Session 0 - Prologue Report

General Summary

The session began with the party meeting with Vylan and Rowena at the Pathfinder Lodge in Magnimar - Heidmarch Manor. Vylan laid out the details of the task - travel to Underfall, find Anetta Blackthorn (the missing Druid), find out what happened, and report back. The party was given a generous expense budget to buy winter clothing, rations, and other needed supplies.   Along the way, the party was accosted by a crew of pickpockets. They were easily fought off, and Amir referred them to the temple of Sarenrae - telling them that they did not need to steal to survive.   E (Eddie?) had broken away to do their own thing. They found a very seedy bar, and were looking for anyone who had been to the Underfall region recently. They learned that Underfall was not "on the way" to anywhere - people only went there if they had business in Underfall itself. They spoke to a man who used to work on a ferry going up to Turtleback Ferry - this person had recent information of the Ferry region, but nothing relevant to E's interests.
After some coin and further asking around, they did meet with a teamster who had been part of a crew who was en-route to Underfall to pick up the harvest. They heard that the crops had failed at that they were not needed - but they went anyway, thinking that maybe this was a way for the village to tell them to kick rocks once a better deal from another crew. When they got their, they found that the crops had indeed failed. Practically overnight, every crop was dead and rotting on the vine.   After securing their information and supplies, the party met at the Dreaming Dryad. They purchased some mildly-hallucinogenic incense (as this was a high-class drug den) and recapped what they had learned throughout the day.   The next morning, they met with Rowena at the designated place and time, and boarded The River Rat. Bartamus Mewes met them at the dock, Captain Pitch was screeching at Amlo as the party was preparing to board. Amir had a conversation with Har Sterniv, one of the rowers, and comforted Amlo for his decision to take on the cargo (which lead to the ship being diverted, and Captain Pitch's foul mood).   The initial plan (to take the party all the way to Turtleback Ferry) was de-railed, as they were needed to take supplies to Biston. The party was refunded more than a fair amount of their fee - enough to cover both the missed leg of the trip, and to cover ground transportation from Whistledown to Ilsurian (where they could board a ferry to Turtleback).   In Whistledown, the party met a person who had seen Annetta - roughly in the timeline of when she would have been traveling to Underfall. Nobody had seen her more recently. The party secured a wagon to carry them to Ilsurian, and the trip took just over two days to complete. Along the way, they met Michael, a dollmaker who shared his campfire and stew with them.   The morning after parting ways with Michael, and the last morning of their journey, the party met a few Elves wearing wooden masks (Atalia identied the Elves as "Spiresworn", a group of elves who see it as their duty to maintain control over relics of the Azlanti empire). Their leader spoke to the party through Atalia, who spoke "the lesser tongue" (Elven).   He asked if the party had met The Dollmaker. They said that they had, and mentioned having bought a doll from him. The strange elf insisted that they hand over the doll to him, and only reluctantly offered to pay them what they had purchased it for. When asked why he was looking for Michael, he replied that Michael had things which did not belong to him. He also answered many questions with the phrase "there are things which must not be known."

Character(s) interacted with

Terukaar, owner of the tea shop
Elena, who tried to pick-pocket Amir
The River Rat, the ship which took them to Whistledown and is to pick them up in Turtleback Ferry for their return trip
Michael, the doll-maker, who the party met on the road to Ilsurian.