Season 1, EP 1: Cloudheath
Our story kicks off in Histwatch, a small village located between the bustling city of Runeshire and the untamed Lowland Plains. It's here that a diverse group of adventurers comes together.
This unlikely band includes Crystal Runeshire, a human Battlemaster with noble lineage and a drive to uncover her family's connection to the empire's throne; Sam Winchester, a human Warlock burdened by a sentient, demonic blade tied to his father's tragic demise; Thane, a Tiefling Shadow Sorcerer haunted by fragmented memories and a quest to avenge his murdered family; Wong Alestone, a Dwarven Drunken Master Monk and master brewer on a quest for the perfect ale; and finally, Goen Steele, a human traveling locksmith who secretly operates as a thief, investigating the mysterious group responsible for his family's tragedy.
These five individuals, despite their vastly different backgrounds, quickly discover that their skills complement each other, making them a formidable team. Their first mission is seemingly simple: transport provisions for a dwarf named Gundren Rockseeker to the frontier town of Cloudheath.
The journey to Cloudheath, however, was anything but simple. Their caravan, laden with supplies, was ambushed by a band of savage goblins near the Cragmaw Hideout. The skirmish was brutal, a chaotic melee that forced the fledgling group to rely on each other’s strengths. Crystal’s tactical commands, Sam’s eldritch blasts, Thane’s darkness spells, Wong’s drunken acrobatics, and Goen’s precise strikes, all combined to overcome their green-skinned assailants. Amidst the carnage, they discovered a captive: Sildar Haliwinter, a grizzled, retired officer of the Lord's Alliance, battered but alive.
Sildar, once freed, wasted no time in divulging the unsettling truth behind Gundren’s disappearance. He explained that Gundren and his brothers believed they had finally found the legendary Wave Echo Cave, a hidden forge rumored to be capable of crafting powerful magical weapons, lost for over five centuries. Sildar suspected that goblins, inherently uninterested in such a forge, were merely pawns, orchestrated by a more sinister entity known only as "The Black Spider." This shadowy figure sought control of the forge, and the implications of such power in the wrong hands were deeply unnerving.
More immediately, Sildar revealed his own mission from the Lords’ Alliance: to find a comrade who had gone missing in Cloudheath months ago, a comrade sent to bring order to the chaotic lowland town. He had no doubt that The Black Spider was directly connected to his friend’s disappearance, hinting at an abandoned manor on the hill, known as Tresendar Manor, as a possible last known location.