The Black Horse Courier

10th July 2023

In the bustling city of Otha's Rest, tucked away in a dimly lit corner, a small and cramped office housed the peculiar courier service of the Traq Brothers. Tix, Rax, and Quix, a trio of goblins known for their resourcefulness and connection to the natural world, ran this unconventional operation. Their office, cluttered with stacks of parcels and an assortment of trinkets, saw a constant stream of woodland creatures delivering post from the surrounding region.

Aware of the growing threat of thefts plaguing the southern region, the Traq Brothers decided it was time to take action. Determined to safeguard their precious packages, they sought out a group of adventurers to act as armed escorts, ensuring the safe delivery of their valuable cargo.

## Adventurers Attending

* Hralden
* Hilda Millgrove
* Xerxes Kaalahdiil

## Mission Notes

In the heart of Otha's Rest, Xerxes, Hilda, and Hralden received an unexpected summons to the Guild Clerk's office. As they entered, their eyes fell upon a trio of goblins standing before them. The goblins introduced themselves as the Traq Courier Group, a newly established private postal service in the city.

With an air of excitement, the goblins explained that they had been entrusted with a delicate task—to deliver a mysterious package to Arlym Fidem, a renowned wizard residing in Hidden Valley. Aware of the dangers that lurked along the way, they sought the aid of skilled adventurers to act as armed escorts.

Impressed by the goblins' offer and enticed by the promise of a handsome reward, the adventurers accepted the mission. They wasted no time and headed to Enterprise Rent-a-Horse, where they secured a quintet of horses and a sturdy cart for their journey.

Setting off towards their destination, Rax, the goblin druid, expertly navigated the group through the southern lands. Xerxes skillfully handled the reins of the foremost horses, ensuring a swift and efficient journey. As dusk approached, they decided to make camp for the evening, resting under the watchful eyes of the stars.

Their tranquillity was abruptly shattered when a Tabaxi woman rushed into their camp, carrying a bundle of cloth. She pleaded for Tix, the goblin cleric, to examine her injured young, warning of nearby bandits. Hilda's instincts kicked in, sensing something amiss, and her suspicion was confirmed as bolts rained down on the group from the surrounding bushes.

Although the Tabaxi managed to flee, her companions, a group of Leonin bandits, were not as fortunate. Xerxes and Hralden fought back with skill and precision, eliminating the threat one by one. Having weathered the ambush, the group resumed their journey towards Arlym's tower. Tix utilized his magic to detect a magical trail leading to their destination. Caution in their hearts, they approached the towering structure, stationing their horses outside its imposing doors.

A knock on the door echoed through the silence, and Hilda was greeted by Radna, a young wizard. Radna, unable to shed light on the package, summoned Arlym, the master of the tower. Arlym denied any knowledge of the package and demanded its return to the sender.

Curiosity got the better of Quix, the mischievous goblin. He opened the crate, only to release a powerful torrent of water that flooded the lower floor, threatening to engulf the entire tower. Thinking on their feet, Hralden and the goblins devised a daring plan—they formed a "goblin cannon" as Hralden cast catapult on the pair, launching them through the door and out of the tower, halting the rising water.

Arlym and Radna, now faced with the overwhelming task of stemming the flood, set to work dispelling the portal contained within the crate. Meanwhile, Xerxes and Hilda valiantly battled against a pair of Steam Mephits and a Water Weird that had emerged from the portal.

With the portal closed and the creatures defeated, the group breathed a sigh of relief. Radna, grateful for the adventurers' assistance, expressed their deepest gratitude - while Arlym claimed to have saved the day. To express their gratitude, Radna used her magical abilities to teleport the group back to Otha's Rest.

Triumphant and rewarded handsomely for their assistance, the adventurers bid farewell to the Traq Courier Group — Trix, Rax, and Quix.

## Loot

* Standard Gold and Experience
* Hralden - One Heavy Crossbow

## Rumours

* Who sent the dangerous object to Arlym, and why?
* What happened to the mystery Tabaxi woman, luring passing merchants into an ambush?
* The Traqs receive more parcels than they can possibly deal with alone, and offer work to anyone wishing to play postman.

## Player Diaries

### Hilda Millgrove

Hilda’s first job at the adventurers guild didn’t go quite as she expected it to.

She begun her morning at the guild, nursing a hangover after a night of drinking with the sailors and playing music at King Leo the 13th. After hearing an announcement about an available job and receiving a healing potion along with sage wisdom from the barman, Hilda head to the office where the clerk and 3 goblins awaited. The job at hand was as follows: journey to the hidden valley, drop off a crate for a guy named Arlym, and come home. Easy, right? Well after brief introductions the ragtag group of shorties (and Xerxes) picked up some horses and a cart from Enterprise horses before setting off on the journey.

The first day and night of the trip went by smoothly with no problems, though this would change on the second night. While alone on first watch, Hilda was approached by a Tabaxi woman with a seemingly injured child in tow, claiming she had been attacked by bandits. After sensing the woman’s panic was a little half-baked, Hilda woke up the rest of the group and, after she seemingly grew tired of the groups questions, the woman fled down the road before 4 bandits were revealed and began to attack the group. Unfortunately for them, the bandits were quickly dispatched without much difficulty from the group and, after a long nights rest, the group was nearing the end of their route.

Once they arrived in the hidden valley, Hilda and the group quickly realised they didn’t know where they were actually meant to leave this package, but thanks to some magic and directions from Trix they found themselves at a tower.

After some brief arguing with the residents of the tower about who the package actually was meant for, one of the goblins opened the package to reveal… water..? The room begun to flood rapidly, quickly putting all of the goblins and halflings (Including Hilda herself) near full submersion underwater. To make matters worse one of the goblins smashed Hilda in the face with an axe in a failed attempt to open the now-shut door, knocking her unconscious in one strike. Thanks to Xerxes however she was healed and hoisted out of the water. After witnessing a catapulting axe with two goblins in tow smash open the door, Hilda was able to escape along with most of the group, before being attacked and knocked unconscious again. She was brought back to consciousness with her own healing potion and after the enemies who seemed to appear from the box were dispatched by the rest of the group, they were offered self teleportation back to the adventurers guild by the Aasimar who lives in the tower.

After a long, and maybe traumatising first day at work, Hilda would’ve collected her rewards, and probably slept for the next 12 hours.