Legends of the Elsir Vale - Chapter 1: The Road to Oakhurst.

Player Characters:

Kickolas Rage - Half-orc Samurai, accompanied by his horse Jubei Travolta

Marsha Mae Morass - Elf Summoner, accompanied by her eidolon Shiny (a spirit creature with the body of a crab and head of a marmot)
Espada de Bosque - Half-elf Ranger

Dire Angus - human Wizard

    

In the frontier region of ancient Garund known as the Elsir Vale, far beyond the seat of then-nascent Absalom, four travelers found themselves on the road south between their home (temporary or permanent) of Drellin's Ferry and the small hamlet of Oakhurst to attend a twice-yearly street fair. This fair centers on the auction of a supposedly magical apple: perfectly red in hue, with the reported ability to heal even magical and disfiguring wounds and illness. Just outside the limits of the town, the party of adventurers was attacked by a small group of creatures that seemed to be made of bundles of rough thorny vines and twigs, almost like animated, ambulatory tree limbs. The party defeated these strange creatures and continued on to Oakhurst, which was surprisingly vacant. It seemed the auction had been cancelled, and with it most of the excitement and the majority of the street fair. 

After spending the afternoon canvassing the local pub and shops, the party turned up a few leads:

1. The merchant family matriarch, Kerowyn Hucrele, was seeking the safe return of her children, or the return of their remains. Her daughter and son, Sharwyn and Talgen Hucrele went missing some days ago along with a ranger by the name of Karakas and a paladin from somewhere abroad by the name of Sir Brafford, who wielded an ornate and (she believes) magical sword. She offers 250 gold per party member (excluding mounts and familiars/eidolons) for the safe return of her children, or 125 gold per party member (excluding moutns and familiars/eidolons) for the return of her children's signet rings. She does not care if Karakas is found or returned. The erstwhile band of greenhorn adventurers planned their maiden journey to a nearby ruin known locally as the Sunless Citadel.

    

(L to R: Kerowyn, Sharwyn, Talgen Hucrele)

2. Mayor of Oakhurst Vernor Leng, after some persuasion from the party, shared with them the mystery of the cancelled fair: Twice each year, a druid called Belak contacts Mayor Leng and sells him one of the magic apples, on the condition that he then auction it to the highest bidder, and not keep it for himself. Leng was happy to comply, as the auction brought much needed traffic and finance to the town. This year however, neither Belak or his agents (Leng told the party that Belak sometimes used a local tribe of goblins as gophers or messengers) ever showed up. Having no main attraction, Mayor Leng had no choice but to cancel the fair, for fear of causing a ruckus among the merchants and bidders who travel from far and wide to participate. This plan has backfired however, and Mayor Leng now has a variety of angry merchants hoping to collect on their cancelled vending deposits. Leng has promised 100 gold per party member if they can find the apple and bring it back before the week is out. He also told the party that while he doesn't know Belak's base of operations, there have been rumors that a goblin tribe has taken up residence in the nearby Sunless Citadel.

  

(Mayor Vernor Leng and the druid Belak)

The party set off that afternoon towards the Citadel, arriving at approximately 5 pm. They descended a treacherous ravine marked with goblin graffiti and warnings via rope ladder and made short work of a mangy cluster of dire rats. Continuing further into the sunken ruin, the party encountered more rats, goblin corpses, and a secret door. This led them into an obviously long-cut off portion of the complex. Here they encountered some skeletons, and a gallery buried behind a wall of rubble and magically locked. After spending some time clearing the rubble, the party gained entry to a large room lined with alcoves containing four fist-sized glass globes. Three sat cracked and dark on their pedestals, but the one in the south alcove yet glowed with a pale blue light.