Prologue: Troubles at Red Larch.

Keavan

Tantur Smithy

Both ends of this soot-stained building are massive stone blocks that rise into tall, wide chimneys. The din of forge hammers rings out from the forge. A well-built man with long dredded hair called Eldras Tantur runs this place. His main business is service - made to order items or repairs and the like. He does not sell products.


Ironhead Arms

This place is run by a male half-orc named Feng Ironhead. He has looks of a man who was at one time a sellsword. He indeed sells breastplates for the usual price (400 gp). He also has a set of used breastplates, a bit banged up but in fair condition as far as you can tell for 300 gp.

Midnight, and whoever else is people watching at the Inn

Around mid-morning, you see the bully from last night ambling down the stairs supporting a large bruise on his face and looking somewhat confused. He doesn't notice you but sits at the bar and orders a drink then leaves the Inn.

Other than that, you overhear Kaylessa (hard not to as she's pretty boisterous) yapping to her staff and occasional patrons about recent strange weather patterns, sudden thunderstorms, thick persistent fogs, even occasional earthquakes, calling them "bad omens".

Yohna

Gaelkur's
Inside, this seedy wooden building, is a cluttered shop full of lounging customers — most of them men in no particular hurry to be waited on — with old hair clippings trodden underfoot on the sagging board floor. They loudly argue about local politics, share local rumors and the like. They seem surprised to see a proper lady in the shop but, Gaelkur does have a set of used herbalism kit (3 gp).

Vardo

You notice a sign set on two posts in a scrap of weedy lawn out front of a small house that reads "Mellikho Stoneworks." A rock dust filled road leads down to the quarry where you see number of stonecutters and quarry workers and a pot-bellied woman with booming voice giving cursed-filled orders to the quarrymen. You don't notice anything unusual.

Mort is startled and clearly a little fearful of the dwarf maiden.

"L-listen. I-it was just the ale talkin' we wasn't really gonna try nuffin'. As for Grund, we was just foolin' around. We fool around like that all the time. I swear, he don't mind a bit. I don't think he has enough mind to mind. He's sort of an idiot. Has half a mind, like a child's."

Midnight

Listening more intently, Midnight gleans the following :
- She claims that the erratic weather patterns seems to have started earlier this year maybe 4-6 months ago. "I've lived here all my life. I've never seen the weather be this screwy, not to mention the tremors."
- With the uptick in banditry, the disappearance of those adventurers a while back and now Karl, claims of strange sightings, odd behavior of some of the townfolks... she swears it must be a curse put upon by some fell demon.

Breezy

You finish rest of your chores hyperfocused and oblivious to the outside world.

Midnight writes in her journal:

Crazy weather. Missing adventurers. Poor Karl. Demon curse. GUH.