Adventure 1 - A Disappearance in Bronston

• The party:
• Sam - Vindicare, Tiefling Paladin
• Kasey - Thia, Wood Elf Rogue
• Danny - Oorick, Gnome Druid
• Rachel - Sylviel, Half-Elf Ranger
• Amanda - Elianna, Wood Elf Barbarian
• How the Party Met: They each joined an adventurer's league from Tarantia, a hub of commerce and jewel of civilization in the south.  Leaving the city, they faced many adventures together but their troupe fell apart.  One by one people left for a multitude of reasons (usually death).  When we begin, their league had fallen apart and the party had been adventuring together for about two years on their own, mostly taking up small jobs (a goblin in the wood pile, a worg eating a farmer's livestock) but they had recently decided to take up a more grand - more noteworthy - adventure...
• The Adventure:  
• The Duke of the Eastlands, Gaston Cuthbert, residing over Bronston - a jumbled mess of a city - has sent word abroad of his missing son, Curtis.  He is offering a heaping helping of gold to anyone who can locate his son, who went missing roughly a month ago.
• The party arrives from a merchant cart into the city, spending some of their last coin to get there.  They ask the merchant before embarking into the city what he can tell them about the missing lord, Curtis Cuthbert, to which the merchant kind of chuckles and whispers to the party that he's not well liked in the area.
• The party shows their summons to some town guard who take them directly to the keep - to the Lord's Quarters immediately.  Lord Gaston Cuthbert greets them, a gnarled old man who's seen better years - missing an eye, crooked over a cane - speaks of his missing son, sending men out to look for him, and after his men had failed him he decided to send out summons for adventurers to look for his lost son.
• Lord Cuthbert tells the party that his son was placed in a leadership role at Fort Hope and had been manning the walls of the run down keep, in an attempt for him to "earn his iron."  The fort was attacked by lizardfolk and that they probably murdered him.  Cuthbert just wants to know, with certainty, the fate of his youngest son.  He makes note that his eldest son, Lawrence, had his troops stationed there just before the attack.
• The party decides to speak with Lawrence who, strangely enough, seems indifferent of his brother's death.  He tells the party that there's no reason to trouble his father with the burden of Curtis' probable death and if they find any evidence to bring it to him.  He also mentions that he will pay an exorbitant amount of gold for each lizardfolk head they bring in - "A tempting offer to be sure" mentions the party, contemplating his offer and nearly abandoning the notion of searching for Curtis.
• The party set out for the fort - the last place Curtis was seen - and are greeted by lizardfolk.  They nearly come to blows but Oorick offers to attempt and parley with them, for he speaks draconic.  The lizardfolk inform the party that it was not they but goblins who laid siege to the fort and the "men who were there before had left," implying that Lawrence's men had long left.
• The interior of the fort had been wrecked: The contents of the rooms strewn into the halls and a tattered journal of Curtis describing his brother's withdrawal from the fort and his subsequent capture - along with his squire by attacking goblin tribes, validating the lizardmen claims.
• They asked if the lizardmen knew where the goblins camped and one of them, named Thokk, said he'd show them in the morning - after they rested, feasted, and celebrated the emptying of the fortress.
• The next day, Thokk led the party to one of the caves that the denizens of the fort had been taken to.  Thokk gifted the party with an item but expected a gift in return, as is lizardfolk custom - to which the party responded with an iron cook pot (that Thokk began wearing as a helmet).
• The party proceeded into the cave and first encountered a pen of worgs that the party eventually freed and in return they vowed not to alert the goblins and even to help in later battles.
• Before the party could free the worgs, they were met by a goblin guard and a mighty battle broke out, resulting in near death for most of the party.
• They ventured further in and were met by Maug, the bugbear asserting authority over the goblins.
• The party, with the help of the worgs, bested the goblins and Maug.
• Maug revealed - before his death - that they were just a smaller sect of a larger band of goblins on their way to attack Hemnal.
• The party checked the part of the cave for prisoners but found it to be sealed off by cave in.  Behind the collapse was a singular skeleton with apparent broken legs and a final entry to a journal not in his possession.  The entry described that he was Curtis Cuthbert and that his squire had been right, his brother Lawrence had betrayed him by drawing out his troops.  Also, some of the last words he had etched into the wall described his squire's assault on him and how he will be stealing his identity!
• The party returned with the remains of Curtis and his... Somewhat altered journal, with the last entries added - save for the bit about the squire.
• Lord Gaston Cuthbert, not easily impressed, let the party know he was indeed impressed by their deeds and that they were to be rewarded.  However, his son, Lawrence, had fled the city with a handful of men in retreat to Hemnal.  He wanted the party to find this man, his son, and return him to face justice.