Dragon of Icespire Peak

The groups spends 2 days returning from Falcon's Hunting Lodge to Phandalan with a new companion they picked up at Falcon's; Dave a human fighter who was a veteran from a coastal town and fought in their wars. Upon returning they level to 5, and pick their next quest, Butterskull Ranch.

They spend the day back at the Stonehill Inn.  A crowd gathers round to hear their story of the Hunting Lodge and the Haunted Elven Manse and the horrible poison tree within.  A gargantuan roar paralyzes the crowd, but the group runs outside to see the White Dragon overhead.  Ramel quickly fires off a fireball at it, and it takes serious damage, it circle and howls down to them "I will remember this outrage and this town. I shall return maggots!" and gains altitude and flies off.  The town tries to spend the rest of the day preparing for a dragon attack, but discipline fades, and life returns to normal.

The next day, they depart for Conyberry, which is supposed to be a lively town of half halflings and half humans on the trade road east.  But at the end of two days march they find it burned to the ground, no building standing higher than a pile of rubble, and 3 unsaddled horses drinking at the well branded BAK.  They think it might be the owner of the Butterskull Ranch, one Alfonse Kalazorn.  But they're not sure. They press on the last five miles to the ranch and arrive at dusk. They pass a cow also branded with a BAK about halfway to the ranch.

They cross the busted fence, and through a partly ruined corn field, and see the burned barn and smithy.  The pigs and chickens are scattered around the pasture.  As they get within 60 ft of the ranch house they hear orc grunts and feasting from inside. They hatch a plan and spring into action; Dave and Ramel watch the front.  Aden and Seala go around the side to the back, once Seala has cast Conjure Animals and brought forth 4 black bears, cast Pass Without Trace, and invisibility on herself.  An orc sees them from the kitchen window as they break cover and move from cover towards the back door.

Aden acts first and puts the Immovable Rod blocking the back door.  Everyone else waits. Half the orcs inside rush out the front, and half out the back, but they're stuck at the door.  Seala sends in her bears and they kill one orc, and casts Haste on Aden.  Outside Ramel detonates a fireball and injures all the orcs, some very badly, and drops 7 of 9. 

Aden then runs around the house, jumps in a side window and attacks the orcs within with a Flaming Hands and injures a ton, then uses his haste attack to use his two axes to attack and drop two.  He then bounces back out with his remaining move, suffers an opportunity attack, which crits, and he takes a tone of damage, is badly wounded.  Three orcs chase him, 3 head out to the front from the back, and 3 stay on the bears, dropping one bear.  One orc makes it out the window too, and hits Aden who is now gravely wounded.  2 remaining orcs in front rush dave, and both hit him for light damage.  He cuts their heads off, and moves to one of the three that just ran out and stabs it with a shortsword; killstealing all 3 because they were pretty heavily wounded he just finished them off.  The orcs inside kill a bear, but the 3 remaining bears drop another orc.  Seala heals Aden.

Aden Jumps on the roof and waits. When the two orcs following him, he shoots them with his bow, and drops both.  The last orc runs to Seala attacks and hits her.  Romel magic missiles.  Drops one. Dave finishes the other after those orcs missed once, and hit him once. One orc kills a bear, and the last bear kills an orc, then runs out the window. Seala kills the last one with a Flame Blade.  Seala then heals the group, and they take a short rest and use HD to recover to full.

Rested, they search the inside and find Alfonse.  After some arguing and failure convincing him, they finally agree with him and offer to lead all his animals and a wagon to Phalandren with his butter skulls and what food and stuff they can load on it, for Phalandren.  They leave in the morning.

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