Session 7

Our heroes enjoyed a triumphant celebration at the Crow's Cask thankful for their victory but resolved to discuss the next steps with Wrin. The problem posed by Gauntlight seemed to be one far more complex and dangerous than any of them had anticipated. Despite this the rest of the night passed with jubilation and comraderie.
It would be a few days of recovery before our heroes would return to the Stone Circle to give Garrick his last rites. To their surprise they found his body being guarded and tended to by a strange dwarven druid who had recently arrived to town. The Druid who our heroes would come to know as Arturo, and his two companions Baloo the bear and Shere Khan the tiger, had travelled here on a self appointed mission to track down the infamous werewolf of Odaro and restore honor to the Druids of the Odaro Circle. Thankful for the honor paid to the corpse of their fallen ally and interested in claiming the bounty of the wanted werewolf they decided to join forces with Arturo. Their immediate business concluded they decided to meet with Mayor Oseph Menhemes and Wrin.
During the meeting the Mayor expressed his gratitude for saving the town and implored the group to continue their investigation into the unexplored level of Gauntlight and figure out a way to disable the lighthouse once and for all. The Mayor promised a reward of 50 gold per hero if they could find a way to keep the town safe from the abandoned lighthouse. Although the town did not have a great deal of gold to spare the Mayor had made arrangements for the heroes to be well equipped for their return into the ruin and had drawn up a contract similar to those used during the Reclamation. The contract legally bestowed total ownership of all materials recovered from the Ruin of Gauntlight and granted the adventurers the exclusive legal rights to delve into its depths. Due to some cunning negotiations the adventurers also added the clause claiming ownership of Gauntlight after the threat had been neutralized. They finalized the terms for the contract bound for the Imperial Archives, signing with the adventuring party name "The Bravest Braves" our heroes agreed to take up the quest.
In an appeal to the less money motivated amongst the group, the Mayor had also promised to send word to delegates of the port village of Toboggan to negotiate a new trade deal with the inhabitants of BristleChill and perhaps relieve some of the strain the fishing communes had found themselves in lately. Imiq agreed and but a few days later several of his relatives arrived on shore. Greeting his family fondly he learned that their seems to be a mixed air of concern, curiosity, and cautious optimism about the future of the relationship between Odaro and the Pengu clan. In the next few days the Bravest Braves would pursue their own goals and research, not much changing about town other than a bounty posting being removed and replaced with an enigmatic message. Before too long the Bravest Braves decided to get back to business, with the first item on their agenda being a hunt for the werewolf.
Navigating through the swamp towards where the lycanthrope was driven into the ocean, they were able to discover a hidden boat mooring... but despite laying in ambush they were unable to discover who the owner was. Imiq's aquatic exploration of the ocean near the Odaro cliffs revealed many caves accessible only during lowtide all around the area.....including the area connected to Gauntlight. Resolving to enter the decrepit ruin once more our heroes quickly interrogated the Mitflit Steve for information about werewolves and after the Gremlin proved mostly unhelpful decided to explore the secret rope path Garland had learned about from Steve's hand-drawn map.
Imiq's Mariner fire revealed the presence of a distant swamp predator but the groups quick hustle allowed them to avoid danger. Following the secured ropes the heroes came upon an underground cave that led back into the paved stone confines of Gauntlight and a small beach. Arturo stopped his comrades from venturing too far as he had noticed a dangerous patch of Brown Mold growing along the walls. Expertly cutting it away with a knife chilled by primal magic the druid removed the threat. Peering out at the subterranean aquatic cavern Lans spotted a boat landing and a treasure chest amidst a pile of bones and a sinister ripple in the water...opting to tempt fate for potential riches he decided to cast a fishing line and managed to hook the half glimpsed predator from earlier....a ferocious River Drake (accompanied by a Fuath).
The hooked Drake despite its struggles was unable to escape Lan's line even as it weathered the spells and strikes of the Bravest Braves. Retaliation came in the form of a glob of caustic mucus that exploded, flinging burning acid across the party. Despite this the flaming spellstrikes of Lan's fists and the unerringly accurate magic missiles of Garland ended the combat, leaving the Bravest Braves wounded but very much alive with treasure and new avenues of adventure to explore.