Awakening the next morning, after everyone had strangely vivid dreams (or nightmares), Haddin shocked the crew by accepting the "offer" of safe travel to Seaquen. Though put off by his brusque nature, they accepted, and set off at morning, leaving the farmhouse unlocked... clearly, they would never return, so why bother? After Torrent distributed the vials, everyone consumed one potion of Stand the Heat, and they proceeded into the Fire Forest.
Within Innenotdar, they soon realized that the heat was not the only hazard, as swirling smoke clouds left some of the party wheezing. They were put off by finding corpses directly on the Elfroad less than a mile in, but were shocked when one of them suddenly lurched towards them! Holding back, the Paladin promptly surged healing into them, granting them some semblance of stability. They asked of their wife and son, but upon learning of their deaths, fell despondant. At his wish, he was quickly dispatched. As the party discussed their next steps, he suddenly gasped, returning to life! Everyone panicked, including the man, who stumbled off into the fires in a confused panic.
Later, continuing their journey south, they came to a damaged bridge across a narrow but deep ravine, crossing it carefully to avoid any additional damage to the structure, but still drawing the attention of swarms of fiery bats! Though the critters were dispatched easily enough, they were much more difficult to keep down, as one by one, they rose again to continue their strikes. Though they noticed a destroyed cart at the base of the ravine, they moved along quickly, unwilling to explore it further.
The incredibly perceptive Druid, meanwhile, continued to notice odd bursts of flame in the woods around them, perhaps even containing a figure within. Was something watching them?
Ultimately, though, they heard the sound of their planned destination... the White River that bisects Innenotdar, right near the old elvish village that should provide some suitable shelter. Their advance was blocked with a sudden crash of trees before them, and a shriek from Crystin to get out of the way. Fire elementals burst into being, pushing the team to its limits, but ultimately falling before their combined forces... barely. Stopping to catch their breath, the team was suddenly confronted with a terrifying visage of a burning draconic face, demanding that they free it from its prison, lest they remain sealed in the forest for all time; unable to escape, and unable to die...