Session 25

After resurrecting Marsh Stormwatcher and settling down for a drink at the rusted rail, our glorious heroes are rudely interrupted by the daughter of the duke, ____ Thronesworn. First she demanded that the party comes see the Duke of Crownsgift, _____, then walked around a corner and returned minus a guard. Shiftiness aside, the party continued to drink from their mugs. Shortly after a gensai accompanied by thirty guards, all aiming at the daughter of the duke, stormed in and revealed that she is actually a changeling with a bounty on her head. Thinking quickly, Chronon seized advantage of the situation by grappling her so that the party could claim the reward. So with prisoner in tow, they went to see the duke.

After conversing with the dim witted Duke and his sharper however scrupless mother, Xindara Thronesworn, the party embarked towards realmsend with the changeling and gensai in tow, to assist Joran Wintershield and bring ______ wildwise over to the empires side. Albeit two hundred gold richer. Upon their arrival, they discovered that Ryman has been captured by Wildwise's orcs and interrogate Cindarion, a captured Javian Alumni mage kindly escorted to realmsend by Beltan. He revealed that Jargon Steammason, leader of the Steammason's guild, may know the location of Eldersteel (a dwarven 'factory' on the outplains, tied with the creation of warforges?), however he is in Underflame running from the Javian Alumni and is under the personal protection of the Dwarven 'king'.

Mytara, however, managed to escape and her account seemed incredibly suspicious.

The party began their journey to the Outlains, and four days into the journey they were visited in the middle of the night by (young) Gorehammer's men, warning them not to continue any further. With no heed, they continued upon their way and a few days later they were confronted and surrounded by Scara Shatterskull's party of orcs. She called them traitors, and blamed them for the death of her sister, Galzug Shatterskull. The changeling attempted to rally the orcs to kill the party, however failed when her guise was discovered. The party called to be taken to see _____ Wildwise, and after deliberations were offered a seat in the (mead hall?) as guests. Here they managed to convince the chieftain of the Dustclaw tribe, the _____ Kobolds and Scara Shatterskull that it was in their interests to join the Imperials rather than become thralls to (old one) Gorehammer, thanks to the words of Sylvanna Wildarrow and Marsh Stormwatcher. Ultimately, it was decided to return to Realmsend with the host and fortify it against the coming incursion. The changeling spoke against the party, claiming to have been treated as a slave and speaking against their integrity, and so Scara Shatterskull took a liking to her. She demanded the changeling to take an axe to the helpless gensai to prove her freedom, and consequently the gensai became her thrall. The changeling returned to the mother of the Duke of Crownsgift and was appointed the master of spies. Her first assignment; infiltrate the party of adventurers and keep an eye on the happenings in realmsend.

As part of the alliance, Scara Shatterskull agreed to let Ryman free as a 'strategic' gift of goodwill. He came to tell that when their party was set upon by orcs, Mytara seemed to signal to them and a shepherd took a swing at her. He cut the shepherd down, and Mytara managed to escape.

______ Wildwise also revealed that the Horned Alliance were to rise in Straymoor, and cut off any hope of the Empire rallying to meet the invasion from the East. Their goal, he said, was to buy enough time to reunite the Hellpact (and bring a thousand years of darkness). The Horned Alliance working for another devil?