Bogdan and Tobin ran into each other during their times in Waterdeep. Bogdan was a monk who wasn’t quite sure where the line between curiosity and nosiness ended, and he had a insatiable desire for learning secrets. Tobin was an artificer – a new type of mage who learned spells like a wizard, but loved to tinker with alchemy and crafting just as much. Artificery was looked down upon by Khelben of Waterdeep, and when the Blackstaff looked down upon something, you stopped doing it. Or you left town, such as what our two heroes did.

Deciding to stick together, they left the metropolis in search of a friendlier home – or at least, a less judgemental one. They traveled southeast for a few days until they came to Daggerford. Morwen, the local Duchess, was known to pay well for adventurer’s and risk-takers who could solve problems that her local guard couldn’t (or wouldn’t), and it wasn’t long before Bogdan and Tobin made a decent name for themselves in doing just that.

Tasked with dealing with some troublesome tribe of kobolds who’d turned to banditry, the pair teamed up with two other adventurous folk, Brume and Yenkin. Brume was a weird one, a large pale man who always wore his helm or hood, afraid of the sun. Until you noticed that he wasn’t just pale, he was every so slightly blueish, and his eyes almost glinted like gold. Yenkin was easier to notice, despite – or maybe because – he was half the size of Brume. The halfling had nimble feet and sticky fingers, and was a great boon for a larger, less agile man like Brume.

The four of them set off and finally found the kobold bandits, killing many and chasing the rest. Several days of chase happened, with the kobolds always just minutes ahead, until the party arrived at the edge of the High Forest and followed them in. Soon they found themselves in the middle of a skirmish, with kobold fighting kobold, and all the kobolds fighting them. Confusion reigned until a half-elf druid dropped out of the trees, explaining that there was a small faction of kobolds who’d left the main group because they didn’t want to be bandits. After some fierce combat, the bandit faction of kobolds was fully defeated, and the party – now with the Tamar, the druid – went back to Daggerford for their reward.

The group had a few more adventures after that: taking out a handful of imps who’d escape a summoning circle by an apprentice wizard who’d reached above her station, convincing a marauding centaur that he’d have better luck in the Misty Woods (away from the humans he like to attack), and defending the hamlet of Secomber from a large pack of wolves who’d been decimating their villagers all winter long.

It was after this last mission, now that the warm days of spring were finally back, that the heroes were welcomed back to Daggerford. And here’s where our story begins.