We meet our adventurers in the tavern of the Fairie’s Arse in Brinewood, a small town in the northern region of the kingdom of Lionsheart. Named Brinewood after the surrounding forest, and seated on the Brineway river, it is a quiet farming community that sees very little excitement.
In the tavern, they each share a mug of overpriced ale, served to them by the inn’s proprietor Maggie the gnome. Over drink, they (mostly) introduce themselves:
- Althea, the elven wizard who journeyed from Shae’Mir,
- Drubb, the paladin of Bahamut the golden dragon, who journeyed from Dur’khalad,
- Spiphy, the gnome ranger, who journeyed from Amondale,
- and B, the tiefling rogue, who said very little of his journey.
After making brief introductions, the door suddenly bursts open as the town baker emerges from the night, shouting about a murder. Mayor Cartwright was found dead in his mansion, and Nedry, the baker’s best friend, was being dragged by the guards to the prison as the primary suspect.
After interrogating the baker, talking to Maggie, and watching two figures leave the tavern into the night, the party raced to the mansion to discover anything they could at the scene of the crime. There, they found a group of town guards watching over the house.
B walked up to the guards at the front of the house and attempted to impersonate an official investigator. Drubb followed behind, claiming to be sent to give final rites to the deceased mayor. Both were rejected entry, and Drubb decided to sit on the ground and attempt to summon his dragon god.
Meanwhile, at the carriage house behind the manor, Spiphy and Althea attempted to find a way in. The door was locked, and Althea summoned an invisible ally. He gave it the instructions to “bring me anything you find inside”, and the hidden figure made its way around to the front of the house.
Spiphy climbed to the second floor, using a grappling hook she fashioned from a rope and crowbar, and cast a minor illusion to simulate the sound of a dragon’s roar. The guards were shocked at this sudden sound, although Drubb was elated, believing perhaps he had actually summoned a dragon. Moments later, Althea’s invisible ally re-emerged.
Unfortunately, following the instructions literally, the invisible friend was now carrying piles of very visible food, clothing, and other items including a key. The guards noticed the floating miscellany and chased it around the back of the house, giving B and Drubb the opportunity they needed to go in the front.
From the second floor, Spiphy witnessed guards running around the building after a pile of food and clothing, which was dropped in front of Althea. A strangely non-violent tussle ensued between the elf and the guards, with Althea not wanting to hurt the guards and the guards simply wanting to subdue the elf.
Althea somehow made his way in the rear door with the key, Spiphy swung down to reinforce from the balcony (crashing into the wall on the way), and Drubb crashed through a door where the guards and party members all collided. The combined group was able to reach a ceasefire, with the half-dwarven guard captain (nicknamed Burlap) convincing Althea and Drubb to go back to the town with him where they could sort everything out.
B and Spiphy were able to comb through the house for clues, where they found the mayor’s body, scratch marks on the doors and walls, and a hooded figure which leapt out the window and fled faster than they could chase. B, decided that he had had enough, headed back to the town, while Spiphy decided to spend the night in the mayor’s mansion and wait for the morning to try the one locked door they had been unable to open…
We end the chapter with most of the party sleeping in the inn, awaiting answers from the next morning, while Spiphy has fitful sleep in the house of the murdered man…