Farooq got to his feet and rushed up the stairs towards the dragon, who was hiding amongst the remains of the second floor ceiling. Bronn summoned forth his spiritual hammer and began attacking. Nash, with the capabilities of the spider climb spell, walked down the wall till he had a shot at the dragon, fired and retreated back up. Finder cast a faerie fire spell which had no effect upon the dragon.
Farooq attacked the dragon with his long spear and Venomfang reciprocated in kind. Being harried from above, the dragon sent forth a blast of his poisonous breath weapon at Nash and Finder, who resisted most of it with their protective magics. Those two quickly split apart from each other so that they would not make such an inviting target for the dragon breath.
Venomfang climbed up onto the other side of the ceiling so he could more directly attack Nash and Finder. Farooq raced up along the inside of the tower stairs until he got to a point where he had to make a heroic leap across the open tower to stab at his foe. Venomfang was looking severely wounded from the combined attacks of the group. He lashed out with his wing buffet once again, this time knocking Farooq off the platform to fall to the level below, who barely saved himself from falling all the way to the bottom. The dragon flew up out of the top of the tower in a great burst of speed and tore off towards the west, diving low for cover behind buildings as he went.
The Phandalin Five had sent the evil green dragon packing and he did not return. They went through the dragon's small trove of treasure finding silver and gold coins as well as 4 silver goblets, 2 magical spell scrolls, and a magical battleaxe. They soon had their prize loaded up and decided to check in on the Druid before they left, but he was nowhere to be found.
They took a short rest in their copse of trees and then were off, following the river once more back to Neverwinter. They needed to collect Chester before they headed home to Phandalin. The journey back was a relatively uneventful and warm Flamerule day, and they began to feel like they were finally drying out from the downpour of the previous day. At noon they had an encounter with a beautiful elf who they heard singing down at the river. They mostly avoided interacting with the shy creature, but Finder at one point accompanied the soft singing of the elf with his Lute, which drew her attention. She spoke in elven and asked questions about Finder's race, but was very shy and would not approach.
When their lunch was done, the got their things together and continued on, the strange elven creature watching them as they walked away. The rest of the journey home was just as peaceful. They decided to push on and arrived at the gates of Neverwinter well past civilized hours, but they were recognized by the guardsmen and were allowed entry.
They soon found themselves settling into their inn rooms once again, finding that Chester had learned how to disguise his form into that of a doorway, rather than just a chest. Nash gave him from meat and Chester was pleased. They group divided up their treasure and were soon retiring for the night. In the morning Nash and Finder went to the Starshine academy once more and spoke with Keeper Volstag, informing him of the events with the green dragon, Venomfang. They asked for information about mimics and after negotiating payment, their request to send the findings along to Phandalin by courier was agreed to.
Without wasting too much of the day, they loaded up their goods (And Chester) into the cart and set out for Phandalin along the High Road. Once again they began their journey on a dark and rainy day, setting their moods a bit darker than they had hoped. They were far travelers now and had better get used to inclement weather.
The ambush actually came as a surprise. As they were moving along the road, through a lightly wooded area, Venomfang sprang from hiding and blasted the cart and those on it with his noxious breath attack. Finder, Bronn, Chester and Stinky all suffered damage from the blast. Once they overcame their shock, the team acted quickly. Nash had been keeping a distance away as they walked and immediately began sending arrow after arrow flying towards the dragon. Farooq, who had been riding slightly ahead, wheeled his horse around and charged back towards the battle, leaping from his horse to circle around the side of the dragon.
Finder used a great burst of feline speed to get some distance from the fight so he could use his spells to most advantage. Bronn laughed excitedly as he bounded off the cart with his new axe in hand. He swatted stinky on the behind and sent him charging down the road with the cart and Chester, as he turned and attacked the dragon with a double handed axe grip. Bronn and Farooq engaged in a fierce melee with the dragon as their friends sent forth their deadly ranged attacks. Venomfang used his wing buffet ability to good end and kept knocking Farooq and Bronn prone, using this advantage to land mighty blows upon them with claws and teeth.
Farooq had suffered mighty wounds and just before he was about to fall, Bronn moved and cast a powerful cure wounds spell upon him, invigorating the warrior to fight on. The battle raged on for a few more moments as Venomfang seemed to be severely wounded and was looking for a way to escape. That was not going to happen this time. Just as he wheeled to flee, Finder's agonizing blasts tore through the dragon's neck, all but severing his head. He gurgled mightily as his head lolled back, hanging by a thread of tough hide. the next moment he was crashing to the ground, snapping a tree as he fell.
The group cheered for their success! They had finished off the villainous creature finally and had some cuts and bruises to show for it, but what a great trophy to return to Phandalin with...
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