6 Kythorn, 1502 DR

It was a tense summer eve for the greatest knight in the lands, Vernal Vindup, and a mysterious note had appeared on the board. "Our princess was taken to the highest Gray Peak! Please, we need daring knights to return her to us!" So, the magnanimous knight gathered a group of folk around the tavern, Paladin Theoden Brightfold, Warlock Mika, and Sorceress Tova Sundara, to venture off for rescue! As they walked up towards the mountains, hordes of Kobolds came to assault the group, but they were saved by Vernal's great intuition, as he near-singlehandedly handled the creatures! The group was tired after their fight, and after quickly resting they went onwards to eradicate the dragon. The beast knew what the greatest threat was and immediately dove towards the knight! As the beast had let out a breath stronger than it had ever before, Vernal stood strong, shield in hand, and let the others finish the job. After looting the dragon's horde, returning the beautiful princess to her farm, and looking off into the sunset, Vernal celebrated with a bottle of goatmilk in hand.

Late one night, the Syndicate received a vague letter claiming a princess had been abducted by a red dragon and taken to a lair within a dormant volcano. With little time to spare, Vernan, Tova, Theoden, and I set out to investigate. Along the way, we were ambushed by a large group of kobolds serving the dragon. The battle was long and exhausting, but we ultimately prevailed and took a short rest before pressing onward, with Theoden standing watch.

Upon reaching the dragon's lair, we discovered that the fearsome kidnapper was merely a red dragon wyrmling. More surprisingly, the "Princess" we had come to rescue was not royalty at all, but a goat named Princess belonging to Peeking Farm. Regardless, the dragon had still abducted her. We slew the wyrmling, searched its modest hoard, and safely escorted Princess home, with Theoden doing an admirable job of keeping the goat calm throughout the journey.

The farmer and his daughter were overjoyed to see Princess returned unharmed and rewarded us for our efforts. I received a Potion of Climbing and a bit of odd change for rescuing a "princess." Looking back on the whole affair, I suppose I can now truthfully say that I have saved a princess from a dragon. The fact that the princess happened to be a goat seems like a detail best revealed later.

Adventure Note - Slay the Dragon, Save the Princess

Tova

A note arrived at the Syndicate asking for adventurers. It claimed that a beloved Princess had been stolen by a red dragon in the Graypeak Mountains, and that the dragon had flown south toward the smoke after taking her. The sender did not leave their location, fearing the message might be intercepted, but said we would know where to return Princess once we found her.

The group that answered was Theoden, a human paladin; Mika, a human warlock; Vernel, a small clockwork-looking construct warlock; and me.

We traveled toward the smoke in the Graypeaks. Theoden was able to tell that the signs looked like red dragon activity, which was impressive, especially considering he was also dealing with the aftermath of some hag nonsense that had left him completely bald. I had met him before and let me say this clearly: he had very good hair. The messy, handsome sort. A terrible loss. I may have had a small reaction to hearing the word “hag,” but I kept that to myself. Mostly.

After a few hours, we reached a river of flowing lava and found a large number of kobolds. I cast Web and caught several of them, which made their attempt to swarm us much less effective. We dealt with them and continued onward.

Further in, we found writing in Draconic, which I was able to read:

“I was carried into a dark room and set on fire. I wept, and then my head was cut off. What am I?”

A charming riddle, really. Horrible imagery, but charming. The answer was “candle,” and once that was handled, a boulder moved and allowed us deeper inside.

Before reaching the final chamber, we heard two distinct sounds: something flapping, and something hooved. Inside, we found the red dragon, and also a very cute white goat wearing a collar with a tag that read: Princess.

So yes. We did slay the dragon and save the Princess.

During the fight, I cast Spellfire Flare at the second level. The final flare struck with all the control and force I could pull through my spellfire, and the dragon fell. I will admit, that felt excellent.

We recovered Princess safely, along with 43 gold and a few small items and trinkets. Better yet, saving Princess earned us 50% off a food or drink item at Peeking Farms, which may be the most wholesome reward I have received so far.

A successful job. A dead dragon. A rescued goat. A tragically bald paladin. Discounted refreshments.

Honestly, a very fine day’s work.

• Tova