| Session Date | January 23, 2015 |
| Start Date | |
| End Date | |
| Starting Location | Morsby |
| Ending Location | Brigand Fortress |
| Player Characters | Havok, Drogo, Saige, Aldeberon, Parker, Iban, Lune |
| XP Gained | 615 |
Curryford - Owner of Paren's Victory Inn
Nali - Hired the party to find a troop of missing Dwarves
Olimbur - Dwarven Bath House owner
Herron Horseholder - party's horse holder
After a three-day journey east along the Dwarf Road, as the summer evening fell the party reached the town of Morsby, the largest settlement between Wellington and Manston in this region. Cross a bridge into the center of town, they inquired of locals and soon found themselves at the Paren's Victory Inn. Here they refreshed themselves with decent ale and food, observing the rather large and boisterous crowd of men, Dwarves and Halflings. After a time, they spoke with the innkeeper. Curryford told them a little of the doings in the town, most of it of troubles both east and west, with prowling brigands, rumors of war in Wellington, and the like. He and many others feared for trade, both on the "dry" and the "wet" roads. Morsby relied almost solely on trade passing through, especially now that the surrounding lands were becoming ever more desolate (a common refrain in many areas once controlled by the old Lormyrrian Empire).
Havok also took the time to speak with some of the caravaneers, inquiring about work as guardsmen. They informed him that their masters were not hiring; in fact, several out of work guards had already inquired along those lines. He then made acquaintance with a lone dwarf he'd noticed quietly watching the other patrons. The dwarf, Nali, said he was a merchant. However, he confided that he was in town to gather word of a dwarf party that had passed this way to the north some three weeks past. They were overdue returning and he was seeking any information on their fate. Havok, after consulting with others in the party, then discussed possibly seeking information on the Dwarves, for which Nali promised 250 silver pieces. Nali would be back periodically, but in the meantime, messages could also be left with one Olimbur, who ran the Dwarf bath house (the party had determined that Morsby had a significant Dwarf minority, many congregated in one area of town; the separate Halfling village of Stock was located just a few miles to the north, as well).
The party questioned Nali on this party, and their purposes. He revealed that the Dwarf Kingdom had heard rumors of brigandage, as well. And though they did not wish to be seen interfering in the affairs of human lands, they had a strong interest in the trade routes, and were seeking to learn more for themselves. The party consisted of twenty Dwarf warriors, though he admitted they brought no spellcasters with them. Their destination was the Kair Acklin Highlands, an island region formed by the two branches of the Blueflood River. A track led to two ancient, Dwarf-built bridges, the sole way to reach the highlands aside from boats. Beyond, the track led to the distant village of Gaunt.
During this time, the party noticed a rather curious Halfling had quietly slipped nearby and had been eavesdropping on their conversation. He named himself Drogo, and said he was a fellow traveler also in search of adventure. After a brief conversation, the party accepted his proposal to join them. The party now decided to rest and, after retrieving the garrulous Herron Horseholder (who had been busily telling tales of the party's exploits) and arranging for stabling of their mounts for a week or so, headed off to sleep. However, Saige the cleric informed them that she was to leave their company on the morrow, as she had her own business to attend to elsewhere.
Next morning, the party made their way to the town trader, where they sold a number of their heavier plunder items, and purchased additional supplies and rations for their expedition. After loading their pack horse, they now took the track north and west towards the highlands, passing through a small woodland and then through the bucolic Halfling village of Stock. They inquired of the local farmers if they'd seen the Dwarves - they had seen them going north but not returning. The rest of the day was spent walking the track (which dropped to a barely used mark in across the plain). After much of the day was spent, they reached a long ridge, atop which they gained a wide view of the lands around as far as the great river some 10 miles to the north.
They decided to camp here for the night. The moon was at its full, and it was likely this that alerted the second watch of the rapid and silent approach of a half-dozen Trolls. The party quickly drew bows and fired a volley (and some magic missiles) before the creatures could reach them for melee. Aldeberon quickly began starting a fire as the rest of the party met the charging Trolls, while Drogo and Parker slipped around behind them. A sharp melee followed, with Trolls mauling Iban, Lune and Aldeberon as he worked on getting a fire going. Still, Iban's great strength, Havok's battle chant, a solid backstab by Parker, and the efforts of the others slew three of the Trolls. The remaining three broke and fled into the night, though one of those was dropped by arrow fire. The bodies of the slain Trolls were quickly burned to prevent them from rising.
Next morning, the party reached the southern of the two Dwarf bridges. It was ancient, monumental, high and long. Despite its purported age, it had not a single bit of damage or decay on it, nor even any moss or growth; a true engineering marvel. Those fluent in Dwarvish read its many inscriptions, though they said little more than something about her builders. Crossing quickly, they followed the track as it crossed the southern end of Kair Acklin. They could see all the way to the merging of the two river branches to the west, some two miles away.
The party now fanned out to either side of the road and continued following it while looking for tracks of any group leaving it. After a mile or two they came to a creek crossed by another, much less grandiose, dwarf-made bridge. The stream looked fordable, though Drogo pointed out it might be a bit deep for Dwarves. Crossing, the party found a faint track leading into woods to the northeast. This they followed, and it led them straight into the highlands along a valley and through a number of woodlands. After perhaps five miles or so, they emerged from a woodland and immediately saw a fort atop a ridge with a commanding view over the valley; a small track led from the one they were on up to it. The party quickly moved back under cover of the trees.
The party now sent the two thieves, Parker and Drogo, to scout the fortress. Both made their way as stealthily as possible in the daylight, with Drogo passing to the west and Parker to the east of the place. Once back together, they slipped back to report to the party. The fort was partially ruined. Its southeastern corner tower had collapsed completely and its front gate was wide open (and probably had been for some time). However, Drogo thought he had seen some slight movement in an upper window of the northwest tower.
Piper now cast invisibility on the two thieves. They slipped back up to the fortress and began to enter across the rubble of the collapsed tower. However, they soon found giant spiders climbing from the rubble. Despite being invisible, one went after Drogo, but missed his foot by inches, and the two thieves were soon clear of that danger. In the courtyard, they scouted around, finding the second floor of the main keep completely collapsed (the lower level seemed intact). The other towers seemed largely intact, though only the northeast tower had a door onto the courtyard (the other two clearly were only accessible from within the main keep). Sitting in the middle of the courtyard was an old bag, dirty and stained - the thieves avoided touching it, however.
Slipping back outside to the north, they now had Parker's owl fly around to check the tops of the towers - they were abandoned. They next had it fly her grappling hook to the roof of the northwest tower. Parker then climbed up invisibly and peeked in some windows, finding a lone Ogre in the uppermost level, apparently on watch. This was repeated for the other tower, where she spotted a pair of Bugbears. With this information, the thieves returned to the party and reported in, at which time the party debated on their next action. Most seemed interested in capturing wither an Ogre or Bugbear for questioning, though when and how to do so became somewhat contentious...