Our plucky band of heroes braved the dangers of the Ojai mill, despite knowing that a trap had been set for them by the raiders. The heroes were able to defeat the combined forces of cultists, kobolds, and mercenaries to free the mill from the clutches of the raiders, the threat of the torch, and they foiled the attempt to put an end to their heroics. Quinn Kai managed to captured one of the cultists for questioning. Everyone else who came against the adventurers found themselves on the business end of their blades. Once the mill was secured, it only took another 10 or 15 minutes before the town’s forces arrived to take over the vigil on the mill. But those soldiers arrived with word that things looked dire at the keep. They should rush back to the governor to aid in the defense of that sole bastion.
They rushed back to the keep, captive in tow, and presented the cultist to Governor Knighthill. The governor was concerned that the forces around the keep were massing for an attack. He was not certain that the towns meager forces would be able to hold out against the army of raiders that about to be thrown against the keep, but that he was still very concerned about the folks trapped in the temple.
Our heroes were confident that they could get to the temple, free those people, and return before any attack was launched against the keep. And so, they did just that. The governor gave them the last three healing potions he had as reward for their efforts and wished them luck and a swift return. They found that the temple was under assault by three different groups. One group was using a makeshift battering ram to in an attempt to break through the front doors. Another group at the back of the church was piling brush, timbers, and straw against the back door of the temple, intent on setting it ablaze and burning their way in or smoking the people within out. A third group was slowly working a large circle around the place, screaming out cultish chants, brazen threats, and cries for entry, all in an attempt to terrify the folks within into panicking and running.
The adventurers decided to take the group at the back door. They waited for the mob to circle away and then launched their attack. Chasza, our lizardfolk ranger, climbed the wall smashed through one of the churches large stained glass windows. The one depicting Karametra, god of harvests. Probably not a big deal since they’d just saved the mill. He climbed through the broken window and dropped down to land amongst the already terrified folk within the temple. His appearance set the already panicked townsfolk into an even greater frenzy of panic. His attempts to calm the worshippers were unsuccessful.
Outside the temple, the assault on the main doors continued. The sounds of splintering wood seeming louder even than the ram causing the damage. At the rear entrance, the companions made short work of the the cultists and their kobold allies that were attempting to burn through the door and into the sanctuary. They hastily cleared the kindling before the door and breached the door, hoping to get entry before things could go horribly wrong on the inside.
They managed to gain entrance only to have the artificer’s assurances and intentions be horribly mistaken by the panicked crowd within. Claudius Lyander is good with tools, not so much with people. It took the nobility and charisma of the paladin, Krash, to assured the priest and people within to calm down, gain a semblance of order, and get out before the front door gave way to the raiders. Once calm our heroes were able to rush them out of the building and lead them to the secret entrance at the back of the keep.
While they were sending the townsfolk in through the tunnel, another group of raiders assaulted them. Fearful that they would share the exposed location of the secret tunnel, the adventurers dealt a blow to them that they would not live to regret.
Back inside the keep, even as they were delivering the the rescued folks from the temple, shouts went up. Escobert the Red, the dwarf castellan, shouted for their need behind the parapet. Dragon attack! Even as they were climbing the stairs, they felt the the hairs out their arms stand a moment before the first electrical discharge rocked the the keep. As they reach the top and stood upon the parapet with the castellan and the governor. They saw the enormous bulk of the blue dragon swooping away only to return for yet another pass. How does one stop a dragon? They attempted to to shout parlay at it and and convince it to leave.
Below them, at the head of the raiders force, was a a intimidating woman surrounded by mercenary guards who shouted commands up at the dragon in such a manner as to leave no question that she was in charge. And so the great monster swung around for another pass. The adventures stood watching the bulk of the dragon growing larger, the threat becoming more dire, and wondered what they could do to save the threatened the keep, the town, and themselves. But that is a tale for next week.
