Chronicle of the Champion of Avariel: Session One - An Untested Champion

We opened with some exposition about the Nentir Vale, the Harken Forest, and the elves. Every 16 months, near the elf encampment, is a planar bleed where the lines between the Feywild and the normal world are blurred and travel is possible from one to the other; thus, it's become a tradition for the elves on one side to meet with the gnomes on the other. Recently, on the day of the planar bleed, fomorians attacked the gnome colony, leading the elves to aid with their defense, but in the end Leucis, a tiefling bard who was the ward of the gnomes, was thrown into the normal world while many gnomes and elves were trapped on the other side, as well as an elf woman who both Leucis and Autumn had befriended. The elf leaders convinced a grief-stricken Leucis to help the elves travel away from the planar bleed (for their own safety) and help tend to the wounded.

Later, fast-forwarding to the present time, Raiern saw Leucis follow a tiefling woman into Fallcrest. While returning from town, he met up with Maveith the really, really tall goliath and Ace, a half-elf warlock ("Ace" being short for a longer elvish name). As they had no other ambition but to explore, Leucis convinced both of them to join him in forming an adventuring party, although Ace did bluff Leucis into thinking that his name was Bob and that there is in fact a bounty on Ace's head, so look out for that guy. Upon returning to the elf encampment, Leucis meets up with Kyrie, Raiern and Autumn, telling that he has found a patron who wishes to enlist their services and that they can do good deeds and earn gold and magic items. As Raiern knows that Autumn is prophesied to travel with him, they both agree, as does Kyrie, the exiled dwarven druid.

They travel to Fallcrest to seek out Edenna, a tiefling woman who acts as a go-between between the party and her patron, an eladrin named Aurora, who claims to work for an angel, Avariel, who works for Pelor. Edenna identifies Leucis as the "champion" — prompting some guffaws from the party — and then is frustratingly vague about their objectives: either retrieve an artifact to bring Pelor's light to the world, or fight a menace that threatens to deal serious damage to the area. Edenna is less than impressed with the party, and spills that Leucis has already been paid in advance — prompting the party to seriously consider shaking him down for gold pieces. Suffice to say Leucis looks pretty bad for assembling an adventuring company to pursue a mission that isn't specific, and he's already been paid for it.

Seeing as how no one in the party worships Pelor — Ace goes for Ioun, Autumn, Raiern and Maveith pick Melora, Kyrie is content with just nature and Leucis represents for Avandra — the choice is to fighting the unknown menace. Edenna offers a magic item for Autumn and some gold (as well as the spoils) for going to Kobold Hall, east of Fallcrest down the King's Road in the Cloak Wood, a keep which used to be owned by human nobles from the now-defunct kingdom of Nerath which is overrun by kobolds and possibly led by a greater threat. Leucis sings a jaunty Traveler's Chant to get the party there faster.

At Kobold Hall, the keep itself is mostly empty, but Autumn and Raiern spot a trapdoor leading underground. Following the stairs, the party spots a large room with a pit of ooze in the center and a kobold who quickly yells out and readies his sling. Raiern tries to jump over the pit to get to the kobold, but falls short, landing gracefully in sticky sludge. The party makes quick work of the kobolds that attack: Kyrie uses her flame seed spell to great effect; Raiern and his falcon successfully tag-team several kobolds; Maveith, though consistently wounded by kobold spears, takes a few of them down and awesomely teams up with Raiern and his falcon to bring down one of the stragglers; Autumn uses her bear spirit to ward the party; Leucis makes a magical insult that makes a kobold's head explode; Ace curses many kobolds, blasting them with lightning and drawing precious life force from their deaths. Sadly, the kobolds do not carry much impressive gear, and the party presses on further.