A Previous Adventuring Party

The previous party — the one your PCs heard rumors about — passed through Hommlet. They went not to the moathouse but to the domain of Strahd. They never returned. Bromm overextended himself trying to fulfill their magic item requests and fell in with the Black Thorn Company. The Castellan of the nearby Keep is allegedly covering up the disappearance with hooligans posing as the missing adventurers.