Two days have passed since Fort Inevitable was attacked, and the town has slowly recuperated. The bodies of goblins, frogmen and the undead have been gathered and burned, and work has begun on fixing the collapsed part of the north wall.
The Coopers have been "invited" to the Chancellery by Lady Commander Drovust. Daryle brings small games, while Gerald brings a box of sweet treats. They are led to the Commander's office, where Drovust is waiting for them, many guards well armed and armored lining the walls.
Drovust tells the Coopers that during the assault the Chancellery's vault was broken into, and 431,567 crowns and gems and precious items worth roughly 200,000 crowns were stolen. This fact is not widely known throughout town at this point, but were this knowledge to spread it would cause chaos in the town as the bank could not make its financial obligations. And though she considered charging them with dereliction of duty, she has ultimately decided not to do this.
However, since in a very real way the Coopers have an obligation to the town, she tasks them to head to Mosswater, the ghost town, and recuperate the treasure that is rumored to still remain in the dead down. Each Cooper is provided with a small gem that contains some magical healing, and are then escorted to their residence before being guided to the Mosswater Gate. There they encounter their brother Thorne, returning to Fort Inevitable from a business trip.
Daryle berates Thorne for having skipped the battle, but then tells him he has to come with them to Mosswater. Grudgingly he agrees to follow them. Darelle and Daryle explain the reason for their trip to the ghost town, and Gerald provides background information on the events that took place over one hundred years ago.
On their way to Mosswater they stop by Shadowborn Manor for supplies. The property and the building have not suffered during the most recent green storm. They provision themselves and grab a few weapons and more gear.
Lamashan 29, 4711
The Coopers arrive in Mosswater late in the morning, after an uneven trek on a well-trodden path. The deserted town stretches in front of them. The buildings have been whitewashed by the relentless sun, and thousands of objects glitter in the streets. To the Coopers' dismay, these objects are the bones of the violently deceased about a hundred years ago. They look like they have been lovingly and patiently polished so that they glow under the sun's rays.
The Coopers enter the first large building their come upon. The building is abandoned, and there are bones scattered about. It looks like it has been ransacked several times over. Thorne searches the building but finds nothing of interest. It appears that years have passed since the last time someone was in here. Finding the location fairly decent, the Coopers decide to remove the furniture and bones and pile them in the house next door. Gerald's plan is to fill up empty buildings and burn them as they go along so that they don't search them again.
Next, the Coopers head to Mosswater's town hall. A three-story fortified structure, the building may have been architecturally interesting in its heyday, but damage done from generations of looters as well as the ravages of time have tarnished the structure. Access to the building is easy and shows that it could not be used as a safe base. The ground floor holds the reception area as well as several offices. The second floor holds more offices and the town archives and library, while the third floor is composed of the mayor's personal quarters.
Searching the building Daryle discovers a large bulky ledger indicating that on the day before the town's death there were roughly 300,000 crowns in the town's coffers. The town generated on average about 10,000 crowns of dye business a month. Gerald discovers that all books dealing with religion are missing from the library, but he also comes across A Very Detailed History of Dyemaking in Mosswater, written by Charles Ludwig.Though it does not contain the specific recipe for creating the famous Mosswater dye, Gerald believes the instructions are precise enough to derive a close process in a short time. He also gets his hands on two more books, A Philosophy of Magic and Orcish Erotica Poetry Part 2. Thorne, meanwhile, discovers the mayor's appointment book in a false bottom. Interestingly, two days before the town's destruction there is a cryptic entry. The name Baron Katkil is written and underlined twice. No other name in the appointment book has a similar treatment.
Gerald recalls reading something about Baron Katkil. He was an infamous pirate a century ago who would ransom towns and villages near rivers throughout the River Kingdoms. Those that did not pay were attacked and some of them were destroyed. The presence of the Baron's name in the appointment book a few days before Mosswater falls indicates a probable cause for its destruction.
Meanwhile, Darelle spots five soldiers and a priest from Razmir. Standing by the cathedral, they appear to be consulting a map. After several minutes, they head out towards the manufacturing district and the Coopers lose sight of them by the lighthouse in the middle of town.
Carefully, the Coopers creep out of the town hall and head towards the cathedral. Dedicated to Abadar, the building's spires stretch to the sky, but, like the town hall, its majesty has been severely diminished due to battle damage and years of weather. Inside, all religious symbols that could be carried have been removed, but those carved in the stone remain, glaring down at the visitors. There are dead bodies everywhere, and clearly many of the town's original inhabitants took refuge in vain here.
Searching the vestry, Thorne comes upon a series of letters exchanged between the head chaplain and the town's mayor regarding the ransom demanded by Baron Katkil. Dated four days before the town's demise, the exchange indicate that the chaplain strongly urged the mayor to resist the pirate and make a stand against corruption in the name of Abadar and the inhabitants of Mosswater.
Noticing that the sun was slowly drifting towards the west, the Coopers decide to head out of town and find refuge for the night. However, they are attracted to a building next to the cathedral which has a restaurant on its ground floor. Called Food to Dye For, it appears well fortified, with an exterior that hasn't been breached. Thorne sucessfully picks the lock, and inside the Coopers find a nicely decorated main area. Furniture and dishes have been pushed to the side and piled against the windows, but otherwise the room looks undisturbed. It is clear, however, that many people have used this place as shelter.
Gerald is attracted to several cookbooks inside the kitchen, but he falls in a trap. Daryle almost become the trap's victim, but Darelle joins her brother down the pit. With Thorne's help Daryle is eventually able to rescue her siblings.
Exploring the rest of the building the Coopers come upon the wine cellar. All bottles but one have been smashed. The surviving bottle, buried under a pile of broken glass, is a fine vintage from Zelnaux Winery in Dimsdale, indicating some trading between the halfling village and Mosswater over one hundred years ago. Behind the walls Thorne discovers a secret passage leading to the real wine cellar. Inside they find a large collection of fine wines, many from Zelnaux, as well as thirty crates of dye and an elevator to another building behind the restaurant. These crates do not sport the town's tax seal, meaning that they are contraband crates. Someone here was involved in smuggling. In total, the cellar's contents are worth an estimated 30,000 crowns.
Given that no one has found this place in the last century, the Coopers feel reasonably safe in spending the night here.
Lamashan 30, 4711
In the morning, having survived the whining and the steps outside throughout the night, the Coopers head back to Fort Inevitable with two jugs of dye and a few wine bottles. Their plan? Returning to Mosswater with a wagon and begin hauling the merchandise out of the cellar.
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