Session Number One

December 20, 2004

            The company’s members met while fighting a fire.

            The Singing Maid Inn, located in the center of Fishside, nearly burned down due to a kitchen grease fire. Many of the townspeople rushed to the scene. Jacob, the Inn’s bookkeeper, tried to stop the fire with his magic to no avail. Quick thinking Cassius quickly organized the townspeople into a bucket brigade, and most of the structure was saved.

            Margaret and Gerald, the proprietors of the Singing Maid Inn, were grateful for the company’s assistance in stopping the fire. They hired the party to travel from Fishside to the town of Fogly to pick up supplies to rebuild and restock the Inn.

            Along the road to Fogly, the company stopped at the Wild Rose Inn. There, they spoke to the proprietor, Mr. Wilson. He told them tales of a terrible Dragon Turtle that had been terrorizing towns along the coast.

            When the company arrived at Fogly, they met Joshua, a relative of Gerald and Martha. Joshua was the proprietor of the Speckled Cockatrice Inn. They stayed overnight at the Inn. One of the other guests was a halfling named Grundy.

            The company awoke to the sounds of Fogly being attacked by a dragon turtle. As the turtle approached from the sea, the panicked townspeople fled. Grundy ran screaming among the townspeople, fueling their panic.

            Cassius, Seneca, Berwyn, Caitlyn and Jacob rushed to the beach to meet the oncoming dragon turtle. The dragon turtle bellowed as it approached ever closer. Jacob’s familiar, the raven Poe, surreptitiously followed Grundy, who was sneaking back to the Speckled Cockatrice.

            When the dragon came to within bow range, the Seneca began to rain arrows down upon the beast. The arrows bounced off its shell harmlessly, and still the beast drew nearer. Suddenly Caitlyn exclaimed, “By Tayne, the beast is made of wood!”

            As the dragon turtle plowed up onto the beach, the rest of the company could tell that the head and limbs of the monster were made of wood painted to look like scaley flesh, while the shell still looked to be authentic. Their moment of observation was cut short as the mouth of the “dragon turtle” opened and four orcs rushed out.

            As the melee began, Jacob cried out in pain. His empathetic bond with Poe let him know that his familiar had been critically injured. Jacob ran back to the Speckled Cockatrice, and Caitlyn’s wolf, Wallace, ran with him. They found that Grundy had shot Poe with a crossbow. Before Grundy could excape, Jacob ensnared him with a Charm spell.

            Back on the beach, when the fog of battle cleared, six orcs were dead. Cassius, Jacob, Caitlyn, Poe, and Wallace were all injured. Using the healing power of Burthaggid, Berwyn managed to keep the whole company alive to fight another day.