The First Charter

With no more of the ruffians in the manor house the party start to help the wounded survivors and strip the bodies of their enemies. They discover that a number of adventurers have lost most of their party and Wren recruits Raigen, Artel, Farouk and Kenzin to his cause. These adventurers do feel, however, that their first duty is to return the bodies of their fallen comrades to their next of kin so they don't expect to join the party for some time.

The party learn that Raigen and Artel are heading in the direction of Oleg's with the body of one of their fallen comrades so they agree to escort them. After two days of travelling west they find their way blocked by a group of 20-30 goblins. The leader says the party match the description of the people he is looking for and the party should drop their weapons. Artel and Sin suddenly appear behind the goblins in a devasting attack while the rest of the party assault their front rank with Mistletov in dire wolf form. A number of the goblins take the opportunity to run away but most fight on and are killed. The leader is taken prisoner. The party now suspect that somebody at Lady Jamandi's was a traitor. Artel and Raigen agree to take the captured goblin leader back to her when they return.

The party arrive at Oleg's just after dusk and Oleg offers them beds for the night. In the morning they chat to Svetlana who tells them that when the bandits first arrived over three months ago they were lead by a woman carrying two hatchets. She threatened to cut off Oleg's hand unless he gave them money. She also stole Svetlana's wedding ring. The bandits are due back in a week. When the party wonder what they will do to then Svetlana suggests they might like to collect some moon radishes which she needs to make Oleg's favourite dish, moon radish soup. She also points out that they have a notice board where people can post rewards for various tasks.

The party look at the notice board and note that a lot of the tasks seem dangerous but a Kestin Garess has offered 30gp for the killing/capturing 6 bandits (which they are going to have to do anyway). They decide, however, (quite wrongly as it turns out) that collecting moon radishes is the simplest task. On the way they visten a hermit, Bokken, who is an alchemist who makes potions and they order some antitoxin. He warns them about the small but vicious spiders that inhabit the countryside where the moon radishes grow. The spiders are indeed small and extremely vicious with a nasty bite. They swarm all over Wren who disperses them with a Thunderwave. They then swarm all over Mistletov. In desperation Wren tries a second Thunderwave which knocks Mistletov out. The party then finish off the little blighters with torches. On the way home the party encounter a Thylacine. The party respect its 'eat or be eaten' philosophy by eating it.

Svetlana is very grateful for the moon radishes. The party next try visiting the two fortified manor houses to the north but discover they are defended by paranoia and large dogs. A couple of days later the bandits arrive at Oleg's and the party ambush them but deliberately let one escape. They then use Mistletov's mastiff to track the bandit by scent to the bandit camp. Sin silently (and invisibly) takes out the first guard on watch and then skirts round to the other side of the camp to take out the second guard postioned on a platform in a tree. This time she lets him cry out causing half the bandits to rush off in her direction. The rest of the party then attack the remaining bandits. At the end of the fray six bandits lie dead and two have been captured including the leader. After looting the camp and burying the bodies the captives are taken back to Oleg's and interrogated.

The captured bandits provided much useful information about the location and layout of the Stag Lord's fort. Oleg tells them the story of how Davik Nettles was killed by the bandits defending the bridge that he built and decide to scout in that direction as it seems to be on the way to the fort. They discover that he is now an undead creature who will not rest until the Stag Lord's body is presented to him. The party vow to help him and now supplemented by Kenzin and Farouk approach the fort at night allowing Sin to infiltrate it. She returns having identified that there are about 20 bandits or less, they are holding an owlbear captive in a cage, that one of the Stag Lord's lieutenants is disenchanted with him and that there is also a possible prisoner in the basement.

Mistletov turns himself into a rat and Sin pockets him and returns to the fort. Mistletov talks to the owlbear and tells it that it can have revenge on its captors as he has come to release it. Sin picks the lock on the cage and the owlbear attacks the nearest bandits. While the camp is distracted Sin and Mistletov quickly take out the two guards on the gate and open it for the rest of the party. Although the bandits defend their fort fiercely they are distracted by the owlbear and crucially their leaders are slow to realise what is going on.

The party slay many of the bandits and two of the lieutenants before a third lieutenant, Akiros Ismort, appears. He, however, was the one Sin knew was rebellious and is quickly persuaded by Wren to change sides. When finally a slightly under the influence Stag Lord appears he has to confront the party and Akiros alone and although a brutally tough fighter succumbs to a combined assault. The owlbear by this time has disappeared into the night so the party investigate the basement. Kenzin volunteers to open the door and enter the room but is immediately accosted by a giant spider. Bizarrely a strang. e old man is attached to the ceiling and rather than see the party as rescuers fires powerful magic spells at them. He also seems to have performed some dark druidical ritual which has made his skin tougher than plate mail. Nevertheless the party slay both him and the spider to end the resistance in the fort.

The Stag Lord's body is taken to Davik Nettle's crossing and as Davik finds peace at last he leaves the party his trusty magic ranseur. The party then take possession of the fort with a view to making it their base for future operations. Arkiros accepts the offer of a new life working for the party and Wren and Raguso ride back to Brevoy to negotiate a new charter. While they are away Akiros helps the remaining party members to clear the old cemetery which surrounds the fort of zombies.

When that task is completed Akiros asks Mistletov to accompany him on a 'secret mission'. While camping for the night near the Thorn River Mistletov awakes to find he is being accosted by an 'invisible dragon'. The dragon demands treasure but after a few minutes disappears threatening to be back later. Mistletov has suspicions that it wasn't a real dragon. Akiros leads Mistletov to the west up the wooded slopes of some hills and shows him an opening to an disused mine in the hillside. Together they explore the first level of the mine and encounter a ghast and a ghoul. Although they are both paralysed for a few seconds in the ensuing combat they manage to vanquish both the undead. Akiros then finds traces of gold dust on the floor!

On the way back the pair meet a mysterious old man who gives Mistletov a jewel (which he claims to have found in Mistletov's ear) and much advice on the value of friendship over power and riches. In turn when Mistletov meets the 'dragon' again he offers up the jewel leading the pair of fey who had been playing tricks on him to reveal themselves. One indeed was a dragon, a fairy dragon about the size of a cat. The other is a grig called Tyg. Now extrmely friendly to Mistletov they offer to guide him to the site of a ruined temple if he ever comes back that way.