Adventure Chronicle

Waking up in The Mannered Bear, the premier tavern in Scabberdale, the newly formed adventuring group seeks to charter a riverboat to the city of Briarwood in search of answers. En route to their destination, it becomes clear that the Goblinwood is much more active than normal. For the first time in years, Orcish raiding sloops appear on the River Rhynn, attacking the travellers and severely damaging their boat. After a fierce battle, they spend the evening moving their supplies from their sinking craft to the captured sloop, dubbed the Hamilton by Billiam Sea-Crester.

After regrouping in Briarwood to lick their wounds and ruminate on the implications of ritual said to be planned at The Garden Of Stones, the team of heroes' rest is interrupted with grave news from one of Enrique's Goblin messengers-- according to scout reports, Orc forces were on the move, and a raiding party was approaching Scabberdale.   Pressing through the woods at speed, the group covered the day's worth of travel remarkably fast. Arriving just after the first wave of Orcs, the heroes quickly mobilized to reinforce their allies as well as the overwhelmed town guard. Lead by a resurrected Siegurt of Scabberdale, the Orcs set fire to the wooden pallisades of the town, and had already begun to sack homes. Joined by Manzana, the heroes held the gates in a bloody stalemate as Siegurt's Orcs appeared without number.   In the dramatic climax of the battle, Scrugg Grabbymitts rushed appeared from the forest leading a coalition of local Goblin factions, flanking the Orcs from behind. One by one, the attackers routed and Siegurt was soundly defeated.

A foul ritual is initiated at The Garden Of Stones by The Wyrm Cult and their mysterious leader, Gnolean Vext. Reeling from the violence of Scabberdale and Da Raidin' Kamp, the group mustered their courage to face the unknown.   Having gained experience in guerilla warfare against the overwhelming Orc presence within the Goblinwood, the adventurers proceeded to distract and dispatch the enemy guard one by one. Eventually, all things must come to an end-- as Enrique vaulted a wall to silently neutralize an Aarakocra sentry, one of the undead servants of the Cult notified their allies of the incursion.   In moments, the Circle was swarming with Orcs, Aarakocra, and zombies alike, all bullrushing the newly discovered heroes. Just as the tide of battle began to turn in the adventurers' favor, the scale-clad necromancer seemed to finish the foul ritual and cast a powerful paralysis spell, stopping them in their tracks.

The party breaks into Honeywell Manor, clashing with Lady Freya Honeywell and Overseer Chisella Steambillow. They recover a number of items from the deep vault, including a strange foreboding amulet and a Szavonnian Arcubus. The compound burns to the ground as they flee.   Once back in Briarwood, the party spends a few days researching the amulet and the religion of Megwandir, as well as learning how to forge arcubolts for Enrique's new weapon. According to Jaeger, the amulet could be a Malevolith, a shard of the extradimensional evil that spawned the Abyss. Manzana and Naushe recieve a reply to their letters, neither of which provide much in the way of reassurance. Manzana spends some time slinking about the city at night, scoping out the Harbor Commons. After overhearing a number of conversations hinting at tensions between the Purse and Duke Aedenburg, she discovers a shipment of Szavonnian dragonglass being unloaded by undead crewmen and an automaton identical to the ones the party had encountered at Raevar's Folly washed up on the docks.   Outfitted in newly commissioned armor and magical attire, the party returns to the Archive to continue their research when it is attacked. A witness mentions that Chisella was seen nearby, prompting Lilith to take to the skies and attempt to find her, to no avail.   Knowing the Purse is in the city and hunting them, the party devises a trap to catch Chisella, question her, and discover the origins of the artifact they had recovered while raiding Honeywell Manor, which was under the protection of the Purse, a crown-chartered guild protected under law. Walking on a political tightrope, the party moves to justify their break-in by framing their burglary as a mission from the Archive to recover a weapon of great power.