Party

Gardain Balderk
Tictoktarian Blackgear
Xanos Woodsoul

Ches 20, 1372 DR

As the party approaches Citadel Felbarr, Valas, understanding the difference between being allowed to enter and being welcome, decides to remain outside while the others conduct business in the dwarven city. News from a dwarven patrol on the road was that the diplomacy between the Uthgardt people and the dwarves was going well and the party heartily greeted and welcomed by the gate guards.

They decided to head to The Golden Mule, the inn in the city most frequented by non-dwarves. Inside, Xanos, at the bar seeking information, is approached by a familiar face. Narris, a Zhent slave that grew up with Xanos, tells him that a Zhent agent recognized him when they stayed at an inn outside Sundabar two weeks ago as the party made their way into the mountains for the first time.

Narris was sent by their master, Fzoul, to bring Xanos back to Zhentil Keep, and “no” would not be an acceptable answer. Xanos, realizing things were going go bad quickly, tried to distract the room and get the jump on Narris. But Narris was ready for this. He jumps back, telling Xano, “Don’t be foolish, we have that old elf! If I die, so does he!” before shouting a command. Five men at two tables in the tavern jump from their chairs, makeshift clubs in hand.

Gardain and Tictok see the starting commotion and try to hold off one of the tables of goons, but Xanos is surrounded and beaten into unconsciousness. With customers scattering away from the fighting, Narris hauls up Xanos over his shoulder and tries to leave the inn. Gardain slams into him from behind, dropping the assassin. He and Tictok take out the other mercs as the citadel guardsmen enter the inn.

The captain, a gruff old dwarf, enters the inn looking quite annoyed, but Gardain and Xanos, with the help of one of the goons that Tiktoc charmed, is able to explain that the dead man is a Zhent assassin sent to attack them. He lets them leave, but tells them to stay in the citadel in case he needs to question them. The party stays at a different inn for the night, resting before they meet with King Warcrown the next day. Before doing so, Xanos exchanges magical communication with his drow colleague, Jeraxle. Though Xanos has little useful information for Jeraxle, the drow shares an interesting tidbit with the rogue. Ciarra, the drow ranger that had been helping them with the goblins, is, in fact, a surface spy for her house in Menzoberranzan…

At court, the king is very pleased to see the party again. He tells them that he believes his troubles with the Uthgardt barbarians are all but behind them, thanks greatly to their initial efforts He tells them that he and his kingdom are in their debt and asks what he can do for them.

They only ask two things: they explain what happened at The Golden Mule the night before and ask that they be allowed to leave to investigate the cause of the issue, and they also ask if he has heard of any Zhent activity in the area. Warcrown agrees with the first, upset that Zhent agents would be acting so openly within the citadel itself. As for the other, the king’s advisor, Durnan Stonehollow, tells him that he has heard that some ex-Zhent soldiers have setup a new settlement, called Newfort, southeast of Sundabar.

Leaving court, Tiktoc visits with the wizard, Fromden Granitepeak, to see what he’s discovered about the box the drow gave to the goblins. Frustrated, the dwarf tells the gnome that the box is protected by powerful magics and that he would need more time to get any information for him.

So with no leads on the drow, and Xanos wanting to try and find out what happened with his druid mentor, they head out to meet with Valas and investigate Newfort.

Party

Gardain Balderk
Tictoktarian Blackgear
Valas A’Dagon
Xanos Woodsoul

Ches 18, 1372 DR

The beast turns from its feast and leaps at the party, a flurry of teeth and claws. Tictok recognizes it as a Beast of Malar, an extraplanar shapechanging creature known to tirelessly hunt prey. During the fight, the Beast’s powerful jaws clamp down on the Valas’ leg. It is at this time that it becomes obvious that the creature heals extraordinarily fast, and that they may be in over their heads.

Desperate, as the cleric falls unconcsious from blood loss, Gardain calls on the power of Tempus to smite the Beast. This proves very effective, and the beast, now both surprised and afraid, changes shape to that of a large bat in an attempt to flee, but is brought down before it can, its body dissipating into nothingness.

The body turns out to be the druid Dravin. The cave is a dead end and the Malar-worshipping Kazok is nowhere to be seen. He did leave before taking his valuables with him, as they find a sack of treasure buried under some rocks in the cave. They gather the bodies of both Dravin and Shella and leave the cave, intending to bring the back to Berlingford before hunting down Kazok.

However, as they leave the cave, a man emerges from the trees, his face showing both disbelief and rage. He screams manically that they should be dead and tells them he will finish them himself. He summons storm clouds that sends a lightning bolt into the midst of the party, as a panther jumps out from soem bushes to attack the group.. Frazzled but still standing, they assail the druid and his pet, killing both. Xanos takes the druid’s weapon, a magical scimitar, and names it Shella in memory of the dead acolyte of Silvanus.

They once again come across Felinal, Dravin’s awakened wolf, who asks them the leave the body of his master with him, thanking them for recovering the body and avenging his death. Back in Berlingford, they explain to the village’s blacksmith leader what happened. They rewarded with the title to the land around the abandoned cabin being used by Remus and his goons. They properly bury and give rites to the body of Shella and many in the village attend. The fear of the villagers turns to a more somber mood, and no one really feels like continuing the festivities of the spring celebration. But Gardain suggests an archery contest, offering a valuable ivory statuette as a prize to the winner. This picks up the spirit of the village and 12 of the villages face off against the the party and each other for the prize. The winner is a hunstman named Tannon. Impressed with his prowess with the bow, Gardain offers Tannon a job watching over the cabin for the party while they aren’t there, and the hunter agrees.

Having solved both the mystery of who attacked Gardain’s merchant train and who was casuign problems with Berlingford, the party decides to return to Citadel Fellbar to find out what the wizard, Fromden Granitepeak, has discovered about the mysterious drow box.

Party

Gardain Balderk
Tictoktarian Blackgear
Valas A’Dagon
Xanos Woodsoul

Ches 17, 1372 DR

The party enters the tunnel beneath the cabin that supposedly led into the forest near the home of the druid they searched for; the man behind the kidnapped acolyte they searched for. The tunnel did contain a scythe trap that Xanos spotted before it caused any harm. Hundreds of feet long, the tunnel does finally end with a large rock blocking the exit.

As they leave the tunnel, they hear a feral noise deeper in the woods. Tictok sends his mechanical owl to scout ahead for them. It flies off, returning a few minutes later and relays to its master that two large creatures are tearing an animal carcass apart near a cave. Making their way forward, they find the beasts, large canine creatures feasting on an elk. Spotting the party, the dogs growl and leap towards them. As they near, it’s easy to spot that the dogs’ mouths are both foaming and stained black. And though they attack in a crazed frenzy, one unexpectedly teleports behind them, revealing themselves as unnaturally large and quite mad blink dogs. The blink dogs fight to the death, their madness consuming any sense they may have once had. The party takes care of them rather quickly before investigating the cave.

The cave opens into a very steep natural passage leading down into the ground. It opens into a small cavern filled with bones and fur and smelling like animal. The passage continues downwards, if not quite as steeply. The walls of this passage are lined with a dark black sponge-y fungus. Keeping careful not to touch the growths, they continue down the passage, which eventually splits three ways. Looking down the forked passage, it’s obvious that the single passage has become a winding natural labyrinth.

Using a “keep-to-the-left” strategy to navigate the passages, the party tries to make their way through the maze. After a few minutes, a large creature snorts and charges Gardain, crashing into him head-first with a pair of large horns. The large minotaur sneers as it hefts its large axe, swinging it with skill despite the cramped space. The resulting fight leaves Valas and Gardain unconscious and bleeding before the beast falls. The party drags themselves back to where the minotaur came from, finding an alcove where it lived, including a small chest full of treasure. Being defensible, the party chooses the spot to rest and recover. Though the druid may have heard the fight, they don’t think they are in any shape to confront him in his abode.

As they rest, the sound of chanting and other unusual noises can be heard echoing through, but the party decides to wait and rest before investigating. When they do, they find a large cavern split by a deep crevasse, spanned by a natural narrow bridge. Vines line the walls and there is no ceiling; the cave is open to the sky, though the opening is dozens of feet above the floor.

On the par side of the cavern is a stone altar covered in symbols. A young women lies naked and tied to the altar with vines. She doesn’t move as they approach because it becomes obvious that the woman, who appears to be Shella, the acolyte from Berlingford, is obvious she is dead, her heart having been savagely ripped from her chest cavity.

A noise disrupts the group from the grisly scene. A passage behind the altar leads to dark room where a large black badger-shaped creature is tearing apart a humanoid corpse. As the party enters, the beast turns toward them, a glint of savage intelligence in it’s eyes…

Party

Gardain Balderk
Tictoktarian Blackgear
Valas A’Dagon
Xanos Woodsoul

Ches 16, 1372 DR

Following an old hunting trail into the cold dark forest, the party soon finds themselves surrounded by growling creatures. A large wolf emerges and speaks with Gardain. The wolf, named Felinal, tells them that he is trying to find his master, Dravin, one of the missing druids of the Council of the Pines. When he finds out the party is heading to the cabin by the river, he tells them that a werewolf and his thugs are capturing wolves and somehow magically controlling them, so he’s kept his pack away from there, but offers to lead them to it.

Further into the woods, a hungry owlbear, emerged from hibernation, attacks the group. Sluggish, the beast is slain before it can cause much damage.

Just before dawn breaks on a anew day, the party comes upon a clearing, an old cabin within near a wide, fast moving stream. Light can be seen through the windows of the cabin. Xanos moves forward to investigate, but sets off a net snare near the tree line that both scoops him up, hanging from a net in a tree and sounds a ringing bell.

The door to the cabin bursts open and a bipedal wolf-man bursts forth with a howl. Two half orcs run out behind the werewolf while two others fire crossbows from windows in the cabin. A battle ensues, which does not go the werewolf’s way. He tries to run, heading back to the cabin, but an enchantment of sleep from Tictok drops him and the last standing half-orc.

They slay the sleeping werewolf and interrogate the half-orc. He tells them that the werewolf, named Remus, was working with a druid by the name of Kazok. He’d only ever seen the druid once, but knew a tunnel under the cabin led out into the woods near a cave where Kazok lived. The group looks in the basement and find crates full of goods, many of them Gardain recognizes as belonging to the waylayed merchant caravan that he was with. They also find a chest containing some valuables and a note from Kazok to Remus explaining that he was going to sacrifice Shella, the kidnapped acolyte of Silvanus to summon a beast to attack Berlingford.

Though they aren’t sure how much time they have, the party decides to rest for the morning before following the tunnel.

Party

Gardain Balderk
Tictoktarian Blackgear
Xanos Woodsoul

Ches 12, 1372 DR

The next day, the party meets with King Emerus Warcrown, to speak with him about the barbarian attacks against the dwarven caravan and the party. Durnan Stonehollow, an advisor of the king, seeks to send a regiment of dwarves into the hills to deal with the Uthgardt. But with rumors of the orcs gathering to attack the vale, the king would rather try to find more allies than enemies. Believing the problems with the Uthgardt to be a misunderstanding that the dwarves had not yet had time to deal with yet since reclaiming the citadel, he charges the party with finding the leader of the Sky Pony tribe that they had engaged the previous day, to ask that they send emissaries to negotiate a resolution.

The party agrees, but before they leave, Tictok meets with Fromden Granitepeak, the King’s court wizard. He asks that the wizard study the drow’s box they retrieved from the goblins, to see what he can discover about it that the gnome could not. He agrees, stating he may require their assistance once their mission for the king is complete.

Returning to the spot they were ambushed by the barbarians, they notice that the bodies that had fallen were retrieved. They follow the trail left north into the foothills. Eventually, they come upon scouts for the Sky Pony tribe, who are not pleased to see a dwarf, but are impressed to note the symbol of Tempus that Gardain proudly displays. They agree to take the three adventurers to their camp.

At the camp, they are eyed suspiciously by the gathered barbarians as Jerek Wolf-slayer, leader of the Sky Pony tribe emerges. They speak of the encounter, as the wounded female leader of that group steps forward to condemn the party for attacking them. Gardain explained that the two groups honored Tempus with the battle when pride dictated that words would not settle matters. Quite impressed with the dwarven paladin of Tempus, the tribe’s own deity, Jerek agrees to send his son and his skyriders to meet with the dwarves.

As to the other matter, Jerek denies that his own people were not the ones that attacked the dwarven caravan. When Gardain describes the attackers, men with black hides and wolf allies, Jerek recognises them as not Uthgardt but the People of the Black Blood, lycanthrope worshippers of Malar, the beastlord. He knows the group lives within the Moonwood, but he hasn’t known them to outwardly slaughter such a large group of people in the open, as their methods tend to be more subtle.

Leaving the Sky Pony tribe, the party sets out for the Moonwood. Tictok, who finished building a mechanical owl, casts a spell to summon a spirit to inhabit it, giving the owl life. He sends to the owl to deliver a message to Valas, who was visiting the Mouth of Song temple further south in the woods, to tell him to meet them in the village of Birlingford.

The owl returns as the party enter Birlingford, which appears to be in the midst of a celebration. The spring fair has begun and the center of the village is abuzz with activity, people celebrating amidst a ring of booths where merchants display their wares. They notice one display that a lot of people are crowded around, where wooden carvings are sold, but the young man selling them, named Charne, has run out of wares, telling the disappointed crowd to return the next day. A “witch” that lives in the forest sells potions and baubles at her stall, telling the party that the local druids always came to the annual festival, but haven’t this year for some reason. A crazy man, mouth and teeth blackened as though with pitch, babbles incoherently about the woods and the cold and weeping caverns, but people ignore him and he ignores anyone that tries to speak with him. Reynaldo, the town blacksmith, is also concerned about the missing druids. Xanos pays tribute at the local temple to Silvanus, meeting an acolyte there named Shella. The party also hears rumors of a “night stalker” preying on prostitutes in the town and that animals have been attacking woodsmen recently.

Unexpectedly, wolves begin to attack the town! People begin to scream and run for cover and the party moves to intercept them. The wolves are vicious and unafraid. The party deals with them with few injuries to them or any of the townsfolk. Tictok discovers the wolves have been branded with an unfamiliar symbol.

That evening, the party moves inside to the Boar’s Head Inn. There, the party spots Charne the woodworker, a number of young girls, Shella among them, though she doesn’t seem to fit in with the other more boisterous and scantly dressed women. The party joins them at their table and they enjoy the evening until Charne decides to leave, choosing Shella and a woman named Lucinda to accompany him, leaving the other girls disappointed.

Sensing something fishy, Xanos follows them at a discreet distance. As the small group walks between two buildings they are all attacked by a group of a dozen men. Too outnumbered to help, Xanos rushes back to the inn to tell the others what happened. Not long after, Lucinda also bursts in, crying, explaining that she got away, but the other two were beaten and dragged away.

Wasting no time, Xanos leads his fellow party members to the attack scene. They see a body lying in the alley, and when they approach it, a half-dozen armed men jump out around them. The battle does not last long, the party dispatching the attackers quickly and capturing one when he surrenders. He tells them that about a cabin near the river that the men use as a base. The body is that of a badly beaten but not dead Charne. Sharra was taken by the other men to the cabin. He didn’t know why they were capturing women, just that they were paid to do so. Valas, returning from the temple, joins the group, and though late at night, the party sets off to find the cabin.

Party

Gardain Balderk
Tictoktarian Blackgear
Valas A’Dagon
Xanos Woodsoul

Ches 10, 1372 DR

Moving further into the goblins’ lair, the party comes upon a great terraced chamber lit by phosphorous moss, the throne room of the sub-tribe’s leader, Chosk. Knowing the party was able to slaughter much of his clan to reach him, Chosk, even surrounded by sycophant goblins and hobgoblin guards, wished to parley. He would trade the box the drow priestess had given him if they could tell him about the new magical axe he had and then leave him and the rest of his tribe in peace.

Chosk’s father, King Asglarek, discovered a cache of dwarven magic as he expanded Chararstaukh’s warrens, and gave him an axe as a gift. Tictok studied the item and found out it was called Hew, created by a dwarf that feuded with dryads. He seemed somewhat unimpressed with it, and was willing to trade it to the party for the potions and gems that they carried. Sending a hobgoblin to escort them back out of the caves, the party left the caves with the item they came for.

Journeying back to Citadel Felbarr, they were waylaid by a group of barbarians, members of the Sky Pony tribe. Demanding to know why the group trespassed on their lands, tensions escalated until the groups began to fight. Valas blasted the Uthgardt with the power of Eilistraee dropping three of them and sending the other three running. They didn’t pursue as they were all tired and banged up and wanted to get to the citadel.

At the gates of Felbarr, the guards wanted to turn back the Valas. Though Gardain promised to vouch and be responsible for the dark elf, Valas decides to journey to The Mouth of Song, a temple to Eilistraee in the Moonwood, to speak to the priests there about the drow activities. Within the fortress, Gardain went to visit the shrine of Tempus. He told the priest there about the barbarian attacks against the caravan and themselves, and the priest told him that King Warcrown would very much want to hear the news. Meanwhile, Xanos and Tictok went to a tavern catering to the non-dwarves of the Citadel, the Gilded Mule. There they heard rumors of the orcs amassing for a new attack on the Marches.

Party

Gardain Balderk
Tictoktarian Blackgear
Valas A’Dagon
Xanos Woodsoul

Ches 10, 1372 DR

Having dispatched the guards outside, the party headed inside. The natural opening into the mountain was somewhat tight for some of the party and a bit damp. The small passage eventually opened into a larger chamber of unworked natural rock. Inside were another pair of goblins. Noticing the party, one of them pulls a trigger on the wall, dropping two giant centipedes in front of the intruders. Regardless, they make short work of the foes. Checking one passage leading from the room, they find a corral holding a number of mountain goats. Leaving that alone, they move further into the mountain.

.The fissure they work their way down slowly creeps lower into earth as it snakes into the earth. This passage also opens into a larger natural chamber, it’s floor covered in thick mud. Searching around in the muck, a few items of interest are discovered, but none as valuable as a leather pouch Tictok finds holding three pearls.

The passage continued, opening into an enormous open area. A huge fissure running perpendicular to the passage and reaching in all directions further than anyone can see would make going forward difficult if not for the crude rope bridge that stretched into the darkness. Carefully, the party set across the bridge. Part way across, a rumbling sound and a violently swinging bridge gave the impression of a small earthquake. Thought the timing of the event was bad, everyone manages to hang onto the bridge, and once the bridge stopped swinging, they continued forward, finding the other side. Another passage led from the bridge and underground canyon.

Another room is found, with more goblins. Getting the jump on them, the party takes them all out, not allowing any to escape. Another passage led from this room, but it split in two directions. Choosing one, the passage suddenly drops into a short chimney before continuing. Climbing down, the passage opens back up into the gigantic canyon, but further south and lower than previous. Another rope bridge spanned the gap, and Gardain could see goblins on the other side. The goblins, seeing the party’s light took defensive ground. The fight went the party’s way, but one of the goblins ran down the one passage leading from the opening. Chasing after him, the passage split in two. They quickly went down one way which reached around back to the chasm and another bridge. On the other side, a small room dominated by a large boulder turned out to be empty and had no exits. Backtracking, they find the other fork in the passage to be a dead end, but checking the ground for signs, they see the goblin likely hid in this passage and ran back after the party passed it. They no longer had the element of surprise….

Quickly working back across the chasm and back to the first fork, they turn down the other passage and discover another chamber hold a half dozen goblins, all of whom were ready for the intruders. But despite being ready, the party prevails over the humanoids. But with the goblins now on alert, the going isn’t going to be easy….

Party

Berrian Nailo
Tictoktarian Blackgear
Valas A’Dagon
Xanos Woodsoul

Ches 9, 1372 DR

Having slain the spiders outside the ogre cave, Berrian quietly approached the opening peering inside. He could make out the form of a multi-limbed humanoid standing near what looked to be another giant spider. The human peered at the cave opening, not seeing Barrian, but knowing there was something dangerous outside. Returning to the others, they decided to rush in and take the creatures down quickly.

They got to the cave opening, and the waiting figure casted a spell, bombarding them with magic missiles. Berrian rushed in first and it was then he spoted a spider hiding near the entrance, ready to jump at him. He changed direction and moved towards the spider, flying in with a kick and finishing it off with a quick double punch.

Tictok returned the missile barrage, and Valas and Xanos finished off the final spider with ranged weapons. The humanoid, a half-spider chitine as Tiktok recognized it, ran back towards an alcove in the cave casting a spell that filled the entrance of the cave with a mass of sticky webbing. The others struggling with the web at the entrance, Barrian charged the chitine. The creature jumped out of the way and lept at the wood elf, sinking its fangs in his neck and ripping his throat out,

The rest of the party made their way through the sticky webs and finish the chitine off, but also found the dead body of their comrade. They also found the ogres’ small cache of treasure and decided that the cave is a good place to rest, treat their wounds, and bury their fallen friend.

Burning the spider and ogre bodies, they attracted notice from a lone hill dwarf, named Gardain Balderk. a paladin of Tempus, the dwarf was the sole survivor of a dwarven merchant’s caravan slaughtered by local barbarians. Black Raven Uthgardt barbarians attacked the caravan when the proud dwarves wouldn’t turn around as ordered. Alone, the dwarf agreed to join the party in their quest to hunt the drow, though he could not forget the barbars that killed his kin.

Continuing the next evening, they nearly reached the goblin hold of Chararstaukh when they are approached once again by the drow ranger, Ciarra. Having come directly here from the goblin camp in the Darkwood, she had plenty of time to scout and collect info.

She discovered that the drow had no intention of returning; they left a magical box-like device that would transport the necklace to the drow and allow payment to be sent in return. The device was being held by one of the chieftain’s sons that ruled one of the many side cave complexes that the Chararstaukh clan inhabited in the area. The smaller complex would be easier to move through than the main one.

Also, the goblin King Aglarek was looking for a wizard, to hire or capture, to identify a number of magical items the goblins found in a dwarven treasure cache they recently uncovered. they could possibly deal with the Aglarek, but that could be quite dangerous as the king was not known to be very trustworthy.

The party decided to try to enter the cave holding the box. If they could get a hold of it, they could use magic to find out who the drow is that wants the necklace. Ciarra left once more, choosing to try and find the trail the drow and her party left, approaching and returning from the goblin hold.

Before leaving, Ciarra showed the party which cave they needed to enter. Approaching, they found two bored guards standing amidst large rocks scattered before the opening. Quickly dispatching these goblins, the party entered the caves…

Party

Berrian Nailo
Tictoktarian Blackgear
Valas A’Dagon
Xanos Woodsoul

Ches 5, 1372 DR

Having killed the remaining goblins, the charmed hobgoblin leader returns to the group, distraught over his slaughtered wolf. Coming back and seeing that the group he was leading are all dead, he begins to grow confused and angry. The party attacks and slays the hobgoblin with little trouble before he become a problem.

Ciarra decides to investigate the Chararstaukh clan where the goblins came from while the party takes Faela back to the Iron Boar Inn where her sister waits. Jellenna is overjoyed that her little sister is well and returned to her. Tiktok shares some of the spoils the party returned with with the young elves, and Jellenna tells him she plans to work at the inn to save enough money to join the wizard’s university in Silverymoon.

Xanos is also awaiting the party at the inn, and after they tell him what they know, he uses magical means to contact a fellow spy, a drow living in Menzoberranzan named Jeraxle. They are told that something big is happening in the drow city, though the drow did not know what. The noble family matriarchs are meeting often and infighting between them has seemingly ceased. Jeraxle knows that more than a few hunting parties were sent to the surface, and their suspect drow is likely the leader of one of them.

While Berrian relieved a drunken dwarven merchant of his coin purse in the common room, Tiktoc cast a spell to help him identify the amulet. He discovers that it is an ancient Netherese item, created by wizards, who managed to bind an actual piece of the Weave, the source of all magic in the Realms.

Knowing what the item now is, but not why the drow wanted it, the party decides to head to Chararstaukh themselves to track down the drow. The snows subsiding and the sun emerging, the party heads out, taking the Silverymoon Pass to Sundabar (which they avoided) before heading up the path along the Rauvin river that head to the hills where the goblins live.

The second evening along the path, the party comes upon an ogre that stumbles out of the brush, a large spider chasing out after it. The ogre kills the spider, but has been obviously wounded and is quite crazed. The party takes him down, but not before its club smashed into the side of Xanos, knocking the wind from him, though the human regains his senses.

Following the obvious trail of the ogre into the brush, they come upon a gruesome scene. Two dead ogres and number of squished giant spiders lie outside a large cave. Two uninjured spiders spin webs about the large ogre bodies. The party attacks the spiders from a distance, killing them before they could do much to react, before heading toward the cave itself…

Party

Berrian Nailo
Tictoktarian Blackgear
Valas A’Dagon

Ches 4, 1372 DR

The party finds themselves standing in the midst of a burned out elven village in the Moonwood, sky overcast and snow covering the ground. A young elven woman named Jellenna had escaped an attack on her home by a large group of goblins. Finding the Boar’s Tusk Inn on the Moonland trail, she asked the group she found there for help, offering the goods the goblins stole from her village as payment for their help. Her younger sister, Faela, was with her when the attack happened, but they were separated while trying to escape.

Searching the remains of the village, Tictok discovers a small child hiding under a ruined building and Berrian finds a Cooshee, an elven dog. Both are reluctant to approach the strangers, but Tictok magically charms the girl. She is Faela, and she tells the party of the goblins and their wolves, and that they were led by a large ugly goblin who stole the elven elder’s necklace before killing him. The goblins leave a trail in the snow to follow through the woods.

The party soon comes upon a camp set outside an old ruined tower further into the Moonwood. Barrian sneaks forward to see a dozen goblins and a few wolves milling listlessly about the camp, but when a large hobgoblin emerges from the tower, they become more attentive. As Barrian describes the situation, they notice someone also hiding nearby, a drow making hand signals. They attack the dark elf, who runs off, attempting to escape. One of the wolves hears the scuffle and dashes out, chasing the party as they chase the drow. Berrian catches up to the drow, who accuses him of helping the goblins. Berrian realizes that perhaps they had the same goals. The wolf caught up with Tictok and Valas, but is quickly disposed of as Berrian and the drow return to assist them.

The drow, named Ciarra, tells the party that she lives in the Moonwood, protecting it in the name Eilistraee, trying to follow in the footsteps of her hero, Drizzt Do’urden. She also found the elven village burned and followed the trail to the goblin camp. She suggests that she lead some of the goblins away from the camp while the rest of them attack the ones that stay behind.

The plan works, as the hobgoblin stops the entire group from chasing after the drow, suspicious that his wolf chased something the other way. The party attacks the camp and Tictok charms the hobgoblin, making the rest of the battle go their way. Tictok was allowed to examine the amulet the hobgoblin wore, the one taken from the elven elder. The ruby-like stone on a silver chain appeared magical, but he did not know what it was. The hobgoblin tells Tiktok that his group is from the Chararstaukh tribe and was hired by a drow female to retrieve the item for her.

The other group of goblins return, unable to catch the drow, and their hobgoblin leader tells them not to attack his new friends. But the party realizes they need to take care of the goblins before the charm wears off, so Tictok takes the leader to find his wolf while the others attack the remaining goblins and wolves. Ciarra returns to help, but both Berrian and Vallas are badly hurt in the fight before the final goblin runs off.