Chapter 1

Last night was a wild night, but that's pretty much all you can remember.

Your head is aching. Your vision is blurry, at first, but things slowly come into focus. You realize that you must have fallen asleep outside, and not very far from one of the roads that run through town.

As you look around, you see a few others starting to wake up nearby. Any faces you recognize look different somehow. There are strange new tattoos, inexplicable articles of clothing, and a donkey on a leash that no one remembers buying.

What happened last night? Surely you're not the only person asking yourself that question.

Delvane, your memory of last night is hazy, but a few details are coming back to you.

You made your way to an inn last night. You think it was called The Stumbling Boar. A satyr was buying everyone drinks of their choice. Other patrons of the inn seemed to be getting very, very, very drunk. You can't recall how much you drank, though.

The other revelers start to slowly disperse.

The donkey's rope is tied to a goblin's wrist. The goblin takes a look at the donkey's saddle, and suddenly looks rather startled. The goblin quickly removes the rope from his wrist and says, "I'm gettin' outta here!" He takes off running.

The donkey doesn't seem to mind. It stays by Delvane's side. In fact, it seems to like you, Delvane.

The goblin runs into the Unseen Servant at full speed. He topples over and falls to the ground. You easily catch up to him as he writhes on the ground in pain.

"Oh...agh....what was that?"

The donkey follows you over. The Unseen Servant's presence remains. You can sense its magic nearby.

The goblin looks up at you, holding a hand out as if to stop you from coming any closer. "Listen! Whatever it is, I swear I didn't do it! I was not involved!"

The goblin looks you over with a wary eye. He slowly gets up and rubs his wrists.

"You...you don't own that donkey, do you? Did you read the saddle? It says PROPERTY OF CLEREBOLD THE WIZARD. If you're smart, you'll steer clear of that guy. He's not known for kindness.

"By the way, was that magic you used a moment ago? You gotta be careful with that. Most of us can't use magic. People might get upset with you. Or they might try to hire you, which could be just as bad, if you ask me."

The goblin frowns and crosses his arms.

"Lady, magic or not, I don't help people who I just met. This town is dangerous enough for goblins as it is. Now, unless you can give me some very monetary reasons to help you, I'm leaving. And don't try to stop me with your magic this time!"

The goblin starts walking away. The donkey and Delvane's Unseen Servant stay put.

The goblin feels the Unseen Servant trying to trip him up. He stumbles once, then turns toward you and draws a long knife from a scabbard on his hip.

"Lady, I'm warning you! Leave me be, or else!"

The goblin looks at you for a moment. He sheathes his blade.

"I'll stick around out of curiosity. The idea of a reward seems unlikely, but I suppose there is a chance. If we have any trouble, though, don't be surprised if I run away! No one in this kingdom offers health insurance for goblins.

Lead the way, whatever-your-name-is."

The goblin doesn't shake hands with you, but he does tell you that his name is Wormwick.

He suggests making inquiries at The Stumbling Boar. Being there and having a drink are the last things he can remember doing.

Wormwick reluctantly follows Delvane. The donkey and Delvane's Unseen Servant follow, too.

Your party makes its way back to The Stumbling Boar. As you walk, a few people stop when they see you to call out things such as:

"Hey! It's the priest-punchers!"

"Oi! Bishop-beater! Hahaha!"

This is puzzling to you, as you're not sure what you did to earn such nicknames.

You enter The Stumbling Boar. You see the telltale signs of what must have been a riotous party. The barkeeper, a burly female dwarf, is tidying things up. She turns a bit pale when you come in, and looks as if she might start wielding the broom in her hands as a weapon.

"Hold it right there! I'm not sure I want your business, after last night's shenanigans!"

The barkeeper's expression turns from cranky to amused. She gives a hearty laugh.

"Hoho! You don't even remember what happened last night, do ye? By the gods, you were sloshed.

"Tell you one thing, though. There was a group of folks who decided to get new tattoos, after an uncouth number of drinks. I can't remember perfectly, but methinks you were part of the group that went along with them.

"You lot went to the tattoo shop on the north side of town, if I'm not mistaken."

Delvane's search reveals no new tattoos on her person.

Wormwick's eyes widen. He wears hand wraps on each hand; he starts to remove the wrap from his right hand. Once it's off, he rolls up his right sleeve.

He sees a new tattoo on his forearm, depicting a naked angel. Startled, he blurts out, "blah!" He points at it, then looks at you, then looks at the barkeeper, who laughs even more.

The barkeeper finishes tidying up, and then lays out a fine lunch for you and for Wormwick. You get a biscuit, a bowl of soup, a turkey leg, a nob of cheese flecked with almonds, a crisp apple, and a flagon of something that the barkeeper calls "owl-beer," as well as a sweetroll. It costs you a gold piece, but Wormwick agrees to pay his half, which amounts to five pieces of silver.

Having eaten well, you make your way to the tattoo shop. Again, certain passersby take time to holler strange things at you.

When you arrive at the tattoo shop, you see once again that the events of last night have left the place in shambles. There are broken chairs, busted windows, and a few tattoo needles sticking out of the walls.

The shop owner is a half-elf covered from head to toe in colorful tattoos, his ears adorned with several earrings each. He greets you both with a warm hug, despite Wormwick's nonverbal protests.

"Friends, you saved me a lot of trouble last night. Those creeps from The Order of Light are always preaching virtue and acceptance, but they became hostile once they found out I was a member of Grogglekin. But you! You guys gave them a sound thrashing!"

You have heard of both of these factions, The Order of Light and Grogglekin.

The Order of Light is a large church with a powerful clergy; some of them call upon benevolent gods to cast powerful, righteous spells.

The Grogglekin, on the other hand, are part of a cult which seeks to undermine civilization and bring back the old times, when giants ruled over all sentient beings (or at least, all the sentient beings who weren't allied with the dragons).

The half-elf explains, "some people from The Order of Light tried to convince me I'm doing something wrong. I told them they're crazy, and that one day all people will serve the giants. They were upset by that. They started casting spells at me and trying to break every tattoo needle I have.

"That's when you guys decided to intervene. You were great!" The half-elf gestures toward Delvane. "You punched one of the bishops square in the face! He lost a tooth! It was awesome. Then they started blasting at you with magic, and you went on shooting spells right back at 'em!

"You know, if you guys wanted to join Grogglekin, I could definitely put in a good word for you."

The half-elf opens his mouth to explain, but as he does, a ridiculously muscular humanoid barges into the tattoo shop. He appears to be half man, half chameleon. He is about a foot taller than the half-elf.

Here's an image for reference. I can't figure out how to make this visible in the post...

He lunges toward Wormwick, grabs the goblin by the collar, and with one hand, hurls him through a window. The window shatters, sending Wormwick and many shards of glass into the street.

The chameleon-man steps out into the street and says in a Cockney accent, "you's da one what stole my carriage last night! I'm gonna grind you into goblin paste!"

Delvane, it looks like Wormwick is in trouble. The donkey and your Unseen Servant are standing by, watching this scene unfold, without any sort of strong reaction.

Meanwhile, down the street, an onlooker notices Wormwick's plight. A man wearing clothes that seem better suited to the desert than the streets of this town. A man who is heavily armed and who knows how to handle himself in a scrap.

Delvane and Dezd, roll for initiative!

The chameleon-man is not a great communicator. In fact, his training makes him suited for combat, and little else. He perceives Dezd merely as a creature who has come between him and his quarry. He snarls at Dezd and prepares to attack.

"Now you face Brutus, champion o' the ring!"

Wormwick stumbles to his feet, drawing his blade. Being flung through a window has definitely taken a toll on him.

Delvane's Unseen Servant hurls dust from the road into Brutus's face. Unfortunately, the distraction has no effect.

Wormwick observes the battle stance Dezd has taken, and notes how large Brutus is. Wormwick decides to sheath his blade and pull out a sling and some stones.

He loads the sling, then lets fly a stone in Brutus's direction.

It's a hit!

It's a hit!

In a fit of rage, Brutus wheels around and grabs at Delvane, trying to grapple her and punch her in the gut.

Delvane gets pummeled, taking 14 bludgeoning damage!

Dezd strikes Brutus, who bellows in outrage.

Wormwick rushes over to Delvane's unconscious form. She was one of so few people who ever regarded Wormwick with kindness.

With a heavy sigh, Wormwick removes his hand wraps and tries to bandage Delvane's wounds.

Brutus seems happy to be fighting a foe like Dezd. With a malicious grin, Brutus leaps toward Dezd with outstretched hands.

Brutus has taken some serious punishment from Dezd, but he hasn't thrown in the towel yet. He swings a fist the size of a buckler at Dezd.

Brutus' resolve is waning, but he's determined to at least land one blow against this swift swordsman.

Wormwick watches Brutus flailing around. He takes careful aim, then send a slingstone straight at Brutus' noggin.

The stone nails Brutus right in the eye!

With Dezd's low strike, Brutus' legs come out from underneath him. He hits the ground hard, completely knocked unconscious.

Wormwick scowls at Dezd, but he does help move Brutus out of the street.

The collective efforts of Dezd, Delvane, Wormwick, and the Unseen Servant are enough to move Brutus into an alleyway. He's a heavy fellow, though. It feels as though he weighs almost 300 pounds, and there's not an ounce of fat on him.

Meanwhile, on a nearby street, Mariel is with her old friend, Dedge the Exile. The two of them are gazing at a horse-drawn carriage that they sold to someone last night. It's now completely destroyed. Apparently, last night someone stole the carriage from the buyer, and took the carriage out for a drunken joyride. It was then crashed into a melon stand near the market square.

Dedge and Mariel watch as some unlucky guardsmen collect what's left of the wagon, removing bits of melon from the wreckage.

"Unbelievable," says Dedge to Mariel, his arms crossed in front of him. "We sell that guy a wagon, and it's wrecked in the street, not even a day later."

"I suppose you're right," says Dedge. "Brutus' gold was as good as anybody's. I just hate to see something useful go to waste.

"I understand that the people who stole the wagon had a pretty wild night. They got drunk, punched some priests from the Order of Light, wrecked Brutus' wagon, and wound up with one of Clerebold's donkeys.

Actually, I bet the inept city guard would probably love to get their hands on the miscreants. I haven't seen a reward posted for their arrest, but it could be worth looking into."

Dezd, Delvane, and Wormwick turn to enter the tattoo shop and notice that the donkey has gone missing. The shop owner is standing in front of the shop now, and is talking to a few guardsmen. There is also a tall figure wearing a red cloak, who looks to be half human, half wolf.

As the guards question the shop owner, the wolf-man approaches Dezd, Delvane, and Wormwick.

"I am Clerebold," he says. "I seek a donkey. And not just any donkey--I donkey that I lost, and that is capable of casting magic spells.

Have you seen it?"


Meanwhile, Dedge and Mariel speak to the guards in the market square, near the wagon crash. Apparently, Brutus never spoke to the authorities regarding the wagon's theft. However, Dedge and Mariel find out that there's a reward of 400 GP offered for finding Clerebold's donkey.

"The creature's magic abilities came about after I ran some experiments upon it," explains Clerebold. "I have yet to discover the full extent of its powers.

"It is docile, unless it begins to feel threatened. When it senses danger, it can cast offensive conjuration spells--things like fire bolt and magic missile. Additionally, I think I managed to get it to teleport at least once.

"As I say, these powers, and it's potential to become more powerful, make it extremely valuable to me. It must be recovered."

Dezd easily locates the hoofprints of the donkey. They don't lead anywhere; they stop at the post where the donkey was hitched outside the tattoo shop, and then they end. This leads you to believe that the donkey must have teleported away from this place.

Also, the rope used to tie the donkey is gone. Very curious...

Dedge agrees, but reminds you that the reward was for 400 GP. Not 4,000.