Jon's 4E D&D Campaign

Gygax the tiefling warlock (Ben's PC), Tarnis the human wizard (Steve's PC), Nadar the dragonborn paladin (NPC) and Greg Ironbrother the dwarven cleric (NPC) accepted a mission from a sage to travel to the town of Winterhaven, find a nearby abandoned keep and map it. On their way to Winterhaven, they were attacked on the King's Road by a group of kobolds. After a pitched battle, the party prevailed and made it into Winterhaven by nightfall. There, they talked to Valthrun the Prescient, a local sage, who said he could give them more information about the keep, but he needed to search his library first. When pressed, he admitted that he didn't really trust the adventurers yet and suggested that they prove their worth in some way. After talking to Lord Padraig, the party took on the task of clearing out the kobold lair in order to put a stop to the numerous raids.

While on their way to the lair, they were once again set upon by kobolds, this time a tougher group including a spellcaster. After more combat, the kobolds were defeated, but not without exhausting the party's resources. A weary party examined the bodies, and unexpectedly found on the body of the spellcaster a dragon pendant marked with a symbol they identified as that of Orcus.

Upon returning to the town to recuperate, they talked to Valthrun, who shared with them the fruits of his research. The keep was built not to guard against gnolls, as the locals thought, but to prevent evildoers from opening up a rift to the Shadowfell, a realm of much danger. When he learned of the Orcus symbol found on the kobolds, he grew very worried. He told the party that the danger of death cultists of Orcus opening the rift, bringing in legions of Orcus' minions and establishing a kingdom of undead far outweighed the risks from the kobolds. Lord Padraig was more skeptical and saw the kobolds as a more clear-and-present danger.

Encounters:
First Goblin Encounter
First Interlude
A1
Part of Second Interlude