Session 2: Arrival in Vogler

General Summary

With invites to meet with Ispin's contact Darrett Highwater in the village of Vogler, the party made their way to the The Fishbowl tavern. After an extended lunch, it became clear that Darrett might not be making the promised rendezvous after all.

Finding Darrett Highwater

Setting out into the town, the party met Mayor Raven Uth Vogler, who informed them that a young boy by the name of Ross went missing in the woods to the north during the morning, and a search party was formed to locate the boy. Darrett left to search with other members of town, putting a bit of a strain on the preparations for the Kingfisher Festival. Mayor Raven offered the party members each 25 gold pieces to assist in the search and get the work back on track.

A brief discussion with Ross's parents confirmed that he often enjoyed playing in the woods outside the village, and helped Lucas Shepherd to get a sense of how to track the boy. A brief search of the woods uncovered both Darrett and Ross, seemingly together, with Darrett just having come upon the boy as well. Introductions were cut short as two Red Dragonnels swept in from the air, with saddles and barding tangled loosely about them. While able to successfully fend of the dragonnels with minimal injuries, the party decided not to linger in the wilderness, lest another attack occur.

Mayor Raven Uth Vogler was grateful for Ross's return, and inquired of the group why they had come to Vogler. While she correctly guessed that they were in for the Kingfisher Festival, she was surprised to hear that they were invited by Ispin Greenshield. She broke the news that Ispin was found deceased by village hunters two days prior, apparently the victim of some kind of wild animal attack, due to the claw markings and piercing wounds. Mayor Raven directed the party to speak with Becklin Uth Viharin at Thornwall Keep for more information about Ispin's arrangements.

Meeting Becklin

At Thornwall Keep, Becklin Uth Viharin advised the party that while Ispin's death had been ruled the result of a wild animal attack, she was less certain. Ispin was an accomplished combatant and Knight of Solamnia, and it seemed unlikely to Becklin that such a well trained member of the order would be so easily dispatched by a boar or other wild beast.

Additionally, Becklin shared that Ispin was found several miles from his regular patrol route, and while the claw markings were suspicious and consistent with an animal attack, the fatal injury was a single, piercing wound through the heart. As Ispin was wearing full plate when he was found, and the injury was sustained through the armor, only an incredibly precise and powerful strike could have caused such an injury.

The party shared Becklin's suspicions on Ispin's true cause of death. With no identifiable culprits in Vogler, Becklin offered to take the group to the location where Ispin was found, and recommended that they prepare themselves, lest the individual responsible still be lurking about. Armed with little more than this hunch, the party set out into the wilderness to investigate further.