Prelude #1

Characters:

Jamie (Changeling Rogue)
Mike (Human Fighter)
Justin (Half-Elf Sorcerer)
Ryan (Half-Orc Barbarian)
Keenan (Dwarf Cleric)

Jamie and Mike are twins. They had a Changeling mother, and a human father. Not sure how this happens, but a neighbour discovers the mother shapechanging, and the father dies. Everyone assumes that it is a doppelganger monster that has killed their real mother and has taken her place, and so she is run out of town. She has taught Jamie to always appear like Mike, so everyone thinks they are both regular humans. They are taken in by the owners of the town's inn, a married human couple named _______ and _______. Mike and Jamie eventually convince them to change the name of the inn to "The Thirteenth Step", even though it sits flat on the ground and there are no steps at all. Mike has a temper and Jamie gets into trouble, but no one holds it against them because of their tragic childhood.

Justin is a half-elf, elf father, human mother, both still alive and living in town. He was born in an elven city and trained early on to be a warrior, but he proved more adept at spellcasting, to his father's disappointment. They moved to Paradise when Justin was young, and being a mischievous and prankish type, he became friends with Mike and Jamie and hung out with them a lot.

Keenan is a ward of the church, having lost both parents to _____ attacks at an early age. The elder priests (two of them, a male Halfling Elya, and a female human Kira) are both quite old, so it is his job to make house calls and be the village's everyday cleric. He felt sorry for Mike and Jamie when their parents died/left, having gone through that himself, so he became an uncle figure to them (which became a big brother role as they matured and became closer to his mental age.)

Ryan is the dumb but strong, lovable oaf who everyone in town knows and takes care of. He is exceptionally strong because he is always performing heavy-labour chores for people and helping them. His nickname is Hoof-Bite because he used to work regularly in the stables and livestock farm, until the farmer caught him trying to bite a horse. His father Fang is the town's sheriff, and loves his son without shame. Jamie is particularly loyal to Hoof-Bite because Hoof-Bite once saved him from an angry bear after Jamie harassed it.

Tavern - owned by two human sisters, Hanra and Shanra. Hanra is the cook, Shanra is the barkeep, they also employ a number of girls as barmaids.



Three farmsteads on the outskirts of town:
#1 - Stella & Eyon, humans, 2 kids, livestock
#2 - Domo, old human male, vegetables and fruit
#3 - Var & Millie, human and half-elf, 3 kids, wheat, corn, grains

5 thieves
Mazer, male human - tough, gruff, stubborn
Lipp, male human - pathetic, sneaky
Erol male half-elf - dumb
Hemmel, male elf - fanatical but has no idea what is really going on
Seris, male halfling - ...nothing

Dead Trader = Jasper, human male (middle aged)

Male Trader = Orlar, middle aged chubby human, balding. Runs Orlar's House of Magnificence in Freeport (gems and jewellery.)
Female Trader = Mara, middle aged, chubby, jolly

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Orlar and Mara are robbed by 5 thieves, party arrives on scene just in time to see them fleeing on horseback. The party rounds up four horses (Ryan runs) and using Justin's raven familiar, tracks them down to a farming community 2 hours ride from town. Three farms. Jamie fills his bag full of ears of corn.

They poke around and eventually find three of the thieves, with five horses, hiding in one of the barns. Justin summons a fiendish centipede to scare them, they run outside and are knocked out by the waiting party. Mazer, Lipp, and Hemmel are the three. Mike questions them, and asks where the others are (reply: Gone to get food.) Meanwhile, Jamie tries to coerce Lipp into accepting a "deal" if he'll just blame it all on Mazer. (He later tries to convince Mazer the same thing.) During this whole time Jamie looks like an orc.

While interrogating Mazer, no one notices Lipp edge up on the hay bales he's sitting on and leap for the window. Mike grabs a pitchfork and hurls it at him, just missing him. However, his landing is heard by Ryan, who strolls over and punches out Lipp as he is trying to hop away.

They question Erol, who is dumb and panics and reveals that he didn't take the amulet. When questioned farther, he tells them that Hemmel and Seris took an amulet with a blue stone because it would "light their way."

Outside, Justin and Ryan meet Domo, who is suspicious of them and tries to shoo them away, but later offers them food. He gives them apples, apologizing for the lack of their regular meal, soup, because the well was strangely low today when he went to get the water. They go inside and discuss.

They decide to tie the three thieves to horses and send them back towards Paradise, and then explore the well. Jamie drops down into the well and finds an underground/water passage into a small cavern. He gets everyone else (Ryan holds the rope, and then climbs down). Jamie morphs into Mazer now, and walks into the next room while the others wait for a signal. There are 2 men in leather armor and one cloaked, hunched figure facing away from him. The 2 men attack, injuring Jamie, who had leapt up on a table. He flips off the table and runs away, flipping his bag of corn at one of the men. The two men pursue him around the corner, only to be chopped down in a cleave by Mike.

Mike flips the cloaked figure around, it's a dead man, stripped to the waist and a strange symbol carved into his chest. Jamie searches the room and finds the blue-stoned amulet, and he puts it on. When he holds the gem, he can see through illusions, and spots a secret door (and its triggering mechanism on the wall.) They go through, find a storeroom in one direction, and a closed door in the other. Justin casts silent portal on the door and Ryan charges in.

Inside are a halfing and an elf, both armed with chain shirts and better gear than the other thieves they've met so far. There is also a large rug in the center of the room. Ryan ducks back around the door and says "PEOPLES!" Mike charges in as the halfling drinks a potion of blinking, both halfling and elf draw their weapons (dagger, longsword). Mike and quickly wounds the elf, while the halfling is attacked by Jamie, Ryan and another centipede by Justin. While charging at the halfling, Ryan almost falls into the concealed pit trap under the rug. The halfling blinks in and out constantly and most of the party's attacks keep missing him, even Justin's ice shard spell. The elf surrenders, and Keenan pins him to the ground and strips him of weapons, revealing a brooch with the same symbol.

Meanwhile the halfling sneak attacks Ryan, then runs for the door, dodging Justin's clumsy trip attempt. Mike charges after him but misses as the halfling blinks out of view again, but Justin summons a giant fire beetle which bites the halfling, then he is impaled by Ryan, charging and stabbing with the spike on the end of his greataxe. He runs out of the room and all the way down the hall before finally smearing the halfling on the ground.

They search the place and find some okay treasure. They return to the surface after knocking Hemmel unconscious.