Seen a Bandit with a Fancy Belt?
The second day escorting the caravan went smoother. A couple of half-orcs were mending their broken wagon in the afternoon, and soon after the party arrived in Krismorel. After parting ways with the merchant, they were approached by Sheldon Cain who set the group and their mounts up for the night in hit stables.
Partway through the night a a few thugs visited the stables, but Sheldon, having been notified by his network of contacts, was able to whisk the group away quick enough. Unfortunately, Froderick’s horse was killed when the bandits found nothing.
The next day the party located Steelhand, a master armorsmith, and contracted him to create a light suit of small dragonhide armor and a pair of gloves. In exchange for the rest of the dragonhide he offered them half off.
With that settled the group asked around for any information about bandits, specifically ones with a fancy belt like the ones that attacked the little town north of the forest. One of the leatherworkers told them it looked like it might have been crafted by a friend of his, a dwarf in the underground city in the mountains to the east. So they set off.
Along the way the encountered a roving band of highwaymen. They warily passed two on the road, but were ambushed by another two wizards in the trees nearby, as well as 8 others, including 3 rangers. The party managed to put two to sleep and dispatch the rest. Once the fight was over Johannes charmed one and got him to lead them to a nearby camp in the woods.
Continuing on, the group reached an abandoned town at a crossroads in the foothills before the mountains. While looking around for anything magical or otherwise, Johannes fell when a tunnel collapsed. A swarm of rats immediately surged out of the darkness, but the group managed to clean them out.