The Beginning

Eight strangers found themselves in a dark room.  At the centre of the room was a large wooden block.  Torch light reflected off liquid covering the block.  There were barred windows in the ceiling at the edges of the room and a sturdy looking wooden door.  Beyond the door the sound of something heavy hitting something soft and squishy could be heard, interrupted only by the occasional loud swearing of a gruff male voice.  On investigating the liquid, the strangers found it to be blood.  Undeterred the dwarven cleric Drowyn attempted to open the door and found it unlocked.

In a brighter, larger room the strangers found a large man in a butcher's apron chopping up a pig carcass with an enormous iron cleaver.  The strangers spoke to the man discovering he was a butcher and also constable of the town of Red Larch.  They had agreed to come to the constable's shop to discuss a business proposition but the previous nights drinking had clouded their memories!  Constable Harburk offered the party 100 gold to investigate reports of bandits on the Carin Road.  He was persuaded to increase his offer to 200 in order to adequately compensate the party.  Harburk paid half of the amount now whilst the halfling rogue, Smiley, took a particular interest in where the Constable kept his gold.  

After leaving the Butcher's, four wolves ridden by goblins bolted past the strangers.  On the lead wolf was a girl bound at her hands and feet.  The strangers attempted to kill the goblins, downing them all except the lead goblin who was carrying the child.  The human ranger Sorin tracked the wolves through nearby woods.  After around eight hours the party found a tomb guarded by two goblins.  They were easily dispensed with, as were a further four goblins inside the tomb.

In the tomb they set off a trap and a scythe shot out from a hidden slot, slashing at the shins of the lead adventurers.  Ahead lay a locked iron door with no obvious means of opening it.  On the door were four symbols each within a quarter of a circle.  One of the quarters was recessed and wet to the touch.  The elven wizard Adran recognised these symbols as representing the four elements.  By exposing each section to the relevant element, the lock was opened.

Inside, the strangers found four goblins and two bugbears, all dead.  In the center of the room a circle of fire crackled, floating above the ground.  The girl, earlier seen being kidnapped, was now in this room chanting.  She was approached by one of the group who asked what she was doing.  With her concentration broken, she rebuked the questioner and continued with her ritual.  Her concentration was again broken but this time the circle of fire exploded, producing a fire snake and a swarm of poisonous snakes.  The strangers readied their weapons...