That's how it always starts...

As you lay back on the soft mattress or a rough hewn chair in your simple but comfortable room in Wrafton's Inn, you think back on the day that brought you here.

Before you left Falcrest, you were joined by a young cleric of Kord who also seeks your mentor, Düvren Stahl. The cleric hopes to uncover the nefarious activities of a cult he has heard of in the area. Düvren Stahl, being a somewhat noted explorer, might have some information.

You look forward to finding the man. His vast knowledge and experience will surely make everything fall into place!

You have spoken to several of the patrons in the inn, and plan to inquire further in this tiny village of Winterhaven... after a well-deserved rest.

Slavana Wrafton, the proprietor, knows of a keep in the area, the same keep the scholar Parl Cranewing wants you to bring him a map of. She's quite certain it's a ruin and full of horrible monsters, and suggests you talk to Valthrun the Prescient, local sage and scholar. Of Düvren, she says only that he had taken a room at the inn but vanished shortly after. She clearly thinks rumours of a cult in the area are ridiculous, but tells you to talk to Sister Linora at the temple of Avandra.

Eilian the Old, a local farmer, met Düvren and gave him directions to an old burial site to the southwest of the village, directions which he also shares with you. He seems fascinated by the idea of an evil cult, but doesn't seem to take the idea seriously. He suggests you might talk to Lord Padraig, who is the leader of WInterhaven.

Valthrun the Prescient recalls that the keep used to be some kind of watchtower, but it has been a ruin since before he was born. He admits curiosity and suggests you speak with him on another day, after he has had a chance to do some research. His pockets yield a total of 6 silver pieces to Mardeyrian's nimble fingers, which you use to buy the poor fellow some ale.

The elf in the corner, whose name was either never learned or lost in the bottom of one of several pitchers of ale, is a bit mysterious, but she seems to be the only one in the inn who knows anything about evil cults. She tells you of a cave hidden behind a waterfall, in the woods to the southeast where she thinks the cultists go. She thinks they're in league with the kobolds.

The kobolds.

When most common folk we're comfortably eating dinner, safe in their homes, you were in bloody, screaming battle with eight kobold brigands. Kane identified their tracks moments before they attacked, and everything went red. You haven't thought much about that battle until now, when the clash of steel and the screams of pain and death echo in your thoughts as the evening outside grows quiet. You glance at the corner of your room where some of the loot from the battle now sits, and remember that the coins you found in their pockets paid for your rooms, meals and ales tonight.

You wonder how you will feel about that in the morning.

Before you drift off to sleep, you wonder how you and your companions will be remembered in this small settlement, and what the villagers will say of you when they they tell stories to their children.

The Adventure Begins

Fallcrest. Three friends meet at the Blue Moon Taphouse to discuss the whereabouts of their common friend and mentor Düvren Stahl. Last seen heading towards the village of Winterhaven mumbling something about buried dragons, the noted explorer is more than a week overdue.

Kane, Amm, and Mardy had no more than just made the decision to look for their missing teacher when the scholar Parle Cranewing enters the Blue Moon looking for Stahl. Now the three have even more reason to find their missing friend, as Parle has offered a substantial reward for a map of some old ruins near Winterhaven.

After securing an advance on the payment, the three head out into the night to prepare for their journey the next day. WIth no more warning than a skittering of claws on the cobbles, a swarm of rats appears from the shadows. Their leader is half man, half rat, and seems to be curious about what their recent meeting with the scholar has yielded. The three friends offer him their blades for an answer...

(Game was Sunday, June 22, 2008)