The party (Gorok, Therani Woodlight, Miles Fairchild, and Dazzetaine Deepfury) left Echeron on the 29th of Fharl, starting a months-long trip north to Nall’Morangar. Their first major stop was going to be Lan’Gess. A few weeks into their trip, they encountered a strange wandering elf from Elvenhome, Ilyan Durani. While conversing, they were ambushed by a gang of elven Nameless, led by a female druid. They defeated and killed all of their attackers, but they were unable to suss out a reason for the attack.

As Ilyan was headed towards Ghalt anyway, he joined the adventurers, and they made their way to Lan’Gess. They stayed at the Stoneforge Guildhall. The trade representative there, Ulmaline Stoneforge, convinced the party to investigate a ghost haunting in a nearby building. It was an old collapsed shop that had once been the home of an Old Man Zander. In exchange, Ulmaline would connect them with Margrick Shortstone, a gnomish scholar who would help them translate a mysterious book they had found in Kherrihm. The party agreed to the exchange.

After some preparations at a Temple of Pelor, the party descended into some ruins they found underneath Old Man Zander’s destroyed home. Down below, they discovered a strange black slime, an overpowering stench of rotted and burning peat, and the diseased claws of slavering undead. After they spilled out into an ancient crypt, they were surprised and fought off a gang of starving ghasts. They then powered up a number of magical defenses, and set off to explore deeper into the unknown…

The party (Gorok, Therani Woodlight, Sir Edward, Miles Fairchild, and Dazzetaine Deepfury) had managed to retrieve the fabled Brazier from mines of Kherrihm, but Shaela had betrayed them and made off with the Hands of the Holy. A mixed result, to say the least.

During the three-day trip back to Echeron, they had plenty of time to collect their thoughts and ponder their next steps. The Stoneforge brothers spoke to the party about the brothers’ upcoming trip back to Nall’Morangar, and the possibility of paying the adventurers to escort them there. Just before reaching Echeron, Sir Edward separated from the group. He was disappointed with his failure to retrieve the Hands for Heironeous, and vowed to chase down Shaela wherever she may be. His first stop would be Lan’Gess.

The party spent a couple of days in Echeron resting up, doing research, and selling off various items they had found in Kherrihm. On the evening of the 28th, they met with the Stoneforge brothers in the Stonehill Inn to talk about the specifics of their trip back to Nall’Morangar. During their meeting, a mysterious orc named Bolo showed up, claiming to know the location of their friend Sildar. Before the party could finish asking him questions, some of the Regent’s men showed up and a separate group of carnivorous plant-life started attacking the inn shortly thereafter. There was a sprawling battle that ended with a half-burned inn, a dozen innocents killed, and Bolo suffocated in the innards of a shambling mound. If there was something else Bolo had to say, the party would never know.

They decided to head off the next morning, escorting the Stoneforge brothers on their long trek back to the dwarves’ mountainous northern kingdom.

Having their first encounter with the Black Spider, the party (Gorok, Therani Woodlight, Sir Edward, Miles Fairchild, and Dazzetaine Deepfury) regrouped, rested, and returned to the mines of Kherrihm. They found another, more secretive route back to the Black Spider, and managed to ambush the bugbear guards protecting the path. However, the Black Spider was waiting for them. They parlayed for a bit, and convinced him to allow them to return to their camp with his servant, Vyerith, to retrieve the second map from Gundren. They did so, killing Vyerith, and laying a trap upon their return. The battle was short, and the Black Spider was killed while being held down by Sir Edward.

Afterwards, the party traveled on to the Forge itself, in another part of the caves. There, they encountered a restless spirt and a slavering ball of eyes protecting the Forge. They quickly dispatched these guardians, and used their two arcane dwarven maps to break into a back room of the Forge, where they discovered a glowing mace and a fine set of filigreed gauntlets. Just then, Shaela appeared in the Forge doorway, demanding that the party hand over the gauntlets. They refused, and the battle was joined. The bard drew a menacing-looking greatsword that vibrated and hummed, filling their minds with overpowering divinity. They struggled valiantly for as long as they could, but were eventually overcome. Through the eyes of his owl, Miles watched helplessly as Shaela pulled the gauntlets from Sir Edward’s unconscious hands and walked out the forge.

It would be another hour before the party would regain their senses, by which time Shaela was long gone…

The party (Gorok, Therani Woodlight, and Sir Edward) were deep in ruined mines of Kherrihm, having just finished off a ravenous gang of ghouls. Miles Fairchild and Shaela joined them shortly after the battle, and the party continued deeper into the mines. They found an an old, unused blast furnace driven by a dried-up waterway, and were ambushed by zombies and a screaming skull. Eventually, they found a sneaky way past a barred door, only to encounter a mysterious dark elf threatening to kill the dwarf they were looking for. The party tried to fight their way past the Drow’s bugbear and spider defenses, but were quickly overpowered. They barely managed to escape with their lives.

The party (Dazzetaine Deepfury, Gorok, Therani Woodlight, and Sir Edward) returned to Echeron with a newly-rescued Gundren. They only stayed long enough to rest and resupply. On the same evening they arrived, they departed Echeron, heading towards Hell’s Canyon, where they hoped to find the lost mines of Kherrihm. In one of the caves high on the canyon wall, they found the entrance to the mine, along with one of Gundren’s deceased brothers. They spent the next two days furtively exploring the interior caverns, which had been mostly undisturbed for centuries… except, of course, for some recent bugbear tracks and entirely too many grasping undead.

After a short rest, the party (Dazzetaine Deepfury, Miles Fairchild, Gorok, Therani Woodlight, and Sir Edward), with Shaela tagging along, continued their explorations of Cragmaw Castle. They ran into a few patrols of goblins and hobgoblins and tangled with a Grick. Gorok was nearly mauled to death by an errant Owlbear. In the end, they defeated the denizens of the castle, and rescued the unconscious Gundren. They also found his precious map. They rested and woke up the next morning in the castle. Gundren was recovered with a clear head. They had much to discuss…

When Glasstaff entered the Stonehill Inn, the crowd panicked. Fighting back their own surprise and a surging crowd, the party (Dazzetaine Deepfury, Miles Fairchild, Gorok, Therani Woodlight, and Sir Edward) brought the battle to Glasstaff and his Redbrands. After a few hairy moments, all of the ruffians were defeated. Glasstaff himself was run through by the bard who had been entertaining the crowd. The party later found out that her name was Shaela. SIldar was rattled by the evening’s events, and decided to leave to find Gunnar that night.

A few days later, the party was on its way to Cragmaw Castle, intent on finding Gundren. Shaela had tagged along. They found the ruined castle, and snuck into the front entrance only to be ambushed by nearly a dozen goblins and their corpulent leader. They managed to defeat the goblins, but not without suffering quite a bit of damage. They were forced to rest.

The party (Miles Fairchild, Gorok, Therani Woodlight, and Sir Edward) spent the entire afternoon investigating the Redbrand’s hideout underneath Tresendar Manor. They killed ruffians, helped some prisoners escape, saved a goblin, fed the Nothic, barely evaded a trap, and found innumerable secret doors and passageways. They were generally quite successful in their explorations. They even found Glasstaff’s laboratory and his papers, but were unable to pin down Glasstaff himself. He had somehow managed to escape to the surface. So they returned to the Stonehill Inn, where they met up with Sildar Hallwinter. He seemed put out by a recent meeting with Edward Y’Danves, and asked the party to continue the search for Gundren while he tracked down a missing friend of his. Before the deal could be settled, Glasstaff and some Redbrand thugs burst into the Inn looking for the party. Chaos was sure to ensue…

After searching the rest of the newly emptied caves, Miles Fairchild, Dazzetaine Deepfury, Gorok, and Sir Edward woke Sildar and started asking questions. Most of his answers were reasonable, so the party began the end of their long trek towards Echeron. Over the next few days, Sildar regained his composure and was able to more fully answer many of the party’s questions.

When the party finally arrived in Echeron, they found a town teeming with troubles. A negligent and pouty regent, Edward Y’Danves, had been ignoring a number of festering issues in the town, including a recently arrived gang of toughs known as the Redbrands. The party spent a day or so asking questions around town before deciding to investigate the hidden headquarters of the Redbrands themselves. There, they found a strange psychic creature and an unexplained group of bugbears. They seemed to be generating more questions than they were answers…

… before the battle could be joined, the interior levee crumbled further, sending another flood down the tunnels. Miles Fairchild, in his weakened state, was unable to resist the deluge. He was pulled off his feet and towards the cave entrance. The remainder of the party (Dazzetaine Deepfury, Gorok, and Therani Woodlight), unwilling to leave him to die, jumped into the flood and tumbled to the cave entrance. There, they found a paladin, Sir Edward, tending to their fallen comrade. For reasons as yet unknown, he was also searching for Gundren Stoneforge, and had tracked him to these caves. They decided to join forces.

For the next 16 hours, they raided the goblin hideout, killing the defenders and retreating multiple times to tend to their wounds. Despite some close calls, they were able to defeat all of the cave denizens and rescue one of their missing employers. Sildar Hallwinter was badly hurt, having been near death and thrown from a cliff. However, he was conscious, and had many things to say.