Our first session was spent creating characters and getting an hour of play time in .... our brave intrepid player characters are:
Bron of the spear, a human ranger. (Corey)
Aravandel, a grey elf fighter/magic-user. (Brian)
Julius of Roads, a young human cleric of Heironeous. (Francisco)
Rufus of Rao, a human paladin. (Jonathan)
Overall definitely a goodly party, and for a small party quite a capable mix.
They began in the town of Havenhill in the Principality of Ulek. Beginning their adventuring lives they met one another after taking service with a merchant named Otto and his train of goods, animal handlers, drivers, and a small company of mercenary halberdiers and crossbowmen, along with crotchety old veteran guide named Ned. Their destination was the northern reaches of the principality to the town of Dunhill located near where the Suss forest meets up with the foothills of the Lortmils. Upon the Prince's Road they depart!
After several days into the journey, on the first day of Brewfest of all days, the weather began to turn sour. Ned, being a trusted and experienced guide doesn't like the look of the weather and suggests they take a smaller road that will veer off ahead but head into the hills slightly, because it will provide better cover from approaching bad weather, in the form of rocky overhangs, and caves. Otto agrees and the caravan heads off on the smaller road slightly into the hills. The rain, clouds, and thunder come, a modest late fall storm. After hours on this road it begins to narrow down to a well worn dirt trail barely wide enough for the column of carts. Later in the day Rufus, after watching Ned guide the caravan through this narrowing trail, decided to look into the heart of the grumpy old guide. To his surprise Ned is harboring a dark heart and is of evil bent. He informs Otto who states this is his third journey north with Ned and he has been nothing short of capable, even though the man loves the drink, the dice, and engages in debauchery when in town. Around this time Otto begins showing frustration with then choice of trails and convenes the players characters for a quick meeting. His patience is wearing thin with the slowed pace of this trail and asks the PCs if they would scout a few miles ahead to find out if there is any change in this trail. In the meantime the caravan will halt and make efforts to protect the caravan and animals from the increasing rain while awaiting the PCs return.
The PCs take off forward scouting out the trail and the nearby environs. After nearly an hour the storm changes from modest to extremely terrible. The clouds lower, the rain turns into a driving sleet, visibility is reduced, and lightning is striking all around. They find shelter under a rocky overhang. While waiting out the bad storm Bron notices large goblinoid tracks under the rocky overhang. Hobgoblin tracks. The tracks parallel the trail and head back towards the direction of the caravan, however the tracks are a few days old. The PCs decided its best to go back to the caravan.
As fate would have it, tragedy has struck the caravan. It was attacked, business was done and some of the more valuable goods were missing. There were plenty of corpses, many slain by black shafted arrows. The poor draft horses were all slain. However the PCs note that some people are missing, including Otto and Ned. Bron quickly discovered tracks of at least 10 hobgoblins and it leads off into the hills. He also discovers some human tracks traveling in a tight line with the hobgoblin tracks, captives!
It's now almost early evening and dusk is rapidly approaching. The party decides its best to immediately follow the tracks of the Hobgoblins and find out what happened to the rest of the caravan and to rescue them if able? After a few minutes of travel Bron realizes the Hobgoblins are following a well travelled trail into the hills. Evening comes along with the light of a half moon. Several hours into their pursuit they see the hill begin to crest and level out to their right, and around 500 yards ahead they spy the silhouette of a small ruined keep. Scattered copses of trees and rocky outcroppings mask the way towards it, but at about 100 yards out from it the ground is flat and empty. With the party remaining concealed, Bron the ranger stalks forward to the edge of the cover to see if he can gain a better idea of what's in it. After a few minutes on the edge of the trees and rocks he sees a small cooking light spring into existence in the ruins, as well was several figures tending to it. Still too dark and too far away to spy out much else, he returns to the party and informs them of what he's found. Now they have to decide what to do.
