Dog Days
Earlier this year, a mismatched party from the Guild was gathered to take on an unusual request. Flo, a child from Scuttle, claimed her dog was framed for murder. She told them that the dog, Winston, was taken away by the Watch after an ‘animal’ attack killed a man in the alley behind her house. Flo insisted that Winston was too kind to hurt anyone, and it couldn’t have been him.
The party decided to head into Scuttle, something they accomplished with only a minor scuffle with a butcher over dog treats along the way.
In Scuttle, the party headed to Flo's house to investigate the crime scene and speak with her mother, Flurry. Flurry told the party that Winston wasn't the first pet this had happened to. The local residents wanted to investigate the water supply, since that was the only common thread they could find between all the incidents.
In the backyard of Flo’s house, several key clues were discovered. The first was that the gate between the yard and the alleyway was completely undamaged. The second was that there were scratches on the ground, but they looked like something was dragged out of the yard. At the crime scene in the alleyway, the party discovered that there were scratches present that would match a creature much larger than a dog. One that was possibly bipedal.
The trail lead the party into the sewers, where they encountered a giant snake that was not pleased about their intrusion. Dispatching the animal, it became apparent that someone was spending a great deal of time in the sewer. There was a damaged platform and a ruined journal of some sort in the water, a very excessive amount of jerky in bags, and a broken collar.
Exiting the sewers from there, the party found themselves in the secluded garden of an abandoned home. The nearby street had plenty of shops and foot traffic, so the group decided to split up to canvas the area. They learned that there was a radical druid in the area, preaching about the dangers of modern life. They also learned that someone had seen a man in shiny armor as well as a man in unkempt robes entering the garden with large bags.
Reconvening, the group slowly pieced the information together. Realizing the druid must have been connected, they decided to use Max as a way to get close. In a public market, Max began to very loudly rant about bone meal and undead wheat. These nonsensical ramblings drew the attention of a robed man, who bid Max to follow him.
After a brief conversation to confirm Max’s dedication to nature, the man led him to a shack in the Bitter End. He invited the detective inside, and began to tell Max of his beliefs regarding the destruction of the natural world. He also admitted that he had a partner working with him on a scheme, to help the people realize the danger of modern living.
Coming to the conclusion that these must be the druid and the man in shiny armor the party had learned of, Max soiled his trousers as an excuse to exit the shack and inform his guild mates of the revelation.
The party prepared an ambush, storming the shack and setting it partially on fire. It was only a short fight, before the two men were subdued and the missing pets were discovered hidden in the back room.
The man in armor, Yellen, revealed that the attacks and petnappings were all practice for a ploy. He had deceived the druid, Lir, and intended to kidnap the pets of rich residents of Throneport to blackmail them for personal gain.
Lir agreed to aid the party in calming the animals down, and through the use of Speak with Animals discovered they wished to return to their homes in Scuttle. Thoroughly defeated, Lir agreed to be turned in to the Watch and to allow the party to return the pets to their owners. The two men were escorted to the nearest guard station, and the animals were guided home.
The pet owners were very happy to have their family back - with Flo in particular promising to come to the Guild should anything bad happen in Scuttle, ever again.