Sunfall

"The plan is for the rest of us to follow in two days at dawn, or whatever passes for dawn now..." - Commander Alban Cobcastle

Plot points/Scenes

Chicken Little's Validation

Early in what would have been the party's first full day in Mudwater, as Bulgey and Fork are returning from The Mayor's Manor, and the others are planning their day at The Blushing Crow, the sun, at least the fiery bright aspects of itself, seem to detach from the orb itself and plummet to the ground, over the horizon to the southeast. Fork and Bulgey were the only party members to see it happen directly, while those within the tavern simply noticed the windows to the outside grow dark.

Light's Out

As both groups took but a moment to try to grasp what happened, a powerful sonic boom blasts through town, shaking buildings, shattering glass, and knocking the unprepared off of their feet. Sprinting the rest of the distance back to the tavern, Fork and Bulgey arrive to meet the others outside just as a second shockwave, this one arcane in nature, ripples through the town.
For some, the effect was negligible or nonexistent. Fork experienced a few moments of uncontrollable physical transformations, while Bulgey felt a strange force push through him with no tangible effect. Brian's new armor swirled with elemental air, and Wick, who had just exited The Blushing Crow, had his elemental features flare up suddenly.
However, for Tilly and others around town, things were more serious. Her eyes flared green, and the wild magics in both her staff and her inherent sorceress energy released, erupting as lightning from her body and seriously injuring both Fork and Brian. Regaining her senses, she was taken aback by the presence of a second genasi, similar in appearance to Wick but female, standing among the group.

A Change of Plans

Having barely recovered from the shock (and Fork now sporting a new white fur coat thanks to a DDD Potion to heal), a guard ushers the group to the town garrison, where Commander Alban Cobcastle had a variety of requests for the party. Firstly, their previous job to escort a trade caravan? Cancelled. But there was a new job on the table, an urgent one; take the King's Road south from Mudwater, and clear it of anything problematic as the town begins their evacuation south towards the coast, in hopes that ships could take the population somewhere, anywhere, better.
A sizeable sum of gold up front, with a promise of more to come, was enough to convince the party (already planning to head that way anyway) to agree to the deal. And so they detoured to Vera's Cathedral for a quick heal, and hit the road.