From: Ed Steele [mailto:stephenkingcansuckit@mindspring.com] Sent: Friday, May 18, 2018 2:37 PM To: ralph@netscape.com Subject: what i am working on
Hey Ralph,
So here is the outline I came up with for my next book. Let me know what you think but don’t steal my ideas. Ok, pal?
Thanks, Ed
***
Our party of adventurers is crammed in a tunnel. The scent of rot, a lot of rot, hangs in the area. It seems to be coming from more than one source.
Kat sees a big pile of stuff that she does not want to touch.
In the middle of the space, they observe a circular object with gates and rails.
Brega hears wind rushing back and forth like breath… Could this be dragon’s breath?
Davian examines the circular object in more detail. The wood is worn, evidence that heavy objects have been moving around.
Davian casts light and observes the pile of bodies. He looks up at the massive hole in the ceiling about 50 or 60 feet above them.
The group fans out around the space to investigate.
Using dark vision Konrad and Kat see a lot of glitter. The glitter is solid and metallic. They hear the sound of coins falling against each other. It is the dragon’s hoard.
Atop the pile of treasure sits a small black dragon. It looks old and made of lava?
There is a tunnel running off to one side. The group realizes they have the opportunity to leave without the dragon waking up… but soon discovers that the tunnel is a dead-end.
Konrad tells Chunk to stop tossing rocks as he is concerned that the sound might wake the dragon. Konrad makes his way back to the group and the group quietly discusses their next move.
Darwynn casts to buff up Konrad. Brega makes him invisible. So Konrad attempts to move stealthily toward the sleeping dragon. Konrad sees the safe in the pile but the dragon’s tail is wrapped around the safe.
There is another tunnel over by the dragon. When Konrad moves toward it, the dragon yawns and stretches. He can hear the dragon open his mouth and smack his lips…
The other tunnel proves to be a dead-end. The dragon continues to wake up but isn’t fully awake just yet.
Konrad and Kat are suddenly struck with extreme fear. Kat moves to the end of the dead-end tunnel.
Konrad flees toward the exit, back in the direction of Chunk. The noise he makes hastens the dragon to wake.
The others whisper among themselves about what to do next… The rest of the group hears the sound of coins falling and the dragon wakes up and lets out a blast of flame.
Darwynn gets ready to talk to the dragon. She also casts bark skin on members of the party to help their defenses.
Davian and Darwynn approach the dragon to talk. Davian creates a lighted rock which he places on the ground.
Davian sees the dragon’s eyes and the faint glowing outlines of the scales…
Kat and Brega move toward the exit. They are both invisible at the moment.
Darwynn and Davian talk to the dragon asking for the safe and the way out.
It is determined that the gated platform in the center of the room is likely elevator?
The dragon starts to move toward Darwynn and Davian… he extends his wings and beats the air. Darwynn’s attempt to reason with the dragon fails. The dragon becomes angry.
Darwynn and Davian make a run for the exit but the dragon appears to be ready to attack.
Kat and Brega run back toward Chunk and climb over the pile of rubble to apparent safety.
The dragon comes up short on the attack, casting a fireball and failing.
Darwynn and Davian run up to the rubble pile…
The dragon flies forward and again casts a fireball at Darwynn and Davian… Darwynn saves but Davian takes some damage.
Both Darwynn and Davian fails to dive through the hole and take damage. The dragon uses his breath weapon to injure them.
Finally, Darwynn manages to dive through the hole and come up running on the other side.
Davian crawls through the hole but the dragon uses fireball which wounds Davian further, but does not kill him.
Darwynn and Brega pause to heal Davian. Davian is soon feeling much better and the group decides where to go next.
The group survives the encounter with the dragon but abandoned the quest to get the safe, for now.
After a rest period, the groups rests and decides where to go next.
Davian goes back to the accountant phantasm and talks to him. The elevator (by the dragon) works by saying the command “up”. Also, the ziggart doors open with the ring. The ring is inside the safe with the time-cards.
The adventurers once again discuss going back to the dragon’s den.
Using the elevator, Chunk will distract the dragon to get him away from his treasure.
Brega will be on the other side of the rubble pile to cast spells, if needed, while the others get ready to pick up the safe and get it into the mine cart to move the safe back up to the phantasm’s office.
Konrad gives detailed instructions to Chunk for distracting the dragon.
Brega attempts to cast invisibility on Konrad but it backlashed, causing him to glow.
Kat is now invisible.
Darwynn has buffed the groups strength and armor. Brega casts mage armor on Kat.
Chunk starts insulting the dragon and gets the dragon on the elevator. Chunk starts shouting ‘Up!’ And now the platform starts to rise. They start to fight.
As soon as the platform clears the roof. Everyone (except Brega) run out to the dragon treasure to recover the safe and few other items.
The platform is starting to burn but Chunk and the dragon are still fighting.
Kat and Konrad start to haul the safe out of the dragon’s lair to the mine cart.
Darwynn and Davian pick up several magical or valuable items.
Davian picks up a diamond and magical crown and becomes frozen in place, enchanted.
More of the flaming platform has crashed down. Chunk’s head and arm have have fallen to the floor.
Darwynn notices that something is wrong with Davian. He is not moving and his eyes are now glowing red. His features become more dragon-like.
Darwynn resumes her search for magical items while Davian slowly puts the enchanted crown on his head.
The dragon has been weakened but is not dead. Chunk is in pieces. The dragon is very angry and is back in the lair.
Kat, Konrad and Brega are behind the rubble wall with the safe.
Darwynn attempts to shoulder check Davian as she runs past. The dragon goes after Darwynn and attacks.
The dragon slaps Darwynn with his tail and slings her across the lair.
Meanwhile, Davian’s skin is turning red and his fingers are growing claws.
From the safety of the tunnel, Brega casts a flaming sphere of ice but the dragon saves.
Darwynn contemplates flying up to the railing above and then, fly out of the lair. She casts haste and decides to fly.
The dragon casts an enchantment which sends Brega fleeing down the tunnel in terror.
Kat and Konrad continue pushing the mine cart.
Darwynn makes it to the spiral railing but does take some damage.
The dragon tail slaps Darwynn back down to the bottom of the lair. The dragon descends and roars in Darwynn’s face. The dragon hits Darwynn with a fireball – she is very badly injured.
Davian yells at the dragon to tell him to stop his attack on Darwynn.
Amazingly, the dragon now obeys Davian because he himself sounds like a dragon.
Davian tells the dragon to lay down on his treasure.
Davian and Darwynn makes their way back to party.
The dragon king’s crown turns Davian into the Dragon King. The Dragon King controls the magma dragon.
Darwynn and Konrad summon the phantasm, who gives them the combination to the safe. Inside the safe are of course, the time-cards.
The accountant touches the time-cards and magically the party can see how the mine was when everyone was alive. When the illusion fades, the party sees a ring and a map in the safe.
Darwynn takes the items. Konrad studies the map and figures out that it is a special geographical map.
Davian, now the Dragon King, decides to stay behind with the dragon and says farewell to the party.
Konrad steps on the bridge and approaches the door. He places the ring (from the safe) into a hole by the door. The doors starts to open and Konrad feels the fresh air. From his vantage point, he sees a pleasant afternoon and off in the distance, the ocean.
By going through the mines, the party finds themselves on the other side of the mountains.
