Episode 3

The party was commissioned by Piersyn Dane to find his missing familiar, a pseudo dragon named Fellarr. After searching various locations and some shopping on the side, the party managed to locate Fellarr in a cave known as Lover's Cove. Here they were ambushed by five shadowy creatures which turned out to be Shadows. Healing and feeding Fellarr, Zaren Orman manages to gain Fellarr's trust as Fellarr climbs up to his shoulder. Leaving the cave and heading back to Piersyn Dane at the carnival.

Dimitri, The Lost returns to the inn to gather some of his fruits while the party move ahead to Piersyn. On returning to Piersyn, the party found him rummaging around his tent, which he had completely turned upside down. They learned that he was looking for something, but he did not want to share what it was as it was none of their business. Fellarr refuses to allow Piersyn close to him, hissing and snapping in his direction. Piersyn asked where the party found him. They explain what had transpired and after confirming that they had killed all the creatures, they see a visible weight lift from Piersyn's face. Piersyn admits that he fears the bond between him and his familiar no longer seems to exist. With this information, the party manages to persuade him to tell the truth behind Fellarr's disappearance.

It turns out that Piersyn was an adventurer some five years ago. His adventuring party was tasked to retrieve two rings from the Hungry Mire. On their way there, whilst still in the Misty Pines, they were ambushed by four shadowy creatures. Piersyn fell in battle, but his party managed to escape with his body. Their cleric keeping him in a suspended state until they could reach Orlon. There they took him to a temple and payed for his resurrection. Still weak, he remained at the temple for quite some time during which the priests and clerics urged him to learn about what had caused his death. Taking their advice, he researched the books and scrolls of the temple and found that he had fallen to a creature known as a shadow. He also learned that shadows are created when a creature of good nature is slain by another shadow. The shadow rises one to four days after the creatures death and joins those who slayed it's previous owner. If the owner were to be resurrected, the shadow may attempt to locate and slay it again.

When Piersyn learned that they were heading to Wharram, he feared that it may attempt to find and kill him. After their arrival in Wharram, Fellarr picked up on this fear and after learning of the potential threat to the town, urged Piersyn to inform the town of the potential danger. Piersyn refused and was adamant that they should just keep an eye out and complete the shows, after which they would just leave and hopefully never return. Fellarr felt that he could no longer trust Piersyn, who only cared for his own safety, and decided to leave.

Piersyn asked that since Fellarr does not want to come to him, the party should put him in the cage before they can receive payment. Zaren attempts to get Piersyn to take Fellarr from him. Piersyn's attempts are met with hostility and he again enforces that he will not pay them until he is back in the cage. Zaren, puts Fellarr in the cage and immediately realizes that Fellarr does not care for the cage, but is not happy to stay behind. With Fellarr in the cage, Piersyn hands over the gold, while Nok-Nok counts the gold. Cade decides to open the cage to allow Fellarr to leave if he wishes. Fellarr immediately flies back to Zaren's shoulder. Zaren takes Fellarr's cage and asks if Piersyn has more rats. Piersyn sells seven rats in a small cage to Cade after Zaren refuses to pay five gold for the rats. Cade gives the rats to Zaren.

With the transactions complete and Piersyn still looking for something, Cade asks Piersyn multiple times what he is looking for, trying to point out that they found Fellarr, they may be able to find the item he is looking for. Piersyn initially says he should not be bothered but eventually gives in and describes the box Cade had previously taken from his tent. With Cade acting strangely on receiving the description, Piersyn manages to determine that Cade knows something about the item and where it may be. Cade confesses to taking it as insurance should Piersyn not pay them of returning of Fellarr. Cade gives the box and contents back and admits that he picked the lock. Nok-Nok is not happy that Cade had stolen from a client of the Black Shield. Piersyn chases the party out of his tent.

Nok-Nok reminds Cade of the rules of the Black Shield. Cade accepts his scolding and promises to disclose information which affects the party in the future. With this the party heads back to The Sleepy Hollow Inn.

On arrival the party sits down at their usual table and orders some drinks. Cade in the interest of his earlier promise, produces the key he found in Lover's Cove. He starts to explain where he found it and as Mary Grinlok brings them their drinks, she recognizes the key and informs the party that the key belonged to Jeffel Tanglestrand who passed away some two years ago. She tells them that his wife, Tilly Tanglestrand still lives in Wharram and provides them with directions to her home. The party asks if she had seen Dimitri, The Lost and Mary Grinlok proceeds to explain that he left in a hurry asking where he could find horses. Zaren Orman feels a strange feeling in the back of his mind, like something wants to communicate with him, but ignores it for the time being. The party finishes their drinks and head towards the Tanglestrand home.

Cade feels that Lilith would be better suited to speaking to Tilly about the key and her husband since she is a girl. Nok-Nok, knocks on the door and steppes aside while Cade Burrows shoves the key into her hand and everyone else steppes in behind her. Tilly opens the door and Lilith shows her the key, asking if she is willing to talk to them about it. Tilly looks visibly shocked that they have the key, but invites them into her home to talk about it. They learn that they had a small shop in Orlon and that Jeffel was a archaeologist of sorts. He found the key while out searching for more artifacts to sell in his shop. After researching the key, he felt it would unlock something in the area around Wharram. When Paddy's parents, Connor and Anna Grinlok, offered for families to join them at their newly obtained land, Jeffel convinced her that they should close the store and move to Wharram with them. After arriving here, she started helping with the children and day care, while Jeffel searched the nearby areas. He also set up a new store in Wharram and sold some of the objects and artifacts he found in the area to merchants and adventurers who visited Wharram over the years. After his death, she buried the key in Lover's Cove in hope that no one would find it again.

Looking around the house, the party notices that Tilly has been selling her belongings to survive. Tilly offers them some tea and Cade helps her carry it into the living room. The party asks if she has any information on the key and she tells them about Jeffel's study which she hasn't been able to go into since his death. She allows the party access to it. Zaren finds a desk with the script of the key carved into it and the words "Enter" above it. He wipes the dust away on the table and finds a old fragile map, a journal and a list of places Jeffel has search for the key based on the map. The journal contains what seems to be mostly pictures and Jeffel's short hand. Some of the words are readable but most seem to mean something only Jeffel would understand. Going through another cupboard, Zaren also finds a small wooden map case which seems to be custom made for the map.

Cade wanders into the room and immediately spots something strange under the carpet in the room. He investigates further and finds a small loose floor board which seems to have a mechanism attached to it. He presses it down into the floor and a false floor opens next to the desk in the corner of the room. Looking into the hole, he finds a small wooden chest and a letter addressed to Tilly. He finds that the chest is locked by a unconventional lock which seems to be missing a part of itself. He takes the note and the chest to Tilly. Surprised that they found a letter for her, she reads it and hands Cade her necklace, shaped like a moon. The necklace fits into the lock and after a few mechanisms move around, the necklace seems to complete it and the chest unlocks. Inside they find a lock pick labeled Mildren, two healing potions and a lot of coin. Shocked that all this coin has been in her house all the time, she thanks the party by giving them the lock pick, the healing potions and 100 platinum pieces. She asks Cade to show her how the mechanism works and he takes her to the room where they replace the chest. Tilly finds another small coin pouch containing another 100 gold pieces in the hole. Cade shows her how to work the mechanism and they step out. With Tilly's permission Zaren and Cade spend some more time in the study. Tilly informs them that they can take anything they find since they found the chest for her. Cade finds a false wall and in his excitement, sets off a trap which almost knocks him unconscious. Hurt and careful of his actions, he slowly removes the false wall in the cupboard and reveals a dagger, small wooden buckler and a short sword. Zaren and Cade search the book shelves, and find a few books of interest to them, one on spiders, one on runes and one on healing herbs in general.

With enough information for the moment the party thanks Tilly for her generosity and Zaren asks if he can come back the next morning for one final look through in case they missed anything. Since they found a chest, Tilly does not object to the idea. The party heads back to the Sleepy Hollow Inn.

Paddy comes up to thanks the party for helping Tilly. After dinner and a few drinks, Zaren learns that Fellarr will eat cooked meat if need be. Zaren spends some time with the items they found in the cupboard and learn that they are magical. (Short sword + 1, Dagger + 1, Wooden Buckler +1) He also learns that the key contains some runes which come from the magic schools of abjuration, transmutation and enchantment. He shares the information with the party. Cade spends some time examining the lock pick, he learns that it is a sentient lock pick named Mildren.

Paddy comes back to the party again and explains that a sole survivor of a merchant caravan has arrived in Wharram. He is currently being tended to at the hunts masters home. It seems there is a group of goblins attacking merchants on the road between New Port and Wharram. He tells them that the town militia is occupied with the spider attacks which started up again and can not spare anyone to go look into the problem. The party agrees to go speak to the survivor in the morning to see what they can learn.

Some head up to their rooms and others stay a bit longer, having a extra drink or two. Lilith borrows Jeffels journal and the book on runes from Zaren for the evening to see if she can get some more information out of the Journal. As Zaren gets ready for bed, he feels the strange feeling in the back of his mind again. This time he concentrates on it and learns that it is Fellarr wishing to communicate with him. After a few short images Zaren realizes that Fellarr wishes to bond with him. Zaren accepts and the bonding process begins.

Lilith finds some more information about the key. While looking through the journal and comparing drawings Jeffel made of the runes to the runs in the book on runes, she realizes that if she alters one of the rune on the bit of the key slightly, it resembles a ancient abyssal rune from the school of abjuration.

Cade returns to his room later than the rest. A bit drunk, he attempts to secure the entrance to his room with ball bearings but seems to leave big open spaces where one could easily step. Happy that he has secured the room he goes to sleep.

(Party members advance to level 2)

Previous episode: Episode 2 - Episode list: Campaign 1 - Next episode: Episode 4