===== Session 1: Meeting at Riverpond ===== === Evening, 15th Summer Prime, 498 CE === * A young wizard named [[characters:ekhart|Ekhart Mayze]] traveled to the sleepy town of [[wiki:places:riverpond|Riverpond]]. * [[wiki:npcs:fredrick_vanden|Baron Vanden]], the town’s mayor, explained that the farmer [[wiki:npcs:jack_baylen|Jack Baylen’s]] sheep had been going missing. * He told Ekhart he knew [[wiki:npcs:delrune_mayze|his mother]], and trusted her judgement in sending him. * [[characters:sanglant|Sanglant]], a traveling monk, had also arrived in Riverpond a few days earlier, having heard that the Baron was wanting to hire some mercenaries for a job. * Two sellswords were waiting for a mission from the Baron as well; * an old stoic foreigner named [[wiki:npcs:egren_otter|Egren Otter]], and * another [[wiki:npcs:tavian_larg|impatient sellsword]] that stormed out of the town in frustration before anyone could get his name. * [[characters:revana|Revana]], a druid traveling at the behest of her deity Terra, stumbled upon Riverpond. * She saw the Onward Inn and immediately knew whatever Terra wanted of her was in that Inn. * She also saw two people; a large [[wiki:npcs:inquisitor|Inquisitor]] and a young cleric named [[wiki:npcs:remy_dane|Sister Remy Dane]]. * Revana overheard the Inquisitor telling the cleric to find something and deliver it to him, and then left. * Rev and the cleric had a short conversation before entering the Onward Inn. * As Sang was serenading [[wiki:npcs:kellen_brand|Kellen Brand]], the pretty innkeeper, Ekhart entered the tavern. * He proceeded to hire Sang, Rev, and Egren on a mission to hunt down whatever was stealing the sheep. * Remy informed Ekhart that Baron Vanden had conceded to allow Remy to accompany them on the mission. * The five of them set out, heading to the Boathouse for quick passage across the pond. * They met [[wiki:npcs:greg_newerth|Greg Newerth]], a drunken ferryman, who ferried them across the pond. * As they sailed, the party noticed hundreds of tiny floating lights in the water. * Ferryman Newerth informed them that these little water lights had been in the town as long as anyone could remember. * He said that people in the town believe the lights keep them safe. * The party arrived at Jack Baylen’s farm. * Rev and Egren went to investigate the destroyed sheep’s pen. * Ekhart, Sang, and Remy talked to the destitute farmer. * They learned that whatever had been attacking his farm, was way bigger than a wolf, and it even hunted during the day. * No one had gotten a good look at it though. * Rev began to follow the beast’s tracks north, while Egren took great interest in Rev’s ability to track. * The group eventually reached a small, stony cliff where Rev proceeded to cast a Detect Magic spell, much to the amazement of the rest of the party. * Ekhart tried to assure Remy (a Cleric with [[wiki:organizations:church_of_light|the Church]]) that all elves could cast magic, but Remy didn’t seem particularly disturbed. * Rev detected a small, fist-sized object that was imbued with Transmutation magic. * She also noticed a great amount of magical energy coming off of Ekhart and the religious symbol hanging around Remy’s neck. * Egren tied a rope around a tree, Sang tossed a torch down the cliff to illuminate their way, and the party made their way down. * At the bottom, they saw a cave. * Knowing they were about to fight some kind of monster, Revana turned into a bear. * This, again, shocked the party. * As they began to travel into the cave, a massively grotesque dog tried to jump on Sang who deftly dodged out of the way. * They began to fight the beast. * Ekhart tried to cast a spell secretly, but was noticed by Egren. * Sometime during the fight, Remy slipped away. * After the beast was slain, Rev started tearing into the dog, ripping out a stone of [[items:polished_quartz|blue quartz]] from the beast’s gullet. * As soon as the stone was removed from the dog, however, it dissolved into blood and bones. * Just then, Remy came out of the cave. * Sang noticed her bag was open and a book was shoved in haphazardly. * After some probing, Remy reluctantly showed the party the book the Inquisitor had instructed her to find. * It was the [[items:journal_of_brother_waybrush|journal]] of a deranged priest named [[wiki:npcs:evan_waybrush|Brother Waybrush]], who apparently had fed the dog they had just killed the magic stone Rev had found. * Remy appeared to be very ashamed of taking the journal and lying about it. * As the party was looking around the cave, Sang suddenly had an out of body experience. * He realized he was in the Faerealm. * The runes that lined the walls of the cave were glowing, and several mysterious cuts were lacerating the air. * As he peered into them, he saw that the cuts seemed to lead to the material plane. * He also saw Ekhart’s true tiefling form. * He eventually made his way back to the material plane, and realized that something about Ekhart and this blue quartz helped him travel into the Faerealm. * Rev asked her god, Terra, for guidance and received a single cryptic word ‘TORN.’ * Ekhart paid Sang and Egren for their services and asked if they were up to travel to [[wiki:places:old_kings_keep|Old King’s Keep]], a castle to the north, where the deranged Brother Waybrush was still at large, according to his journal. * They both agreed, while Remy said she wanted to get to the bottom of what happened to Brother Waybrush. ---- [[:recap| Back]]