Chapter 4: I'll Take the Job

After reviewing their options for contracts, the Four Horsemen are fueled to go pirate hunting, and travel to the Sharkeel Cove by horseback. They arrive to a small settlement north of the cove to resupply and gather information. All they know is that they are looking for a band of pirates rumored to worship a great blue water dragon spirit, who have a base in the cove. After talking with the alchemist, tavern keeper and a few shops, they head toward the mountain pass.
They make short work of the kobolds on the dock, seeing some of the Masquerade crew are among the pirates helping them to unload. Fights break out on the docks, throughout the cave and culminates in a showdown in the ruins of an old ship deep in the cave. The Four Horsemen find a key and a door, but before heading into that direction, they notice a web-covered passage that seems undisturbed, and their curiosity and greed lead them deeper into the cave.
On the other side of the passage, the group encounter Oblesh, the Spider Mother in her lair, which is covered by web and the glow of a magical statue in the center of the room. After battling the massive spider and her children, the group dispatches the creature and destroy the medusa statue in turn. A draconic magic calls to John Spartan who dips his hand in the pool left where the medusa once stood, and turns his arm to stone. For most, this would be a life-altering problem, but Spartan finds he has a new weapon to charge into battle. Two in fact, is a hidden chamber holds a magical great sword which responds to the stone hand. Most importantly, the group finds a package on a dead kobold containing magical robes that contain patches with items, a deep purple with a symbol the group decides to adopt as their own. The Horsemen had their name, and now, iconic garb.
The group heads back out the way they came and attempt to leave the cave, but a sentry had escaped and alerted the Masquerade, which brought reinforcements. Instead of a confrontation, the weakened group heads through the locked door to escape. But they are not ready for what they see...some sort of ritual chamber filled with gold over a bed of ropes, soaked in the blood of kobolds who have sacrificed themselves. In their haste, they step onto the floor, which buckles beneath their feet, and they begin to tumble into the depths below, seemingly to visit the great blue water dragon spirit...

Parent Plot

Book I: Once Upon a Time