Erastus 28 4709

Upon returning to Staghome, the Baroness, Butler, & the Magister decide to put Grigori on trial. He is found guilty, and sentenced to hard labor in the gold mines. High Preist Kavken informs them that there is rumored to be a cult forming. The party investigates, and discovers indeed, a coven of witches worshiping Gyronna has sprung up in town. They begin watching a few suspects, and discover that Captain Wedge's wife is one of them. Late at night, they follow her out of town, to an old barn. In the basement, six women have been led astray by Goodwife Niska. The party defeats them, with out a single casualty. The women are taken back to Staghome to stand trial. The head witch is sentenced to death by burning, and the rest are pardoned.

Staghome begins clearing a new district, and a couple proposes starting a town to the west called Tatzlford. The party agrees to help them found this. They head off toward this area to explore. On the way, they find a Thylacine trapped in a pit. In the process of trying to help it out, manservant Carlton falls in. The hungry beast starts to threaten him, so the party lays into it with lightning, magic and axe. It cowers in fear, leaving Carlton alone. A branch is lowered, giving it a chance to scurry out. At a ford in the river, the party encounters two more Tatzlewyrms. This may be the last two in the area, which they summarily dispatch.

Further south, on the shores of lake Tuskwater, they come to a creepy shack. It is the home of a lonely old hag, The Old Beldame. They cautiously wait for her to return home, then befriend her. Her ability to make potions, and her knowledge of spells prove to be very useful, especially to Magister Deemous. She asks them to collect some black rattlecap mushrooms for her. They continue on.

From the shores of Candlemere lake, they can see a tower on an island in the center. They decide to leave it be. Where the lake and Murque river meet, they find a fortified Lizardman village. Near it, they hear a child screaming in terror. They make ready to storm the place, until they realize the cries are coming from in the swamp, not the village. Following the sound, they find Tig Tannerson submerged up to his neck in the mire, just out of reach of a bunch of hungry Cayman. They free him and return him back to his parents in town.

At Staghome, manservant Carlton begins to woo one of the reformed witches, Violet Rottdrak. Soon after, they are propelled to seek out the treasure from the mad hermits map. It marks the location of a forgotten barrow to the east. On the way, they encounter Howl-of-the-North, an infamous man eating Worg. Upon seeing him and his pack, they let off a couple fireballs, torching the beasts. They continue on to the tomb. Inside, they trigger a trap that leaves them all fatigued. It causes them to be sluggish, and so they rest a day. On the next day, they clear out the dozen shambling skeletons inside, and face down the wight of the barrow. The robe of bones that Deemous put on turned out to be a cursed robe of vermin. He was bitten and distracted during the fight by the filthy pests issuing from it. The wight was destroyed, and Carlton claimed his magical feybane axe.

Erastus 13th, 4709

The Baroness Maggy and company head back to Staghome for a quick rest before finishing off the Elven ruins. In town she meets up with Grathis, Eudon, Zett & newcomer Manservant Julian Carlton. The fighting butler isn't the only new face in town. A rabble rouser named Grigori has been speaking out against the rulers of Eternia. He claims their negligence has led to increased monster attacks & that they use the peoples wealth for their own gain. They respond to this by arguing with him publicly, then locking him up in his room at the inn. They interrogate him with a zone of truth, discovering that he is an agent of a foreign power. He is stripped of all his possessions and left in custody. They give an Elven statue to Lily Teskertin, who rewards them with cash and gratitude.

They set out to explore the next day, leaving Grigori locked up in town. They meet a group of loggers who have angered a nixie in the woods to the west. The lumberjacks had cut down five ancient coachwood trees around her pond. She retaliated by charming two of them to defend the rest of the grove. The party helps them come to a compromise. The loggers are to go harvest trees to the north, and the party is to set off to obtain five replacement trees from a nearby dryad. Once the group meets the dryad, she asks them to go kill the scythe tree. It has a taste for dryad flesh, and soon it will come for her. They reluctantly agree, fearing the malevolent plant. They make short work of the tree, and recover the treasure it was keeping under its roots.

The party returned to the dryad for her reward, then to the nixie. She frees the charmed lumberjacks. Both fey agree to watch the borders of Eternia, granting stability to the tiny barony. They then travel to the Elvish ruins to finish exploring. Inside, they are harassed by a quickling. His speed makes him almost impossible to hit. Grathis rashly entered the main tower alone. At the top he encountered a Baobhan Sidhe called "the dancing lady". She used her whiles to enchant him to attack the rest of the party, laying Eudon low with his great axe. The heroes engage in a grueling fight, with Grathis chopping them from one side, and the quickling sneak attacking them from the other. Grathis eventually shook off the enchantment. In rage, he spun around and beheaded the lady. Her severed head attempted to put a curse on him, but failed. They collected the treasures of the ruins and set off back to town.

Erastus 8th 4709

Magister Deemous and Baroness Maggy begin the day conferring with their advisers on what the town needs most. This gives them itchy feet, and they decide they would much rather be out exploring. Marshal Garess insists they bring a pair of body guards. He fears yet another period of unrest would come, if the current baroness dies in the wilderness just like the last baron.

They agree to bring Captains of the guard Wedge and Biggs. Due west of Stagholm, the group encounters a caravan of Gnomes in dire straights. Kobolds from deep in the Narlmarches ambushed them. The ponies that they had tied to one of the wagons spooked, and ran into the middle of the Skunk river. As Narthropple, the head gnome of the expedition stands on a hill and shouts orders, the Baroness and Magister get to work. The Baroness swims to untether the ponies, as the Magister sinks to the bottom of the river like a rock. The guards muscle the cart to shore, while the floundering Magister and waterlogged Baroness assist.

Narthropple has a sheaf of maps of the region, which he bargains with the charter bearers for. They agree to heal his wounded employees in exchange for the location of an Elvish ruin, and Candlemere tower.

The next day they meet a mad hermit and his pet puma. They try to reason with him, for they know his brother Bokken. He wants none of that. The hermit is bat shit crazy, and after defeating him, the explorers try to reason with him. Doesn't work, so they order Captain Wedge to take off the hermits head. They follow his trail back to the hollowed out tree in which he lives. Inside they find loot and a map to "fabulous treasure".

On the way to the Elvish ruin, they stumble on to a decaying clearing scattered with bones. This is the lair of a Scythe Tree. The Baroness is taken down with one hit, so the guards throw her on her horse, and bolt. A safe distance away, the party rests and recuperates.

They find the Elvish ruin deep in the forest, and proceed to go in through the front door. A portcullis drops on Wedge, blocking their entrance. Through this gate they can see a hole in the southern wall, and take that route instead. They encounter rat swarms, a grimstalker and his pet assassin vine, and find an ancient mithril Elvish statue. They bar themselves in one of the towers and camp for the night.