Time Started: Elmset, c2393/Lavanda-11, 10’33

Starting Location: Feodris | Dosleron Region | Grasmere Island Province | Grasmere Keep | Waterfront District | Modern Stars Inn

Olivia and Riv woke in an unused barn out in the farmlands at the northern outskirts of the town, while most everyone else employed at the Stewed Prune stayed at a historic inn in the southern Waterfront District. Upon waking, those at the inn found Urne had left before sunrise along with Goat, and Quincy begged off joining the others planning to return to the Stewed Prune to survey the damage.

Upon arriving, the group found a crew of day laborers were already on-site, somehow having been given access to the taproom and were well underway clearing out trash and debris, getting started making repairs. The employees found the crew difficult to get information from, so they headed inside where they met—at last, in person—Kroth, owner of the Stewed Prune.

Kroth introduced herself briefly, then suggested a drinking game as a way to break the ice. After sharing a few personal truths, Kroth insisted the repairs to the Prune were being taken care of. Instead, she said she had a friend—a brewer with a brewery outside of town—who was looking for some discreet help with a small problem. She implored the group to take care of the matter and requested that they take only beer as payment to avoid putting the proprietor in any “financial hardship.” With that she left to attend other matters and the group realized they were hungry for breakfast.

They returned to the Modern Stars Inn and enjoyed some hearty stew from proprietor Eni Akkina, where Brom also made arrangements for additional nights’ stay at the Inn. Afterward, needing to do some shopping, they made a detour down to the Market District to see which vendors were setting up shop. While there wasn’t much there to catch the shoppers’ eyes, they did pick up a few spell components for Beeroy and made note of some interesting items to check on when they weren’t so pressed for time.

Without further delay, they made their way outside the city to Renwen Brewing Co. to see what Kroth’s friend needed. There they met a funny little gnome named Jaikon Renwen who welcomed them in saying something about how they must be the “new dance troupe” and explained the situation over a pint. He’d been trying to expand his thriving business, but in order to do so he needed to increase the size of his storage cellar. He’d hired a crew to knock down the back wall of the existing cellar but as they’d done so, they’d been set upon by massive, dog-sized rats. Jaikon was willing to pay 25gp per crew member to anyone who could clear out the rats and allow construction to resume.

The Stewed Prune employees presented Kroth’s offer to accept payment in the form of product instead of cash, and Jaikon happily agreed. After leading them to the cellar entrance, Jaikon scooted back to his office and left the group to their business. They descended carefully into the pitch-dark cellar and encountered more than a half dozen of the rats as advertised. Once dispatched, the group investigated further and found that the construction work seemed to have breached a wall into an older structure the brewery was seemingly built on top of. They navigated a trapped section of the corridor and came upon two doors.

Behind the first they found an overgrown spider bigger than an orc. Riv and Beeroy were able to steady it enough to sneak past into the room beyond where they found remnants of magical or alchemical experiments such as enlarging potions. The lab was a dead end so they snuck back past the spider and investigated the other room off the main corridor where they found a well infested with more overgrown creatures, this time three giant centipedes crawling out of the well. The centipedes were quickly dispatched and the group debated whether or not it was considered part of their assignment to dispatch the giant spider as well. In the end, they decided to inform Jaikon about the spider and try to negotiate an additional fee to take care of it. Jaikon was very willing to pay more to rid the cellar of the spider so, with his assurances, the group ventured down again and slew the spider.

Game Event: Short Rest

Jaikon was overjoyed with their efficient work and sent them on their way with a wagon loaded down with casks and kegs of his finest ales.

Back at The Stewed Prune, the party found the work crew had made decent progress and Kroth returned just as they were finishing unpacking the wagon. She thanked everyone for their efforts and discretion, saying they had lived up to her high expectations. Beckoning everyone to the cleared out back room, she began to explain that The Stewed Prune was more than just a hard luck taproom. In days past it had been home to an organization, clandestinely operating out of a hideout underneath the Prune. She opened a secret passageway leading to a staircase that took her employees to the headquarters of the Smooth Angels Dance Troupe.

According to Kroth, the Smooth Angels were a collective of mercenaries-for-hire, masquerading as a troupe of performers, who carried out specialized assignments. The Smooth Angels headquarters had a training room, lounge, comfortable kitchen and dining area, and two large bedrooms with comfortable accommodations sufficient for the whole crew plus some. Kroth’s unsubtle implication is that the Stewed Prune workforce was meant to be a new generation of this dance troupe.

Time Ended: Elmset, c2393/Lavanda-11, 19’57