Christmas Cheers, Demons Hear

Plot Hook
On Christmas Eve, in the small, religious trading town of Pyli, the town awakes to panic and hysteria. Several of the towns children have vanished mysteriously during the night! Deputy Lee Jensen gathered a team to find the missing children. Instead, they found dark secrets.

Background Info
The town of Pyli is located at the crossroad of two major trading routes, so it is a very popular place for traveling traders to stop and rest. The town itself is small, it has a few shops and venues, and at the center of town is a sizable trading market square. On the outskirts of town, there is a large campsite for traders and the June Family Ranch. Farther out, into the Deep Forest, there is a small hut, where the people who were exiled by the town years ago live.

The people of Pyli are religious, and they think very highly of their priest, Father Niklaus Mira. Niklaus has been known to perform healing miracles, curing illnesses by just touching the patient. Because of this, the people believe that he was chosen by God, and worship harder. Recently however, these beliefs have started to fade slightly, as it has been months since Niklaus has been able to heal anyone.

When the town discovered that several children were missing, David Cohen XV, Kirano Weeves, Roger Cooke, Sam June, and Tunnbaq joined Deputy Lee Jensen in a detective team to find the children.

David Cohen XV is a descendant of a long line of traders. He is travelling with the band of merchants, stopping in Pyli for a night of rest. He carries a scimitar, to protect himself and his wares, as well as the newest technology in weaponry: a flintlock pistol.

Kirano Weeves is a hunter for the town. He isn't well known in the town, but him and his family are vital when it comes to feeding the town - especially for a occasion such as the Christmas Eve feast.

Roger Cooke comes from a wealthy family, and has taken interest in studying. Since libraries, and academies are scarce around Pyli, Roger has instead taken to studying the plants and vegetation around him. Becoming adept in botany and medicine.

Sam June is the son of Henry and Beatrice June. He's taller than most people his age, and bigger, from doing manual labor on his family ranch for many years. Despite his intimidating appearance, he's gentle and kind. After his father's mysterious disappearance, Sam became the man of the house. Taking care of his elderly mother and younger sister Maple.

Tunnbaq is a man who came from a questionable background. He is tall, fit, and has a unique talent of animal handling. While his life has been filled with crime thus far, his skills of being sneaky may come in handy when searching for missing children.

Start of the Search
At the crack of dawn, Deputy Jensen run the emergency bells at the center of town. Woefully, he announced that several of the towns children have gone missing during the night. It is unclear how many children were missing, but he needs volunteers to help look for them.

Once Deputy Jensen has gathered the investigation party, they decided to talk first to Partha and Leon Tars, who own the town tavern. After some thorough questioning, they learned that Partha and Leon's missing daughter Betty Tars was being troubled by Chad Ferron, the son of the town's blacksmith. After looking around the tavern, there were no signs of forced entry, and nothing was out of place. The next logical step was to question the Ferron family.

The party arrived at the doorstep of Tommand and Nara Ferron's smithy. Tommand was hammering away at a sword, his back turned to the party. Through the partly opened doors, they could see that Nara was preparing breakfast. As the party got closer, Tommand turned to answer their questions. Tommand admits that while Chad has been bothering Betty, it's only because Chad has a crush. More concerning however, is the fact that Chad has also gone missing. The party empathized with Tommand, and asked to search the house for clues. With Tommand's permission, a few members of the party entered the house. Nara is now sitting down at the table, looking glum, slowly eating a bowl of oats. The party tells her that they're here to look for Chad, and all the other missing children. This seems the cheer her up a bit. Once again, the party finds no sign of forced entry, or anything out of place. As they excited the house, Tunnbaq notices a small office space, with stacks of documents piled on top of a desk. However, he decided not to trespass into Tommand's private office. For now.

Outside the smithy, the group gathered to talk about where to go next. Jensen informs the group that Reynard, at the toy shop has reported his daughter Mysty missing. As such, to the toy shop the party went.

Opening the doors to the toy shop, the party was greeted with shelves of oddities and trinkets. At the back of the store, sat a man with a mask behind a counter. As the party walked closer, the man asked if they're here to get a glimpse of their future. The man's voice was dark, but it seemed half hearted. The party denies his question, and informs the man that they're here to speak to Reynard about his missing daughter. The masked man quickly took off his mask, and reveals that he is who they're looking for. He is grateful for the party doing something to help find his missing daughter, and allows the group to look around the store, as well as their personal chambers upstairs for clues. Once more, no such clues were found. Before leaving however, the party spots shelves behind the counter that contain what appeared to be rare items, some of which were dangerous. There were net launchers, bottle rockets, a forest patterned cloak, and glowing goggles. When the party showed interest in these items, Reynard tried to bargain at first. But after realizing that these items could only help the party find his daughter faster he gave the bottle rockets to Sam June, and the forest cloak to Tunnbaq. The party left the toy store to decide their next move.

Stealth Mission
The group knew that the only place left in town to ask around was the trader's market at the town square. However, to get there they would pass by Tommand's forge. With the itching thought that the documents in Tommand's office may have information, the party decided to take a detour.

The party came up with a plan. David Cohen XV and Sam June would make small talk with Tommand, keeping him distracted, while Tunnbaq would sneak past Nara and investigate Tommand's documents. All while Kirano Weeves and Roger Cooke kept Deputy Jensen from finding out about the trespassing.

David Cohen XV and Sam June walked up to Tommand, and struck up conversation. As his excuse, Roger Cooke asked for training in blacksmiting, which Tommand was happy to provide. While David was being trained, Sam noticed a few blueprints in Tommand's workspace. Most of which were for weapons and armor, but a blueprint that stood out was one that appeared to be a cup, or goblet of sorts.

While Tommand was busy teaching David the basics of blacksmithing, Tunnbaq prepared to sneak into the Ferron household, which was built out of red bricks and gray stone, by putting on his green forest painted cloak. Tunnbaq successfully snuck past Nara, and entered the office, where he quickly flipped through pages upon pages of business reports, until he stumbled upon Tommand's special requests. While the first few requests were normal, such as fancy knives for the rich families in Stryx (a nearby town), and weaponry for the local militia, one request caught special attention. It was a request from Father Niklaus himself. After the party's successful stealth mission, they regrouped, and quickly put two and two together. The blueprint that Sam saw was not a cup, it was the bell that Father Niklaus had requested. When this was brought to Jensen, he explained that a carol over bells was a town tradition for Christmas. It's not unusual for the church, or even Father Niklaus himself to order new bells to replace old ones. When further pressed, Jensen was angered that the party would think Father Niklaus' conduct is anything other than holy. The party dropped the issue, and proceeded on towards the town market square.

The Trader's Rumor
Arriving at the town square, it feels unusually empty. No doubt due to the unfortunate situation of the missing children. There were only three trading caravans, one of the traders looked to be packing up his ware. The party approached him first.

The trader introduced himself as Blake. He had just arrived in town to hear Deputy Jensen's announcement. He didn't feel right selling to people on a day that should be spent looking for the children, so he is packing up. He tells the party that he specializes in documents and maps, and usually sells books and tomes. The party asks Blake if he had seen or heard anything suspicious, but Blake had only heard rumors that there were people who lived in the forest that attack caravans that stray off the trading route with arrows and stones. With no more helpful information to give, Blake parted ways, and headed south towards the trader campsite.

The second trader had racks of mysterious liquids, herbs, and powders lining his caravan. He shouts to the party that he's got the best herbal tea and medicine in stock, and urges them to buy some. The party, catching interest, walked to his caravan. The trader introduced himself as Slade, who trades spices, herbs, and other ingredients, as well as pre-made concoctions. David Cohen XV, who is a trader himself, stuck up deals with Slade, and bartered. The party spent some money getting a few potions. When asked about the missing children, Slade had nothing to help the party. He does emphasize with them, and wishes them success on their search.

The third caravan was decorated with plush furs, and had tanning racks posted around it. The last trader's name was Spenser, who was an avid hunter. He had furs, leathers, and hunting supplies for sale, which the party was not interested in. When asked about the missing children, Spenser didn't have any information to add, but he did confirm Blake's rumors, and said that he saw a few caravans on his way to Pyli that had crudely crafted arrows sticking out of them. As the party left Spenser, he shouted that he is looking to buy any raw animal fur or meat.

Into The Woods
Armed with new potions