The Missing Gnome

Gunter and Sylvannas have just been trapped in a meat store with two Slaadi. After trading only a couple of blows with the sladdi, they realizie they might be a little outmatched in power. They decide to try and escape. As they manouver their way around the store, Michold yells at the slaadi, "They cannot be allowed to escape!"

Michold donns an odd looking plague mask while putting one over the face of his beloved, Ellaide. He then has one of the slaad break open the death's head coffer, releasing a number of disease ridden rats. The rats soon join the fracas and in the battle Junia is felled. Michold uses the opportunity to flee out the back door.

Sylvannas and Gunter are able to make it out onto the streets of Triel and Sylvannas wastes no time in blowing her war horn to hopefully bring the others.

Back in the Singing Wind Inn, Princess Elora hears the horn and tells the others. She summons a flock of giant owls and together they ride the owls following Princess Elora towards where the sound came from. When they arrive, landing the owls in the middle of the street, with the few people in the street running to take cover, they also meet a few of the city's militia, The Hellriders.

Its a Love Potion

After a quick and urgent explanation, the Hellriders enter the store only to find the slaadi fled. Junia , her brother and his fiance remain. Junia is quickly attended to and cured of the disease which courses through her body. Messick offers to cast Zone of Truth to assist the city guards.

Michold falls under the influence of the magic, forcing him to tell the others everything. He had always wanted to have a beautiful woman love him. One day a figure approached him. A hooded robed figure, a tabaxi....at least he thinks. She smelled of the grave. She told him that she could provide a bit of magic that would help him. He just had to give the woman he desired the potion she would provide. In return, she asked that he accept the occasional carcass provided to him. He may use the meat as he sees fit, but the magic box he would find inside he must take out into various parts of the city and open it. She would give him a mask that would protect him.

Keep up the distribution of the disease boxes and she would keep providing him with an enhanced version of Philter Of Love.

Hearing this the Hellriders have enough information. They take Michold away to meet his justice.

Later that day, Elvar The Grainlord, visits the group to personally thank them for helping to save the city from a horrific and decimating disease. He allows them to have their weapons back.

Proving both their capabilities and their righteousness, he asks them if they may do the city yet another good turn.

The Missing Gnome

Elvar tells them of the granary equipment that is meant to transfer the harvest grain to the storage buildings. It was built by Lorick, a gnome tinkerer. The machinery has broken down and requires the skill of Lorick to fix. Without this much of the harvest will rot. Lorick has been summoned but he has not arrived. Nor has the small group dispatched to summon him.

It is not like Lorick to miss a chance of earning a coin purse. Besides he is a friend to Triel and Triel takes care of its friends.

Would they go and find the gnome?

The group agrees to come again to the aid of Triel. But horses and gold would help.

Elvar agrees and the group sets off to find steeds.

Soon after, they are mounted and set off in the direction of Lorick's home, in the nearby forests surrounding Triel.

Master?...Not Master.

As they travel into the forest following the ever narrowing trail. They come to two smalll odd metal statues on either side of a very narrow trail. Able to approach only by dismounting they cautiously approach the structures. The heads of the metal constructs follow the group and soon they can be heard to say, "Master?", then in a more disappointed voice, "Not Master."

Just to be sure Gunter blasts the head off of one of the small figures. Sylvannas
runs past them and pauses just in front of a small piece of shiny metal sticking about an inch out of the ground. The piece of metal rises up, tips over and touches the ground. A burst of electrical energy spreads out along the ground hitting nearly everyone. Princess Elora watches on in horror as she is hovering above the ground.

After trying to figure out what is attacking them they quickly move on and find the small home of Lorick the gnome. It is built into a small grassy hill, with a stream flowing nearby all in small clearing in the forest. Everything is quiet. No sign of activity from within the home shows itself.

As the group moves closer to he home, two grassy hillocks rise up out of the ground revealing a balista-like construct hidden underneath. "Master?.....Not Master." And they fire bolt after bolt towards the group. Before long the group is able to disable the two devices.

Lorick's Journal

Inside the small home. Scrolls of magic, blueprints and various plans are strewn across a few workbenches. The entire home is a single room with a small bed off in the corner and the rest of the room dedicated to construction of devices or plans for devices.

The group finds Lorick's journal which speaks of him going into the Forest Of Wyrms for the much prized Gulthias wood for his constructions. But while there he had noted the odd markings put on both rock and plant throughout. Fearing for his safety he returned a few days later, this time with a clockwork huntsman for protection. But this time he saw several demons, some with the same markings that he had seen before upon themselves. There was some small lesser demons which he said he was able to capture, hoping to somehow use their energies to power his contraptions. But the demon hoards continued to grow.

Knowing when he is in over his head (not hard for a gnome), he retreated but thought perhaps he had been spotted. So he left his huntsman to protect his retreat and he returned home, hoping that he had not been followed.

Demon Powered Clockworks

Meanwhile, Princess Elora found a secret compartment below the workbench, hidden with an illusion spell. Within she found two large cases locked with some sort of keyless lock. It had the symbol of wind or air on it. The locking cylinder could not be removed by touch, force or magic. Eventually, through the ingenuity of Princess Elora, she was able to remove the locking cylinder and opened the cases.

 Inside were to clockwork inventions, similar to those seen around his home. But these had dangerous looking metal barbs on their legs and had eyes that began to glow a disturbing red when the cases were opened. Before anyone could inspect them the clockwork beasts jumped out of their cases skittering along walls and ceilings attacking the group. They would shoot small cylinders of meta downwards to hit individuals as well spraying fire all around. In the small house, no one was safe.

As they battled the demon inventions, they finally were able to destroy them but as each device was destroyed it would explode in a fiery death, shrouding the entire group in fire. Several are badly hurt but eventually they emerge from the smoking hole that was Lorick's home and into the twilight of the forest.

Along the ground a small mouse that whirs and clicks catches the attention of Princess Elora.
Why does this mouse whir and click?