Vanwafeya a drifting half elf rogue is penniless and looking to carve her way in the world. In the Great city of Rudo, seat of the small but ancient Rudonian Kingom, she visits the “Foxglove Tavern.” There she befriends Balboreth (diplomacy DC15), the blue-skinned mercane, and learns about an opportunity to serve a new noble house north of the city limits. There Lord Arthur Desven was recently granted the deed to the ruin of Labast, a stone keep abandon years ago but more recently the base of operations for a goblin war band. Apparently, Desven, a forgeign noble far from home, rooted these monsterous humanoids out single-handedly and King Turlain granted him the fiefdom as well as the customary title of “Lord.” The displaced lord needs help relieving the cellars of the last few goblinoids and their pesky traps and pitfalls. Vanwafeya makes ready to depart but meets a city patrol at the North “Falcon’s” Gate. The Captain of the city guard, Sir Harlock Duress is charged with finding the brigandier group the “cleftwood few.” These outlaws have been way-laying wagons and merchants bound to the city from any and all directions. Recently the violence escalated with the slaughter of a merchant, a fight between a patrol group, and a pitched battle with a whole halfling community caravan. The watchmen are malcontent and expect to not find any trace of the Cleftwood few for the third week of searching. The half-elf lass journies on without escort, hoping to be beneath the notice of the lawless men of the forest. She reaches the ruin of Labast and is surprised that they are restoring it’s walls but living in cottages and a great hall longhouse newly constructed just outside of the fortification. An excitable young page, Peter, escorts her to the longhouse where Sir Arthur Desven seems to have just finished a sparring session with a trio of hedgeknights. His piercing silver eyes cut into her soul as he interviews her and delegates her task of cartography and security. He entrusts her with an aged iron key to the cellar of Labast. She rests the night in comfortable guest quarters before heading to the cellars in the morning.

Thors’day Once inside, she finds evidence of Desven’s skirmishes and corpses of goblins with sword wounds and strange cuts in sets of threes. After defending herself from a dungeon-dwelling grick, that seems to have gorged itself on the captives and felling the last surviving goblin warrior, the half-elf lass returns to the lord of the manor with her findings. She is healed, rewarded and then decideds to return to Rudo proper to participate in the King’s Games for the Summer Solstice Festivities the following day.

Frigs’day On her journey back south, she meets a fidgety fellow, who hurriedly introduces himself as a simple hunter of pelts and skins before he slinks away into the forest. She notes that the composite longbow that he carries is too well crafted to belong to a lowly vagrant huntsman. Farther along, she also passes the unsuccessful city patrol. Apparently, the hounds had scented a spiced herring and were thrown into horrible fits of sneezing. The patrol would have to try again another day after their duties at the festival. Back in the city, Vanwafeya registers as a combatant for the games before returning to the Foxglove Tavern where a halfling minstrel is entertaining the bawdy crowd. At the inn, she again engages Balboreth and he fills her in on the state of many things, from ancient history, to nobility, the threat of the Gaiares Empire, and the perfect seasoning to his beef and lizard stew. Rafe the wizard also introduces himself, and his beloved polydactly calico cat, Oiam. He expresses his interest in the arcane arts and he divulges that he is looking for some very specific objects for a project he is in the midst of. He also takes the liberty of identifying her Quall’s feather token (tree) that she found on the goblin in the cellars of Labast. Weary of the long days past and long days ahead, she retires.