Morgan Falls to the Dragon Breath

The dragon on the stairs did not stay a rumor for long. When the fight resumed, Morgan brought Evan Pistachio's staff to bear and blasted both the dragon and the dragon flesh grafters with lightning. Oskar forced himself back into the line and put Shield of Faith over Ash, trying to make the narrow stairway hold long enough for the party to survive the first true dragon encounter of the hidden route. The dragon answered with poison. Its breath rolled through the stairway and dropped several people at once. The tourist dungeon had already been exposed as a costume over something older, but this was the moment the cost became immediate. Herman Winger survived at one hit point. Others staggered. Morgan's damage crossed from table confusion into a harder truth: she had been overkilled badly enough that normal recovery was not going to solve it. The first dragon phase ended in retreat, emergency healing, and a forced reset. The party survived the stairs. Morgan did not, at least not yet.