Date: 2/2/05

XP Awarded: 1,125 (to 5th level characters), 900 (to 6th level characters)

Start: The western foothills of the Rauvin mountains, a tenday before Midsummer

Leaving the stream bank where they camped for the night, the party continues their journey through the rolling forest of the Rauvin foothills. After several hours of travel, the group spots a hulking brute standing over a prone figure on the road ahead. Approaching cautiously, they can see that the man on the ground is older, with silver hair and piercing blue eyes, but appears to be sickly and weak. The standing man has darkly-colored, rough skin and small, sunken, coal-black eyes. He is wearing a chain shirt and has a huge hammer strapped to his back, but does not appear to be menacing. He calls out to the group what sounds like a mangled elven greeting. Theodar approaches cautiously, with the elves following behind.

The man lying on a thick carpet of green moss near the road identifies himself as Fathas, and explains that he has been poisoned by something fouling the water upstream. The odd-looking man introduces himself as Iax, and seems to be very impressed by the elves. He volunteers to help Fathas, and the other adventurers reluctantly agree to help.

After climbing higher into the Rauvin foothills for an hour, the group finds the looted body of a prospector lying in the stream that feeds the pool far below. A long-shafted arrow with black fletching protrudes from the body, dripping a caustic green substance into the waters. Iax moves the body from the waters while Theodar finds gnoll tracks all over the area. Celowin keeps his bow at the ready as the group scouts the large alpine clearing, but finds no gnolls in the area. Returning to the shaded pool on the roadside, the adventurers find Heardan and Fathas, who already looks a little better. Fathas thanks the group, and explains that there have been many parties of orcs passing through the area towards the east, avoiding the patrols in the area. Other foul monsters have been slinking past the fringes of civilization into Sundabar Vale as well, including a young green dragon seen flying overhead the other day.

The party leaves Fathas behind and resumes its journey to Citadel Felbarr, reaching the underground dwarven fortress the next day. After vouching for Iax at the gate, the party stays in the same empty barracks they had stayed in previously. Theodar presents the recovered dwarven blast spikes to Cardus Rockfist, who knows the dwarven merchant that they were stolen from, and Cardus arranges a feast where the merchant can thank the party. Celowin pays a visit to the temple of Moradin, asking the dwarven priest there about the wounds he received when fighting a werewolf in the Moonwood.

The next evening at the feast, the adventurers meet Tamm Gordrivver, a gold dwarf merchant who claims the blast spikes were stolen during a barbarian raid on one of his caravans in the Moonlands. Later in the evening, when he is drunk, Tamm gifts the party with a fine mithral shirt in thanks and talks about mounting a military expedition to drive the barbarians from the nearby lands. Also at the party is Durin Battlehammer, an important shield dwarf who is the nephew of King Bruenor Battlehammer of Mithral Hall to the west. Jhespyn Swordmantle, a former adventurer turned local lord, is at the feast and spends time drinking heavily with Iax, extracting promises to help clear a den of trolls from his nearby lands.

The next morning the adventurers prepare to leave, and Jhespyn again asks the party’s aid in dealing with the trolls that infest his lands (apparently having forgotten that he asked for and received promises of help from Iax the night before), but the party demures, concerned that Celowin may have contracted lycanthropy from their battles in the Moonwood and wanting to get to Sundabar quickly before the approaching full moon.