Dragon of the West

The Adventure:

In the plains of the south west, rumors have begun to sprout of a copper dragon that has taken up residence in the area. It hasn't caused any problems as of yet, but the town knew a certain dwarf wizard was looking for information on dragons and made sure to pass it along.

Seraph:

So I should start off by explaining some stuff about Thoradin. See as long as i have known him now (which is coming up on about 2 years) he has had this book with him. Its written in Draconic and apparently even though he

can read and write in Draconic he still couldn't read it. This book has been pretty much his obsession for a long time now and i don't really know why but he's a wizard so i guess that is their thing. Anyway through our journeys together the best answer we came up with is to find a dragon to help decipher it. Perhaps we may have looked sooner but this whole Ontar thing happened and he decided to leave it for now while we go save Falonde and stuff. I guess it paid off because people coming into Newood who heard about Thoradin have been offering up any imformation on dragons they can. Being heroes pays off.

Anyway so Thoradin and I were catching up at our favourite hangout in "No-wood"(Mistsplitter's realm) swapping stories of our separate adventures and showing off my fabulous new cloak. Brants burst in during our conversation claiming that he sensed adventure while pointing in my direction. Thoradin mentioned that we have gathered enough information about a dragon that may live nearby and we could finally seek it out for answers. Honestly I must admit I was apprehensive about seeking out a dragon but hey, Thoradin is my pal and I'm nothing if not a loyal friend plus I heard dragons hoard treasure. Brants was eager to join us even enough to waive his usual fee for mercenary work as long as he got a portion of the spoils. Mary then emerged from her little corner to inquire about this book offering to use her hat to decipher it. I don't know why her hat would help but after she failed to understand the book she also offered to accompany us on our little expedition. So we discussed our best route of travel and learned that not only are Thoradin and I not really safe to travel in the major cities but that combined we have caused quite a lot of trouble across the Falonde kingdom, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little proud.

We Journeyed south through the wilderness to Waydon and then were to head more west to cross the river. Waydon was a bit of a relief, no immediate threat or some great evil cursing the land it was just a small peaceful village as far as i could tell. I secured us lodgings and apparently had to teach the rest of my companions what tipping was (kind of a stingy bunch I must say). We had  a good nights rest or at least the best we could considering the circumstances and rode out to the west to cross the river. As we neared the river I spotted an armoured man attempting to stop us on the road. My companions were prepping for battle but I was confident that wasn't needed. Trying to comunicate with this person was something else. His grasp on the common tongue left much to be desired and then he started pointing at us yelling "Ack, Ack, Ack!" Quickly more of these people started showing up yelling the same thing. I attempted to mimick their speech in hopes of reaching a diplomatic solution but my associates would have no of it. The strange people began to fight us rather poorly ( one of them managed to lose his pants while drawing his blade). We had the upper hand until their armour fell away revealing grotesque three headed creatures that apparently could breath fire. I fought with all my divine might and we dispatched them quite easily until more showed up. We decided retreat was the best option. We rode west as fast as we could, Thoradin and I falling behind so we could hamper our enemies gain.

It almost seemed Thoradin was about to be grabbed when the weird creatures who now also resembled wildlife hit a barrier of some sort. Up ahead of us a mysterious gentleman beckoned us to follow him telling us he had a safe place, we decided to trust him. He lead us through the forest somehow managing to keep pace with our horses. He lead us into a large dark cave and once we were certain we had escaped the creatures he inquired as to why we were out there. Thoradin and Mary knowing nothing about this individual freely offered up any information he asked about. I at least inquired about his name which is Althalos by the way. He said he had been away from Falonde for a while and had only come back recently. Having learned about our seeking out a dragon he inquired about the book and not only could he read the draconic he very quickly found that it was encoded which was not weird at all (sarcasm). He offered us to stay with him the night only if we would share our tales with him and I was happy to oblige. He showed us his living quarters and lit up the cavern, it was modest yet comfortable. The cave now lit up revealed a sizable mound of treasure the man kept. Brants was very interested in the gold but was not possessed enough to take it. Brants might be a bit greedy but he is no thief and there is dignity in that. We stayed up late regaling our new friend Althalos with tales of my performing days, our escape from prison and meeting Azemis and the adventures that followed, and our most recent campaigns helping the people of Falonde. When we woke up Althalos was no where to be seen but now there was a massive scaled creature sleeping atop the treasure. I bravely urged my compatriots to retreat but Thoradin instead tried talking to the creature. It moved in response to his greeting and revealed a Massive reptilian head and then it spoke. It grumpily greeted us and I in no way was terrified of this absolutly massive shiny creature that could talk. So this was a dragon, I had heard many tales about them but take my word for it that stories do not do it justice. Not only did it not eat us but he was actually quite friendly and revealed to us that he was indeed the same Althalos we met the night before.

He showed us his full mighty presence at the request of Mary (she furiously sketched out its form) and then assumed his human form which did put the rest of my party at ease but not myself who remained composed and not at all awestruck by the MASSIVE TALKING LIZARD.

Althalos thanked us for our tales and requested that we help return his former lair back to him so he wouldn't have to destroy it. Apparently an enterprising witch had made residence there and Althalos wanted her out. Brants always the buisness man asked for payment and Althalos offered to decipher Thoradins book as well as offer us tribute from his treasure hoard if we could secure his home.

So now we head off to another wizards tower I just hope it goes better than last time, I would rather not turn into anything weird this time.

Thoradin:

This is a paper Thoradin wrote upon returning to Newood, containing his account of the events of Dragon of the West.