Chapter 1, Part I: The Gilded City
The boys arrived in Gilding, landing in the Teleportation Hall at the head of the city. Around them, dozens of people were popping in and out at various different circles throughout the hall. Each of the corners of the room had a guard that watched the comings and goings with bored expressions. The main gate led into a massive marketplace. Hundreds of vendors sold their goods in wagons parked up and down the streets, and permanent shops lined the edges of Gilding's Merchants' Quarter. After being pointed in the direction of the Adventurer's Guild, Corky and Gyome headed there while Chief Paws and Artem headed to the library.
Inside the Adventurer's Guild was hectic, filled with dozens of strangers chatting with each other, telling tales of their heroic deeds, perusing merchandise, and drinking around the tables at the in-house bar. The too-cheery receptionist at the kiosk, who greeted Gyome and Corky from behind the counter lined with many informational pamphlets, directed them to the Order of the Faded Chapters Initiate, the construct beside the 'Quest Board'. While Gyome went to speak to the construct, Corky chatted with an Adventurer at the bar who told him that the security in Gilding is much tighter than it looked.
The construct introduced himself as Leozumin, a creation and initiate of The Order of the Faded Chapters: a society of scholars dedicated to the discovery of knowledge in order to better understand the world of Roost. When Gyome asked him if he could help them get to Risorial Woods, Leozumin said that he would happily be their guide.
Gyome, Corky and Leozumin met up with Chief Paws and Artem directly after this, as the latter two decided not to visit the library after all due to the exorbitant admission fee. "Knowledge isn't free," the attendant at the door explained.
With their new party member in tow, the boys began to shop for equipment for their journey south to Risorial Woods.
While shopping, the Boys bought 8 Potential Point Trainers from Toobert Sheelos's store, "Feats of Grandeur", as well as many different supplies from across the various stores.
In Brawlmart, the party met CJ Brawlton, the owner, after Artem tried to use a fake coupon for a free Decanter of Endless water. CJ stepped in to rectify the situation, honoring the coupon, even though he knew it was a fake.
After meeting CJ, Chief Paws returned to see Sasha at the Monastic Influencer and asked her some questions regarding CJ. Sasha explained that he was well-liked by most of the town, and that he had, easily, the most successful store in Gilding, and thus could offer lower pricing than most of the other shops.
After going on their shopping spree, the party had 9 GP left to their names. In order to make some money, they doubled back to the Adventurer's Guild to take on a quest for some payment. After debating on which quest to take, they chose the "Language Guy" Quest, posted by a young Fairy named Kit, who 'worked' with his mother at her wagon, Sprightly Spirits.
Kit was incredibly excited to have adventurers help him read the letter from his grandfather, which was written in combination of Draconic, Celestial, and Infernal. The boys deciphered the code, revealing the message: "Deep in Holcroft Cavern, there is a naturally occurring stream that breaks into three. Follow the eastmost stream to the dead end. Knock 3 knocks on the hollow tree and drop a whiteberry inside."
The boys said that Kit could come along, and they brought him over to the Greenthumb Greengrocer, where Lavender (and Mondo) gave Kit a bunch of whiteberries at no cost. Lavender was distracted, frazzled, and asked the group of adventurers where they were going. When they said they were off to Holcroft Cavern, Lavender asked if they could check Bone Raven Hollow for her sister, Holly, who had stopped there to get mushrooms for their wagon, but who had not returned back.
Gyome gave Kit a shield and Leozumin conferred upon him a healing tattoo to protect him if he took any damage. They then traveled to Bone Raven Hollow to find Holly. They found that a bridge was out, and Leozumin spanned the river in order to help the rest of the party get across. Kit tied the knot for the ropes, which held, and helped Chief Paws when they nearly fell off the rope.
As they entered the Hollow, they heard rustling in the bushes rather close to the entrance. After calling out toward the noise, four unusually large mushrooms walked out into the opening and began a combat round. The mushrooms had one method of attacking: they used long tendrils under the leaves and grass to attack from at least 30 feet away. While fighting the mushrooms, they heard a scream from further into the woods, and Chief Paws went to investigate. They found a gnome matching the description of Holly grappled by a much larger mushroom, and called the party's attention to it without alerting the mushroom of their presence.
After a tense but well-fought battle, the party defeated the five mushrooms and freed Holly. Both Leozumin and Airmed healed Holly, who was pulled from the fray by Kit.
The boys returned Holly to Gilding, and as a reward, Mondo offered them gold. Seeing that the grocers did not have a great amount, the party refused, and instead the halfling offered them use of their produce for Gyome to make a soup (buff), which resulted in the party getting 4 temp hit points. Buffed and tough(ed), the boys headed back out to find Holcroft Cavern and the secrets it contained.