Having defeated Grannoc one way or another our heroes took stock. Taking a moment to regain their breath it was clear that were all close to exhaustion having been fighting or travelling for over ten hours. The orc assault seemed to be quieting, the majority of their forces either slain or leacing with plundered treasure, but there were still many enemies roaming around let alone a Dragon somewhere in the city. Nontheless they decided to keep pushing on, heading to the Stonehill Inn next.
Idris quickly spoke to the townsfolk that hid in the Townmaster's Hall and tried to convince them to flee but fear gripped their heart and they refused. He did not press the issue seeing as the hall did seem to be safe for the moment.
Before they made the dash across the square to the inn, Siax had a look. He saw multiple Orcish corpses outside and even a living orc stumbling out of the building seemingly half melted, before it collapsed among it's fellows. Making their way there proved to be without incident but instead of entering they called to whoever lay inside. A gruff Dwarven voice answered asking Siax to say something only Siax would know before bursting out in laughter. Inviting them in the party saw the two Rockseeker brothers hastily disabling a trap they had set. The Dwarves were happy to see the party and explained that they had been in the city for a day when the attack happened and they could not leave the poor Stonehill family defenseless so they had fought back and made the inn into their castle. They gave four healing potions to the party once they saw how injured and broken they were.
Stealthily appearing next to the party a gruff cloaked figure joined them, revealing that Falcon aka Falcon was in the city. He explained that he had been hunting orcs for the last ten day and had been harrying and sabotaging the army that now lay waste to Phandalin. A severed orc head lay on his belt, a grim reminder of how deadly this man could be.
From the back emerged Adabra Gwynn the healer, who had also joined this impromptu group and was tending to any wounds they had received. She rushed over to Zenari who was behaving oddly since her meeting with Cryovain and looked her over checking for wounds. Falcon left to go fetch the people left in Townmaster's Hall. They knew and trusted him so he though he could bring them back to the safer inn.
Before much else could be exchanged a half orc ancorite, wearing vestments similar to what Grannoc had been wearing was seen cajoling and bullying a Troll and a band of Orcs to attack the inn. Everyone braced and was ready when the creatures arrived. The troll attempted to bash the inn door down but a combination of Zenari disorienting it with her magic and Idris's skill with the shield it was kept back. Orcs streamed in and Pine held the line alongside his erstwhile mentors, the Rockseekers in a brutal fashion, his power to call down divine magic feeling far far away in his exhausted state.
Siax made good use of the odd new greatbow he had acquired, skewering orc after orc from a nearby window, the added strength from the bows size making the arrows easily tear through hide and find the flesh beneath. Koraliki Verque was likewise taking sniping shots from a window but had to flee when the Ancorite, sheathed in electricity walked into the inn and attempted to skewer her. Taking damage but then nimbly jumping away she ran around a corner and hid at the window where Siax was firing from. Alas the anchorite followed and summoned a bolt of lighting that hit them both. How did these half orc's possess such incredible power? Zenari was able to damage the Ancorite while it wasn't paying attention and it commanded the remaining orcs to grab her instead of killing her. However things did not go well for the Ancorite as his forces were wiped out and he was eventually killed aswell. Upon his corpse the party found a letter coordinating the forces in the Shrine of Savras. Seems like the party had accidentally destroyed the reinforcements the Ancorites where hoping to have on this assault.
Now truly on the brink of falling unconscious from sheer tiredness the party nonetheless pressed on. Making their way up to the Tresendar Manor they saw the Eyes of Neverwinter in a terrible predicament. Battered and bruised they all peered up in the sky as if awaiting something. Siax's eagle eyes spotted movement; the dragon was stalking them. Pine, Koraliki Verque and Zenari, kept going up the hill to the manor but Idris was not able to leave the Eyes in their moment of need. Joined by Falcon, Siax and Factoré they entered the plaza. The eyes greeted the "Helpful Heroes" and explained that they did not dare to run as the Dragon would simply swoop down and take any that strayed from the relatively safety of the group.
Meanwhile the manor group was able to enter the manor with little problem. It was treacherous to walk into but Koraliki Verque had the grace of a trained dancer and was able to traverse the ruins with ease. Alas what she found was the body of Sildar Hallwinter having been crushed by rubble when the Dragon first attacked the manor. On his body she found a letter to the Lords' Alliance speaking highly of the group and recommending them for a membership - alongside with his rapier, an elegant weapon that had been undamaged in the destruction of the manor.
While this occurred the Dragon struck. The massive scaled creature charged Maggie Keeneyes who was amazingly able to withstand it's assault. However when Cryovain coiled back grievous wounds could be seen on her body. Everyone attacked with all they had but the dragon was quick and ferocious. It's tail struck and knocked Falcon off the house where he had been secreted and it damaged all around it. Siax, somewhat hidden between some trees was landing hit after hit however and the damage was beginning to show. It was then that Cryovain grew sick of the audacity of this food attempting to fight back. Grabbing Maggie he flew up high, struck at her and dropped her. In an instant she was dead, a sickening crunch as her body landed on the cobblestones. Landing on the other side of the battlefield Cryovain summoned his icy breath and the results were devastating. All but Falcon, who was still trying to get out of the bush he had landed on and Siax who was some distance were thrown back and frozen in place.
The Dragon turned and faced the ranger who started shaking in fear and dismay, all control over his body having fled when confronted with such a large creature. He attempted to flee but it ran after him, as a cat runs after a mouse. It casually slammed him into the wall of the hall and Siax felt his ribs groaning in protest. However before the Dragon could end the life of the ranger it was knocked back and up, a second Dragon, this one green having launched itself from a nearby roof and tackling Cryovain. This second dragon was smaller than him but he was already tired from a whole day's fighting. They both rose to the sky, scratching and clawing with a fury that left any onlookers awestruck.
During this time Siax overcame his fear and together with Falcon they were able to save the ones knocked unconscious by the breath attack. They slowly started dragging the fallen out of the center of the plaza while the fight raged in the sky above them. Eventually with a roar of frustration Cryovain knocked the green dragon away with a tail swipe and flew away towards the Icespire Peak presumably to lick his wounds and recover. The other dragon attempted to regain it's height but failed and crash-landed somewhere in the west of the city.
As the others from the manor rejoined them they headed to the inn planning to sleep. There was no sign of the Green Dragon on their way and even now it seemed ludicrous to believe such a rescue had happened. As always, it seemed there was more that met the eye.