Session 1 - To New Beginnings

[!abstract] The Job
Find Adon Twirtho for his brother Rolf Twirtho (50 gp), and, under Offsha Di'aylen, learn why the priests of Torm are vanishing.

The Moon's Choosing

I am Morn, of the Ingwood clan, but the locals just call me Warden Morn Ingwood. I was born in Highmoon, the bustling capital of Deepingdale, but the noisy trade town never felt like home. As a Wood Elf, I felt the pull of the ancient Cormanthor timberlands that border the Dale. For decades I lived as a solitary ranger, hunting unnatural predators and guiding lost travelers back to the safety of the civilized roads. I was a survivalist, perfectly content in the shadowed isolation of the deep woods.

Everything changed during a brutal, unnatural winter storm. I was tracking a pack of shadow-touched wolves when the blizzard blinded me. Freezing, disoriented, and surrounded by the howling pack, I prepared for the end. In that pitch-black moment I prayed not for rescue, but for the light to see my enemies.

The storm parted just enough to reveal the full moon. A blinding beam of silver light pierced the canopy, illuminated a safe, sheltered grove, and seared the shadows away. A surge of heavy, protective twilight magic awoke in my blood. I survived the night and have served Selûne, the Moonmaiden, ever since. I am no longer just a tracker. I am the Warden of the Deep Woods, sworn to be the light that guides the innocent and blinds the wicked.

The shadows in the forest are growing bolder, and Selûne has granted me a vision: I cannot fight this encroaching darkness alone. I have left my patrol route to find the specific souls I saw in the moonlight. That search has brought me, reluctantly, under a roof, in the town of Shadowdale, at the Old Skull Inn.

The Knight at the Bar

A knightly man in plate mail strides up to a halfling worker at the bar and introduces himself as Offsha Di'aylen. He has been in Elturel, and Torm has charged him with a mission to return to Tantras. He needs adventurers to join his quest.

Looking around the room, I see the three people from my vision, scattered about the bar. As destiny would have it, all three of them sign up. So do I. Offsha buys us a round of drinks and tells us what he can.

Powerful priests of Torm are disappearing, vanishing into thin air. It seems to affect only worshippers of Torm. He needs to find out what is happening to them and why.

He is from Flan, part of a minor noble family. They had no designs on him following the path of righteousness, but he chose it over the family business out of deep devotion to Torm. A man who gave up comfort for conviction. I can respect that.

A man named Rolf Twirtho approaches and asks for help finding his brother, Adon Twirtho. He offers 50 gp for our trouble. We oblige.

The Ones From My Vision

The people the moon showed me are Brok Digginstone, a dwarven bard who was playing bagpipes as I arrived; Havelin Alderhilts, an elven ranger celebrating an orc he killed earlier today saving Shadowdale; and Teager, an elven wizard looking bedraggled and threadbare. A flock, then. Mine to shepherd, whether they know it or not.

The Broken Bridge

We set out, Offsha walking with us in his plate. I put on a cloak and pretend to carry the ransom. Our destination is a ruined tower bridge: the towers still stand on either side of a creek, but the bridge between them is long gone. It's about a three-hour walk from Shadowdale. The journey is uneventful, as the best ones are.

I approach the near tower alone, deadly silent. I hear voices within, so I creep close to a window to look in. Logs have been laid across the creek, giving passage from one bank to the other.

The tower walls have huge cracks, large enough to walk through. Three men sit inside, talking about whatever comes to mind. Leather armor, scimitars, and some kind of small bow.

I start casting one of my cantrips, Druidcraft, and snuff their torches out one by one. On the third, they notice. I use Thaumaturgy to make the ground tremble, and they look up.

Teager casts a firebolt at one, and I finish him off with Sacred Flame. Havelin Alderhilts and Brok Digginstone step inside and press the attack. I hit another with Sacred Flame. Havelin and Teager finish the last two.

Below the Creek

We quickly scout this floor. A knight in full plate does not belong in a dungeon where we mean to keep quiet, so Offsha stays up top as our lookout. When we find a staircase down, I tell the crew to watch my six and slip down the stairs.

Below are hallways, apparently empty. We check behind the doors, as quiet and swift as we can manage. Brok Digginstone finds 26 pp, 120 gp, 630 sp, 380 cp, six tigereye gems (10 gp each), a potion of climbing, and a scroll of see invisibility.

The hallway runs a long way, seemingly under the creek. At the halfway point, two stairways lead further down. Just before the staircase on the far end, there's a room on the left. Inside, behind bars, we find Adon Twirtho.

#session