Table of Contents

• Prologue Prologue

  Four young adventurers choose the dangerous North Road — and none of them has yet heard the name Ethium.

• Chapter 1 The Road to Fallcrest

  Goblins ambush the companions on the North Road. They rescue Mara, defeat a goblin boss, and set out for Fallcrest with a mysterious map.

• Chapter 2 The Blue Moon Alehouse

  Fallcrest welcomes the heroes — until the Hammers crash the Blue Moon Alehouse and Tobbs reveals the secret of Ethium.

• Chapter 3 The Old Manor

  The companions strike the Hammers' cellar hideout beneath a ruined manor, uncover a Gang of Four plot, and set out for Ethium.

• Chapter 4 The Road to the Plateau

  Wolves, axe beaks, and a cloaked watcher on the road — then a brutal climb behind the waterfall. On the Ethium plateau the companions see a dragon, rest in an old shrine, glimpse the castle ruins, and set out for the ruined tower.

• Chapter 5 The Ruined Tower

  On the road to the ruined tower — a grisly dragon's leavings, then a Hammer ambush. Beneath the tower the companions rescue Garnel Stoneblender and awaken an ancient healing pool.

• Chapter 6 East of the Pool

  Attacked by night raiding Hammers under the ruined tower, the companions spend two days digging east. Beyond, ancient stone guardians wake to meet them, and in a drowned cavern something hungry calls for help.

• Chapter 7 The Ethium Viewing Table and the Burrower

  Faced with a dizzying fifty-foot cliff, the companions climb to the upper archway. Beyond, they survive a duergar ambush and discover the ancient Ethium Viewing Table, before a colossal predator from the deep turns the grand Assembly Hall into total chaos.

• Chapter 8 The Road Home

  Poopy Joe learns to walk (mostly), the companions turn for home with a pack full of Ethium Stones, and at the top of the waterfall a loose ogre, a gang of goblins and a hobgoblin captain stand in their way.

• Chapter 9 The Empty Tower

  A burning caravan, a merchant with a pig, and a note that says 'after the bells'. In Fallcrest, Nimozaran has vanished from his locked tower, a smiling foreigner knows everyone's name, and the only way to follow the wizard is to steal a lantern.