After surviving the chaotic clash with the bandits, the party regrouped to interrogate their captured foes. Scarlet Garvin had vanished—seemingly right under their noses—leaving his disillusioned crew to spill key intel: they’d been hired to retrieve a puzzle box from an ancient ruin, armed with eerily specific instructions. Their only notable allies in the region? A local faction of hill giants.
Following a failed chase after Garvin, the party returned to BarrelHaven with their spoils. At G&G Fine Goods, they were referred to the University of Hogenea’s mobile scriptorium where Archivist Pellivar identified a mysterious war pick as part of the Treasure of Guarrazar, a disgraced imperial hoard. The pick was donated, earning the party long-term academic favor and access to the University’s network.
Next stop: Don Osiris, flamboyant medicine showman and eccentric artifact enthusiast, who joyfully reclaimed the Left-Handed Whizbang during a theatrical handoff staged by Lucious. Osiris then pointed the group to Hermit Pascoal, a historian of imperial arcana.
Pascoal identified the puzzle box as a dangerous imperial stasis vault, used for containing unstable or forbidden objects. He warned against opening it, but took great interest in its connection to the Guarrazar lineage. He requested time to research.
When the group returned the next morning, Pascoal was gone—his hut packed up and deserted, leaving only questions.
Back in BarrelHaven, the quiet was shattered by a sudden hill giant raid. The party fought valiantly alongside the townsfolk and repelled the attackers. Wounded but victorious, they now face an open path: mysteries unresolved, allies earned, and the ominous puzzle box still whispering its secrets…