By bricking off the tower's stairwell and allowing access the to upper floors only via portal, Redwing created a hidden floor that acted as a gateway for teleportation. From there, he would travel to Luhng's island. After etching out the portal symbol, he stacked one hundred gold bars on top of it. 

Redwing traveled the land for months preparing. He acquired ten priceless diamond rings, a platinum necklace dripping with rubies, and had Kulju's pike coated in silver. His theory was that if he was wearing desirable enough treasure the dragon would be less likely to burn him to death with its breath. He climbed on top of the stack of gold and in a flash transported himself and the loot to Luhng's volcanic island. 

He appeared on a large platform made of slick black volcanic stone. Beneath him was a mosaic of the symbol inlaid with white marble, behind him a tunnel that receded into blackness, and in front a dark vast open cavern. Humid air filled the chamber and Redwing began to sweat in the sultry temperature. His first inhale filled his sinuses with a burning sulfury smoke.  

The throaty exhale of an enormous creature was followed by the sound of a faint bell ringing three times in the distance. In the darkness of the cave, he saw two flickering flames glowing in the nostrils of Luhng's giant head. 

Redwing cast the night-vision spell and the dragon's lair came into view. The cathedral-like vault was lined with gold-framed mirrors, walls and ceiling were made of black rock, and the floor was pure gold. The periphery of the room was full of sculptures of bronze, marble, and gold standing among crates and chests assumingly full of plunder. In the center of the great treasure trove lay the dragon. 

On the third chime of the little bell, Luhng raised his head. He closed the distance from where he was sleeping to towering above Redwing before the last toll silenced. His claw raised up to smash Redwing and take the gold but he hesitated, wincing his one eye at the long silver pike with its sharp sparkling point rising far above Redwing's head. 

"What manner of sorcerer are you?" Luhng's breath was like an oven radiating wilting heat across Redwing's entire body and the sound of his voice struck fear into his heart.

"I am Redwing."

"No, I am redwing!" roaded the dragon spreading his massive wings reaching out to fill the enormity of the cavern. 

"You may call me Mazlovado if it suits you?" 

Luhng huffed a laugh at that. 

Redwing let his black dragon wings grow out of his back and spread to their full length. While a terrifying sight on a human they were nothing in a pissing contest with Luhng. 

"The demon servant of the Necromancer? Do you fancy yourself his heir?" 

The question baffled Redwing. 

"I have killed Kulju and I return to you his pendant." He reached into his pocket and threw the purple jeweled evil amulet. 

Luhng snatched it greedily out of the air. 

"That ungrateful sneak. I should've known he had a double stashed somewhere else. Do you seak to become his replacement? I have much magic to offer a servant, especially one crafty enough to find his way here on his own."

"I was thinking the other way around," said Redwing proud and tall, though laughably insignificant in the face of the dragon. 

And laugh Luhng did. More than he had laughed in a hundred years. He fell onto his side, slapped his knee, and held onto his belly as it might burst. He laughed until Redwing felt a fool and wiped a tear of joy from his huge single eye. Redwing took note of the scar tissue over his other missing eye. 

"So it's true that Øregård cut out one of your eyes," stated Redwing matter of factly. 

The dragon pulled himself back to his feet with a fierce look. 

"Don't ruin my fun, Necromancer. Your petty little pile of gold is hardly enough to buy an audience with me, there is nothing you could offer that could gain my allegiance," he said moving dangerously close to Redwing. 

"I could free you." 

Luhng pulled back again sizing up the sorcerer. 

"Every time I think I'll just kill you, you say something interesting. Who are you really?" 

Redwing could feel the dragon attempting to access his mind but he resisted. 

"I am from a kingdom on the far eastern side of the world. My mother was to be a queen but when the prince died she was left to mind the library of the king. A wizard visited her collection once, the very wizard that trapped you on this island. That wizard turned out to be my father." 

"The son of Melock!" roared Luhng with such volume it left ringing in Redwing's ears. "Now, I will kill you." 

Luhng lurched forward opening his massive jaws intent on eating Redwing long silver toothpick and all. Redwing snapped his fingers, turned invisible, and moved two hundred feet to the left of his current position. 

Luhng craned his long neck twisting in motion and faced Redwing again. 

"I can see your pathetic invisibility." He dove forward again with biting jaws and snapped them shut a moment after Redwing jumped another two hundred feet away. 

"I will kill Melock and bring down his containment spell," yelled Redwing in a panic.  

He snapped his fingers again but this time when he reappeared the dragon's jaws were waiting for him. He felt the insane heat and smelled his napalm breath. Redwing closed his eyes and waited for death. 

Luhng didn't bite. He pulled back his head, grabbed the stack of gold bars, and tossed it into the pile that was his hoard of treasure. 

"Alright, bastard prince wanting to be the Necromancer, you've bought my audience. Tell me your real name, your story, and how you will do this." Luhng sat back to listen. 

"I was born Nicholas Redwing Melock and as you say, my current life goal is to follow in the footsteps of the Necromancer and not those of my father. He's already taught me all he has to offer." 

Redwing went on to tell a surprisingly patient Luhng his life story, his quest for power, his plan to ensnare the demon, his plot against his father, and he finished by saying treasure and wealth meant nothing to him. He pulled off his diamond rings and ruby necklace and tossed them to the dragon. 

"I suppose if I kill you, you'll just come back to life anyway?" 

Redwing nodded in the affirmative.

"If you free me from this island I will join you and rain down fire on this world for a century. I will rid you of any foes that stand in your way, and I will keep all the plunder we acquire. As a token of my appreciation, I'll allow you to keep the trinkets of the last Necromancer." 

"The trinkets of the Necromancer?" asked Redwing.

"You clearly haven't learned everything from that father of yours. On the day he imprisoned me on this island, I killed his paladin first. The girl warrior wore the Cursed Gauntlets of the Necromancer. Melock must have asked her to wear them to distract me from his own powers. Though it could be he was unable to wield them himself, because of his righteous goodness?" 

Luhng huffed at the idea. 

"I've thought on the order of events of that day many times. Melock bought himself enough time to defeat me with the lives of his fighters and that little girl cleric. He distracted me further by letting her wear such powerful magical items, marking her as the logical first opponent. His foolish gnome with his tin soldier machine and that sneaky thief skulking about only added to the distraction. And that green turd of a walking booger, Øregård. I will kill him first when I get off this island!" 

"The Cursed Gauntlets,'' whispered Redwing to himself. 

"Yes, the gauntlets," repeated the dragon, "Melock has them somewhere I'm sure. You'll never be a true Necromancer without them."

Luhng saw an easy way to influence the sorcerer and free himself. Redwing recognized the manipulation but couldn't resist the temptation.  

"Maybe, our relationship is one of mutual advantage?" he suggested.

"Power for you and freedom for me," said the dragon, "I like you, Necromancer. You'll make better use of this than I will." 

He tossed back Kulju's Talisman of Unrepented Evil. 

"It's yours now. Try asking it where the gauntlets are hidden," said an optimistic Luhng.