeing them for the very first time, for she simply could not believe that they had helped me in my efforts to save the dragon eggs. However, as her gaze finally fell back upon me, my little dragon quickly walked up and spoke to me again.
“Father, let me kill him. I know that he is dangerous,” she said, referring to the merchant.
Apparently, even though Onyxia still could not speak common, she understood that the merchant now clearly intended us harm.
“No Onyxia. You cannot kill him,” I said to my daughter.
“Why not?!” she demanded.
“Because it would not be right.”
Onyxia briefly considered my words and mulled them over in her head, yet rather than continuing to argue with me which I fully expected her to do, she actually said something that caught me off guard.
“I understand,” she stated in a completely calm voice, before looking over at the eggs and then back to me again. “Can we put them in my lair, father? I promise I will take care of them.”
Not seeing an issue with this, I nodded in approval and we carried the eggs to her barn.
Later that night, I slumped down in the hay and let out a stressful sigh, as my mind started to process everything that had happened. I lamented the loss of the roc eggs, for as much as I wished to buy them from the merchant, I simply could not afford to after ‘paying’ for the dragon eggs.
Speaking of which, after making another knowledge check, I learned that the eggs were still several weeks away from hatching. I really did not know what else to do with them, but I soon realized that my little family was about to get a bit larger.
Looking across the room, I noticed that Onyxia was guarding the eggs like a hawk, which was actually rather impressive considering that black dragons were not really known for having a strong maternal instinct.
“Well, it looks like you are going to be a big sister now,” I chuckled out softly, as Onyxia merely regarded me with a calm, unreadable stare.
The two of us sat in silence for several long minutes, each of us clearly lost in our own train of thought. However, just as I considered saying something else, Onyxia slowly stood up and walked over to my side. I did not know what to expect as she took a seat next to me, but I decided to remain silent and let her speak first.
Then, from out of nowhere, Onyxia said something that I would never… ever forget.
“Father… I just wanted you to know that… I am so very proud that I am your daughter,” she said, before suddenly moving closer and embracing me in a hug. “Thank you, father. Thank you. I love you so much.”
It was the first time my daughter ever hugged me like this, and it was also the first time that she had ever said ‘I love you’. I did not know what to say as she continued to hold me tight, for all I could do was sit there in silence before returning her embrace with one of my own.
And then, in that moment, I noticed that my daughter’s scales had slowly started to shine just a little bit brighter than they ever had before.
Nearly two weeks had passed since stealing the dragon eggs from the merchant. With the hatching due to occur almost any day now, I decided to devote most of my time to learn as much as I could about brass dragons. I will admit, after raising Onyxia, I felt like I could handle almost anything at this point, for surely no brass dragon could be as difficult as she was.
Then again, this time around, I would be forced to try and raise three dragons at once.
Thankfully though, after doing a bit of research into their nature, I discovered that brass dragons were actually very sociable, not to mention, insanely smart. Even when compared to other goodly dragons, brass dragons were often regarded as the friendliest of their kin. They loved to read books and listen to stories, and they were also very eager to offer aid to others. This was all comforting news of course, but if experience had taught me anything, I knew that my DM would not it make things this easy.
When the big day finally came, Onyxia and I were waiting in the barn with eager anticipation, and as the first baby dragon crawled out of its egg, I could already feel myself smiling with excitement.
“Hello little one, and welcome to the world,” I whispered out softly.
The newborn dragon regarded me with a curious expression, but before it could say anything, it slowly turned its attention over to Onyxia. Now, keep in mind that even at birth, a brass dragon is basically as smart as a fully grown human, and given the size and appearance of Onyxia with her jet-black scales and glowing red eyes, it did not surprise me that the baby dragon flinched at the sight of her. However, what did surprise was my daughter’s response, as she slowly leaned down to appear a bit smaller before speaking to the newborn in a calm and welcoming voice.
“Do not be frightened,” she said in draconic. “My name is Onyxia, and you are my little brother.”
At that point, my DM informed me that I needed to roll a diplomacy check for both myself and Onxyia to convince the baby dragon that we were in fact family. I ended rolling slightly above average, but as I soon learned, the brass dragon really did not need very much convincing.
“Sissy!” it squealed, before running up to Onxyia and tackling her with a hug.
I will admit, I did not expect that kind of reaction and I am pretty sure Onxyia did not either, but fortunately my daughter did not seem to mind.
A few minutes later, the other two eggs also hatched as well, and after making the appropriate diplomacy checks to convince them that we were family, I now had a brand-new daughter along with two healthy sons. In the end, I decided to stick with the Warcraft theme for names, and promptly dubbed my children Arthas, Valeera, and Nefarian to which they immediately responded by tackling me with hugs and showering me with questions.
“What’s your name?” Arthas asked.
“How old is Onyxia?” Valeera questioned.
“Tell us a story!” Nefarian insisted.
Apparently, brass dragons really are chatty little critters.
I spent the rest of the day with my children, teaching them about the farm and answering their questions which mostly just pertained to myself and Onyxia. I will admit, I was relieved to see that all of them were getting along nicely, for I had initially been afraid that the newborns would not respond well to the presence of a black dragon. As it happens, the three of them simply loved ‘big sister Onyxia’, as they wasted no time in asking her to play and wrestle with them. Onyxia seemed reluctant at first, but after a few minutes of begging and pleading, my daughter finally relented.
Soon enough, the three brass dragons began taking turns riding on Onyxia’s back as she flew them around her lair. Their own wings were not strong enough to let them fly on their own just yet. As for me, I stepped back and watched the scene with a smile on my face, for I knew that this type of interaction would be very good for Onxyia especially since, up until this point, she had pretty much kept to herself and did not have any friends.
Now, at long last, that would all finally change.
Over the next few weeks, Onyxia took it upon herself to escort her siblings around the farm and introduce them to my staff which was again another shocker since Onyxia typically made it a priority to avoid other people as much as possible. As you might imagine, the newborns truly loved their new home and immediately began asking a thousand questions about the animals. Fortunately, brass dragons were smart enough to speak both common and draconic at birth, so it did not take them long to make friends among my staff. In addition, as soon as they were able to fly, Onyxia wasted no time in taking her siblings out hunting with her.
While all this was happening, I decided to focus my efforts on constructing three new barns for my little brass dragons, for I knew that they would each eventually need a lair to call their own. I figured that until they were ready, they could stay in Onxyia’s lair for at least a few more months, and I was certain that Onyxia would not have a problem with this either.
Now, at some point around this time, I decided to pay a late visit to Onyxia’s lair during the night, for I wanted to surprise the newborns with a collection of rare tomes that I had recently managed to acquire. You see, while brass dragons did enjoy collecting treasure for their hoard, the items that they valued most were old books and magical scrolls. Therefore, I figured that giving them each a storybook would be the perfect way to start off their collection.
However, as I started to make my way across the field, I suddenly heard an inhuman roar coming from the barn. A few moments later, the door abruptly flung open and a man dressed in a black cloak could be seen running out of the barn at a swift and frantic pace.
And in his left hand, he held a bloody dagger.
“No,” I whispered, as my heart froze in fear, yet before I could even react, Onyxia suddenly emerged from the barn and unfurled her massive wings, taking to the air with a loud and fearsome roar.
In the darkness of the night, with her jet-black scales and glowing red eyes, she looked like a mighty demon straight out of a nightmare, as the man with the dagger promptly cried out in terror before picking up his pace and sprinting for his life.
He never had a chance.
In an instant, Onxyia pounced upon him and tore out his throat before driving him into the ground and spraying acid into his face. By this point, I had already cast ‘Haste’ upon myself and started running over to her, but by the time I finally arrived, the man was already dead.
And by dead, I mean that Onyxia basically shredded him into a wet sticky paste.
“What happened?” I asked immediately, as Onxyia swiftly turned to me with her furious crimson eyes.
“Intruders!” she snarled hotly, before her expression immediately switched to one of concern as she quickly shifted her gaze back towards the barn. “Nefarian. He is hurt.”
My feet were already moving in the direction of the barn, as Onyxia promptly followed close at my heels. When I stepped inside, I could already see Arthas and Valeera huddled in a corner and shivering in fear, and there… perhaps no more than a few feet away from them, was the body of Nefarian… my youngest son… lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.
“Papa… please,” Arthas called out, as Valeera cuddled up next to him and continued to shake in fear. “Help him.”
I did not waste a second as I rushed over to my fallen son and pulled out a flask of holy water. As a summoner, I did not really have access to a lot of healing magic, but as luck would have it, Celestial Healing was a spell that I just so happened to know and as it turned out, it was probably the only reason that I was able to save Nefarian’s life.
As I watched the magic take effect, the wound across Nefarian’s shoulder slowly began to close, and after a few more seconds of breathless waiting, my little boy opened his eyes and let out a gentle groan.
“P-papa…” he said, to which I immediately scooped him up and held him close to my chest.
“Ssshhh… it’s okay now. I promise that you are safe,” I said, as Arthas and Valeera quickly climbed into my lap to cuddle with their brother.
With my children now safe, I turned my attention back to Onyxia, who was currently sniffing the air while glancing around the room.
“There might be more of them,” I suggested, which instantly caused Onyxia to let out a hiss of rage.
“Then they will die!”
Thankfully though, after alerting my staff and organizing a search party, we were not able to find anymore intruders. However, over the next few weeks, a series of tragic events began to befall my farm. Animals would turn up missing or dead, while others were mysteriously poisoned or infected with a disease. In response, I quickly hired a security team to help patrol my ranch, but by the end of the first month, I ended up losing over half of the animals that I had on the farm.
To make matters worse, I soon discovered that most of my regular clients were now refusing to do business with me, and the merchants were no longer coming out to visit me on the ranch. Needless to say, it did not take a genius to realize who was behind all this mess, and while I wish I could say that I got my revenge, this sadly is not the case.
My ranch was never able to recover after that, for while we still managed to bring in a slow and steady profit, we would never be the booming business that we had previously been in the past. In all fairness though, I really did not mind, for I knew that this was the price that needed to be paid in order to give my children the life that they deserved.
And, as far as I was concerned, that was the only thing that ever really mattered.
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