We could be heroes

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Aramil returned to their new found friends, having first cast Resist Poison on me.  I went up to the roof of the barracks and took up a watching position, while Elaina hid in the bushes on the far side of the square.

Garrett and Aramil were gone for quite a while, then returned with 6 masked and robed cultists, two of whom were carrying a chest.  They stopped in the middle of the square and Garrett then started improvising a song in honour of the dragon.  It sounded pretty awful to me, and the dragon obviously agreed as he didn’t make an appearance.  The leader of the cultists finally cracked and stopped Garrett, and started an invocation in a gutturally sibilant language that I think was draconic.  This was obviously more effective, as a fairly large green dragon appeared through the roof of the tower and flew down.  It circled over the barracks, and I hastily scrambled down the ladder, which was good because it then landed on the roof.  Fortunately the barracks were sturdily build and could take the strain.

The leader continued to talk in draconic and two of the acolytes opened the chest, revealing a rather small pile of gems.  It appears that the dragon though so as well, although we couldn’t be certain as none of us spoken draconic.  They conversed a little more, and then I heard it switch to common to talk to Garrett and Aramil.  It had correctly surmised that they didn’t speak draconic, because apparently the cult leader had just offered them to sweeten the sacrifice.  Garrett countered with some quite impressive brown-nosing, discovering that the dragon was called Venomfang.  He managed to persuade Venomfang that the cultists themselves should be punished for having offered such a feeble sacrifice.  Venomfang obviously agreed as he turned on them, killing all six in a particularly effective fashion.

Venomfang then turned to Garrett and Aramil who had been edging to the far side of the square, keeping a good distance between them.  Venomfang was obviously still not satisfied, as the demanded that I should come out from hiding, and we should all give him all of our wealth as well.  This didn’t seem like a great deal, so I shouted out to Elaina to get things started.  She rushed out and attacked Venomfang in the flank, missing with her first thrust but hitting with her second.   I shot it, and missed completely.  Things were starting badly.  Garrett cast Shatter, but it just shook it off.  Venomfang then raked at Elaina with a claw, missing, and breathed posion on Garrett, who went straight down.  Aramil cast resist poison on himself.  I shot again, and hit this time, driving an arrow deep into his flank.  Elaina slashed and missed again, and in return was badly savaged.  Aramil cast a bolt of energy which hit Venomfang full on, and I hit again with a might arrow that sank deep into a gap between his scales.  Elaina healed herself, and her blow glanced off his scales.  Venomfang struck her again though with his claws., pushing her to her knees.  Aramil rushed forward, and struck a blow with his mace.  I let lose a third might arrow that sank deep into his shoulder, and Venomfang took to the air, obviously finding us tougher going than he had expected.  Aramil swung again as he left, and missed, but Elaine struck him.  Aramil then targeted him with another bolt of energy, and I rushed out and hit him with another arrow.  Finally Elaina targeted  him with a Magic Missile spell and he fell, fatally wounded, from the sky.Suddenly remembering Garrett, who was about to breathe his last, Aramil dashed across and used an incantation to heal him and bring him away from death’s door.

Thus we killed the dragon Venomfang, and liberated the village of Thundertree.  Over the next few days we cleared it completely of the ash zombies and twig blights, so that people could come and once again settle in it.

And they all lived happily ever after…