Chapter 01

General Summary

A Stormy Beginning

In the nation of Tamre, in the foothills of the Mountains of the Sun, our story opens in two locations as the sun sets: the first is aboard one of the enormous airships of The Skyfarers' Guild, the Horizon; the second is in the gentle village of Hillside Slope.

Airship Horizon

• Airship Horizon attempts to outrun an approaching storm as it closes in on the foothills of the Mountains of the Sun in Tamre. Rain is already pelting the vessel.
• A tavern aboard the airship starts closing up as all passengers have been instructed to get to their cabins due to turbulent weather.
• The bartender, Zafaris Arkham, urges Maiya Glasscrack to finish her drink when more than twenty lightning bolts strike the ship in rapid succession.
• The lightning causes a fire in the tavern and a fire elemental emerges from the blaze.
• Both Zafaris and Maiya leap to confront the elemental, forcing it out into the rain to take advantage of its vulnerability to water.
• After the elemental is dispatched, the two heroes barely manage to keep their feet as something on the airship explodes and the Horizon cants suddenly to its side.
• Looking over the side, they realize the ground is rising toward them very fast—the airship is crashing.
• They rush to help the pilot out but do not manage to keep the Horizon aloft.

Hillside Slope

• Midgwyn Vanestra sits in the corner of the Appleblossom Inn as it begins to fill up with the evening joviality, a normal night in the Appleblossom Inn. Seated in the corner it is obvious she wishes privacy.
• The available seating in the Inn is exhausted as Le'otie Rardun enters and is seated at the same table as Midgwyn.
• At the nearby Whispering Falls, Oleander meditates, ignoring the impending weather even as it begins to rain.
• As the water level rises, however, Oleander retreats back to the village.
• Back at the Inn, Declain Maximillian enters the Appleblossom Inn and proceeds to make merry very loudly, much to the irritation of the in-house bard.
• As the storm intensifies, Le’otie notices a flash flood sweep through the village, sweeping several villagers away.
• All four adventurers rush outside with many other villagers to give aid. They manage to save several villagers, although one was crushed to death as they attempted to dig a villager out of his house after a tree smashed through its roof.
• They all hear a massive groaning sound and look up to see the Airship Horizon, its port side wreathed in flames, crash into the south end of the village.

No Rest for the Weary

• Through the combined efforts of the survivors of the crash and the residents of Hillside Slope the fires are put out and many innocents are rescued.
• All six adventurers are introduced to each other as they assist in the rescue efforts through until morning.
• Zafaris hears rumors from some of the Horizon’s crew that the storm wasn’t natural. The pilot believes the storm was chasing the Horizon.
• The adventurers get suspicious and, shrugging off their weariness, move to investigate. Oleander approaches the airship’s captain and, at first, fails to get the captain to admit anything side from a tragic and freak act of nature brought the Horizon down.
• A small scuffle ensues between Oleander and the first mate as the captain refuses to answer. In the confusion, Midgwyn manages to pickpocket the captain, finding a brass key and a page torn from a grimoire.
• Midgwyn steals aboard the airship to find the captain’s cabin.
• The captain eventually admits to the adventurers that, yes, he does suspect the Horizon was attacked. He believes the target was the airship’s Heartstone, a magical crystalline battery that powers all airships in The Skyfarers' Guild. But now that he is aware of the threat, his men will guard against any further aggression.
• In the captain’s cabin, Midgwyn finds a wall safe uses the key she pickpocketed to open it. Inside she finds several bags of coin and an assortment of a half-dozen gems. Her luck ends, however, as she is seen exiting the cabin.
• A chase ensues as Midgwn runs from the ship’s security. Emerging onto the deck, the chase is joined by the adventurers who want to know what is going on.
• Although Midgwyn manages to evade most of her pursuers, Le’otie tackles the rogue and immobilizes her in time for security to catch up. Unbeknownst to everyone, however, Midgwyn is able to plant the gems she stole on Le’otie and the spell page from the grimoire on Maiya.
• Though searched, Midgwyn is found guilty of nothing but trespassing. She is ejected from the airship.
• Le’otie and Maiya discover Midgwyn’s ruse concerning the stolen gems and page, question the rogue about the items, but ultimately decide to keep the items for themselves. Oleander is unaware of any of this.

Unwelcome Guests (part 1)

• Toward the end of the day, with only a couple of brief respites, the villagers and the crew of the Horizon gather in a common area of Hillside Slope to eat, both peoples sharing their resources.
• The adventurers take this time to get to know one another.
• Shortly after the sun sets and most people have eaten, several monsters—bestial creatures from the Mountains of Glass known as Ogriar, rumored to be creations of The Maeg Anri—rush the common area, intent on violence.

Report Date

20 Jul 2024