Previously: Chapter 05: Journey to Thundertree
Making a Plan
The next morning, the party wakes up a bit earlier than usual, to prepare properly for the day's events. Over breakfast, they talk about how they are going to approach the dragon, with Willowbark and Penny wanting to see if they can negotiate with it first. The rest of the party is unsure if that will work, considering dragons are known to be cunning and generally hostile, so at the first sign of trouble, they will have to fight back.
Theren and Demetrius want to recon the area that leads up to the dragons tower, in order to minimize the chance of them being discovered on the way there. As they stealthily move their way up the hill from Reidoths house, they see more of the twig blights that Reidoth described hiding in the bushes near the tower, but also all over the town, among the buildings, but curiously, they seem to leave the duo alone for now. Theren theorizes that they only react to disturbances when they get too close. Hopefully he’s correct so that they don’t have to worry about them for now.
As they reach the threshold of the tower, they can see a couple of dead giant spiders just outside the entrance, who seems to have been killed by something that didn’t leave a wound. When they go closer to examine them, there is a strong odor of rotten eggs or decayed fish, which they both recognize as sulfur. There are a few cracks in the tower wall that allows them to peer inside at the roof, but they see nothing. They do however hear a heavy rumble of something big breathing heavily inside. Demetrius thinks the dragon must be resting, so they hurry back to the rest of the party.
Meanwhile, Willowbark doesn’t understand what Penny is talking about when she says that dragons are like cats, and fits inside towers like cats do in boxes. It’s a whole thing, and Granny tries to mediate the discussion, but they are interrupted by Theren and Demetrius returning. They tell the rest of the group what they found, and they confirm that there probably is a dragon within.
Kal wants to go through what they should tell the dragon, and wants the group to be prepared by practicing what they’re going to say. Willowbark comes up with an idea of asking the dragon to move to Cragmaw Castle instead of the tower. It’s further away from civilization, so it won’t be bothered by bothersome adventurers invading their home, and they get help from the dragon to take out the goblins who reside there and save Gundren, so it’s a win-win. The party thinks this is a good idea, and decide that Willowbark and Penny should be the ones to talk to the dragon, while the rest of the party stay back, prepared to intervene if things get too difficult.
Demetrius and Theren leads the party through the town up to the tower, being careful to avoid the twig blights they spotted on their reconnaissance. Kal’s armor isn’t doing her any favors, but they get through seemingly undetected. When they reach the tower, the rest of the party also notice the smell, but Demetrius cannot hear the breathing anymore, which makes him concerned. They decide to still move forward with the plan, so they stealthily open the door and venture inside.
Venomfang
After checking out the two rooms that were in the entrance hall of the tower, satisfied that it is clear, they open the large double doors leading into the tower proper. Inside, they can see a large circular room with what appeared to once have been a spiral staircase leading to the top of the tower, but it has long since collapsed, leaving a big pile of rubble in the center of the room. The walls are covered in a thick growth, and as the party peers around they see no dragon or movement. The group decides to call out to the dragon, in case it is hiding.
Suddenly, they notice movements above them, near the wall, as the camouflaged dragon appears from among the vines and climbs down, approaching the party and looming over Willowbark and Penny. Although young, it is still an imposing figure.
“Visitors? I haven’t gotten visitors in all my time here. Why have you intruded into my lair? Don’t you know it is dangerous to provoke a dragon?”
The party bows to the dragon, trying to be as respectful as they can, but Kal is standing back ready for anything to happen. The dragon introduces itself as Venomfang, and demands to know why the party has disturbed him. They tell him that his presence here is an imbalance in nature, and that they were hoping that he could move to some place better. Venomfang reveals that he would love to do that, but he has been exiled by his half-sister, who tried to kill him. If the party can kill her instead, he will move as requested. Willowbark asks the dragon to show them on the map where her lair is located, and Venomfang asks her to come closer so that he can show her. Willowbark approaches, having fallen into the trap, and the rest of the party notice that Venomfang suddenly begins drawing in breath.
Willowbark, being ready to have him show her on the map where his half-sister lives, suddenly realizes what a grave mistake she has made, and only sees a torrent of green poison flowing straight at her from the dragon's jaws. Theren immediately goes on the offensive, trying to attack the dragon in retribution and drag its attention away from the firbolg lying unconscious in front of it, but Granny, Demetrius and Kal quickly tries, and succeeds in talking down the dragon from its rage. Venomfang falters, and seemingly begins to listen to what they have to say. They convince him that Cragmaw Castle is the dragon's best option, as he will have allies that can help him in the long run.
Venomfang ponders the suggestion of the party, while Kal quickly heals Willowbark, waking her up, but he eventually agrees to the terms, and says that he will meet the party at Cragmaw Castle in 7 days. He apparently already knows where it is located, as he quickly takes flight and perches on the ceiling, waiting for the party to leave him and his horde alone. Penny longingly looks at the gold and silver strewn across the ruined floor, but follows the rest of the party.
When the party returns to Reidoth and tells them their deal with Venomfang, to which he is obviously very disappointed with, he tells them that they cannot trust the dragon’s word, as it will try to betray them the moment it sees that the party is of no use to him. Not having held their side of the bargain yet, Reidoth refuses to give them the Bag of Holding, but if they manage to permanently move him, or even better kill him, he will be waiting with the reward. Since Cragmaw Castle is in the middle of the forest, and they really don’t want to move through the sickness that plagues the woods, they decide to insead go pick up some horses in Rivergrounds to hopefully speed up the journey east.
Return to Rivergrounds
The party says their goodbyes to Reidoth, and carefully make their way through Thundertree. Before departing, they head to the alchemist shop that Reidoth pointed out, and after searching it finds an old wooden box with a beautiful emerald necklace within. The heirloom that Mirna told them about. Willowbark places her in her pouch, and the group heads west towards the road. Leaving the cursed town, the party can feel the air clear and it gets easier to breathe. They don’t get long however until a swarm of stirges come flying out of the bushes, trying to feed on the blood of the party members, but they are easily dispatched, with Granny harvesting some of the parts of the stirges.
As the party eventually reaches Rivergrounds, the sun has fallen below the horizon, and night has come. Most of the shops are closed, so the party decides to just procure some horses before settling in at the Forgetful Faun Inn again. They approach the stableboy that is working with the horses, and when he turns around, it’s Tim. Or at least an exact copy of Tim, which they met in Phandalin. They ask him why he moved to Rivergrounds so quickly, but he seems confused by the questioning. Kal approaches the owner of the stables, Margerie, but she is equally confused, as Tim has worked with her for a few months at least. The party at first thinks that there might be some mix-up or that they’re misremembering, but decide to leave it be, as they have more important work at hand. They procure six horses, one extra large one to carry Granny’s weight, and bring them to the other side of the town to the inn.
In the Inn, Penny once again makes a deal with the innkeeper to get free lodgings by entertaining for the evening. Willowbark wants to join as well, but Penny makes her show how good she is, but sadly she is not up to Penny’s standards, so Penny decides to play alone instead. A little disappointed by this, Willowbark goes to talk to some of the cows roaming outside the city instead. Kal is profusely welcomed back to the inn, as the innkeeper Tim (no relation to the stableboy) was looking forward to having her back, and he asks her if she is back for good, but she has to disappoint him that she’s only staying for the night. She is however willing to cook for the evening, which gives her free lodgings as well.
After a long day faced with dragons, stirges and apparent copies of people, the party finishes off with some entertainment, good food, and deep conversation with the nearby cows, before settling in for the night, to prepare for the long journey to Cragmaw Castle.