The adventurers leave Cadun. Bastion is quiet and contemplative, the slow trudge of person and horse through the accumulating snow mirroring his own trudge through the world of danger and adventure.
They pass through elven ruins, the snow drifting deeper. They camp for the night, Brint locating the remains of a building that still has some overhanging roof, and Avi cuts boughs from local evergreens. Somon (suffused with giant blood) revels in the cold, and sleeps outside of the shelter in a soft snowdrift.
Unused to the cold, the party decides to hunt for some animals to skin and make winter clothing from. They find a family of bears and butcher them, curing the hides over a day, at least enough to wear to protect them from some of the worst of the cold, and to provide a bunch of extra meat for the journey.
The next day, Avi feels eyes on them. The sun begins to set.
A voice whispers into the minds of them, RUN! and so of course they don't. A giant eagle swoops from the sky! Somon throws the Iron Bands of Binding and captures the eagle. Avi begins to communicate with it, when an enormous arrow flies from the nearby woods and hit's Somon in the face. He grabs the eagle and is going to run, when Captain Cornelius suggests he attack the archer. Dropping the bound giant eagle, Somon runs towards where the arrow came from. He climbs a tree and sees that the branches in some places are clear of snow. The hunter of has been running on tree branches!
Bastion breaks the arrow, then casts a spell locating whole giant arrows. He finds them, several hundred feet away, moving away.
Avi uses her Object Reading to try to get a sense of the hunter, and sees that it's a full blooded elf.
Brint uses his legend lore to reveal the tale of an elven kingdom crushed by the human Empire, and of the myth that a lone elf might have survived. There were legends of a ghost haunting the elven ruins, but it seems she is not a ghost after all.
They release the eagle, telling it to tell the huntress that they mean her no harm.
The party proceeds through the dark of the night led by Massio and Brint and Avi, those who can see in the dark. They lead the party through the woods and after several more days, they crest a hill and see below them the city of Mir.
They approach the gate guards who are shocked to see them. They are a self sufficient and isolated culture, located far north of most human habitation, sustained only by the pervasive magic infusing the local population.
All bladed weapons are peacebound (with the exception of a dagger Massio has hidden on his person). Brint immediately heads to the council archives and library, learning about the city and it's culture and history.
Somon pawns the last of his jewelry to fund their stay in the city as they look to establish themselves for the short term.
Bastion, Masio, Avi, and Cornelius locate a large central Inn and begin learning about the city. They learn of a local gang, Caldera, of the closing of the mine of a specials substance Miranium, and of the aforementioned gang breaking into the mine to the dismay of the council.
The party requests an audience with the council the next day, which is granted easily. The city rarely gets visitors so the council is curious about the group. The party learns that winter is coming quickly and the bay will freeze, and many feet of snow is common. The overland route to Marauder's Cove seems to be impossible until spring. The party offers their services to the council after discussing what our goals are and getting a feel for the local economy. We are to investigate the mine and the newly discovered BLOOD CAVERNS underneath the city in exchange for 650 gold per expedition per person, as well as lodging in the city for the duration of the mission. The Caldera members number several dozen and are wanted alive if possible.
The party buys healing potions with the full remaining amount of party wealth, and they delve into the caverns of GORE. The mine is a mine, and the party has a map. We reach the GORE GROTTOES and find a dead body. It's a gang member. We proceed and find another body, drained of its blood, next to two empty pools that were once filled with diluted and possibly tainted blood water.
The party proceeds deeper into the BLOOD CAVES, and we hear sounds of combat! We rush to investigate. We see two gang members brought down by four....creatures. Humanoid, caked in blood and gore, hissing, with claws and fangs. Cornelius opens with a bolt of lightning. Masio and Bastion wade in with hammer and mace, Brint with his voice magic and Avi with her mind magic. Somon leaps over a pool of blood and throws his torch.
The creatures are resistant to non magic damage, and they slash with claws and bite with fangs. Their fangs deal necrotic damage and drain life and blood from those they hit. The party battles the creatures and eventually defeats them.
Sick with necrotic damage, and bruised from the battle, the party retreats to the City. They are allowed back in by the guards, and quickly request a meeting with the council. They deliver proof of eight gang members deaths and relate the tale of what they found. The council sentences the gang to death, no longer preferring live capture. Somon recommends that members of the Wizard's Guild accompany them back to the cavern entrance, where they can use Wall of Stone and Stone Shape to form a tomb door, so the caverns can be locked.
The party goes back into the caverns with some barrels and amphora and collect blood from the pools. Bringing it back to the small manor inside the Castle Keep, Masio and Bastion, combining alchemy and divine magic, purify the blood into refined and workable godsblood.
The party has been paid 650 gold pieces each person for their efforts.
500 gold and a portion of the godsblood is enough to get someone from the Wizard's Guild to create an uncommon level magic item.