Conflict in the Cave

Well, we did it. I'm still not sure if it was what we were supposed to do or not, but I think it was almost certainly the best possible outcome we could have hoped for. It was anything but a quick and easy process, but we managed to recover all of the missing people intact and more or less healthy. Armin and the rest of the guards had been captured by the young green dragon formerly known as Sunset is Nigh, and they managed to stay alive by sheer nature of being too intimidated to fight back. As much as we judged them for their actions, they were able to come out of the situation alive and go home to their families because we came and rescued them, so it all worked out for the best in the end even if I don't understand their choices.
 
There was an Yuan-ti by the name of Merlissa who had found Sunset is Nigh some time ago, and had been watching over him and guiding him down a path that would lead only to needless pain and suffering. The majority of the group quickly dispatched her while Finn talked to the young dragon, and managed to convince him that he should stop listening to Merlissa and explore his options elsewhere. I've never known Finn to be especially good with words, but I guess there must have been some connection or commonality between the two of them because the dragon heeded her advice and quickly turned against his former mentor. We played along with his idea of slaying her even though she was already dead, and in the process I was rendered unconscious.
 
This is not the first time I have stared death in the face, but it is the first time it has shaken me to this extent. I've survived worse, I've recovered from more grievous injuries, this was a simple snake bite. While it certainly hurt, I don't think it was the injury itself that affected me this much, it was the context of it. While Finn and I have worked together quite a bit, I don't tend to surround myself with people. And while we've only worked together for 3 days I have quickly grown to appreciate them, some more than others. Buck told me about his fiancé's death, and while we never had anything nearly as serious as that, I wouldn't want to think about losing him now that I've started to reconnect with him, and after tonight I can only assume he feels the same, at least to some extent.
 
But anyway, Buck brought me back to consciousness and got me back on my feet and we finished off the snakes, and then reconvened with the dragon. I went outside and called to Elidor, knowing he had to be around somewhere and hoping he was willing to do something to help the dragon we had rescued? Converted? Gotten to side with us. Thankfully he seems to be a reasonable man and he accepted the newly christened Phosphorous Sulfide as his newest pupil and took him home. We then took a much needed rest, which gave me the chance to get my head straight and focus on what needed to be focused on. I know I said it shook me, but I didn't think it would be obvious enough that everyone would feel the need to fuss over me. Anyway so we cleared out the rest of the cave and looted a bunch of treasure and collected a variety of different materials and components that should be very useful for crafting some new items.
 
We got everyone home safely, told the council members all about it, and barely managed to keep Buck from murdering them for their incompetence and prejudice. We made it back to Silverhaven without trouble, and found out someone new is running the Inn cause the previous woman running it went crazy. We all headed back to our rooms, and Buck and I had some interesting conversation, and then enjoyed a nice refreshing bath, together. The End.