Episode 3: Trouble on the Road

Preston is safe, but the one who cursed it is still at large. After some shopping our Heroes move on to the Mines to confront Mason Silentdawn, but troubles on the road divert their attention.

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Episode Summary
In the aftermath of the battle with the Spined Devil, the Heroes spend a few days in Preston helping to rebuild the community.

Immeral visits the library and learns that Preston used to be a centre of trade between Chandar and Ettinvale, but since The War of Tears began, business has declined. Also a decade ago, something happened in mines north of town, resulting in their abandonment until Mason Silentdawn bought them.

A ceremony was hosted by Mayor Quibble, giving the Heroes a reward and the promise of discounts at the local shops. He also informed Belrun of his Eukalala’s history in The Great Dragon War. After having stocked up on equipment and taking a rest, the party head out to the mines.

On their way through the surrounding forests, the Heroes hear the sound of someone in pain. Belrun notices some carriage tracks, and the footprints of humanoid creatures. The group see the Carriage Driver that transported Immeral and Iskander to Preston being robbed in a clearing by four Orcs and an Orog.

After killing the raiders, Rasend finds a letter from Clara Longstride, giving the Orcs orders to ambush and pillage any carriages that are on the road. When he learns that Fillius is looking for Clara, the Dragonborn destroys the note before he can read it, hoping to prolong his usefulness to the party. This drives a wedge between the two Heroes, and Fillius starts show signs of distrust towards Rasend.

The episode ends with the carriage driver thanking the Heroes for saving him and promising to be their dedicated mode of transport.

Characters (in order of introduction)
Players NPCs
 * Belrun
 * Fillius Senneck
 * Iskander
 * Immeral Nial
 * Rasend Dracon
 * Glenda (not named)
 * Mason Silentdawn (mentioned)
 * Mayor Quibble
 * Clara Longstride (mentioned)
 * Aurora
 * Marcus
 * Lo
 * Po
 * Jomoral

Key Events

 * Preston begins to be rebuilt.
 * The Heroes depart for the mines.
 * Jomoral promises his carriage to the Heroes.

Notable Battles

 * Fillius, Belrun, Iskander, Immeral and Rasend vs 1 Orog and 4 Orcs
 * Fillius: 2 (orcs)
 * Iskander: 1 (orc)
 * Rasend: 1 (orc)
 * Belrun: 1 (orog)

Quotes

 * “I’m a fair man, I will give you 5 of these darts for free. I always lower my discount by 5 gold.” – Marcus (Adam) to Immeral
 * “I’m skipping out the window” – Rasend
 * “So Aurora doesn’t see you? Okay.” – Adam
 * “Where is, er … where’s [Rasend]?” – Aurora (Adam)
 * “Oh, he jumped out the window.” – Fillius
 * “I would just like to point out that the three… mudbloods? Or whatever you called them…” – Billy
 * “…Half-Elves” – Adam
 * “So Belrun puts his hand down on the ground, and he tracks all of this information” – Adam
 * “Picks up a leaf” – Billy (Iskander)
 * “(laughing) He licks a leaf” – Adam
 * “I smell tracks” – Michael (Belrun)
 * “Grandson of whale…” – Rasend
 * “He’s just hit puberty for druids, that’s what he’s done” – Adam, about Fillius.
 * “I believe that Fillius, who is not a rogue anymore but for some reason still has rogue-ish treasure-grabbing ways, rolls to see what the big guy had on him.” – Adam

Trivia

 * Michael retells the events of the last episode for the first time.
 * Iskander rolled his first Nat20 of the campaign to convince Marcus to lower his prices, and a second to kill one of the Orcs.
 * Mayor Quibble rolled a Nat20 on a history check to identify the Eukalala, making him the first NPC to roll and make use of a Nat20.
 * Fillius used his wild shape ability for the first time, transforming into a brown bear. He transformed into a brown bear for the second during the same encounter.
 * The Orog rolled a Nat1 to hit Fillius’ Half-Elf form during combat, opening himself up to a counter-attack.
 * Belrun used Hunters Mark for the first time.
 * Immeral used Ki points for this first time, for a total of 2.
 * Iskander used Searing Smite for the first time.
 * Rasend got covered in his enemies’ blood for the second time.
 * Belrun rolled his second Nat20 of the campaign to kill the Orog, and also rolled the maximum amount of damage on the same attack.
 * Belrun plays his Eukalala for the third time in the series.
 * Rasend rolled his second Nat1 while trying to recover his javelin, and cut himself.