The party decided to take a boat (with their horses and gear) to Sarkum, where you supped with Earl Reynald Milaka. You met the Earl’s most recent guest, Dame Penelena Alëama. You also learned of the first standing stone of the Pilgrim’s path, which lies just outside of Sarkum. The Earl warned there was a political side to it, but promised to tell you more about it after Summer court.

The next day, the party and the Earl’s retinue travelled to Aleath by boat. The party left its horses behind with their teamster in Sarkum.

Aleath was welcoming, and you took rooms in the Five Pennies Inn in the Sumon district. You visited the temples of Halea, Peoni, Larani, and Save-K’nor to give each a generous donation. Then, you visited the castle to make your attendance official.

There are a wide variety of parties tonight, and Dame Brilela Julorf (Auntie) is expecting you to attend hers.

You have a month or so before you have to go to a (much delayed) Summer Court.

In the Selvos Wool Fair, the party was invited to celebrate Sanlyne & Arviran’s wedding. During the night Jarsyl of Losyin (Tirn’s uncle and Sanlyne’s adopted father) was attacked and left for dead. Fortunately, he survived. Herve and Nina followed a rumor to confirm that the Lia-K’avir (thieve’s guild) sent two longshoremen (Kosan and Korons) to try and convince Jarsyl to let the Lia-K’avir use his side of the docks. Specifically, they were paid to rob and beat up Jarsyl for Arvid.

Sir Tirn and Sir Kjarri wandered around Selvos, hunting Morgathians. They found the lair, but not the “man”.

Lady Kaminyle of Ryvila reported to Valenar of Emyn (Mercantyler/Ursuer) who contacted Meketa Seenae directly and ask for her help finding a missing caravan (wagon of wool, a bullock, and three men). With magic and skill the party tracked the missing wagon to the village of Burdy. There the reeve (Croral of Hanvele) is absolutely terrified of the man he knows as Meryl of Sann (the third man in the caravan).

The local Peonian priest (Tomis of Eryn) threw shade on Sir Kjarri for not saving them from Meryl sooner. The party finds Mirin tied up and badly injured beyond the village. They find the scattered remains of Norarus in a hunter’s shelter some distance away. There is no soul to talk to and the party has to use magic (and divine senses) to be assured that the remains are those of Norarus. In the center of the shelter is a copper bowl with Morgathian symbols on its edges.

The party decides to return to Selvos. Harik (Sir Tirn’s Guildmaster) is cursed and can’t remember anything about Meryl, forgetting things just a few moments after he’s been told. He hands off Tirn’s message (in writing) to Capatin Andrain Charun, Lady Larissa and some guy named Jarvins (a visiting Healean Paladin).

What happens next?

We’ll skip ahead to the 11th of Larane (18 days), and the start of the Selvos Wool fair. You’ve all been invited to a wedding!

You’re back in Selvos again,
Out where a friend is a friend.
Where all the sheep wool stays
Until the day the merchants pays
Back in Selvos again.

Ridin’ familiar roads once more
Totin’ your old friendships ashore
Where you sleep through every night
And only the law is right
Back in Selvos again.

So, with the visit with the Riddlemaster over, the party is free to return to the boat.

The captain needs to go into a port for resupply, and suggests Thay, on the coast of Melderyn; but should only be there for a day if you don’t want to stay longer. They should make the voyage in about 2 days.

Then, they will need to stop in Aleath. hat branch of the voyage should take 6 days (in perfect conditions).

The trip from Aleath to Selvos should take 2 days and a bit.

4 Nolis

The party arrives at the Three Flagons Inn. They note that the king’s crest is visible on the sign. All windows, doors and walls of the building are convex; a youngish dwarf sits at the entrance and the party is greeted when they arrive. They are led to a human-scale circular table. The party is served a moderate ale and some food, including lots of pickled delicacies. The ladies are served a bubbling red liquid and a white wine, and are told to put the red into the white and drink. It tastes like a very strong cherry liqueur. The gentlemen get a smoking drink in a copper mug; the smoke smells like peanuts and the drink has a coffee flavor. It is also very strong.

After eating and drinking well, they are poured into a cart and brought back to the castle.

5 Nolis

Maketa Seenaë Dyren and Sir Kjarri of Setara wake at the usual time for prayers. Midmorning, a polite knock is heard at the door: it is the seneschal. He invites the party to breakfast with the king. They are directed to the king’s quarters and a relatively small room within. There are just enough chairs for the party, but not many more. They are invited to sit when the king and queen arrive, and are served some hot tea. The king tells the party that they are making plans for what to do with the “book” and the gargun. The king offers the party a space on the council, who will meet to discuss the fate of the book. The king gives each party member a club pin: a golden shield with red crosses and a square white gemstone at the center. It’s the king’s crest, and each the party’s name is spelled out in runic on the back. Hervé is listed as a royal retainer, Kjarri and Sir Tirn of Selvos have a simple battleaxe as warriors, Florentina (Nina)‘s indicates she is a herald, Seenaë’s has the symbology of a lion and Tamarie has an arrowhead. The king and queen show the party their badges: his has a crown and hers has an asterix for the jewelers. The party is fed a light repast and they chat with the royal couple. The king is very interested in what the party wishes to do next; he arranges for the party to be able to leave by midafternoon.

Both Tiberius and Awk have been sent gifts from the Three Flagons: shiny brass boxes with shiny satin pillows. On learning the train is almost ready to depart, the party packs and heads down to the station. There is a new addition to the station, a golem. The party leaves and ends their travels that night at the waystation.

6 Nolis

The next day is spend in uneventful travel.

7 Nolis

The train arrives at the station and a couple of dwarves escort the party back to Garvin Bay. The party heads to the ship and greets the dogs. The captain arrives from the inn around midday, and they set sail for Andris Point. The party disembarks and walks along the river, following it to a waterfall and a cabin. As they come along the road, a cloaked old man with a walking stick steps out of the cabin and waves at them; this is the Riddlemaster and the lord of this domain. They enter the cabin and sit with the man.

The man tells the party more about the story of the coins, and informs them they must now walk the Penitent Path and bring the coins to the Primus of either Larani or Peoni to be destroyed. They ask him a few questions and he then offers a chance to use the magic pools; they spend some time seriously thinking about this.

The Riddlemaster feeds the party some savory soup and fresh bread. Afterwards, he takes them to the pools, and each person bathes, gaining a new gift. Seenaë earns a closer connection to St. Belsirasan; Kjarri gains ambidextry.

Back in the cabin, everyone shares food and the party shares their experiences. Afterwards, they leave and at one point turn to find the cabin is gone: they see only mists, and a horned figure who salutes them. They salute back and head to the ship.

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After making (very) sure two of the three mages were dead, the third was revealed to be the Penultimate tome – Lothrim’s Grimoire; the book in which it is believed contains the secrets of the gargun’s inception. The last penultimate Gargun chose death over imprisonment, claiming his spirit was trapped in a body that could feel nothing.

The book (in the form of the third mage) was quite helpful and very peaceful. He offered help when Tirn was trying to burn the bodies, and explained the multiple-realities theory of existence to Kjarri. Thirist refused to talk to it, and most of the party seemed uncomfortable in his ever-watchful presence.

The group agreed to bring the book to Azadmere.

The journey by boat was (surprisingly) uneventful. Except for what seemed to be a mental invitation from the Riddlemaster from Anris point. The party docked at Talmar in Garvin Bay.

The Emissary brought them without too many questions to the railhead, but as they approached the Khuzdun fort – the Commander insisted the book be gagged and well bound. As a sentient object, the Khuzdun would not accept its oath of secrecy.

The party took the rail to Zerun. There, they meet Crown Prince Kazar Trazakh, Lady Halia Quarmain (his wife), and Lady Felband (his advisor). They suggested taking this to the king.

After time (well) spent in ambushing the thieves of Kiraz, you defeated the three mages and the five primordial gargun. One mage and one gargun remain – and have surrendered. But there are so many questions. What did they take from the crypt in Kiraz? The crypt where Lothrim the Foulspawner, and his five generals have been entombed since the Battle
of Kiraz in 120 TR.

So, you made it back to the boat.

Let the sailing begin…

So, after a long day of dungeon delving (under-ground city-exploring?) you’ve yet to find what you were sent to find.

What could possibly go wrong in an empty dwarven city where a mass-slaughter occurred some 300 years ago?

After a day of jousting, the party is invited to the Prince’s private dinner. What could possibly spoil a night of good company and better food and alcohol? So, after a long day of dungeon delving (under-ground city-exploring?) you’ve yet to find what you were sent to find.

What could possibly go wrong in an empty dwarven city where a mass-slaughter occurred some 300 years ago?

As you bring your boat up towards the entrance of Kiraz, you spot a single man watching from a nearby trail. He’s tall, standing over 6’ with midnight black skin and pale brown hair. He watches quietly and intently as you sail by.

After some 22 days at sea (and in port), you’ve reached your destination. Having fought off chimera in the fog, the crew is alive and hale, and the ship undamaged so far. But you’re moving into uncharted waters. The captain is willing to sound and try to get you as far into the mouth of the river as she can, but she can’t foretell how far that will be. With the morning’s fog rising, everyone hopes the locals are as blinded by it as they are. But fog never lasts, especially when you need it to.

Finalizing preparations, doing the packing and making sure all your ducks are in a row. We’ll go round the table one more time and see if anyone has last-minute questions or things to do before leaving home for a long journey into the unknown.

27 Morgat

The party leaves Dunir, heading for Selvos. Some of the merchants in Dunit request to travel with the party for safety. The trip is thankfully dull. As the group approaches Selvos, a strong smoke smell fills the air. Several farmers have set their fields alight. The party enters Selvos near evening. Sir Auttin Krencathy and Bren of Sturen head for the Laranian temple. Maketa Seenaë Dyren and Nina follow along and join the temple for dinner. They learn that Sir Temilin Chahrvn and Sir Conlon Chahryn are away, so young Loring is in charge. Sirs Temelin and Conlon rode out to solve a dispute in Grelda.

There is about a month of downtime between the return to Selvos and the party’s departure on their next adventure. During that month, Herve. along with Tamarie and Sir Tirn of Selvos travel to Weseda to commission a boat. It will be delivered to Selvos on the 28th of Nuzyael.

Seenaë spends the month between Hyen, Gebaseth, the Belsirisan temple in Dunir and the Laranian temple and her family in Selvos. She spends some of that time answering accumulated letters, including some from Sir Gressen. The party reunites in Selvos on the first day of the spring festival.

Sir Kjarri of Setara spends his month of downtime considering whether to make Hyen a Laranian religious holding, or a private holding. He decides to make it a religious one. He asks Sir Auttin to be his seneschal since he will be absent for long periods serving Prince Anaflas Milaka. He decides that his squire Wassail will remain behind with Sir Auttin while he is on his next adventure. He asks Sir Auttin to contact a Ymorvian master who can help with creating a crafting complex that can best use the gas vent located in the old Agrikan temple. He also requests that some mages and scholars come to study the vent, to see how best to use it safely.

1 Nuzyael

The Caer in Selvos gives out free bread as is traditional, and a few of the vendors offer tasting menus. This is also the day that the Laranian temple seeks out new recruits with the blood and milk ritual.

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23 Morgat

The party takes their leave of the friendly elemental. As they depart, they hear a rumbling sound behind them. Upon turning around, they see rocks moving very slowly to increase the size of the tunnel. They exit the underground space into the sunlight. Sir Auttin Krencathy is downtrodden – he lost so many of his men. He declines any help from the party in order to get through the mental distress and is resolved to pay for a mass for his lost men upon return to Selvos.

The group treks down the mountain. By nightfall, they arrive at the base camp. During her watch, Maketa Seenaë Dyren hear something coming through the brush. It is 4-legged, and the size of a large dog, but it is strangely shaped. She sees no glint of eyes in the firelight. She sends out a Palantir to get a better look. The animal seems to be covered in dirty fleece. Seenaë goes and wakes up Sir Tirn of Selvos, and he walks out to the creature. Seenaë follows. The animal turns out to be a very overgrown sheep. Seenaë goes to look for s sharp knife amongst Nina’s things, in order to cut the wool. Tirn and Seenaë work together to shear the sheep as best they can. The party decided to bring this strange sheep to the Belsirisans.

During their watch, the party noticed the movement of large predators near the camp and near the river. The day’s travel stops for a time at the graves of Sir Auttin’s men, and Sir Auttin requests that Seenaë perform a small mass for their souls. Afterwards, the party travels on and they for the river before making camp. Tirn puts out an offering for Zaal before heading to sleep. During her watch, Seenaë hears the occasional wolf howl, but nothing comes close. Seenaë wakes Tamarie for her watch and heads to bed.

Seenaë wakes at dawn as usual. Nina mentioned that there is more meat in the stores than there should be, and Tamarie discovers the same thing has happened to the grain.

25 Morgat

During the days travel the party catches sight of a couple of herds of deer, and one herd of wild ponies. There is a very loud ass who is part of this herd, and it makes a lot of noise as the herd moves along. By nightfall, the party arrives at the Bear’s temple and reunites with their squires.

The squires are safe, and they managed to drain, clean and refill the pool while the party was away. Seenaë’s squire Revek swears that he saw a wildcat, but the others say they only saw signs of one in the area, not the cat itself. The night passes quickly

26 Morgat

The newly enlarged party backtracks to the road. About halfway to the ford, they see a very large wolf on the other side of the river. After he walks about, seeming to count the party, he takes off to the south. Tirn casts a spell to communicate with the wolf. The wolf seems just to want to make sure the entire pack is together and safe. He departs

The party fords the river and continues along the road. They head south and arrive in Dunir by day’s end. They head for the Belsirisan temple. They ring the bell, and one of the priests that Seenaë knows comes out. He asks the party to stable their horses and brings them into the main office. One of the other priests, Father Jorrum, comes in and offers the party dinner, after which he will examine the sheep. They have an enjoyable dinner.

After examining the sheep, Father Jorrum explains that while this creature looks like a sheep and thinks like a sheep, it does not have the soul of a sheep. He informs the party that it is a healing spirit, centred on the mind and the body. He wishes to examine it over the next few hours in the temple. Seenaë offers to help.

They arrive at the Peonia temple Father Jorum casts a communion spell to communicate with the sheep. He believes the sheep is the child of a spirit of intellect and a spirit of life. The sheep tells him that his herd was changed when a wolf came when it was young. The farmer was an evil priest. All the herd was spirit-infused sheep like him, he was #9. The ram and two of the ewes were the oldest. There were 7 generations of sheep from the ram and one of the ewes. The sheep agrees to go back to Gebaseth with Torn as a Peonian blessing for the herd. They return to the Belsirisan temp[le with the sheep, and Father Jorrum gets a blanket for the sheep to wear,

The party heads to Tirn’s mother’s inn for the night. As they walk in, they see someone harassing Tirn’s mother. As the man realizes there’s a large Tirn-shaped shadow looming over him, he quickly shuts up and leaves.

The food is delicious, as is the beet. The evening passes in song and drink.

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Last game, you killed the mother of the destroyer of worlds (a giant Hippogryph which laid several eggs that, if they had hatched were said to bring destruction to the world), and you found Sir Auttin and Brenne – they are turned to stone inside a Basilisk’s lair, deep in a crystal-illuminated ruin. Oh, and also – you found a Basilisk (or perhaps it’s better to say the Basilisk found you).

21 Morgat

In the morning, the party takes their leave of the hunters and head for the mountain to find the beast’s lair. The elevation rises slowly for the first couple of hours. By day’s end, some important things are noted: There are no signs of large predators or prey, and smaller animals aren’t making a lot of sounds or moving around very much. The party makes camp for the night around the 2000 foot mark on the way to the summit, in a copse of trees.

As the party finishes setting up camp, they begin to hear a persistent sound. Herve realizes that it is the sound of large, feathery wings. Sir Kjarri of Setara perceives it as a building pressure. The party decides to not light a fire that evening, and make plans to move on just after dawn. Sir Tirn of Selvos sends out his crow Titus to scout out the creature and its lair. He reports back that we found a creature twice the size of the one the party already fought, seated on a nest. Titus believed this is a female, and that she is asleep. The sound does not get any louder during the night, but it’s there pretty much all night long, with some stops. There is a lot of wind through the night as well.

22 Morgat

The sound of flapping peters out just as dawn’s light comes over the mountain. The party gets moving. The last bit of the climb is steeper, and the ground is rougher. About 500 feet below where the creature is nesting, the party discovers some cave entrances. They decide to quickly examine the four caves.

The first cave is partially filled with rubble. The second isn’t very deep and would be barely large enough for the horses. The third cave has a normal entry, that opens into a stone arch. It goes 10 feet and descends sharply. As soon as a palantir is taken out, other crystals begin to bounce the light about. The party decide to come back later. In the 4th cave Nina notices a pattern on the walls – they are scratch marks from claws. This cave was dug out, and the cave goes back about 25 feet. Nina uses Coyote’s senses, and he informs her that the cave smells like smoke. The party decides to put the exploration of the larger cave aside for now, and concentrate on the gryphon. Tirn will approach the monster, and use his choke spell to disable the sleeping creature. The gryphon rises up and beats its wings, trying unsuccessfully to use its breath weapon. It attacks. The party manages to defeat the creature.

In the nest, the party discovers three eggs, bits of human and bits of armour and a shield. The armour bears markings that indicate it belonged to the men from Selvos. The party removes the armour and human remains out of the next, and they set the nest afire. to burn the eggs. The shield is that of the house of Sir Grolis Chahryn, it belonged to one of the guards that came from Selvos.

Maketa Seenaë Dyren uses her Medium ability, and sees three dragonets sleeping in the nest, getting fainter and fainter. She feels that there is a presence in the caves below, but cannot see it. Herve casts the runes and learns that Sir Auttin Krencathy, or at least his body, lies in one of the caves below. The party carves up the usable bits of the gryphon, and load it on the horses. They then go back to the third cave to search the cave network.

The party passes through the archway and comes to some stairs. Nina discovers a few places that may be trap triggers, or ways to turn them off. The party heads down the corridor to some double doors that seem to be barred. Nina knocks, no answer. Nina uses her dagger to lever the par off, and the doors open. The party comes to another area with a crystal on the ground that is slowly inching upwards. The party realizes that Sir Auttin lies beyond the door past the crystal. While Nina searches for the reset, Tamarie and Seenaë put the top back on a sarcophagus they found, and discover that it most likely was a cupboard, not a coffin. Kjarri manages to open a slowly closing door easily, and the party moves into the next room.

The next room ends in a wall, but it is broken and the party can move through it. They enter what seems to be a stone arboretum. Stepping into the next room, the party discovers two status, one of Sur Auttin and one of Bren of Sturen. They hear movement behind them, and turn to see a dragonish-looking creature. It is a basilisk.

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With the mystery of the missing jewlery solved, the party has to prepare to head back to Selvos.

Unless someone wants to do something (last minute) in Menekod, or along the way home – next game we’ll skip ahead to your arrival in Selvos after 5 days hard travel through the wilds.

During the winter court you learned that Sir Auttin Krencathy and his squire Bren of Sturen went out with a small troupe into the Tessian marsh to find out what slaughtered a small band of barbarians. Sir Auttin is almost a month overdue.

The report to the court provided only a few scant details, the report came from Captain Arkain Sork of Andamen of Selvos in lieu of Hemiral of Sarien, Selvos Chandler.

8 Morgat

The party takes their leave of Winter Court at midday on the 8th, heading for Selvos. It takes them 7 days to reach Hyen.

15 Morgat.

Arrive in Hyen. Everyone then travels on to Selvos, arriving on the 16th.

16 Morgat

Arrive in Selvos. The party speaks with the chandler, Hemiral of Sarien. He informs the party that he received a messenger bird from a stedholder in the Tessien Moore. A large creature had wiped out a local tribe, and the stedholder was trying to get the tribe to not take revenge. He is asking for help. The party decides to head out to the steading in the morning.

Herve and Sir Tirn of Selvos head to the White Gold Inn to speak with Viran Harak of Chandar. Nina disappears to spend time with Sir Bressen. Maketa Seenaë Dyren spends the night with her family. The party will meet up at the dawn service.

17 Morgat

Dawn service in the Laranian temple. Nina & Bressen arrive a bit late Once the service is over the party heads out to find the steadholder on the Moore. They arrive at the point where the trail into the Moore crosses the road around lunchtime. They make camp for the evening on a high point near the river. Tirn’s crow lets Tirn know that there is something dead near the river. The party goes to investigate. Whatever it is seems to have been dead no more than 12 hours – it is a gryphon. The party returns to their campsite, to discover that someone r something has gone through their gear. Something small has gnawed at some of the food. It is a quiet night. Whenever a party member falls asleep, they get the sensation that they’re sinking.

18 Morgat

Around lunchtime, the party arrives where the homestead should be. They discover only a blackened area of ground. Tamarie cannot find any tracks. Sir Kjarri of Setara uses Psychometry and discovers the home was burned by several people on horseback, and then the building was pulled down. The house was thankfully empty when it burned. Tirn sends his crow to scout, and the crow sees something about 1/2 mile to the south. At the same time, Tamarie finds a track that leads south. The party heads South. On a high point, they find a campsite. Searching finds Sir Auttin Krencathy‘s coat of arms, plus that of a few others. (6 knights and entourage). The party finds some personal items, and Tirn casts a tracking spell. It leads the party further south into the swamp, about a day or so. Tirn sends his crow ahead, and the crow reports that he has found an area with a fresh pool and stairs leading into a cave. The party decides to stay the night at Sir Auttin’s camp, then head to the location the crow found in the morning. Nina asks Coyote to ask the local coyotes about this area, and they tell him that it has been 14-20 days since the people left this campsite.

The party backtracks a bit to follow the trail of whatever was dragged from the destroyed house. They track it to a copse of trees – it is a large iron and leather chest, still locked. Nina manages to pick the lock and the chest pops slightly open. The party hears a hissing noise from inside the chest. Nina stands to the side and slowly opens the chest.

Inside the cheat is a snake, a venomous one. The party manages to kill the snake, and Nina keeps the head. In the chest are 4 nooks, a now-empty inkwell and a holder for it and its pen. There is also the large skull of an unidentifiable animal, a few drawings and a large feather that goes from corner to corner of the chest. It is 31/2 feet long. There is also a damaged claw with a very sharp tip. This claw is a big as the finger of most of the party members. There is a blade of iridescent blue in the chest as well, not sure what it is made of. The party take the things that were in the chest and head back to their night’s campsite.

Back at camp, Tirn has managed to keep the fire going. The books are all written in Lakhese, in a Runic script. They seem to be the journal of someone named Abbin, but the entries are undated. The first entry seems to have been written a few months after Abbin found the homestead and moved in. He is mapping the more in this book. The second book is about the Tessien Moore. The 3rd book is about eh Moore to the south, which is where the skull and feather come from. No living versions of this creature have been seen. Abbin writes that he believes that it was a hippogryph. The 4th book is only 1/2 full. Near the end of the written part, Abbin writes about how he had been visited by some knights, and well as some tribesmen looking for revenge on whatever upset the hiranou. They were going into the mountains the next day.

The evening passes without incident. In the middle of the night, a cry is heard piercing the silence, and it is quickly cut off.

19 Morgat

The morning winds bring in a foul smell. Something very dead lies to the east. It smells like dead aklash. Tirn sends his crow to check and he confirms that it is, indeed a dead aklash. The party decides to go make sure the aklash stays dead. Seenaë puts some strong-smelling salve under her nose to combat the smell. They find the source of the stench. Not much of the aklash is still together. It has been slashed apart, and most of its organs are gone. The brain and heart are also missing. Once the party lights a fire to burn up the corpse, they head out to investigate the area with the pool Tirn’s crow had found the day before.

As they approach the area., the party hears chanting. They find 11 people surrounding the pool, with 2 people in the pool who are tired together. These two people are Sir Auttin and Bren of Sturen.

As the party approaches, Sir Auttin wakes up. He tells the party that that the group of 11 are offering a blessing of the waters to them, and that they offer it to the party as well. Everyone except for Tirn and Kjarri accepts the blessing. Once the party received the blessing, they are told by the strangers that they can now enter the temple, but that the spirit that inhabits the temple is a bit temperamental. They are also told that there are pictures inside the temple that will help them understand the creature that they will be facing. The spirit in the temple is Bear. The party enters, and sees pictures of the hiranou, attacking various beasts. According to the old shaman amongst the tribesmen, there’s a period of time when the hiranou gets so old that they begin to attack sources of magic. They try to eat Barasi points. If they succeed, they become a dragon, a creature made entirely of magic. The tribesmen worry the creature will end up driving the tribe out of their homes.

The party heads back to camp with the tribesmen, Sir Auttin, and Bren to plan. The dagger that was found in the chest is examined., and Nina discovers that it has a place to put venom from the snake found in the chest. Venom is milked from the snakehead, and the party is informed that only the dagger can kill the hippogryph.

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On the eve of the last day of Winter Court, the party is back in Menekod and have informed Baron Sayorsaxe, Prince Anaflas, the Chabla, and the fools of the plot. The Baron forgave the knights who sought him out, and awaits the Prince’s justice for his wife’s brother: Sir Karel Abetha, a man badly wounded in the King’s last effort. Sayorsaxe left the
battlefield with Sir Karel when he saw the fight was truly lost and the army scattered.

The court is celebrating many things and the engagement of Dame Demalyn to Prince Anaflas is key among them. But little do the revelers know what Nina has prepared.

Maketa Seenaë Dyren goes with Sir Tirn of Selvos to question Jayel about the theft. He tells them that he was hired over a month ago and that he met with Alina in Menekod to finalize the deal. The party then makes their report to Prince Anaflas Milaka. The party finds the prince in Sir Syman of Tolfane‘s office with Kadris of Talanoth. The party makes their report; after some discussion, they decide to speak with The King’s Fool and perhaps to question Alina herself.

The party finds the Fool in the kitchen, having a quiet beer. They discuss with him, and come to the conclusion that there are three possible targets for her scheme; the Chabla, the Prince or Sir Jaseph. The party goes with the King’s Fool to question Jayel again.

The prisoner is brought into a room, with the Fool standing against a wall; Jayel is seated, and the Fool releases his staff, which seems to take a seat to face the prisoner. The questioning begins. The party discovers that this kind of job isn’t what Jayel usually does, and he was paid in Thardic coin. They decide to go question Alina next.

She refuses to speak, and the KIng’s Fool casts a spell which forces her. She tells the party she hired a maid to sneak into the party’s rooms and search them. She has no names to give us, the instructions came from a usurer. The party takes the letters from the hidden pouch in her bag. This is part of a larger plot to weaken Kanday. Hroth lost much of their land to Tharda; the party also learns that she set up the attack on Dame Demelin.

The letters in her pouch are: 1) the results that are desired for Dame Demelin’s attack. 2) Establishes her bona fides as a herald (this is a forgery as per Nina). The King’s Fool recognizes the author of this letter as Sir Rogen, Sir Sinnel’s oldest son and the constable of Hroth. 3) A letter of introduction from Sir Reynald (also a forgery). 4) Receipt for a horse, cart and equipment delivered to Menekod. 5) A letter of introduction from the courtesan’s guild saying that her dues are fully paid in Tharda.

The party decides to have the Fool pretend to be Alina and go back to the inn. The party will ask Dame Demelin not to go on her morning ride, and instead Hervé will be disguised to look like her. “She” will then be kidnapped on her morning ride and the party will bring her to the inn, where they will hopefully capture the people involved in this plot. The king’s fool suggests that they arrive in the inn at nightfall.

It takes about half a day to ride to Taskoon and in the road between Immiden and Zerien Hervé is on Sir Kjarri of Setara’s horse. The party enters the inn at dusk. Someone comes over and asks if our friend is okay. The party gives the code word, and the person tells them to go to the third room upstairs. There is a note on the desk telling them to leave “her” there, to take the money in the desk and go. As Nina picks the lock on the desk, she realizes it is trapped. She manages to disarm the trap and open the desk; there are two bags filled with tails of silver 10 sticks total. The party plays dead, pretending the trap had worked.

After an hour, the man from downstairs comes up and peeks in. He walks over to Hervé to check her appearance. He checks for a pulse, then picks"her" up and takes her out of the room. The man leaves the inn, and the party gets up to follow: Hervé is put in a cart, a second person comes out to drive the cart away; Tirn’s crow follows the cart.

The caravan took shelter in a haunted khuzdun ruin. There they convinced the spirit to come with them and see absolution and peace. The caravan still has a long way to go to return to Hyen.

Returning from Menekod, the work in the wild done on the trip up seems undone. Despite meeting an ancient mage and collecting another coin, there is still the mystery of who destroyed the bridge and why.

And miles to go before you sleep.

After a few minor adventures, bringing the Salt Caravan back on its proper route and reuniting the Halean contingent with the caravan, the party has bid adieu to Menekod and started their way back across the wilderness between Menekod and Hyen. Unfortunately, the floating bridge they build across the wild river is missing.

The missing have been found, and the dark stranger pummeled into paste (more or less). So now the party can go homeward bound or will fate have something else in store?

After almost being waylaid by a trixy trap, the party encountered a lone mage and … well, frankly, beat him senseless. You now have the wand of storms along with the unspent magical gadgetry the poor fellow had. He was decapitated by one of the Ivinians following your group on foot, as the mage was a renegade.

Just over the next rise, according to the renegade, is the encampment where the kidnapped priestesses are supposed to be held. Was he lying? Is it a trap? Are there more mages there? Morgathians? Evil goats? Who knows!

The party traveled from the ragged edge of civilization to Menekod without trial. They then spent 5 days reacquainting with old friends and meeting a new one. Prince Anaflas Milaka and the Chabla of the Order of the Checkered Shield, Sir Syman of Tolfane, both confessed to being uncomfortable assigning the group a new and fairly vague task.

After much discussion, they each individually described it as if the gods were not just interested in delaying another evil act to avoid the known world catching fire. Instead, the gods just might be trying to remove a piece from the board. They offer their hospitality and what support that can.

Word comes that an emissary from Azadmere is seeking an audience with the Chabla. The salt caravan should arrive in about 5 days, and it is not unusual that emissaries from other countries use the caravan as a safe means of travel (albeit slow) to safely travel across Harn. Other than a general letter informing the Chabla of his(?) imminent arrival,
not much is known about this individual. The caravan has a Kuzdan contingent from Azadmere, but they were thought to be master silversmiths, perhaps the emissary is among their numbers?

After a gruelling trek across the wilderness, the train of the weary arrives at last at civilization. It should be less than a few hours to push on to Menekod and complete your journey and resupply before heading back across the wilderness to home.

No worries.

Travel a route not crossed in 20 years.

What could possibly happen?

Last game:

Sir Kjarri was told one night about the Chained Library in the Laranian temple. Except, there isn’t one.

The selorian (librarian) admits there is a chained book. When the party puts their heads together they figure out the poem, and learn that the scroll needs to be folded. Once folded, it can talk! The scroll folds into a box. When the current gods took the place of the first gods, the universe had changed, and the chaos found more power and capabilities
through acting with the mortal races. As one of their last acts, the first gods sent forth their heroes and, while the chaos could not be killed, it could be divided and bound. The heroes divided it into 10 pieces and each hero went onto Kethira to hide the pieces of chaos. These heroes of the first gods became known as the first Pradeyalkri.

The first Pradeyalkri did not keep their cursed items, but hid them throughout the eons; knowing full well they would find their way back to the light – as all evil is want to do. The box knows everything about these cursed items, up until the day it was made. It cannot detect the cursed items, but nor can they detect the box. It has learned nothing while it was unfolded.

There is still a lot to do, and all before the first caravan goes to Menekod by way of the Hyen road. As discussed over dinner with the Prince Anaflas, Master Clements, the Rekela Tamya Bakyth, Bishop of Perinore, the Chabala, and Sir Temelin – the party learns of the plans to open the Selvos-Menekod road. They hope that the first caravan leaves Selvos on the 15th of Halane.

The Prince’s voice returned at last to their homes in the Dunir heartland.

Sir Tirn spent a brief time with his family while visiting Selvos with Sir Noemi Julander during the wool fair. He and Sir Sarrath are learning the manor lord’s trade from Sir Noemi, and yet managed to find lots of time to enjoy the fair.

Sir Kjarri spent some time with his mother, but most of his free time went to interviewing men-at-arms and soldiers as he sought a force to replace some of the men serving at Caer Hyen. His search for a senesharil continues.

Seenaë had lots of time with her father and her brother, but got called in to tend to the Earl of Selvos, as Sir Grolis Chahryn falls ill. Matakea Yordag could find no proof that it was anything more than a chill coming on, and at 80 years old, Sir Grolis is a frail old man. At the Earl’s insistence, she reads the Earl’s manuscript.

Tamari spends some time organizing the occasional rental of her house (starting after the spring fair) and even finds a local willing to oversee it and collect the rent. With the promise of a reasonable fee, Damys of Bostada – the Selvos salter, is willing to see the house is cared for and maintained. She also learned that, while the local yeomen
are finding it difficult to find good game, they have found nothing unusual after the armies passed through.

Nina split her time between the Peonian and Laranian temples, as there was much cooking to be done. The harvest was heavily damaged by the armies and lack of souls to plant. But the granaries are full, and few fear shortages this year. Unfortunately, with the armies movement, there are more “unsavory” people around. No one openly speaks against them, but Nina is quickly able to pick them out from the way the locals avoid or downright shun them.

The fair is a chaotic time, even without the tourneys. Dinner parties abound, and the next one is being held by the Prince — and you’re all invited.

You’ve had time to evaluate the Queen, and she to evaluate the Prince’s
Voice.

Do you wish to extend your visit, or return home before you wear it out?

The party, as the Prince’s Voice, came to meet the Queen and her court. The first night of dinner … did not go exactly as planned. The King of Rethem, Chafin III arrived unexpectedly, just after sunset. He was accompanied by the Agrikan Apalankh, Sir Klydes Bisidril, and Baron Jasyph Sayorsax with about a dozen soldiers.

The party defended the Queen and her reduced guard, with Sir Tirn killing the injured King. Sir Kjari and Senae faced off against Sir Klydes, while Tamari raced to the balcony, found a bow, and convinced the soldiers to give up with her precision bowery.

There is still the meeting with the Shek P’var, the negoitation over an artifact, and of course meeting the Merchant’s council. All promised for the morrow.

The party has arrived at Caer Chaftar for a dinner with the Queen of Rethem, and her court.

Whatever could go wrong.

Having explored the majority of Nevarna’s tower, the party has spent a small eternity of time reading the books from Nevarna’s library before setting out with a dire wolf and Rysal (a centaurin who is also one of Larani’s leutenants), and the eyes and tongue of Ikarus. Sir Tirn holds the horns of Ikarus, a sword that should slay the Immortal Maldak! The party has learned that he is sitting on the stage in the center of an amphitheater.

The party is lost in what seems to be another world. Here the sky and their skin is more green-tinged. The grasses are blue, and the animals are … different. Upon their arrival they were found by a winged humanoid with an eagle’s head. He brought a friend and transport. The transport was a large beast that was a cross between a mammoth and a muskox. They too were intelligent.

With their help, the party was brought to the traveler’s village. With very little investigation the party learned that the travelers seemed to all be from Harn, and most of them came from the village of Timoroal. Nina supposed the majority were the gifts to the dryad.

The villagers told the party that the dryad went to the tower to try and stop the stranger; but never returned. The masters of the land (the mammoth – muskox cross) took them near the tower, and the master of the sky (the winged humanoid) promised to watch for their signal when (if) they needed to return.

The land around the tower is odd, something between sand and grass. It is malleable, but the pebble sized bulb doesn’t seem to burst under their weight or additional pressure. Each bulb has a root. The further down they went, the harder it was to pull a pebble free. And as they dug, the light permeated each level, as if the bulbs passed on the light
from level to level.

The party intents to continue to find a way into the tower, perhaps the entrance to the top, or maybe dig down to find out where all the light the bulbs send goes? Tune in to find out!

In the Village of Timoroal, the new manor lord has arrived, and been mostly briefed. The party has great plans, but in the making of them they discover that the land might have been home to a dryad; who seems to be missing.

The Kandian army broke through at Delwin, and met up with the delayed arrival of the army from Menekod on the other side of the Rhym river. There are stories to be told by both sides, but Chakta awaits. As does the rest of the Rethemi army.

The Kandian army is entrenched at Delwin, forced to besiege the towers over the Rhym river. Delwin towers grants the enemy archers a huge killing zone not just on either side of the river, but along its length too. The army cannot find a safe ford within range and they need to reach the Chakta river before the forces from Menekod arrive. With the party’s arrival a new plan was hatched and magic was used to weaken the hinges and bolts in the tower’s main doors. As the army waits to see what happens next, the party raced off to address their captured Necromancer.

The party, awaiting for the local militia to gather, has elected to take the two visiting Belsirasins to the Haunted Forest outside of Weseda in the hopes of improving their chance of having the army pass safely through the mysterious wood.

The Prince’s voice is in Weseda and have accepted the Baron’s surrender. Unfortunately, all is not well in Weseda and the ghost stories from the forest do not compare. Will our heroes leave these stories unexplored, and potentially leave Morgathians at their backs as they head to Chakata, or will they investigate.

Is Hyen Burning?

After vanquishing a large group of Agrikans trying valiantly to defend their home while a V’ii was among them, the party stands on the third story of Caer Hyen. What forces remain arrayed against them, is, as yet, unknown.

Can the party destroy any remaining defenders so that, when the forces from Selvos arrive, they can take the castle without having to siege it.

War

A lot of preparation goes into the first move in any war, and this is no exception. The party is informed and the basic setup is explained. They have a lot to do in a limited amount of time.

After finding the caravan has retreated into a circle, with all of the cavalry moving outside the circle and the soldiers ranging their bows from atop the wagons. Unfortunately, the Agrikans are riding up fast.