The party took a long rest at Aramond’s Lookout, recovering from their confrontation with Ghorzak the Red. As midnight approached, they made their way back to Southaven under cover of darkness, avoiding the bandit camps that still gripped the valley.
Inside the town, they found Lord Elrin Kael and Brenlan, who were elated to see Velara. The reunion was warm but shadowed by loss. Elen Tywin and her daughter Vanessa stood nearby, grief-stricken and hollow-eyed. When Vanessa asked if they had found her father, the party confirmed what she feared: Lord Tywin was dead, executed by goblins at the lookout. In a small mercy, Momeline returned Vanessa’s small dog, Beefy, alive and well. The girl clutched the dog tightly, and for a moment, the weight of the siege seemed to lift from her shoulders.
The party’s plan was clear: signal Landor to begin his assault on the northern blockade. They lit the beacon on the walls, but when no response came, they sent Talan Windfern to deliver the message directly. Within the hour, Landor’s forces struck. The sounds of battle echoed from the north as the bandits scrambled to defend their position. Seizing the moment, the party moved south to sabotage the blockade from behind.
Ferinthria struck first. Her fireball incinerated four bandits in an instant. Momeline loosed her last Bolts of Shadow’s Mark, and with the majority of the enemy forces distracted by Landor’s assault, the southern camp fell quickly.
In the chaos, they found Rothgar Red-Hand standing over caged prisoners, crossbow aimed and finger on the trigger. “Let me walk,” he snarled, “or they die.” The party let him flee. The prisoners were Gareth Voss and Harlan Drexel, both weakened but alive. As they helped them to their feet, a bone-rattling screech split the air: A hydra was attacking Southaven.
The creature tore through the town, a mass of thrashing heads and scaled fury. Buildings collapsed under its weight. Guards fell. Dravencoles summoned his divine steed, pulled Momeline up behind him, and rode at full gallop to intercept. Lirielle and Ferinthria followed close behind.
The fight was brutal. The party quickly realized that fire was the key. Flames scorched scales, and radiant light seared flesh. The hydra smashed through the walls of the keep, scattering defenders and crushing stone beneath its bulk, but the party pressed the assault. One by one, the heads fell and did not rise again. When the last head dropped, the hydra collapsed in the courtyard of the keep, its massive corpse steaming in the firelight. Around them, Southaven burned. Guards shouted orders. Civilians screamed.