Shadows Over Stoneyvale

While trekking up the mountains in search of this shadow "thing", we were ambushed by a Hill Giant, who hurled boulders at us from a vantage point high on a cliff. I think Ili was first struck since she was in the lead. The rock nearly knocked her to the ground. As we scrambled for cover, we discussed whether or not we should fight the beast or run away. Fortunately, Obegard had prepared a spell of flight that enabled me to quickly reach the top. Obegard slowed it down by trapping beneath a field of webs, and as I approached the top, I noticed that the other had found a small steep incline that allowed the faster members to reach the ledge the hill giant was standing on.

Once we had reached within striking distance of the giant, he did not last long. Between Ili's powerful blows, Borrow's daggers and my greatsword, the giant was quickly taken down. It still was able to land a few good hits on me. After the fight, I took to the air to see if there was a larger lair nearby.

There was not, so we continued on our way to the cave for several days. The weather got foggier and foggier, until we could hardly see in front of us. On that day, we could barely make out "something" in the distance just through the fog. Not wanting to take chances, we backed off, and let Obegard cast a spell to see what it was. It turned out to be the ribcage of some giant beast. Perhaps a silver dragon Obegard explained. I was taken by surprise. Why would there be a dragon here, and how did it get killed? We next sent Borrow in under guise of invisibility to scout. He returned a short while later and reported that inside the cave, he saw a small room with several Nothrog inside playing cards. There was also some sort of shadowy beast, though by the description, Obegard concluded that it was a shade lion, and that it probably was being pressed into battle by the orcs against its will. We formulated a quick plan of ambush. Obegard would incinerate the four orcs sitting inside with a fireball while the rest of us would charge in after the initial explosion. The plan was simple, but as before, it worked well.

They were not match for us and we managed to capture one of beasts. We questioned him, and in return for his freedom, he told us that there was something important in the cave. It wasn't much, and we couldn't risk him going to warn others, so for the time being, I knocked him unconscious; he'd find his way out later.

We made our way deeper into the cave, where we came across a large double door. As we were examining it, a silent shadow made its way behind us and attacked by surprise. It breathed a line of pure shadow. I was fortunate enough to be standing to the side, but several others were not. Several of them, including Barron were completely blinded by the shadows. I turned around and saw that it was some sort of a shadowy dragon. This must have been what the earlier adventurers had seen. Since it blocked our only exit, we ran through the double doors into a large chamber, while guiding the others who were blinded in as well. Some of the others tried to close the doors, but even with Son of Clouds running into the doors with a thunderous bang, the doors refused to budge. Ili's perhaps just being stubborn, kept trying. For her troubles, the dragon breathed another line of shadow into the room, blinding her as well. Somehow, she still with one final push, managed to get the door closed.

Perhaps it has bought us a few minutes, but unless we find some artifact in this room that would allow us to drive away the dragon, it was certain that at least one of us would have to be sacrificed in order to hold off the dragon long enough for the others to escape.