Dealing with a Dragon

The ground shook beneath our feet and Tharra and Mirielle pulled us all back into the tent. Braenor went out to meet whatever was out in the fog, but after hearing some muffled speaking his body was suddenly flung back through the entrance of the tent, and we heard a voice booming out “I can smell you! Come out!”
 
Dru created a wind to clear the poisonous fog, and he and I stepped out of the tent to meet a huge green dragon. It was Slarkrathel. He demanded the other come out of the tent as well, and Zarruk, Po, and Shiara join us. We tried talking to the beast, and he lamented that while he holds power now in the High Forest, there were four others seeking to diminish his power. At least one of these he acknowledged as the god Bane, one of the triumvirate we fought against. He also spoke of seven that he held dear, which became apparent were Lilith and her coven of Damon, Rezic, and the others.
 
Slarkrathel yearned for the time before the chaos, and wanted to try to destroy these new gods and return to the old balance of power. He said there was a rumor of a great power being unleashed and the old good gods like Silvanus being reverted back to mortal form. He offered a deal to us. He would allow us to live if we would serve him and help him destroy the triumvirate of Baal, Bane, and Merkyl. We were hesitant, especially since it was clear he had already allied himself with the Lovelocks, but we were left with little choice. He demanded each of us sign an agreement with our blood, but Shiara offered her own as representative of the group, showing him her papers of pedigree. Surprisingly the dragon agreed, and although I was loathed to let her do it, Shiara signed her name in blood on a parchment. The dragon said that she would now be responsible for the group and would have to report to him regularly on our progress, but that he would grant us safe passage out of the forest. With a swirl of fog the dragon then took wing and flew away, disappearing beyond the trees.
 
We managed to recover the gear we had taken from the bandit camp. Tharra and Mirielle had found it and hidden it. Shiara and I spent some time identifying the magical items and distributing the most valuable among the group, then we placed the rest of the items in the bag of holding. Shiara then sent a message by way of a bird, presumably to a family member.
 
We gave a few of the items to Egert so that he wouldn’t be without some means of defending himself, and then we took our leave. Egert, Mirielle, Tharra, and Braenor stayed behind in the forest. I told Mirielle that if she ever needed a safe place to stay to look for the Shrine of Silvanus in Windholm; she could tell Brother Beocca that I had sent her. Hopefully it is still standing and being maintained against this evil.
 
I summoned a celestial spirit in the form of an elk for Shiara to ride, since she did not seem well prepared for travel through a forest. As we prepared to depart I asked Dru to take the lead, but he transformed into an eagle and took flight, quickly rising above the forest and disappearing. Dre said she would catch up to him and speak with him, and she transformed as well and followed her brother. That left us to rely on Po to find our way out of the forest. We eventually did find the path and made our way to the edge of the High Forest, but what waited for us was even more disturbing than what we found at Shadowtop. The landscape was covered in darkness, the town of Stiljabyr lay in ruins, black obsidian-like shards covered the ground with faint blue flames scattered in the distance, and the air was frigid cold. Looking ahead, we saw a group of lights moving and begin making their way towards us.