“DROW, DRAGONS, AND DERRO … OH MY.”

Last time, our adventurers faced off against a band of raiders and eventually, a dragon.

The black dragon hovered there in the air, observing the scene. It seemed to focus its gleaming orange eyes on the wagon.

In fact, the only act of aggression it made was to snatch Xe’s Owl from the sky, swallowing it whole with one crunchy bite. The adventurers did their best to prepare for battle, and hoped that they could overcome this frightening beast.

Xe and Chak made for the wagon quickly, not waiting around for the dragon to break into action. Meanwhile, Rippin cut the horses loose, and then moved to where he had seen the gray skinned man who attacked Xe in the wagon go earlier. Unseen by most, Rippen’s keen Dwarf eyes saw the small man sneak out of the wagon, and slip under it seeming to vanish away into thin air.

Rippin glanced under the wagon, confirming his guess: the gray skinned man was clutching on to the underside of the wagon in an attempt to hide. Clutching his axe in both hands, Rippin let out a mighty roar and swung hard. The blade struck true, cleaving the man in half with one blow! [Critical Hit!] Looking at the man, Rippin was able to confirm that he was a Derro, or Dark Dwarf.

Meanwhile, Xe and Chak returned to the wagon to find Greybeard waiting for them. They thought that the Cleric had been killed when the second wagon exploded, but he had just been caught up in the chaos of the ambush. They helped the man and the other surviving civilians escape to the relative safety of the woods.

: “THE BLACK DRAGON SNATCHED THE OWL STRAIGHT OUT OF THE AIR, CRUNCHING LOUDLY.”

The dragon finally moved, swooping up and around in the air with a screeching howl that sounded angry. It looked back towards the original site of the ambush, and glided away the way it had come. Darkness rose from the treetops again, concealing the dragon as it swooped down into the forest.

And then it was gone.

The group recovered the horses, and rode away before the dragon returned. They made for the town of Falstaff, hoping to deliver the box and complete this mission.