SKT: Session 1

The session began with AR-14207, Cei Besk, Abathia and Kayder walking up the High road. Having travelled for many days, they finally came across a signpost, two of the signs showing Waterdeep and Daggerford, pointing north and south respectively, and a third sign, pointing eastwards down a trail towards Nightstone.

Close by to the signpost, not a few yards away was a camp, set up somewhat abnormally to how most people would set up camps, with it's back towards the road as opposed to facing it to keep an eye on raiders or bandits, angled, almost to a fault, towards the setting sun.

The group, intrigued by this camp approached it, seeing something they thought was either a very tall human or incredibly short Giant. Abathia, wishing to investigate, threw a stone towards the being, hitting him hard on the shoulder.

He quite promptly introduced himself as Paavu and asked the group for directions to Daggerford. Kayder lied and said that Daggerford lay to east, but Paavu was aware that it definitely was not in that direction. The rest of the group introduced themselves to Paavu, with both Cei and AR-14207 remarking about how they really loved to kill people, and Abathia saying that she really liked not being killed. However they did talk about how both Cei and AR-14207 were able to save Abathia from thuggish beatings, convincing Paavu that the group was full of good, honorable people and decided to join them wherever they were heading.

After ten miles of walking, the group crested a hill and came across Nightstone, a motte and bailey surrounded by a moat, and what they could make out as a Windmill, tall steeple and several patched roofs. South of the village and surrounded by the river moat was a cone-shaped, flat-topped hill on which stood a partially collapsed stone keep enclosed by a wooden wall and connected to the main village by a wooden bridge which had also collapsed.

As they came closer to the village, they could hear a bell ringing, which got louder and louder the closer they got. They quickly found out that this ringing was coming from the temple building to their left, and Paavu along with Kayder quickly went to investigate, coming across two goblins (Beedo and Vark) in the Bell Room swinging joyfully on the knotted rope, but quickly taking arms against the intruders. Paavu easily dispatched of one with a swift yet powerful unarmed strike and knocked the other one out, taking him outside to the group.

Paavu and the group interrogate the goblin who tells them that there are about 10 or so other goblins around the town and that they came south after seeing the villagers flee north, probably to the caves, Ar-14207 then immediately decapitates Vark.

Amongst the commotion, the group are quickly beset by two massive worgs, one with the half-eaten carcass of a dog still in its mouth. It chucks it to the side, and the two wolves attack the party, quickly attracting the attention of 4 more goblins who stayed to the back and shot at the party with bows and arrows (but actually did a better job of shooting their dead friends than they did the intruders). After dispatching of the wolves, Paavu told the goblins to stand down, so they quickly ran away from the town square.

They managed to capture one of the four goblins, Jilk, whom they also interrogated and was told the same thing as the other goblin told them. They told him if he told his goblin friends to leave them alone, they'd let him go, and he agreed, but ran off out of the village when they set him down, not even attempting to do as they asked.

The group then wished to investigate the keep, but on their way came across the two goblins running into a general store. They managed to convince the goblins to run off and then scavenged the store for supplies finding a lot of useful items before setting up for a long rest. During one watch, two goblins showed up and were ushered away with soap, but then showed up again during Cei's watch and proceeded to annoy AR-14207 into getting up and attempting to attack them. The party easily succeeds and stood the two dead goblins at the door to warn off any would-be annoyances.

In the morning they proceeded to the keep, attempting to figure out a way across the broken bridge. Paavu managed to jump across but only just caught the edge, deftly pulling himself up. He then used himself as a weight to help people swing across using rope. Everyone really struggled with this - especially Kayder who fell face first onto the floor with his first attempt - except for AR-14207 who deftly jumped across with absolutely no issue whatsoever.

The party found 4 guards holed up inside the keep who told them that they had been there a couple of days since the rocks started falling. Kayder and Abathia asked if there were any items or wealth that could help them save the villagers and two of the guards were very wary about letting them have it, but Paavu and Kayder were very good persuaders... one way or another. Abathia and Kayder found the lady of the keep's room and attempting to open a chest, but ended up fighting a sword that was very good at parrying their blows! After defeating the sword they opened the chest again and found lots of interesting items including a pouch that said "Guard's pay" that Kayder scribbled out and wrote "Adventurer's Pay" on instead.

Proceeding back into the courtyard, the party agreed to help the guards with the goblins and the missing villagers, fashioning a rope bridge back to the other side. Upon returning to the square however, 7 riders appeared and stormed the town closing the drawbridge and calling for "Kella!" The rider introduced himself as Xolkin, leader of the seven snakes (a branch of the Zhentarim) and had come to set up a network base in the town of Nightstone discovering it was undefended. He informs the group of the cloud giant attack and that they had probably taken THE nightstone, a huge black rock that gave the town of Nightstone its name. He then asked whether they were with or against him, and that if they were with him that they should kill the remaining guards of the town, despite a small scuffle Paavu and Abathia convinced him that they could be of use to him and that they guards could be ushered into his employ and he reluctantly accepted. He also made it clear that he did not wish any of the villagers themselves any harm, only that they wished to make the village a new base of operations that they ruled over

After convincing the guards to enter into Xolkin's employ, the group returned to the square where the leader of the Seven Snakes asked them to go through and loot any untouched houses and find anything that may be of value.