A cold wind gusts its way down the street. You wrap your fur-trimmed cloak around you more tightly and push open the door to the rowdy tavern. A single glance at the clientele is enough to tell you that this is not one of the more respectable drinking establishments in the seaside town. But adventures aren't to be found in the refined areas of Killmere-on-Sea (if any of the districts of this grimy seaport can be called "refined"), so you feel right at home with the drunkards, swindlers, grifters, cutpurses, and swaggering sailors singing loudly and off-key in the tavern.

The delicious smell of roasting meat combines unpleasantly with the fetid odor of unwashed patrons. The stools at the long bar are completely occupied, as are the rough wooden booths that line the walls. A hierarchy among the rest of the guests can be seen by their positions in the room, with the most notorious and brash of them taking the best tables near the massive stone fireplace by the front door, and less distinguished rogues sitting farther away. A few tables in the chilly back corners of the room are still empty.

A half-orc bard sits by the bar, playing a lively tune. As your group enters, you nod to the proprietor, a burly, red-faced man polishing a glass behind the long counter. His bushy eyebrows go up.

"Azlier the Drakewarden!" he greets you loudly. "Haven't seen you 'round these parts for months."

A few patrons turn your way at the barman's loud words. Most of them glance only idly, but the eyes of a few men at a nearby table linger on you and your party. Not in a friendly way, you think, but you return their gazes coolly, and eventually the men return to their wooden mugs.

You and your three companions find an empty table near the rear of the tavern. You slip into a chair facing the main part of the room, casually making sure your havoc sabers are hidden beneath your hunter-green cloak but still within easy reach. Your paladin friend Freskerio casually falls into the seat to your left, placing his small wooden shield on the table and unwisely ignoring all the signs of potential danger in the room. The royal blue tabard emblazoned with a white cross that he wears over his leather armor is clearly out of place in this ignominious establishment, but his simple russet cloak keeps it concealed from roving eyes. Mega Dragon Kid, due to his enormous size…

"Wait, no, I've decided it's 'Mega Super Dragon!'" the large dragonborn warrior announces, suddenly and loudly. To nobody.

Mega Super Dragon, due to his enormous size, pushes two of chairs away from the table. Finding an oaken barrel in the corner, he rolls it over-

"I want to pick it up over my head with my super strength," declares the warrior. There's excitement in his gravelly voice as he says, "Oh, cool, I got a 17!"

Mega Super Dragon does not roll the barrel over, but instead picks it up. A few nearby patrons raise their eyebrows as he easily lifts the 40-gallon keg over his head. Placing it down next to the table, he hoists himself on top of the barrel, letting his massive tail drape down to the floor.

The other dragonborn member of your party, Kelgwen, Lady of the Tyrian Flame, a monk clad in the loose scarlet and magenta tunic and breeches of her order, picks up the fifth chair placed around the table. "I'm going to keep an eye on the entrance, just in case," she says wisely. She turns to her brother, who is currently holding onto his barrel and rocking wildly back and forth to see how far he can tip it without falling over.

"Mega Super Dragon, switch places with me so I see the door easier."

"Ok, Missy," says the massive warrior cheerfully, ceasing his wild lurching.

The dragonborn monk glares at him. "That's not my name. I'm Kelgwen, Lady of the Tyrian Flame."

The other dragonborn shakes his head. "Man, that one's gonna take some practice, sis."

"Well, write it down or something!"

Mega Super Dragon shrugs, dismounts from the barrel, and slides it over the worn flagstone floor to the other side of the table. The monk repositions her chair and takes her seat, leaning her quarterstaff against the table but remaining alert, surreptitiously scanning the crowd with her piercing golden eyes.

A barmaid comes over, bearing four mugs. "It's not often we get a ranger here," she says, giving you an appraising look as she places the mugs in the middle of the table. She glances at your companions. "And in the company of a paladin and two dragonborn, no less. If you don't mind my asking," she says, tilting her head, "what's brought you here to The Surly Librarbian?"

"My business is my own, woman. Ply your questions elsewhere." you hiss out.

"No!" you apparently also say immediately. "I want to tell her that we're new adventurers looking for treasure and dungeons and fun!"

You… tell the woman that. She raises a skeptical eyebrow at you and leans in closer to the table. "Allow me to give you a word of advice, you four," she murmurs, looking over her shoulder at the room. "This is not the place for fun. This is where people come to get drunk, or to fight, or to forget. But wine often loosens tongues in here as well. If you have your wits about you, you might just learn something to your advantage. I would advise you to keep your voices down and listen carefully to what anyone says. Someone might say something interesting if you listen," she says pointedly. "And if you don't hear anything, maybe you should move around to different parts of the room." She looks at each of you in turn meaningfully, then turns and returns to the bar.

As you take a drink of the pungent grog, you think to yourself that it would be wise to investigate-

"What, grog? Yuck! Can I get something else? I'd like to order some Mountain Dew, please," you announce loudly, interrupting your important thoughts.

"Oooh, good idea, dude!" says Mega Dragon Kid, twitching his terrifying tail and knocking over a chair behind him. "I'll have some too!" he bellows out.

You look at Freskerio with eyes that are far too bright and eager given that this seedy tavern is full of sinister men who could be very dangerous. "How about you, Frisk?" you chirp, mangling the actual name of your paladin friend.

Irritatingly, he does not correct you, but smiles and nods.

"Great! Let's have Mountain Dew instead!" you say enthusiastically. So enthralled are you with your vision of an insipid, fizzy green liquid that you thump your mug down too forcefully, sloshing the grog onto the table which drips through the slats onto your brown leather books. "Eww, yuck," you gripe, tilting your head under the table. A scaly claw wraps around your arm, and you look back up.

Kelgwen is shaking her head. "Mountain Dew isn't a thing in Avithan," she points out astutely. "Besides, we don't want to make a scene here. Let's just drink whatever they serve and figure out what to do next."

"Aww," you say crestfallen.

Mega Dragon Kid makes a face and sighs dramatically but accedes to his sister's wisdom, born out of her years of cloistered study in a distant realm. Freskerio takes a deep draught from his mug and makes approving noises as he wipes his mouth with his rough cloak.

"I think it tastes pretty good," he informs the rest of the party.

Among all the rowdiness of the tavern, your sensitive ears begin to pick up snatches of conversation from some distance away. It's hard to make out exactly what's being said, but you think you hear someone mention "…I would give my eye teeth to have that artifact!" You scan the room, trying to pick out which of the guests said that. It's possible that the two men in a booth about fifteen feet away-

"Can we get food here?" bursts out Super Dragon Kid, drowning out any other possible words that were about to be said from the booth. "What do taverns have? Is it like, meat and potatoes and stuff? Can someone bring us a menu?"

Kelgwen, Lady of the Tyrian Flame, thwacks Mega Kid on his back with her tail, causing him to spill his grog. "Be quiet, Mega Super Dragon!"

"But I'm hungry!" whines the warrior. "And! And!" he adds, perking up, "we don't know if we'll have any food once we're out adventuring, so we should probably get as much as we can right now, so we don't get hungry later."

"Yeah, that's a good idea!" you chirp, ignoring the conversation you were intently listening to. "Excuse me, ma'am?" you call to the bar.

The barmaid comes over. She already knows that you want food, apparently, because she carries a tray with four plates, each with a large piece of salted pork, a hunk of cheese, and a large seedcake.

"Is there any fish?" asks Freskerio. "We're in a seaside town after all. I'd like some fish please, ma'am, if I may."

The barmaid looks dubiously at the paladin but is ultimately swayed by his polite attitude. One of the plates is taken away, and when she brings it back a minute later the piece of pork has been replaced with a large, freshly caught mackerel.

"Thank you, m'lady," Freskerio says, standing to his feet and bowing with a flourish.

The confused barmaid blushes and nods awkwardly before hurrying back to the bar. Freskerio sits back down and the four of you begin eating your meal. As you bite into the pork, you decide that it tastes pretty good given the relative squalor-

"Shouldn't we pray first?" you interject.

As you bite into the pork following your prayer, you decide that it tastes pretty good, given the relative squalor of this tavern. While you're washing it down with a swig of grog, you hear the word "petrification" float over to your table. It appears the conversation from earlier is still going on. Freskerio's and Kelgwen's eyes light up with interest. Surreptitiously the four of you turn your heads towards-

"yaaaaaaaawwwn"

Three of you turn your heads while the warrior lets out a loud yawn, stretching his arms out wide in a manner that is sure to attract attention.

"Oh, right, arms! I've got arms! That is so awesome," he comments bizarrely. "It's pretty late at night here, right? Is this tavern, like, a hotel as well? Can we get some rooms?"

A heavy tail smacks him on the back of the head. "MK, hush!" hisses Kelgwen, using a Draconic-language name for Mega Super Dragon. "We're supposed to be listening to what those people over there are saying! And they're not called hotels - they're inns."

"Fine, whatever," he replies, whispering loudly. "Is this place an inn too, or do we need to go find an inn?"

You quickly recall seeing a weather-beaten sign swinging over the door when you entered the building, identifying this place as The Surly Librarbian Tavern & Inn. The "inn" portion of the establishment can evidently be accessed by a set of stairs near the front of the room by the long bar. You note all this for future reference. The conversation-

"Let me go check and see how much rooms cost," the apparently exhausted dragonborn warrior whispers, hopping off his barrel and sauntering over to the bar.

"Ok, I'll let you know if you miss anything those guys are saying," you call loudly to the retreating dragonborn.

Several rogues nearby turn and stare at you. Mercifully, the men in the booth about fifteen or maybe more like thirty feet away don't hear you, and fortunately your ears are so sensitive you can still pick out what they're saying. One of them appears to have a map open. You can't quite see it from here, but since they're facing away, it might be possible to stealthily-

"Hey, sorry, how much are rooms anyway?" Dragon Kid asks distractingly.

The bartender informs him that rooms will cost three silver pieces each night. Meanwhile, the men-

"Whoa, three silver pieces? Each? That seems like kind of a lot. Friskoreo, how much money do we have?"

"Well," says Freskerio, opening his pouch, "I started with three gold, but I think Asri-, Aeriz-, uh, Azlier might have more…?"

"Well," you say, reaching to your belt.

Suddenly, all thoughts about money, inns, functional arms, food, drink, and sleep fly out of your heads as the door bursts open. Gasping and clutching her stomach, a gnome stumbles into the room. Blood covers her fingers, and the fabric of the shirt underneath is stained dark brown. Her sleeve is torn where a deep gash has been cut into her left arm.

The guests sitting closest to the door turn and stare at the newcomer.

The gnome looks around wildly and cries out in a choking voice "Help! Please, they're after me, someone help!"

The raucous noise of the tavern mostly drowns out her words. A few more patrons look over and appraise her indifferently. Nobody moves from their chairs or stools.

Freskerio jumps to his feet and grabs his shield. "Let's go see if we can help her!"

With his encouragement, the entire group collects their equipment and moves towards to the door. The gnome collapses against a wall and slides to the floor. Her face is ashen, and her breathing grows shallower.

"I'll use my healing magic!" you say, apparently forgetting that you are a renowned ranger but do not in fact have any healing magic. Your crestfallen eyes reveal that you remember that a moment later.

"It's OK, Azlier, I can do it," says your paladin friend.

But before Freskerio can cast the spell, there's a sudden commotion at the doorway as four large men, all dressed in black, burst into the room with their swords drawn. The noise in the tavern dies down. The hand of the half-orc bard freezes on his lute. All eyes are fixed on the men. The leader, wearing a long, flared jacket and a large tricorne hat, spots the gnome woman who has slumped down next to the bar behind you, barely conscious. His mouth opens in a vile grin, exposing his yellowed teeth.

"Thar she is, boys. Out of me way!"

That last comment is addressed to the four of you, as the men turn and begin to advance towards the bar, their swords pointed towards you.

"Who are you guys?" you say boldly. Your right hand goes to the hilt of one of your havoc sabers, but you make no motion to draw it yet.

The same can't be said of Mega Dragon Kid behind you, who excitedly yanks out a morning star and sickle from beneath his cloak.

The leader of the men stands a good six inches taller than you. He stares down at you in contempt. "Who I am is none of yer business, ranger." He practically spits the last word. "All ye need to know is that I kill whoever gets in me way. And you and your friends are in me way." Again, he exposes his stained teeth in a wolf-like grin. "But I'm feeling generous tonight, so I'll give ye one more chance to step aside."

"Heyyyyy, I know you!" says a slurred voice.

You look over to see one of the drunken sailors swaying by the hearth and gesturing with his bottle of ale. One or two of his companions desperately try to quiet him, but he shoves them away clumsily.

"You attacked the merchant ship I was on sixth months ago. I'd recognize you anywhere. You're the scourge of the Tidewrath Sea - the blasted pirate Swinemouth!"

The patrons gasp, and several of them cower in fear. For some reason you sigh and shake your head, muttering "You're going to get in trouble again" in a meaningless fashion.

Suddenly the bottle in the sailor's hand shatters, and the man gasps sharply. For a moment he stands there frozen and wide-eyed, looking down stupidly at the red stain spreading on his shirt where a crossbow bolt has passed through his bottle and entered his chest. Then he topples to the ground, dead. Several guests scream. The pirate who fired the bolt lowers his crossbow with a guffaw.

"I'm attacking!" bellows the dragonborn warrior behind you, leaping forward and swinging his morning star at the pirate holding the crossbow.

In a flash your two sabers are in your hands. Freskerio darts over to protect the fallen gnome, crouching into a defensive posture with his shield. Kelgwen steps nimbly forward with her quarterstaff ready.

With a quick motion, the pirate captain draws a razor-sharp cutlass and points it at you. "Cut 'em down, boys!" he bellows.

With a ring of metal, three more swords are drawn and all four pirates attack.

Taking the initiative, Mega Super Dragon launches a massive swing of his morning star at the pirate closest to him. "Aww, a 4," the dragonborn yells in disappointment, as his spiked club glances off the pirate's surprisingly sturdy leather armor.

Meanwhile, you slash your saber at the evil pirate captain Swinemouth, but he blocks your stoke with his cutlass. Quick as lightning, he pulls a wicked-looking dagger from his belt with his other hand and swings it at you. You twist your body just in the nick of time as the dagger sweeps downward, missing your head by inches. Even better, the dagger rips deeply into the heavy fabric of your cloak and gets tangled. You tear the ruined cloak off and twist it around the pirate's arm, further inhibiting him as he desperately tries to free his weapon, and with a growl you-

-whimper "Nooo! I don't want my cloak to get torn!"

Immediately, you get a grip on yourself. You realize that the shredded cloak has actually given you a significant advantage by distracting the pirate, and also that you can buy another one later. As you focus your mind back on the battle-

-you bleat, "But I don't want to buy another one! I want to keep this one!" From the state of your eyes, you appear to be having a sudden allergic reaction to something. "This is the cloak my sister made for me when I left home to become a ranger, and she made a clasp for it that looks like a golden heart, and I love it and don't want anything to happen to it!" you inform the tavern plaintively. Your allergic reaction gets significantly worse.

...

Suddenly you realize that the ripping sound you heard was actually the pirate's dagger tearing into the curtain by the window behind you and not your precious cloak, which is still undamaged and completely fine. However, the pirate easily frees his dagger from the thin fabric of the drapes, and also conks you on the head with the pommel of his cutlass, dealing you six points of damage.

With a snarl of pain, you bellow out "Yaaay, thanks!" and raise your saber. But before you can make your next move, a sudden frenzy of motion explodes next to you.

Using her quarterstaff to vault impossibly high, Kelgwen, Lady of the Tyrian Flame, jump-kicks off the wall nimbly and sails over the pirate next to you, delivering a devastating snap kick to his head as she does so. Before he can crumple to the ground, her tail wraps around his midsection and effortlessly whips his limp body towards the pirate menacing Freskerio and the gnome, smashing the heads of the two villains together with a sickening crack. As both pirates tumble to the floor, she swings her quarterstaff at the third gobsmacked pirate closest to her dragonborn brother, doubling him over with a meaty blow to his stomach, then cracking him under the chin on the backswing. The man hits the floor hard and lies motionless.

The captain, seeing his crew utterly incapacitated, turns away from you and lunges at Kelgwen with a furious howl. But his voice is drowned out by the answering roar from the dragonborn. For a second, the man is stunned and freezes in fear as he a sees a dull red glow in the back of her throat. A torrent of dark red flames explodes outward, enveloping the pirate. The villain's shrieking voice fills the tavern as the rest of you stare, open-mouthed and speechless, at the inferno in front of you, A few moments later, there is nothing left - nothing but three maimed, unconscious pirates and a pile of smoking ash.

Nobody moves. The room is absolutely quiet. Dozens of stunned patrons stare at the four of you. The dragonborn monk relaxes her stance and surveys the carnage on the floor in quiet satisfaction.

"Whoaaaa! Sis, that was TOTALLY AWESOME!" says the awestruck dragonborn behind her.

"That was so COOL, Missy!" you say, so flabbergasted you can't even remember her name.

"It's Kelgwen, Lady of the Tyrian Flame," Kelgwen, Lady of the Tyrian Flame reminds you primly. "And thank you," she adds with a little bow and flourish.

"How did you even DO all that stuff?" says Dragon Kid admiringly. "I only got to do, like, one attack, and it didn't even do anything!"

"I told you, you should have developed your character better," Kelgwen informs him, with a bit of well-deserved smugness. "I did a lot of research on the stats and abilities that work best for-" and here she explains how she was brought as a young dragonborn orphan to the Communion of the Nine Flames, a hidden monastery high in the snowy peaks of the Wolfhelm Mountains, and how through years of tutelage by the masters of martial arts within the walls of the monastery she learned how to discipline her impulsive spirit and channel her quick reflexes and dragonic energy into combat, growing to become a disciplined, lightning-fast fighter, and earning her title as a devotee of the Tyrian Flame. "And that's why dexterity and bonus actions are important," she concludes.

"Hey, I'm healing this gnome," Freskerio informs the group.

The three of you kneel down next to Freskerio, who is channeling a healing spell into the nearly unconscious creature. The effects of the magic are immediate. A healthy olive-green color begins to return to her face, and her breathing becomes easier. The stab wound in her stomach becomes shallower until it's little more than a scratch, and the deep gash in her arm grows noticeably smaller. Her eyes flutter open. You step forward offering her your hand, and together you and Freskerio lift her to her feet and help her as she walks unsteadily over to your table, where she collapses heavily into a chair.

The tavern slowly comes back to life. A few patrons stare at your party with newfound respect, but most of the guests slowly return to their food and conversation. With an apprehensive glance at the large pile of ash on the ground, the tavern owner and two other men from the kitchen drag the limp bodies of the pirates out of sight. The barmaid brings over a mug of wine, which you lift to the lips of the injured gnome.

"Here, drink this," you say gently. "It will ease your pain and restore whoa, whoa, hold on, is she allowed to drink that?!" You continue your unexpected sputtering, "Is this real wine? How old is she? How old do you have to be to drink wine in this town?"

"It's fine, Azlier," says the self-assured dragonborn monk, rolling her eyes. She takes the mug from you and lifts it to the lips of the injured gnome again. "Here, drink this," she says gently. "It will ease your pain and restore your vigor."

The gnome sips from the cup, coughs for a moment, then drinks more deeply. A contented sigh escapes her lips, and she pulls herself into a better sitting position.

"I thank you, most noble adventurers. I owe you my life," she says, looking around the table gratefully. "Truly, I thought my final moments had come. I knew that the map I carried might as easily bring about my ruin as lead to my fortune. And yet, like an imbecile I chose to walk the streets with it in my pocket. I was a fool to have thought I would escape notice." Her voice trembles and she covers her face with her hand.

"What's it a map of?" the warrior dragonborn asks, leaning forward eagerly. The table creaks under the weight of his arms, and the diminutive woman across from him shrinks back with apprehension.

Kelgwen briefly shoots him an annoyed look before turning back to the gnome. "It's all right; you're safe now," she says in a soothing voice. "Why don't you tell us what happened?"

Again, the woman looks around the table. As her gaze lingers on your faces, she nods slowly. "Yes," she says. "Yes, I feel quite sure that I can trust all of you."

You nod brightly back at her. The woman takes another draught of wine and clears her throat.

"My name is Clabnith. My people live in the hill country on the far side of the Tidewrath Sea. I came here to Killmere-on-Sea seeking an ancient and powerful relic… or rather, seeking information on where the relic could be found. Three weeks ago, I booked passage on a merchant ship bound for this port. And like a fool, in my exuberance I let it be known to all who would listen that I was bound on a treasure hunt. Once we set foot on land, doubtless word got around about the foolish, defenseless gnome searching for magical artifacts. After many days of pouring through dusty librarbies and cloisters, I finally found what I was looking for. This."

The woman reaches into an inner pocket of her cloak and withdraws a vellum scroll. Warily she glances around before concealing it once again.

"Is that the map?" Dragon Kid asks again, breathlessly.

"It is that which nearly cost me my life, yes," replies the gnome, fixing a doleful eye on the dragonborn. "I was to return to my ship tonight to set sail for my homeland, but as I approached the gangplank, a band of pirates rushed upon me. I struggled against them, and managed to pull myself away, but not before suffering the injuries you see," she says, touching her belly gingerly. "But there was no escape for me. As I stumbled down the street, growing weaker by the moment, I saw the lights of this tavern and rushed in. But I had little hope that I would find any salvation. Indeed, it seemed equally likely that I might escape one band of thieves only to be set upon by another. And yet, you rescued me!" The woman chokes slightly and looks at each of you with grateful eyes. "Again, I give you my sincerest thanks. I am deeply indebted to all of you."

"It is our honor to serve you, m'lady," says Freskerio, a little pompously. "My companions and I are sworn to help all those who are in need."

"Yeah, that is verily true!" you add, nodding vigorously.

"We are?" asks Dragon Kid, before grunting from the kick he receives under the table from his sister.

"In truth," says the woman, "I see more clearly now that this is no sort of a quest for a simple gnome like me. The reward may be great, but if I cannot even protect myself on the streets of a civilized town, how could I possibly survive a perilous journey into the wilds and the cursed woodlands that awaits any who would seek the Lantern of Petrification?

"The what of what?" asks Freskerio.

"What kind of perils do you speak of?" adds Kelgwen, her eyes gleaming.

Clabnith pauses for a moment, then appears to come to a decision. Again, she pulls the map out, this time untying the ribbon around the scroll and spreading it out on the table. All four of you lean in to stare at it.

"Noble saviors, I have nothing to repay your kindness with, but I will gladly give to you that which almost cost me my life. If you are strong - if you are brave enough - and if you have the wisdom to meet the challenges ahead of you, there will be great reward at the end of your journey. And yet… even so, I fear to give you this map, because of the curse it has already been to me. You will indeed be in great peril, my lady," she finishes, bowing her head to the Lady of the Tyrian Flame.

"Whoa… dude, a curse!" mouths Mega Super Dragon Kid, elbowing you with a hint of nervousness.

"I think it's just a figure of speech," you whisper back, but the dragonborn's attention is fixed on the gnome. Clabnith points to a symbol of a lamp at the eastern edge of the map, deep in a forest.

"The Lantern of Petrification lies deep within Clawnail Forest." She moves her finger to the seacoast on the opposite side of the parchment where a town is marked. "This is where we are. The edge of the forest itself is a three-days' journey by road, but I fear it will be longer for you, for you must take the by-paths, avoid the townships, and travel through the wild hill country so that your quest may remain a secret. What you will encounter when you enter Clawnail Forest itself I cannot say. But I suggest that you arm yourselves well before you leave Killmere-on-Sea and obtain whatever potions and magical equipment you may need."

"And we'll need something to deal with the curse!" nods Mega Super Dragon rapidly.

"That sounds amazing; I can't wait!" Kelgwen is almost quivering with excitement. She turns to the rest of you. "Should we go out shopping right now?"

"But beware!" the gnome interrupts, drawing your attention back to the map. She points at the symbol of the lamp. "It is said that the lantern is guarded by a fearsome beast, who travels faster than a horse and can leap a distance of forty feet. Once it sees its prey, it will not rest until it has been killed. You will all have to coordinate your attack well if you wish to have any chance against such a vicious creature.

"And what about the lantern?" asks Freskerio.

"It is said to be a druid artifact from an earlier age. It burns eternally within a closed casing of stone, but a louver on its side can be opened to release its luminescence. Any creature caught in its beam is filled with a granite light and turns to stone. The effect lasts for as long as that light festers within them - sometimes for several days.

"That sounds like an awful curse!" shudders Mega Super Dragon.

The gnome rolls up the map and ties it up, then hands the scroll to Kelgwen. "Fare thee well, good adventurers. May this map bring you more fortune than it brought me, and mayhap when we meet again, I will be in a position to repay your kindness in full." With another nod of appreciation, Clabnith rises from her chair and turns to leave. At the door of the tavern, she gives you a last wave, and is gone.

"All right!" Kelgwen practically shouts. "Let's go find some magic shops and weapons dealers! This is going to be a fantastic quest!"

"I dunno - maybe we shouldn't do this," you murmur unbelievably. "I mean, we're just kinda starting out as adventurers and this sounds really dangerous."

You immediately stop and think long and hard about how you've been wanting to have an adventure for a while now, and this sounds exactly like what you've been telling everyone that you want to do.

"Well, OK… I guess," you decide with a shrug that conveys something less than overwhelming enthusiasm but will have to do.

"Hey, maybe we should follow that lady," suggests Freskerio.

"She can probably tell us how to deal with the lantern curse." Mega Dragon says in a low voice.

"There's no curse. And we've gotten all we need from her," points out Kelgwen. "It's time to get this quest started!" She stands to her feet and picks up her staff. "Let's go buy the stuff we'll need before we leave town."

"I dunno," you dither again. "Won't all the shops be closed right now? It's getting pretty late."

"Maybe there's, I dunno, some 24 hour shops in this town?" Mega Super Dragon's tail swishes behind him as quaffs another draught of grog.

"Ah, excuse me!"

Like the bursting forth of the sun in all its noonday glory, the room is suddenly filled with an overpowering radiance pouring from the open doorway of the tavern. All of you shield your eyes, squinting and trying to take in the vision before you. A woman bathed in light and robed in a shimmering purple gown steps gracefully into the room. In an instant all music, singing, talking, and fighting ceases. Every head is lowered before her presence. Those who are standing bow deeply. A few men fall prostrate onto the floor. All activity within the entire tavern comes to a standstill as Her Sovereign Majesty, the Queen of Avithan, lightly makes her way to your table.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but it is getting close to dinner time." She gives the two dragonborn a beatific smile, as the strains of a faint, celestial chorus fill the air. "We are having tacos! Missy and MK, you are welcome to join us if you would like. I could call your parents and let them know if that is what you wish."

The dragonborn brother and sister, hearing an ancient form of their own names, gaze with awestruck eyes at the exalted lady and smile widely.

"Yeah, that'd be awesome, thanks!" says the dragon warrior enthusiastically.

The Queen graces him with a warm smile, forgiving his forward demeanor.

"Yeah!" adds his sister, her eloquence failing her in the glorious presence of the Queen of the whole world.

"Lovely! I will let them know then. We will be ready to eat in just a few minutes." With a regal gesture of farewell, she turns and leaves the tavern. The door closes behind her, the blinding brilliance fades, and the room slowly comes to life again.

"Cool, tacos!" murmurs Dragon Kid happily.

"All right", says Kelgwen, smacking her large claws on the table, "let's go!"

"Are we following that gnome lady?" asks Freskerio.

"Well, let's head outside and then we'll figure out what to do." Kelgwen strides towards the door, and the rest of you collect your things and follow her.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see someone approaching you. You recognize him as one of the men from the booth whose conversation you had overheard.

"Wait!" you say, halting suddenly. "We gotta pay for the food and drink first!" You hurry over to the bar, ignoring the man entirely, and in a moment the bill is settled.

"Excuse me," says the man from the booth, lifting his hand to try to catch your attention as he approaches.

"Dude, I don't like the looks of that guy", Mega Super Dragon says darkly from the tavern doorway.

"Excuse me, my friends," says the man, raising his hand in a friendly gesture. "I couldn't help but overhear-"

"Come on, let's get out of here before another fight starts," urges the hulking and fearsome warrior with a nervous glance at the unassuming man.

The four of you put your faith in the wisdom of Mega Super Dragon and hustle out of the tavern, slamming the door on the surprised man behind you.

"I'm gonna look around for the gnome," announces Freskerio, shading his eyes with his hand in spite of the fact that it's nighttime. He peers around in all directions fruitlessly; there is no sign of Clabnith.

"Ok, let's go shopping instead." Kelgwen looks down the stretch of road on either side of the tavern. "Maybe we can all do an intelligence investigation to see if we can find any merchants."

"Oh, wait!" you pipe up, pointing down to the road to the harbor. "Why don't we go check out the docks first? Maybe that gnome lady went back to her ship!"

"We don't need the gnome lady anymore! We've got the map!" insists Kelgwen reasonably, waving her arms in frustration.

Nevertheless, after a brief discussion, the four of you decide to head off to the docks to the west, the opposite direction of the roads and paths that lead towards Clawnail forest. As you walk, you cross a major road winding its way to the north. The buildings along the road, like the others you have passed, are mostly dark at this time of night, but several of them are brightly lit and welcoming. You can just make out signs hanging over several doors, advertising food, magical items, shields, weapons, and traveling provisions. Each sign also says, "Open all hours of the night."

"Nope!" says Mega Dragon Kid, as the wise Lady of the Tyrian Flame opens her mouth. "We're doing the docks first."

A few minutes later, you arrive at the docks. Your nostrils are assaulted with the pungent smell of seaweed, briny water, and stinking bits of fish scraps on the rocks below the piers. Several vessels are moored along the docks and float gently in the tide. There is no sign of the gnome you met earlier.

"There, see?" Kelgwen spreads her hands. "Nothing. If we were supposed to talk to her more, we'd find her here. But she's gone, and we don't know whether she went back to her boat, or which boat is even hers. Now can we please go?"

"Oh! Oh, wait!" bursts out Freskerio. "What about the pirate ship?"

Kelgwen blinks in confusion. "What about it?"

"Well, we got rid of all the pirates, right? So what if-"

"I got rid of all the pirates," corrects the dragonborn smugly.

"Right, so… their ship should be empty, right? Let's see if we can take it!"

This… unexpected proposal surprises the entire party. But clearly Freskerio's words, though completely unrelated to anything having to do with the Lantern of Petrification, have an effect on the party. Even Kelgwen, wise as she is, shows interest. Nevertheless, none of you have any particular seafaring knowledge, or insight into the type of vessels pirates use for their pirating. Though Freskerio's idea awakens excitement in you, it is entirely reasonable to conclude that such a search will take far more effort-

"18 for intelligence investigation!" you shout triumphantly.

"And 16 for me," adds Kelgwen. You cheer and the two of you slap each other's open palms.

Astonishingly, your untrained eyes manage to pick out The Humorless Shrew, the hated ship of the dread pirate Swinemouth and his crew. Eagerly you step over the gangplank and climb aboard the ship. Fortune is with you - it appears the rest of the crew of the ship has gone ashore to spend their ill-gotten gains on carousing and worthless trinkets.

"All right, let's search the ship for treasure," says Freskerio, a little apprehensively with a look over his shoulder towards the town. "We don't know if the rest of the crew will be back tonight, so we'd better hurry."

"This ship is huge!" you say, impressed. The schooner is indeed large - over sixty feet long by your estimate. Two stout masts hold large, furled sails, along with a variety of rigging and ropes that are incomprehensible to you. A large cabin occupies the rear of the ship, and several hatches lead below decks.

"Wait! Wait! Dudes, I've got the best idea ever!" Everyone turns to look at Mega Super Dragon, who has balled up his fists in excitement. His massive tail flicks back and forth on the deck. "Let's go sailing in this ship! Right now!"

The rest of the group stare at him in disbelief. But horrifyingly, the idea begins to gain traction with the party.

"Wait, none of us know anything about sailing," says Freskerio, stating the obvious.

"We don't need to go far!" replies the dragonborn enthusiastically. Already he is running around, looking up into the masts and pulling on random ropes. "Plus, this will keep the pirates from catching us! They can't attack us if we've got their ship. Let's just sail it around a bit while we search for all their loot, and when they look for us, we'll be gone. And then maybe by the time we sail back to the harbor they'll have forgotten about us and the ship, and we can take our gold to the bank or something." he advises, displaying an incredibly inaccurate understanding of pirates, human nature, and the financial system of Killmere-on-Sea.

Regrettably, everyone agrees.

A moment later, the deck of the ship is a flurry of activity and poor decisions. You and Kelgwen spend several grueling minutes turning the windlass to raise the ship's massive anchor, then immediately get knocked to the ground painfully when the windlass rapidly unwinds itself because you forgot to lock the anchor in place.

As you wearily raise the anchor a second time, Mega Super Dragon, unable to comprehend the block and tackle system of ropes that run along the masts, manages to unfurl the sails by climbing the rigging and hacking the ropes to pieces with his sickle. Freskerio, standing on the dock and unmooring the ship, takes two points of rope burn damage as the gusting wind fills the sails and pulls the ship away from the wharf. He just manages to dart back onboard before the gangplank is pulled off the dock and falls into the water. And with that, The Humorless Shrew gets under way.

The next few hours pass quickly. You pilot the ship away from the harbor in a zig-zag course, thanks your enthusiastic technique of spinning of the ship's wheel as far as you can in one direction, then just as far in the other direction, over and over. Miraculously, you still manage to get the ship out of sight of the harbor. Kelgwen nimbly scales the rigging that her brother hasn't hacked to shreds and reaches the crow's nest, which she squeezes into. Freskerio's attempt to get everyone to sing a sea shanty is foiled by the fact that nobody knows any sea shanties. Dragon Kid, despite his best efforts, mercifully does not figure out how to fire a cannon.

After a while, you get down to the business of ransacking the ship. From this, an impressive plunder is acquired: 36 gold doubloons, a velvet bag with four tiny rubies, an ornate and extremely sharp rapier which Mega Dragon Kid takes, several fine silk shirts, a scarlet wool doublet and matching long coat, three healing potions, and a chest containing several dozen cutlasses, though only a few of them are free of rust and still have a sharp edge. Good fortune continues to favor the party when, upon their return to the harbor hours later, you unsurprisingly pilot the ship directly into the wooden pylons of the dock with a terrible crunching sound but still manage to leap free of the vessel before it sinks to the bottom of the harbor.

"Whoa!" says Mega Super Kid, the only member of the party to miss the jump to the dock, landing painfully on the rocks below. He clambers back up to where the rest of you are, holding up a bag cheerfully despite the injuries he sustained. "At least I managed to keep all my loot!"

Miraculously the cacophony of the boat ramming the dock seems to have gone unnoticed. The docks are just as deserted as when the group arrived, hours earlier. The cheerful lanterns of the merchant shops, just down the road from you, beckon to you from the windows.

"Alright, we've got even more money now, so let's go buy some stuff!" says Kelgwen buoyantly.

Leaving the harbor behind, the group sets off back the way they came, arriving at the crossroads again. Here, Freskerio comes to a halt and stifles a yawn.

"You know, we've already had one adventure tonight. Maybe we should head back to the tavern and get some rooms where we can sleep for the night. It wasn't too expensive, was it, Mike?" He yawns again, infectiously, causing his three friends to yawn as well.

"It was three silver pieces; I wrote it down," Mega Monster Kid says proudly, pulling out a scrap of paper. "How many rooms do we need?"

"I'm OK with whatever," you offer. You turn guiltily to Kelgwen. "But I know you wanted to go visit the shops - is it OK to do that later?"

"Yeah, I guess it's fine," says the dragonborn monk, shrugging her massive shoulders. "We can just come back in the morning. But I'm not sharing a room with anybody," she adds with a frown.

"Ok then, me, Frisk and MK in one room," you say, giving up on actual names altogether, "and you can get one of your own, so that's six silver pieces. And we've got plenty of money now, so that'll be easy!"

And so, with no thought for the merchants hoping to serve late night shoppers or the enthralling quest awaiting you in the distant forest, you once again find yourself in The Surly Librarbian.

Very little has changed since you left the tavern a few hours earlier, though some of the guests have made their drunken way back to their homes or ships or have stumbled upstairs to their rooms. A few patrons appear to have passed out, resting their heads on their tables. Others are sprawled out near the stone hearth of the fireplace. The men who had been looking over a map earlier in a booth are still there. One of them notices your return and raises his hand in greeting. Your party steps up to the bar, ignoring him.

"Two rooms for the night, my good man!" intones Freskerio flippantly.

The bartender collects a gold piece from him and returns four silver pieces. He fixes your group with a steely eye. "If you don't mind my sayin' so, you four have the look of folks about to go on a long adventure. My suggestion to you is that you head on up for a good night's sleep right now, and then set out first thing tomorrow morning. That'll be the best way to make sure you can get where you're going."

"Sounds good," say you and Freskerio simultaneously.

"We'll be down for breakfast early tomorrow," adds Kelgwen.

"Actually, can I get a meal now, before bed? I'm hungry again," says the other one.

The bartender stares at the dragonborn in astonishment for several seconds. But reluctantly, he turns and barks an order to one of the servant girls in the back. He leans on the bar as he turns back to you. "Also, it's none of my business of course, but if your adventure happens to involve artifacts of any kind, you may want to talk to that fellow over there." He nods to the booth you noticed earlier. "I couldn't help overhearing some interesting things when I walked by earlier." He looks at you meaningfully before returning to his work.

The four of you walk right back over to the exact same table where you started, long, long ago. The servant girl brings Mega Super Dragon another plate of salted pork, cheese, and bread, and also brings along three other plates just in case anyone else is hungry. She goes back to the bar and returns quickly with four mugs of some kind of drink. Everyone who's hungry begins to eat quickly, thinking of the mysterious men in the booth, and also the soft beds waiting for them upstairs, and the thrilling adventure about to begin just outside Killmere-on-Sea, where the road winds towards the distant forest and-

"You know, doing that thing with the ship was a lot of fun!" says the dragonborn warrior in between mouthfuls of the pork he's stuffing into his face. "How about we go back to the docks tomorrow and see if we can get onto another ship? Maybe there'll be more treasure!"

"What about the map?" hisses Kelgwen. "When are we going to go find the lantern?" she demands with her eyes flashing.

"Maybe we could that in a few days?" Those… those are the words that come out your mouth. "I'd kinda like to see if I could get better at sailing too. What do you think, Frisk?"

Freskerio gives an apathetic shrug. "Doesn't matter too much. I guess going sailing for a while could be kind of-"

Suddenly, before Freskerio can finish his sentence, the sounds of tearing, rending and cracking fill the room. Amidst the screams from the remaining clientele, the weather-beaten cobblestone floor splits apart and flies upwards, and tables and chairs are flung backwards from a hole that is formed in the center of the room. With a roar, a massive panther-like beast claws its way up through the opening and into the room. It stands on all fours, snarling. Muscles ripple underneath the dark grey fur along the length of its body, and two evil-looking tusks point ahead from its mouth. Bladelike bristles line the sharp ridge along its back. And held between its razor-sharp teeth is a cylindrical stone artifact.

"Oh no! Grimpaw, the moorbounder pack leader of Clawnail Forest!" cries a man from a nearby booth. With a start, you recognize him as the same one who was looking at a map with his companion earlier in the evening. "It must have somehow burrowed its way underground from the forest to emerge in this very tavern! And it is carrying the famed Lantern of Petrification in its jaws - the very artifact I have so much information about! Woe! Would that I could fight it, for I know better than most men what the weaknesses of a moorbounder are, but alas, I am but a feeble relic seeker! Woe!" he concludes before diving under his table for cover.

The moorbounder fixes its bulbous eyes on you and snarls through its clenched teeth. To your horror, you see that the louver in the lantern is open, and a thin shaft of pale grey light is pouring out. As the beast swings his head about, two of the miscreants along the far wall are caught in its beam. They have just enough time to scream as their lower halves turn gray and craggy before the effect spreads across their bodies and they become statues, mouths still open in a silent scream.

There's a crash as Kelgwen, thinking quickly, turns over your table sideways. All of you crouch down behind it, preparing for combat. Behind you, you can see the tavern owner, servant girls, and others ducking behind the cover of the bar.

"Looks like I'm first!" breathes Freskerio. Pulling out a flask of water from his pouch, he shakes a bit onto each of you. "I'm casting Bless," he informs you. An invigorating power flows into the party. You all feel much better prepared for the upcoming battle, and better able to withstand the damage you'll suffer.

Suddenly a terrifying shape passes over you, accompanied by a savage roar. The moorbounder easily leaps over the spot where the four of you are huddled. In panic you all turn to face the beast, now just a few feet from where you're crouched. Something catches the eye of Mega Super Dragon. With a quick glance he notices that, in the process of roaring, the beast dropped the lantern in mid-leap, where it glanced off a table and rolled to a stop on the ground about twelve feet away from you. The beast bellows again, saliva dripping from its cruel teeth. It makes a swipe at Freskerio, the closest one to him, but Freskerio deflects the swinging paw with his shield.

"My turn!" you yell, standing up. Your hands grip your havoc sabers tightly. With a fearsome cry you surge forward, raising the sabers high in the air and-

"I'm going to cast Animal Friendship!"

...

You...

...

"Animal Friendship! It's one of my level one spells. C'mere, little moorbounder! Have a nice piece of pork, therrrre you go."

In a colossal death-wish, you sheathe one of your sabers and hold out a piece of the salted pork on the floor to the snarling moorbounder, in the vain, absurd hope that your Animal Friendship spell will work on such a hideous, final-boss type of creature. Realizing the futility of your action, you reconsider-

"Actually, it's worth a try," says Kelgwen with interest, who seems to have produced a large book from somewhere and is sitting with her back against the overturned table, reading. "The spell can work on creatures whose intelligence is less than a four, and a moorbounder has only two. So, it has to do a wisdom saving throw."

...

You… decide to give the spell a try, even though the ancient, feral wisdom that Grimpaw possess makes it wildly unlikely that you can possibly-

...

...

...

"So, uh… did the moorbounder make his saving throw?"

...

A look of brainless contentment suddenly spreads on the moorbounder's face. His tongue lolls out of the side of his mouth, and he yips in excitement as you hold out the piece of meat. He catches it neatly as you flip it to him and wolfs it down in one bite.

"There you go!" you croon. "Good kitty! Gooooooooood kitty. Lie down! C'mon, you can do it! Lie down!"

The terrifying beast drops onto the floor and flips over, panting in a raspy wheeze. You kneel down beside him and begin rubbing his belly, as the creature whines in pleasure and bats its legs in the air.

"Aw, man!" gripes Mega Super Dragon in palpable and completely understandable disappointment. "I was just going to try out my new sword."

"But we have a pet now!" you say with infuriating cheer. "He's probably big enough that I could ride him, like a horse. That's so cool! I'll bet that will make the trip to the forest a lot faster," you add excitedly, in an error-filled monologue that overlooks the facts that only one person could ride him so it wouldn't be any faster, and that Animal Friendship only last for 24 hours, and that there's no longer any need to visit the stupid forest at all because the final beast your party was looking forward to killing is now upside down and drooling on your leather boots and the Lantern of Petrification is literally on the floor next to you.

"Oh right, the lantern!" says Monster Dragon Kid, perking up. "I'll get it." He pulls himself to his feet and strides over to the ancient artifact lying on the ground, taking care to avoid the cold beam of light that is angled up towards the ceiling.

A sturdy stone ring at the top of the lantern allows it to be easily held or attached to a belt. The aperture where the light comes out can easily be covered by the louvered slat, which has a small handle attached so it can be safely-

"This oughta do it. Hi-yaaaaa!"

...

Mega...

...

Mega Super Dragon pulls out his morning star, raises it with both hands over his head, and… and swings it down as hard as he can on the artifact. The delicate stonework that forms the lantern is no match for the brute force of the dragonborn's weapon. With a loud crack it splinters into pieces. There's an intense flash for split second, then the cold light within it is extinguished. A moment later, all that remains on the ground are shards of cracked stone. The warrior turns and grins at the rest of you. For a moment there is only stunned silence.

"MK!" yells an enraged Kelgwen, Lady of the Tyrian Flame. "What in the world are you doing?"

"I broke the curse!" her brother announces proudly.

"What curse?" asks Freskerio with a puzzled-

"WHAT CURSE?" Kelgwen yells, spreading out her hands.

Mega Monster Dragon involuntarily takes a step back. The look of satisfaction on his face slowly changes to confusion.

"That gnome lady," he explains. "She said that there was a curse, so... weren't we supposed to destroy the lantern? To stop the curse?" He looks at each of you, looking for support.

Everyone stares blankly at him. The dragonborn tries again.

"I mean, she was talking about the quest and the map, and said it had been a curse to her so I thought… uh… I thought-" He looks sheepishly at the broken fragments of stone next to him and rubs the back of his head awkwardly.

"I, uh… I think that just meant that the map was, like, figuratively a curse for her," suggested Freskerio.

"Yeah," you add, "like, having that map almost got her killed, so she didn't want to go on the quest and offered it to us instead."

"So we could get a really cool weapon!" finishes an outraged Kelgwen. "That was the whole point of the quest!"

"…Oh," mumbles Mega Monster Dragon. He shuffles awkwardly, looks at his morning star guiltily, and hurriedly shoves it under his cloak. "Uh, sorry dudes."

Kelgwen snorts and rubs her face wearily. You step over to Mega Monster Kid and gently punch him amicably in the shoulder.

"It's OK, MK," you say. "It's our first time! I'll bet we find some other cool stuff later. And you did get the idea of riding that pirate ship, and that was pretty awesome!"

Mega Monster Dragon perks up a bit. "Yeah, I guess so! Thanks, Azzy. Sorry about the lantern, but yeah, at least we got some gold and jewels and stuff."

"Pardon me, dear ones."

A dazzling brilliance suddenly overpowers the tavern once again. The people around you, having just barely begun to recover from the trauma of a moorbounder in the tavern, fall on their faces before the luminous Queen as she once again passes gracefully through the doorway. Her warm, melodic voice almost makes you weep.

"The tacos are ready! Please finish up and wash your hands, and then we can eat."

"Yes, m'lady," says a reverential Freskerio, bowing deeply.

The queen puts a paw to her mouth with a quiet, musical laugh. With a fond look at the party, she turns and glides to the doorway. A moment later the dazzling light is gone, and your party is left blinking in the semi-darkness of the tavern.

The events of the long night start to catch up to you. Your party thinks back over all the things that have happened since you first stepped into The Surly Librarbian. You also give thought to all the things that could have happened if you had made different choices. You can't help but wonder what kind of lore you could have learned from the merchant, now peering out fearfully from beneath the table in his booth. You think about what could have been just down the road, and what encounters you might have had in the hills on the way to Clawnail forest.

It begins to rain outside.

Your minds turn to the forest itself, dark and sinister, full of dangerous creatures, but possibly helpful allies and magical places. A place of foreboding, mystery, and possibilities. A place where bold adventurers who overcome their foes could discover great treasure. Your eyes drift down to the shattered pieces of the delicate lantern.

It rains even harder. Thunder rumbles overhead.

"Welp, I guess we're done! See you guys at the table. Thanks!" says Mega Dragon Kid, directing the last comment to the air in front of him. He collects his gear, and without a backward look at the ruined artifact, strides to the door. "Man, I love tacos!" he says cheerfully as he steps out into the pouring rain.

"Yeah, thanks, this was great!" says Freskerio, also to nobody. "Missy, you can wash up in the kitchen if you want."

The dragonborn monk, evidently inferring that Freskerio is addressing her, nods to the paladin, before smiling at the air. "Thanks for putting all this together. That fight with the pirates was the best!" She and Freskerio walk to the door.

"I guess we won't need those rooms after all, but you can keep the money," Freskerio calls breezily to the proprietor as they pass the bar. As they step outside, the rain soaks Freskerio thoroughly, but somehow completely misses Kelgwen, Lady of the Tyrian Flame and adventurer extraordinaire. The door closes behind them.

The downpour continues.

"Wow, this was great!" You're standing alone now by back wall of the tavern, speaking to the empty air. "I didn't really know what to expect, but you can do literally anything you want here! This was so much fun!"

And yet your words belie the loss of hopes and dreams of exciting adventures, of long and eventful treks through the countryside and forest, of glorious and epic battles, of victory over a terrible foe to win an incredibly useful artifact. You kneel down to scritch the belly of the stupefied moorbounder lying uselessly on the floor. The rain grows even heavier. It's raining incredibly hard now.

"Aw, c'mon," you continue your one-sided conversation, "don't think that!" You gesture around at the tables, the chairs, the bar, the raucous conversations that have started up again, the singing and music, the gaping hole in the floor. "I know we kinda goofed off a lot, but this was the most fun we've all had together in a long time. I mean, we hijacked a pirate ship and sailed it around and looted it! Wasn't that awesome? And yeah, I guess I kinda wrecked the ship," you add sheepishly, "but that's all part of the fun too, right? I loved the whole thing! Everyone else did, too!"

The rain begins to taper off ever so slightly. The thunder sounds more distant.

"Yeah!" you say, smiling widely at the wall. "And I'm sure we can do all the things you planned next time! Nothing says there can't be other neat stuff in the forest. Or maybe if everyone still wants to go sailing, you could make something cool in the ocean. Like a sea serpent! Or maybe there's a sunken city made by an ancient civilization that's all mysterious and we have to dive down to explore it!

A… few new possibilities begin to swirl in the air around you.

"Or!" you add brightly, gesturing to the large hole in the floor, "what if there's a whole bunch of caves under there? Like diamond mines or something. Or maybe a race of dwarves made a bunch of tunnels like the ones the moorbounder used to get here, and we can go explore their dwarf kingdom!"

Hazy visions of unexplored realms begin to take shape, lazily beginning to come together slowly. The rain outside falls more quietly on the tavern roof. It sounds like a soft shower now.

"I knew you'd like that!" Your emerald eyes shine with eagerness. "So, here's what we can do. I'll make sure next time that MK doesn't go smashing everything, and that we don't spend too much time goofing off. We can go to the shops like Missy wants and buy all the stuff we need for our next adventure, and then we can do whatever you've got planned! How's that?" Your face beams with a warm smile. "Wanna do another one tomorrow? It'll be so much fun! I can't wait to do it again!"

You step forward happily, stretching out your arms for a hug.

...

Oh, fine. I do too.


Thank you for reading! If you'd care to leave a review, I'd love to hear what you think.