The Mayor actually turned out to be “Governor Nighthill” – Governor being his first name, oddly enough. He was indeed an elderly man, stooped and wizened from his advanced years. But his eyes were bright as he quickly pointed to the surrounding area and begged the heroes to help save his town.
As he was discussing a way to safely begin bringing in survivors of the raid, a large fireball burst high in the night some 500 feet from the Keep. After a few moments of panic, Nighthill recognized that the Mill was about to be burned down. “Save our mill!” he implored of the heroes. “If we lose that mill, our town is dead. We won’t have enough food to make it through the coming months as we rebuild!”
The characters, of course, launched themselves down the stairs following a stalwart old Dwarf who took them into the basement and immediately set them to clearing the way to the door. It was rusted shut, but with a little effort Kalista was able to get it open. They immediately set off down the tunnel, only to get swarmed by a pack of rats that made the place their home. That noise, coupled with having to force the door at the end of the tunnel open alerted a nearby search party, and a bloody battle ensued.
Bloody for the enemy, anyway. With barely a scratch, the team quickly dispatched six kobolds and two Cultists. The they rushed through the nearby scrap of woods to find the mill.
Two large fires burned near the building, but far enough away that the wooden structure wouldn’t catch fire. While Kalista and Elsen worked hard to keep the fire from spreading, something made Ghesh curious. Following his instincts, he quickly discovered that the Mill was never in danger of being burned; it was a clever trap set up to lure people out of the Keep! Three guards launched spears at Ghesh, but he managed to avoid serious injury. Cultists and guards rushed out of the Mill and moved to engage.
Touching the spark of dragon that lived deep in his chest, Ghesh roared out a gout of flame, burning alive one of the cultists. Kalista and Elsen, suddenly alerted to the fight taking place, launched attacks of their own that quickly fell the other two cultists. With a roar of challenge at the Guards, they decided that they were overmatched, and quickly ran away. Minutes later the Militia showed up, nine able bodied warriors stationed at the Mill to defend their food supply.
Upon returning to the keep, the group was quickly directed back to the keep’s parapet, where they could see the entire town. A flash of lightning from the blue dragon flying around provided an excellent view of two dozen guards, some kobolds, but mostly humans, walking with a young priestess dressed in purple robes.
“I’ll be damned if I’ll let them take my town without so much as a fight. I want one of them brought back to me, alive!” Nighthill said, turning to look at the group. “Bring me one of these mongrels and we’ll make them talk.”
Ghesh, tired from risking his life earlier, looked at the mayor and adjusted his gear. “We’ll do this… for the right price.” – Before Nighthill could respond, however, a young messenger reached the top of the stairs. He was covered in blood, and he could barely stand. “They’ve… They’ve taken the Sally Port,” he gasped, before passing out. As others rushed around, the trio of heroes rushed down into the courtyard, brandishing their weapons and preparing to defend the keep. As they approached, Ghesh recognized one of the creatures, a sub-dragon species that was being used as an attack animal. Pulling on a pair of robes that he’d stolen from a dead cultist, he rushed into the small room near the wall and shouted, “Why are you still here? We need you inside. Kobolds, stay here and keep the rear guard!”
Before they could react, he rushed back out, and stepped off to the side, preparing his weapon as did the other two, each moving into position near the door.
Out rushed the drake, and was immediately hit by Elsen and Ghesh. Not enough to finish the creature off, it rushed around behind Ghesh and bit at his leg before the cleric could turn to face him. The group made quick work of the party within, Kalista knocking the acolyte inside unconscious before Elsen and Ghesh came in to finish off the Kobolds.
More fightin ensued as a young woman named Sarah rushed to the door to begin mending it with magic. Kobolds burst out of the keep, bloodied and battered, trying to escape from the way they’d come. They met their fate quickly as Elsen poured fire from his fingertips into their bodies, roasting them before they could even blink.
Outside the door, Kalista saved Ghesh’s life as a wild strike from a guard knocked him off his feet. Dispatching the other two kobolds and guard, Kalista stood defensively over Ghesh’s body as his God poured healing energy into him, allowing him to regain his feet. Or, at least, that was his version of how he was able to recover.
Inside the temple, the trio listened as Nighthill’s enforcers interrogated the Acolyte. After an hour of being beaten and coerced, he let spill that they were members of the Cult of Dragons, and they were working to get enough treasure for the Queen of Dragons to once again walk the realms. They were secretly stashing the loot in a nearby cave until they were ready to move it, which is also where they kept their collection of Dragon Eggs.
Before the group could do anything with that information, the roar of a dragon shook the night air, and lightning hit the stone wall of the keep, catching the outer wood lining on fire. The blue dragon had come to lay waste to the town’s defenders, and also to put an end to the acolyte’s blubbering.
