Session 16: A Dragon Over Phandalin

The adventurers rush back to Phandalin to defend it from several threats.

Summary
As the adventurers neared Phandalin they heard the tolling of the bell above Dawn's Shield Keep. In the distance, they saw orcs fleeing the town with loot and above Phandalin they saw a circling white dragon.

Latham advanced on his mount, ahead of his companions. When the other adventurers arrived the encountered Daran Edermath felling an orc, a quivering Elmar Barthen clutched at Daran's cloak.

Daran sent the adventurers to the town green while he gathered his workers at his orchard. At the town green, the adventurers witnessed Toblen Stonehill and Tibor Wester trying to gather townsfolk to the Stonehill Inn while L'aela used her longbow to strike down fleeing orcs.

With chaos breaking out across the town, the adventurers were unsure of where to start. Spills the Stew implored that the party needed to somehow help everyone in town, at once.

To The Keep!
Quoorin, Moneux and Jester had the townsfolk gathered around the Stonehill Inn head to the keep. As they approached, they could hear shouting from atop the keep and saw Carp Alderleaf hanging from the belfry. Moneux galloped forward to save the young halfling boy.

Meanwhile, as Quoorin approached the doors to Dawn's Shield Keep, the doors swung open to reveal Adabra Gwyn on the other side. As the townsfolk flooded into the keep, Adabra said she heard intruders in the basement of the keep.

L'aela and Spills the Stew left the keep to gather others.

Alderleaf Farm
Injured farmers from Alderleaf Farm rushed into the town green as Quoorin and Moneux led the others to safety. Varien split from his companions to inspect the farm. When the half-elf arrived he saw orcs fleeing with sacks of crops. Varien was able to incapacitate the orcs before inspecting the storehouse that they fled from.

The Townmaster's Hall
When Latham made his way into town, he ran into Tibor Wester trying to gather miners at the Stonehill Inn. Tibor had not seen Harbin since the chaos broke out and implored the goliath find Harbin while he stayed to gather the miners.

Trouble in the Basement
Quoorin, Ravana and Jester told Tibor and Toblen to keep the townsfolk in the main hall of the keep before the trio descended into the basement of the keep. In the cavern below Dawn's Shield Keep, the two adventurers heard distant shouting. As Quoorin and Jester closed in on the source of the voices Moneux and Varien arrived after having saved Carp Alderleaf and Qelline Alderleaf respectively.

The Adventurers Reunite
Latham returned to the keep with Spills the Stew as Jester, Moneux, Quoorin and Varien returned from the basement.

Moneux rescued Carp from falling off the roof of the keep but the young halfling said he felt something push him before he fell, the only thing Moneux could find out of place in the upper floors of the keep was a discarded reversible, red and black cloak.

Quoorin and Jester reported that Don-Jon fought against invaders in the basement but the circumstances around the situation seemed suspicious. One of the invaders in the basement also had a reversible, red and black cloak.

Varien rescued Qelline Alderleaf after being attacked by orcs that raided her farm. The halfling farmer described the arrival of the orcs occuring before the dragon appeared.

Latham regretted to inform his companions that Harbin had died at the hands of some assailants and that the townmaster's hall had been set ablaze.

Devils in the Keep
The townsfolk were given the orders to head into the basement of the keep at the same time as a horned devil — the fiend summoned by the Deck of Many Things to torment Quoorin — appeared with a cadre of spined devils. The menacing fiends started slaying the defenseless townsfolk before the adventurers could move to protect them.

As the party engaged in battle with the devils the white dragon made its appearance and assaulted the adventurers through windows and breaking through the doors to the keep.

The Fates
The dragon and the demons proved to be a deadly force, felling both Varien and Morgana. Quoorin's devil teased the adventurers as they concentrated their attacks on him and the dragon ripped through the windows of the keep to nearly bring Latham to his death as well.

The situation grew more dire with each passing moment. Latham concentrated on the moment and whispered something to himself before the adventurers found themselves surrounded by townsfolk in the main hall of Dawn's Shield Keep, moments before the arrival of Quoorin's devil.

Latham had used the power of The Fates to erase a moment from the day. The adventurers only had the foggiest memory of what happened before until it completely slipped from their minds as the townsfolk made their way to the basement of the keep, this time without the intervention of Quoorin's devil.

Facing the Dragon
As the citizens of Phandalin made their way to safety the party heard the sounds of the white dragon and readied themselves for combat. Latham, Quoorin, Ravana and Spills the Stew faced the dragon on the ground while Moneux, Jester and Varien moved to the roof of the keep to attack from afar. As the battle ensued, the adventurers had the scaly beast on the ropes.

The dragon attempted to use a magical bead that hung from its neck against the adventurers but L'aela appeared and shot the bead mid-air, causing it to crash against the ground before the area around the bead disappeared as if the ground was scooped out. Quoorin and Ravana surrounded the dragon as it took flight and pulled at another bead, a mote of flame crashed against the dragon's body. The adventurers looked at the source of the fire to see Shanjan rushing toward the keep, wielding a sword and staff. The adventurers attacking from the rooftop heard the sounds of footsteps on roof tiles before a human man rushed past and leapt from the roof to send a kick that crashed into the dragon's skull. The man landed on the ground and spoke to Latham in a lighthearted manner, it was Davos Seafarer one of Latham's Hands of the Shield.

The dragon fled from the keep as the adventurers continued to launch attacks at the beast, though it managed to escape to the east, toward the Sword Mountains.

Player Characters

 * Jester the satyr arcane trickster
 * Latham the goliath paladin of devotion
 * Moneux the shifter beast master
 * Quoorin the wood elf battle master
 * Varien the half-elf warlock of the fiend

Non-Player Characters

 * Adabra Gwyn, the female human alchemist in service to Dawn's Shield Keep.
 * Carp Alderleaf, the young male halfling son of Qelline Alderleaf.
 * Daran Edermath, the gray-haired male half-elf owner of the apple orchard in Phandalin.
 * Davos Seafarer, the human monk of Ilmater and one of the founding members of The Shielding Hand.
 * Don-Jon Raskin, the male human overseer formerly employed by the Neverwinter Consortium. He is now the chamberlain of Tresendar Manor.
 * Elmar Barthen, the male human owner of Barthen's Provisions.
 * Godwin, the male human blacksmith of Phandalin that has pledged his service to Dawn's Shield Keep.
 * Harbin Wester, the male human townmaster of Phandalin and doppelganger in disguise.
 * Knock, the magical familiar of Jester.
 * L'aela, the female elf sister of Tymora in Phandalin
 * Morgana, the panther animal companion to Moneux.
 * Poe, the raven familiar to Varien.
 * Qelline Alderleaf, the female halfling owner of Alderleaf Farm.
 * Quoorin's Devil, the devil that appears to torment Quoorin.
 * Ravana, a female elf that was summoned by the Deck of Many Things to serve Quoorin.
 * Shanjan, the male human wizard/fighter and member of The Shielding Hand.
 * Spills the Stew, a male tabaxi bard and adventurer looking to catalog the adventures of heroes.
 * Tibor Wester, the male human contractor and half-brother of Harbin Wester. He now runs the Phandalin Mining Exchange.
 * Toblen Stonewhill, the male human innkeep of the Stonehill Inn.

Deaths

 * Harbin Wester, killed during the chaos of the attack on Phandalin.