The wealthy merchant Rasson hired the party to rescue his son, Turon. Three months before, Turon had been abducted by an enemy of Rasson's, a mage. The mage drove Turon mad and turned him loose in the Wilderlands of Gilarni, a forest territory claimed by Elves. When Rasson found out he sent his men to bring his son back, but they were ambushed and massacred by the Elves, for Turon in his madness had attacked and killed an Elf, and the Elves in turn were killing any humans in the forest in retaliation. After this Rasson hired the party because one of them was an Elf.

On the way to the Wilderlands of Gilarni the party stayed at the inn at Arn's Ferry, where they were attacked by an assassin who (as they found out afterwards) carried a strange coin: it was a large gold coin, not one that any of the party had ever see, and was obviously carved rather than minted. They survived the attack, but were thrown out of the inn and could only find lodging in a strange tower inhabited by an even stranger old man, Balour Shaw, who habitually spoke in a most enigmatic manner. The next morning they found three more assassins frozen to death outside the tower; each carried one of the strange gold coins.

Once in the Wilderlands of Gilarni, the party was accosted by Elves, but Gim Torson convinced the Elves that allowing the party to complete their mission was something to be desired by all involved (expect The Mage, of course) and that Turon was not responsible for his actions. The party rescued Turon from the riverside cave where he was living (battering him somewhat in the process), disposed of some of the mage's henchmen who attacked them, and returned Turon to his father Rasson. Gim Torson later revisited Balour Shaw and began learning magic from him.