Session 1: Carnival of Swords

In which there is lots of exposition and introductory roleplaying.

The game starts on the eve before the Carnival of Swords, a 3-day celebration held every four years. During these three days, the usual rhythm of life in Bard's Gate is interrupted by non-stop partying and revelry. The populace celebrates an ages-old custom of renewing a pact to appease an ancient nature spirit who held sway over these lands in ages past.

The pact is a blood oath sworn by the leader of the city as fealty to the ancient spirit, called the Horned God, to ensure the safety and success of the city. The renewal of the oath is the culminating event of the carnival, undertaken on the dawn of the third day.

The would-be heroes found themselves guests at a show being performed at a place called the Green Dragon Inn, a reasonably good inn and tavern. The show was a performance by a renowned entertainer, master folk musician, and story teller. He could easily have filled a hall three times the size of the inn's common room, but he and the innkeeper were old friends of many years.

Apple, Ash, Cadie, and Senodius found themselves seated at the same table for the show. It seems they had all recently visited a new shop in the neighborhood and were given free tickets to this show as door prizes. The shopkeeper, a halfling named Osborne Highhill, joined them at their reserved table. The evening passed with a great show, idle table chatter, and befriended barmaids.

As the night grew late, an eerie fog filled the streets. A grizzled old sailor at a nearby table explained the angst and fear that filled the room once the fog outside was noticed. He said the sickly green fog was haunted by "fog demons" known to snatch people and even animals off the street. It only appeared on occasion, and every occurrence resulted in people disappearing. The fog was known to emanate from a nearby haunted well.

A woman's piercing scream came from the kitchen. The adventurers, eager to liven up the night, ran to investigate. They found one of the waitresses in a state of horror pointing and screaming at the open back door. Amid hysterical gasps, she reported that one of the cooks was brutally attacked by a fog demon outside in the stable area. Investigation turned up a bloody trail leading over the stone wall of the stable yard, into the thick green fog, and eventually to the severely mangled body of the cook.

Though the fog impeded any further investigation that night, the new friends decided to investigate the matter of the mysterious fog demons in the morning.