The Adventure Begins

One cold wintry afternoon in December of the year 998 Blackmere Reckoning, a frightened merchant staggered into Great Rock, reporting that he had been attacked by goblins while traveling south from Stormpoint. He managed to escape, but his horses and pack mules were scattered into the forest. The merchant promised to pay 20 silver coins for each mule returned safely, and the princely sum of 20 gold crowns for each of the horses.

Dolan the stablemaster asked his stableboy, the young Druga Entier-dahl, to help locate the missing animals. Druga quickly contacted his friends—Jarvis Osburn the smith’s apprentice, Seth McCullin the would-be wizard, Duran Fortnite the acolyte of Altius, half-elven lad Beran Findalson, and Aethelred the woodsman’s son. Together, these six gathered up some meager supplies and a few weapons, then headed into the snowy woods.

Working together, Druga and Beran soon found the site of the attack. In addition to the hoofprints of horses and mules, they also found footprints of small humanoids—presumably goblins—and of wolves. With darkness descending, the group split up to cover more territory.

Beran, Druga, and Seth managed to find two mules not far from the attack, calmly munching what little vegetation they could find in the snow. Along the way, they also ran into a lone goblin, wandering separated from his fellows. Though the nasty creature put up a good fight, he was no match for the PCs’ determination. Among the goblin’s possessions was an old stone amulet that seemed to depict a serpent’s head.

More disturbing was the trail of hoofprints heading into the thick forest . . . followed by the prints of a wolf. Following the tracks, the characters came across a clearing, in which stood one of the missing horses. But crouched at the treeline was a hungry wolf, its eyes gleaming with anticipation. The brave Druga charged forward, only to be knocked down by the strong wolf. But just before the beast could devour the young lad, Beran leaped forward, brandishing his dagger. With a single deft jab, Beran slew the wolf by plunging his knife into its eye. Rounding up the horse, the PCs headed back to find their comrades.

Meanwhile, Duran, Jarvis, and Aethelred wandered the woods in a fruitless search. When a small humanoid loomed up out of the shadows, Jarvis fired his crossbow, thinking it to be a goblin. Luckily, the bolt sailed wide, for the figure turned out to be young Emory Fitzgrey, a fellow native of Great Rock. He begged the characters to help him, for his uncle Gearad was trapped under a deadfall not far away. Hearing wolves howl in the distance, the PCs rushed to the scene. Together, they managed to free the woodcutter from his predicament, and hurried back to meet their friends.

Together, the PCs returned to Great Rock to collect their bounty—40 silvers for the two mules, another 20 silvers for the slain goblin, and a whopping 20 gold pieces for the returned horse. Gearad also promised to introduce the brave characters to Parniel, a renowned hunter and the Royal Warden of the region, stationed in Great Rock.

Thus ended the first adventure of these six young characters. Little did they know what lay in store for them, or of what significance their chance encounters would later prove.

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