Chapter 1 - The Goblins of Wydon

General Summary

Sixty years ago, a group of five heroes named the Dragonblazers ascended the tower of Amagus in the divide of the Dragonscale Mountains, backed by the armies of Lysandus. The Knights of the Black Dragon opposed these heroes, and the armies of the Danen fought against the Lysandans for the freedom of the northlands of Keller. The final battle of the Second Dragon Crisis commended, with the blood of hero and villain shed for the fate of the nation. Evidently, the Dragonblazers killed the leader of these vicious knights, the sorcerer-turned-dragon Lady Qenlynn, and brought peace and freedom to Lysandus for years to come.
Yet this age of peace has began to show signs of waning. The Knights of Dragonbane, as powerful as they were, faced an utter defeat at the town of Canmoore, where the Orcs of Dane descended and slaughtered the Kellerite village. The nobles of Lisanrik grow more and more corrupt, and the people of Lysandus grow more fearful of their powerful Gothain neighbors. Lysandus is in trouble in the year 5750, but perhaps the tide of fate will once again change?
But, despite these events, there are smaller matters to attend to in the small hamlet of Wydon...

Within the town of Wydon, a group of two runaway individuals met one of the city guards, an elf named Kade Kreger, within the Dragon and Boar in. They had all heard of the local sheriff's bounty: goblins within the hills, causing a ruckus for travelers, who needed to be disposed of. Kade gave some details and had lunch with the runaways. The first of these runaways was a quiet man named Aaron Shand, and the second was a estranged, hooded man named Cecil Kurtz. Together, they agreed to take on the goblins, and left the inn to bring their plans to the sheriff, Guy Wood.
The sheriff gave them approval to hunt the goblins and so they promptly left town. On the road it was relatively quiet until they were stopped by a group of black-clad bandits, who demanded money. The adventurers refused, so the bandits attacked them and promptly took their goods. The group was knocked out for a few hours. When they awoke, they found themselves within a pile of bones in a goblin cave. They also noticed they were disarmed and without armor. To escape they cave, they had to deal with two goblin guards.
Kade used his elven magic and blasted some of the goblins with icy rays, while Aaron used his stealthy skills to take out some of the guards through diversions. Eventually, the party made their way toward their supplies and rearmed themselves, taking out the remaining goblins. They also came across the black-clad bandits on their way, to which they promptly killed and looted, though Cecil was out cold once more. They found the exit of the cave and allowed the injured Cecil to rest, while they planned on how to take out the leader of the goblins within the cave. Once Cecil came to, they would enact their plan.

by Roll20, Dungeondraft

The adventurers snuck into the cave, with Aaron preparing a bolt from his crossbow to take out the goblin leader. Who they found leading the goblins was a rotund goblin named Flib wearing a bronze crown, sitting on a broken recliner chair and laughing in the common tongue. Aaron did not wish to take chances and fired at the goblin king. The scuffle took around a minute, with Cecil being knocked out (again) but Aaron and Kade using deception and magic to take out the creatures and finish their mission. Kade went to tend to Cecil while Aaron investigated. Aaron would find a note, telling him the deals that the goblins were making with the local bandits.
The party promptly returned to the town of Wydon after their adventure. They collected their gold from the sheriff. Before they left, the sheriff told them something dire: the bandits they faced were no ordinary ruffians. They were a branch of the Knights of Black Dragon! Kade was angered that he was not told, Cecil was rather unamused, but Aaron became pale and tried to leave the room. Indeed, Sheriff Wood admitted he did not tell them due to matters of national security and because he was collaborating with the Hearthstars. The Sheriff instructed the party that they should meet with a local halfling, named Gilmore Giggins, about the ordeal.
Aaron was horrendously disinterested, wishing to continue wandering, but Cade persuaded him to remain and perhaps see what the Hearthstars had to say. So, at midnight at the Dragon and Boar Inn, the adventurers met with Gilmore Giggins and, more importantly, the Grandmaster of the Hearthstars: William Wyvern, a black dragonborn who bore the crest of the Southern Star.
William Wyvern told the adventurers that he had kept tabs on them, seeing them as perfect candidates for a mission: to stop the Knights of Black Dragon once and for all, as he feared they were plotting in Northern Keller and were responsible for the failure at Canmoore. Aaron, hearing this, felt extremely uncomfortable. However, he was enticed when William Wyvern offered 50 gold as a measure of trust. With the money, the party agreed to start the mission. William instructed them to head to Feller's Rock to get the sword Fatebender and return it to him so that the Hearthstars can use it to stop the knights, as Riley Woodhame once did.
With that, William gave them these written instructions, and the party went on their way:

Investigate the sword Fatebender. It should be within the town of Feller’s Rock, but be watchful, there is a mad, old wizard there named Slytoff Han. He is not usually harmful but in his old age he has become a bit senile.

For Feller’s Coast, take the road west of Wydon, past the forest of Kirk. There is a long road from there, be watchful as wolves do prowl the grounds every now and then at night. On foot, the journey should take a week, but on horseback it is merely a two day journey.

Date (in world)

August 7th, 5750.

Report Date

04 Jan 2021

Player Characters

Kade Krueger is a high elf artificer who hailed from the city of Avenve before moving to Lysandus. He served as a city guard in Wydon, but now he will see more life of adventure than he ever expected...

Aaron Shand is a human rogue, and more importantly, a wanderer. After the trauma he endured at Canmoore, he has decided he can no longer trust authority and has become immensely introverted. In battle, he often hides from the enemy with his trusty shield. But do not mistake that for cowardice: he has a formidable aim.

Cecil Kurtz is also from Gothai and a human cleric of the light. Who he follows remains a mystery, but he has been granted divine power to protect his allies and cut into the darkness of his enemies.