| Session Date | September 25, 2021 |
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| Base XP Gained | 2114 |
| Player Notes | ZZ's Notes |
Safely back in Far Andor, Iban prepared to depart on another solo mission. meanwhile, the party made acquaintance of one Hans Soloman who offered to join the party. After two days of rest and recovery, the party left north once more, arriving later in the day at the village of Tolit. The locals were quite happy to see the party, expressing their delight that the party was about to keep monsters and Giant King forces in check. Their own hunters no longer were willing to cross the Caron River into the Wood Debatable due to the increased dangers therein.
The following afternoon, the party arrived at the village of Sarkum. This village was a good deal larger than Tolit, though smaller than Far Andor. It had a stout palisade of logs in a half-moon arc anchored on the river. It's walls and towers were manned, though the party was admitted entrance after only a brief discussion and mention of Devizes and Larella. They were taken to a great hall in the center of the place and soon were brought to Devizes and Larella, who in turn introduced them to Lord Yarec. He proved to be friendly enough, though he repeated the disappointment that the party released a member of the Company of the Dry Tree. Still, he admitted they knew little of the long feud between himself and those folk who he described as little more than brigands, under the thumb of an evil witch. The party opened up to him about their general desire to find Castle Gold. He approved of their slaying of the Lich-Wizard Silver and discretely told him that he'd heard long before that there were tombs behind Castle Gold, through which his vanquishers 80 years past were able to gain entry to the Castle. Otherwise, Castle Gold was said to be impenetrable because of the might and magic of its master. The party thanked him profusely for this bit of information. During the feast that followed their interview, Hans cast ESP and snooped about, but found nothing more consequential than some general concern that the party might be spies for the Dry Tree.
The party, warmed by the feast, afterwards made their way to the local tavern where they began to carouse in a rather raucous manner. Things quickly got out of hand and half the village was soon involved, thanks to the party's free spending. The party disrupted the village quite successfully, and it was clear Lord Yarec was not all that pleased. In particular, Hans was arrested for some sort of illegal gambling operation (he seems like the type who might've been playing rigged games). The next morning, a rather shopworn Knar tried to bail him out, though he managed to anger the locals enough to have the fine increased from 50 silver to 75! The party ended up resting and recovering the entire day in Sarkum, though they were not invited back to the great hall for meals! (I am saying the party stayed at the Woodland Respite Inn; they caroused there as well as the other three local taverns: Charging Centaur, Greenwood, and Old Haverford's).
The next morning, a local boated the party across the Caron River and they began their journey through the trackless Wood Debatable to the east. The journey was uneventful, albeit cold and a little snowy. The party reached the edges of what they presumed to be the Gold Hills wherein their destination lay hid. Here they set up camp, lighting a fire against the dropping temperatures. In the middle of the night, the camp was attacked by four Owlbears. One of the clumsy things managed to fall in their fire pit, making for a most unpleasant smell, while another grabbed Knar and began to crush him in its huge arms. Hans slowed the area,affecting a number of the party and three of the Owlbears. Eventually, the things were all slain and the party able to return to their rest, staying camped later into the morning than they'd previously planned.
The party resumed their journey along the northern edge of the hills. At one point they came to a bare hill with five dead trees of grotesque, man-like shape atop it. The whole place had a palpable menace to it. Not sure what to make of it, and not entirely sure what they sought, the party decided to climb the hill and explore. From out of nowhere, a bunch of flying heads appeared and attacked. The party repeatedly struck at the heads and the wizards hit them with magic missiles. Eventually this seemed to work as the heads rapidly began to be destroyed, soon leaving the hill quiet and the menace dissipating. The party decided to cut the trees down, finding hidden in secret cavities within a sizable treasure! Pleased, they continued on their journey.
They now crossed over the hills and spotted the turret tops of a great castle further ahead. They also found a wooded valley running back their way from that general direction, and they descended into this to look for the rumored tombs. It was not long before they found three such places close together. They also noted three great ravens with glowing red eyes watching them. Two were taken down with a sleep spell while a third was shot down by magic missiles. The party noted that each raven had a single feather of gold color on its back...