Part 2 - Chapter 1
A brisk pace was set by the party as they took their leave of the Battersea Inn. Gideon, their newest ally, had broken the news to them that neither he nor his crew would be accompanying them to the Capital. The revelation that an old book, the Butcher of the Stars, had been tampered with was distressing enough to the jaded Dragonborn that he had resolved to return to Canibri in search of answers. Before parting ways, Gideon gifted the group with an assortment of items and knowledge; A ring of spell-holding for Abby, an exotic recurve bow for Sindri, the attunement of a magic item carried by Charax, and the ability for Boot's companion Copper to be used as a messenger-bird between the party and the Buried Knife, wherever it may be.
Travelling through rolling hills, the group made good time heading south toward the Capital. They were only slowed when a wrecked wagon became visible through the quickly thickening fog. A quick scan produced little information, and the party hiked on. A short time later, they stopped again while Sindri investigated a recently-ish dead body, pierced through with black-feathered arrows and wearing what Anara would later identify as the crest of Canibri around his neck (obviously, they took the crest and wished the dead man well). This pause ended abruptly, as the group was savagely set upon by a pack of Gnolls, bursting from the nearby treeline in a cackling mob. The ensuing combat was brief and bloody, seeing Boot, Charax, and Arna (a self-identified ex-Serpent) wounded to varying degrees. Sindri was instrumental in ending the combat, raining arrows upon the dog-men, and ensnaring one as live-bait for a wandering Ankheg which had joined the skirmish. The party fled further South, and was rudely intercepted by the leader of the now diminished Gnoll pack. This creature, larger and meaner by far than it’s companions laid into the group with abandon, further wounding Arna and bowling Charax right over, before being seen off by the combined efforts of the party. Sensing that the immediate danger had passed, the group took a short rest, and Abby used the opportunity to magically heal the group.
Arna, their surprisingly dedicated new guide, led the party straight to the old standing stones he'd previously described. With a little labor, the group scurried out of the waning pre-dusk light, and into the lightless catacombs beneath the capital. Aside from the surprising discovery of gnome-sized footprints in the heavy dust, and a spooky side-tunnel which led to a partially excavated door, the group encountered little danger in the ominously twisting and echoing caverns. Arna led them straight and true to the secret entrance he'd used when escaping the White Serpent's base of operations in the Capital: Moonhaven Hall. A brief but tense few moments passed, as the group scurried and slunk out of the estate's cellar (though not before Boot laced the ale keg with boot-fermented-lace flower), past the lone drunken guard, and burst out onto the streets of Redharbor, the Capital.
What excitement and danger lay ahead, they weren’t sure - but Boot was quick to remind them that they had a mission to complete, and now in possession of an Anara-certified official seal of Canibri, they set off towards the keep.
Defeated: Gnoll-gang (two killed, two incapacitated), Ankheg (avoided), Some rocks in the crypt (combusted), White Serpent’s ale supply (and their entire cellar, really)
Characters met: Arna
Acquired: Anara-certified official seal of Canibri, three bottles of wine, a spear, a suit of scale-mail armor, a healing potion (lesser), assorted root vegetables
Quests: Deliver news of Canibri’s peril to the Capital
