In the shadowy city Dargul, the the smokey common room of the Belching Minotaur Bar & Grill, four wanderers from the corners of the world meet: Bayazz the cleric, Wilumo the halfling thief, Earendal the elven mage, and Titek the fighter. Together they sign a contract with Fasharr the Crimson Sorceror to travel into the Trackless Mire, a dangerous swamp south of the city, to retrieve a rare and magical flower. On their way out of town, they meet the hirsute dwarfess Gemma Rockbust, who joins their company.
After a day and night searching the swamp for the flower, they come across a black stone monolith in a clearing. A square pit leads to a series of chambers below the monolith, where they battle hostile natives and killer frogs, see a roaming ghost, stumble into traps, and rob ancient tombs. Finally, they find the flower and do battle with an animated corpse whose body serves as the parasitic plant's host.
With only a handful of hours to return to Dargul before the flower wilts, they manage to dodge native tribemen and find their way back. They receieve a small reward, a lesson in reading contracts more carefully, and several rumors about other adventures to be had.