When the party woke up the next morning, they were greeted with clouds and a looming rainstorm. While the Paladin and Cleric secured everything to the horses and the Wizard was off searching for herbs and fungi, the Drow and Druid were playing a game. A deck of cards was spread out before the Druid, and she was asked to choose one. Upon drawing a card and flipping it over, suddenly her load was lightened...
Yelling out in amazement, the Druid realized that all of her equipment; from the sandals on her feet to the bag on her back, had disappeared. The Drow was quick to point out that the only person with magic strong enough to accomplish such a feat was the Wizard. After quite a bit of yelling and finger-pointing, they decided that they could not go on with an unarmed and unprotected partner. The Wizard, after referring to one of her many maps, told them that there was a small trading village to the north-west of their location. It was settled against the southern tip of the Dividing Peaks and almost two days travel. So, they reoriented themselves and made their way west, towards the clouds.
Along the way the clouds seemed to open up and completely wash away any sense of safety they may have had. The skies alternated between gray and black for one half and a day until finally, off in the distance, they spotted several small lights against the hills. Another couple hours of dredging through the mud brought them to the village of Anvilmar. The streets were empty and it seemed as though nearly every building was as well. However the lights were still on in two locations: To their left was a small inn, and to their right was a tavern. They chose to first check out what was inside the tavern, figuring more information could be gathered there.
The Wizard pulled the Paladin aside just before they entered and explained that she was out of her medicine to combat the cold she felt coming on. The shaking in her voice and hands confirmed this for him. He told her that they would go find someone while the Druid and Cleric went inside to see if anyone could point them to a tailor and weaponsmith for supplies. Meanwhile, the Drow simply kept walking down the road and into the darkness.
While she was walking she spotted a rather normal looking dog, it's brown fur matted down by the rain, standing in the middle of the road. After cocking it's head at the sight of the Drow, it slowly turned and then ran around the next corner. The Drow gave a half-hearted chase, but lost sight of it when she turned the very same corner. Just then she heard the Wizard and Paladin making their way behind her, so she decided to stay her coarse and kept walking down the road, eventually out of sight yet again.
As the duo walked, in the rain, down the muddy street they saw a man standing on the corner. He was wearing a floppy leather hat and a long heavy leather coat. The Wizard spotted the green band on his arm and almost instinctively knew that he would have the ingredients she needed. After an ever-so-brief conversation with him, the Wizard managed to purchase two vials a fungus and crushed leaves. She handed him the gold and they parted ways.
Meanwhile, the Druid and Cleric had gathered the names of an establishment that dealt in leathers. The barkeep assured them that the skilled craftsman there would be able to take care of any needs the had. They left the bar and made went back into the storm, heading further into town. After a few blocks they came across a small building with a sign out front; a picture of a cow punctured by a needle and thread. Making their way inside they could here the sound of a piano being played, however poorly it was, and saw a small man sitting on the bench in front. He heard the clattering of the bell from the door and spun around. He welcomed his potential customers with wide arms and an even wider smile.
"Come in, come in! Welcome to my humble establishment," the halfling exclaimed. "My name is Benjamin Quickfinger and anything that you need I have and anything I don't have I can make what is it that you'll be buying this fine day!"
The Druid told him that she was looking for something that would give her mobility and would allow her some added protection, and the salesman told her that he could get her just what she needed. It would take him some time to complete, though if they were to come back in a few hours I'm sure that he would have it done by then. They agreed and asked him if there was anywhere to procure weapons. The halfling thought for a moment and then pointed them to a dwarf on the edge of the town. They thanked him for the information and made their way down the road again.
At this point the Paladin and Wizard had made their way back to the tavern and were waiting for the others. the Paladin was sipping on his milk, while the Wizard was preparing her medicine. She had requested a bowl of hot water and had mixed the leaves in. The vapors that were produced made her feel better. More than better. And they waited.
After a bit of time the Cleric and Druid arrived with their newly acquired goods, though the Drow was still nowhere in sight. The Cleric made his way over to the other two, when he realized that there was something odd about the Wizard. Upon further inspection, he came to the conclusion that her medicine probably wasn't medicine at all. She was hallucinating at this point and they needed to find out how this could have happened. The Cleric and Druid made their way out of the tavern and, with the information given to them by the Paladin as to where they met this dealer, made their way into the heart of the village.
After only several minutes they ran into the same person who they had bought a small charm off of just hours ago. The stuttering salesman told them that his cousin, Mordryn, was the one who had sold their friend the faked medications. His post was only a couple of blocks down the road.
They approached Mordryn and asked him what it was that he had sold their friend. He explained that their friend had asked for exactly what she had gotten and, from the sound of things, was enjoying her "medication." He told the couple that they should cut their losses and head back to their group, however the Cleric was not pleased with this answer.
"My my my...This isn't how I wanted this conversation to turn out." And with that, both the Cleric and Druid were attacked from behind and found themselves paralyzed. Modryn thought for a second, and decided not to kill his confronters. However, he removed a small onyx vile from inside his cloak and pulled the cork. He raised the vile and emptied a thick green liquid onto the head of the Cleric. With that, he turned his back and left down an alley with his conspirators while the Cleric collapsed to the ground. Right after this, the Drow came around the corner and saw the Druid standing over the Cleric. She asked what happened and the Druid explained. She pulled out a small syringe and plunged it into him. She told the Druid to take him back to the others, and she made her way down the alley.
She stalked the alleyway until she found a hidden door laid within the stones. She opened the door and snuck down a small corridor that opened up to a room with five men sitting around a table, all wearing green bands around their arms. She removed three flasks from her coat: Two filled with oil and one filled with alchemical fire. She flung the oil into the middle of the room followed by the third. The oil immediately burst into a raging fire, catching all of its intended targets. The Drow quickly ran back to the door and once she exited to the alley, she made sure that the door couldn't be opened from the inside.
She briskly walked down the road back to the inn where she met up with the rest of her party. They asked her where she had been.
"We need to go."
"...Is that smo-"
"We need to go, now."
With that, they made their way out of the town. Along the way the Drow told the group that she knew of a shortcut just north of their location. They traveled along the cliffs for only a couple of hours until they came to a small part of the rock. The Drow asked that the rest of them stand back some ways so that she could say a small prayer, and she walked towards the rock. Within a matter of moments, a door appeared inside the rock, opening into a small narrow corridor. They made their way into the darkness where they traveled for a few hours until they were too tired to walk anymore. They set up some sleeping bags and camped for the night.
