Desnova 1, 1423.
The PCs return to Scoff's Pawn before heading out of Borgaborsk, remembering that they were due a small reward for their assistance in his basement. They arrive to find he's shoveled much of the junk down into the basement corridor, but tells them they can each take an item of their choice from the shop. Using detect magic, they find some curiosities: a strange clay bowl, a dustpan & brush, a scroll tube and an oddly shaped suit of plate mail, all of which seem to be enchanted. In addition, Aldren chooses the timepiece from Scoff, thinking it might be repairable to use for its normal purpose. The group then stops by the Smeltworks to get Bjork a new suit of armor, and they head off to the Quay where they find that both of their loaner boats have been sunk! They inquire with a local fisher who seems suspicious, after some bribery he tells them that there were some cloaked men who did the deed. Nebol'shoi goes to grab some new oars while Bjork mends the two craft, and the gnome suspects that some of the oars belong to them! The PCs at last depart the town on their mended boats, Rucia leaving Silvermane behind to spy if they are being watched or followed.
Some distance away on the Skorbi River, the paladin summons Silvermane back in a new form, that of a bulldog, and the animal seems upset at its new form. But they don't have much time to argue about it as they spy a pair of eyes looking at them from the water's surface. They drift away, but some hours later the group is assaulted on the river by a bunch of strange giant toads, with unusual tattoos on their foreheads and tongues similar to morning stars! They attempt to grab and swallow as many of our heroes as they can, and an archer appears across the river that can fire arrows which turn into snakes, one of which lands on each of the water craft! The PCs eventually manage to whittle away the large but rather dumb toads, thanks to some crocodiles summoned up by Nebol'shoi, but the distant archer runs off after transforming into an elk. The rest of the journey is uneventful, but against the current it takes them until the evening to return to Zolovny...
They notice the squawking of crows in the riverside village, and when asking other locals, they learn that there have been a number of animal attacks in the past few days...packs of wolves harassing traders and hunters, ravens pecking at small pets and children, and other creatures bothering the fishermen on the docks of Zolovny. ALL of these creatures have similar markings to the toads that ambushed the PCs on the Skorbi. They head to the Fairgrounds where they retrieve Aldren's owlbear-fletched arrows, and then they track down Iev Lamplighter who has apparently survived an encounter with the tattooed wolves. He has raised three of them guards, but he PCs find his tent and probe him for information, learning a little more about Cynispar and then having a potential debate about the morality of the necromantic arts. They then head off to their own crushed tents and Bjork throws up a Leomund's Tiny Hut for them to sleep safely.
Desnova 2, 1423.
In the morning they find Captain Condor outside their tents, and he's apparently been kicked out of the Soverat Stockage for cheating at cards. Nebol'shoi heads off to Old Shard to collect the healing potions the priest was making, and learns a bit more about the tattooed animals, which belong to a vengeful druid named Quagmov who has extraordinary powers with regards to his control of beasts. Knowing what they face, the PCs decide to lay out a trap, setting up a false camp somewhere near where Old Shard had a recent encounter with the druid in his elk form. They wait until nightfall and leave Mockleg as bait, but a poorly hidden Nebol'shoi is bitten by a stealthy tattooed fox! Another fox enters the camp, but when attacked, the two creatures seem to vanish to safety...Aldren can hear the cries of one that was injured, but when he tries to follow them, tracks appear only sporadically to the Northwest. The group catches up with Aldren, Rucia carrying along some camouflage, and they discover a large cave with many bloody tracks not more than a few miles to the northwest of Zolovny...
PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebol'shoi, Rucia
