Session A15 — Dragon Negotiation

Summary

The morning after Reidoth's revelation, the party finalises their agreement with the druid and begins clearing Thundertree. Kavu opens his account with a fireball through a window, blowing the roof off a building containing ash zombies. The party clears spiders from the hill approach, finds a curious necklace in a ruined herbalist shop, and encounters Favrek — a Cult of the Dragon operative who had come to Thundertree to treat with Venomfang and was planning to use Kavu as the introductory offering. Kavu caught this on an insight check. Favrek conceded gracefully. The cultists left. The party kept the diamonds and ended the session with enough resources for two Revivify castings.

Key Events

Reidoth's Morning Deal — The Formal Agreement

After the events of the previous session, Reidoth formalised the terms of his cooperation:

"Whether you can convince it by talking or slap the shit out of it hard enough that it thinks twice about staying, that is entirely up to you."

The deal: clear Thundertree — specifically, deal with Venomfang — and Reidoth would give them directions to Cragmaw Castle and guide them to Wave Echo Cave when the time came. The party agreed.

Reidoth's intelligence on the town's hazards: dangerous giant spiders near the base of the hill path leading to the watchtower; black-cloaked figures in pointy masks on the eastern side of town; mutated plants and ash zombies throughout (easy to avoid, but he would not object to clearing them too). His advice on the cultists and other threats: "If you don't rip something out root and stem, it'll grow back twice as thick."

His position if the party died in the attempt: "I'm going to stay here in the comfort of my home and wait to see if you chase off the grey dragon. If not, I will head to Neverwinter and give them tales of your heroism and futile deaths, and then I will come back with a detachment to take care of it."

Roland pointed out that Reidoth's planned route to Neverwinter could serve as a way to return the Sealed Neverember Letter to its origin. Reidoth acknowledged this.

Reidoth and the Dwarven Moss

Before they left, Kavu asked Reidoth whether he knew of any Dwarven Moss — on behalf of "a friend" named "Elmer... Elmer Barthen and Vandalin." (He means Elmar Barthen.)

Reidoth's reaction was immediate. He got in Kavu's face "like Gandalf on Frodo when Frodo told him about the ring" and demanded: "Who told you about the moss? Are you working with the constabulary? Are you a constable? Are you a narc? You have to tell me if you are."

Kavu swore he wasn't. Reidoth pulled him close and lowered his voice:

"In the area, in a place that I consider sacred, I have a little... one acre patch of Dwarven Moss growing. If you manage to resolve the issue and return alive, I will have some for you when you are ready to leave. Don't tell anyone, or I'll cut you."

The DM noted, to the table: "Congratulations, boys are entering the drug trade."

Reidoth's Farewell — A Warning for Kelvin

As the party made to leave, Reidoth grabbed Kelvin's wrist:

"In the event that Venomfang is about to kill you and your friends, run. I don't know you, but I cared for your parents. This is the kindest thing that I can do for them, is to ensure that you don't die a stupid, terrible death for some dwarf that you've never met."

The Fireball — Ash Zombies

The party approached a building on the north side of the hill path. Othorion pried open the spring-loaded shutters on the window and looked in.

Inside: four humanoid figures slumped on the floor, "with skin dark and blotchy, clothes that appear to be burned and marred by flame and fire." As the light hit them, they started to stir and stand.

The table: "Send it, Dave. Send it."

Kavu fireballed through the window.

"The roof of this building just blows off in a shower of splinters and absolute devastation. The sound of the fireball echoing throughout the entire town. The door is blown off of its hinges. The shutters are rent from the windows. One of the walls starts slumping even further. And then... as the zombies die, they erupt into clouds of ashes, which begin to clog and choke at your esophagi."

Roland and Kavu were both in range of the ash cloud and needed to make Constitution saves. The DM recalled a previous moment: "I love how Kavu pulled an Eloise. I can respect the panicked fireball. It always works."

Spiders and the Hill Approach

The hill path leading to Venomfang's watchtower had two giant spider corpses visible from the village below — Venomfang's leavings. The party cleared the building at the base of the hill of its living spider inhabitants before pressing on toward the watchtower. The DM noted that Venomfang had already eaten the two visible outside.

The Herbalist Shop — Dragon's Claw Necklace

Roland and Othorion investigated a ruined herbalist shop off the main street — "cluttered with sagging storage shelves and broken furniture, shards of glass and pieces of pottery glinting in the weeds and rubble next to rotted books and casks."

Roland found a small wooden case hidden in a compartment beneath the storage shelves. Inside: a gold necklace with a fine emerald pendant clutched in what looks like a dragon's claw setting. "We're just torturing Kabu today," noted a player. "Dragons. Dragons."

The Cult of the Dragon — Favrek

On the eastern side of town, the party found and fought the black-cloaked, pointy-masked figures Reidoth had warned them about. After the fight, a surviving leader stepped forward.

Her name was Favrek. She was composed, calculating, clearly the senior figure in the group. She introduced the Cult of the Dragon: their purpose was to obtain "sacred draconic knowledge" from dragons wherever possible. She had come to Thundertree specifically to treat with Venomfang and needed an offering to present.

Kavu, as the only kobold-dragonblood cleric of Kossuth in the room, received considerable deference: "Lord Kavu, we bathe in your heat and relish in your presence." She proposed an alliance: the party would combine their diamond with the cult's diamonds and approach Venomfang together.

She was planning to offer Kavu as a sacrifice.

Kavu rolled Insight. The DM: "The more you talk with this person, the more you realize that this is bullshit... She's not telling you something. She's deceiving you."

Kavu confronted her directly: "You have not told me everything. You are hiding something. How do you expect me to help you if you hold stuff from me?"

A moment of stillness. Her men reached for weapons. She raised a hand:

"Your lives depend on the outcome of this next bit of this conversation and you will remain still."

Then, acknowledging the game was up:

"It seems that you are not just another blinded religious fool. Just not another idiot kobold from a backwater cave system."

She stood to her full height: "It seems that you have bested me. One does not reach my age without being able to think on their feet. I would consider it an even greater mercy if you would permit myself and my men to leave in peace."

Kavu demanded they swear to leave. She looked back at her men: "Do you swear?" Each grumbled "I do" in turn. The party let them go. They filed out heading east into the woods, leaving behind a chest.

Inside the chest: three diamonds, each worth 100gp. The party now had enough for two Revivify castings. The session ended there — the party able to take a long rest, prepare spells, and approach Venomfang in the morning.

NPCs Encountered

Loot / Discoveries

Combat & Encounters

Encounter 1 — Ash Zombies

• Enemies: 4 ash zombies in a shuttered building
• Location: North side of the hill path
• Resolution: Othorion pried open the shutters; Kavu fireballed through the window. The roof blew off in a shower of splinters. All four zombies erupted into ash clouds. Roland and Kavu needed CON saves against the choking ash
• Note: The fireball echoed throughout the entire town — Venomfang heard it from the watchtower

Encounter 2 — Giant Spiders

• Enemies: 2 giant spiders at the base of the hill
• Location: Building near the hill path approach to the watchtower
• Key moments: Kavu used Scorching Ray (three rays, two hit — spider caught fire); Roland delivered a smited blow that cracked the carapace; Othorion finished the first spider with his rapier
• Loot: 3 vials of spider venom (10gp each, 14-day shelf life; can be alchemically converted to poison potion for 100gp fee)

Encounter 3 — Cult of the Dragon

• Enemies: Favrek (leader) + approximately 4 cultists
• Location: Eastern cottage in the Thundertree ruins
• Setup: Party stuffed a blanket into the cottage's stove vent, smoked the cultists out over ~15 minutes. One cultist emerged to investigate — saw Roland (failed stealth, disadvantage). Cultist shouted "Person! Person! Person!"
• Key actions: Kavu used Temporal Haste (doubled speed, advantage on DEX saves, extra action — "Ultra Instinct effect from sheer speed"); Roland threw two javelins through a window — second one stuck in a cultist's leg ("It's in the bone!"); Othorion rendered the outside cultist unconscious with a leg stab and pommel strike
• Resolution: Favrek knelt and surrendered; Kavu's Insight check exposed her plan to sacrifice him to Venomfang; cultists swore to leave and departed east into the woods

Party Notes

• Kavu: Opened his account with a fireball through a window — "I love how Kavu pulled an Eloise. I can respect the panicked fireball. It always works." Confronted Favrek directly when his Insight check exposed her deception; let the cultists go with an oath rather than killing them; asked Reidoth about Dwarven Moss for Elmar Barthen
• Roland: Coordinated the tactical approach to the cult cottage; threw javelins with devastating accuracy; noted that Reidoth's planned trip to Neverwinter could serve as a route for the Sealed Neverember Letter
• Othorion: Pried open shutters for the zombie encounter; led stealth reconnaissance of the cult cottage (stealth check 23 with Boots of Elvenkind); rendered a cultist unconscious with improvised non-lethal strikes
• Kelvin Fairlight: Offered to wild-shape into a tiny spider for interior reconnaissance (new form added); mostly support role this session
• Haldak Tencloak: Participated in the stealth approach to the cult cottage; passed his stealth checks cleanly

Threads Opened / Advanced

• Venomfang: Not yet encountered. Hill approach cleared of spiders. Party will face the dragon next session, prepared.
• Favrek / Cult of the Dragon: Released; swore to leave the area. Their goals (draconic knowledge) are unresolved. They know who Kavu is and where the party is headed. They may resurface.
• Cragmaw Castle: Still the primary objective; Reidoth's directions contingent on clearing Thundertree.
• Dwarven Moss Supply: Reidoth's 1 acre awaiting collection upon success; Elmar Barthen is the waiting recipient in Phandalin.
• The Dragon's Claw Necklace: Origin and significance unknown. The emerald-and-dragon-claw design may connect to something.
• Neverwinter Letter Thread: Reidoth's planned departure to Neverwinter flagged as a potential opportunity to return the Sealed Neverember Letter to its origin.