After staying in Demast to rest for a day or two (and gain level 2), Chelnadatilar returns to consult with the party on next steps. With him is a Kenku monk, who previously had a similar experience as their last adventure, who joins the group. The group asks the dragon prince if anything can be done about Domborcojh, the dragon prince who put them under mental influence previously, but he says that they are currently not equipped to go up against such a powerful foe. Chelnadatilar tells the party that there have been reports of kobold, cultist of various races, and even dragon attacks in his lands. The town of Greenest has reported suspicious activity most recently. He himself is occupied with conflicts with the other dragon princes, so he asks the adventurers to investigate. The party heads to Greenest, and arrives near dusk to find it in chaos! Kobolds and cultists roam the streets, civilians flee in terror, and a blue dragon is flying around the keep at the center of town. The adventurers enter town to the south, staying near the small creek there for what little cover it offers. They find a family along the way who are fleeing several attackers, who are dispatched with relative ease. Agreeing to escort the family to the keep, the party works their way along the streets, dealing with several more roaming invader groups and gathering additional survivors. Upon reaching the keep, the survivors and adventurers enter, at which point the invaders surround the keep and prevent further access. They don't attack immediately, instead simply sealing the keep off from the town, where they continue to plunder whatever valuables they can find. Inside, the party meets Governor Nighthill, who thanks them for their help, but can offer little reward other than the services of the town's healers. He does promise to consider putting up a statue to the party after all this is resolved. The governor asks the party to rescue more survivors, who are trapped in the town's temple. To get there, they must find a way to avoid the mass of cultists outside the keep. They choose to use an old tunnel that leads out to the stream in the south. A dwarf named Escobert leads them to the tunnel and provides the door keys. Exiting the tunnel, they find a group of cultists, fail to hide from them, but then dispatch them with ease. At the temple, the party overcomes a group at the rear entrance, and manages to evacuate the survivors inside before the cultists at the front can break in. The monk selflessly volunteers to distract the remaining cultists while everyone escapes, and survives with only minor injuries. Shortly after returning to the keep, the adult blue dragon stops circling overhead and attacks! He eliminates many of the town's defenders who are up on the keep's parapet. They try to bring him down with slings and other weapons, but to no effect. Some of the party attempt similar ranged attacks with little success, though the mage's magic missile does make an impact. The dragon retreats after two missile attacks, apparently not wishing to press the attack any further, though he clearly could have done much more damage. Only a couple of defenders survive, but the governor is nonetheless grateful to the adventurers for their efforts and gives the mage four of the town's dwindling stash of healing potions. By this time the night is nearly over, and the cultists begin to retreat with their loot. The party spots an organized group of a purple-robed human and a dozen guards who appear to be leading the effort. Before they can take any further action, a cultist champion marches up to the keep followed by a crowd of kobolds and human hostages, and shouts a challenge. The half-blue-dragon champion will fight one champion from the keep in single combat, and release the hostages no matter who wins. Bron the barbarian takes the challenge, and fights valiantly before ultimately falling. The cultist champion is true to his word and releases the hostages, then retreats. Bron survives his injuries and the governor rewards him with two healing potions. As dawn approaches, the cultists have retreated to the southeast. The town is largely intact, though many buildings are damaged and scattered small fires still burn. The true damage, though, is in plundered valuables...most of the town is stripped of anything more valuable than common tools. The party has not yet learned the reason behind the cult attack, besides the obvious desire for plunder. The cultists' trail is obvious and can be followed easily, but first the party must rest. They do so (and gain level 3), and by midafternoon are prepared for further action. Character comments: -- Through the night, the cleric Shazz'm was strangely silent. He did heal his compatriots several times, though sadly most of these were fairly weak efforts. -- The new Kenku monk, whose name is a series of bird noises, cannot speak Common but did an admirable job of making himself understood through gestures. He occupied the attention of many enemies, though his blows seemed unusually weak at times. -- The mage Varcus proved valiant in battle...perhaps a bit too much so, as he sometimes took the brunt of kobold attacks in the front lines. But no permanent damage was done. -- Stealthy tactics worked very well for the rogue Induris. He was often able to sneak unseen around enemies and perform devastating sneak attacks. -- Bron the barbarian was uncharacteristically loathe to enter battle at first, throwing his javelin before moving to engage the enemy directly. But by the end of the night his rage had manifested in full effect! His fight against the half-dragon cultist champion was epic, though ultimately a losing effort.