Our intrepid heroes (minus Balasar), fresh from a night of rest and morning of haggling, decide to go after their mentor, Douven. Before they get more than a mile outside of town, however, they're ambushed by another pack of kobolds.
These kobolds are no weaklings, but turn out to be far less than a match for our group. A fiery blast from Raistlin and a radiant blast from Sil sends one of the skirmishers fleeing, while Levcis and Digron boldly protect their less armored companions from attack by the kobolds front line. This should daunt the remaining kobolds, but their vicious wyrmpriests bolster their companions' courage through an incitement of faith. After beating back the opponent to his last man and surrounding the remaining wyrmpriest, the priest launches an orb of energy angrily at Digron. This backfires, however, as he leaves himself open to attacks from all sides. He manages to launch the attack but, being overwhelmed, he misses. With the fight concluded, the party searches the corpses and they find a necklace on one of the wyrmpriests - one that Raistlin recognizes as a crude idol to Orcus, demon lord of the undead.
The party then ventures forth into a montage! as they attempt to find the dragon burial site based on Eilian's map:
- Digron helps out Raistlin and provides first aid for the wizard when he nearly breaks his ankle in a hidden hole in the ground…
- Levcis rushes to the top of the nearest hill to get a better view and spots something likely…
- Raistlin consults his knowledge of the area's history to judge which direction to travel when they come a fork in what looks like an ancient path…
- A little further in, Cassandra climbs up tree to get a good a view and they get closer…
- Sil looks deep into the hearts and minds of his companions, but can't tell whether they're going in the right direction or not…
- As the party encroaches on the location of the burial site, they start to find increasing marks (broken twigs, light footprints, disturbed branches), and finally find themselves at an opening into the burial site…
Meanwhile, back in the village, Balasar goes around town, introducing himself to as many of the townsfolk as he can. None seem to know him, but they're all a little repulsed - whether they detect something vicious within the young dragonborn or merely don't trust him is a mystery. He then takes off into the forest after the people who helped him make it into town.
No dragon awaits them, however. Instead, a band of humans led by a gnome and a halfling and protected by a pair of nasty looking drakes (think dragonkin hounds, in this case) starts up a conversation. Even though Agrid, the gnome, tries to pretend that he's a companion of Douven's, Sil sees right through it and the fight begins. But not before Balasar makes it to the edge of the clearing.
From there the combat flows in a blur of furious action: the guard drakes charge after Balasar when he sends a rock flying over their heads; Raistlin takes a bold step forward and kills two of the humans with a blast of fire; Cassandra moves to better vantage point and attacks the Agrid, winging him. Through Pelor's merciful healing - courtesy of Digron - and Levcis's encouraging words such as, "Way to use your head!" after Cassandra is knocked unconscious by one of the halfling's slung rocks, the party survives. Balasar crushes in the skull of one of the drakes with a brutish blow; Sil tries and repeatedly fails to hit the halfling; Raistlin summons a sphere of fire that manages to harm Agrid (Cassandra gets the final blow). After ganging up on the halfling, Raistlin's fiery sphere kills it.
Tied up in the corner of the dig site, the party finds their mentor, Douven. Surprised at his rescuing party (he thinks correctly that his wife must have sent them), he thanks them profusely - he rips an amulet of health from Agrid's unconscious neck, takes out a picture of his wife, and gifts it to the party. Then, apparently in a rush, he teleports away - apparently an arcane casting, but neither Sil nor Raistlin can see the inner workings of it - but not before leaving these words in the air: "Keep an eye on the dragonborn, for he can be your greatest ally, but he will also lead you to a dire foe."
Puzzled (and wishing for rest), the party searches the site, finding a non-magical mirror carved with mystic symbols and a robe of firebrand armor. They then return to town, uneventfully, arriving just before the gates are closed at nightfall.
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