COR1-02 The Reckoning - Part 1

Introduction: 

  The party's adventure begins on a warm Coldeven morning in the bustling free city of Greyhawk. The streets are alive with the sounds of livestock, wagons, and merchants peddling their wares. Amid this noise, the adventurers hear a dull smack followed by a stifled cry. They see an elderly man, wearing merchant livery, being dragged into an alley by a muscular figure.
  Ky and Bitty rush to the scene and discover a young man named Kran viciously beating the old man while demanding a map. Despite the old man's protests that no such map exists, Kran refuses to relent. When Ky and Bitty confront him, Kran flees, using all of his skills to escape. The pair gives chase, eventually catching up to him. After cornering Kran, they force him to explain that he had overheard the elderly man, Jemar, discussing a treasure in the Cairn Hills and thought the old man had maps leading to it. After hearing Kran's side, Bitty, not convinced, punches him hard in the nose.
  Meanwhile, Melf attends to Jemar, who is shaken but grateful for the rescue. Jemar introduces himself as a servant to the merchant Aldun Brendigund and explains that he is searching for heroes to aid him in a quest to restore the Brendigund fortune. Everyone gathers as Jemar explains his predicament. His master, Aldun, had squandered the family’s wealth due to poor business decisions and gambling, and Jemar is seeking to find a "birthright" mentioned in old letters from Aldun's mother, Hellina, hidden somewhere in the Cairn Hills.
  Jemar asks the party for their help in retrieving the treasure, emphasizing the need for discretion, as Aldun's pride would be wounded if he knew Jemar was behind the effort. He gives the adventurers the letters and directions to the Brendigund estate, requesting that they come up with a story about how they obtained the documents before meeting Aldun. The adventure ends with the party preparing to visit the Brendigund home to continue the quest.
 

Encounter One: Meeting Merchant Bredigund

  After making their way to the Brendigund residence in Clerkburg, near the Black Dragon Inn, the party arrives at a large, stately but worn stone and wood home. Upon knocking, they are greeted by Jemar, who ushers them into a sitting room adorned with faded, worn furnishings. After a brief, muffled conversation behind closed doors, Jemar reemerges and introduces the party to Auldon Brendigund, a heavy-set merchant in his mid-forties. Auldon, clearly nervous and burdened by his financial situation, explains that his family is on the verge of ruin due to bad business decisions and debt to the Thieves' Guild. He reveals that his family's only hope may lie in a lost heirloom hidden at an old family mine in the Cairn Hills, which was mentioned in letters from his great-aunt and further detailed in his great-great-grandfather's journal. While skeptical, Auldon provides the party with directions to the mine, offering to let them keep anything they find aside from the heirloom.
  He suggests the party set out the following morning, directing them to stay at the Last Chance Inn, just inside the Cairn Hills, on their way to the mine. He also shares a rough map of the area, helping them plan their journey.
 

Encounter Two: The Last Chance Inn

The party continued their journey as planned, arriving at the Last Chance Inn, where they encountered Krink, who assured Bitty that the inn was safe, although he added that the gnomes who frequented the area liked to play tricks on humans for amusement. During their stay, the group met a Scholar who was researching Gnomish dialects in the Cairn Hills. He offered to send the party a copy of his research paper once completed. Later, the group aided Auldon the Ranger in driving off a group of orcs that threatened the inn's livestock. Thanks to their efforts, all the chickens and cows were successfully saved, keeping the inn and its inhabitants secure for the night.