Session log

Prologue, Jamandi Manor (21st - 24th Calistril 4719)

Our heroes:

• Voldea, a champion of Sarenrae with a criminal past

• Morgrym, a dwarven warrior from humble farming stock in Rostland

• Marcus Lebeda, a minor Rostlandic noble

• Fraxinus, an elven wizard from distant Mwangi

• Tamlane, an aasimar sorcerer with a holy lineage blessed by Sarenrae

Our heroes gather at the manor of Jamandi Aldori, one of the most powerful Swordlords in Restov. She is one of the sponsors behind a series of expeditions from Brevoy into the Stolen Lands, and has invited Marcus, Fraxinus and Morgrym to form one of the groups. Marcus invited Voldea, and she in turn suggested that Tamlane join them.

There are four expeditions headed south and southwest:

• The first has already left, headed far to the west, on the borders with Pitax (one of the River Kingdoms)

• Hannis Drelev (from a noble house that once paid fealty to House Rogarvia) and his rich wife Andrea are heading up the group headed to the swampy Hooktongue Slough. The river Sellen runs through the lake, making it strategically very important

• Our heroes are to be sent into the Greenbelt region, in between Drelev and Varn. They are to head approximately 100 miles west to Olga's Trading Post before turning south

• Maeger Varn (the third son of a minor Issian noble) and his Varnling Host (a group of mercenaries under his command) are headed to the Dunsward uplands, almost due south of Restov.

The group spend a few days in planning and provisioning, getting ready for heading off into the wilds. Jamandi outfits them with horses, tack and supplies, but no more. Both Drelev and Varn's expeditions will be accompanied by forces of mercenaries (either hired by Drelev, or Varn's own forces).

The evening before they're due to depart, Jamandi hosts a feast to bid them farewell. The Lord Mayor of Restov (Ioseph Sellemius) and a representative of the regent (Rannek Surtova, a cousin of King Noleski Surtova) are there, as well as a Pitaxi bard (Tartuccio). A pleasant evening is had by all, and Marcus, Drelev and Varn are all presented with formal charters by Jamandi Aldori.

Late that night, the group awake to the smell of smoke - the manor is on fire! They gather in the corridor outside their rooms, and Tamlane spots a fire mephit through a window, setting the great hall on fire. At that moment, a pair of armed intruders attack. They're swiftly defeated, and the group split up - Voldea, Fraxinus and Tamlane head upstairs to check on Varn and his allies, while Marcus and Morgrym head downstairs to check on Drelev.

Voldea, Fraxinus and Tamlane arrive in the nick of time, as Maeger Varn and his allies are under attack from another group of intruders. Cephal Lorentus, Varn's wizard advisor, is down on the ground next to a burning rafter, while Varn and Haelen (commander of the Varnling Host) fight off attackers. Tamlane darts forward to help Cephal, while Voldea and Fraxinus take out an archer (who flees downstairs), before helping Varn to deal with the remaining attackers. Cephal pulls out a scroll of Hydraulic Push and quenches the worst of the fire, giving them time to retrieve their belongings from the burning building. Downstairs, Marcus and Morgrym realise the Drelev and his wife have already left their room, and that the ground floor is empty. The fleeing archer almost runs into them, and beats a rapid retreat before they can capture him. Fraxinus and Tamlane talk to Cephal about the mephit, and he confirms their suspicions that it has probably been summoned here. If they can capture the elemental, it may be persuaded to talk about the person who summoned it.

The group head towards the Great Hall, where Jamandi is busy organising a bucket chain and dealing with other groups of attackers. She reveals that she slew the mephit herself, and that the body faded almost instantly - confirming the summoning hypothesis, but leaving no chance to talk to the creature.

The fire is brought under control, and Voldea helps tend to the wounded. Thankfully, no-one has died - though the bard Tartuccio has vanished in the chaos. Rannek Surtova graciously extends an invitation to host everyone, as Jamandi's manor has been badly damaged. Jamandi is fuming over the whole affair, trying to work out who could have been behind this.

The following morning, the group finally depart Restov. The Varnling Host travel with them, as the two groups are bound the same way for the first day or so of travel.

Session 1, Olga's Trading Post and Thorn Ford (25th Calistril - 7th Pharast 4719)

25th of Calistril The group departed from Restov, and headed along the South Rostland Road. They were accompanied by Maegar Varn and his mercenary group, the Varnling Host. As the two groups travelled together, Marcus spent some time talking with Maegar's daughter Julia, while Fraxinus spent time discussing wizardry with Cephal Lorentus. That night, they arrived at the small village of Nivakta's Crossing, and spent a relaxing evening in the village's welcoming inn.

The innkeeper (Ranulf Idgeson) spoke with Marcus as he sat at the bar, asking if he'd like to hire on Ranulf's son Hans as an ostler/stable boy to manage the group's horses on the road. Ranulf explained that this son was very good with horses, but rather less good with people, and so a trip into the wilderness would be great. Marcus consulted with the others, and they met with Hans - who lived up to his father's words, being a rather quiet young man who was clearly not comfortable around people. Hans was hired on, becoming their first follower!

Ranulf also mentioned that a purple-haired gnome named Tartuccio had arrived earlier that morning, on a half-dead horse. He'd sold the horse to Ranulf, and purchased a large amount of supplies - which he placed into a bag of holding. Tartuccio then headed down river on a boat he'd conjured from a small token.

26th Calistril The next morning, the Varnling Host headed south, while our heroes carried on westwards. That day's travel brought them to Fort Serenko, one of the border forts. The night's accommodation was less pleasant than Nivakta's Crossing, but at least offered real beds and cooked food. The soldiers mentioned that the trading post they were headed to had sent word asking for help against bandits.

27th Calistril - 1st Pharast The next few days of travel were harder still. There were no villages or inns to shelter in, merely small road-side waystations that offered a roof and fireplace. Finally, they arrived at Olga's Trading Post on the 1st of Pharast - clearly another border fort once upon a time.

Olga Leveton and her wife Svetlana welcomed them, but there had been some confusion - the two women were expecting a military relief force to help guard the trading post against bandits. Brevic politics and bureaucracy are often disorganised, and so the group had no idea if they were the military relief force - or if the kingdom was sending a second group after them.

The Levetons explained that a group of bandits had being robbing them for the past few months, and that they turned up towards the start of each month - and that the next visit was likely to be tomorrow, or the day after. The heroes agreed to protect the trading post, and decided to wait for the bandits to enter before attacking them. As well as stealing their trade goods, the bandits had also taken Olga and Svetlana's wedding rings to try and cow the two women further.

2nd Pharast Their attempts to hide were not entirely successful, but the combat against the bandits went rather better - they captured the leader alive, and slew the other two bandits before they could flee. The leader (Happs Byden) rapidly spilled the beans when pressured, not having any great personal courage or devotion to his fellow bandits.

Happs was second-in-command to a woman named Kressle, who led a small group of 9 or 10 bandits that operated out of a camp in the nearby Narlwood, near a ford on the Thorn River. Kressle was herself a subordinate of the Stag Lord, the overall leader of the bandits. Happs had never met the Stag Lord, and only knew vaguely where his fort was - some distance to the south, on the shores of a lake. Happs gave them detailed directions to find the game trail that led to the bandits camp.

Marcus and Tamlane both looked at the clouds above the trading post, and saw that a large storm was on the way. Not wanting to be out from cover during a late winter storm, they spent a few days waiting it out at the trading post. They hoped that Happs' delay in returning to camp would be explained as a consequence of the bad weather. While they waited, Fraxinus adapted two suits of plate armour for Voldea and Morgrym, gifts from the grateful Levetons. Olga also mentioned that a wizard in New Stetven had sent a commission to the trading post - he'd pay 75 gold for the intact corpse of a tatzlwyrm, a venomous dragon-like beast that lives in the forests nearby.

6th Pharast After the storm cleared, they headed off to find the game trail to the Thorn Ford camp. Tamlane was able to follow Happs' directions and find the trail, and they headed into the forest. Part way through the day, a large rustling and stomping noise was heard from the undergrowth to the left. The group dismounted, and made ready to face a mighty foe. Then, a squirrel darted from the undergrowth and the crashing noises followed it as it moved past them. Somewhat confused, they carried on...

They found a decent campsite, and made rest that night, relying on a guard rota and Tamlane's alarm spell to keep watch. In the morning, Voldea found that someone had put slugs into her boots - a very unpleasant discovery first thing in the day! With this new event, Tamlane suddenly realised that trick-loving fae could be behind this - and that they key would be to laugh along with the jokes, and offer the fae gifts to become friends. Everyone made small offering of food or alcohol, and in a short while, a faerie dragon and grig appeared. They introduced themselves as Perlivash (the dragon) and Tyg-Titter-Tut (the grig). Perlivash explained that they had followed the group, trying to make sure they weren't 'more nasty bigginses'. Once the pair were reassured that they weren't bandits, they started a game to see who could play the most tricks before being caught. They praised the group for being good sports, and wished them good luck against the mean bigginses. Perlivash also mentioned that a nearby glade in the forest was very heavily trapped by a different nasty biggins, and so they should be careful (apparently some big logs had fallen on the nasty biggins not long after, in a clearly unrelated event).

7th Pharast The group set off again, hoping to reach the bandit camp around midday. During the morning, they once again heard rustling noises from the undergrowth. Tyg-Titter-tut had admitted to causing the noisy squirrel of the previous day, but had also said that she didn't repeat tricks. The group once again made ready, and their caution was rewarded when a wild boar emerged from the bushes ahead. Voldea was at the front, and managed to get everyone to back off enough to avoid angering the beast.

As they approached the camp, they left the horses in Hans' care. They decided to split up - Marcus, Fraxinus and Voldea would sneak through the undergrowth, while Morgyrm and Tamlane would pretend to be travelers ripe for banditry. The plan works brilliantly, and the bandits are swiftly defeated, including their leader Kressle, who falls in battle. They capture two of the bandits.

Session 2, Exploring the Narlmarches (7th - 13th Pharast 4719)

7th Pharast Our heroes rest from battle, and release a prisoner that the bandits hold captive - a cleric of Erastil named Jhod Kavken. Jhod explains that he entered the forest following a vision from Erastil, tasking him with cleaning a corrupted temple that lies somewhere within the forest's depths. For now, he agrees to return to the trading post with the party, as his brush with the bandits has made him realised that he can't complete his mission alone.

The heroes also interrogate their prisoners. One (Ayles Megeson, an escaped slave from Numeria) refuses to cooperate, as his brother was one of those killed at the trading post. The other bandit (Melnik, a thug on the run from Restov) is more helpful, and explains that the other two members of the band headed out to meet with a group from the Stag Lord's fort, and lead them into camp.

The heroes wait for the new group to return, and are able to defeat them. The blessings of Sarenrae cause one of the bandit (Nistor, a former mercenary from the Mendevian crusaders) to beg for mercy, and another (Gismond, a dwarven thug) is captured before he can escape. Nistor, Gismond and Melnik give their parole to the heroes, with varying degrees of sincerity, leaving them with just Ayles to watch.

8th to 10th Pharast They head back to the trading post, but take the time to explore properly. North of the bandits camp, they find a clearing with some strange radishes growing in it, and also avoid running into a shambler. Heading onto the open plains, they finally visit the reclusive alchemist Bokken, who proves to be an odd man. He claims to know nothing of the bandits, but a few minutes later, grimly tells Voldea that they should not offer mercy to the Stag Lord or his father. He also asks the heroes if they can recover some moon radishes for him (the strange vegetables they found the day before, which can only be harvested by the light of the full moon), and some fangflowers (which grow somewhere off to the south, between the forest and the lake).

11th Pharast As the full moon will be tomorrow, they return southwards to harvest the odd radishes. At moonrise, they enter the clearing and see the leaves of the radishes glimmering and shining. They also see four kobolds, who are also here after the radishes.... Despite Mourgrym's misgivings, they agree to share the radishes with the kobolds, and listen to their tale of woe. A rival tribe of mites (a small pixie-like fae) has stolen their holy relic (again), but this time the kobolds will march to war to recover their relic, rather than trying to steal it back. The kobolds explain they have a new shaman (Tartuk), who will lead them into open battle soon.

12th Pharast The heroes return once more to Bokken, who's very happy to have his moon radishes. Fraxinus offers Bokken an alchemical recipe that appears to be missing from the old man's formula book - but Bokken slams the door in his face when Fraxinus offers his acid flask recipe.

13th Pharast Finally, the heroes return to the trading post. A military garrision has been sent from Brevoy, and so the post is home to 5 warriors, led by Keston Garess.

Session 3, Wild boar, and Shamblers and (Owl)bears (13th - 20th Pharast 4719)

13th Pharast The heroes spend a short while at the Trading Post, while Fraxinus transfers the magic rune they recovered from Kressle to Voldea's shield. They debate what to do with their prisoners, and end up making Nistor (the repentant former mercenary) into another guard for the trading post, while Melnik and Gismond (who are somewhat less sincere in their surrender) into labourers. Ayles Megeson is executed by Mourgrym, not far from the spot where his brother was slain.

14th Pharast The group decide to explore the wild areas closest to the Trading Post. Heading due east, they meet a wandering hunter named Cerenna Moltenbrew, who turns out to be a distant cousin by marriage of Mourgrym's. She shares her camp, and tells them where the trapped glade Perlivash and Tyg Tutter Tut told them about can be found, and gives them directions to the Temple of the Elk. She tells them to be careful when the moon is full, as she's heard strange beasts howling to the moon (and gives Mourgrym a silver dagger, just in case). She also warns them of a terrible wild boar that lives far to the south, a beast that slew her husband not long ago (as well as warning them, she offers them a reward if they can bring her the beast's head).

15th Pharast Heading south, they find the trapped glade and mark it up more visibly so that no-one is hurt accidentally. They run into a sounder of wild boar, and not having a bandit problem to deal with, attack the beasts and defeat them.

16th Pharast Pushing along the eaves of the forest, they meet Perlivash again, as the faerie dragon swoops down to warn them that a bush lurking ahead is in fact a shambler. Not entirely convinced (and utterly unable to see any different about this bush) they lob some boat meat at the bush - and watch it lash out a long vine-y tendril to feed upon it. They thank Perlivash, and spend the night with him and Tyg Tutter Tut (who is once again entranced by Marcus's musical performance). They also meet another hunter, a rather unfriendly woman named Sora, who warns them off the part of the forest to the south-west, as she claims it as her own.

17th - 19th Pharast They head via the old bandit camp at the Thorn River, and have a moderately terrifying encounter with an owlbear (it manages to drive Tamlane to the brink of death). Not deterred, they carry on towards the heart of the forest. They uncover the ruined temple of Erastil that Jhod Kavken told them about, and realise that it's home to numerous undead. They defeat a pack of undead wolves, but decide to draw back before pressing into the interior of the shrine.

Session 6, The Bandits Strike Back (9th - 21st Gozran 4719)

9th Gozran Searching through Tartuccio's belongings, Fraxinus finds several used-up scrolls. Squinting at them carefully, he works out that they once contained a Summon Elemental spell and a Dream Message spell.

10th Gozran Before leaving the Sootscale Caverns, Mikmek approaches Voldea and Tamlane asking for advice about who the tribe should worship now that Old Sharptooth is gone. Sarenrae is rejected when they explain that she doesn't like tricks and traps. Torag is briefly mooted, much to Mourgrym's disgust, but the kobolds seem keener on Cayden Cailean when Marcus brings him up.

Following on from this discussion, Chief Sootscale corners Marcus to discuss the future relationship between the kobolds and whatever barony or kingdom the heroes established. The chief is very keen to maintain his people's lands and resources, and isn't overly keen on the idea of paying taxes. He says he'll draw up some preliminary paperwork while the heroes travel back to Restov, grinning toothily at Marcus as he says this. Fraxinus makes a note to remember the legal lectures he sat through many years ago before they next return.

They travel north on the 10th, and make camp by a small pond that evening. Their prisoner attempts to escape, but doesn't get very far. He's given a stern talking to, and it appears to work, as he's otherwise quiet and compliant after this.

11th Gozran Before breaking camp, the heroes are visited by a nymph. She begs them for help against the Stag Lord, telling them that a foul druid in the Stag Lord's service has cursed the land, and her with it. She's greatly relieved when the heroes tell her of their intentions to defeat the Stag Lord, and she promises to help them however she can.

12th - 19th Gozran Marcus, Voldea and Tamlane head to Restov, to hand Tartuccio over to Lady Jamandi Aldori. She's initially slightly confused when they appear at her manor, but is very pleased once the situation is explained to her. Tartuccio is taken into custody, and she explains to the heroes that her investigations had concluded that he might be a Pitaxi spy.

While they're in the city, the trio do a brief spot of shopping for magic runes and catch up with some old friends. Marcus visits his cousin Gaius Aldori (nee Lebeda), and they have a 'friendly' duel, which Marcus wins. Voldea and Tamlane call into the shrine of Sarenrae, and then retire to a nearby inn with the shrine-keeper Iroh. While Voldea swaps stories with him, Tamlane catches up with the innkeeper and her husband about local goings on.

They leave Restov on the 17th of Gozran, hoping to pack at the trading post by the 22nd. En route, they meet up with two other travellers - a bard named Jamir Cloverton, and a bounty hunter called Ash. As all five are headed in the same direction, they agree to travel together.

Meanwhile, Fraxinus and Mourgrym return to the Trading Post. Fraxinus settles in to make a magic wand and some silversheen vials, and Mourgrym works with Kesten Garess's small force of troops to protect the trading post.

A wandering hunter calls in one day, named Theralyon. There's something just a bit off about him, and so Fraxinus asks Gus to follow him when he leaves. The hunter spots Gus though, and orders him to back off - and shortly after, an eagle begins swooping down. Suspecting that the hunter might be one of the Stag Lord's druids, Gus beats a hasty retreat.

Another visitor arrives at the Trading Post on the 19th - a goblin sorcerer named Spicy Gobbles, who's wandering around ever since a terribly mysterious fire burned his circus down. His welcome is initially a little wary, but he puts on a fantastic display of fire magic and showmanship in the evening.

20th Gozran Late that night, Mourgrym and Kesten are on watch at the Trading Post, when the barn catches fire! They raise the alarm, but before a bucket chain can be formed, a trio of wargs scale the Trading Post wall and attack. The beasts are beaten back, but several of the imprisoned bandits try to escape at this point. Eventually, all the escapees are slain, and the fire is extinguished before it does any serious damage to the barn (in part thanks to Spicy's fire-retardant Grease spell). The wargs were able to scale the wall because someone had cast Spider Climb on them, but there were no tracks to be found the next day. The heroes suspected that Theralyon had been involved somehow, as druids are very capable of sneaking into places unobserved, and he could have also empowered the wargs.

21st Gozran As they near the Trading Post, the returning group overcome a large bandit ambush on the road. The bandits have the high ground, and it's a very hard fought battle. In the end, the heroes are victorious, though two of the bandits escape. They also capture Akiros Ismort, a renegade paladin of Abadar. Granted insight by the light of Sarenrae, Akiros falls to his knees in hope of redemption, and tells them everything he knows about the Stag Lord and his forces (including his pet owlbear)...

Session 7, The Fall of the Stag Lord (22nd - 29th Gozran 4719)

22nd Gozran Our heroes re-group at Olga's Trading Post, swapping stories of the various attacks and calamities they've endured. They discuss their plan of attack with Kesten Garess, who agrees to take his men southwards on the attack against the Stag Lord.

23rd Gozran - 27th Gozran The heroes head south, to recruit Tyg-Titter-Tut and Perlivash to help spy on the bandits, and to use their fey magic to play more tricks on the nasty bigginses. They hand over the bottle of elven absinth, which the two generously share around before proceeding to get very, very drunk. The next morning, the pair are quieter than they've ever been before.

Carrying on southwards, the journey is largely uneventful as few of the inhabitants of the Greenbelt are likely to bother a dozen heavily armed and armoured warriors. They do find an old mine, lying abandoned in the hilly grasslands near the forest's edge, but decide to leave investigations until a later date.

They make it to the Sootscale Caverns, and Fraxinus draws up a legal agreement with Chief Sootscale. The agreement specifies that the kobolds will keep their mine and the lands around it, but will be a part of the new barony, and pay taxes.

28th Gozran The mixed force of the heroes, Kesten's men and the kobolds travel south to the Stag Lord's Fort. The plan is that the heroes will open the gate shortly before dawn, and hold them open while their allies rush forwards to secure the Fort.

Fraxinus's magic helps get the advanced party inside the fort without being spotted, while Perlivash puts the watching guards to sleep. Mourgrym uses his magical belt to easily open the large wooden gate, while Marcus sneaks forward to release the Stag Lord's pet owlbear (later on, they find a collar inscribed with the name 'Beaky' around the beasts neck). Unbeknownst to Marcus, the owlbear's cage was alarmed, and so all hell breaks lose in short order, as the bandits awaken! They keep the pressure on the bandits, with Tamlane's healing powers keeping them up and running as they push onwards. Tamlane also cuts down the cleric of Norgober who serves the Stag Lord before she can do much more than awaken her master.

As they fight the Stag Lord, he whistles for his new 'pet' to come help. Fraxinus uses more illusion magic to distract the owlbear, while Marcus wrestles the Stag Lord for his bow. Another of the bandit lieutenants, a beast of a man named Auchs wades into the fray, inflicting terrifying wounds with his massive billhook. Finally, Voldea slays the Stag Lord, bringing an end to his reign of banditry! All of the bandits are slain in the fighting, and Kesten and the kobolds manage to slay Beaky (the kobolds claim the corpse as a trophy).

29th Gozran Forewarned, the heroes delve into the locked basement underneath the ancient force, and defeat the evil druid who serves the Stag Lord. The nymph re-appears to thank them for their help - with the druid dead, she can work to lift his curse on the land.

Kesten agrees to garrison the Fort temporarily, in case any bandits return, while the heroes do more exploration of the grasslands and bring back good news to the Trading Post (including Olga and Svetlana's stolen wedding rings, which Marcus finds in the Stag Lord's treasury).

Session 8, Back to the Temple (30th Gozran - 16th Desnus 4719)

30th Gozran - 6th Desnus Leaving the fort in the safe hands of Kesten Garress, the heroes headed northeast, bound for Olga's Trading Post but planning to do some more exploration en route. They found an abandoned farm not far from the Stag Lord's Fort, and Mourgrym spotted the tell-tale signs of ankhrav burrows. They managed to finish surveying the area without bumping into the large insects.

The next day they carried onwards, and found the strange tree depicted in the note they'd found in saddlebags of the horse slain by centipedes. Buried beneath the tree roots was a small cache of treasure, and a note. The treasure had been left by one of the bandits named Argyle who instructed the bearer to bring the goods to Garwin's Farm near Restov. where he'd meet up with a fence in tow.

They carried on towards Bokken's small hut, finding a broken stone circle on the way. A portal to somewhere (the First World perhaps?) was partly open within the centre of the circle. Not sure of what awaited them on the other side, the heroes decided to leave it be for now - though Tamlane did write a note to 'post' through, greeting whoever was on the other side. That night, he saw a Cu Sith, a fae charged with guarding the borders of the worlds briefly appear through the portal.

7th Desnus The heroes met with Bokken, and spoke with him again about the Stag Lord and his druid. The broken man explained that the druid (named Nugrah) was his brother, and that the Stag Lord was his ill-treated son. Bokken's family had been an unpleasant and cruel one, and he seemed pleased with the news that he was the last survivor. That night, the heroes reached Olga's Trading Post and presented Olga and Svetlana with their wedding rings. Both women were very happy to have their rings back, and Jhod and Voldea arranged for a small ceremony to celebrate.

At the Trading Post, there was also a letter from Jamandi Aldori, requesting their attendance in Restov in mid-Sarenith. She also said that a cleric of Dammerich was coming to lead the trial against Tartuccio a few days earlier, if they wanted to return sooner.

8th - 16th Desnus Deciding they had time for one final expedition, the heroes headed off once more. They explored some of the plains to the west of the Trading Post, and found an ancient cairn and an intact stone circle. They were also attacked by a pack of werewolves on the night of the full moon - while they were defeated, Mourgrym took a number of nasty bites, one of which itched and scratched furiously.

On the borders of the forest they also found a statue of Erastil, pointing into the forest. Hoping it would lead them to the Temple of the Elk, they followed a small deer trail through the woods. The next day, they found a strange glade that was touched with peace and calm and made a good night's camp there.

Finally, they reached the Temple of the Elk. Forewarned about way lay within, they were easily able to defeat the various undead guardians and lift the curse upon the temple. A pool of water in the back part of the shrine complex glowed with light as they felled the final deadly guardian, and they realised it could cure their wounds. Deciding it wouldn't hurt, Mourgrym was also washed in the water, and was relieved to notice his nasty wolf bite was finally healing properly.

Session 9, Four Tatzylwyrms and a Wisp (17th Desnus - 6th Sarenith 4719)

17th - 27th Desnus The heroes carry on exploring the forest, and head west from the Temple of the Elk. They find the Skunk River, and follow it for a while. Along its banks they meet with a lone boggard, who speaks just enough common to make it clear that he doesn't want them in his bit of the forest. They also meet with a nest of four tatzlwyrms, who are defeated. They place the tatzlwyrm corpses into the bag of holding, hoping to sell them to the wizard in New Stetven that Olga mentioned some months previously.

They next decide to head towards the Stag Lord's Fort, to check in with Kesten Garess before they head off to Restov. En route, they meet with another shambler, and this time are forced to fight the terrifying beast.

Once out on the open plains, they find an abandoned fishing village on the shores of the Tuskwater. Basking on the village beach is a massive snapping turtle - and looking at some of the wrecked boats, it looks like the beast may have been responsible for the village's abandonment.

28th Desnus The heroes return to the Stag Lord's Fort. Kesten informs them he's going to march his men north, as their still technically ordered to protect Olga's Trading Post. Before leaving, the heroes help to put all of the valuable objects from the fort into the basement, and then cover the trap door with debris to protect it. During this stay, Kesten manages to offend Voldea by referring to Erastil as 'a peasant god' (they'd asked Kesten if he'd help guard Jhod on a journey to re-consecrate the Temple of the Elk, Kesten explained that his orders didn't include helping to recover temples of peasant gods).

29th Desnus - 2nd Sarenith The heroes head up to visit Bokken, but do some final bits of exploration en route. They find the flowers the old man had asked about, which are indeed guarded by spiders but also by man-eating flytrap plants. They cross over the Thorn River via the rickety bridge where they'd previously encountered the will-o-wisp. It doesn't confront them then, but does attack during the night - and barely manages to escape alive from the much better prepared heroes. Finally, they deliver the fangflowers to Bokken, who offers them each one alchemical potion in return.

3rd - 6th Sarenith The heroes travel back to Restov once more, ready for the trial of Tartuccio and Lady Jamandi's gathering.

Session 10, A New Beginning (Sarenith - Erastus)

6th - 19th Sarenith Our heroes arrive in Restov. Taking care of business first, they deliver the tatzlwyrm corpses to a representative of the wizard in New Stetven, and also collect their half of Akiros's bounty from the Temple of Abadar.

Their first week or so in Restov is quiet. Lady Jamandi informs them that Tartuccio's trial will be on the 12th of Sarenith, and introduces them to Dolgrin Wildhammer, the proecuting advocate from the Church of Abadar. He spends some time interviewing each of the heroes, preparing his case against Tartuccio.

On the 8th, Tamlane and Voldea attend a holy day for Sarenrae (it's the first Sunday of Sarenith) at the small shine Sunwarden Iroh takes care of. There's a small feast, and much music and celebration.

Finally, the day of the trial dawns. The matter will be judged by Mikhael, a cleric of Dammerich, whom Jamandi has arranged to judge the matter as neutral party that Pitax will also respect. Mikhael calls upon Dammerich for clarity and insight, and listens carefully to the testimony of several witnesses, including Fraxinus, Marcus and Tamlane. In the end, he decides that Tartuccio is guilty of arson, and announces that the execution will be held at sunset. Much of the city of Restov gathers to watch Mikhael render his judgement, and behead the wayward bard.

A day or so later, Maegar Varn and his companions arrive in the city, ready for the grand presentation of charters on the 17th. With the trial out of the way, Jamandi switches focus to politics, and the heroes aremeshed into a world of intrigue and negotiation.

Many factions are interested in their new barony, and have all kinds of generous (and 'generous') offers of aid to make. They decide to begin by talking with the Church of Abadar, where Dolgrin proves himself to be a canny negotiator. Tamle and Voldea meet with Sister Beatrix of the Church of Pharasma, who also offer some aid to their new barony in return for agreements regarding outlawing necromancy and limiting taxation. She also writes a letter of introduction to the Pharasmans at Nivatka's Crossing, as they are the best placed to help deal with the undead around the Stag Lord's old fort.

Given their gold mine and lumber resources, they also make early contact with Maklash Grintwhistle of the Ancient and Worshipful Company of Goldminers, and Countess Dhava Mollarch of the Gronzi Lumber Consortium.

Maklash is quickly revealed to a be a vain and not overly clever man, and the group spend some time playing to his weaknesses (including arranging one meeting in the Church of Abadar) to get him to agree to very generous terms.

Countess Dhava is a polite and quiet woman, and Marcus realises that her main concern is to prevent Narlmarches timber competing with the wares of the Gronzi forest. As the heroes aren't planning on running the largest lumber company in the Stolen Lands, they're easily able to reach an amiable and low-key accord with Dhava.

Marcus also calls upon his cousin Lander Lebeda, son of the ruling Duchess Serenna. The two bond over old times (and a lot of wine), and Lander finally mentions that his mother doesn't want Marcus making any arrangements with House Orlovsky. As Marcus has no idea what Orlovsky might be offering, he's fairly non-committal.

On the morning of the feast, the group have received two invitations - one from Count Addar Karnovski (House Karnovski are a barony who were once sworn to House Rogarvia; they're very important in trade in Restov), and one from Lady Vellara, a noblewoman from Kyonin.

While Mourgrym and Tamlane focus on Maklash and Dolgrin, Marcus visits Karnovski and Voldea and Fraxinus call upon Lady Vellara. Karnovski's offer is simple - he wants to build a series of locks and weirs along the Shrike River, making it navigable for trade ships. He offers a handsome sum of resources if the group will agree, but Marcus demurs for the time-being. As a scion of Hosue Lebeda, he knows that his family are reliant on the East Sellen trade route - and Karnovski's plan would threaten the dominance of that trade route.

Lady Vellara is a noblewoman who's lived in Restov for some time. She explains (over tea and fancy cakes) to Fraxinus and Voldea that she's starting to grow bored with Restov, and fancies living in a nice little country manor, with a vineyard nearby. She'd also quite like to offer her advice to the ruling council, if there's space for her musings. When the pair relay this offer to the rest of the group, they decide to accept Vellara's offer. Based on her afternoon's discussion, she's seemed a canny political operator, and might be useful.

That evening is the grand presentation. Lord Mayor Ioseph Sellemius offers charters establishing new baronies to Hannis Drelev, Marcus Lebeda and Maegar Varn (the Iron Wraiths, who formed the fourth expedition, haven't arrived back in Restov yet...). As the group gather afterwards, Lady Vellara starts proving her worth, as she fills the group in on Karnovski's motivations (he's a notable Rostlandic agitator, and may be intending on using the new baronies to distract the Issians while Rostland readies itself for war).

Ranek Surtova is the first of the major nobility to speak with the group. His offer is simple - swear fealty to House Surtova and their regency, and in return, Surtovan forces will help defend their barony. It's clear that Drelev has already accepted this offer, but based on earlier conversations, they doubt Varn will (later on, Fraxinus lip reads a conversation between Varn and Surtova, in which Varn rudely rejects Surtova's offer).

Next to speak to them is Sereni Orlovsky, who makes a similar offer. Orlovsky won't demand fealty, but clearly want to pull the barony into their sphere of influence and out of Surtova's. Once again, the group are diplomatic about saying 'maybe'. Marcus makes a note to use both Orlovsky and Karnovki's offer to try and leverage more support from his house.

Tamlane ends up hatting briefly with Evana Garess - but it's a very brief conversation, as she walks off as soon as he mentions Kesten Garess.

They also talk briefly with the Lord Mayor, who's keen to establish trade relationships if they can build a road connecting their holdings to Restov. He also wants to clarify the legal status of Olga's Trading Post, keen to avoid any future misunderstandings or quarrels.

At that point, the Pitaxi ambassador arrives, and presents the Lord Mayor and Lady Jamandi with a large wooden box. As the Lord Major opens the box, the blood drains from his face, and Lady Jamandi comes this close to attacking the ambassador - the head of the leader of the Iron Wraiths is inside the box. The ambassador speaks in a loud voice, saying that this is a warning to Brevoy to stop interfering with Pitaxi borders. He marches out, before Jamandi's temper gets the upper hand.

The party ends not long later.

The next day, the group embark on a final round of negotiations. Marcus calls upon his family's factor Lukas, and successfully leverages the Orlovsky and Karnovski offers (that he had no intention of accepting) into getting more resources from house Lebeda, with very few conditions attached. Fraxinus returns to the Temple of the Three to talk with Dolgrin, and finally manages to make some headway in negotiations (though the group decide to stick to the initial offer of aid, as it has the fewest restrictions). Mourgrym calls upon the Shrine of Torag, and Mastercrafter Barde Stronghammer welcomes him. The church of Torag can't offer much support in comparison to Abadar or even Pharasma, but they'll do what they can. She also begins initiating Mourgrym as a cleric of Torag. Tamlane and Voldea return to the shrine of Sarenrae, where Iroh introduces them to a halfling named Antal - a representative of the Bellflower Network. Antal wants to have their barony proclaimed at a place where former halfling slaves will be welcome; no questions asked. He also talks about his vision for a independent halfling settlement, where his people could begin making their own future. The rest of the group readily agree to this offer.

That evening, Jamandi wishes them good luck, and asks if he adoptive son Kassil can accompany them, to help keep lines of communication open. Finally, they depart from Restov and return to the Stolen Lands to begin the real work.

Erastus - the new barony is founded! They decide to start work near the site where Tuskgutter once laired, as it's close to the forest, river and gold mine. In the first month, they also establish control over the Thorn River Ford, and the loggers of the Gronzi Lumber Consortium set up a small logging camp. As they establish the logging camp, they find a grove of wild apple trees that are ripe and ready to harvest, which will make next month easier.

Marcus is formally appointed leader of the barony, with Tamlane serving as chancellor, and Mourgrym as marshal. Dolgrin Wildhammer is appointed treasurer, and Kassil is made steward. Kesten serves as constable, while Lady Vellara becomes a very genteel spymaster. Fraxinus is master builder, and Voldea is high priest, bringing the faith of Sarenrae to their people. Finally, Jhod is appointed verderer, to keep a watch over the baronies farms, orchards and woods.