Session 1

## Summary

The party accepted a quest from the Rivenkeep Council to help The Arcanum deal with an infestation of rats on their grounds. After a brief stop at The Crystal Cavern Tavern, they ventured off to meet with the main quest provider. Though they deposed several rodents from the academy, a couple more escaped into the sewers, which the party decided demanded further investigation.

## New Characters

* Algaan
* Vae'thril
* Kiera
* Jundrak
* Virgil
* Cecil
* Boyd
* Grum'thor
* Milford
* Celene
* Memthir
* Allessa
* Ilsana

## Story

### The Beginning

Our adventure begins with the party approaching the castle of Rivenkeep. Today is the annual "open-casting" for adventurers to help subdue the many threats and monsters the city encounters each year. However, the party arrived relatively late to the session, and found themselves waiting as the last group to participate.

### At Rivenkeep

In front of them, the Rivenkeep Council (Algaan, Vae'thril, and Kiera) was discussing with another duo of adventurers (Virgil and Cecil) what options were still available. Overhearing the conversation, it was mentioned that only a single option remained: assisting The Arcanum with an infestation of rats on their grounds. Feeling this task was beneath his capabilities, the more loquacious of the pair dismissed the notion of taking the mission, and forced his companion to leave as well. After their departure, the council revealed that actually several quests were available, but they felt no desire to reward the unpleasantness which the annoying one had continually brought forth. The Protector (Jundrak) then provided several possible contracts which were available:

* Rat-tastrophe
* Fishin' Frenzy
* Winter's Wolves

With their interest already piqued (and the reward seemingly the highest), the party settled on indeed assisting with the rat problem. Seeking to meet with the initial quest provider, the headmaster of the School of Shadow (Ilsana), they set forth to investigate the grounds of The Arcanum.

### A Stop to the Tavern

Not wishing to tackle the problem without some "inspiration", the party quickly made their way to The Crystal Cavern Tavern. Upon entering, they were immediately confronted by the tavern's owner (Boyd) due to their rowdy behavior the night before. However, by settling some of their initial debts, the owner's temper subsided, and he brought forth several more pints of ale. With much enthusiasm, the party hastily enjoyed their drinks, though narrowly avoid confrontation with a rather large Half Orc (Grum'thor). Their thirsts successfully slaked, the party then set forth towards their actual mission.

### A Missing Companion

Just after leaving the tavern, the party was approached by a fairly despondent man (Milford). He politely requested their help in locating their cat (Sprinkles), as his daughter (Rosalyn) had been worried sick about his absence. Normally their pet is keen to wandering off, but it had been several days since being spotted. The party agreed to keep their eyes out, and were instructed to bring him to the house with the green door in the Lower City.

### The Arcanum

As the evening began to arrive, the party ventured up the large, regal steps to The Arcanum, taking note of the impressive architecture and statues decorating its grounds. Inside the entryway, they encountered the receptionist for the academy (Celene), and explained their appointment to meet with the headmaster. She instructed them to wait inside the purple-themed wing of the halls, and conjured a small celestial messenger bird which flew past their heads.

Finding a few chairs on which to rest, the party waited relatively patiently for the headmaster. Though only a handful of students seemed to remain at the late hour, a couple (Memthir and Allessa) passed by and conversed with the party about their presence. Indeed, it turned out the students had also noticed the elevated presence of rats throughout the school, and especially noted their penchant for gathering things like scrolls or potions. Shortly after, the stately female Tiefling headmaster appeared, and led the party to her office to discuss the situation further.

### Ilsana's Office

Amidst a variety of tomes, scrolls, and other magical goods, the party began to inquire about the rat presence. With only two chairs available, Garethar and Waltar snatched the seating immediately, while Edward politely stood. Her reports matched the statements of the students just previously encountered, namely that the rats were most interested in scrolls, potions, and other reagents. In fact, while talking, Ilsana noticed that a rat had crept into her office, and was attempting to carry out a small parchment.

Wasting no time, both Garethar and Waltar attempted to attack the rat, however both failed in their attempts. Instead, the creature scurried away through a small hole in the wall. However, a quick scan of the room revealed three more rodents, as the party again leapt into action. Waltar, unaware of the powers he harnessed, managed to freeze one immediately in place. Garethar, excited by the prospect of bashing rats, threw one of his hand axes at the creature. Gliding through the air, the hand axe barreled towards its target, but instead embedded itself into a nearby bookcase. Though briefly unharmed, the creature's fate was quickly sealed by a precise whip attack from Edward. Seeing its chance, the remaining rat quickly scurried into the hallway.

### The Great Rat Chase

As the party quickly gave chase into the hallway, rats were spotted in both directions. Edward and Garethar took off to the left, while Waltar split off to the right with Ilsana following closely behind. With a quick dash, Waltar raised his club above his prey, and struck a precise blow to his rodent target. Seeing this graphic display, Ilsana instead turned around and chased after the others. They had followed the other rat into a nearby darkened classroom. Without darkvision, however, the pair found it hard to discern the location of the pest. Luckily, Ilsana entered the room, and was able to inform the party it had crawled into a nearby cabinet. Upon opening its door, they found several more rats, one of which was far larger than the others. Garethar quickly punched his fist into the pile of creatures, but failed to do any actual damage. The smaller rats then scurried their way out a hole in the wall leading to the outer grounds of the academy. Edward, again harnessing the prowess of his whip, managed to effortlessly kill the giant rat, while Garethar began to search its body for any clues to its size.

Chasing the rats outside, Waltar again began smashing any nearby targets with his club. As the others exited the building as well, they instead decided to follow the creatures. Not long after, the rat pair jumped into nearby sewer drains, and the party could chase them no further. After consultation with Ilsana, it was decided the next step would be to investigate the sewers, to see what else they could learn.

## Party Highlights

* Garethar attempting to order a drink from one of the passing students at The Arcanum
* Garethar attempting to explain the concept of "Rat Bait" to a rather confused Ilsana
* Garethar throwing his chair at a nearby rat, which completely missed, and instead hit Waltar (which then caused it to burst into flames)
* Waltar unknowingly summoning spectral servants to distribute water, which later also attempted to extinguish the flaming chair
* Edward using his whip to eviscerate the giant rat hiding in the cupboard like a piñata
* Garethar disemboweling a rat in front of a family with small children