Episode 01: Cloudpeak Landing

Landing ashore
Two passengers on a merchant ship: Grimwald and Malkis Eastbridge land on the shores of Cloudpeak by boat. For Malkis this is his trip home to Green Myst. Grimwald's motives for visiting the Verdant Isles are still unknown.

On the shores, they both spot a recently abandoned camp. The camp appeared to be left hastily. Could it be that there was danger nearby? The heroes start assessing the situation and agree that it could be dangerous to stay here. Malkis tells Grimwald that there is a town deep in the forest at the foothills of Cloudpeak mountain. Both being thirsty for some ale after the long journey at sea, decide to travel to the town.

Cloudpeak forest
Before entering the forest, Malkis casts Mage Armor. Grimwald comments on Malkis being a spellcaster and asks about the dangers of Cloudpeak Forest. Malkis explains that the local monsters and animals can be dangerous in numbers. They should prepare for packs of Kobolds living in the forest. The heroes walk into the forest heading in the direction of the mountain. The forest gets dark very quickly as the canopy of leaves block sunlight.

In the forest, the heroes have several encounters with the Kobolds living there, though none of the encounters ever went violent. The one brave Kobold charged the party, but fled in terror after hearing Grimwald's thundering voice enhanced by Thaumathurgy.

The party arrives at a fork in the road, left to Green Myst, right to Rurgin Shielddig, a famed dwarven warrior in the region. The heroes take note of the location, but proceed towards the town before exploring any of the local points of interest.

Green Myst
In Green Myst, the party heads towards the only inn in town. Gariad Longfoot, the owner of the Tricky Wife welcomes the party and offers them a round of ale. Inside they meet Bruce, the Half-orc, who seemed to have gathered quite a crowd around him while he tells about his bold adventures in the wilds.

Grimwald and Malkis take some time to get to know each other better. Grimwald tells Malkis about his goal to locate, track, and capture the souls of fiendish creatures like daemons. The bartender overhears this, and he tells Bruce about this guy wanting to hunt daemons. Bruce laughs loudly and makes a personal introduction to the party.

During the conversation, the party finds out that Bruce possibly encountered an imp in the Tombs of Rurgin Shielddig, the famed dwarf. The jovial look of Grimwald is instantly replaced with a more serious demeanor, realizing how serious it is to have a daemonic presence this close to a town.

After Bruce left, Malkis and Grimwald get together and decide to investigate whether or not the daemonic threat in the tombs is real. Malkis heads toward Eastbridge Manor to ask his father Kivan Eastbridge if the story is real. Kivan confirmed through divination that there is a daemon present in the tombs in the shape of a red imp. Kivan provides Malkis with some silver coating to be applied to his quarterstaff, so he will be able to fight off the daemon in close combat, should this be necessary.

Late in the evening, Malkis heads to Anvil Crafts and explains the situation to Orim Forgemaul, who agrees to coat the quarterstaff in silver overnight.

Malkis then meets up with Grimwald at the Tricky Wife and confirms the daemonic threat. The party agrees to prepare to investigate the threat tomorrow moring.

Investigating the Tomb of Rurgin Shielddig
The next morning the party gathers, and heads fully prepared towards the tombs. Near the tombs, Grimwald finds omnious messages written in dwarven script, warning trespassers of the dangers they are are about to face.

Having arrived at the tombs, they look into the opened entrance. It is pitch black dark inside. Both party-members cast light to illuminate their weapons, and they head into the tomb. Near the entrance, they find the fresh remains of a recently perished human male without any weapons, armor or shoes. Grimwald mentions that this might be one of the people who abandoned the camp on the shore. The heroes go deeper into the tombs, and they find the undead. The party makes quick work of them and vanquish all skeletons they find inside as they venture deeper.

Further into the tombs, the heroes start noticing a sulfuric smell which is becoming increasingly stronger. Then around the corner the party hears an infernal voice. Malkis casts comprehend languages, and he listens to the daemonic words. The imp tells his undead minions that there are intruders, and they should go forth and hunt them. The party prepares for combat and dispatches the undead.

The imp, Ilriun, notices the party and attacks. Through magic missiles and sacred flames, the party manages to inflict fatal blows to the daemon. Grimwald rushes to the imp, takes out his amulet and stabs the daemon with the sharp end, draining the daemonic soul into his amulet. Malkis watches in horror, as he thinks he is witnessing true necromancy. With his final breath, Ilriun's ethereal hand grabs Grimwald by the chest, leaving a singed scar on his chest.

At the end of the chamber, the party finds a sarcophagus without remains. The inscription describing that here lies the beloved wife of Rurgin Shielddig, though his wife was left nameless. The sarcophagus contained a magical dagger with dwarven inscription.

Next to the sacrophagus lies the corpse of a familiar face Malkis recognizes. It's a young human male, who was Orim's apprentice. The body was charred by fire and had a daemonic symbol on his skin. Malkis takes note of the symbol. The party decides to return the remains of the apprentice to his loved ones.