When we last left our intrepid adventurers they were on a rainy Ptolus street at sunset when a woman's scream pierced the stillness. They rushed to investigate, only to find a young woman, Phon Quartermain, being attacked by a group of street thugs. A short battle ensued, and one of the thugs escaped. A second was subdued, and the third was killed. The party soon discovered that the thugs had been hired to kill Phon. But who hired them was a mystery. The group recovered a note detailing where and when the thugs were to present to collect their reward.
The note lead them to a warehouse where the party ended up fighting a second group of small time hoods. When captured, questioned, and intimidated, the surviving members of this second group of criminals were more forthcoming. They informed the party that they worked for a half-orc named Toridan Cran, a petty criminal with pretensions. The group set about trying to find out why Phon would be the target of a murder for hire, with little luck. Phon broke down into hysterics when questioned. Meanwhile, the party investigated Toridan Cran.
Before going after Cran, however, the group was alerted to a money-making opportunity in the North Market. Our heroes were hired by a group of merchants and citizens to investigate an abandoned and apparently haunted house. It was not haunted, as it turns out, but simply infested by goblins. In a battle that can only be described as a comedy of errors, they defeated the goblins and then collected their reward from the townspeople, who continued to believe that the house was haunted, despite the evidence to the contrary.
After resting and recovering, the party ventured to Toridan Cran's hovel. Again, combat ensued, and our heroes managed to capture Cran, who, under less than polite questioning, revealed that he had been hired by a mysterious stranger to have Phon murdered. Cran simply subcontracted the job to the thugs that made the initial attempt. Cran, and his henchmen that survived the battle, were turned over to the City Watch, for which the party received an insignificant bounty.
The party, alerted to rumours of ratman activity, and assisted by Iltumar Shon, the young apprentice of the leonine weapons merchant Rastor, ventured into a non-descript basement in the temple district--a Temple of the Rat God. The party easily dispatched the tiny contingent of ratmen and dire rats which inhabited the temple, as well as the foul priestess of the Rat God and her were-rat consort. The party was intrigued to find a mural depicting a foul and ancient tentacled creature that none were familiar with.
Later, while recovering at the Ghostly Minstrel, the group was approached by Mand Scheben, an associate of Castle Shard, and invited there on behalf of Lord Zavere. The group met with Lord Zavere who questioned them about their dealings with Toridan Cran. He informed them that Cran's older brother, Linech Cran was a more successful criminal who was largely responsible for the trade of the drug shivvel within Ptolus. It had come to Lord Zavere's attention that Linech Cran was seeking adventurers for an unknown task. Lord Zavere offered the group a substantial sum of money if they would take on the job from Linech and report back to him what Cran was up to. They agreed.
The note lead them to a warehouse where the party ended up fighting a second group of small time hoods. When captured, questioned, and intimidated, the surviving members of this second group of criminals were more forthcoming. They informed the party that they worked for a half-orc named Toridan Cran, a petty criminal with pretensions. The group set about trying to find out why Phon would be the target of a murder for hire, with little luck. Phon broke down into hysterics when questioned. Meanwhile, the party investigated Toridan Cran.
Before going after Cran, however, the group was alerted to a money-making opportunity in the North Market. Our heroes were hired by a group of merchants and citizens to investigate an abandoned and apparently haunted house. It was not haunted, as it turns out, but simply infested by goblins. In a battle that can only be described as a comedy of errors, they defeated the goblins and then collected their reward from the townspeople, who continued to believe that the house was haunted, despite the evidence to the contrary.
After resting and recovering, the party ventured to Toridan Cran's hovel. Again, combat ensued, and our heroes managed to capture Cran, who, under less than polite questioning, revealed that he had been hired by a mysterious stranger to have Phon murdered. Cran simply subcontracted the job to the thugs that made the initial attempt. Cran, and his henchmen that survived the battle, were turned over to the City Watch, for which the party received an insignificant bounty.
The party, alerted to rumours of ratman activity, and assisted by Iltumar Shon, the young apprentice of the leonine weapons merchant Rastor, ventured into a non-descript basement in the temple district--a Temple of the Rat God. The party easily dispatched the tiny contingent of ratmen and dire rats which inhabited the temple, as well as the foul priestess of the Rat God and her were-rat consort. The party was intrigued to find a mural depicting a foul and ancient tentacled creature that none were familiar with.
Later, while recovering at the Ghostly Minstrel, the group was approached by Mand Scheben, an associate of Castle Shard, and invited there on behalf of Lord Zavere. The group met with Lord Zavere who questioned them about their dealings with Toridan Cran. He informed them that Cran's older brother, Linech Cran was a more successful criminal who was largely responsible for the trade of the drug shivvel within Ptolus. It had come to Lord Zavere's attention that Linech Cran was seeking adventurers for an unknown task. Lord Zavere offered the group a substantial sum of money if they would take on the job from Linech and report back to him what Cran was up to. They agreed.
