Prologue (Session #1)
Xraxus has been having problems lately; suddenly there is major racial strife between the human and nonhuman residents of the city. Not only that, there has also been a rash of unexplained disappearances. No one knows if the two occurrences are linked in any way, but anything is possible.
Rory Kiplinger has been living in Xraxus for about three weeks when he decided that he needed some excitement. He thought about doing some second-story work, but realized that if he was caught by one of the local thieves' guilds, of which there are seven, he would be killed outright. With that in mind, Rory decided to join one of the thieves' guilds. He decided on the Eyes in the Night, a large guild that mainly operates within Old Town. After some scouting, Rory found a representative from the guild. The man gave Rory a test to determine his level of ability. The test was to break into a local fishmonger's shop and relieve him of money that he was supposed to have paid the guild. Rory quickly realized that the job was set up completely as a test. He easily passed and was able to join the guild. While at the guildhouse, Rory was introduced to his immediate supervisor, a more-experienced rogue named Vargus. Unfortunately, Rory has started to rethink his guild affiliation and is hoping to back out of the membership.
Blaine and Kyle Goodwin were traveling towards Xraxus with two other paladins from their Order, when Blaine spotted a small group of Knarr barbarians setting an ambush for the travelers. Blaine and Kyle dismounted and darted into the high grass on the left side of the road, while their companions took the right side of the road. The barbarians quickly defeated the the Goodwin brothers' companions, only taking one casualty of their own. That left a total of six barbarians for the two brothers. Each brother killed one of their adversaries before the two barbarians from the right side of the road reached their melee. When the reinforcements arrived, Kyle was knocked unconscious and Blaine was alone with four barbarians. Fortunately, two of the four were badly wounded and he was able to quickly take them out of the battle. After a short battle, Blaine was able to defeat the other two barbarians, although he was wounded badly. Blaine used his lay on hands ability to bring his brother back to consciousness. Unfortunately, their companions were beyond their ability to help. The rest of their trip was uneventful. They passed through the Cemetery Gate into Xraxus in the evening of the 12th of Rendolar 1776.
Kruenor Saarinen was traveling east with his wild elf friend, Gaelen Brightfeather. Gaelen was accompanying his dwarven friend to the city. While in the wilds, the elf spotted a small war-party of goblins. The friends decided to attack the goblins, but as they attempted to stealthily approach they were heard. The goblins charged forward, with three of the ten taken down with ranged weapons as they closed. Kruenor was able to ready his ranseur for the attacking goblins and quickly killed two more before switching to his urgosh. Gaelen was able to kill another goblin with his bow before they stepped into melee range. Gaelen defeated one more with his sword, but was sorely pressed by the last goblin fighting him. Kruenor was able to defeat his last two goblins with a combination move using the axehead in conjunction with the spearhead of his urgosh. Kruenor, seeing that Gaelen was in trouble, charged at the final goblin and nearly cut him in two with his urgosh. The rest of their trip was uneventful, and Gaelen left his friend with the city of Xraxus within sight. Kruenor entered the Bridge Gate on the evening of the 12th of Rendolar 1776.
Mylo Highhill was in the Cat House, a tavern in Daruun's Pass, having a couple of drinks. He was chatting at the bar with another young halfling fellow, Rory Kiplinger. Rory works as a bartender at the Cat House and Mylo, who is also new to Xraxus, has been working as a guard in Gafar's General Store around the corner from the Cat House. While they were sitting there minding their own business, listening to the elven bard playing onstage, several the human patrons of the bar suddenly became hostile. Twelve locals began madly attacking the three non-humans in the bar. The rest of the humans ran to save themselves, or to get the authorities. Since the elven bard was closer to the masses, most of the insane people ganged up on her and quickly overpowered her, killing her in a fit of rage. The rest of the locals attacked the two halflings, as they approached the halflings noticed that each of their attackers were drooling uncontrollably and they had discolored, blue gums. The halflings quickly jumped behind the bar and used the bar as a defense from their mad attackers. With the counter providing cover, the halflings were quickly able to defeat most of the locals before the authorities entered the bar. When the city guard opened the door to the taverns, they were greeted with a bloody mess. The halflings decided to run and recover from the attack before being questioned by the watch.
While the watch was waiting for the corpse wagon, the paladin brothers and Kruenor were led to the Cat House by a couple of dragomen. When they arrived they spoke to the watch and were told about the troubles taking place in the city. Apparently, there is a powerful drug called rageweed that has been dispersed throughout the city. Rageweed is a powerful hallucinogen that sometimes causes blind rage in its user. The rageweed that has been running rampant through Xraxus is a much more powerful strain. Rory, hearing this explanation, left his hiding place with Mylo in tow. The group helped straighten the Cat House and settled in for the night, talking about the problems in their new home.