Chapter 1 - The Beginning

"To the east is the prince. We believe he is currently being held prisoner with The Bard. We do not know why yet. The troupe has been taken to the island. They seem to be in an old fortress there. Our spies again do not know the meaning of this but they have reported large caravans bringing supplies into the fortress. The caravan's are being guarded by gnolls. But it could be an opportunity into the fortress.", Samuel explains.

"We are not asking you do this alone, The Bard has also made an enemy in The Daggers and we will be more than glad to assist. We will have an agent at each location for you to meet and who will work to aid you however they can.", Taft chimes in, "I have seen all of you fight. You can certainly hold your own, and it will be an honor for The Daggers to serve by your side, and I hope in time you will consider becoming a part of our organization yourselves."

Samuel continues, "We will let you and your party discuss this, and offer whatever insight we can. You had been on our list for selection to join because you are all highly skilled, if anyone is capable enough to handle these tasks I have no doubt it shall be you all."

As Crolwell succesfully cracks his axe through the stone of the floor Samuel frowns a bit, knowing full well he will have quite a time replacing that stone. His attention turns to Xadira.

"The Daggers have amassed a collection of artifacts in our dealings, as well as some taken from those trying to bring death and destruction into our worlds. Much of it I should not discuss, and you will not be allowed to see, but before you head out for your mission I would ask you to visit the vault room. They should be expecting you and some added protection will be issued to you", he says.

"We shouldn't take up any more of your time, you have your heading. If you head to The Harbor district of Neverwinter we should have a ship waiting for you. The captain is...peculiar...but she is one of the best captains we have. There will also be a storm sorcerer on board to ensure a safe trip. I can't say the same for what you will encounter on the island. When you get to the port town there our contact should find you", Samuel adds, "We will also work to find any more information we can on how to get to the prince, or the motives of The Bard."

Aelar will chuckle at Crolwell, not surprised by his antics, "I will explain on the way"

As you arrive at the vault there is a fairly tall high-elf there with various large ledgers in front of him. He is looking through a small pair of spectacles at the end of his nose at this and that. A few gnomes come up holding items. He jots something down and waves them away. Finally noticing your presence he says, "Ah, the new recruits. Off on assignment already?"

He doesn't really wait to hear a response as he starts flipping through the pages of his ledgers, "Hmm. Yes, let's see, we have some things we hope will aid you in your mission". As he is saying this four gnomes come out. He gives them a number and they all disappear into the vault. Shortly after they all emerge with items.

As a gnome walks to Aelar with a green pair of boots the elf says, "Aelar, you are to receive the Boots of Elvenkind. Walking with these makes no sound no matter the surface you tread on. You will also have advantage over your enemies if you move stealthfully."

A gnome brings Xadira a red cloak with decrative gold trim, the elf says, "You Xadira are assigned the Cape of the Montebank. This will allow you to cast Dimension Door once per day. Be careful, it does leave a puff of smoke where you disappear from, and appear at. Take that into consideration when you move."

A gnome brings a small circlet to Ütés, the elf continues, "Ütés, you have received the Circlet of Blasting, this will, once a day, grant you access to the spell Scorching Ray (+5 atk bonus)."

The last gnome brings what looks to just be a fairly standard metal rod, maybe about 2-3 feet long, with a decorative bull on the end, the elf continues, "This may seem fairly typical Crolwell, but this is actually an immovable rod. Press the button on the end and the rod becomes completely immovable, even if it is floating in mid-air. Press it again and it will release. This bar is near impossible to move when activated.

After he finishes speaking the elf checks a few things off on his list and without looking back to you he says, "Is there anything else I may help you with?"

[ GM: Make sure to mark these items on character sheets, I will forget all about them. ]

Every time Crolwell charges the group, as he flips the button the bar suddenly sticks in the place it was where activated and Crolwell simply runs into it. With enough effort he feels like he could possibly move it, but even for a barbarian as strong as him, it would be quite an undertaking.

[ GM: The rod can be moved, but a creature must make a strength check of DC 30 to actually push it at all. ]