Characters meet at Candlekeep.

Candlekeep is a towered fortress library that stands on a crag, looking down upon the Sea of Swords. The library of Candlekeep is filled with books and scrolls of knowledge. Inside Candlekeep there is a small Inn behind the fortress, adequately called the Candlekeep Inn. There are also a few shacks that look like barracks for monks as well as cellars. People in Candlekeep mostly seem like scholars and adventurers.

A small child guides the group of adventurers to the Temple of Oghma when they enter. Being told to do so by Gardum Stonesheath, for a whopping 3 silver pieces.

Oghma is the God of Knowledge and Bards (A Bard would know Oghma). (If not a Bard a DC10 History check)

When they arrive at the Temple of Oghma they see Gardum Stonesheath talking to a Priest (Finarfin). The character's see a parchment paper with a red ribbon being stowed in his leather armor. (Held by an invisible Imp, Gardum Stonesheath is a Warlock with Imp familiar (invisible).

The Temple of Oghma is nothing more than a marble square in the corner of the fortress. There are four huge marble pillars enlaced with a golden ribbon. A few steps lead up to the square and behind a big, empty, circular basin you see two people talking. A stout, bearded dwarven man in studded leather armor and a tall, slim Elf in white priest robes.

(After a general perception check DC 10+)

The basin still has some water in it. It has clearly just been emptied. The bearded dwarf seems to have been in a fight and has a few gashes on the back of his armor and the Elven priest his arm looks wet, the priest also looks quite worried.

(If inspecting the Basin more DC 15+)The basin seems to have a small hole on the far side of where you are standing. This basin can be opened and probably has a tunnel that flushes the water down into the Sea of Swords.

When the PCs approach the two men they stop talking and both turn towards them. The Elven priest greets them in a friendly manner and then excuses himself.

Welcome to Candlekeep adventurers My name is Finarfin, I am a priest of Oghma may he bless you all. I hope you have come to heed to the call of my good friend Gardum Stonesheath. You look like quite the capable adventurers. I will leave you be, it is dinner time and I have been up since early in the morning to clean the temple. (If a Bard is in the party: Another follower of Oghma I hope. He aims it at the <race> Bard.

after the priest leaves Gardum Stonesheath looks at the group and gives a stern nod.

Greetings adventuers. My name is Gardum Stonesheath. I am the guard captain of the town Elturel and I am in need of a group of adventurers to come to my aid. I have come from far south, a town called Murann. I am willing to pay each of you 60gold to help me get to Elturel safely. On top of that tonight I will pay for your accommodation here and give each of you a drink on me. IF you don't accept my plea for help, at the very least let me help you out for tonight. Dwarven hospitality y'know.

Since there is only one Inn inside of Candlekeep and the nearest town is a 2 day walk (Baldur's Gate) the PCs should accept the offer for a free stay. Candlekeep doesn't allow people to sleep on the streets because it isn't a sight the scholars and adventurers would like to see. If the PCs try to sleep in, or near, Candlekeep in the field they will be forcefully taken to the Inn by a group of partysize+3 guards.

If the PCs declinded the offer from Gardum he approaches them in the morning in a more serious mood.

No one else came to my aid and I really, desperately, need someone to come with me. I have no more than 80g each with me and that is all I can offer you.

He looks to the PCs with a sort of, pitiful, look in his eyes. He is in desperate need of help.

A bit later in the morning a woman comes screaming into Candlekeep. She looks like she was in the field gathering herbs, to study them and get more information. A group of adventurers and guards are in the area when the woman approaches the group of adventurers

Somebody help me! A woman screams, she is covered in mud, has a basket with her full of herbs, but she is also covered in blood. A group of goblins attacked me and my *She sniffles* friend and she... she was kidnapped. The woman looks at Gardum and the group Can you please help me? Gardum looks at the group and shakes his head.As much as I want to help the woman there is no time. The message I need to bring to the Governor of Elturel is a pressing matter. We need to leave right now if we want to get the message there on time.

There are of course a lot of adventurers and guards that can help the woman if the adventurers decide not to.

Sidequest helping the woman:

If the group decides to help the woman she guides them to an area just north of Candlekeep. There they find a basket of herbs and drag marks. If the players follow the dragmarks they find a way down to the water where there is a small cave.

She tries to talk to the PCs (To a female character)Hi, my name is Margreth. Thank you so much for coming to help me. My research partner Brent was trying to be a hero by fighting the goblins but he had no chance. I hope he is okay. She will talk about random stuff until you arrive at the cave.

The cave is dimly lit by fire and a group of Goblins are there.

Roll a d4:

Either: 1: 1 Goblin and 1 Hobgoblin2: 2 Goblins and 1 wolf3: 1 Goblin and 1 Goblin Boss4: 1 Hobgoblin and 1 wolf

If the PCs take more than 6 turns to kill the creatures (except if it's #4) another Goblin comes join them.

If interrogated the Goblins say they are outcasts from a gang that's in The Cloakwood and that they were trying to get their honor back by bringing a lot of loot.

In the cave there is a total of: 5gp 10s and 9 copper. The Goblins have nothing. The hostage is tied up to a pole in the back. The woman (Margreth) doesn't have anything for a reward. The name of the researcher is Brent.

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If the group decides to not help the lady they follow Gardum. However if they decide to help the woman Gardum will leave on his own and have half a day headstart. and depending on the urgency the PCs take he will be either found dead or in a fight with 1d4+2 bandits.

If they follow Gardum without helping the lady they get into a fight with 6 bandits. After around 15minutes of roleplay.

After the fight Gardum suggest cutting though the Wood of Sharp Teeth because he believes it is safer. The main road is prone to bandit attacks because there is an unsolved problem in The Cloak Wood.

After the fight Gardum cleans his two handed greatsword on the tunic of one of the dead bandits. Ugh. This road is becoming more dangerous with the day. There is an endless supply of poor people from Baldur’s Gate that get lured into becoming a bandit. According to Finarfin there have been more than a dozen attacks since the last full moon. I think that we will not be safe travelling the Coast Way. I suggest we go through the Wood of Sharp Teeth. It will cost us a day less travel and we don’t have to go on a raft through the River Chionthar. What do you say?

If the party disagrees he will try to persuade them once more.

There is no real known danger in the Woods apart from the wildlife. Which I am sure we can handle. You all seem like an adequate bunch.

DISAGREE:

I will follow you lot. There is strength in numbers but I have warned you.

Passive perception check (12+)As the group gets closer to the Cloak Woods there are more bodies scattered around.

As you reach the part where the cloak woods are closer to the road you see more and more trails of blood leading into the forest. It rained two days ago and so these trails of blood are flesh.Passive perception of 12+ You see there are at least 5 separate trails of blood. You also notice a glistening on the edge of the forest.

If the passive perception is high enough there is no surprise round. Otherwise random people (1d4 for 4 players) get hit by a crossbow bolt for 2 damage.

Encounter:1d4 bandits

Gardum will want to keep a bandit alive to take to Baldur’s gate. This bandit can also be interrogated by the players. He mentions this if there is one more bandit alive. Keep this one prisoner, we need him for the Baldur’s Gate guard.A DC 13+ Intimidation is needed to get some sort of information.Beginning:The bandit spits in your face. Since he is clearly wounded it is a mixture of his blood and spit. Auciel will murder you all. He laughs and looks at you in disgust.

DC13+ IntimidationAuciel is a Halfling bandit. She has taken the Cloakwood from a band of goblins there and has taken their hideout as her own. She is a fearsome and ruthless woman. Our hideout is near the Sea of Swords….. After a small pause..I can take you there if you want *hahah*

After the group continues they need to have a person in front with perception 10+

The prisoner is reluctant to walk and keeps slowing you down. As you push forward you notice he is becoming increasingly more wary. Then <character names> notices there is something wrong with the path. If pushes to interrogatePrisoner: Wait wait stop… there is a trap in the ground here. Walk around it.If not pushes a 1d4 is rolled to see who falls in the trap.

Once inside Baldur’s gate Gardum pays for the cheapest Inn he can find and for a boattrip to Elturel the next morning.

The Inn they are staying in:The Inn is really nothing more than an old wooden shack with a door. The sign of the Inn: The Archer’s Lodge is hanging on one screw and is creaking eerily as the wind gushes against it. However once you enter nothing of this eeriness is to be found. A human man approaches Gardum and gives him a big hug.

Ahhh Gardum great to see you again! Are you alright? The innkeeper inspects Gardum’s wounds and yells Agen! Bring me my medicine kit. He patches everyone up for free and gives everyone a potion. He looks at the party and smiles. Hello there. My name is Burge, I am the Innkeeper of this fine establishment. A friend of Gardum is a friend of mine. He has helped me solve quite the predicaments when I was a younger lad. You can all stay here for the reduced fee of 20 silver pieces each.

Gardum looks at the party and excuses himself. Saying that him and Burge are going to catch up for the night. He will meet them in the morning at the North Sawyer’s Stairs.

Party earns half the XP needed to get to level 2.

In the morning:Someone comes knocking on everyone’s door. It’s Burge the Innkeeper he apologizes but Gardum needs everyone at the North Sawyer’s Stairs in an hour. When the party comes down the stairs Burge comes to them with a basket full of food. Mainly bread and meat: Gardum has already left preparing your raft/ship for travel. He told you to hurry because he needs to arrive in Elturel before midday so he can go back with someone in the afternoon to return to Baldur’s Gate.

When the party gets to the North Sawyer Stairs that lead down into the river dockyard Gardum greets them. Sorry for the rude awakening. I haven’t slept all night to get everything ready for our travels. Ah good I see that Burge has given you the basket of food. He was kind enough to supply us with enough food to help us get to Elturel safely. He leads the party to the small ship that is going to help them get to Elturel. If the party has a captain or sailor in their midst: Can you help us navigate the river <character name?> If not: This is our captain Sanzul. The best dwarven captain you will ever see.

The party travels the waters and nothing exciting really happens. They spot:

1d4+4 crocodiles1d4 great crocodilesAnd a few weird looking slimey walls DC10 Nature check sees them as Oozes.

Gardum talks to the party and, if there is a PC as the captain sits down and talks to her. Asking about her history and sharing his own. (See Gardum Stonesheath profile)

Letter:

Arch Lector Sulk,

Through this decree I am informing you that we require every active soldier, bar a few guardsmen for your palace and to roam the streets as law keepers, to come to Baldur's Gate immediately. There are rumours going around that, at the inauguration of King Beorhtmund there will be an assassination attempt.

Layham Saldur.

They will see the bodies of 2 bandits and the bloody trail of a couple more (5) Investigation roll 13+ to follow the path. If they miss the path they end up walking in a circle and end up walking back towards the coastline in Cloak Wood. Where they will see Zyz, Scourge of the Skies, flying in the distance.

As characters diverge from the lands to go through the Woods of Sharp Teeth they notice the atmosphere is changing. Gardum himself is taken offguard by this. The last time he took this path to go to Murann this wasn't the case. The last time he remembers hearing about this is when there were intruders in the woods. The creatures often cross the road to go to The Cloakwood as well. Considering it isn't that far apart.

As you come nearer to the forest you notice that the trees are not as luscious. The leaves are turning brown and there seems to be more animal noise than normal. A small path forms in front of you, a little trail that leads through the forest. When you walk in deeper into the forest it quickly becomes dark. Gardum lights a torch and walks up front. When you come to a split in the road Gardum ponders for a second and turns left. This path is the fastest, and most traveled, it leads from the roads to Elturel in nearly a straight line he keeps walking at a brisk pace and after a while he stands still.

Gardum:Hmmm I don't like this at all. The animals sound disturbed, as if their terrority is being attacked. There must truly be intruders in The Cloakwood as priest Finarfin mentioned. We need to stay more on guard. (If the party has a Druid or ranger) Perhaps you <Character name(s)> can stand guard and maybe communicate with the animals to keep them call. If we get attacked that is.

(Roll a d20, higher than a 14 means they hear the sounds of one D8 and get attacked by a 1D10 roll. (5 minutes apart)

When the party sets up camp for the night Gardum suggests letting a ranger stand guard because of their sense of the surroundings (advantage on nature checks related to sound. a D13+ means it recognises animals). He then tells a bit about his history before they sleep.

During the walk they can encounter the following (roll three times) At night time roll a d20 An 9+ means an encounter from the 1D10 happens:

On the plains: (1d8)1d4+2 Bandits 1 1d4+2 goblins 2 1d4 goblins + 1 Bugbear 3 2d4 goblins 4 1 Bugbear 5 A farmer with sheeps 6 A lost child 7 Spot an assassin with red dot 8

In the forest:(Roll 1d10)1 Giant Spider 1 1 Pack of Wolves 2 A pair of graverobbers 3 An old witch 4 A gravedigger 5 A lost child 6 A large bear 7 A wood elf 8 A pair of goblin scouts (3/4) 9 An ogre 10

When the party leaves the woods they see a big fort in front of them. Fort Morninglord. The most damned fort in all of the Sword Coast. It used to be part of the Elturgardians but they were destroyed by some evil. We really should avoid it. There is a small path that leads around the fortress. All we need to do is cross the bridge an hours walk from here and we will be in Elturel.

Roll a last d8 to start a fight and then the party reaches Elturel.

Elturel is truly a magnificent city. It is twice as big as Candlekeep and the towers surrounding it stand tall and proud. It is situated on a small cliff with a massive Orb in a huge tower. The city is bustling

and children are running in and out. The drawbridge is down and the guards salute as they see Gardum Stonesheath coming back.

Gardum: Home, finally. Thank you, thank you so much. Please follow me to the Inner Keep and you will claim your reward. There may be more adventures waiting for you. A capable group such as yourselves is always welcome to help me out.

As the group walks through the city you hear the familiar sound of carts, animals, blacksmithes and commoners. The closer you get to the Keep the bigger the size seems. It truly is a magnificent keep.

Gardum pays the group their promised 60/80g.