DnD story

Birds of a Feather
	Looking at the ragtag group, they appeared much more rugged and inexperienced than their exploits would have led a person to believe. Nevertheless, these were indeed the famed White Crows that had rescued Phandalin from the clutches of bandits. Then again, bandits paled in comparison to the challenge that was now laid before them.
	They had arrived at Thundertree earlier that same day, where they had met with a wise, old druid that required their help. The druid told the band of adventurers about the green dragon Venomfang that had roosted in Thundertree, causing the entire village to flee in panic. Venomfang not only took over the town of Thundertree, but had plans to lay waste to Phandalin as well, which is why he asked the adventurers to dispose of him once and for all. Although they hesitated at first, the White Crows agreed to step up to the challenge.
	The White Crows themselves were definitely something to look at. A benevolent four person group of varying races and occupations from across the Forgotten Realms, they had come together to ward off the evil forces that would take advantage of innocent people and towns across the lands. Their names were now well known in the small mining town of Phandalin and its surrounding villages: Narx, Xanderen, Krushna, and Balundar.
	Narx was a half dragon and the youngest of the group. He had shiny, silver scales instead of skin and wore a full set of chain mail armor. A paladin of the draconic deity Bahamut, Narx had fought to free his hometown from the clutches of slavery at the hands of a tyrant, but at the last minute he was chased away under threat of death and exiled from the only place he ever knew. He vowed to become stronger and find people who could help him one day take back his town and defeat the tyrant once and for all. This was the man who had taken charge and decided to lead the White Crows.
As they were travelling between the abandoned stone buildings, his eyes darted between the rest of his group, landing first on Balundar. To Narx, Balundar seemed a curious sort, but you couldn’t help but laugh at his odd ways and his overall merry attitude, although today he looked anything but joyous. Although a half dragon like himself, the difference between him and Balundar was like night and day. For starters, Balundar’s scales were red, rather than silver like his own, and he wore cloth garments rather than any sort of armor. Balundar was also much more jovial and nonchalant, as well as the eldest of the group. However, the poor fellow was inevitably doomed, as the party knew well.
	Balundar had spent most of his life as an astronomer in the Sword Mountains, not too far from where Narx once lived. However, he had been deceived in giving up his soul to a demon in an exchange for mysterious powers. Although Balundar was doomed to damnation, he decided he would use the remainder of his life and his powers to perform great deeds across the Forgotten Realms and to help people who needed him most, which happened to be the mission of the White Crows.
	Narx shook his head and tried to clear such gloomy thoughts from his mind. The tower was beginning to come into view when Xanderen stopped the party.
	“I’ll make sure the way is clear. We don’t want any repeats of last time” Xanderen said as he grinned back at Narx. He was shrouded in a dark green cloak that covered him head to toe, save his pointed elf ears, and helped him blend into the environment easily. He was definitely a mysterious fellow with a hidden past, but nevertheless he had proved himself time and time again in combat and Narx had deemed him a trustworthy ally and friend, which was good enough for the rest of the party.
	Narx, clearly flustered, stuttered out, “Hey, how was I supposed to know some jerk would lay a bear trap on the ground? In a castle, no less!” His defiant statement was to no avail though, for Xanderen was already a few meters ahead of the rest of the party, checking along the path for any traps that may lay hidden. Narx muttered something about typical rogue behavior and carried on moving forward with the remaining two people of his party.
	After a few minutes, Narx and the rest of the party caught up with Xanderen and were finally at the foot of the tower. The stone building stood incredibly tall, so tall that Narx could barely spot the roof high above, just beneath the clouds. He couldn’t believe his eyes; they were finally here. This was definitely the most dangerous and insane mission the White Crows had ever undertaken, and yet here they were at the final stretch. Before they entered however, Krushna stopped them.
	“Let me say a quick prayer before we go in there. We’re going to need all the divine help we can get if we plan to make it out alive.” She closed her eyes and started concentrating. The symbol on her shield began to glow with a radiant light, which soon bathed the rest of the party. After about a minute, the light receded and she opened her eyes. “Alright, that’s the best I can offer. Let’s do this.”
	As both a dwarf and a cleric, Krushna was definitely the most sturdy of the group. Countless times she had stepped in front of danger that would have seriously wounded or even killed anyone else in the group, only to walk away with a few scratches or a limp for a few days. With the spiritual protection of her god, as well as the physical protection of her plated armor, she was practically a moving fortress. As such, Narx and the rest of the group deemed it best not to get on her bad side.
	After the prayer, Narx felt his heart beating faster than before, and he felt warmer and much more assured. Even Balundar looked far less nervous and was no longer visibly shaking. Now that the last of his nerves had been calmed, he was ready to delve into the tower and face Venomfang head on.
	Narx pushed open the large, wooden double doors which opened into a vast circular room with a winding spiral staircase that led all the way to the top of the tower. As they began to ascend, Narx noticed Balundar starting to look nervous again. “Pull yourself together, Balundar. Everything’s gonna be ok.”
“We’ve never faced a dragon before. You know how dragons feel about people like you and me…” he stuttered out, “I just don’t want to die.” Narx frowned for a bit before regaining his composure and responding.
“Nobody is going to die today, Balundar. Besides, if the dragon tries to kill anyone in this party, he’ll have to kill me first,” he said confidently.
“I’d rather nobody died…” Balundar murmured quietly. At this point Xanderen and Krushna turned around and began to interject.
“Calm down. Of all people you’re not going to die,” started Krushna, “you always get away. Remember the time you got jumped by three orcs? Sure you were all bruised and battered, but you made it out just fine!”
“Or that time when you almost got eaten by a bear” Xanderen added slyly, chuckling to himself.
“Alright, alright, I get your point!” said Balundar, shivering as he remembered the awful situations. “You guys are right, we’ll be fine. We’re always fine.” Narx smiled at this, and the group continued to climb up the giant spiral staircase.
After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the top of the tower. Narx stepped out onto the roof first, and was immediately shocked by the display before him.
The roof was a large, rectangular area with pillars and another area towards the back. Farther in the back at the center was a giant pile of gold and jewels, and there lay Venomfang. Narx thought to himself now how impossible it was for the legends to truly convey the length and power of a dragon after finally seeing one for himself. The creature was about 50 feet in length, with a wingspan of about 30 feet or so. It must’ve weighed thousands of pounds too. Venomfang was completely green, save for his underbelly which was a pale white. His claws were about the size of Narx himself and looked like they could easily tear apart entire buildings.
As the adventurers continued up the stairs, the dragon raised his head and stared at them. “Who dares to come before me?!” Venomfang shouted with a booming voice that nearly deafened the party.
After a few moments of silence, Narx spoke up, “We’ve come to ask you to leave. You’re disturbing the peace and are a threat to the good people of this town!” as Narx said this, he was thankful for Krushna’s prayer earlier, for without it he would probably be shaking like crazy right about now. The dragon merely laughed at him with a boisterous, sinister laugh.
“And what if I don’t?” he sneered back at Narx.
“Then we’ll remove you by force!”
Venomfang’s sly grin quickly turned into a menacing growl. “Your nonsense no longer amuses me. Leave or die.” Narx could feel his stomach churning. Everything in his body wanted to run, but he knew he couldn’t leave behind the people of the town or his friends, and he stood his ground.
“This is no joke,” Narx retaliated, “prepare to be slain, vile beast!” The whole time they were speaking, Xanderen had taken advantage of the situation to sneak around the sides of the roof and behind Venomfang, and was finally at his back. Xanderen took a deep breath and readied his sword.
“How dare a half dragon- a bastard child speak to me in such a way. I will destro- OWWWW” the dragon roared as he turned around to see Xanderen grinning, holding the sword plunged into his backside. Venomfang grunted and swung his tail, slamming the rogue to the back wall and knocking the wind out of him. “You will perish!” said Venomfang.
Narx almost froze in fear as he saw the dragon start to open its massive mouth which started to fill with a green, gaseous substance. “Watch out!” he called just as the dragon started spewing forth a powerful green mist from his maw. Narx and Krushna pulled their shields up and felt the acidic breath eat at their bodies, their armor, and what felt like their entire beings. Still, when the gas finally cleared, they were standing. Narx was relieved at first, until he suddenly remembered who was behind him. He noticed the look of horror on Xanderen’s face from the back of the room, as he slowly turned to look behind him.
There stood Balundar, a husk of what he once was, barely standing. Narx and Krushna had the benefit or armor and shields, but Balundar merely had cloth rags on him. His once bright scales were dull and melted, as if the life had been sucked out of him. “Balundar... BALUNDAR!” Narx shouted, running over to catch him just before he fell over. Narx could feel how cold and hollow his body was now, and could sense the life in him fading.
Just before he passed away, Balundar looked into Narx’s eyes, smiled, and said in the language that only those with draconic blood in their veins could understand, “Make sure everyone else gets out okay…” and with that the last bit of life in Balundar’s body faded as he crumpled lifeless in Narx’s arms.
	The entire group was stunned. Balundar always made it out, everyone did. Nobody died in their group. Nobody. Narx was in disbelief; his friend was now lying dead in his grasp. Tears began to form in his eyes. He was interrupted by the sound of that boisterous, awful, evil laughter once more. “BWAHAHAHAHA! That’s what bastard children like you get. You have no right to claim draconic heritage. The rest of you will soon follow suit” Venomfang yelled out as he continued to laugh.
Narx’s sorrow quickly turned to anger. This dragon, this monster, this beast, had taken away his ally, his friend. Narx promised Balundar that he’d protect him, yet lo and behold here he lay, dead and drained completely of all life. Narx gritted his teeth and turned around, “I’ll kill you for that, I swear! There will be no mercy!” he screamed as he ran headlong at the dragon. He didn’t care what happened, he didn’t care if he died. He had to hurt this monster. He had to make this beast feel ten times the pain and agony his friend had felt. As he ran, Venomfang began to swing his claws, but whether by some miracle or by sheer determination, Narx managed to stay just out of reach as he dashed between the dragon’s arms.
Venomfang shrieked as Narx thrust his sword deep into his underbelly and continued to run, cutting a giant gash along the dragon’s stomach. He made a cut about fifteen feet long before he was finally knocked away by the dragon’s wings. “How dare you!” he shouted “I’ll destroy you! I’ll tear you all to pieces!” As he continued to shout, Xanderen ran from the back and jumped onto the dragon’s back, stabbing him repeatedly. Venomfang began to shake violently as Xanderen clung for dear life, continuing to stab the beast several more times until he was finally thrown off.
Venomfang, now clutching his stomach, opened up his giant wings and began to ascend towards the sky. “I’ll be back,” he shouted, “I won’t forget you, adventurers. I’ll burn down your town; I’ll burn down every town. I’ll kill your friends, your families, and when everything has been razed, I will tear you limb from limb!” he called out as he started to flap his giant wings.
	Just as he began to fly away though, a bolt of lightning from Krushna struck him square in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. Once he hit the ground, Venomfang remained still. After a few moments, Xanderen carefully approached the dragon and felt for a pulse. “He’s… dead. We did it. We killed him!” he exclaimed. His joy was quickly replaced with grief though as he looked over and once again saw his dead comrade lying on the ground. Narx prayed deeply to his god as Krushna attempted to heal Balundar with magic over and over. Despite all their efforts though, it was too late. He was dead. Even worse, he had lost his soul to a demon, so he would remain in the demonic plane forever. There was nothing that could be done. Even in death, the heroes would never be able to see him again.
After a few hours of silent grieving, they returned to the townspeople and received their rewards. They were hailed as heroes, true pillars of justice and righteousness. It gave no consolation to them though. They had lost their friend forever, and nothing could change that. Sadly, that was the nature of their work though. They risked their lives time after time for the sake of the greater good; it was only a matter of time before one of them fell.
The next few days were spent travelling to the Sword Mountains to bury Balundar back at his home. Although Narx was a bit anxious being in such close proximity to his hometown, he bit back his anger and fear and continued up the mountain with the rest of the group until they reached an area close to the peak with a small, wooden cabin.
This was Balundar’s home. This is where there friend had spent the majority of his life. Nobody else lived had here besides Balundar, so the cabin was mostly empty, save for a small bedroll and stacks upon stacks of books about stars and different planets. However, as Narx took in the sight, he saw a strange book near Balundar’s bedroll that looked different than the rest of the tomes lying around. This book was bound in dark black leather, with a title written in blood red in a language that he had never seen before.
Narx slowly peeled back the cover, and after lifting it just a few inches up, was blasted back against the wall as a great, swirling vortex shot out from the pages. After hearing the noise, Xanderen and Krushna quickly ran inside to see what was happening.
“What’s going on?” Xanderen shouted over the loud vibrations coming from the vortex. Before Narx could even get a chance to speak though, a giant, demonic looking figure appeared before them. Thankfully, it seemed to be just an illusion rather than the real thing, but even the illusion managed to convey the demon’s menacing presence.
“If you want your friend back,” the image said in a deep, imposing voice, “you’re going to have to come get him.” The image began to fade as a red portal formed in its place. This had to be the demon that had tricked Balundar, and if that’s the case then this must be a portal to the demonic plane. They could bring him back! However, Narx realized that this same demon had already tricked poor Balundar before, and must certainly have traps lying in store for them should they enter the portal.
Nevertheless, Narx in good conscious couldn’t ignore this opportunity to save his friend. He looked to the other two, expecting that he’d have to convince them, but before he could get the words out, they nodded at him and began to walk towards the portal. Narx steeled himself, and moved forward up to within mere inches of the portal. It appeared the White Crows had found their next adventure.