It has been a long, dark winter under the iron sky. The drought of summer has left the foodstores of your small village meager and bare. Even after the tragedy of the Hound, there are simply too many people and too few provisions. So it is that you and your companions packed up, joining the bold heroes that visited Hirot. So it is that you headed out, pitchforks and shovels in hand, into the cold winter of the North. And into the life of an adventurer.

[Please introduce your characters.]

A group of commoners, looking for better than the life of a peasant, took the chance Old Man Roberrts never did, and entered the portal under the stars.

More of Jonar Redhammer’s friends, a trio of dragonborn and another warlock join the search.

The warlock enters the room first, studying a blood-filled font and hearing a voice. The dragonborn artificer enters, studying a strangely warm door with a skeletal rider carved into it. They hear a second voice. The voices seem to give advice, or commands.

The room is further explored and a water-fill font, altar, and mural are found. People begin to act strange after the mural is uncovered, the artificer and the fighter wash their hands and faces in the water-filled font. Their magic items melt into residuum.

Shaking off the effects of the mural, the two warn the party, the artificer heads to recover the mural. The warlock and other dragonborn continue to study the altar and disregard the voices. The artificer covers the mural but too late! As the warlock leaves the altar to study another door, the fighter walks over a lights a random incense block. Brown smoke fills the area of the altar. When it clears, the two there are dead.

Despairing, the artificer lights the purple incense and gains a great boon. Thinking he understands the voices, he follows by lighting the red incense, a fireball nearly kills him. He grabs the sacrificial dagger from the altar and bleeds into the blood font, creating a valuable blood ruby. Meanwhile the warlock, seeking a boon of his own relights the purple incense. A massive explosion fills the room, killing the artificer and knocking the warlock unconscious. He wakes up some time alter, climbs to his feet, and stumbles through the warm door, eager to leave the sacrificial shrine.

The Grind opens in Avarest.

Friends of Jonar Redhammer are gathered in Captain Graypike‘s office and informed that Jonar has gone missing during a patrol in the area of Amaloss Keep. Aloof, the Captain is clearly unwilling to put in much effort or any reward, though he’s certainly seems willing to let you risk your life to save your missing friend.

Speaking to Jonar’s fellow guardsmen you find that there have been a rash of disappearances of late, the reason for the increased patrols. Jonar went missing without a trace. After searching the area around the Keep for a few hours, they returned to report him missing.

Fenwick Acryliss Von Stride and Lanean travel the 10 miles to the Keep and begin the investigation. Many bootprints lead them to an illusory wall and down a flight of stairs.

They find themselves in a room with statues and a pool of acid. After studying a bit they awakened some skeletons. Fenwick is quickly slain. Lanean and her companion, Rawr, dispatch the skeletons and continued to study the chamber. After several near misses with acid traps and constant depressive nagging by Fenwick’s ghost, she gives in to despair and kills herself.