Masters Session Two

In the quiet dawn of Salisgrad, an unsettling cry shattered the morning tranquility at the Halfling Hearth Tea Room. Briez, one of Elara's daughters, was extolling the virtues of their freshly picked wild berries when a woman's desperate pleas for help cut through the air, pulling the heroes away from the comfort of their breakfast.
Outside, the scene was chaotic. Townsfolk gathered around a distraught woman, Millivent Moss, who clutched her infant son, Bo, while rebuffing attempts at consolation from a man named Jessup. Through her tears, she recounted a harrowing tale: her family's peat farm, merely an hour's journey from Salisgrad, had been savagely attacked by goblins that morning. She managed a narrow escape with Bo, thanks to Jessup's timely intervention, but her husband, children, and hired hands weren't as fortunate, dragged away by the goblins.
The Iron Guardians, tasked with maintaining order within Salisgrad, showed little interest in Millivent's plight, claiming their jurisdiction ended at the city's gates. However, they did hand a promissory note to the heroes, indicating a reward for their services should they choose to assist.
Guided by Millivent, they made their way through the bog to the site of the attack, where they were able to track the goblins and their captives to a cave lair. The tracks revealed the goblins had taken numerous prisoners, hinting at a significant force within.
Upon reaching the cave, the heroes witnessed a clandestine meeting between a goblin and a human figure cloaked in mystery, discussing further raids and the acquisition of "dragon artifacts" for coin and gifts.
Navigating the goblin lair presented its own set of challenges, from sneaking past goblin sentries to disarming traps set to alert the lair of intruders. The deeper the heroes delved, the more the lair revealed about its inhabitants: a tribe of goblins recently settled following a dragon's demise, now under the influence of the Church of the First.
The climax unfolded in a chamber where Gorrunk, a bugbear leading the goblins, held sway over his minions and the prisoners. A strategic assault saw the bugbear defeated, his goblins surrendering, and the prisoners, including an Aspis Consortium agent, Chaab, who had been caught investigating the Church's activities. Chaab's insights into the dragon, the Church of the First, and the goblins' newfound alliance with mysterious humans painted a grim picture of the forces at work.
With the prisoners safe and new questions looming about the dragon's legacy and the Church's intentions, the heroes pondered their next moves, the weight of the promissory note in their pocket a small consolation for the daunting journey ahead.