Black & White; Green & Grey

 
The ‘damsel in distress’ turned out to be an Elven Druid who was simply posing as a damsel in distress. Upon rendering aid (which she did not, in fact, need she gave us a blessing, along with some rather powerful garlands that protected us from Chuff’s animal spies in the forest as well as boosting our courage when we faced the vile green monster itself. Such a strange way to decide if you want to help someone who is trying to help the people and animals under one’s care. To each their own I suppose. Based on the duplicitous nature of the village warden, perhaps her caution was indeed warranted. Perhaps there are as many shades of grey in Faerun as there are in the Shadowfell…they simply are not represented in the visual spectrum.
 
Newly blessed and protected we moved along. Eventually we decided to make camp and rest for the night before arriving at the cave. Early that morning during my watch, I saw the dragon flying off toward the direction we’d come from. The next morning we moved in to find a pool of water fed by a waterfall. The vaporous mist created by the waterfall seemed to be magical in nature, though we have yet to understand what, if anything, it actually does. Titus’ investigation of the place revealed that there was an underwater tunnel leading to a cave behind and under the waterfall and pool.
 
Inside we first encountered a small group of wood elves that had traded their dignity, honor, and self respect for their lives – to serve the very dragon that destroyed their homes and murdered their kin. This first group fought us sadly. We were able to incapacitate them and ended up simply binding and gagging the lot of them. With edge of threat in my voice I was able to convince them they should help us. We learned there were more elves, a number of cultists, some ettins, and a room for the green wyrmspeaker all located within the cave – in addition to the dragon of course.
 
When we located the area with the cultists, Nuri donned a magical disguise to impersonate of the elves we’d just subdued, and the rest of us pretended to be new cult recruits. The charade lasted just long enough for Virgil to block the back exit. The battle was surprisingly brutal. More than one of their higher ranking members, the so-called Dragonfangs, were present. They also had an unusually large gladiator amongst their ranks that landed blows not unlike the power displayed by Virgil. Titus was knocked unconscious briefly, and nearly all of us were in pretty bad shape, but in the end we slaughtered them all.
Near the end of that fight Virgil seemed to be a madman.. madcow? Madbull? Mad-a-taur? Well, anyway. I’d not ever seen him exhibit quite so much unchecked fury before. In the back of my mind I felt a tickle.. a remembrance. I began to wonder about the vicious blade he carried. I know it has spoken to him before… could it be affecting him? Surely not, but then... Well, that had to be a matter for another time. At that moment we still had to finish scouting the rest of the cave and determine if the Ettins and wyrmspeaker were about. I was hopeful that the dragon had not yet returned, though we had no way of knowing.
 
Titus’ lack of experience showed as we moved through the cave complex, setting off an acid trap at the wyrmspeaker’s door. Lucky for him he is quick as lightning, and avoided the acid splash altogether. I was not so fortunate. The wyrmspeaker was not in his room, which aside from a good deal of art was largely bare. Unsurprisingly the green mask was not here. A brief perusal through his journal revealed that the wyrmspeaker was indeed the lost son of the forest king, one Nerovain, and that all of the masks have been ordered to be held at the Well of Dragons – the cult’s stronghold. It seemed hunting dragon masks was now out of the question.
 
The last portion of the upper cave we explored had more wood elves, and 3 very hungry and grumpy ettins. Nuri was able to convince these elves that this was their chance to escape. As they were making their way out though, the ettins noticed the group and attacked. All but one of the elves managed to get out alive. The ettins fell to the barrage of spells and swords from my comrades and the aid of two the elves who clearly had battle prowess. One of the ettins had a powerful belt slung across his body. When we have more time, I believe this will bear additional investigation and study. If this wondrous item is what I think it is, it might solve a few of our merry little bands’ problems.
 
The only potential path forward now was down. Down into the depths of a strange pool inside the cave. Conrad, bless his curious fire-engulfed little heart, stumbled upon the perfect solution to our quandry with his inquisitive nature and love of learning. He was studying an alter near where the elves had been gathered and managed to activate this deity’s blessing upon all of us-enabling us to breathe underwater for a time. Uncertain of how long the blessing would last, we abandoned any thoughts of trying to rest before diving down to the dragon’s lair, and so we went.
 
Chuff’s lair appeared to be empty upon our arrival. We began a cursory look around. For my part, I was trying to determine where the best place to be standing might be when the dragon arrived. There were a few places that might serve as hiding spots, or cover, but I wanted to be near his point of entry, so I ended up near the large pool we’d just emerged from.
 
As one might expect, if one knows very much about dragons at all, nothing went according to plan. While Conrad was busy talking about some rusty artifact in one corner, a voice boomed out, and movement from the ceiling of the cavern quickly turned into a ferocious fight for our lives. Chuff entered the fray slashing and biting and breathing poisonous gases. His lair, having a mind of its own, produced inconveniently placed walls of thorns and bramble. Conrad was hurting pretty badly, as was Nuri. Virgil and I were trying to rush in to help. When we finally got the chance to begin really driving our blades home I had, at once, this sense of hope and ill-ease. As the dragon body slumped to the ground we all sensed something amiss. It had been too easy. And we were right.
 
Just as Chuff’s simulacrum crumpled to the ground the real dragon, along with his rider, the elven prince, came bursting out of the pool. The dragon made full use of the enormous cavern, staying high and out of reach, darting across the room. Titus and Virgil were chasing after it, Nuri was trying to get away from it to make best use of her spells, and I was making futile attempts to predict where it might run to.
All the while, Neronvain was shooting some sort of magical arrows at us. Fortunately for all of us, he was a terrible shot. Eventually Virgil managed to jump up and grab just enough of the dragon’s wing to get carried along for the ride.
 
Then, Titus had the brilliant idea to antagonize the monster by playing with its treasure hoard. Chuff flew over and began a vicious series of attacks. I raced over downing my potion of growth as I went. With the dragon now in reach for me both Virgil and I were able to begin hacking and slashing. Nuri was sending powerful spell after powerful spell. Conrad was desperately trying to keep us all alive with his healing magic, but eventually the dragon felled Titus. Shortly after this though Chuff breathed his last, falling to the barrage of swords and magic that we assailed him with.
 
Conrad was able to call upon Titus’ spirit to come back, breathing life back into the monk. Even as he was healed, and the pall that pervaded the lair lifted revealing a lovely underground grotto, I began to feel a sense of solemn dread. This fight had been close. We had close calls in the past, more than one, but something about this felt different.
I considered this quest we had embarked on. A king so bent with pride he lied about the dire need of his people. A village elder so terrified and weak he aided the enemy in destroying his kin. A dragon so powerful it made a likeness of itself to weaken us before we even faced it. How is it that we are the heroes of this tale? Where are the legendary heroes of old? Where are the armies of the Sword Coast?
 
Conrad and I have seen at least two other dragons that fight for the cult, and we know of two more still that have aligned with them. How many more are there? How much time do we have? I do hope we get to bring vengeance down on old Snaggletooth, and eventually Lenithon the Blue who helped decimate Greenest before our very eyes.
 
The treasures we found in Chuff’s lair will help us in our cause. As I had pondered early during our arrival at the cavern, Virgil had been struggling greatly to battle the will of the evil blade Haziwran that he used to great effect in battle. With the magical belt that grants me the strength of a Hill Giant, I could now wield the evil greatsword. Confident in my ability to resist its charms, I tuned into the mighty weapon. Unfortunately, during the trip back to Waterdeep I came to understand the depth of its wickedness, and decided the sword must be put away, never to be used. I expect I would be better able to resist its nefarious influences than did Virgil, but came to believe it was not worth the risk. Fortunately, we happen to know just the person to meet this goal: Sand. So eager to get his paws on the dark blade Sand traded us two longswords. I have spent time learning the secrets of one of those swords and its radiant brilliance is a thing of beauty. Calling up the blade causes an energy field to spring forth from the hilt, and I can sense Qotl’s approval each time I bring it forth. It is an almost holy light, and it harmonizes with the strength imbued to me through Qotl’s blessings and knowledge. The other blade I hold on my back I shall reserve for use against dragons, as it was crafted with this purpose in mind.
 
Conrad has seen a cry for help from his old colleagues during his scrying sessions, and so soon we will venture out to their last known location. I just pray we do not immediately find a Lich waiting for us. I doubt we are strong enough to face such a mighty foe.