Episode 0: The Search for Staden (Pilot)

Summary

In this exciting episode, we meet our heroes:

• Alain Faldren, a merchant fallen upon hard times, and possessor of some magical skills.
• Barent-Lukas "Plug" Ploegmakers, a gnomish artificer from Zilargo.
• Kestrel, a shifter from the Eldeen Reaches, moderately skilled in armed combat.
• Lucretia Castafior, an armored mage, formerly a member of the Aundarian military.

Zor, Nymm 5, 998YK

They meet in the office of Ghash Duurkat, Morgrave University's Senior Lecturer of Dhakaani History, and are subject to one of his impromptu performances of ancient Dhakaani opera. After a brief flurry of applause, he offers them a job investigating the disappearance of one of his researchers, a man named Staden at a ruin on the coast, southeast of Sharn. While there, they are to aid his assistant, Linnea, in the acquisition of a tablet from one of the graves within, the epitaph of a famous Dhakaani playwright.

After a brief meet and greet, the party disbanded for the night, gathering in the morning at Opard's Livery in Tavick's Landing to begin their journey south. The ensuing 6 day cart ride gives them some time to get to know each other, and is rather uneventful, though the perceived threat of bandits prevents some of the party from relaxing on the trip.

Zor, Nymm 12, 998YK

Upon their arrival at the mausoleum, the party is greeted by a rush of horrid rats and goblin skeletons, which are handily defeated, though Alain and Plug are slightly wounded in the process. The episode ends on a cliffhanger, as Castafior investigates a small pile of rat-chewed possessions assumed to belong to Staden, and Linnea hears quiet sobbing coming from inside the ruins, while a sharp tang of rotting flesh wafts forth from it as the wind shifts.

Treasure Acquired

Description	Item Name	Acquired From	Current Owner
a tattered backpack	Staden's Backpack	pile of rubbish	Lucretia Castafior

Important NPCs

Name	Description	Encounter
Ghash Duurkat	Senior lecturer of Dhakaani History at Morgrave University	An offer of coin and treasure for help in the investigation of the disappearance of his previous assistant.
Linnea Odine	Lecturer Duurkat's halfling research assistant	Accompanies the party to the site of Staden's disappearance, and provides some measure of magical support.
Staden	One of Lecturer Duurkat's researchers	Missing these past three weeks, presumed dead. His backpack and boots were found outside the ruined mausoleum he was investigating.

Full Log

For a full log, see http://www.niloc.net/eberron/eberron-2006-02-09.html.