The party has explored Site III, survived its defenders, and learned that Varris operates from an inland logging camp. Their next move is theirs to choose.
Hanna Rist's freight wagon was attacked. The party found driver Tomas Reed alive but injured; Perrin Vale was missing. Humanoid tracks led to the stolen chest, while stranger long-toed prints pointed toward the coast. There the party encountered Brine Crawlers.
Bandits using an abandoned fisherman's hut and smuggler passage had taken Hanna's chest. The party recovered and returned it, but the chest had been opened and a stone fragment was gone. A black-metal object bearing a three-circle, curved mark offered another clue.
At Site II, guards connected Varris to a search for old carved stone. Beneath a hut and cellar, a hidden passage reached an ancient round chamber. Its marked pedestal had recently been emptied. A map identified Site I as searched and Site III as confirmed.
The party told the council about signs of occupation but withheld the tunnel, chamber, map, guards, and burned note. Captain Elara Thorn was certain the party knew more, and withheld a reward. The party then left by an indirect route and made a concealed camp about five miles out.
On Vythar's watch, he heard footsteps approaching from an unexpected direction. Two hired searchers asked about black-metal objects marked with three circles and curved lines. The party denied seeing them. The searchers left without finding the concealed camp.
After a full night's rest and breakfast, the party broke camp and followed the route to Site III. Fresh boot prints and wagon tracks led toward old fitted stonework like that at Site II. At least two people and a wagon were present; the party then found four bandits among the ruins.
Sims was spotted near the crates, and the party defeated the four bandits guarding the ruins. They explored the chamber below and learned that their two black-metal objects interact with its ancient mechanism. They now believe five such objects exist. The mechanism is dormant, and its full purpose remains unknown.
The bandit Vythar felled with an unarmed strike survived. Mara gave him one Goodberry, and he answered Sims’s questions. Varris had ordered the crew to secure any black-metal objects rather than sell them. He directs the search from an old logging camp inland, where he keeps maps and papers. The bandit did not know a fourth numbered site, but had heard Varris discuss a “next location” that still needed confirmation.
The map recovered by the party. Its markings show the searched locations and the route toward Site III.
Open full-size map ↗The party holds two strange black-metal objects bearing the recurring three-circle, curved mark. They believe five exist. The two they hold react to the mechanism beneath Site III, but the objects’ full purpose remains unknown.
A fragment disappeared from Hanna's chest. Varris's people were looking for old carved stone; a burned note says a first fragment was secured.
Boot prints and wagon tracks led to the ruins. Varris’s orders said nothing was to be removed until he saw the chamber. His hired bandits searched the old site and kept strangers away; he has maps and papers at the logging camp.
Hanna's missing freight began the investigation. Captain Elara Thorn commands the local watch; she believes the party concealed important discoveries from the council.
The party has not met him. He hired guards at Site II and is connected to the organized search for old stone.
Perrin vanished after the wagon attack. Evidence led toward the shoreline; his whereabouts remain unknown.
Aldren's old journal mentioned stones near Dunwater. Tobren reported strange lights and activity along the coast.
What are the black-metal objects and stone fragments, and what does their symbol mean?
What is Varris seeking, and what does he know about the next location?
What happened to Perrin Vale?
What will the party do with the survivor, and where will they go next?