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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mikeawmids" data-source="post: 8011853" data-attributes="member: 6776411">The Adventures of Fap Longwood #23 (Tyranny of Dragons)The party arrive in Thundertree three days later. An overgrown road winds between dilapidated buildings, choked with thorny weeds. A partially collapsed stone tower squats atop a forested rise overlooking the abandoned village. It is eerily quiet, even the birds and the beasts of Neverwinter Wood avoid this place. A warning sign has been nailed to a post on the edge of the town, reading;DANGER! DRAGON! TURN BACK NOW!Fap and Mara exchange apprehensive glances, whilst Horatio chuckles in anticipation of encountering such a terrible adversary.The party are on the lookout for Ma Drendar’s old herbalist shop, where a valuable emerald necklace lies hidden beneath the floorboards. Instead, they encounter a group of masked cultists hauling a heavy chest through the ruins of Thundertree. The cultists don’t notice the heroes noticing them and the party quietly join the curious procession as it moves toward the fallen tower.“Oh great and formidable Venomfang!” cries the cult spokesperson, as the others deposit the heavy chest upon the ground, “We offer tribute to your majesty and deliver an offer of allegiance with the Masters of the Dragon Cult.”A young green dragon emerges from the top of the ruined tower, extending its long, serpentine neck to investigate the contents of the chest. The cultists lift the lid and the party see the gleam of treasure reflected in the dragon’s avaricious gaze.“Our master, Severin Silrajin is raising an army of dragons to conquer all of these Forgotten Realms. When he heard of the mighty Venomfang, he knew he needed you at his side and dispatched us to broker an alliance.“Even now, our forces march on the Greenfields and the town of Greenest. Join us in the destruction of their pitiful town and claim your share of the glory!”“This sounds bad.” Fap mutters.“Never slain me a dragon.” Horatio adds, sliding Talon from its scabbard.“We have to stop this.” Mara agrees.The heroes edge forward, hoping to catch the cultists and their draconic ally by surprise. Unfortunately, the big lizard senses them creeping around.“WHO ELSE IS WITH YOU?” the dragon roars, “I SMELL DWARVES, SKULKING IN THE SHADOWS!”“No-one, great Venomfang!” the cultists protest, “We came alone!”Since their cover is blown, the party abandon all pretence of stealth and Mara initiates combat with her new third level offensive spell Lightning Bolt. She catches two cultists and the dragon in the beam, killing the humans and injuring Venomfang. The cultists rush to defend their draconic ally, leaving one man to guard the offering. Two cultists gang up on Mara and slash at her robes with barbed scimitars. Venomfang exhales a cloud of poison gas over the two dwarves, happily they both enjoy a racial resilience to poison. Fap drops his Hunters Mark on the dragon and opens fire. Horatio has no means of attacking the dragon from the ground, so he focuses on thinning out the number of masked fanatics running around.Mara casts Lightning Bolt a second time. Venomfang lands beside her and snaps Mara up in his jaws! Her soft Halfling flesh is ripped and town by the dragon’s fangs and she suffers additional damage from his acidic saliva! Venomfang shakes the little wizard like a ragdoll then casts her limp body aside. Mara is unconscious and dying!The party concentrate fire on the dragon, it retaliates with another cone of poisonous breath. Two of the dragon cultists are caught in the cloud and collapse, choking on the deadly gas. The dragon scrambles up the exterior wall of the tower, knocking over the chest and spilling gold across the ground. Horatio switches to his crossbow and fires up at the dragon, somehow managing to such a huge, obvious target.“I really need to practise with this thing!” Horatio grumbles to himself.Having been reduced to 41hp, Venomfang takes wing and flies away, to fight again another day. Seeing their draconic ally abandon its lair, the surviving dragon cultists beat a hasty retreat. Brian heals Mara, then the party loot the dragon’s hoard and gather up all the scattered coins from the cult offering (770 gold, Scrolls of Lightning Bolt & Misty Step and a +1 dwarven battleaxe called Hew that automatically deals max damage against plant monsters). Nobody really wants the axe, so it will eventually make its way into the parties’ armoury at Hallwinter Hold.The party realise they have a responsibility to travel to Neverwinter and warn someone about the imminent dragon attacks in the Greenfields. Fap digs up his girlfriend’s necklace, hoping that he will get the chance to return it to her in person some day. Brian casts Sending to communicate with his mentor Daran Edermath in Phandalin.EVERYONE SAFE STOP GOING TO GREENEST TO THWART DRAGON CULT STOP FAP SAYS TELL MIRNA HE FOUND NECKLACE AND MISSES HER ALREADY STOP SEE YOU SOON STOP</blockquote>

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