The Dragon King (main)
"I do," Master Evardson said. "This is very fortuitous. He just happens to have something I want too. As a matter of fact, the very thing I wanted brought to me to allow you to return the Icon of Truth to the Lyceum. We should talk more about this with your friends."
Later, as the heroes were together in Master Evardson's office, he told them about the favor he wanted them to do for him.
"I have heard that you have found the Dragon King in your research. So have I. Let me tell you some of what I've read. I know that the names and places won't make sense to you, but I know how to get you there and back again."
"Long ago, after Malthas split the Lightbringers into a hundred factions with heresy and before the mandarins of Shansin built their five-sided towers, two dragons came out of the jungles of Padan and passed the mountains of the Echo Wall. Ataban the Sharp was her name; Vestitius Longtail was her sibling. They burned all defenders and, brother and sister, ruled the land. Lizardmen rose up from the swamps to be their closest servants and officials. For three generations of humans, no one could stand against them. They had great caverns dug for themselves in the dragonish fashion on opposite sides of a hill and they had a palace raised above it from which they ruled. The dragon king had his seat in the east part of the palace, and the queen in the west."
"But they could not keep peace between themselves forever. Each of them, brother and sister, plotted against the other over years, keeping secrets even from the lizard retainers who worshiped them. Each drew together mystical reserves to unleash when the other least expected an attack. One struck first, and in dying, the other struck back. The battle was brief but fierce. They toppled the walls of the castle, and many in residence there died beneath its stones. The dragon monarchs were entombed in the collapsed tunnels underneath."
"That, of course, is centuries past. The ruins of the palace were considered cursed for many years. With the death of the dragons, their kingdom fell almost instantly, and their remaining followers were scattered to the four winds. In time, the region was abandoned to monsters."
"The dragon king had in his throne room an item of great power. The gods granted the Cowl of Ahten-Ahten to a noted priest who used it for remarkable healing rituals. It passed through many hands until it came into the dragon king’s hoard, where it was not used but only, as with many other treasures, jealously kept. But there the trail ends. None of the dragon king’s treasures have been seen since."
"This cowl is what I want you to bring to me as the favor I mentioned earlier. And in return, you can have the Icon of Truth. It is a heavy leather hood that reaches the wearer's shoulders and partially covers their face. The face mask, coated with silver leaf scales, is hardened into a long beak with exaggerated scales around the eyes. The remainder has shapes of feathers stamped into it and painted in red, green, and gold."
[None of the names, or places, or events, or buildings sound familiar to you.]