Brazen Wolfe Tabletop

Ashford-on-weir Courtyard

533ThAsWeCo

As the party enters the courtyard they are greeted a forgotten, quiet, moss-covered space nestled between the city’s stone wall and the Eyeless Spire’s looming façade. As they look in the cacophony of sounds stills and the air shifts. The midday suns glare warms the stone and makes the hidden courtyard, shattered fountain and shaded trees look very enticing. The little courtyard forgotten between walls and the houses of Ashford-on-weir lay still except for the smallest breeze that made the palms dance above and against the ten feet tall walls.

Tucked behind a glimmering golden statue of a coiled snake lay the ruined reliquary; its ward-crystals fractured and faint hums fading into uneasy silence.

Familiar cries echo from above, and suddenly the courtyard stirs. A murmuration of ravens circles overhead, wings slicing through pale light before settling on the charred edges of the reliquary and among shattered crystals. At first, the party suspects they’re dealing with a clever thieving gang that used the ravens, but this felt different.

Then the familiars reveal themselves. Not merely mindless minions, but agents of a singular purpose. A two-headed monkey swings in from a darkened corner, its fingers delicately wrapped around the Charm of Concord. Near it, the three-tailed fox; whose pale fur seems to glow even under the sun, stances protectively beside the amulet, snarling softly at any who draws near. A sleek owl, limp trays of parchment clutched in its talons, flutters into view, cooing gently as if urging calm.

The creatures’ eyes meet the party’s, and in that moment, the truth becomes chillingly clear: these familiars have orchestrated this heist. No panic flares as the party have strength, skill and size on their side but soon there is a tense, uncanny stillness, as if watching what the adventurers decide to do next. And its then that the party realise that there are more eyes on them than they originally thought.

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