Supply Run
The group starts their day with a trip to Cosan's for supplies. They meet the Halfling, Tendy, who helps them find the items they need. They also meet Cosan, who buys some of the extra weapons the group has. While in the shop they learn that Cosan is Carson's uncle and he has posted a 10 gold piece reward for finding his nephew.
The group also stops at Rowena's magic shop in the fancier part of town for some potions before securing a map and some horses from Lucas Dolan for their trip to Cladach.
A Night In Cladach
The trip to Cladach is a quiet one. The group takes the King's Road out of town before turning onto the main northern road. Cladach is a small town with a large wooden fence around the perimeter. They are able to secure stabling for their horses from Cameron as well as rooms and dinner for themselves at the Waypoint Inn, run by Mason and Noah. They are told Brath owns the alley across the way and they decide to meet with him the next day.
The Road Less Traveled
The group are able to find Brath at his bowling alley. He tells them that Carson did indeed show up in town and retrieved the package from him before leaving immediately. Though he arrived around sunset he did not stay in town. He simply got the package from Brath and set back out on the road. Brath is nervous as he talks to the group. He wants to make sure Baz knows that he did as he was instructed and the missing package is not his fault.
As they ask more about the arrangement they learn that Brath was presented with an opportunity to acquire something rare and went to Cothrom to offer to sell it to Baz. He says that Baz actually brought it up first. Brath tells them Baz "just knows things" sometimes.
The group assure Brath that they will report to Baz that he did as instructed. They then stop and speak with one of the guards at the town gate. The guard on duty, Declan, tells them he remembers seeing the man they describe. He thought it was odd that someone would come into town and leave so quickly. He also noted that Carson did not take the main road when he left, opting instead to take the older Botun Road.
The group sets off down the Botun Road, it seems this road leads past a few farms. People typically only travel this way if they are going somewhere along it as the main road is much faster. They talk to some farmers but none of them remember seeing Carson.
The Ruins
Further down the road they notice a horse tied up on the side of the road near an old ruined structure. When they investigate they see footprints near the horse and heading toward the entrance of the structure which then suddenly disappear before the entrance. They decide to enter the structure to investigate.
Immediately upon entering the structure they note a demonic statue in an alcove. Before they take a closer look Arbin notes the builtin trap. Avoiding the trap they take a closer look. There is a word on the plinth of the statue written in some variation of Infernal. Amérre attempts to read it but given the odd angle needed to avoid the trap and the faded writing she is only able to make out the beginning of the word "Stra…"
The group proceeds deeper into the ruins, avoiding a few traps before encountering a pair of vampiric flying heads called Vargouille which they are able to defeat. Further down they encounter a small passage that forces them into single file. This makes the fight against the carrion crawler they discover a bit more tricky but they are still able to defeat the foe.
The hallway they are in eventually opens up to a large room where they are surprised by a vampiric mist, a cloud being capable of siphoning their life force. This creature presents more of a challenge but they prove victorious. Finally they enter the main chamber of the structure, a large room lined with six demonic statues, distinct from the one at the entrance, three to a side.
Sitting on a stone altar at the front of the room is a vampiric creature. The scar on her face marking her as just a spawn as a true vampire would not have any scars. It is then that a stone slab blocks the entrance to the room, leaving the group with only the option to fight.
During the fight they realize that the statues are not just for show as they spew various types of magical attacks from their mouths when anyone living gets too close. Weathering these challenges the group is able to defeat the spawn. In investigating the room they learn how to avoid and eventually deactivate the statues. Arbin investigates the bodies in the corner and finds Carson's body is among them. He still has the package, a scroll case sealed with marked wax.
Further investigation of the stone slab at the entrance reveals two levers, one more obvious than the other. They pull the second, believing the first to be a trap, and the slab retracts. Rather than continuing to explore the ruins they choose to retrace their steps out of the ruins to avoid further battles.
With Carson's body and the package they return to Cothrom. They first return Carson's body to his uncle, Cosan, who is distraught but thanks them for returning him. He gives the group their 100 gold reward. They then return to Sual's Tavern where Baz is waiting for them. He is pleased that they have returned the package, unopened. He tells them he has more work if they are open to continued employment and asks them how they feel about ships.