The Second Charter
A couple of days after Mistletov and Tyg return to the fort they are somewhat surprised when Amiri, the barbarian from Numeria, arrives at the fort. She says that Tartuccio the Gnome had been a somewhat whimsical leader. He had guided them around in circle refusing to revel what was in his charter and was abusive to those that his party met. Then one night he simply disappeared. Some of his followers made an effort to search for him but given his previous behaviour most thought he has simply abandoned them. Amiri would now like to join Wren's party.
A few days later Wren returned from Brevoy with the new charter.
Wren also brought a few new settlers with him bringing the total population of a potential new village near the fort (and of the nascent new kingdom) to 25. They soon find a promising source of timber nearby and begin to build a communal hall. They also agree to build a rope bridge over the River Shrike and potentially one over the River Thorn later. Wren returns to Brevoy within a few days but first he tasks Mistletov with a mission. On the way down he met a kobold who asked for aid for his tribe, the Sootscales, and Mistletov is to lead a party to help the kobolds and establish diplomatic relations with them.
Before they set out Mistletov finds a barrel-chested pony who is apparently a gift from his fey friends. The pony, Shadowfov, can speak common although he communicates with the halfling by telepathy and apparently 'lost a bet' to end up as Mistetov's mount. Mistletov takes Artel, Farouk and Sin with him to the site of the Sootscale Caverns where Nikpak the kobold introduces them to his Chief. The Chief recounts sadly how the tribe has lost its holy statue of 'Old Sharptooth' who they worship. The new chief priest is giving him a very hard time of it, a character who Mistletov immediately has suspicions about. The statue was stolen by Mitflits, a local tribe of gremlins, and there is now a war between the two communities.
The party agree to intervene and say they will try and recover the statue. While camping on the way to the Mitflits den the gremlins attempt to ambush them but are knocked out by one of Artel's spells and taken prisoner. The party are taken to meet the Mitflits' leaders under the Old Sycamore Tree and are joined by Tyg and Perlivash who provide advice on how to handle the fey. The Mitflits have a strange account of how they obtained the statue which indicates that someone in the kobold community first charmed and then slept the kobolds guarding it. The gremlins agree to give up the statue after Mistletov agrees to fight and defeat three giant centipedes for the gremlins' amusement. They also agree to stop the war and become part of the new kingdom.
Returning to the Sootscale caverns the party return the statue and the Chief summons the priest who was undermining him. The priest, Tartuk, has fled confirming Mistletov's suspicions. Mistletov then 'summons an invisible dragon' (courtesy of his fey companions' illusions) and the Chief destroys the statue of Old Sharptooth claiming it has brought the tribe bad luck. The Chief then agrees to become part of the new kingdom and nominates Nakpik as his emissary to the new village.
Nikpak wastes no time in ingratiating himself with his new friends and soon has Kenzin promising to teach him smithcraft and Raigen to teach him wizardry. With the village's building projects going well Mistletov decides to take the same companions to explore the temple site that Tyg mentioned. On the way the party have to fight off four large thylacines which reminds them how dangerous the new lands can be. At the temple site the party find a hideous undead/plant-based 'bear' which attacks them ferociously until it is destroyed. The party clean up the overgrown building which was clearly a temple of Erastil and vow to eventually restore it to its former glory.
On the return journey the party spot some buildings in a patch of swamp and after an unpromising beginning befriend a boggard, Garuum, who shares his knowledge of the surrounding area. This includes the whereabouts of the lair of Tuskgutter, a huge and irrascible boar who has claimed many human victims. Tuskguttter is duly gutted providing welcome boar steaks for the settlement.
Wren returns from Brevoy with yet more new settlers and the news that a further party will arrive in a few days. Wren asks Mistletov to explore the area to the south of the settlement. Circling round Tuskwater via the woods to the west Mistletov and his companions come to a woodland lake where an ugly standoff is occurring between a group of loggers and their obviously enchanted former companions. The druid talks to the 'enchantress', a nixie in the lake called Melianse, who is demanding that the loggers replace the coachwood trees they have just cut down. In the end a settlement is reached and Mistletov agrees to fetch new coachwood saplings and the loggers agree to search for coachwood trees further north.
The druid travels to the glade of Tiressia, a dryad friend of the nixie, to obtain coachwood saplings. Tiressia asks that in return the party rid her glade of an invading Scythe Tree which they do although the tree itself is tough and vicious. Mistletov wangles some additional sapling out of Tiressia with a view to setting up a druid grove near the village. As a result of this friendly contact with powerful fey Wren rules that all activity within a twelve mile radius of their homes is subject to their permission. In return fey promise to warn the settlement of any approaching danger through the wood or over the water.
Rumours say that a possible 'baby-eating hag' lives by Tuskwater south of the settlement. The party approach her cottage with some trepidation and ring the large bell at the entrance to her garden. The 'hag', an old woman of greenish skin, introduces herself as Elga Verniax. She makes and sells potions mainly from herbs grown in her garden but tells the party she will pay 5gp for each Black Rattlecap toadstool they pick for her. Elga gives them directions to a muddy hollow which unfortunately is occupied by a large and hungry carniverous plant. A tough battle follows but eventually the party destroy it and pick 18 toadstools. Elga is impressed and says she will be glad to see them again. She sells them two healing potions.
Moving on the party meet an old hermit who at first seems very friendly but turns out to be a psychopath who tries to kill them when their guard is down. After they defeat him they discover a locket and a treasure map in his possession. The locket indicates he may well have been the brother of the friendlier hermit they met to the north, named Bokken.