A Caravan Waylaid

## Morrow, Lucien, Lethe, and Caran locate a merchant caravan

Following a rumor of a temple in the Briarbog to the south, and hints of something amiss on the road down to Storen, the 4 adventurers took off going south, looking to investigate some ruins, and perhaps learn some more about what all was happening.

### Abandoned Camp

They found a small campsite, slightly off the road, that betrayed signs of its inhabitants being removed, rather than moving on. Further investigation yielded clues in the form of footprints that resembled those of a bird, but on the scale of a man.

The birds had forcibly removed the campers from 3 tents, and taken them deeper into the woods. Lucien found the trail they'd taken, and led the party on an investigation.

### A temple of Alairos, in disrepair

After following the winding path through the woods for the better part of 6 hours, Lucien and co. came to a clearing. Within they could see a circle of statues surrounding a well, some outbuildings, and a large building that was clearly designed as a temple, though it was initially unclear whom it was dedicated to.

Also within the clearing were three humanoid bird creatures, Kenku, men with raven's heads. They caught wind of the party, and combat ensued. When the three had been subdued, with 1 left alive, bound and hidden in the brush, the party went into the southern most outbuilding, within which was a creature that was singing an enrapturing song, but was bizarre and hideous to behold. After some indecision, the group killed the foul harpy, and discovered the remains of two people recently kidnapped from a camp up the way.

In an outbuilding to the north, they found a young woman, the daughter of the owner of the caravan, still alive and intact, though a prisoner. Lylia stayed hidden until it was safe, which was probably for the best, as the smooth sailing was now behind the party.

In one of the last remaining outbuildings, there was a bear. It had been chained there by the Kenku, probably for some nefarious purpose or another, but at the moment was at something of a loose end. Morrow used a magic scroll to charm the beast, and set about searching for a way to free it from its bonds. This resulted in some consternation when, the bear was freed, but at the cost of having a building fall upon him and his allies.

After recovering, mostly, from the masonry, the group discovered that they had alerted the remaining Kenku to their presence, and were forced into a battle, when they were already injured, and had used up most of their magic. It, predictably, went poorly. But in the end, Lucien saved the day, and brought the final Kenku down with his bow.

### A mysterious letter

Within the temple, the group found a letter, presumably addressed to the Kenku leader, who'd tragically met his end during the melee. The letter was brutally simple, informing the creature that if it did not continue harassing the trade routes of Devershire that the young of the Kenku would be slaughtered.

The group returned with Squawk, their somewhat haphazardly named captive, the letter, and Lylia to Devershire, where they turned the Kenku over to Allister, attempted to warn him of grave and certainly impending doom, and then returned Lylia safely to her father, and were rewarded.

They also learned from Squawk that the Kenku families were likely to be found directly east of the temple, which was located in hex P14

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