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Black Fist guard posts parchment "Wanted for Thievery Most Cunning." all over

details the crimes of a man named Spernik including theft, breaching the peace, rendering aid to the enemies of Phlan among other lesser offences. There is also a caricature of a young, male human. He appears to have protruding rat-like ears and beady eyes, although you`re not sure about how much of that could be attributed to artistic license. The sign reads, "Reward Promised by the Lord Sage of Phlan" and bears an official-looking seal.

Scholar`s Square where Mantor`s Library is located. greeted upon entering the building by a older male half-elf who introduces himself as the Lord Sage, "How may I be of assistance?"

Laughing Goblin Zrukz sees an unknown hobgoblin who beckons you to his table.

The Lord Sage grows more serious as you mention the name Spernik. "Ah yes, a matter most grave. Spernik and his partner, Tibeem, were hired as scribes at the library about four months ago. They were skilled at their jobs, but not exceptional. Two days ago, they were caught sneaking out of my offices and when I questioned what they were doing there, they fled. I summoned the Black Fist and they gave chase. Spernik escaped, but Tibeem was caught and taken to Stojanow Gate...although not before slaying a Black Fist guard.". The Lord Sage sighs deeply, he`s obviously troubled by the whole scenario. "I searched Spernik & Tibeem`s room and found two rare tomes that had previously been stored in my personal library. When the books were taken back to be filed, two clever forgeries were already on the shelf in their place. Upon comparing the original tomes to the forged copies, each contained subtle factual inaccuracies; it seems that the two scribes intentionally changed the content of the forgeries. The books were found packed in a large haversack along with other equipment typically associated with an extended expedition; extra clothes, rope, food and water, etc.

I believe that Spernik may have stolen and stashed away other books, so if you plan to kill him they may be lost forever. I`m willing to offer 50 gp to bring the thief to justice and an additional 100 gp for the safe return of any other books or tomes that were stolen from the library."

Lord Sage nods and motions for you to follow him. "I`ll take you to their room. They mostly kept to themselves, we have many scribes who come and go. You should be able to get to see Tibeem, I went to see him in his cell, but he refused to say anything to me. Maybe, you`ll have better luck.".

Scribe`s Hall. The Lord Sage identifies the desks as being assigned to Spernik and Tibeem. "Feel free to talk to the scribes as well. Maybe they know something of value, although I haven`t learned much information from them. The two forged books are called The History of the North & Lex Geographica. The original The History of the North had a chapter referencing the Circle of Scale, a sect of druids that sought to enslave dragons. This chapter was missing from the forgery. The original Lex Geographica contained an entry referring to a circle of standing stones located in the Dragonspine Mountains, at which a group of dragon-worshipping druids once resided. This entry was missing from the forgery.".

He leads you to a small room furnished with a bunk bed, a narrow desk, and two small dressers. "We left the room untouched, the books were found in the haversack". He motions towards the haversack on the desk. It contains equipment which you would typically associate with an extended expedition; extra clothes, rope,food and water, etc.

You explore the room and by one of the dressers, you find a false panel. In the compartment behind it, you find two sets of black and purple clothing, each emblazoned with the livery of a low-ranking member of the Cult of the Dragon. An outfit you recognise from some of the cultists you fought on the ship on the Moonsea.

Lord Sage nods and agrees that he will look at those books as the most likely to have been stolen. "Although without knowing exactly what we’re looking for, it will take a while. I know quite a bit about everything or at least will have an idea of where to find it, what would you like to know about this cult?"

The guard chuckles, "Ah yes, Tibeem was it? I’m afraid he’s not very talkative at this point", he points upwards behind you and as you follow his direction, you see that he’s pointing at one of the dead bodies hanging from the gate. "As for his friend the fugitive, we heard of someone fitting his description travelling towards the Dragonspine Mountains. But that’s way out of our jurisdiction, ergo not really my problem". He reaches into a drawer in the desk and hands you a small piece of paper, "All he had on him was this". It just reads "Sheaf of vellum (1), chalk dust (1lb sack), leather case"

The guard looks dumbfounded for a second before realising the mix up, "No, dummy. He literally only had this note. Don’t know why he had it, maybe a shopping list? Now can I please get on with this?", he motions towards the line of people who are getting steadily more impatient.

You know that Cockburn Groceries is the most likely place to get them and you go to buy the things on the list. As you do, the proprietor Ted Staslep gives you a funny look, "Huh, that’s the second time in a week that someone puts in that very specific order"

You decide to adjourn for the night and leave first thing in the morning.

The trek towards the mountains takes you two uneventful days, but finally you reach the foothills around midday on the third. The rolling hills are peppered with large boulders, likely falling millennia ago from the mountains looming above. Finally, you reach a large clearing with a 60-foot wide circle of 20-foot tall stones standing in the middle. Dozens of recently made footprints in the dusty soil leads towards the middle of the circle.

Among the boulders ahead you all spot 8 incredibly poorly hidden kobolds. Tikcha, thanks to her much higher vantage point, spots an additional 4 winged kobolds.

As Davin finishes his spiel, you only hear the sound of a light breeze washing through the rocks before a croaking voice speaks in broken common, "Spernik not say nothing about more people going...". A scaled face peeks out from behind the rocks, "Spernik say, if anyone go here. You kill."

The kobolds step out and lower their daggers, seemingly happy with Davin and Zrukz’ explanations. However the winged kobolds screech, "No you idiots, we no trust weird persons! Kill them or Spernik gets mad!"