Dawnwick: Our Journey Begins

Our heros are slowly introduced to one another during this plot point. Whether they have lived in the feywild all their lives or are new to the area is irrelevant. An important landmark in the town, The Great Library of Knowledge, has just been destroyed by a mysterious gang, though no one is currently sure why this has happened. While the gang was unable to locate the exact location of the library due to it being hidden within the trees, they decided to instead burn down a large section of forest instead where the library was rumored to be. Several homes, as well as a restaurant, were also burned down. It is up to the party and the townsfolk to stop the fire before it can spread to more buildings. This can be accomplished by using the nearby freshwater to put out the fire, as well as creatively through spells. If the party is unable to put out the fire for whatever reason, it will not be able to spread to the town hall, as the town put up protective spells to keep a majority of the town safe.

There were several casualties in the fire (the exact amount will depend on how long the fire was left unchecked), and a few citizens were injured. The party will have to decide if they want to begin immediately tracking down those responsible for burning down the forest, help care for the injured party, speak with those governing the town, or any number of other options. There are many shops available within the town that the adventuring party may benefit from visiting, though none have exceptionally rare or powerful items.

Should the party decide to track down the gang immediately, they will be given some tracking benefits. Trails will be fresh and others may have seen where the group was going. However, they won't have the benefit of gathering potential information about the group or any time to prepare/gather useful items.

The gang is a group including 3 goblins, 1 orc, and 1 hag. The hag, named Marcella Marshback, is the leader of the group, though the rest are rather upset about having to listen to her. It is possible to get the orc and goblins to turn on her rather than initiating a fight.

Should the party decide to hang back and help heal the wounded, they may receive information about the gang, such as the makeup of the group as well as the direction they were headed. Certain individuals may even have heard the group saying the location they were heading to. They may be gifted gold or trinkets from those that they save as well.

One harengon, named Erla Meldon, was near the incident when it happened. Upon a successful recall roll, she may be able to tell the party that the group planning on going to a place called Mirror Lake. For less successful rolls, she can tell them that the group headed north. For failed rolls, she may not even recall how many members were in the party or what they were.

Should the group decide to speak with the leader of the town (Cloud Spark, a wolf Tabaxi), they may receive beneficial information regarding the town itself, as well as potential reasons for the library to have been burned. The Great Library of Knowledge housed a lot of knowledge regarding the feywild and its inhabitants, making it a prime target for those with a hatred towards the fey. They may also be allowed to train with or adopt the leader of the town's defenses, Urea Lightfeather, into their party for help defeating the attacking group.

The most helpful person (for information about the town and reasons for its destruction) will come from the leader's advisor, a fennec fox Tabaxi named Luck Foot. He has lived for many years and has studied its history extensively, as well as the history of its inhabitants, extensively. He also has geographical knowledge regarding the feywild that he may be willing to share with the party. They would be able to get maps, general directions, and rumors about the area from him.

The party may choose to shop at the local stores for goods before heading off to start their journey. While they may choose to follow and track those that burned down the library, it is not a necessity to do so. They can choose instead to visit various landmarks surrounding the town instead to try and gather more information or complete sidequests.