Session 1: Trouble at the Tannery.

1st day of the Thaw, 519 AE. (28-Feb-2026)

The first day of the Thaw marks the beginning of the adventuring season, and on this day five strangers found themselves drawn to the town of Thorneford, gathering at the Map’s End Inn. Their meeting, though coincidental, would quickly prove fateful.

Before long, a desperate man arrived, pleading for aid. He was the husband of the local tannery owner, and his children had gone missing from the cellar beneath their home. The strangers agreed to help, determined to locate the missing children.

In the tannery cellar, they discovered a hole broken through one of the walls. This opening led into a series of nearby subterranean chambers.

The party entered the first chamber, navigating a single crude trap. However, in a passage beyond, Morningstar fell victim to a hidden spiked pit trap. Pressing on, they passed through a chamber filled with refuse and foul slime before reaching another chamber with a second entrance and multiple exits. There they encountered a human fighter named Zana, who joined their company.

Further exploration brought them to what appeared to be an unoccupied bedroom. Behind a tapestry, they discovered a concealed entrance leading to a catacomb stacked with old bones. Exiting the catacomb, they found a passage in which a door stood on the north wall. Beyond it, they discovered the missing children imprisoned in a hanging cage, guarded by several small, dog-like reptilian humanoids speaking in an unknown language.

A fierce fight ensued. Jimothy fell unconscious from his injuries, but the party persevered. At the fight’s conclusion, the elf Lyra magically put everyone in the room to sleep. With the creatures subdued, the children were rescued. The adventurers dragged their unconscious companion from the chambers and took the tapestry with them, leaving the remainder of the passage unexplored.

The children were returned to their grateful parents, who offered their entire life savings as a reward. The party, however, accepted only a modest amount of coin.

Later, the adventurers attempted to sell the tapestry to a trader in town. Dissatisfied with the price, the halfling thief Gor’bmp and Zana attempted to rob the trader at weapon point. The trader’s screams brought the town guard. Gor’bmp slipped away into the streets, but Zana was captured and swiftly executed by hanging from the castle gate.

For several days afterward, the guards searched Thorneford for Gor’bmp, but the halfling was never seen again.