Plot
Prologue, or "Let's go to the Hunter's Wood!"

We open with Lana and Taggart, a pair of mercenaries who are trekking through the Hunter's Wood. Their task: rescue the governor's son from a monster called The Jandawog.

Part 0a, or "A wild Jandawog chase!"

The Jandawog is strong and fast, but stupid and cowardly. It flees from the mercenary duo whenever they try to approach. Through careful positioning, they manage to force the Jandawog to flee into its own lair, where they corner and kill it.

Lana and Taggart rescue the governor's son Alfonse, and begin their trip back out of the woods.

Part 0b, or "We'll be taking that!"

Lana and Taggart barely make it ten feet before they are ambushed by the Blacktooth Bandits. The leader of the bandits, Blacktooth Bill, makes his point very clear: “Give us the boy, or die.” There is a brief fight, but Lana and Taggart are no match for the bandits.

Part 1, or "This orb ain't gonna fix itself!"

Part 1a, or "Misfits must mend this magical device."

Cut to “The Honoring”: the graduation ceremony at the Academy of Magic. The headmaster rambles on a bit about how proud he is of all the Honored students, and starts passing out diplomas. When he's done, only Sabas remains in the hall.

Sabas is confused. He's completed all his coursework, so why doesn't he get to graduate? The headmaster sets him straight: “You're just not ready for the real world.”

Suddenly, an interruption! A guard comes in pushing Mezatrix, who had been lurking in the corridor. It turns out that she has accidentally broken the Orb of Ultraviolet.

The headmaster explains that the Orb of Ultraviolet is an important magical artifact. It allows life to bloom as in the height of Spring, any time of the year. Without it, the region will be in big trouble - they depend upon the orb to continue growing crops throughout the cold season.

The headmaster comes up with a good idea: send Mezatrix and Sabas off to fix the orb together! Mezatrix needs to fix her mistake, and Sabas needs to toughen up.

Part 1b, or "A cave full of rats."

The first obstacle standing between the mages and Ash Mountain is Hookwind Cave. It's a spooky place. Rats constantly scurry through the tunnels. The smaller ones avoid our heroes, but the larger ones know to never pass up a meal. Fortunately for Mezatrix, rats burn easily.

The pair had been planning on following the cave straight to the town of Vincent's Crossing, but there's a problem: a huge chasm blocks the way. They have to take a detour through the the heart of the rat warren.

Part 1c, or "A king among rodents."

Just when our heroes think they've made it through the worst of the cave, they are ambushed by The Rat King. It summons a countless horde of rats to overwhelm party. Mezatrix notices that the Rat King calls its minions with the help of its long, undulating tail. A quick bit of surgery and the king is suddenly alone and outnumbered.

Part 1d, or "Fresh air and a new friend."

After dispatching the Rat King, it's a short walk to the cave exit. The daylight is a harsh contrast to the cave's gloom.

The only way forward is into the Hunter's Wood. About halfway through, Sabas and Mezatrix discover the unconscious form of Lana. Sabas heals her, and she explains how she came to be there.

Part 1e, or "Flashbacks sure beat exposition."

It is the day of the Battle of Springwater Village. The Blacktooth Bandits, led by an ever-more-insane Blacktooth Bill, have set up a base in a fortified warehouse. At dawn, an army marches into town, led by Inquisitor Illara. She demands that the bandits surrender or die. A fight breaks out.

Illara is a terrifying whirlwind of dark magic, and most of the Blacktooth gang are vaporized instantly. Somehow, Bill is able to put up a decent fight with his daggers. As the last bandit falls, leaving Bill alone, Taggart sees his chance. He darts forward and stabs Bill in the back.

Taggart and Lana flee, and begin new lives as mercenaries.

Part 1f, or "A brief respite."

Lana finishes her story, and Sabas explains the quest to repair the Orb of Ultraviolet. Feeling that she owes the mages something for finding and healing her, Lana decides to accompany them to the mountain.

Their journey takes them to the town of Vincent's Crossing. It's a good-sized community, and provides the party with a much needed rest. It is the last piece of civilization between here and Ash Mountain.

Part 2, or "Into the dark of the forest."

The next obstacle for the party is the Misty Forest. It is well known as a place of evil. Many who go in never come out. Those who manage to return seem changed in some undefinable way. A sane adventurer would never step foot in these woods. Unfortunately, there's no other way to reach Ash Mountain.

Part 2a, or "A brief disappearance."

The forest is dark and winding. The party quickly loses all sense of direction. And then they realize they've lost something else: Sabas has gone missing. Lana and Mezatrix desperately search for him for a good while. Finally, they find him sprawled on the forest floor. “Thanks for coming back for me. I must have tripped on something.”

Part 2b, or "Welcome to Old Creek Trader."

The party resumes their trek through the forest. Barely two minutes later, they come across a little trading post. The sign calls it “Old Creek Trader.” None of our heroes have ever heard of the place. who are these people? Why are they living in the middle of the woods?

Their exhaustion from the day's travel overcomes their self-preservation instincts, and the party decides to stay at the inn. The innkeeper is friendly and professional.

In the morning, Lana inquires about the best route to reach the mountain, but the innkeeper is unhelpful: “Ash Mountain? I've never heard of it. I don't think you can get there from here.”

Outside, the forest seems much less spooky than the night before. Old Creek Trader looks practically idyllic by daylight. There's just one problem: the forest seems to have shifted in the night. Every path out of the village is gone, and the area is surrounded by dense clusters of trees.

Part 2c, or "Let's split up, gang!"

The party splits up to investigate old Creek. Mezatrix is assigned to question the villagers. Sabas and Lana go off to see if it's possible to force their way out by cutting down a couple trees.

During Mezatrix's investigation, she finds that the villagers are generally quite friendly. They're very vague if questioned about the history of the village, how to get out, etc. Their primary objective seems to be trying to convince her to stay.

Sabas and Lana eventually come back. They've had no luck: there is no gap in the trees wide enough to squeeze through, and any bit Lana tries to chop down grows back on its own immediately.