Episode One

Torfinn's hands work quickly, sopping up blood and tying bandages around Grant's wounded areas. The bandages saturate quickly, but Torfinn's work seems to help, even if only marginally. Grant's eyes roll in and out of his head throughout the process. Moments later, Gwen tiptoes gracefully around Torfinn and with a subtle flourish sits cross-legged on the floor, Grant's head placed in her lap. She tries desperately to rouse him, calling his name and slapping his face (gently). At one point she catches his eyes looking into hers, a slight smile in them.

"Make room," Sam says as he carries Nocturne over to the wounded man. Nocturne's overly-large helper squeezes in as best he can, making everyone somewhat uncomfortable in the process. As soon as Nocturne is close enough, she lays a hand on the dying man and utters a few strange words under her breath. A green light emits from her hand and a smell of mint, roses, and other herbs fills the air. Suddenly Grant sits halfway up, sharply intaking a gasp of air that could burst the lungs of a bugbear. Color returns to his face as he flops back down into Gwen's lap. He tries to speak, but because of the blood remaining in his lungs, it comes out as a gurgle that sounds vaguely like "cuddle the Duergar." He turns his head and coughs violently, blood spattering the floor next to him, before falling back into unconsciousness, his breath ragged, but steady.
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"Are you okay?" Alibastar asks, pressing a little too firmly on Baliman's bruises as he checks for more serious injuries. The innkeeper grunts in pain and, as soon as his gag is removed, growls "Get offa me, I'm jes fine. It's that poor sod what needs help," indicating Grant. "Now if you don't mind, help me untie everyone and get them upstairs. When we're done, I'll pour some drinks and fill you lot in 'bout what happened."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"I don't understand it," Barliman sighs as he sets down five steaming mugs of what he would only refer to as his secret remedy, "many of them have been passing through my inn for years... decades, even. Some of 'em I used to play at Guards and Robbers with when we was jes lads. Seems like everyone what was staying here last night 'cepting you lot and Al's family, they all came outta their rooms this morning, all in dark robes and they got my helpers gagged and restrained. I asked 'em what their meaning was and tried to get one o' my maids away from 'em, then a big one I din't recognize stepped up and hit me right in the eye. Cheap shot if you ask me. They make me sit down and tell me to give 'em the key to my vault. I tell 'em they can check their arses for it. That's how I got this one," he points to another angry, swelling bruise on his face. "Anyhow, another one of 'em comes up to me, this one was different. She was all in white, tall and skinny. I couldn't see her face very well with her hood pulled so low. She points some kinda blue sceptre at me and I start to go all cold, the kind of cold that hurts. I couldn't take much o' that, so I give up the keys and watch 'em rob me blind. Then I hear some kinda scuffle coming from upstairs in the east wing, and Mr. Grant comes down with a knife around one o' their throats. Guess they woke him up when they started coming out and snatching up maids. Anyhow, the white witch blasts him with her sceptre and he stumbles back and they come down on him with their knives. The witch tells 'em to knock it off, that they gotta meet up with t'others, so they start wrangling everyone up and bringin' 'em downstairs. I looked at that witch right in the face, or woulda if I could see it, and I told her to bite my arse. I don' remember anything after that other'n waking up in the cellar and hearing you lot upstairs." Barliman finishes off his drink and says,"If I had to guess, I'd say they was headed to Greenest. Ain't many other places they could be headed to, anyhow. Troubles me to think o' what they might do when they get there. The folk in Greenest are a peaceful lot. They don't deserve none o' this."

It is full morning at this point. Grant is resting in Barliman's best room, but won't be at full strength for a few days. Barliman and his staff busy themselves with cleaning up the mess and putting everything in order for another night. It seems the trouble they went through had shaken them, but ultimately had not conquered their spirits.

Alibastar aids in everyone's release and return to the main floor. He pushes some of the debris away from the opening, hoping to make it easier getting up into the bar with Grant.

After hearing Barliman's story, he chimes in. "I saw a dragon heading north toward Greenest. It felt and sounded like it went right over the inn, but then it was gone so quickly. Everything was so empty out there, and silent once the Dragon had distanced itself." He takes a drink of the remedy, and looks around the group at the bar. Everything had moved so fast, it just hit him how late it was. "We need to go to Greenest. If they're heading that way, the people there will need help."

"The Half-Elf is right. We need to leave an hour ago." She turns to Barliman, "If you could bring Grant back to health, we would both appreciate it. I'm sure he can take care of expenses after he wakes up." Gwen stands up and walks toward the stairs, turning to look at the others, "The Half-Elf seems like he'll be joining me, what about you three?"

Torfinn had been staring at the door for quite some time now, was factoring the move speed of a group that size, calculating for varying physical ability and deciding at what pace he could keep up to catch them before the reached greenest. One though crossed his mind, he did have the proper size force for any of his plans. "I'd need cavalry to head them off, dammit!" He muttered quietly to himself realizing that that his only chance to catch them in time would mean that they had to be moving at an extremely slow pace. Torfinn, realizing the damage they could cause to unprepared villagers, downs his drink, and stands to his feet "I'LL GIVE THEM A HUNT TO REMEMBER!" He growls and starts shifting to the door, unaware that of anyone looking at him let alone the question asked from the halfing.

"Got it: crazy dwarf, check. Alibastar, wanna make sure he doesn't do something insane like leave without us?" Gwen looks at the purple thing and its pet. "What about you two?"

"I don't know about Sam here, but I for sure knew it was a mage all along. ...Oh, you mean that you want our help saving the day from the white witch? I'm all for putting a stop to magic changing the laws of meteorology. As for Sam, well its cute you even considered him, he's coming."

"Okay. Excellent. You, Half-Elf, after you make sure the dwarf doesn't accidentally fall into the privy, you and him go and get the horses ready. Grant and I have a cart we can lash two horses to, which can carry all of our supplies as well as the cripple. Sam and I can drive it, unless the Dwarf doesn't know how to ride a horse, in which case he can get on it as well. Otherwise you and him saddle up a couple more horses so that we can travel faster. I'm gonna run up and grab the rest of my gear, I'll come down to the stable and let you grab your things while I get the horses out to the road." She turns to Sam, "You, dog face, go get your things, then get the cripple settled in the back of the cart. Got that, everyone? We leave in fifteen minutes!" With that, Gwen runs upstairs to grab her remaining gear.

"Sounds good, we'll get 'em ready." Alibastar pats Torfinn on the back and heads to the door, then has a thought. "If those bastards robbed the place, what do you think are odds are that the horses are still outside." He opened the door and headed outside, hoping the horse would still be there.

Torfinn, hearing that his skills from battle are being question snaps out of the rage and bursts into laughter. "Can I ride a horse? I've lead cavalry! I can control a horse with out more than my own willpower." (Occ: zing) Torfinn follows Alibastar but gives him a subtle look and mutters to him "Are you thinking what in thinking?" As they walk through the door.

"Al... Alibastar is that you?" A voice asks from the entrance to the West Wing hallway. One of the Meursaults, an aunt of Talis named Amafrey, stands in the doorway, visibly shaken. "Oh, thank the gods you're alright. We were so worried with you being in the other wing." Timidly she approaches, but when she is close enough she falls into an embrace with Alibastar as if she could no longer support her own weight. "Your family is safe, as is ours. We were all upstairs and we snuck into one room when we heard the commotion. They tried to open our door, but it was locked and they gave up..." Amafrey breaks off and begins sobbing. "Talis... sh-she's gone," she says through tears, "We went to look for her when it was safe but she wasn't in her room. All of her things were still in there and I-I think they got her." She looks Alibastar directly in the eyes, "I overheard you saying you were going after them," her eyes are intent and pleading,"and I can't stop you from going. Please, Alibastar, please be careful. Please, bring Talis back safe. Find her and bring her back. Don't go meddling in things that are beyond you. I will tell your parents that you made it out safely, they needn't know where you're going. Just promise me you'll come back."

[You are free to respond to this and I will come back to it, but for pacing purposes I'm going to move along.]
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The horses, of course, are gone, as is the cart that Gwen and Grant rode in on. The raiders no doubt would have found them to be useful. A sideways glance from Alibastar, however, reveals that Nocturne's ramshackle cart lay on its side next to the stable, apparently not deemed useful. The cart may not be a marvel of engineering, but it will hold the Tiefling and some equipment and still be light enough that Sam won't mind pulling it as usual. On foot, it will be sunset by the time you reach the Eastern edge of Greenest, even at the brisk pace that you will undoubtedly set. With some amount of hope and a lot of luck, you may still be able to prevent a catastrophe.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The horizon bleeds orange as you crest the final hill and see the town of Greenest just miles away. Normally a traveller would be delighted by this sight, but instead of the pleasant, welcoming town one would expect, you see columns of black smoke rising from burning buildings, and running figures that are little more than dots from this distance. A dark, winged shape wheels low over the keep that rises above the center of town.

Greenest is under attack.

[Please consult the map of Greenest I have provided to determine the means of your approach. You are traveling west, and will enter from the east side of the map.]

Gwen stares at the flying monstrosity attacking the keep, mouth agape. "Is that..." She blinks several times, rubs her eyes, and pinches herself. "Is that a dragon?!"

Alibastar turns from the doorway to see Amafrey running over. "I'll get her, Amafrey, I promise." When it felt like she could support herself, he released the embrace. "And we'll both make it back here safe. Don't worry. I have some great companions." He rubbed her shoulder comfortingly and turned back, heading out the door to find that all that was left was one small cart. He turned to Torfinn. "I guess we're walking. If we leave right now, we'll get there by sundown."
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"That's the dragon, that's what I saw," was all the Alibastar could seem to say to Gwen.

"Well look at that Sam, you 'cart' isn't as bad as I thought.  Maybe would should give it a name?  Spruce, Igneous, Magma, Nimbus, Riptide?"

On the long jaunt over to Greenest, "So I know Sam's story, how about yall?  I'm a young once Elven woman from Luskan then known as Sauvra.  Apparently I found out a few decades ago that I am of a cursed breed of elves tainted with the blood from demonic veins; now I am called Nocturne.  I found solace from my condition in a druidic order that I am forbidden in giving details about.  I am extremely interested in the laws of nature and the natural world as well as history."  

OOC: I would deliver this in small pieces while we back and forth our individual stories.
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"Oh, a blue dragon." (ooc: its hard to be a know-it-all character when there are minimal knowledge skills) Nature roll to know the abilities of dragons (r14+3=17) or Arcana if that is more usful (r19+5=24)
"A LIGHTENING DRAGON! THAT EXPLAINS THE STORM!"

Gwen tries to look at Nocturne, but can't tear her eyes away from the horrifying beast. "Gee that makes everything better. Not only can it ravage everything in sight, it can also summon fucking lightening storms..." She trails off as it makes another pass over the keep. "So... last chance for anyone who wants to not die to get out of here." She pauses, and [ooc: i'm making an assumption! hooray!] when no one says anything, she continues, "so we need to do something here, probably. You look like you've seen some shit, Torfinn, how do you suggest we proceed?"

Torfinn stares stone faced at the dragon on the horizon. Suddenly a smile spreads across his face that depicts something between complete joy and unrelenting blood lust, "Ontharr you great fool, this is one adventure you will regret passing up. The glory will be all mine this time, HAHA I cant wait to see the look on your face!" Torfinn turns to the group, smile still on his face "This is not going to be easy lads, for one this thing flies and we dont. Secondly if nocturne is right, this thing can probably attack at range." The smile suddenly fades from Torfinns face, and an air of authority takes over him "Since we cant fly we either have to position our selves at its level or bring it down to us. The keep is well positioned and well constructed for a ground attack; this though leaves little to be said about an attack from the sky other than the height it provides. The keep would be our best attack point but reaching the it would prove to be difficult for we have no cover between the houses and it. This leaves us with bringing it down. The best place to do this would be among the houses but we must be sure to not endanger any of the villagers, I'm sure they will have fled to the keep but we must take caution on collateral damage in case a few are left behind. We need to move in split groups, in close formation, to draw its attention and hope it gives up on taking pot shots at us at least long enough to either break for the keep or pin it down for a full on assault." Torfinn pauses to look at each of the groups members, the smile suddenly returns to his face "So lets go piss off this thing and show it what we can do, eh?"

"Lead the way, Torfinn, where should we start?" Alibastar takes a deep breath, holding his composure as well as he can, but the fear is making a clear impression on his outward appearance.
"We also need to be careful of the cohort that sacked the inn, I'm sure they're down there and will complicate everything for us."

[Nature roll result for the dragon. I wrote this with the Pokédex voice in my head.]

Though you can't quite make out the color of the beast, the physical features you spot lead you to believe that it is a Blue Dragon. By the size of it, it looks to be an adult, which would put it anywhere between 100 and 400 years of age.

Blue dragons harness the power of lightning. Ancient proverbs and old fishermen tales claim that wherever blue dragons go, storms follow. They are highly dangerous creatures at any age, however, an adult is known to be capable of reducing an entire host of trained soldiers to pile of charred ashes with a single breath. If you are lucky enough to escape its lightning breath, you are still at risk for any number of attacks involving its huge claws, wings, tail, and/or teeth.

One needn't worry, however, because most who come close enough to face a blue dragon are stricken with paralyzing fear and never even see their own death coming.

"I agree with Torfinn about our defensive tactical plan when it comes to the dragon and protecting casualties. I don't think that I have it in me to face another dragon (deception r6+3=9...)... ...I mean, what? Um, oh, so maybe we focus on whomever brought their pet dragon? Probably the weather witch."

"The thugs will prove little to worry about but it's true the witch will be a challenge. I say we approach from the south eastern side by the river. The tree's should give us some cover to scout the area and maybe find the witch if she is in fact controlling it"

"Alright, Torfinn, lead the way." Gwen draws her bow and notches an arrow, waiting for Torfinn to lead the charge.

The sun has completely set by the time you reach the edge of town. A full moon hangs in the night sky like a gas lamp, aiding your feet in finding solid ground. Thatched roof buildings come into view, mostly dark and quiet, though in many the bright orange glow of fire issues forth from the windows and doorways, accompanied by thick black columns of smoke. [Investigation, DC 10] Dark, hooded figures prowl the streets alongside small bands of kobolds and ragtag groups of humans in shoddy armor. [Insight, DC 5] The road you are on becomes the main street that runs through town and is likely the most direct way to get to most places; it is also likely being patrolled very heavily, though buildings, debris, and the dim lighting could aid in providing cover. North of the main road there is little aside from open field. Southward are smaller side roads with buildings that appear to have also been sacked judging the fires escaping from some. Even further south, a narrow stream snakes along bordered by thick shrubbery.

You make your way south following Torfinn's lead. You stay on the outskirts of town just enough so that you avoid detection. As you approach the stream, you see that it is no more than 10 feet across at its widest point. The brush on either side is quite dense and would provide excellent cover, but movement would be very slow going. [50 ft/minute] The stream itself looks to be pretty shallow, though there is a 5 foot slope on either side to get in or out of it.

[Stealth checks made in the stream brush have advantage. Feel free to make any desired checks or ask any questions.]

Stealth roll (Nat 1 + 1 = fail...) I wait for the result of my failure before I ruin anything else.

Forgot advantage! Stealth roll 18+1=19!

Do we see any distinguishing marking on the cultists (hooded people) ? Do they have an origination structure, do they have any bosses giving orders to cultist or kobolds?

You have not gotten close enough to see any distinguishing marks on their robes or if they have any pendants/jewelry/weaponry that would have identified them. Likewise you have not spotted anyone that would look like they are in command or higher ranked. Their behavior suggests that they all know what they're supposed to be accomplishing, likely a simple task. The investigation roll I mentioned up there will give you more information into what they're up to.