Kalanthe was kidnapped shortly after birth and whisked away to the border of the fey realm. An ancient fey witch, Elfrida, raised her as one of her own. She taught Kalanthe the secret paths of the forest and the healing properties of the herbs that grew there.

As Kalanthe came of age, she began to assist the witch in her many dark rituals and acted as an apprentice to the other members of the coven. Her stomach churned at the sight of the sacrifices – but the alternative to helping with the rituals was to become the sacrifice instead.

Kalanthe longed for freedom. The prospect of being forced to join the coven weighed heavily upon her. She begged Elfrida to release her, but the witch would sooner see Kalanthe dead than see her leave.

Under the cover of the next new moon, Kalanthe escaped. Using the spells she learned from the coven, she disguised herself and followed the dark paths to the edge of the woods, away from Elfrida's grasp and to her freedom.

It took two days of hard riding before we saw Elturel on the horizon. I noticed the city had rebuilt quickly; however, signs of its journey to Avernus are still burnt into its bricks. Looking up at its vast towers, I could see the walls were still singed black with soot.

We entered the city, Smoke with her hood up and I still in my elvish disguise. The tabaxi did not seem comfortable in crowds. and I did not blame her. Guards at the front gate took our names and, once realising we were friends of Leosin, guided us to a tavern where we were awaited.

Leosin greeted us warmly and introduced us to his companion, a man named Ontharr Frume. A large, imposing man, Frum is a paladin of Torm and a member of the Order of the Guantlet. Leosin also mentioned a third member of their group, a representative from the Emerald Enclave, who unfortunately could not make it to the meeting.

"My friends, we have important business to discuss. At this point, you know almost as much as we do, and thanks to you, we know twice as much as we did ten days ago. Something rotten is afoot. We have no formal organisation to oppose these rascals – not yet, anyway. We are working on that. And we need people like you who know how and when to fight and how and when to keep their heads down and observe. We can't promise you anything except long days filled with danger and stress – but what could be better than that, eh?" the man boisterously said, clapping Smoke on the shoulder and causing her fur to stand on end.

They charted out the plan—to intercept the cultist's caravans in Baldur's Gate. The cult is headed north, according to the notes they left at camp and the Gauntlet's intel as well. Leosin and Ontharr asked us to join their cause and help them defeat the cultists before they could do any more harm.

Smoke and I agreed, and we were granted travelling funds and supplies. A member of each faction joined us in our quest. From the Gauntlet came a man named Danr, who wielded a great sword taller than me. From the Harpers, an elf cleric named Andraste who had a long bow and long red hair. The representative from the Emerald Enclave is planning to meet us in Baldur’s Gate and is currently keeping an eye on the cultist's movement there.

I realised that I was still in my other form, so I banished the spell, revealing my curling horns and tail. Leosin and Smoke did not react, as they knew who I really was, but my new companions had a hard time concealing the shock. The Harper did not seem to mind my tiefling heritage, but Danr seemed perturbed.

It would usually take three days to reach Baldur's Gate by horseback, but luckily the harpers had a plan. They had an accomplice with a teleportation circle that connects from a tower here in Elturel all the way to a tavern in the outer city of Baldur's Gate.

Leosin and Ontharr wished us good luck and told us to keep them posted with anything we learn. We bid them farewell and stepped into the portal.

Part One

Smoke, being the stealthiest of our group, led the way to the cave's entrance. The mouth of the cavern is wide and tall but, luckily, not large enough to fit the dragon that had attacked Greenest.

Smoke spied two guards, humans dressed in black armor adorned in spikes and horns. She notched her bow, taking the first guard down with a headshot. Yuldra shot a quick firebolt at the other, burning his arm, with Agran finishing the job with a quick swing of his staff.

I dragged the bodies behind some boulders; we did not want the kobold coming back and finding them.

Agran, Yuldra, and I were not quick to see it, but Smoke was able to spy a secret entrance at the side of the chamber. We decided to stick with the main path, which led to a chamber full of fungus. There were two paths leading out, one leading left and the other right. A rancid smell crept in from the left pathway, so we agreed to go right.

I tucked some of the fungi in my herbalist's pack before we left—I wonder what properties they carried.

The next room was large and lit by multiple torches. The walls were carved in ornate drawings of chromatic dragons. On the farthest wall is a carving of Tiamat herself, crawling out of a volcano and worshipped by the others. After a bit of study, I noticed that most of the carvings were those of black dragons. I wondered if they were favored over the others. A large chest sat at her feet in tribute. In the center of the shrine room stood Langdedrosa, the half-dragon from Greenest. She seemed mostly healed, except that she was now missing an arm. Two human guards accompanied her.

This room had no place to hide, so there was no sneaking by the group. Langdedrosa quickly caught our scent, her face twisting into a feral smile. "I don't know whether to be disappointed or pleased to see you here; I suppose a bit of both. You took my arm, and now I will take your life!" she snarled.

This time around was different—I was not alone, and with my companions we were able to quickly defeat the two humans accompanying the half-dragons. Between Yuldra's, Agram's, and my spellcasting and the quick shots of arrows from Smoke, we were able to defeat Langdedrosa for good.

Smoke wanted to take the treasure with us and with a keen eye spotted the trap it was connected to. Working swiftly, she was able to disconnect the trap and lockpick the chest, revealing pearls, precious stones, and a ring. I am sure they belong to Greenest, but I think the Tabaxi had plans to keep them for herself.

The next chamber was incredibly moist; the air was thick and had many stalactites descending from the ceiling. The room is dark and smells of copper. A thin layer of liquid lined the floor, and after looking closer, we noticed it was blood. Most of us have dark vision and were able to make out the silhouette of three large eggs in the center of the room. Small chirps and knocking noises seemed to be coming from them, making me worried that they were going to hatch soon…and wondering where their parents were.

Yuldra, being human and not being able to see, cast a spell to light the cavern… alerting the two guard drakes hiding in the corners! On the other side, a stalagmite seemed to move of its accord… It immediately gave me the creeps, so we made sure to stay as far away as possible.

We had to fight the two guard drakes and unfortunately took quite a bit of damage after it was all said and done. I had a deep slash on my right leg, and Yuldra suffered a bite to her shoulder. Agran came out of the fight almost unscuffed, but Smoke had lost part of her tail. Working together, Yuldra and I were able to stop the bleeding, but Smoke would have a stubbed tail for the rest of her life.

The final chamber we entered belonged to a human woman in deep purple robes, speaking to a group of guards. I overheard her speaking of someone named Rezmir and that they were to meet them in the north with the rest of the treasure…but then she spotted us. Yelling at her guards to stop us, she grabbed her items and fled down the pathway at the other end of her room.

By the time we had defeated the guards, the woman was long gone. We searched through her belongings but did not find anything truly of use.

The final chamber of the hatchery cave was once the treasury, but now is an empty room with a few coins scattered here and there. A sleeping cultist lay in the corner, surrounded by several bottles of wine. We let him sleep.

We contemplated returning for the eggs but decided to let them be. With the rest of the cultists flushed from the cave and campsite, this place could do no more harm to the people of Greenest. We agreed to return as quickly as we could to deliver the news to Nighthill and Leosin and to let them know the cult has headed north.

We exited the treasury through a dark pathway and found ourselves back at the start of the cave. We had been here longer than I thought; the sun had started to set. We headed down the dirt trail once more to Greenest, this time taking half the night since we let our horses go.

The city was asleep by the time we returned but was already looking better than it had when we left. Multiple tents were set up for refugees, and the keep was alight in the centre of town. Guards greeted us as we entered Greenest and showed us a tent to rest in until the next day.

The tent is cosy; a small cot lies in the corner with a lantern. It's the first time I have had a moment to myself in days, and all the memories of running from my home to the massacre of Greenest and then the cultists' camp came crashing back on me. My chest tightened and tears welled in my eyes; this is not the adventure I had wanted. I miss my books and plants. I miss the seashore and my friends. I want to go home.