@ Mandroid: You recently arrived at a small town called Cendor in your travels and quickly heard that a local priestess of Helia had sent a group of adventurers on a mission the day before (it was the talk of the town). Feeling that this group of adventurers could be a good way for you to redeem yourself in your eyes, you went to see this priestess to see if she would accept a late comer for her mission, and to find out what this mission was.
The priestess was a bit reticent at first as it would mean sending you alone in the Dawn Woods which are not exactly safe... but you insisted and she relented. She explained that through research, she had good reason to believe that an ancient relic of her faith, called the Star of Helia, was located in the ruins of an old temple dedicated to Helia located on Bear Peak. She needed a group of adventurers to go and retrieve it for her.
She gave you a map, some food for you to ration on the way there and sent you on your way. Trekking through the forest, you first met an hopelessly lost elf wizard named Avan'te who was originally part of the expedition, but later got cold feet and left to get back to Cendor after an orc attack during the night. You gave him directions back to Cendor and continued on your way. Later, the discovery of the old campsite and orc bodies confirmed you you were on the right way. Eventually, you found the tracks of two other people (Devin and Woodroya) which were rather easy to follow towards a mountain visible far off... While ascending a path up the mountain, you met another former member of the expedition, the NPC dwarf Barekeln who was bringing back the body of his fallen dwarf comrade Grapthor who died in combat against giant rats. Barekeln told you you were on the right way to the ruined temple and warned you to the presence of goblins outside... or at least you think that's what he said, his thick dwarven accent making him hard to understand at times. And so, you continue your ascension of the mountain.