Episode 3, Part 2: Wayhaven

The site is four days out. After the characters have gathered their gear together and paid a month’s rent in advance to ensure that their room would not be rented out, the characters set out. There is one village named Wayhaven that is along the way. It is suggested by Tharivian that if they must set up a base camp, that may be a good place to do so.

Wayhaven

Upon arriving at Wayhaven, passing through a gate in the stockade, you can see that there is a sense of unease in the small village. People are milling about, looking nervous, and sheep that should be out to pasture bleat unhappily in pens in the village square.
Asking questions of the villagers it is found that they are worried about some missing friends, and that they are afraid to take the sheep to pasture because there are gnolls in the area. A couple of the villagers insist on taking them to see the village cleric.

Beorn Fletcher

Beorn Fletcher, the cleric, is a tall, heavily built man about 40 years of age. He wears a simple blue robe and a holy symbol of the Sun God. There are worry lines in his friendly face, and he seems to have a difficult time walking quickly. He welcomes the party into his modest apartment within the small village temple and tells them a sad tale in his rustic accent.

“We’re a small village, as you can see. Mostly we get by trading our wool to the cloth merchants what travel through on their way to the city. Regular as rain, they come through. Just a couple of weeks ago, a couple of our riders came back and said they found the caravan less than a day’s ride away, and the merchants were all slaughtered. Guards were gone. They followed the trail to a door in the mountain, but they were attacked by gnolls before they could reach it. Barely made it back alive. That’s when we dispatched a couple more riders out to the City – imagine that’s why you are here now.”

“Our village is poor and we have no money to offer you, but whatever we can do to assist you we will. We just hope that you are here to deal with those strange creatures that reside in that place.”XBeorn assures the characters of the accuracy of their maps and states that if they truly need a guide they will offer one, but they would like to avoid sending one if possible. The characters rest up, and the next morning, they leave their horses and head towards the tomb.

Alex: Sandstorm informs you that she would take a long looping journey outside of the village and down south of the temple entry area to see what activity can be learned from the opposite side of the site.

Shortly after noon the characters arrive at the area. Looking down into a valley they can see a magnificent stone structure protruding from the mountainside. It is decorated with relief sculptures of half-men, half-animal creatures. To the left and right of the doors are 14 foot tall stone statues of naked men with jackal hands. To your right you see a pile of rock and dirt debris you; hear birds chirping from the trees north of you.

OK. Well... here's the start of our first dungeon adventure...