The Squatting Wolfhound

The Dire Wolf
The party met at the town square tavern, The Squatting Wolfhound. Before long they noticed a commotion outside, and rushing out, they discovered a dire wolf sliding around the corner on the cobblestones with a dead goblin pulled on the ground behind it. The goblin was full of arrows of the kind used by the town guard.

Before engaging the wolf, the beast ripped the throat out of a farmer, on his way back from the fields. The townsfolk who weren't in the direct line of attack seemed numb to the mayhem. The ranger Tristan rushed to kill the wolf, while the old wizard Calderone summoned poisonous snakes to handle the threat. Maedock, the summoner (not the king of Tara with the same name), grabbed a bit of cloth from a merchants stall and ran up to the creature, covering it like a blanket. Meanwhile, Shade, the druid shot at it with his sling.

Soon enough the dire wolf was in retreat, confused as the lights went out around it and mortally wounded from Tristan's blows. The final blow came from a tiny asp that bit it as it was about to leave the town square.

The party discovered a couple potion bottles with druidic markings on them along with an empty pouch with some foul smelling purple stains. They would discover the meaning of this later in the day.

The Haunt
The party left town along the Mine Trail. As they walked along they noticed the temperature drop and they could see their breaths before them. It began to rain a foul blood and the wagon ruts in the road began to fill up. Before them was a man lying in the road crying out, nearly cut in half as he lay dying. Tristan the ranger panicked and ran away, but the others realized the haunt for what it was. As the ghost faded, Maedock noticed the tip of a bone sticking out of the dry road and Shade suggested digging up and burying the body. The party did so when Maedock returned and they believe the soul of the dead miner was laid to rest.

Bandits!
Shade noticed a hidden trail as they buried the dead miner. Heading down the trail, the party ran into a bandit party, led by the local thug Vortigern. The bandits were clearly intoxicated on a strange drug and didn't notice the parties approach. Calderone put most of them to sleep while Shade entangled them with druidic magic. Tristan knocked Vortigern unconscious and when he awoke, Calderone charmed him.

They discovered a cache of foul smelling purple buries the bandits called The Eyes of Crom. These berries increase the strength of the bandits and gave them visions of the planes, apparently seeing through the eyes of The Great Worm, Crom. Through interrogating Vortigern, they found his contact in town, learning there was a plot to enslave the townsfolk through addiction.

Returning to town, a vacant warehouse acted as a den for these addicts. Inside were almost half the trained adventurers the town had recruited and the dealer within expressed surprise that the party had shown up, as he was planning to visit them a little later.

Interrogating Vortigern and the dealer revealed that the leader of this plot was someone named Crannog, apparently a Tuatha, or ancient person, being, angel, or whatever these creatures are. A note back at the bandit camp read:

You have done well Vortigern. However, I require more iron than you have been sending me. I am also told your crude ore is not good enough, so I will have someone from the town show you how to purify it. I trust you will not displease me and will treat my agent with respect. For your efforts I shall include another bushel. Await the ship and further instructions.”

The bandit camp held a bloomery for creating crude iron ore ingots, stolen mining equipment but no more bandits. According to Vortigern, they were out freeing a stuck smuggling ship.

Smuggling Ship
The party headed to Smuggler's Cove with a charmed Vortigern and three town guards as support. On the way they found themselves hunted by Old Red Eye, a worg that had plagued the wood for years. The worg attacked from the trees, knocking a guardsmen to the ground, but before it could strike again, the party dispatched it, ending the old legend.

Approaching the cove, they found ten bandits attempting to dislodge a small pinnacle from the rocks. The small ship was crewed by three dark skinned Phoenician merchants and the ship was clearly loaded down. The bandits were busy pulling on ropes and didn't notice the party's approach.

However, as they emerged from the woods, a bandit noticed Vortigern and yelled for his companions to kill the traitor. The day before they had come across the bodies of their bandit companions but no Vortigern and the presence of their leader with the town guard cemented their suspicions.

The battle was hard fought with several guardsmen beaten into unconsciousness along with the druid Shade. Calderone put four of the bandits to sleep, turning the battle and Tristan cut down a bandit with every blow of his sword. Maedock's eidolon, a strange ice elemental with fey like looks, absorbed the blows of the bandits rapiers like a sponge. Eventually the bandits were slain and the crew of the pinnacle surrendered.

The group dislodged the ship from the rocks, took the Phoenician crew to town and reported their findings to the inquisitor, Faelin. Faelin promptly imprisoned the Phoenician merchants and confiscated the ship, which contained over two and a half tons of iron ingots. The party was offered a small reward and the opportunity to purchase the ship at a reduced rate.

Clearly there was a dire threat to the town by this Crannog, with both an attempt to enslave the people with The Eyes of Crom and some sort of plot involving the iron ore. The party was encouraged to continue their line of investigation, but to where? The Phoenicians reported that this Crannog was in the far off town of Oerach, on the other side of the island.