Recap #1 - The Journey Begins...

It was a warm evening. The kind of evening where a cool glass of mead and a quiet song while gazing upon the constellations should only bring hope for peace and good rest in order to face the glorious dawn to come.

Unfortunately it was not to be that sort of glorious dawn for some.

Shortly before dawn our intrepid group were arriving to work at the Clifftop Adventurer's Guild when they discovered a man being accosted by several humans and an elf right in front of the Guild House! When the victim called out and promptly took a solid blow to the head and crumbled to the ground, the group jumped to the aid of this hapless man. Coming from the stable doors Ethan attempted to focus on the elven archer. Unfortunately the slippery tree-hugger eluded his first attack and promptly returned the favour with an incredible shot that nearly sent Ethan packing to Dolurrh. Closer inspection revealed that the attackers were none other than members of the Deathsgate Adventurer's Guild! Luckily Sterling, Delian, and Jonathan leaped to his aid. Three of the humans fell quickly to the blows of Delian and Sterling while Jonathan rushed to the aid of the bleeding victim. After a short fight Sterling was able to convince the remaining human and elf to submit and further death was avoided. However their trials had just begun.

It was not long before Ragnolin himself emerged from the guildhall to see what the commotion was. He was about to take charge of the situation when nearly a dozen of the nightwatch arrived. As they approached, the human captive made a terrific twist of his body which enabled him to escape Jonathan's grapple and Sterling's iron grip. He fled into the shadows of the rising sun. Several of the nightwatch took off in pursuit.

The captain of the nightwatch did not take the deaths of the humans lightly. It was after all his responsibility to keep all the citizens of his area safe during HIS watch. He quickly brought the chaos to order and began inquiring as to the events that lead to spilt blood on his street. With some smooth talking by the group, a good word from Ragnolin, and some very incriminating evidence found upon the captured elf, the captain decided on a choice of a 200 gp fine or a trip to the local holding cells.

The group was dismayed. 200 gp was far more than they could afford. However Ragnolin came to their aid and posted their fine. He was not a happy dwarf though and he ordered his employees into the guild hall so he could talk the now-recovering victim Earnin.

After what seemed an eternity Ragnolin sent Earnin upstairs for a bath, healing, and some sleep and approached the group. He informed them that they were to complete their shift and then prepare themselves for a very long journey North to Black Pit (I may change the town name here as I did not realize it already has a history in the Ebberon books. Oops.) in order to aid Earnin. It seems that his town has been taken over by a band of ruffians who have either killed or enslaved the townsfolk into working in a nearby mine. His 200 gp reward for assistance would cover the cost of the group's fine.

The group prepared the best they could with guild provisions based on their minor experience in these matters and left with Earnin in the morning. It took nearly a month of riding to reach the town of Black Pit.

Arriving in the evening they noted that the town was very small. A few rundown buildings surrounding the obvious center of town - the Crooked Inn. Earnin informed them that the Inn was left standing as it provided a source of entertainment for the local thugs. When he had left several months earlier it was still run by the innkeeper and his two serving girls.

After a brief discussion the group left their horses on the outskirts of town and proceeded to enter the Inn as weary travellers on their way to Audair. By the briefly shocked look on the innkeepers face it was apparent that he was surprised to see Earnin in the company of such a group.

The group proceeded to sit in the far end of the dining area. They noticed that they were being watched by 4 humans in the other end of the room. Two of the humans sat near their halberds while the other two kept their maces on the table beside them. One of the mace wielders had a serving girl with haunted eyes upon his lap and was whispering and groping her in a most inappropriate manner.

By way of innuendo and a note under a stew bowl the group determined that the residents here would be ever grateful for assistance in ridding their town of these hooligans. It was a good thing anyway as Ethan could no longer stand watching the shenanigans that the serving girl had to put up with. A round of ale and some big words and the fracas ensued. The accosted serving girl paid for putting a dagger in the groin of one of the thugs with a tremendous blow to her person. Jonathan proceeded to protect her as the rest of the group and the innkeeper proceeded to make mincemeat of the unwanted guests.

Now they must figure out what to do next...