Showdown
As the party stares down the drake that has prepared to defend its lair, Fie moves first and attacks it, noticing immediately that necrotic seems to do absolutely nothing to it. Right after, the lair starts to shake, burst with energy, and fill the air with thick fog, obscuring the view, and knocking the party off their feet.
Granny, Thistlethorn, Penny and Kal all takes heavy hits from the drakes breath weapon, and slinks away between attacks to hide, before burrowing underground to ambush the party from a different angle. The party quickly moves away from these areas to stay safe, and Kal puts up an Aura of Life to protect against the necrotic damage. Willowbark can see where the drake is hiding and throws a moonbeam at it, burning it several times, but it always moves away.
At one point, the drake almost kills Kal, but Willowbark uses the rings to keep her on her feet, while Pennys inspiration gives her back some blush in her cheeks. The drake also attacks Theren, almost managing to take him down completely. It pushes the partys buttons, making them lose concentration on several effects, but luckily the rings helps the party stay upright.
Unfortunately, the corruption forces the party to turn on and attack each other, as well as the drake, which drags the battle out, almost giving the drake the upper hand. It however moves closer as it takes more damage, forcing the party to be hurt by its necrotic wounds. Demetrius keeps a barrage of arrows at the drake, and Granny hurls her javelins at it, doing as much damage as they can.
The party moves closer to the stone in the center of the lair, hoping that destroying it might end the conflict, but before they have a chance to do anything about it, Theren fly over the fog, and take the drake down with his scorching rays…
A Familiar Voice
As the drake falls to the ground, it immediately starts to fall apart, with the vines and growths surrounding it beginning to wilter away. Penny approaches it, and notices a glowing energy coming from inside. She reaches in, managing to take out its heart, still thumping, glowing with green and gold, and oozing a black liquid.
At the same time, Granny notices that a small orb has appeared around Willowbark. It’s floating around, observing the party, looking at each of them, before seemingly looking toward the heart Penny is carrying. Theren deduces that someone is scrying on the party.
Penny places the heart on the stone, and using what’s left of her fiery breath potion, sets fire to it. It immediately ignites, rising to the air, with the party moving away from it, before it explodes in a contained fireball that implodes in on itself, before nothing but ash remains. The bloodied writing on the stone fades away into the stone, and the party can sense that the corruption is losing its hold.
Willowbark suddenly feels someone poking around inside her mind, and can see flashes of her family. Going back and forth, memories from her time with them, going through everyone of them, stopping with a memory of Wren. She suddenly hears a familiar voice in her head, as the party can see the color disappear from her face.
You just had to meddle. You couldn't just leave us to have our fun… oh well, you take one of ours, we'll take one of yours. Come and claim them, if you dare…
The party now can sense movement from outside of the lair, as many different creatures are trying to move their way through the treeline to get to the party…