# Contract The party arrived at [[Castle Embrea]] and met both the [[Duke Holun Blither|Duke]] and the [[Triskelion]]. [[Benji Pickletoes]] insulted [[Embren]]'s soldiers before [[Eliana Verdon]] interrupted the conversation to present the first job: [[chapter-1-matter-of-order|A Matter of Order]]. # Arrival and Scrutiny The party headed to [[Hargen]] and were met with slamming shutters and locked doors. [[Flop]] scared the town drunk and learned that "grain" is important to [[Hargen]]. Filled with righteous motivations: taxes and intimidation, the party headed straight to the city hall where they intimidated the secretary into a tense meeting with [[Osonia|Mayor Osonia]] that quickly devolved into [[Sprocket]] throwing the woman over his shoulder and [[Flop]] tying up the secretary. The party removed both city employees from the town hall after discovering that there is a monstrous threat in the mill stagnating the town economy. # Protectors Making their way to the mill, the party encountered the self appointed protectors of the town. The denizens of Hargen expressed the unwanted attention from the [[Triskelion]], having the mayor over their shoulder and another citizen being led like a prisoner, there was no recourse. The protectors began fighting, sternly stating "You will leave." [[Hargen]] quickly learned the power of magic as swords and maces were swung to little avail and [[Val Verhen]] thunderous power launched one of the toughs across the road through a door, after which [[Sprocket]] killed the townsmen inciting the fight. The last [[tough-xmm|Tough]] tried to surrender, but the party too knocked him unconcious. # Disguised Depository Before entering the mill the agents of the [[Triskelion]] negotiated through the Mayor's fear of the mill and brought her in with them. Inside, they discovered a corpse at in the workshop. Adhered to the remnants of a chest with a crushed torso, the corpse was patiently watching over a magical broom and two potions of healing. Finding bite marks in the worktables, the tax collectors made their way upstairs to the mechanism. Met with a dust covered room full of containers. A chest was thrown down the stairs, breaking many of them and restricting the only way out of the mill. [[Val Verhen]] used mage hand to investigate a journal on the center table, safely revealing a juvenile mimic, which [[Benji Pickletoes]] quickly dispatched. Angered by the child's death, the chest mimic began its assault. [[Flop|Flip]] flopped down the stairs, breaking another two, and utilized his brand new broom to make the jump back up. After easily killing the mimic, Osonia bestowed a reward upon the party, in spite of a citizen's death, which [[Benji Pickletoes]] seemed duty bound to use as payment for the lapse in taxes. # Calling Card In the midst of a set of gnarled, rotting vines, the party observed a sending stone identical to their own emit a single word, "*Don't*," before shattering into dust. Near the stone, the party was able to find - 1 Scroll of [[jump-xphb|Jump]] - 1 Vial [[dust-of-disappearance-xdmg|Dust of Disappearance]] - 1 [[cloak-of-billowing-xdmg|Cloak of Billowing]] - 1 [[dread-helm-xdmg|Dread Helm]] - 1 [[sword-of-vengeance-xdmg|Shortsword of Vengeance]] - 1 Mortar and Pestle that extinguishes non-magical flames in a 20-foot radius all of which were coated in a green ooze that seemed to protect the items from deterioration.