Since I need to do a write-up of the progress of our campaign for my players, I thought I might as well as do it here. Perhaps it would be of use to some other GM and maybe there will be some useful comments. Since I use published scenarios (whether fanon or canon) whenever I can, this topic will be rife with spoilers.

Cast of player characters

Sir Arsyn Cazaelin
As the third son of the lord of Rinril manor (in Vemionshire) and with both of his elder brothers surviving, Sir Arsyn has little hope of ever inheriting land. The best his (now late) father could do for him was to convince his old comrade in arms, Sir Jouart Odasart, now bailiff of Ambarnis Hundred in Meselyneshire, to take the boy as his squire.

The remarkable adventures in the recent year and a half have turned the slightly insecure squire Arsyn into a confident and slightly foolhardy young knight. He has even found a budding talent for poetry.

A competent fighter, Sir Arsyn could hardly have survived his recent ordeals without the aid of his companions. This, he usually forgets when recounting those events, but is easily forgiven, due to his otherwise pleasant demeanor.

Pjarri Jaldsen
An Ivinian sailor/mercenary not averse to some robbing and pillaging. Stranded and left for dead by his shipmates after a mutiny deposed the captain and all in his support, Pjarri managed to survive against the odds. His enemies, already powerful, have since grown only stronger forcing Pjarri to seek refuge in Kaldor far from the sea.

A big strong man, Pjarri has never had any difficulty finding employment. He has done stints as a caravan guard on the Silver Way and the Salt Route and has been employed as a mercenary by more than one potentate of the realm.

Sir Jouart Odasart, impressed by his obvious combat prowess, hired Pjarri to help train his yeomen. Unfortunately Pjarri turned out to be less excellent as a trainer and Sir Jouart did not renew his contract.

As Pjarri's contract expired at the same time as young Arsyn attained knighthood, Pjarri chose to follow the likable young knight as a sort of groom. Since Gimri joined the band, Pjarri has left tending to the horses to Gimri and is now only responsible for the condition of the weapons and armor of the young knight.

Pjarri is deadly with an axe, but not too disciplined and prone to lapse into uncontrollable rages in combat. Somewhat surprisingly, Pjarri is an excellent singer with a gruffy baritone. Many innkeepers in Olokand and Tashal know of this and welcome Pjarri warmly as he can provide a night worth of good entertainment when he is in a good mood.

Orisir
A sergeant in the service of Sir Jouart Odasart. Orisir is a trusted retainer and a competent warrior. Orisir hails from a local family and his brother now holds the family lands. Orisir is a self-described bachelor for life and has no interest in establishing his own household. He does howeve enjoy visiting his brother and help out.

An adventurous soul, Orisir is proud of having seen all the great cities of Harn. He too plied the salt route and silver way for awhile as a caravan guard where he befriended Pjarri. He has worked for Sir Jouart for several years already and is reasonably content.

Poris
A yeoman in the service of Sir Jouart Odasart, Poris is a crack shot with his bow. Poris is however often unable to control his urges to drink and gamble, gamble and drink. Obviously the combination inevitably leads to all sorts of other trouble.

A widower, Poris is having trouble keeping his land tilled. The village reeve has on numerous occasions petitioned Sir Jouart to rectify the situation. The reeve would like to see Poris ousted.

Viril
A young yeoman in the service of Sir Jouart Odasart. Viril inherited the position after his father's death at the hand of a group of brigands. Viril is of slender built and not too strong. He is however fleetfooted and agile. Good with animals too and a competent rider. Sir Jouart often uses Viril as a messenger.

Arain of Thay
A dainty young man with a quaint foreign accent, Arain makes sure Sir Arsyn is properly groomed and his attire not out of place even when with most exalted company. This he is able to accomplish with very limited funds available. Somehow Arain seems to know all the ins and out of Kaldoric society and is always up to date on the latest gossip.

Arain is the only member of the group able to read and write properly (both Sir Arsyn and Pjarri can with difficulty discern some letters and possibly even understand simple missives).

Arain occasionally claims to hail from Thay, but is never too forthcoming about his past. Although he leaves a shallow first impression, those who get to know him better feel he is like an onion, beneath every layer there seems to be yet another layer.

Gimri Nine-fingers
The grumpy former huntsmaster of Rinril manor, Gimri has known Sir Arsyn, since the latter was but a wee lad. The two have always got along nicely. Gimri was a faithful servant of Sir Arsyn's father whom he regarded as an honorable and fair man. Gimri was griefstricken when the old lord passed away and could never forgive the young lord, Sir Arsyn's brother, the circumstances of the death. Thus Gimri followed Sir Arsyn and tends to his horses (or rather a horse now) on the trail.

Having spent all his adult life as the manor huntsman, the forest is Gimri's element. Of course he knows Vemionshire and particularly Tishilan hundred and Myleli forest like a back of his hand. In cities, Gimri is like a fish out of water. In fact, the recent visit to Tashal in the retinue of Sir Arsyn, was the first time Gimri visited a proper city.

Gimri lost his right middle finger in a scuffle with a bear in his youth and is unable to use a bow. However, he is quite able with his javelin.

Scina Auerdas
Third child and second son to a poor landed knight, Scina grew up knowing that his destiny lays with the cloth. Unfortunately the match was completely unsuited. So despite Scina's best - or more accurately - mediocre efforts, young Scina was sent back from the Laranian seminaries with a note that should he ever return he might face burning at the stake as a heretic. His father, not having a better idea, decided he could fool the young new bailif of neighbouring Uriece to accept Scina as his squire.

Not being trained for it since childhood and being way too old to start as a squire, Scina makes for a poor squire. A better educated squire than most, but one that only barely manages with the most basic duties of a squire.

Scina spends most of his spare time doodling blasphemous pictures of Larani and her saints wasting good parchment and ink in the process. He is actually quite good at it and can easily win friends among the servant classes by distributing his chuckle-inducing wares.

Hmm, you've piqued my interest. Any sessions played yet? Any chance we can see character sheets? This looks like a promising group.

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The Melderyn Campaign

First Session
Wherein the young squire attains knighthood by meeting a new sentient species and killing it.

It was a gloomy overcast autumn day in Olokand, when Sir Jouart Odasart has arrived with a small retinue to confer with his lord the Sheriff of Meselyneshire. Young squire Arsyn, Orisin, Pjarri, Poris and Viril were left about town on their own to spend the day, but in the evening Sir Jouart instructed the party to prepare for a journey the next day. Sir Jouart would trust squire Arsyn to run an important errand on behalf of the sheriff no less.

The errand itself was simple enough. Sir Kathel Dezaller of Loban manor was late with his annual feudal obligation of 100 bushels of rye and squire Arsyn would need to fetch it. There was also some concern regarding a problem with nearby Amba mine. Apparently the mine had been closed due to some accident or some such. Arsyn was instructed to look into the matter, although strictly speaking the issue was not within the sheriff's jurisdiction.

Arsyn's initial enthusiasm for having been offered his first command started to ebb when in Loban he had to encounter the rather surly Sir Kathel not at all impressed by the young whelp sent by the sheriff and the fact that there appeared to be a vile murderer loose. Four brutal killings in the village within two months had led the villagers to the desperate measure of refusing to undertake the harvest until the killer is captured. Sir Kathel imprisoning and threatening to hang the refusing serfs had not resolved the situation.

Not wanting to end his first mission with a failure Arsyn, despite contrary advice decided to pursue the matter, to find and apprehend the killer. Suspecting that the killings might have something to do with a raid against the Taelda residing across the river organized by Sir Kathel during the summer, Arsyn soon lead his party into the wilderness.

Frustrated with failed attempts to find or contact the elusive Taelda and with the search at the abandoned Amba mines leading to nowhere, the group stumbled on a hermit. After a not so subtle interrogation and a flurry of threats, the hermit claimed to know the residence of the culprit. Leading the party to limestone outcrop rising some eighty feet above ground, the hermit claimed the place was haunted by the old one whom he thought as the culprit.

Doubting the hermit's story, the party nevertheless proceeded investigating the site. After extensive search a small cave complex was found. Since the caves warranted further investigations and despite the hermits protests, Arsyn decided to camp for the night.

The next day with a group devising various ways of entering parts of the cave complex more difficult to reach, while Orisir was relieving his bladder he was suddenly attacked by a strange creature. Large and grey, resembling more a lump of rock than an animal, the creature was obviously intelligent and nearly managed to kill Orisir who was able to cry for help and managed to escape the creature's clutches for long enough for Pjarri and Arsyn to come to his aid (Viril and Poris being inside the caves). After a difficult fight, the three men managed to cut down the creature.

Returning to the village with the head of the creature, Arsyn convinced the villagers to undertake the harvest allowing Arsyn to return to Olokand some days later as a hero. Grateful Sir Jouart proceeded to knight young Arsyn and ending his term as squire. It was thus yet another gloomy overcast autumn morning then Sir Arsyn woke with a headache and realization that with the knighthood came also unemployment.

[obviously we started out with a pretty much standard rendition of 100 Bushels of Rye, I am including the summary of it here for completeness]

Second Session
Wherein the young knight attends a tournament as a spectator, but stumbles on a murder mystery and is nearly skewered for his troubles.

Pitying the young fool or perhaps finding the honest youth amiable, Sir Jouart invited Sir Arsyn to stay the winter in his manor and allowed him to hang on over spring and well into the summer. Finally there was understanding that Sir Jouart would accommodate Sir Arsyn until the Royal Chelebin Tournament. There Sir Arsyn hoped to make contacts and perhaps find a suitable lord. Lacking a proper warhorse, Sir Jouart only provided a modest palfrey, Sir Arsyn was unable to attend the tournament himself and was thus relegated to mere spectator.

As it happened Poris and Orisin were allowed time off by Sir Jouart to attend the tournament, with Poris intending to participate in the shoot. The tournament also coincided with Pjarri's end of the term of service, so he too was a free agent. The four stuck together out of habit.

After one sunny and merry day, a body of a big fat merchant was found in woods near the tourney grounds. Having little to do and curious by nature, the party stumbled on the ruckus. Suddenly they found themselves commandeered to help carry the body to the Peonian temple. Given their talkative mood they also found themselves offering interpretations as to the signs of the body and devising theories as to the manner of death. It was thus that the sheriff arriving to inspect the victim, overheard and decided to order Sir Arsyn to take charge, find and apprehend the culprit, and do this in time for the traditional hangings on the final day of the tournament!

A couple of days scurrying about after various leads followed with the sheriff demanding continuous progress reports and results. After some investigations, deliberation and perhaps guided by their prejudice, the group came to suspect a foreign shieldmaiden and her shady retinue of the deed. Claiming to hail from Emelrene and a devout Laranian, Sir Arsyn was fairly sure that this was a lie. Finally then the sheriff (himself pressured by the representatives of the Mangai) made clear that the necessary culprit to be hanged need not be guilty of this particular crime and for lack of better candidates might just as well be one of the party (for some reasons all glanced at Pjarri), Sir Arsyn aired his suspicions, but admitted lacking evidence. Delighted, Sir Maldan summoned the foreign lady to answer the charges laid by the blushing and stammering young knight. She, after a quick examination of her accuser, declared herself innocent and demanded a trial by combat. A request the sheriff was bound to accept.

Knowing full well the combat prowess of the mysterious amazon, Sir Arsyn was trembling all over when leaving the sheriff's hall. Then by chance [as if], one clue, the party had failed to follow up on, lead to the discovery that the strange woman must be a vile Navehan. Despite it being night, the group was rushing to the castle to make the horrible secret public, the party was ambushed by the lady in question and her two able followers. A closely fought battle ensued between the two groups with Sir Arsyn's band emerging victorious with mere light wounds and managing to capture the villain alive.

Needless to say, the sheriff was happy and the tournament was successfully concluded with the spectacle of burning a Navehan witch!

While Poris (who failed to impress at the shoot) and Orisir made their way home, Sir Arsyn and Pjarri were invited to sleep at the corner of the great hall of Olokand. Things were looking up for young Sir Arsyn.

Third Session
Wherein the young knight and his retinue practice the art of killing other species en masse. Alas, there is a price to be paid for that.

Pjarri's most prized possession was his old battleaxe. A gift from his father, the weapon was intricately carved and perfectly balanced (for an axe that is). A marvel to look at and a trustworthy tool (of murder and mayhem), Pjarri could never be found not having his axe by his side. So the loss of it was a tragedy Pjarri mourned for weeks like no loss he had suffered before.

The sorry tale began a month or so after the Chelebyn tournament. The sheriff heard a report that a band of vile gargun had been seen on the fur road near the Amba mines, calling young Sir Arsyn who was doing nothing useful, the sheriff ordered him to leave immediately for the Amba mines. He was to ensure the miners were safe and wait until the sheriff could arrive with a bigger force. Riding like the wind Sir Arsyn and Pjarri headed first to Setanlin to request Sir Jouart to pick some of his men to join as reinforcements, the small group of five arrived at the mines before nightfall.

Sir Arsyn, as directed by Orisir, set about setting up watches and preparing for defences, but nothing of interest happened that first night. The next day, the miners helped set up barricades of sort and to gather firewood to make light for expected night fighting. Then Poris spotted to of the critters scouting about, the miners refused to stay any longer and left hurriedly. Despite having no miners to keep safe, Sir Arsyn decided to follow his orders to the letter and kept his small force in place. There were some tools and some ore the miners had left behind and which the gargun might pilfer.

More scouts seen in the evening boded evil and after nightfall the horror began. Tens of the creatures assaulted Sir Arsyn's group and but for the diligent work creating defences the whole day, the group would have succumbed. As it was, many in the party suffered wounds, but somehow their defences held. There were several waves of assaults that night, but somehow in the morning they were all still alive, although some no longer in fighting condition.

In the morning though the greatest tragedy was discovered. Sometime during the night Pjarri had lost his axe. Expecting to find it in the morning, Pjarri continued fighting with weapons he took off the dead or dying orcs. When dawn broke and Pjarri started to look for his beloved axe, he couldn't find it. Furiously throwing about the rocks that were used to make the barricade didn't help. The axe was lost.

Meanwhile, Sir Arsyn (with his able assistants) kept a cool head and sent Poris to track the surviving gargun. Thus then the sheriff arrived with his son, Sir Mirald, and the Baron of Setrew ahead of an impressive column of knights, Sir Arsyn and Poris could lead them directly to the swarm. The ensuing slaughter was complete. No gargun survived the massacre.

Pjarri was going to mope about for ages due to the loss of the axe. Also, Viril, severely wounded, had to be carried home to his mother. Orisir too was badly wounded, but could walk back. Still, Sir Arsyn counted himself lucky to have survived the ordeal with such minimal losses.

Fifth Session
Wherein the young knight escorts a beautiful bride to his groom.

Sometime late winter, early next spring when the roads were again traversable Sir Arsyn was again feeling anxious about his position in the household of the sheriff. There was still no formal indication whether he was part of the household or not despite spending the winter in the sheriff's hall. That day the sheriff summoned him and inquired whether Sir Arsyn was longing for home. Not waiting for an answer, the sheriff thanked Sir Arsyn for his service and asked him to do a favor on his way home. The sheriff had promised his clansmen in Minarsas to escort a young orphaned lady who was a ward of the local merchant to Vemionshire, there to be married to some Harabor. This task he wanted Sir Arsyn to perform for him.

So it was that with a heavy heart Sir Arsyn and Pjarri left Olokand. Cheered somewhat by the company of a young and beautiful lady (accompanied by a maid of course) the journey promised to be uneventful. Soon though it became clear that the bride to be was not at all thrilled by being married off to some stranger. She had other plans involving a youth following the party and then after awhile she had new plans involving Sir Arsyn. Sir Arsyn was not at all averse to the attentions of the young woman.

It took Pjarri several brawls, fisticuffs and some serious browbeating to deliver the bride safely and intact to Minarsas.

After a few days in Minarsas, Sir Arsyn was approached by a man introducing himself as Arain of Thay. The man explained that he was sent by Sir Maldan with a gift of a heavy purse of silver (as compared to Sir Arsyn's finances then) and a fine warhorse (well decent warhorse). He also carried a recommendation from Sir Maldan and explained being a valet seeking service. Stunned, Sir Arsyn accepted the gifts and agreed to employ Arain.

Sixth Session
Wherein the young knight is confronted with a tragedy of losing his father and his naïveté (well only a large part of it).

The scene opens with young sir Arsyn arriving home to Rinril manor after years of absence with Pjarri and Arain in tow. He has of course already heard en route from Minarsas that his father is ill which causes him great concern. At the same time he cannot wait to show everyone his magnificent warhorse and shiny armor. Instead of the expected hero's welcome, the feast upon Sir Arsyn's return was morose and somber. The loved pater familias unable to attend and his moans from the solar chamber easily audible to the diners in the hall below.

It quickly becomes clear that Sir Arsyn's eldest brother is not at all happy about his return. The two were never friends as children, but now the brother was particularly curt with Arsyn. It seems the crux of the matter is that he regards Sir Arsyn as firmly in Maldan Harabor's camp while he views the Harabor's in general and Maldan in particular with disdain. It also becomes clear that Sir Arsyn's brother is under the influence of the young lord of the neighboring manor. This haughty man is never seen without his even haughtier body servant about.

There's also dispute over how to deal with the elder Cazaelin's sickness. While his brother wants to leave matters to Larani and the manor chaplain, sir Arsyn dragged a physician from Minarsas to Rinril. Unfortunately the physician is of little help (and later the party learns the physician can really only help his purse). Sir Arsyn's father dies.

After the funeral, the brother, or rather his friend, makes it clear that the sooner Sir Arsyn leaves, the better. Depressed and making ready to leave, Sir Arsyn is approach by his old friend Gimri. Gimri has his suspicions about the death of Sir Arsyn's father. The old lord of the neighboring manor had died recently of a very similar illness while there were no other such victims about. The relationship between brother and father were bad. The father despised the young lord of the neighbouring manor and the father was in good relations with the Harabors of the shire. Things had been so bad that in his anger, the father had on occassion even talked of disinheriting his eldest son.

Spurred by this revelation to do some investigation, Sir Arsyn was eventually convinced that his father was poisoned. He figured the poison was brought in a wine casket by the haughty man of the neighbouring lord. He had also discovered that the servant was likely the long lost but returned son of the which living in the neighbouring village. To discover more and anxious to discover whether his brother was an accomplice to this heinour crime, Sir Arsyn and his companions decided to confront the which. Unfortunately the late night visit goes awry and results in the deaths of the hag, the haughty servant and an unfortunate villager, without the party learning anything conclusive.

Given the circumstances Sir Arsyn decides it best to leave home in haste. He is fortunate that for some reason the lord of the neighboring manor does not wish to press the issue and create a scandal.

Seventh Session
Wherein the young knight enters a tournament to win service with an earl and somebody commits a vile murder to obtain a wooden stick and some steel.

Not sure where to go or what to do, Arain the valet made a useful suggestion. The Earl of Vemion had declared a tournament and the winners of its joust and melee would be sponsored by the earl as Vemion's representatives of this year's Royal Chelebin Tournament at Olokand. A first time local affair, the tournament would surely not attract the best knights all over the nation and Sir Arsyn might have a very good chance. Given sir Maldan's gift of the warhorse and the purse, Sir Arsyn had all that he needed to participate in the tournament.

Thus Sir Arsyn led the party which included him, Pjarri, Arain, Gimri (who could not in good concscience stay in the service of Sir Arsyn's brother knowing what he knew) and Gimri's dog to Minarsas to attend the tournament. Once there, they learned that not only would the winner be sponsored, but they would be allowed to join the earl in his progress through his lands and all the way to Olokand. Excitedly, Sir Arsyn went to register as a contestant and then spent the next few days before the beginning of the joust preparing and practicing for the event with Pjarri. Meanwhile Gimri was struggling with a toothache that had bothered him since leaving Rinril. Meanwhile Arain went about doing something or other.


On the first day of the joust, Sir Arsyn was to meet the lord of a nearby manor. Sir Arsyn had only the previous night realized that with the first opponent, he had a good chance of losing all. With no land or other income and no powerful supporter, he would have no chance to replace either his armor or his warhorse should he lose them. Therefore it was a great relief for him to see his overweight and clearly incompetent opponent. Fortune had favored Sir Arsyn with the weakest contestant of all as his first opponent. Sir Arsyn won the contest with ease.

That night Pjarri discovered that a couple of Ivinians had arrived to Minarsas, possibly a Cheler merchant and his bodyguard. What piqued Pjarri's interest was the magnificent battleaxe carried by the bodyguard. Gimri cursed the local physician who took good silver, but did nothing to his toothache. And Arain disappeared into the night to run some errands.

Sir Arsyn's second opponent was a known competent jouster from a nearby manor. As luck would have it, Sir Arsyn's opponent was clearly ill. Probably something he ate the night before. His horse looked a bit disturbed too and the knight had great difficulty keeping it under control. After two passes, Sir Arsyn was in the lead and his opponent yielded, needing to relieve his bowels fast. Pjarri was tormented by the sight of the Ivinian prancing about with his fine axe as though he was mocking Pjarri's loss. Gimri finally managed to get relief and the tooth pulled.

Sir Arsyn's opponent the next day was lady [to be checked from notes], a shieldmaiden of masculine built, overflowing energy and shrill voice. The confident party had dismissed her as serious opponent last night. Instead they were discussing strategies to beat the likely opponents in the final two rounds. Thus it was rather a surprise then she dropped Sir Arsyn plum off his horse the first pass and ended Sir Arsyn's first joust with shrieks of laughter.

Sir Arsyn sunk his disappointment in a cup. Moping, he refused to go see the final rounds of the joust the next day. Arain was nowhere to be seen during the day. But in the evening the party convened to prepare Sir Arsyn for the melee the next day and another chance.

The melee was inconclusive. While Sir Arsyn's performance was not bad, it was not stellar. Nor was there another clear victor. Certain that some of the more prominent knights would be declared the victor, Sir Arsyn went to seek comfort in ale. Thus it took some time for Arain to find him to tell that the jury had handed him the prize for the melee. There was much rejoicing and celebrating that evening and night. The joyful mood wasn't even much disturbed by the protests of the Ivinian merchant the next morning who had found the body of his bodyguard in some bushes near the inn. Breeches stinking of urine, the poor man had apparently been sneaked on and garrotted whilst relieving his bladder. Both the purse and the superb battleaxe were gone.

Eleventh Session
Wherein a loyal servant is imprisoned by mean men, the young knight uncovers treachery and commits an awful crime.

Shocked by the events of the previous day, the earl summoned the senior members of the progress. Furious about the assassination attempt he promised to leave no stone unturned until the culprit is found, looks hard at each of the assembled men, but passes Sir Arsyn, to order Sir Ando Valador to take charge of the investigation and to find the person or persons behind the assassin. He then declared his intention to leave for Caleme in the funeral train with the other potentates on the following day. Finally he ordered Sir Arsyn to stay behind, wait for the weapons and armor he ordered to be delivered and then escort the goods to Tashal.

On the following day a massive cavalcade left Olokand for Caleme. The sight was truly magnificent as nearly all of the more powerful nobles in the realm join the funeral procession. Then the last straggling parties have crossed the Kald, the town seems as though completely deserted after the bustle of the last weeks, even though the population of the town had merely returned to normal. Sir Ando joined the cavalcade planning to journey to Tashal, where he declared he would find the persons who hired the assassin.

Sir Arsyn, Pjarri and Arain spent a few days idling in Olokand waiting for the deliveries. The party discovered also that a group of shady characters moved into the Amber Inn also waiting for something. Finally when the expected delivery from Abriel was already a couple of days late, Sir Arsyn got impatient and journeyed to Abriel to find out the reason for the delay. Pjarri stayed behind to guard the earlier deliveries.

At Abriel, Sir Arsyn discovered that the armor he was waiting for was sent to iversen to Terba of Barlis for maintenance and some mending before delivery, but that the delivery was stalled due to the bishop ordering a halt on all matters related to the abbeys defence and troop movements until his return from the king's funeral. The abbot had interpreted this to mean also the delivery of the surplus armor to earl Declaen.

Meanwhile in Tashal, Gimri, whose leg had already been mostly healed, was invited by Esar, the earl's ostler's apprentice, to see the sights of the city and enjoy some ale. The unsuspecting Gimri agreed gladly, only to wake up the next morning bruised and tied up on the floor of an obviously derelict house. The most unsanitary room would no doubt have stanked horribly, but for a gaping hole in the roof apparently caused by a caved in chimney which pieces lay about the room. As a response to a scream of help, a couple of ruffians entered the room to beat poor Gimri into a pulp.

In discussions with Sir Celed Ubael, Sir Arsyn learned that there had been argument about the planned dispatch of a group of knights to Melderyn to the Solora crusade (the group which incidentally was to include Sir Celed) and that the bishop had probably wanted to see what would happen in Kaldor in terms of the succession before allowing any weakening of the local order. Armed with this information and backed by Sir Celed, Sir Arsyn approached the abbot to negotiate the release of the armor for the Earl of Vemion. In this he succeeded after a lengthy battle of wits, even though Sir Arsyn was left with a feeling that the abbot was toying with him.

In Tashal, Gimri was woken up to be questioned about Sir Arsyn. Gimri initially confused by the questions soon understood that his questioner was as confused. Soon after Gimri heard his captors argue next door with a strangely familiar voiced older man about the need to find evidence against Sir Arsyn, to find a weak spot which would allow to pin him for some crime. Gimri got a distinct feeling that he was held by amateurs, which did not alleviate his pain. Gimri found a sharpish rock in the debris and hid it.

Meanwhile Sir Arsyn was struggling to load his cargo and get it moving from Iversen. Upon the arrival of Sir Arsyn and the wagon to Olokand, the shady band occupying Amber Inn left and made their way across the Kald. In fear of being waylaid, the party decided to hire boats instead and take the cargo to Tashal by the river.

After a couple of more questioning session and beatings by the incrasinhly frustrated goons, Gimri overheard the older man order Gimri to be killed. The man believed his absence could be made to look suspicious in itself. After a little while one of the men entered the room to offer Gimri some food, the first during his imprisonment. Expecting poison, Gimri refused to eat. The man left and soon Gimri heard him arguing with his companion about who should do the deed. Realizing his end to be near, Gimri gathered all his strength, used the rock to cut himself loose and clambered through the hole in the roof to freedom. A pursuit ensued through the alleys of Tashal with Gimri only barely managing to escape. Afraid of entering the Caldeth clanhouse, Gimri lurked about it as near as he dared hoping to see and warn Sir Arsyn as he returned.

The next morning Sir Arsyn did return and Gimri found him and told all that had happened. Not certain what to expect, Sir Arsyn went to the Caldeth townhouse. There, after a quick talk with Huw, he discovered that Sir Andro had received a message late last night after about the time Gimri escaped, and had hurriedly left after that. After some more inquries the party learned that Sir Andro had been seen with some unsavory characters at the Spurs. The innkeep, Halime, had even seen a heavy purse being handed over. Halime even knew that Sir Andro had recently hired a couple of newly arrived wannabe Lia-Kavair yokels for some job.

Not really expecting to find anyone, Sir Arsyn asked Gimri to lead the party reinforced by Worin and Enil to where he had been kept. Seeing light within the party rushed in the derelict eastside tenment to find Sir Andro, who had shed his fine clothes in favor of a peasants outfit, hiding behind his hired goons and Esar, the treacherous apprentice. After a quick furious fight the goons lay dead, Esar was moaning, as he was slowly bleeding to death, and the villain was captured.

After a deft interrogation by Arain, Sir Andro confessed to having paid an assassin to murder the earl, but only because of having been forced to do so by the blackmailing constable of Kyg. Satisfied, Sir Arsyn, Pjarri and Arain took Sir Andro to see the earl in Caleme. The earl having learned the sorry tale and that none had seen Sir Andro since he left the Caldeth townhouse, lamented the need to maintain good relations with Valador and expressed a wish that he nor anyone else should ever have to see Sir Andro again. On their way back to Tashal Sir Arsyn and Pjarri made the earl's wish come true.

Sir Arsyn have since had much difficulty to fall asleep.

As you can see I am building pressure for myself to actually write the session summaries as promised.

Quite - well I look forward to reading them!

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The Melderyn Campaign

Twelth Session
Wherein the young knight's prospects improve as he swears fealty to the earl and is made a bailiff.

While the Earl of Vemion attends the ten days of royal funeral and related ceremonies in Caleme, Sir Arsyn and his companions wait for instructions in Tashal.

Tensions in the city rise amid speculations about the succession. The merchant class seems more and more in support of crowning the Sheriff of Meselyne, while most of the nobles find Sir Maldan's elevation repulsive, but have no clear opposing candidate. It becomes evident that there will be no easy succession as the succession council fails to convene in Caleme as expected after the end of the funeral ceremonies. It is rumoured that the earl of Balim had requested the Archbishop to make a ruling on the validity of the documents presented by Lady Erila Kaphin concerning the legitimacy of the Harabor brothers and Sir Tulath Kaphin and had refused to attend any council with the said parties present until the matter is resolved by the Archbishop.

News of a sharp altercation between the Earls of Balim and Vemion at Caleme over the alleged misbehavior of Balim's vassal, the constable of Kyg, cause alarm in the Caldeth household in Tashal. Pjarri is confronted by the unhappy constable one night at the Spurs. The spiteful constable introduces Pjarri to Terje Harkonsen, an Ivinian much interested in how Pjarri came to possess an axe very similar to the one that Terje's late brother used to carry. A fight or worse is avoided only by the intervention of Haleme's (the innkeeper) goons.

The very next day Earl Declaen returns to Tashal and immediately summons Sir Arsyn. Thanking sir Arsyn for services rendered so far, the earl offers Sir Arsyn a permanent position in his household but demands fealty in return.

After the solemn words of Sir Arsyn, the earl reveals that a couple of years ago he was approached by a prospctor making wild claims about gold on the north shores of lake Tontury. The prospector had not reported his findings to the guild having been thrown out of the guild due to to some felony and was in fact presumed dead for years by everybody who used to know him. Not wanting to cause unnecessary fuss, the earl decided to check whether the prospector was telling the truth. The earl had put Sir Andro in charge of the project.

Since then the prospector's claims had been verified, but due to the uncertainties in the kingdom, the earl decided to wait a bit until reporting the find to the king and the guild. Besides given the location, the mine might even be outside the realm making the question of ownership of the site difficult. Meanwhile, under the desire of gathering more information (and perhaps line the earl's coffers a bit), a small mine was established at the site by the prospector. Sir Andro arranged labour, dealt with nearby Pagaelin and handled transport of the product to Burzyn where the product was exchanged to goods and silver more useful in Kaldor than the rare gold.

Officially Sir Andro acted as bailiff of Uriece manor, which was used as the base for supplying the mine. His primary assistant in the operation and the one actually responsible for the daily operations at the manor was his bastard son Gerrick Asarn.

Given the fate of Sir Andro, the earl is looking for a new bailiff. He also needs to replace Gerrick by somebody more trustworthy. The earl offers this to Sir Arsyn, who has no real chance of refusing the assignment.

The young knight and his retinue set out on their journey to Uriece late morning the next day. Passing the Ternua gate, the party find a drunkard who had been thrown out to a ditch near the gate. To his surprise Sir Arsyn recognizes the poor man as his old acquaintance, Poris. The party load the passed out man on one of their mules before continuing.

Gimri scouting ahead soon discovers that just before them, the constable of Kyg is also journeying to Vemionshire. The party decides to hang back sufficiently to avoid contact. In this they are succesful, but in an unfortunate incident near Ternua, the party preparing to camp for the night encounters an agitated wild pig. Sir Arsyn happy about the discretion grabs a spear and spurs his horse to chase the beast. Due to difficulty in controlling his hackney not used to hunting Sir Arsyn's spear ends up piercing Gimri's hand. The party in need of a physician enter the village where Kyg and his men are residing and thus make their intention to travel to Vemion clear to the constable.

As Gimri is unable to continue on horseback until some healing, the party end up abandoning their horses in Ternua and travel to Nenda by a boat, which is returning upstream after delivering a shipment of wool. While delayed, the party nevertheless reach Uriece through Pendeth without further incident.

At Uriece, the party find a dilapitated wooden manor house with piles of refuse dotting the courtyard. The project to courtyard with a pillar wall has apparently been abandoned already some time ago. The soon to be former master of the house is sleeping despite it being high noon. When he finally arrives he is dismayed by the news, but not particularly surprised. News of his father's disappearance have apparently reached the village. He agrees to assist sir Arsyn in the takeover, but makes sure to mention his close friendship with the earl's son.

In the afternoon, Roul the village reeves comes to meet Sir Arsyn along with some other village folk. In the tour of the fief, the party learns that the village is divided between the regular folk and a small sect of Ilvir-worshippers. While this group is apparently resented by the majority, the two groups keep their distance and there has never been violence over the matter.

Uriece is the location of the relatively little known tree of St Coris, a Laranian holy site. St Coris was one of St. Petryn's companions, a paladin who was killed in an ambush at Uriece. He was buried in haste where he was slain. Later Petryn sent a party to recover his remains for reburial in a more suitable location, but they found that a pear tree had grown on the grave of St Coris and the remains were not moved. Instead a small hermitage was established to tend the tree. The hermitage still exists and now sports a small pear orchard. The pears are used to make cider, which is sometimes claimed to be the source of minor miracles. The bishop of Pagostra reportedly favours the drink and has claimed that its invigorating and refreshing qualities are especially good for the humours during the heat of summer.

Sir Arsyn meets the current occupant of the hermitage, a bitter hunchbacked cleric Toris. The man is obviously not happy with his current position and views the villagers with disdain. Toris resides in the hermitage with a nearly deaf old housekeeper.

Meanwhile Arain is reviewing the books with Gerrick's clerk. Unsurprisingly there is evidence of deceit and the disloyal clerk fingers Gerrick. Arain keeps digging.

The village does not have an inn, but by coincidence two households have signalled fresh batches of ale by placing a freshly cut green bush in front of their houses. So, most of the party spends the evening trying to get to know the locals. Although most remain suspicious of the strangers, some warm up sufficiently for the characters to hear wild speculation about the parties Gerrick keeps sending to the wilderness and somebody had heard in Minarsas that the arrogant Larani priest was sent to Uriece as punishment for some transgression involving a young girl in Tashal.

The next morning, the party is roused by a loud crowd who have gathered in front of the hermitage, demanding the priest to come out. Once there Sir Arsyn learns that in the early morning somebody had ravaged Ollin's daughter, Ollin being one of the half-villeins in the village. While none had actually seen Toris perform the act, he is suspected because of his past to be the villain. Sir Arsyn manages to diffuse the situation by promising to investigate the matter and bringing the culprit to justice whomever it might be.

In the ensuing investigations, Poris, Gimri and Arain establish that the victim, a sixteen-year old youn woman, was assaulted while fetching water. She didn't see the assailant, but he reeked of alcohol. Near the site of the struggle, Poris finds a silver sword of Larani and pieces of broken chain. An interview with Toris seems to make him an unlikely suspect and suspicion is turned to Gerrick who is still sleeping despite it being midday.

Once woken, Gerrick instantly recognizes his silver sword and thus confirms his guilt. When confronted with his crime, he readily admits but claims to have acted within his rights as acting bailiff of the manor. Contradicted, he still shrugs claiming the matter to be of trifling importance, even if a misdemeanor. When sir Arsyn starts talking about the gallows, Gerrick becomes nervous and reminds Sir Arsyn of his friendship with the earl's son.

Faced with a dilemma of possibly angering the earl's son or the villagers and refusing a suggestion to hang Toris to satisfy both, sir Arsyn elects to call Gerrick's bluff. The decision is expedited by Arain pointing out the defrauded funds that must be somewhere in Gerrick's possession. Not wishing to subject him to hanging but hoping to quickly mollify the villagers, Sir Arsyn demands Gerrick to start rectifying the situation by apologizing publicly to Ollin and his daughter and offering compensation.

Back in the village in the midst of Gerrick's humiliation, a gruffy group of travelers with mules enter the scene. Armed and ready for a fight, their leader demands to know what is happening. Gerrick, sensing an opportunity, escapes the party screaming that Sir Arsyn and his companions are nothing but common robbers and highwaymen.

Seeking to resolve the situation without violence, sir Arsyn's attempts at oratory fail miserably. Muga, the leader of the newcomers, is adamant in his demands that sir Arsyn and his companions surrender their weapons to wait until the situation is cleared. Just as Muga orders his men to charge, Arain who had managed to position himself favourably during the confusion steps up and stabs him in the eye. Pjarri's frenzied charge routs the rest, but not before one manages to wound the unfortunate Gimri in the leg.

With Gerrick gone and after tending to Gimri, the party starts the search for Gerrick's stash. The manor house and surrounding buildings are searched from top to bottom. Finally Arain learns from a servant that he had seen Gerrick in nearby woods at an unusual hour. Despite it being late Poris and sir Arsyn take the servant with them to the woods to seek the treasure.

At the manor house Arain and Pjarri are suddenly alerted by the sound of approaching horsemen. Assuming that the approaching party can hardly mean anything good they decide to stay low and hide in the loft of the stables (which is attached to the manor house). Peering through cracks they see half dozen well armed men riding into the court yard. Gerrick is among them, but apparently not of his free will. Arain and Pjarri recognize a couple of the men - they are from the retinue of the constable of Kyg.

The men enter the manor house to search it. Two enter the stables. It is not difficult for Pjarri and Arain to hear through the wall the squeeling of one of the servants after rough treatment and telling that Sir Arsyn left the manor on horseback with the drunkard and one of the servants.

At that time one of the soldiers entering the stables were ascending the ladder to the loft, but was felled by a blow from Pjarri's axe to his face. Dumbstruck his companion has to kneel and touch the face of the fallen man before realizing what had happened. He quickly escapes the stables and bangs the door shut.

After a short while, the leader of the group, introducing himself as Jered comes to parley with Arain and Pjarri. He threatens to burn the house should they not surrender and the men do seem to make some preparations to make this threat true. It seems though that Jered is in no hurry to burn the house. There is also a drizzle making such a plan harder to accomplish.

Pjarri and Arain do hear Jered's men blocking the stable doors and assume him to mean to block them in while ambushing sir Arsyn who is expected to be coming back soon. They start breaking a hole into the roof on the backside of the house. A difficult task to accomplish without too much noise.

Meanwhile sir Arsyn and Poris had been succesful. Despite being cold and wet they are returning in a cheerful mood having recovered Gerrick's treasure. In his mind eye sir Arsyn already sees the destrier he will now be able to afford at the Jedes horse market. Thus they are blissfully unaware of the trap they are walking into.

Arain and Pjarri managed to escape the manor house without alerting the guard Jered left to guard the door of the stables. They discover the ambush site just in time for Arain to be able to shout a warning to Sir Arsyn. Jered, despite now being in less advantageous position as he hoped orders his men to charge. The servant who was with Sir Arsyn and Poris and walking ahead of them is quickly run down, but Poris and sir Arsyn manage to defend themselves.

Sir Arsyn, on horseback, barely manages to control his horse but is able to wheel it around, thwarting Jered's attempt to grab his reins. Riding back and leaving Poris to fend alone for awhile Sir Arsyn turns around to charge. At the same time Pjarri lets out a warcry as he is running at full speed toward Jered's men from their behind.

Jered, seeing the odds turn less favourable, orders his men to lock their shields and withdraw. They had left their horses to graze outside the unfinished palisade and try to back towards there, one of them slipping in the wet grass. Sir Arsyn, trying to attack the small group is having difficulty forcing his horse to do it.

Pjarri is not however similarly hindered and rushes headlong into the shields. Pjarri's first blow hits the shields ineffectually. Jered and one of his companions retaliate one of them missing Pjarri's head by inches as Pjarri is going low to hook his axe to Jered's leg tripping him. Jered does not manage to recover from his fall when the merciless axe falls.

Seeing their leader fall, the rest try to hasten their escape. Sir Arsyn finally manages to get his horse to charge and easily dispatches one of the enemies passing by causing the remaining two to flee in panic. Feeling the adrenaline rush, Sir Arsyn runs one of the fleeing men down before returning to the manor house.

Gerrick and the man left to guard the stables had quietly slipped to the woods during the battle leaving all the horses behind. Thus Sir Arsyn had much to rejoice, for not only had he found the treasure, he had also won decent loot in the form of weapons, three sets of good armor and six horses. His elations were cut short by Arain reminding him that Sir Arsyn could now count on having made the constable of Kyg and Gerrick Asarn, possibly the best friend of the earl's son, implacable foes and that he now had to find a way to defend Uriece against a more contemplated attack while building up a system of supplying the mines and running the clandestine exchange of gold to silver from scratch.

Thirteenth Session
Wherein Gimri and Poris encounter a monstrous beast and incur the wrath of the goddess.

With a fortnight of feverish work and a good portion of the recovered treasure Sir Arsyn and his band managed to complete the palisade and improve fortifications at Uriece. Two of Muga's surviving companions lurked back from the forest to seek employment with the new bailiff and Pjarri and Arain managed to recruit two former caravan guards to help guard the manor.

To establish the supply line with the mines, Sir Arsyn tasked Gimri and Poris to take four mules with supplies, two Muga's men and a boy of sixteen from a nearby village, who had recently come seeking employment, to the mines.

One of Muga's erstwhile companions, Finmeld, a jovial man well past his prime, was helpful in suppying information on the route and what to expect at the destination. Based on the interview with him, a particular worry was the two known sites of Pagaelin camps on the way, one of which was surely going to be occupied. Apparently Gerrick had been securing the safe conduct of his convoys by delivering wine by the barrel, fine weapons and pieces of mail. Some of these goods were even found at the manor having been helpfully stored there by Gerrick in advance.

The party departed on a fine summer morning. Somewhat surprisingly though, Finmeld, who had otherwise been bold in his talk demurred when asked to take the lead. Even then reluctantly accepting he loudly protested that it should not be taken for granted in the future and that younger men should be assigned to such duties.

The travelers were at first plagued with heat, then mosquitos, then rain and the breaking of the makeshift bridge on their way, but they reached Tontury lake almost as scheduled. At an abandoned Pagaelin campsite they realized that they had already been discovered by the barbarians. Pressing on, a day later they had reached river Darl, the border of Kaldor and an inhabited Pagaelin camp.

Confronted with a huge lump of a man introducing himself as Furn Two Trees and his promise to mash the groups' heads in (cheerfully endorsed by a small following), Gimri managed to convince the welcoming committee to allow the group to visit the chief. Among the Pagaelin, the group cannot but notice an old hag who seems particularly eager to see the blood of the strangers. Chief Oddar, a fat and obviously sick man however confirms the group safe passage to and from the mines in return of the gifts they had brought. Haerga, the eldest son of the chief sitting at Oddar's feet, made clear his disapproval.

Finmeld is able to tell Poris that the hag is called Feyra and is apparently the chief's mother, a nasty piece of work who has always vehemently hated the civilized folk and called for their annihilation. She was apparently some sort of priestess to an unnamed goddess. The tribe is however kept in check by Oddar's lust for wine, weaponry and armor not available to the primitive Pagaelin. It is apparent that the tribe's warriors are well armed. Better than most in Sir Arsyn's lot.

Despite all the unpleasantness Poris notices Gorond, the other colleague of Muga, flirt with a pretty girl (whose name is later learned to be Gidda) in the village. This is something that causes Gimri concern as he has no wish to anger the probably jealous Pagaelin more.

The party spent an unpleasant night at the foot of the small hillock on which the camp is situated. In the morning they were awoken by jeering young warriors emptying their bladders uphill and generally making sure Gimri and the gang did not forget that they were not welcome. Still, happy of being able to continue unmolested the party presses on.

Finally in the evening of that day, the party reached the fork of the Darl river and thus the site of the mine. Finmeld blew a horn hidden in an dead tree by the riverbank and got two horn calls as an answer. After a while, men appeared on the other side of the bank to row a sturdy boat over the river to fetch Gimri's party.

The mules were unloaded into the boat and were left to graze on the other bank of the river with Gorond and the boy Mard, who had turned out to be a worshipper of Ilvir, left as guards. In contrast to the Pagaelin, the miners were very happy to see the party and new supplies and quickly overcame their initial suspicions regarding the new faces.

The mining camp consisted of two poorly constructed wooden huts a short distance from the mining sluice. Tied to a wall of one Gimri and Poris found a beaten man pleading for water and release. Iaron, the leader of the miners, explained that Hoak the Thief, was suspected of stealing food supplies. Despite the evidence being somewhat murky, Gimri let the matter be to avoid interfering too much too soon.

The next morning Iaron showed Gimri and Poris the operation and complained some more about the lack of manpower and the poor quality of the existing thieves and beggars he had been sent. Iaron's constructive criticism of higher management over allocated resources and logistics is subplanted by the incessant whining of the workers over the day. To be fair they had good cause; the men had not been allowed to take the leaves they were promised nor had pretty much any of the promises made to them been kept. In a public altercation with Virin, one of the whiniest of the miners and an apparent opinion leader, Gimri ended up in fisticuffs. The fight ended quite badly for Virin, but did boost Gimri's standing. Or at least showed the pointlessness of making their grievances to him.

During the following night Poris and Gimri were awoken by Gimri's agitated dog. Fearing an assault Gimri and Poris made themselves ready for the worse, but luckily the night passed uneventfully. In the morning though, they discovered that the camp larder had been raided by an unknown perpetrator whose bare footprints can be found leaving outside the camp. Tracking the thief leads to a nearby cave inhabited by two scrawny youths, a boy and a girl. Catching them proves easy and Poris and Gimri learns the two are runaway Pagaelin slaves. This creates a much more difficult problem: what to do with the youth? Taking them back to Pagaelin will result in their slow and painful deaths, smuggling them past the Pagaelin is clearly impossible while leaving them at the mercy of the ruffian miner's will also not be pretty.

The ponderings of Gimri and Poris were interrupted by the sound of the horn from the river crossing. There they find that a Pagaelin warrior wishes to talk to them.

The young bravo introduced himself as Valdaek and informed the pair that chief Oddar has just died and that the old hag Feyra is positioning to set the obedient, dim and mean Haerga as his successor. Haerga would not honor Oddar's promises of safety for the mine. If he were chief, Valdaek would guarantee the mine's safety and might even move the tribe to another location. But Valdaek cannot make a move because everyone in the tribe is afraid of Feyra and her magic. Feyra had just left the village with a young maiden to make a sacrifice to the goddess. Valdaek proposed the miners to follow her and take care of her allowing Valdaek an opportunity to take out Haerga.

After some deliberation Gimri and Poris thought they had nothing to lose and agreed to the plan. Taking Finmeld, Gorond and the boy with them the party set out with Haerga to find the path Feyra had taken. Haerga leads the party to a path and explains that the path would lead to a gorge running up a cliff and that the plateau above is considered sacred to the Pagaelin and off limits to all except Feyra. Haerga then runs off to return to his tribe before others got suspicious.

The party arrived at the cliff by nightfall and rather than risk the climb in the dark decided to camp for the night. During the night they could hear faint screams and mumbling in the distance, but still decided to remain in place.

In the morning they climbed through the gorge to the plateau and continued on the barely visible path. After some while they arrived in an opening on the other side of which they saw Gidda, slumped dead or unconscious, half naked with dried blood caked on her body here and there tied to a tree. Some small pots were strewn about her.

Before Gimri and Poris could stop him, Gorond rushed forward to rescue the beautiful maiden. Halfway through the clearing, loud rumbling and cracking of twigs and tree branches on one side of it stopped Poris and Gimri who were following Gorond. In an instant a huge lump of brown fur, huge yellow teeth and claws were on Gorond ripping his face off.

The sight made Poris freeze in terror, but Gimri raised his spear and charged the great beast without hesitation. Although gravely wounded with the first thrust, it took several more to take the bear down. When it was over Gimri looked in amazement at the huge size of the animal, the second he had killed in close combat in his life, but this time managing it with barely a scratch on him.

Gorond was dead. Finmeld who had unsurprisingly run away when the first twig snapped in the bushes lurked back. The girl was found to be alive, but covered in some concoction of honey, herbs and her own blood. The witch was nowhere to be seen.

After burying Gorond, carving meat and some trophy pieces from the bear, the party headed back to the mine at noon. The girl Gidda came round and could walk on her own needing only some support from the boy and Finmeld. Hoping to perhaps catch Feyra on the way, Poris kept his bow ready. Otherwise the party, relieved of not having to share Gorond's fate quickly lost alertness.

Fortunately for the party, Haerga was not only mean and dim, but also possessed the trait that usually undoes villains, the need to gloat over his victims. Thus instead of quickly despatching the party when they entered into his ambush, he confronted them. Stepping on the path in front of the adventurers in the middle of a group of ten or so warriors (better armed and armoured than Gimri's small band) he started off with boasting about his new position and what he would do to the mines. Feyra too stepped forward and seeing the trophies started cursing the party after some confusion. The trophies, Gidda being alive and Feyra's obvious confusion caused some mumblings among some of the warriors on Haerga's right flank, a group including Vaeldek.

Seeing no benefit in further waiting and praying for the best, Poris whose bow was fortunately still stringed, drew a shaft and let it loose. The shrieks of the old hag were cut short by the arrow in her throat. Haerga, bellowing in anger, ordered his warriors to charge and the warriors to the left of him did so screaming ferociously. Poris managed to let another arrow loose before having to drop the bow to grab a spear. The arrow hit Haerga slowing the brute.

Vaeldek, seizing the moment, hit Haerga between the elbows of his back felling him. Smarter than his competition, Vaeldek proceeded to furiously hack the downed former chief to a bloody pulp.

Meanwhile Haerga's loyal left flank had made short work of the boy and were pressing Gimri and Poris hard (Finmeld having run off). Poris' spear snapped in two parrying a blow, but Gimri managed to beat both of his opponents. The fight was stopped by Vaeldek calling the warriors off.

After the fight Vaeldek welcomed Gidda back and reconfirmed Oddar's commitments to the miners. He was no longer too sure about wanting to relocate his tribe. Still Gimri and Poris could be satisfied with the outcome.

Spending one day to recuperate from their ordeal, Gimri and Poris decide to resolve the issue of the two Pagaelin youths so that Poris would remain in the mining camp. He can be useful as he has both some carpentry and some mining experience. One of the miners is chosen to accompany Gimri back and to have the leave promised to him.

The journey back ends in tragedy as in the rain at the stream with the broken makeshift bridge a mudslide took two of the mules and Gimri's companion to the stream where they drowned. With much effort, Gimri managed to recover the gold from the mules packs and return to Sir Arsyn.

Excellent! I've read all your play reports and hope there are more to come.
Keep up the good work.

Thanks Dom!

I must apologize for the obvious lack of editing. I've usually very limited time for doing these updates and I think it is better to get at least a rough draft up while I still remember what happened and worry about editing later.

Fourteenth Session
[subtitle: love is blue]
Where Sir Arsyn is first saved from danger by love and then hurled to new danger by love.

It was autumn in Vemionshire and all hands were needed to bring the harvest in. Sir Arsyn and his crew found themselves in over their heads. While in recent years they've done plenty of fighting and Sir Arsyn can rightly be considered as having earned his spurs, managing the manor at harvest time requires a different skill set.

Luckily for Sir Arsyn, in a visit to the market at Minarsas he happened on an old useful acquaintance, Rinril's beadle Barint and his son Jerint. After an exchange of news over a couple of pints of ale bought by Sir Arsyn, it was agreed that Sir Arsyn retains Jerint as steward of Uriece. Jerint proved a competent steward whose help was vital for completing the harvest. He is slightly timid and shy, but no doubt with age and confidence these will cure.

Meanwhile news reached Vemionshire from Tashal. The documents presented by Lady Kaphin proving the legitimacy of all of Miginath's bastards were submitted to the stern Serolan of Tashal to rule on. Somewhat surprisingly the ruling was that the documents are valid. This ruling and even the right of Serolan of Tashal to make such rulings was immediately disputed in an appeal to Serekela Kynn.

Three opposing factions were clearly emerging. The Dariune camp, lead by old Troda and the most vocal elder princess Cheselyne, was widely believed to include also Conwan and this faction was often regarded as the strongest. It certainly carried the favour of most nobles in the realm. The Harabor faction, lead by Sir Maldan, had a lot of the old administration and the merchants behind it. It was rumoured that the Vemion's own Baron of Nenda was flirting with the Harabors. The third faction were the fencesitters, the earls of Neph and Vemion, both of whom were in Tashal and known to have joined forces to mediaite between the other two factions.

There were tales of some of the younger members of the succession council having gone missing or been sent abroad and there were plenty of talk how it'll be war come next spring. The youths were excited and many a bard was making good coin by singing the songs of ancient heros.

The mining operations had progressed well and as there were a goodly amount of gold, Sir Arsyn sent Arain, Pjarri and Gimri with one of the servants to Chybisa to exchange the gold to silver. The intention was that the party would make it back before winter.

As Sir Arsyn and Uriece were preparing for a feast to celebrate the succesful harvest, Sir Arond, Sir Arsyn's brother and lord of Rinril, as well as Sir Kiras, lord of Ordel, arrived with a small retinue. Thinking that his brother had come to mend their strained relationship and to witness his success, Sir Arsyn welcomed his brother with a warm embrace and friendly smile and invited them all to the feast.

The feast was attended also by some lords of nearby manors, one of whom used the festivities to request that Sir Arsyn take his younger son as squire. Overwhelmed by the honor, Sir Arsyn accepted without hesitation. The lad, a 16 or 17 year old Scina Auerdas, turned out to be rather old to become a squire and it appeared he had recently been expelled from a Laranian monastery.

Later that night, the sneering Sir Arond revealed the true purpose of his visit. He pointed at Jerint and claimed him to be his runaway serf and demanded his immediate return. Jerint protested loudly that he is free like his father and had no obligation to Rinril. To this Sir Arsyn loudly concurred. Sir Arond retorted that Jerint is but an adopted son and his true parents were serfs and thus so is he. Sir Arsyn still refused to allow Sir Arond to take Jerint and eventually Sir Arond left Sir Arsyn's modest hall in the middle of a night in a most uncivil manner.

A couple of weeks passed without much incident. Then, Sir Celed, the earl's nephew, came to visit. He was being transferred from Abriel and used the short leave allowed him to visit family and friends. He didn't feel too welcome at Minarsas, as the earl had not returned and Sir Celed never got along with Sir Urian, and thus decided to come to Uriece.

The next day brought a rider from Minarsas with summons to Sir Arsyn.

Sir Arsyn went to Minarsas with his new squire and Sir Celed. Once there, Sir Arsyn wisely retained the services of a litigant, as in the castle he was informed that he was to stand trial the very next day for poaching a serf off a fellow lord.

At the trial it was obvious that Sir Urian was under the influence of his friends, friends who included Sir Kiras, Sir Gerrick and apparently even Sir Danyes who had come from Kyg to leer at Sir Arsyn. The volleys of accusations were however deflected somewhat by the litigant Lynwold who had both precedence supporting Sir Arsyn's case and who deftly argued the lack of jurisdiction of the earl's court. With Sir Gorlin also interceding on behalf of Sir Arsyn, the confused Sir Urian decided to let the matter lie for the night.

During the night, Sir Celed, who had camped at a corner of the great hall, was woken by maid Camissa, who hurriedly whispers a warning. Apparently the drunken Sir Urian and his less than sober friends were boasting that they'd settle the matter with Sir Arsyn already this night and were fetching their arm and armor to go get Sir Arsyn who was staying at the Green Dragon.

Sir Celed wasted no time and hurried with maid Camissa to warn Sir Arsyn. Despite some difficulties in convincing the guard to let them out at night, Sir Celed manages to get to Green Dragon in time. Sir Arsyn and Scina fled just in front of the noses of the angry mob led by Sir Gerrick and Sir Kiras. A half-hearted pursuit followed that night, but Sir Arsyn and Scina easily avoided the pursuers, but had to spend a cold night in the forest.

The next morning Sir Arsyn and Sir Celed met and decided to seek redress from the earl in Tashal. Judging the ordinary southern road too dangerous, they headed to Nenda and took a boat to Kiban. From there they continued to Tashal.

Already in Kiban they saw what were undoubtedly preparations for war. On the road the evidence mounted that the Earl of Balim was mustering his forces. A couple of times the party even had to hide to avoid being spotted by traveling small units. Rumours of the earl taking Tashal or investing Olokand abound. In Tashal it was clear that the city too was preparing for war. The gates were being watched much carefully than before and the party passed a troop of practicing town militia.

In Caldeth townhouse a weary looking Huw and the earl were happy to welcome Sir Celed and Sir Arsyn, but their tale makes the earl frown. He clearly wasn't happy to hear about his son's follies.

Later Huw explains that the earl is in the horns of dilemma. Remaining in Tashal was becoming counterproductive as earl Troda might come to view it as a tacit support for the Harabors. Almost all of the deer (as some call members of the Dariune faction) have bolted from the city. The earl of Neph had also managed to leave focusing attention on Earl Declaen. On the other hand, simply leaving was difficult, as although none had told the earl to restrict his movements, the necessarily visible act of the earls' progress leaving the city might have provoked a nasty reaction from the city constable, sir Koris Harabor or even the mob.

In the following few days, the party and Huw planned how the earl might escape Tashal. It turned out Halesh at the Spurs has access to some underground tunnels, at least one of which leads to outside the walls. For hefty recompense, the earl is allowed to use this route. To get the earl to the Spurs under the noses of the city watch without raising an alarm, a wagon with empty ale barrels were used. Despite some close calls, the procedure was succesful and the earl left Tashal unnoticed.

Fifteenth session
Where Arain, Gimri and Pjarri make a wager

On arrival to Burzyn, Pjarri and his companions happened on a wrestling show at the market. The promoter invited volunteers from the public to try their strength and skill against the strongest man in the world. After watching a few bouts where the strongman easily defeated some untrained townsmen, Pjarri could no longer resist the urge to take action. It wasn't easy, but the much bruised Pjarri emerges victorious.

In Burzyn the group has arrived to meet Andel Gebar, a jeweller aware of the mining operation. He appears a fair enough man and it is not hard to come to terms with him on how to deal with the exchange (the gold is traded for silver and promissory notes).

With the main part of the business concluded Andel, observing that the party appears resourceful and includes an Ivinian, proposes a short task for them in Geda. Andel explains that, although a secret for now, the prince of Melderyn is planning a visit to Chybisa and perhaps Kaldor and beyond next year. On his way he would have to pass Geda. Baron of Geda, Kjal Forsetha, an otherwise sensible man, has however begun displaying a banner captured from a Melderyni force that fought the Ivinians during the rape of Thay. The banner is displayed next to a flag captured from a Kaldorian force that has been in the keep since the time of the previous baron's father.

Displaying both captured banners can be seen as patriotic emphasizing of the independence of Chybisa from both of its bigger neighbours, but considering the circumstances, it would be an embarassment to the prince, if he were to force to dine in the hall. Given the logistics of travel, it would be very difficult for the prince to politely avoid Geda. The baron had been approached on the matter, but he apparently thought the business was a good lark and was not at all susceptible to subtle reason.

The jeweller had a parcel that needed to be delivered to the baron's son. It contained a necklace for his wife. Andel proposed the group to act as his couriers and see whether they'll be able to secure the offending banner once in Geda keep. Andel was willing to pay for the travel costs and a fee for delivering a parcel, but recommended the group to return the banner to the prince who would surely offer a more substantial reward. Meanwhile Andel promised to keep the party's treasure safe.

Intrigued with the prospect of gaining access to royals, the party left their wagons and heavier equipment to Andel's safekeeping and headed for Geda.

Once in Geda it was not difficult to secure an audience with the baron. Impressed by the wit and demeanor of Pjarri and Arain and wanting to hear news from Kaldor he invited them to stay a few nights for an upcoming feast. The party had thus a few days to roam around the keep and the town. In the keep, Pjarri earned the enmity of Gaal Raldsyn, the baron's dour but huge bodyguard, over a serving wench. In the town, at the Blue Bell inn the party learned much about the baron and how he'd won the barony.

While various plots were considered and discarded, the party eventually developed a plan to recapture the banners. A risky plan.

Thus Pjarri continued to flaunt his success with the serving wench to Gaal, driving the brute angrier by the hour. In the feast, Pjarri boasted his fighting prowess constantly proclaiming that after beating the strongest man in the world he would surely be able to beat any man in the hall. The baron enjoying the banter went along and the obvious question of Pjarri proving his wild claims eventually came up. Now Pjarri pointed at Gaal, the biggest man in the room, and asked to be allowed to prove his claims by fighting him. As a prize, for any decent fight demanded a prize, Pjarri asked merely for the old rags on poles by the fireplace. If he loses, he would indenture himself to the baron. The guests thrilled by the prospect of a spectacle would not let the baron deny Pjarri's request.

In the morning of that day, Arain had arranged for mixing of certain herbs to the drink and food of Gaal. By the time of the feast, Gaal was suffering badly from diarrhea and was rather pale in face and much weakened. His pride and anger did not however let him back off Pjarri's challenge. So the tables were shifted and a circle was cleared in the middle of the hall.

The fight was nasty, brutal and took some time. Snarling, biting, spitting, kicks in the groin, pulling of hair, Pjarri's taunts and Gaal's ominous silence and hateful gaze. The men were slowly beating each other to a pulp. Despite Gaal's weakened state he was strong and quick. Possibly too strong and quick for Pjarri until Pjarri's inner rage unleashed and in a flurry of attacks and counter-attacks he managed to knock Gaal down. The specators roared. Pjarri could however not stop himself and continued viciously beating and kicking the downed man and had to be dragged of kicking and biting and restrained by half a dozen guests before finally calming down. Gaal was still unconcsious and barely breathing when he was carried off. The mood in the hall had definitely flattened. Despite this, the baron proclaimed Pjarri, the victor. Pjarri, Arain and Gimri had won their bet.

Sixteenth session
Where Arain wishes to travel to Thay but has to battle the elements instead

Gaal remained comatose and it seemed increasingly likely he would not make it. Pjarri needed time to recover. The mood in the hall was sombre despite the baron trying to make light of things and honoring his end of the bargain. The baron even offers Pjarri a position in his household. Still the group find it best to move out of the keep to the Blue Bell inn.

For Arain, a few days pass rather pleasantly. Each night the inn is filled with townsfolk and even people from neighboring villages wanting to hear about the fight with Gaal. Since Pjarri is in pain on his back, the arduous task of telling the tale is left to Arain. Thus Arain can count on free drinks and free meals every night.

Then, Petry, the innkeep, warns Arain that Gaal had plenty of friends among the local Ivinians some of whom undoubtedly will be looking for revenge. Petry thus recommends the party to try and leave the town soon.

Unfortunately the weather had turned bad. In fact a party of travelers to Thay were in the inn waiting for the weather to clear. It seemed increasingly likely that a trip to Thay might mean that it would not be possible to reach back home before winter. The party thus decided to split up with Gimri and Pjarri heading home as soon as they could and with Arain taking the Melderyni flag to Thay where the prince of Melderyn was rumoured to stay.

Arain made the acquaintance of the group of travelers and they agreed to allow Arain to join them. They were eight, an ill number, and Arain would be ninth, a much better number. The band consisted of Uthr, a potter from Lerenil, and Arlond, a merchant from Thay. They were accompanied by some servants each and Toma, a youth of some nobler background, traveling with Uthr. Arain convinced the travelers to continue the trek tomorrow despite the poor weather.

The road to Laket turned out to be wrought with peril. First the cold rains made part of the track an unpassable muddy slosh forcing the group to take an alternate route. When at a ford, Arlond dipped in and ended up catching a nasty cold. It started to snow reducing visibility to almost nothing. Uthr and Arlond quarrelled and the party split half deliberately in the Laket pass. A servant and his mule fell to a small gorge resulting in a dead mule and broken legged servant. A further split in the group and Arain found himself wondering in the cold snow with only a feverish incoherently mumbling Arlond as his companion. Then Arain heard a hunting horn.

Saved by a search party headed by the warden of Dyriamarch, Arain and Arlond ended up in the Red Plank inn at Harden.

In Harden Arain patched things with Uthr and Toma and spent some time with them. Uthr is in Harden to attend some Potter's Guild convention, but the timing and venue of the convention is hampered by the expected imminent visit of the crown prince. The Mangai hall intented to be used by the potters is now reserved to be used for a feast in honour of the prince if and when he arrives. Arain decides to stay in Harden and find a way to meet the prince there.

In Harden Arain learns of a large group of mercenaries having arrived to Thay and there's a range of speculation on where they might be headed and who had hired them. Possible suspects are the Lady of the Paladins order and the Solori crusade and the earl of Harden and expansion of Dyriamarch. More knowing persons find the latter ridiculous as with the twindling population and revenues from Harden, the earl would not have the necessary funds. Some speculate whether the mercenaries have something to do with the prince.

The prince arrives to Harden one nice early winter day. The snow falls lightly on the square with its row of squeaky clean houses while the Forester hangs a few poachers in honour of the day. The move wasn't too popular though as one of the hanged poachers happened to be relatively well liked among the population.

Arain finds it surprisingly difficult to secure an audience with the prince in a manner that wouldn't require Arain to just hand over the banner to some middleman. Eventually Arain ends up causing Toma severe diarrhea to take his place at the grand feast at the Mangai hall. Even at the feast, Arain ends up in the gallery and finds it impossible to address the prince. Just as the prince is preparing to raise the final toast, Arain finds a way to sneak past the guards and publicly present the banner. Arain's improvised little speech and the banner itself manages to turn the audience from angry eyes and mutters to loud cheers.

Later on Arain is invited to meet the prince at the earl's castle. After a cordial official acknowledgement at the court, the prince has Arain taken aside and interrogated more thoroughly by the prince and one of his courtiers. When Arain is finally lead to the gate he is humbled by the experience and the obviously sharp intellect and tremendous ambition emanating from the prince. As a farewell he is told that the prince might have more use for Arain yet.

Seventeenth Session
Where the group discover a dastardly plot and escape a degenerate villain.

Escaped from Tashal, the group head to Zutlin with the earl. A patrol, apparently in the service of the earl of Kiban, intercepts and demands that the group follow them instead. The patrol isn't large and neither group has a clear advantage. The altercation is resolved when the knight leading the patrol agrees to a duel with the champion of the earl. Sir Celed, as the earl's champion, manages to subdue the knight despite suffering serious wounds early on.

At Zutlin, after hearing news that his wife's condition is steadily worsening, the earl declares his intention to continue to Erone without delay. This despite the protestations of both sir Arsyn and the Valador clanhead who urge the earl to wait until a proper retinue can be gathered. The earl is not willing to chance his wife dying before he manages to see her. Thus the small group sets out for Erone the very next morning and the Lord of Zutlin is instructed to send the earl's servants and troops along with the earl as soon as they arrive.

At Erone, as all the accommodation at the abbey proper and immediate vicinity are full, the group is settled into a small house in the village. The earl spends as much time as possible with his wife not caring much for trivial matters such as accommodation.

At dinner, the guests and the hosts discuss the odd timing of Troda Dariune's muster. It is already late fall and the campaign season is all but ended. It is speculated that the earl of Kiban would try to take Tashal in a quick raid, but most think the chances of it succeeding to be slim. A march on Olokand is also deemed as possible, but that would be a particularly risky move. It is mentioned that the constable of Kyg passed the abbey with a cavalry troop only days before and there's lots of talk about Kiban's patrols in the area.

The third night at Erone, the earl's house is raided. Poor young Scina who was on duty, concentrated on his constant doodling instead and could count his lucky stars for merely suffering a broken nose as a consequence. Sir Arsyn and sir Celed woken by the thump of Scina's head encountering a table at high speed, do manage to put up a fight but have to surrender to the overwhelming odds despite Sir Arsyn managing to cut a finger off one of the goons. Despite sir Arsyn giving him the opportunity, sir Celed refuses to escape through window leaving the rest of the group behind. Such would not be honorable. The earl and his little retinue are thus all imprisoned.

The captors turn out to be sir Danyes and his group, who apparently got word of the earl's presence and his exact whereabouts from someone. Sir Danyes wastes no time at the house. The prisoners are tied forced to mount horses and the group leave Erone in a hurry. In the moonlight, sir Danyes leads his group through small roads and tracks to the Kald river bank. There they are met with a small group of men and a couple of boats.

A well dressed man at the boats rushes to meet the group and protests loudly that sir Danyes has neglected their agreement and that they should all be at Ternua not in the middle of this damp nowhere doing Morgath only knows what. When the man sees the earl, he turns white and shuts up, managing only to stutter that this was not part of the plan. Sir Danyes waves him off saying that he scored a coup that would guarantee their ultimate success and that it would all be over in less than a month and proceeds to load the prisoners and most of his men into the boat.

At the boat, the earl suddenly remembers who the well dressed man is. He is sir Rayald Meleken. The earl remembers him as one of the guests in his daughter's nuptials. From other evidence including bits and pieces overheard, the group gathers that Kiban's main force is not heading for Tashal or Olokand, instead it seems to be moving south. References to Ternua suggest that Kiban is negotiating for or has secured the right to cross the river at the bridge which would allow for a rapid advance on Qualdris. The earl realising the danger to his daugher, charges Sir Arsyn to escape and give warning.

To the surprise of the group, at sunset the boats dock at Kolorn. Realizing the extent of the betrayals, the earl, face red with fury, is marched to baron Greon's hall. Greon, face swollen and red from too much wine, seems surprised by the arrival of sir Danyes and mutters something about agreements and being unseemly. Sir Rayald concurs that sir Danyes has gove overboard with his unilateral actions, but sir Danyes silences them both declaring that all would be over in a month and that he merely requests the good baron to host his liege lord for this period, as sir Danyes has urgent business at Ternua where he could not bring such a guest unannounced. The earl launches a tirade about oaths, their meaning and what should be done with oathbreakers to no effect. The baron has ready a tirade of past grievances and trampled rights of his own. Father Gyridon, one of earl's courtiers tries to intervene on behalf of the earl and tries to persuade the baron not to take part in such ignomious act, but is dismissed by the baron. The earl is led upstairs under guard, while sir Arsyn, sir Celed and Scina are led to the cellar and thrown into a cell.

In the dark cell the party at least manages to get their hands free and some blood into their bruised arms. The next morning sir Arsyn manages to convince the guard to bring down a priest to hear his confession. Father Gyridon arrives with the guard who refuses to leave, despite sir Arsyn's demands. Still the guard doesn't seem to alert and sir Arsyn can talk with Father Gyridon in whispers. While father Gyridon is clearly upset with the situation and laments that it would never have happened had the young lord Lyndar not been at Tashal, he balks at the idea of helping them escape. He does promise to return the next day to pray with the group.

The next day father Gyridon is even more distressed by the debauchery and godless behavior of the baron. This time, sir Arsyn does manage to demand the guard to leave and convinces father Gyridon to move an iron bar, the group had spotted earlier in the cellar, closer to the cell. That night the group manages to bend the bars of the cell sufficiently to slip through. On their way to the stairs, in the pitch black darkness, young Scina stumbles on some barrels causing a racket. Fortunately the lone guard upstairs is not too bright and comes down to investigate alone. After a brief struggle the group manages to overcome the guard who is quickly removed of armor and is tied to one of the cell bars. The party then manages to slip out and scale down the cliff walls.

Thanks to lights and especially sounds - that carry well in the chilly night of late autumn - from the Wolf's Head, the small group manage to find the village in the darkness. In the village they find that some of Sir Danyes' men have been left behind and are making full use of the innkeep's promise to give a soldier every third ale for free. Thus it is not really all that difficult to steal some horses and begin the surprisingly uneventful ride to Qualdris.

Oooh, a prison break! I love a good prison break!