Our Heroes, having been turned away from the Caer, visited The Uphill Climb for a meal and to question some locals. The proprietor was a grumpy old man named Roark, who offered a boel of stew and conversation but no place to rest for the evening. Suggesting our Heroes ask at the Caer for lodgings.
Eventually he admitted that he wanted adventurers to see what’s going on for themselves, and hopefully solve the town’s problems with the unwanted cultist guests.
He said they arrived in small numbers at first, and eventually overwhelmed the Caer and took over as the Speaker’s caretakers. Edicts were issued on behalf of Speaker Crannoc by a Cultist named Kadroth. Typically these edicts involved supplying the Caer with food and other sundries.
Roark suggested our heroes find lodgings in the abandoned Dinev’s Rest at the harbour.
Upon reaching the dilapadated old building, our heroes found it was not as abandoned as they thought. In fact it was occupied by three Duegar, detected when their breath could be seen despite their invisibility. They refused to parlay, and were slain. They remain now outside the inn, buried by snow.
They had been carrying Chardalyne trinkets, and a note written in Duergar addressed to Bron, from Durth, referring to someone’s brother named Nildar. There was also a reference to Easthaven.
The next morning, Lyanea scouted the keep in preparation for a possible rescue of the speaker. She found it populated by a handful of cultists,and some servants who appeared to be the speaker’s staff.
in the upper floors she scouted a room containing a black cat, an abandoned library, and a room occupied by the Speaker, engaged in a dump of epic proportions.
She also found a room inhabited by a peg-legged old dwarven cultist who appeared to notice her presence.
Our Heroes hatched a plan to rescue or visit the speaker, starting byscaling the walls of the Caer and entering the old library through the chimney.