Windsday, 15 Iudicon (late spring), 1043 CY

Thena: waxing crescent Ollo: waning gibbous
High: 79 Low: 57

Z was awake, but weak, and still requiring treatment at the House of Healing. Taskar estimated she'd be able to leave the following day.

Raknian, having heard of the characters' recent misfortune, came to the House of Healing to visit them. After hearing the tale first-hand from them, he offered to see if he couldn't "pull some strings" to help settle the characters' debt to Taskar....

An otherwise uneventful day.

Tidesday, 14 Iudicon (late spring), 1043 CY

Thena: new Ollo: full
High: 81 Low: 57

The following morning, the characters got up early and returned to the ruins of the keep, eager to finish the bullywugs (and collect the bounty offered by the lecherous mayor) and find the staff of earthen might. Once back at the ruined remains of the keep's first floor, the characters uncovered a trapdoor that led into the subteranean levels of the keep.

The characters found themselves in a stone chamber lit by smoldering braziers; toppled bookshelves, tables, and other furniture littered the floor, jutting up through the layer of mud that covered the floor. Once again, the characters were able to surprise the inattentive bullywugs in the room. Panfalcon attempted to charge the bullywugs, but found that one section of the mud was deeper and thicker than the rest, and he was stuck fast. The muckers here used their longspears to harass characters stuck in the mud, while the twitcher threw javelins. Once aware of the quagmire, the characters were able to avoid it (and eventually free themselves) and dealt with the four bullywugs quickly and efficiently. Once the battle was concluded, the characters' search of the ruined study turned up a +1 vicious dagger, a sack containing 100 gold pieces in gemstones, and a scroll case containing a scroll with a silence ritual. Feeling the rush of their decisive victory, the characters proceeded through the doors to the south....

They came upon a room with large L-shaped tables and tall bookshelves drawn up from the stone of the earth, and a large pit of mud occupying the majority of the room. Here they found four bullywug croakers, and a fat bullywug bearing a twisted wooden branch of a staff, and two pony-sized frogs wallowing in the mud. The bullywugs and frogs were prepared for an attack, and the frogs promptly attacked ; the croakers moved in, but were quickly cut down. The real danger came from the bullywug mud lord in the corner of the room, who wielded powerful magic, including his ability to croak out balls of fire at his foes. One of the giant frogs quickly swallowed Panfalcon, another used its tongue to draw Regdar close before swallowing him as well. The mud lord, meanwhile, rained fire on Z and Daveth; the wizard and bard tried to blast the frogs, but the mud lord's constant assault and the characters' inability to move through the mud to match the speed of the frogs proved to be their undoing.

It was only by the very narrowest margins that the characters managed to survive. Panfalcon managed to wrench himself free from the gut of one of the frogs and kill it. Daveth and Panfalcon pinned the mud lord down and managed to kill him before he could get off an electric reflux attack, then finally killed the frog that had swallowed Regdar. Z and Regdar appeared to be dead.

Daveth and Panfalcon raced back to Tira's Gift, and went to the House of Healing, an infirmary run by the halfling Taskar Jenkin (as temple priests rarely sell their services). Taskar, a physician trained at the famed Academy of Medicine at Galenamon in the Bello-Darnor Empire, evaluated both Z and Regdar and that both were "mostly" dead. He had the medical knowledge to try and bring them back, but it was costly--500 gold pieces...each. A decision had to be made quickly, as any delay would tip them over into the "completely" dead category, where Taskar's skills would not avail them. After a lengthy debate, Panfalcon and Daveth agreed to try and raise money to have Z raised; Panfalcon ran to Torrak's Bank and cashed in the gems they had discovered for their monetary value of 100 gp. Taskar made arrangements for Regdar's body to be taken to the local cemetery, and he and his assistants began ministering to Z. Taskar said it would be at least two days before Z would be up again.

With nothing else to do, Panfalcon and Daveth retired to rest...and wait....

Moonday, 13 Iudicon (late spring), 1043 CY

Thena: new Ollo: full
High: 74 Low: 59

To begin with, the characters were called by Loris Raknian, the local tailor of their hometown of Tira's Gift, to the Glass and Wine, a tavern owned by the mine manager, Chaum Gansworth. There, the characters were introduced to one another:

• Panfalcon Strifelaughter: a Unionist halfling paladin; just arrived in town looking for a place of solitude to reflect on recent life events in the halfling homeland, Halrae.
• Zinnanonna "Z" Moonshadow: an eladrin wizard; apprentice to the local wizard, Allustan.
• Daveth: a human bard; employed at the Emporium as a relatively low-level entertainer.
• Regdar: a human rogue; a vagrant and a trouble-maker.

Raknian explained that an old friend of his had recently contacted him asking for help, and that he chose the characters because he recognized some heroic qualities in them. Shortly thereafter, a goliath sorcerer from named Oneus Earthmane entered and Raknian hailed him as the one in need of some assistance. Oneus hailed from one of the nomadic goliath tribes that frequented the nearby area at regular intervals throughout the year. He explained that he was the descendant of Voran Earthmane, a goliath sorcerer who built a keep where he could experiment and conduct his arcane research in peace. When the massive Tear of Infinity fell from the sky and carved out the valley-sized gash in the hills known as Tira's Fall, Voran's keep was destroyed, leaving only the ground floor and the subterranean laboratory. Voran survived and escaped with many of his creations, except for the greatest one, the staff of earthen might, an item that drew strength from the earth by channeling power from the Elemental Chaos. Oneus claimed to have discovered the site of his ancestor's keep and asked the characters to search the ruins and if possible bring back the staff of earthen might.

It seemed a relatively minor task, except that Panfalcon had heard that caravans passing near the old King's Wall that bordered Tira's Fall and (more importantly) the area Oneus claimed the keep was located had been coming under attack by "frogmen" for the past two weeks. The rumors were noteworthy in themselves, but also interesting was the fact that the nearest swamp was two days away to the south, so "frogmen" were rare in these parts. Raknian said he had heard the same rumors, and confirmed rumors that Mayor Lanod Neff was offering five gold pieces for each frogman killed. The sheriff was rumored to be gathering men and the mercenaries seen around lately to go out and collect on the bounty, but nothing had been done yet. Tempted by the bounty, and at Raknian's urging, the characters agreed and set out for the keep.

With Oneus's directions, the characters found the keep without trouble, and once there found the ruins bogged in mud, where six frogmen squatted with crude weapons, croaking in lazy inattentiveness. At this point, Daveth and Regdar identified the "frogmen" as bullywugs--savage and destructive humanoids that were little more than a blight on the world of life. The characters successfully surprised the slothful bullywugs, but were soon in a fight for their lives; the croakers went down easily, but the huge muckers had a penchant for knocking the characters prone, while the nimble twitchers hurled javelins from afar. It took a great deal of cunning (and healing by the paladin and bard), but eventually the fight was done. The characters, weary from their first taste of real adventure, returned to Tira's Gift for rest.

While there, the characters decided to stop by the office of Mayor Neff. There, they found six of the mayor's cronies dicing in his waiting parlor and when they attempted to speak with the mayor regarding the six bullywugs they had killed, they were told they would need to make an appointment: "the mayor is a very busy man." They were told the earliest that the mayor could see them would be in eight days. The characters were about to leave when Regdar decided to try throwing dice with the mayor's men, wherein he lost ten gold pieces (but, a little pick pocketing got him fifteen gold pieces, so a net gain after all).

The characters then decided to spend some time gambling at the Emporium, the very popular (and equally garish) casino, whorehouse, and freakshow in town. Regdar tried to play Three Dragon Ante and Going to Remington, and lost more money. Panfalcon indulged in a small amount of gambling and also lost. Daveth wanted to sample the more erotic pleasures of the Emporium's famed Veiled Corridor, but found the prices to be prohibitive for his limited income. He was about to run across town to the bordello, the Midnight Salute, but Z admonished him and he instead decided to retire for the night.

After a day of fighting bullywugs and a night of gambling and revelry, the characters settled in for a good night's rest.