The Fall of The Ostrich

The party found themselves trapped in the The Salty Ostrich tavern as the entire settlement of Snowglen succumbed to the same horrifying transformation that had erupted within its walls moments before.

Nightmares and Notebooks

Kaelor Thane woke from a violent nightmare in which he had wandered a subterranean labyrinth for three days, ultimately confronting a massive serpentine creature that burst from a cracked pink crystal and attempted to devour him [1]. Upon waking in Snowglen, he recorded the dream in his journal and discovered other similarly vivid dreams already documented in his entries. After gathering his belongings, Kaelor headed to the Vissarion Mill to work lumber in the unusually harsh morning cold.

Small Mercies

Torvald Veyr spent his morning gathering supplies and assisting with farmwork when a village woman approached him seeking help for her daughter Visaria, who had been ill for ten days with symptoms that matched no common ailment. Torvald prepared herbal remedies—pungent wraps and thick berry-flavored syrup—and examined the child, but determined the illness was unfamiliar to him. He advised the mother to keep Visaria warm and promised to return within days to monitor her condition. As evening approached, both Torvald and Kaelor made their way toward the The Salty Ostrich tavern, observing a late vessel arriving at Gruyeva Pier.

Fresh Off the Boat

Vaelan Voss and Lucia disembarked at Gruyeva Pier after a treacherous ten-and-a-half day voyage from Arkenhath. An overeager seaman named Rooster attached himself to Vaelan, offering lodging assistance and regaling him with lengthy stories about local history, including an account of a sheep stampede from a decade prior. Lucia declined assistance from a deckhand and headed directly toward the The Salty Ostrich. Vaelan recognized Lucia from the ship but chose not to call out, instead enduring Rooster's continued conversation until they too headed for the tavern.

The Ostrich and Its Patrons

Inside the The Salty Ostrich, Kaelor and Torvald—locals who knew of each other but maintained a low profile—drank in relative silence at the bar. Dimitri, the bartender, served them as Rooster burst through the door, his arrival drawing little enthusiasm from the locals. Vaelan entered and took a table, politely declining the advances of Dubora, a local woman interested in his arrival from Arkenhath. Lucia approached Dimitri seeking quiet accommodations and reluctantly agreed to pay one gold piece per night for a room upstairs. Rooster loudly ordered multiple pints on his unpaid tab, prompting Dimitri's frustration over an outstanding debt of ten gold.

Ale and Opportunity

Vaelan found himself buried under multiple ales delivered by Rooster's relentless enthusiasm, while Lucia joined him at the table before moving to observe a card game. At the gambling table, an orc named Oleg played against a dwarf and others, winning hand after hand with Lucia watching as his lucky charm. Oleg rewarded her with a gold coin and offered to cover her buy-in for future games. Meanwhile, Rooster's drunken behavior escalated until he struck a bench with his fist, prompting Dimitri to demand payment. Torvald objected to Rooster taking what he hadn't paid for, and Kaelor stood to his full height in support, sternly telling Rooster to settle his debt. Rooster laughed off the confrontation, claiming he had an arrangement with Dimitri, and ordered another round on his tab.

The Green Sickness

As Dimitri returned from tapping a new keg, Rooster downed his drink and declared his love for everyone in the tavern—then collapsed, vomiting a green substance before transforming with inhuman speed into something thin, clawed, and red-eyed [2]. Dimitri stood stunned as the transformed Rooster vaulted the bar and eviscerated him, splashing gore across the shelves behind. Other locals began to turn as well, the transformed creatures attacking with savage ferocity. Lucia shot the Rooster-creature in the shoulder with her shortbow while Kaelor vaulted the bar and swung his greatclub, narrowly missing. Delov, the Dwarven gambler, leapt onto the gaming table to scoop up coins before fleeing toward the door. Local patrons panicked, one woman vaulting through a window to escape.

Blood and Dissolution

The Turned tore through the tavern's occupants with lethal efficiency. One creature killed Oleg instantly with a claw strike across the neck and chest, then charged Torvald and mauled him grievously before killing a fleeing woman. Lucia attempted a shot from the corner but missed, her hair briefly glowing a different shade of purple in frustration. Kaelor grappled one of the creatures, smashed its head with his greatclub, and watched it dissolve into foul-smelling green ooze. Vaelan's crossbow bolt struck another creature, which hissed in his direction with claws extending further from its hands. When Vaelan assessed the situation, he determined these were not undead but people who had been mutated or transformed.

Torvald Falls

Torvald impaled one of the Turned through the chin and head with his spear, the creature dissolving into green sludge as it fell. He repositioned a large table to create a defensive barrier, but two more creatures charged him in rapid succession. The first struck him with its claws, leaving him severely wounded; the second brought him to unconsciousness. As Torvald collapsed, he perceived the looming figures with their elongating claws and glowing red and green eyes before losing consciousness. Lucia, witnessing his fall, ran back toward the hearth in frustration and fired at one of the creatures—but accidentally struck the unconscious Torvald instead, inflicting a near fatal wound upon him [3]. She retreated behind the table, muttering in distress.

The Voice in the Void

Kaelor moved to protect Torvald, striking one of the creatures and using his fire giant heritage to deal additional fire damage that destroyed it entirely. Vaelan climbed onto the bar and attempted a crossbow shot but missed, then descended to drag Torvald's unconscious body away from danger. While unconscious and near death, Torvald experienced a vision in a void where a deep, familiar voice spoke to him, identifying him as being of Snowglen and telling him there was work to be done [4]. The voice instructed him to follow its light and go south, where another would show him the way. Radiant light filled Torvald, and he regained consciousness with renewed vigor, immediately casting Cure Wounds on himself before standing and hurling a tankard at the remaining creature.

Last One Standing

Kaelor took a severe wound from the remaining creature, becoming bloodied and vulnerable. Lucia rushed to his aid, channeling Healing Hands in a display of miraculous dexterity—simultaneously healing Kaelor, striking the creature with a tankard, and moving with remarkable grace. Kaelor swung recklessly at the creature, his club shattering a table and suffering damage in the process. Vaelan advanced into combat, his short sword strike parried by the creature's claws, giving him a clear view of its horrifying maw—a chaotic assemblage of human, elf, and canine teeth mixed together. Vaelan shoved the creature backward and a bolt of flame jumped from his hands, charring its chest. Torvald, now with holy power coursing through him, cast Guiding Bolt but narrowly missed, then threw a chair that struck the creature solidly. The creature leapt onto the bar with clear intent to close in on Torvald, but Lucia struck it repeatedly with her dagger until it dissolved into green sludge that splashed across the survivors, exposing them to poison.

The Source

After the immediate threat subsided, the party took stock of the carnage. Lucia recovered seventeen gold pieces from Oleg's body while Vaelan discreetly collected approximately ten gold from the tavern floor, an action observed by the others. Kaelor confirmed Dimitri was dead and realized that aside from themselves and one woman who had fled screaming, all the locals in the tavern had been slain. Kaelor gathered the bodies near the fireplace and collected samples of the green sludge into vials using his monster harvesting tools. When questioned by the party, Vaelan recalled a critical detail: Dimitri had opened a new keg, and the drinks served from that keg were consumed by all who subsequently transformed [5]. Kaelor moved behind the bar and disabled the tap on the infected keg.

Marked Kegs and Rising Screams

Kaelor examined the bar's interior and discovered the tainted keg bore an unfamiliar symbol—a symbol that also appeared on several other kegs in the back room. Investigation of the bar's documentation revealed a recent delivery docket, yet these particular marked kegs suggested tampering by an unknown party. Dimitri appeared uninvolved in the substitution. Kaelor proposed quarantining the kegs in the cellar. Kaelor, feeling the call to his past rising to meet him in this moment, moved to Lucia and placed his hands upon her shoulder, manifesting a glowing light that cured her of the poison afflicting her from the green sludge. A moment of respite followed as Vaelen joked about being surrounded by healers—then blood-curdling screams erupted from outside the The Salty Ostrich [6]. More screams followed, accompanied by shouting and a low guttural growl, as the sounds of slashing and tearing echoed through the town as the entirety of Snowglen descended into chaos.