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Chiworth's side is fully prepared, and the prophecy concealing your new identity is complete. Judging by the outcome of this prophecy contest, Old Chewbone would absolutely not be able to detect anything amiss... but..."
"Ignore that one; it's unlikely to come out and explain itself, and no dragon would believe it."
"Then, we can begin our operation at any time!" The half-dragon kobold prostrated himself on the ground, devoutly chanting the name of the dragon lord Casaloz. Only this fervor could suppress the overwhelming excitement and surging emotions within him. This time, Casaloz would lead them on a grand feat that even the kobold god dared not easily imagine.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Inside the Krypt Garden Forest, Old Bone Chewer stared at the different images displayed in several crystal balls, occasionally tilting his head and scratching the side of his neck with his hind paw. He had been lurking in this dark lair for far too long; the folds of his body were covered with highly poisonous mushrooms, and the pungent chlorine gas accumulating in the lair could suffocate a person instantly—a sign, for a green dragon, a testament to his ever-growing power.
Not long ago, the servants that Old Bone had thrown into Waterdeep City were so foolish as to provoke the Keeper of Secrets that it had to "reluctantly" give up on these disobedient slaves. The amount of treasure these guys had handed over in recent years had shrunk considerably, and it had long wanted to kill them and replace them with a new batch of obedient people. However, to prevent exposure, it needed to spend some more time to plan carefully. Unexpectedly, these guys actually went to their deaths on their own, which was even better.
The incredibly wealthy Gorlon was originally one of its targets. However, since it knew from the divination spell that Gorlon was close to the Keeper of Secrets, taking down Gorlon would require a more meticulous and comprehensive plan. But it would be good to take advantage of this opportunity to earn some interest first.
According to Old Chewbon's plan, after selling his group of slaves, he would use the edited photos to create momentum. In order to maintain his business, the wronged Gron would have to appear and defend himself in the trial organized by the Lords' Alliance, according to the tradition of Waterdeep. Then he could use the council members he had bribed in recent years to make the case solid and expel Gron from Waterdeep.
The Keepers' stronghold is Waterdeep. Once the Dragon is driven out, it will be free from the Keepers' protection. Merchants never abandon trade routes, let alone a dragon that values wealth above all else. If the expelled Dragon wants to maintain its trade routes, it will have to find a way from other cities in Sword Coast, making it much easier for Old Bone Chewer to target it in the future.
What it didn't expect was that the dragon would hide like a turtle, neither requesting a public trial from the Lords' Alliance nor standing up to defend itself. It just hid in Deepwater City for a few days and then escaped on a magic ship.
Old Bone Chewer's plan backfired. However, it wasn't discouraged. Nearly a thousand years of dragon life had honed its patience; as long as it kept watch, the Dragon Song wouldn't escape its clutches. Like now, after so many attempts to track it, it had finally caught up with the magic ship's trajectory in the astral plane and was about to figure out which world those magical little goods of the Dragon Song came from.
There's also some good news: the Waterdeep City auction house has listed a magical necklace that can transform a dragon into a human, something it has always dreamed of!
Everything is moving in a positive direction, isn't it?
134. Action
"The bait has been put on the shelf, and there have been no unexpected competitors. The puppet has successfully received the goods."
Encrypted messages were sent to Casalos, reporting the progress of the plan. The iron dragon, huddled in a narrow space, rattled its iron beak, making unintelligible gurgling sounds: "A ring that can transform a dragon. Its magical power is indeed strong, but its effect is too limited. Without a shill, who in Waterdeep would buy such a thing?"
"The puppets have left the city, with tails following behind... They intended to rob, but have been repelled. The puppets are damaged and are fleeing westward as planned, approaching the garden."
"The gardener has left the garden!"
"There is no movement on the ridge. The old wolf is still resting. We can move now."
"Shh, wait a little longer, until the fish has taken a firm bite..."
Iron Dawn remained silently submerged beneath the seawater outside the Swamp of the Dead. The transport pod trailing behind it began to fill with water. Once the pressure was balanced, the hatch opened silently, and a massive, fiery red figure slid out of the water. Suddenly, it opened its bright red eyes and burst into flames, scalding the surrounding seawater to boiling point. It dragged bubbles that exploded on the surface of the sea and soared into the sky, the pungent smell of sulfur spreading with the steam.
This was an ancient red dragon of unusually large size, its wounded face contorted and terrifying, its roar hoarse and bloodthirsty. The Faerûn might not know its name, but the dragons of the North would tremble at the mere thought of its form—"Old Roar" Klaus!?
The old roar soared over the Sword Mountains, darted to the top of the Krypt Garden Forest, circled halfway, found its bearings, folded its wings, and swooped down. Hundreds of meters above the ground, a magic wand appeared on each of the massive red dragon's wing hooks, and two different destructive spells surged forth, pouring down from the sky and splashing a sea of fire across the verdant forest.
Several loud roars rang out from the sea of fire, seemingly a strong response to the sudden attack. Five green dragons of varying sizes burst out of the flames to meet the swooping red dragon.
However, the three largest dragons, upon seeing the red dragon's appearance, each let out a cry of alarm and scattered, plunging into the jungle and disappearing without a trace. The two younger ones hadn't even reacted before the red dragon's scorching breath engulfed them like a fiery cloud. As the fiery cloud dissipated, the burning green dragon skeleton, trailing black smoke, fell, shattering into sparks before even reaching the treetops.
In the burning jungle, various dark creatures, bearing some characteristics of the green dragon, howled and scattered in panic, but the red dragon showed no mercy.
It spread its wings, slowed down, and landed on the ground. Wielding its claws and fangs, it tore apart everything in sight, charging towards the Valley Boar hidden by illusion. With a breath of fire, it burned the magic core, completely exposing Old Bone Chewer's lair to everyone's eyes.
It purifies the guards and the pungent chlorine with flames, swallows the molten gold with its mouth, bites open the neatly stacked green dragon eggs to devour the yolks or the embryos that are already taking shape, smashes the rotting wooden boat in the nest with its tail, and before the master of the nest returns, it spreads its wings again and soars into the sky, disappearing into the blue sky and white clouds.
West of Waterdeep, Old Bone, who hadn't personally hunted for years, pounced on a wounded and disheveled adventurer under the cover of illusion. His long, sharp claws, well-suited for climbing through jungles, easily tore through the poor-quality leather armor, ripped open the human's fragile skin, muscles, and bones, pierced him through like a skewer of candied hawthorns, and lifted him up to the head that was craning its neck and looking down.
"Don't you know that's the ring I had my eye on? How dare you bid for it and take it away?"
"I...I don't know, powerful and kind Silver Dragon Venerable, please forgive my offense. I am willing to offer the ring to you immediately." The adventurer, unable to discern the true form beneath the illusion, was still making futile excuses for his unintentional offense.
"Kindness?" The green dragon, who had been speaking politely just moments before, suddenly changed its expression upon hearing this, removing part of its disguise to reveal its true green dragon nature: "Hahaha, you actually dare to insult a cunning green dragon as kind? It seems you can't wait to become the waste I digest!"
The shameless green dragon fabricated lies to mock the unfortunate adventurer who had simply stumbled upon a normal auction and bought a useless, high-value magical souvenir.
"No, the Green Dragon!" The adventurer, upon learning the truth, was filled with rage; the wounds that pierced his body gradually healed as his adrenaline levels subsided.
Chapter 204
The intense pain and fear caused him to involuntarily shrink back, his body trembling as he muttered to himself, "This shouldn't be happening, this shouldn't be happening... Die, you filthy, evil, fallen one!"
As he trembled, holy light spilled from the wound pierced by the dragon's claw, gathered together, and released a blinding golden light, causing the green dragon's pupils to contract and its eyelids to close.
"Damn it, how did I run into a light madman!" The moment Old Chewbone had this thought in his mind, the noble radiance scorched his face and claws, and the adventurer impaled on his claws self-destructed. Even Deepwater City, far beyond the horizon, saw this dazzling but brief burst of brilliance.
Old Bone, having finally regained his sight, turned his head and saw several black dots rising from the direction of Waterdeep—griffin riders who had come to investigate what had happened. From several other directions, the penetrating chants of the Song Dragons began to echo. Unwilling to clash with Waterdeep or the Song Dragons at this moment, the cunning Old Bone cursed all forces associated with light as he quickly searched the area, finding the magic ring that had survived the Radiant self-destruction. He then summoned vines to destroy all traces he had left behind, before transforming the illusion covering him into ambient color and disappearing into the wilderness…
"who is it!"
Half a day later, the old chewer returned to the Krypt Garden Forest and looked at its low and messy lair. It let out a mournful roar: "Who destroyed my carefully built nest? Who stole my hard-earned treasure!"
"Delga, get out here! I know you're not dead. Tell me everything you saw."
With Old Bone Chewer's shout, a human warrior with wings on his back and most of his skin covered in fine green scales stumbled out of the forest, collapsing at the green dragon's claws. He clutched its scorched claws, trembling and sobbing, "Mother, you're finally back... It was Old Roar! Old Roar Klaus launched a surprise attack while you were away from the lair. Like all the dragons it targeted, it ate all your unhatched children. You must take revenge!"
"Klaus!"
An anger that seemed to reach even the air permeated the forest.
135. Awakened
"Klaus!"
Klaus, the most vicious of dragons, awoke from his slumber upon hearing this roar filled with rage and venom. This was a warning from a prophetic spell; sensing the sudden, intense hostility directed at him was a unique ability of a great prophet.
"That's strange. I've been sleeping soundly lately and haven't bothered anyone. How come some bastard suddenly hates me?"
As a malevolent dragon that casts a shadow over the dragons of the North, it has received countless curses and insults from the old roar. Under normal circumstances, it is unperturbed by them and even takes pride in them, rarely being disturbed. Such a strong sense of crisis means that this time, the one who hates it is someone who can threaten its dragon life.
"Let me see what's going on... Hmm? Old Chewbone, why is that green-skinned lizard talking about me? Looks like that ugly witch just got a beating... Oh, she's covered in wounds, her lair was destroyed, and her ragtag army of hybrids with those inferior insects suffered heavy casualties, it looks like few survived, what a tragedy. Who's so powerful as to do this to her... Ah, me? What's going on, am I sleepwalking?"
Unlike Flamebringer, Roaring Howl didn't suffer from insomnia. Like any other ancient dragon, it passed most of its boredom by sleeping. But whenever it awoke, it would use its unique magic to monitor the movements across Faerûn, searching for new targets or investigating any uncertainties that might hinder its schemes. As an ancient dragon, it had essentially mastered legendary prophetic magic; few things could completely escape its magical detection. Without any visible movement, the events that had recently occurred in the Krypt Garden Forest were presented to Roaring Howl in a three-dimensional illusion, clearer and more detailed than any image displayed in the crystal ball.
The size, exceeding the limits of an ancient red dragon's growth, the unique appearance covered in scars, the hoarse roar that let in drafts, the signature wing hook wand spell for diving and bombing, and the huge scar deliberately left on its cheek were all exactly the same as its own. Even the target obtained through divination was pointing at itself. For a moment, Old Roar couldn't tell whether it was really asleep and had run to attack Old Chewer's nest in its dream.
But such illusions couldn't bother the ancient red dragon. It was certain it wasn't sleepwalking; crucially, the spells stored in its wand hadn't diminished at all, the dragon magic circulating in its veins remained calm, and there were no elemental remnants from a large exhalation of breath. In short, its body showed no signs of magical release, and it knew it definitely wasn't its doing.
"This is a blatant frame-up!"
The old roar, wide awake, sprang to its feet. The immense mass of its massive body caused a tremor in the cave, like a small earthquake. Wisps of white flame shot from its nostrils and between its teeth, crackling and burning the air. It squinted its outer eyelids, its lava-ball-like eyes distorting the air, and muttered in hoarse dragon language to itself:
Who is it?
It's done perfectly. Even the lingering aura on it is mine. Let me think, this should be the aura of a dead scale that fell off when I taught that blind blue dragon a lesson a few months ago near Luskan. How did it get picked up?
The timing was perfect; it happened right when I was asleep, just as the old witch left her lair. When she returned and discovered her home had been robbed, her resentment woke me. All traces of the prophecy had been erased, leaving me completely untraceable. "How could she leave me with no clues?"
At this point, Old Roar paused for a moment, then opened his eyes wide, his lava eyeballs swirling like a vortex, devouring the threads of fate that ordinary people could not see.
"You've hidden yourself very well. I can't see anything through the fog, but doesn't that also reveal your identity? How many beings in all of Faerûn can display such power... The old immortal hiding in the Starswirling Mountains? Probably not, it has no motive or need to do so; Chassa, who's always licking Tiamat's boots? That doesn't seem like it either, the Dragon Queen is trying to win me over, and that sycophant would never want to go against Tiamat; is it a miserly glutton, or Paralandasque, who's been turned into something neither dragon nor ghost by Mirerigas... None of these are right!"
Ah, I see, it's you, Alastair Maratier of Neverwinter, and my old friend 'Shaving Tooth'. Looks like you've teamed up. So you're afraid of me, huh? Heh heh… But do you really think that ugly old witch can threaten me?
Amidst a series of probes and speculations, Roar's prophecy responded correctly to its general direction, but that was all. But for a red dragon, is definitive evidence and a complete chain of evidence truly necessary?
Having learned part of the truth, Shaving Tooth asked Casalos the same question almost simultaneously.
"The threat isn't significant, and no evidence is needed. A general guess is enough for Roaring to conclude that we were the culprit and then target us for revenge." Casalos replied, "I never expected to drive Old Bonechewer to fight Roaring to the death. Rage won't affect Old Bonechewer for long, but now it's been overwhelmed by dragon fury and has launched a charge towards the Spine of the World. By the time it comes to its senses, Roaring's fake nests will probably have been corroded into latrines by the strong acid."
Red Dragon couldn't stand such provocation, and even if Old Roar suffered no actual losses, he would definitely retaliate for the sake of face... Unfortunately, both of them were synonymous with cunning and treacherous. These were all superficial phenomena. When the time came, their struggle would stop at a proxy war dominated by shouting slogans and mutual intrigue.
Meanwhile, Old Roar will also be plotting more and bigger conspiracies against us—but we are its target to begin with.
Chapter 205
"What difference does it make if it hates us more?"
"Is this why you dragged that ancient red dragon's corpse back?"
The projected image of Shaving Tooth trembled blurrily. The stability of the ultra-long-range encrypted communication based on the constant psionic artifact was still insufficient; the gray dwarves' technology had much room for improvement. Casalos's mind raced with other thoughts as he gave a perfunctory answer to Shaving Tooth's question: "The more it hates us, the longer it will take to plan, and the more time we'll have. Besides... right now it's just Old Chewbone, so of course it doesn't care."
"If the territories of 'Glorious Prince,' 'King of Ice,' 'Destroyer of Destruction,' and others were attacked by 'Old Roar,' would they retaliate?"
"You, you're playing with fire!"
The humanoid fangs opened its mouth as if it wanted to say something, but Casalos had already unilaterally hung up the communication.
136. The Secret of the Fake Old Roar
What Shaving Tooth really wanted to ask was probably how Casaroz could perfectly impersonate Grommash Hellscream—dragons aren't as easily fooled as humans. Io had given all his children photographic memories, so even the slightest flaw in their appearance would be easily detected. Each dragon also possesses a unique aura that only other true dragons can distinguish, let alone the green dragon like Bonechewer, who was equally adept at divination.
It may have guessed that the ancient red dragon's corpse that Casalos had painstakingly moved played a crucial role in the matter, and it also knew that Casalos had hired a large number of humanoid adventurers to monitor and observe Roar for a long time, and was familiar with the appearance of every scale of Roar, but it still found it hard to believe what had already happened.
Casalos, however, would not tell Toothshaker that it was not his own achievement, but rather "the power of the team."
The "Old Roar" flew into the Iron Dawn's cabin, folded its wings, and sat upright in the "seat" specially reserved for it. Several mechanical arms of the truss track slid over and extended specially made calipers to clamp the fake Old Roar's head, neck, wings, and waist respectively. The cabin door closed with the hum of the screw and winch.
"Pfft..."
The ventilation valve released air to equalize the air pressure inside the cabin. Edgeworth, the grey dwarf who had long since lost all worldly desires, then sped into the cabin in his Meckham omnidirectional wheelchair, leading a group of half-dragon kobolds carrying various tools, barking as they rushed in. Under the command and coordination of mental fluctuations, the half-dragon goblins poured out from the passages on both sides of the cabin, dragging thick chains, and tied Old Howler's limbs and tail to the mooring holes in the ground.
Thus, the extra-large dragon was firmly fixed inside the ship's deck and could not move an inch.
The dog-headed men climbed onto the dragon's body using scaffolding and began tinkering with various tools. Before long, they had completely "removed" the scales from the dragon's chest and abdomen and stacked them on the steel frame next to it.
Then, the gray dwarf threw out several supernatural abilities at the dragon skin in a specific pattern. Six radial cracks appeared on the fake old roar's dragon skin, and then opened outward like flower petals, revealing the closed shell-like structure that shimmered with starlight beneath.
Meanwhile, in a secluded compartment beneath the deck of the Dragon Vault, the unnamed kobold elder activated a pre-prepared solidification array. The smooth, astral shell beneath the fake Roar's skin shimmered with multi-layered, intricate patterns outlined by magical light, which then faded away layer by layer. Then, a vertical slit of light pierced through the chest cavity, opening to both sides with a crisp tinkling sound, revealing a hazy ball of light within.
Compared to the fake Roaring Howl, the dragon shadow, though smaller, was still quite imposing. As it swayed, Casaloz emerged from the ball of light, followed closely by two half-dragon kobold warlocks.
The fake old roar is Casaloz!
To be precise, it is a star-like construct controlled by Casalos.
"It's still too cramped. Luckily, this thing is big enough, or I would have suffocated in there..." Casalos shook his head and complained to the half-construct, half-mechanical gray dwarf mind mage.
"You've transformed the corpse of an ancient red dragon into a super-sized ancient red dragon construct, and crammed so many functions into it. What more do you want? Do you want to add a demiplane inside?"
Casalos rolled his eyes upwards, ignoring Esworth's unfriendly question, and continued to explain his improvement ideas with a click of his iron beak: "If it could be made to act autonomously or be remotely controlled, that would be perfect."
"What are you thinking? If I could create a super-standard Primordial Dragon construct with autonomous movement capabilities, would I be working for you for free?" Due to the loss of certain functions, Eswach's temperament had become increasingly sarcastic, but its professionalism was absolutely top-notch: "This thing, even after draining all the psionic energy from the city's slaves to obtain star matter, plus your bizarre mechanical skills, could only barely create a construct embryo that met the strength standard of an Primordial Red Dragon. It can't be charged, let alone start normally. Although I don't know how you did it, you had to crawl inside yourself to act as the core to make it barely move for a few tens of minutes. Do you still want to activate it now?"
Beneath the fake Old Roar dragon skin lies a semi-mechanical, semi-astrophysical construct, created by Dragonlord's chief technical engineer, the grey dwarf Eswach, using all available resources within the Dragonlord's territory and the corpse of Nargathra, the ancient red dragon and mother of Cecita, as its "skeleton." Due to the extremely high-grade materials and advanced technology used, it remains only a semi-finished product. It cannot move autonomously like a normal construct, and because Casalos requires detachment from the magic network, even a viable energy source to activate it cannot be found. The only way to make it move is for Casalos to be clad in high-level elements and then elementalized, entering the element to serve as a temporary "battery" and control core.
To perfectly disguise this thing as "Roaring Howl," the spellcasting team of the Dragonflight racked their brains, creating a miniature barrier beneath the dragon skin specifically designed to detect any magic in a broad sense. This directly resulted in Casalos having to go through a series of complex and tedious procedures every time he entered or exited this construct. The advantage was that even if Roaring Howl himself were present, he would most likely not be able to tell the difference between this thing and himself. Moreover, Casalos, in his elementalized state shrouded in higher elements, along with two half-dragon kobold warlocks of spellcasting level 16, was more than capable of providing dragon breath and spellcasting abilities exceeding the destructive power of a normal ancient red dragon. In other words, as long as Casalos didn't engage in melee combat with other ancient dragons while using this thing, no one would doubt that this thing wasn't "Roaring Howl"... because there wasn't another red dragon like it in all of Toril.
However, Roar usually doesn't choose melee combat. In other words, unless the gods themselves come, Roar will have to take all the blame that Casalos will throw at it now and in the near future!
“Activation? I doubt even legendary spells could activate this dragon-shaped ‘Gundam’.” Casalos wagged his tail, considering other possibilities. “Besides, activation spells are too chaotic and lack stability. Even the devil doesn’t know what kind of consciousness this thing will develop after activation, or whether it will still recognize us, its creators…”
"You wish! It definitely won't listen to you. I've never heard of any living creature that would directly obey the commands of the living being. Backlash is common, though." Eswatsky sneered. "But if you ask me, even if it were to be barely alive, this thing would never develop any self-awareness. At best, it would be just like those enchanted brooms in the Drow mage towers, struggling to even move on its own."
"What about the control of the split soul?"
"Hmm?" The gray dwarf brought the three mechanical legs of his "wheelchair" together, extending them to raise his upper body to be level with the dragon's. His eyes gleamed with mental power: "Splitting the soul, that's not a power belonging to the material world..."
137. Turmoil
Faerûn has its own fundamental laws, and the ultimate ownership and interpretation of the souls of all beings in Faerûn belong to the gods. Unlike the inner and outer realms where the gods' authority has waned, and unlike the point-based Western fantasy commonly found in Casalos's past life memories, in Faerûn...
Chapter 206
On land, all kinds of soul-manipulating schemes are subject to strict scrutiny and control by the gods.
The act of splitting one's own soul to create a living "avatar" is almost tantamount to blaspheming the privileges of the gods. Even if it exists, it is mostly blasphemous magic originating from the hell of Bathor or the bottomless abyss, and is bound to be cursed by the gods.
But the souls of dragons now belong to the dragon god. Casalos witnessed it firsthand: the Death Dragon God Chronipus, who governs all the souls of true dragons, left behind only a powerful empty form mechanically handling the affairs of the true dragon souls of Faerûn. No other divine power has been able to divide or replace his divine duties and authority, so what else does he have to worry about?
It only takes up a few more high-level spell slots for the dogs, and then the green dragon "lackey" Shakalasi sacrifices something to summon a Demon Trade Point Infernal spell. Compared to the effect, this cost is still worthwhile...
Klaus, the Northern Dragon, has gone mad!
This powerful ancient red dragon first raided Old Bonechewer's lair, reducing the Krypt Gardens forest to ashes. It then attacked Arauzator's "Ancient White Death," mate "Iceclaw," the "Pure White Dragon" Elvia Tullas. Luring the White Death and Iceclaw to its aid, it flew into the High Forest, circled around, and finally escaped the two powerful white dragons. Returning to the Winterwood, it burned their offspring, Obanglas, to ashes. Before the white dragons could even seek revenge, it breached the defenses of Miraba City, wounding the Crystal Dragon Mage, "Lady in the Gem Cloak," and the Miraba dwarves' "Axe Mother," Celine Dela Grossto, before destroying half of Miraba City with its dragon breath and arrogantly departing. After that, it attacked one of the most powerful gold dragons known in Faerûn, "The Invisible Guardian," Paralandasque, and the cyborg-bodied ancient blue dragon warlock, "Desert Doom," who resided west of the Enook Desert. Members of the "Statue Dragon" Emuris's family were also successively subjected to provocative attacks by the Mad Roar.
Taking into account its existing conflict with the dragons of Waterdeep, it can be said that in just a few months, all the most powerful dragons active in the Northland have become the enemies of Roar.
No one knew what it wanted to do, nor why it was doing this... Some, even dragons, suspected it was an enemy of the old roar impersonating it to stir up trouble and attract hatred. After all, this infamous creature only liked to bully the weak and had never provoked those who could rival it. This simultaneous confrontation with so many was highly unusual. But both the detection spells and the language clearly indicated that the old roar was not in disguise, leaving no room for doubt.
The Red Dragons are a bunch of lunatics, who knows what Old Roar will do next.
In a direct confrontation, these attacked dragons might not necessarily fear Grommash Hellscream. However, Grommash Hellscream possesses a cunning far beyond his own power, always finding ways to lure dragons out of their lairs before returning to plunder and destroy their territories, causing immense suffering to many powerful dragons. From Waterdeep to Neverwinter, and then to the powerful Silvermoon Alliance, the dragons harassed by Grommash Hellscream began to try to make contact and form a simple alliance with the sole purpose of eliminating this scourge of the North. While the various humanoid races outwardly refused to get involved in the dragon wars, they were likely involved behind the scenes. The Harpists' Alliance and certain powerful adventurers with official backing have never been absent from the ranks of these united dragons.
In short, the relatively peaceful situation in the North gradually became turbulent due to the relentless attacks of the super-sized Primordial Red Dragon.
The culprit who caused this turmoil, Iron Dragon Casaloz, had already changed into the skin of a human heavy armored warrior. He swaggered onto a ship and boarded a ship to enter the territory of Cormier. Then he traveled north along the main road and approached the city of Arabe.
Thanks to its glorious victory in causing havoc in Westgate City a few months ago, all the powerful forces around Dragon Coast recognized Casaloz's heavy armor warrior identity. Naturally, its journey was very smooth. It did not encounter any bandits blocking the way, nor was it questioned by the garrison officers in Cormier. Shortly after it left the port, a squad of purple dragon knights appeared a few miles ahead of it, promptly clearing away the bandits and wild beasts that did not know what was good for it, and reminding and warning the garrison officers of the towns along the way what they should and should not do.
It seemed this group of purple dragon knights had no intention of contacting Casalos, meaning the royal family of the Kingdom of Cormir, who claimed to serve dragons, did not want any entanglement with it. Casalos, who had just split its dragon soul and was in a state of utter exhaustion and weakness, was even less inclined to deal with the queen who was up to no good. It didn't even bother with Arabel, instead taking a detour through the Stormhorn Mountains to leave Cormir, giving the Queen a considerable amount of face.
As the purple dragon knight who had been clearing the way (monitoring) departed, the most common banditry on the Faerûn journey began to emerge. These fellows had no way of knowing Casaloz's true identity; they only saw him dressed in "flashy" full-body heavy armor, dragging a greatsword that even a barbarian could hardly wield properly, and their greedy hearts began to stir.