Roster
Present
Secrets of the Shadowed Town
Date: June 10, 2026
Summary
Crossing Great Bay on Captain Stormwrap’s ship, the party left their horses in Westguard and reached Eastguard’s docks after dark to find the town unnaturally quiet — only Brittany’s shop showed any light. A magical sweep turned up strong magic inside her shop but nothing external; her door was locked, an unseen barrier blocked the balcony, and a lockpick snapped for its trouble. Every other building in town sat dark and closed.
Aemon’s Curiosities and Pawn told a different story: cleaned out, stock gone, and a coded message left among the papers. Decoding it pointed the party to Town Hall records, then to an odd library invoice, then to a specific shelf and book — an engineering text about tunnels, its cover showing a manhole in the Library’s back room. A hidden slab in the floor wouldn’t move until someone remembered a crowbar, opening onto a passage that led to a packed underground chamber full of Eastguard’s hidden townsfolk and merchants. Aemon had gotten them all safely underground before whatever was coming could reach them.
With the town secured, Jack handed the long-sought Quill of the Coral Oracle over to Brittany, who was thrilled enough to pay the party 6,000 gold on the spot — including a cut set aside for the absent Bimmi. Sir Jangle asked her to look at his Harmonica of Echoing Memory, and the moment it got close to her it warmed up and started glowing on its own. She identified it properly (it warns its owner when they’ve missed something important, and kender apparently hate it), but when asked why it reacted so strongly to her, all she’d say was that it recognized “a kindred spirit.” She didn’t elaborate.
Trade picked back up in the refuge — Jack traded up to a better bow, and a merchant named Davriel closed his own deal for a mysterious red quill, paying the party a tidy sum for the privilege. Before the night was out, Brittany reminded everyone they had ten days left to reach the Tower of High Sorcery, that the forest around it blocks teleportation, and that Brynnan’s entrance test only allows one companion through with him. The party helped retrieve one more heavy find — a massive codex — from Stormwrap’s ship before calling it a night.
Short
Eastguard went dark and quiet, and it turned out the whole town was hiding underground from something worse. The party solved a coded scavenger hunt to find them, delivered a long-awaited magic quill to Brittany for a big payday, and learned her harmonica-reading skills come with a mystery attached. Ten days left until the Tower of High Sorcery.
Classic
Last time, the party had a lead worth chasing. This time they walked into a ghost town, cracked a code to find out where everyone went, and discovered the town had gone into hiding rather than run. Delivering the quill paid well. The harmonica moment paid off differently — in questions nobody answered.
Snarky
A whole town vanished, and the trail to find them ran through a locked bookshop, a suspiciously tidy pawn shop, and a library book about tunnels that happened to have a manhole on the cover. Once found, everyone was fine — just extremely underground. Then a magic harmonica had a moment with the shopkeeper that she flatly declined to explain, because apparently every NPC in this town gets exactly one unexplained secret per session.
Memorable Moments
A coded message, a library invoice, and a very specific book lead the party straight to a hidden manhole cover.
Turns out “Chapter,” “Tome,” and “Cover” were never really book titles.
The Harmonica of Echoing Memory lights up the moment it gets near Brittany — and she won’t say why.
“It recognizes a kindred spirit.” That’s all anyone’s getting.
Scenes
A Town Gone Dark
Eastguard sits silent and locked up tight.
- The party arrived after dark to find only Brittany’s shop lit.
- A magical sweep found strong magic inside the shop but nothing outside it.
- Brittany’s door was locked, a solid barrier blocked her balcony, and a lockpick broke trying.
- Every other shop and the Town Hall sat dark and closed.
The Hidden Refuge
A coded trail leads underground.
- Aemon’s shop was cleaned out and left with a coded message among the papers.
- Decoding it pointed to Town Hall records, then a library invoice, then a specific book.
- The book’s cover showed a manhole; a hidden slab in the library floor opened with a crowbar.
- The passage led to a packed underground chamber sheltering Eastguard’s townsfolk and merchants.
Payday and a Mystery
The quill changes hands, and a harmonica raises questions.
- Jack delivered the Quill of the Coral Oracle to Brittany, earning the party 6,000 gold.
- Sir Jangle had Brittany examine his harmonica; it warmed and glowed the moment it neared her.
- She identified its function but declined to explain why it reacted to her specifically.
- Trade resumed in the refuge, and the party was reminded of a ten-day deadline for the Tower of High Sorcery.
NPCs
Brittany Marginsong
Paid the party handsomely for the returned quill and identified Sir Jangle’s harmonica — while keeping quiet about why it reacted to her the way it did.
Aemon
Quietly moved Eastguard’s townsfolk and merchants into hiding before trouble could reach them.
Davriel Cane
A collector of ancient artifacts, pointed toward Brittany after showing interest in the party’s finds.
Locations
Eastguard
Found dark, locked up, and seemingly abandoned — until the party found where everyone actually went.
The Underground Refuge
A hidden chamber beneath the Library, packed with Eastguard’s people and goods.
Items
Harmonica of Echoing Memory
Confirmed to warn its owner when they’ve missed something important — and to react strongly to Brittany, for reasons she isn’t sharing.
Massive Codex
A heavy tome retrieved from Captain Stormwrap’s ship and moved into Bindings and Whispers.