12 Erastus
Stag Lord's Fort; Hex G5
Tuskwater
“Everyone get clear of the spiders, I'm going to try something,” Miguel called.

Frodrick held off the spellcasting wolverine with his shield arm while he reached for his axe, half-buried by the swarming bodies (-2dmg Frodrick). “Never you mind me, boy, I'll be fine.” He figured the best way to deal with a spellcaster like this was to keep them locked down, even if they were a furry one.

The dwarf got a grip on his axe, then swung around immediately to strike the wolverine. The same wooden thock rang out as he struck the beast with enough force to make it recoil and growl (-8dmg Wolverine Bloodied).

Suffering from the effects of the spiders' poisonous bites, Zeran got as far out of Miguel's way as he could, brushing off spiders as he went (-1Str). He reloaded his gun once he was clear on the other side of the room.

Giles (+2hp), beginning to recover, strafed along the edges of the swarm while drawing the Stag Lord's bow. Once he was in position for a clear shot without having to shoot Frodrick in the back, he set his sword down and drew an arrow. The draw on the bow was more difficult than it should have been thanks to the weakness left over from the ant's poison, but his aim was good. His arrow struck into the wolverine's bulk, almost deflecting off its tough hide, but penetrating deep enough to draw blood (-4dmg Wolverine)

Miguel delayed just a bit longer so that Stefan would have time to get out of the way. Kyrie dropped her sickle and brought out her shovel. She supposed it was only fitting for disturbing creatures that lived under the soil. She ran through the spider swarm to Frodrick's side, raising her shovel.

The wolverine seemed to recognise the shovel as a threat sooner than almost any other creature faced with it. It dodged back in preservation of its own, diminishing life as Kyrie brought it down over its head, causing her to strike the stone floor.

Stefan, even without Miguel's prompting, simply fled from the area of the spider swarm to the other side of the room where he could catch a breath from the arachnids crawling all over his body.

With the squire out of the way, Miguel was ready to put his plan into motion. He hoped the spiders weren't feeling particularly scrappy today. The bard stepped up behind Frodrick, keeping the swarm in his line of sight. The song on his lips built up, becoming the words to another spell, until he belted out the last note. His magically reinforced voice echoed through the stone chambers, and the air before him seemed to split with the force of his cry, sending razor-sharp crystalline shards in a cone out from him.

Frodrick ducked at the last moment, and the wolverine frantically plastered itself against the wall, but the mass of spiders wasn't so lucky. More than a thousand of the tiny crawling bodies were flung into the air from the force of the striking note, crushed and perforated in the hundreds (-13dmg Spider Swarm). Those summoned arachnids that weren't immediately slain by the blast, scattered in every which direction, losing their swarming cohesion (Dispersed). As the spiders fled, both the crushed bodies and those that fled blinked out into mere motes of energy, vanishing (Desummoned).

With its minions gone, a wiser wolverine might have retreated or surrendered, but this one seemed to have a death wish. It leapt at Kyrie, clawing and biting at her. Kyrie, having survived been mauled by something much closer resembling an actual bear than this miniature lookalike, was suitably unimpressed by its attempts. At worst, it managed to get its mouth around her ankle, gnawing on her metal armour in futile attempt to bring her down (-4dmg Kyrie).

It realized its tactic wasn't working, and jumped back. There was an obvious human-like intelligence in those eyes as it glared at them, then scuttled back to retreat to the safety of the archway, relying on the protection of the stone walls to force its attackers to come at it one-by-one.

Frodrick 31/34 – Challenge
Jargon 18/19 –
Giles 16/29 – Healing, -2Str (-1attk/dmg), 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 30/34 – -4LoH
Miguel 19/25 – Inspire Courage (4/11), 19 arrows
Zeran 19/27 – 30 bullets, Poisoned (1/?), -3Str (-1melee) +2daggers
Stefan 8/11 – 18 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –

Wolverine: Badly Wounded, Bloodied, Barkskin, Spider Climb, Polymorphed,
Spider Swarm: Dispersed, Desummoned

Frodrick was done with this overgrown weasel. He stepped up to it directly and swung his axe down with a vengeance. His axe came down on the wolverine's furry back, knocking it to the ground (-12dmg). It did not get up (Unconscious, Dying).

Zeran's spider bites continued to sting, but the poison was beginning to work through his system naturally (-2Str, Poison End).

Frodrick 31/34 – Challenge End
Jargon 18/19 –
Giles 16/29 – -2Str (-1attk/dmg), 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 30/34 – -4LoH
Miguel 19/25 – Inspire Courage (4/11), 19 arrows
Zeran 19/27 – 30 bullets, Poisoned (2/2), -5Str (-2melee) +2daggers
Stefan 8/11 – 18 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –

Wolverine: Unconscious, Dying, Barkskin, Spider Climb, Polymorphed

12 Erastus
Stag Lord's Fort; Hex G5
Tuskwater
At Frodrick's urging, Kyrie tended to the wolverine's wounds. Perhaps it would turn back into something that might like to answer a few questions. It took her more than one try to get the bleeding under control, but eventually the animal stabilized.

Miguel and Kyrie worked together carefully to move it out of the cellar into the light, where they might keep an eye on it in case it regained consciousness suddenly. They did not bother to bind it, even if they had excess rope, since the polymorph would likely make it a waste of time, and anyway they did not want to kill the caster by aggravating its injuries.

After two hours, the shape-shifting magic still had not ended, but the creature stirred. It attracted the party's attention as it slowly moved its head around, blearily taking in its surroundings. After a moment, it began to change shape, loosing fur and gaining humanoid features.

When he was done reverting the polymorph, the wolverine had become an old man, with wild white hair and beard, wearing threadbare simple clothing caked completely over with dirt and his own blood. The exertion of the transformation left him breathless, and he laid on the ground for another minute as the others gathered around.

He looked up at his captors, confusion and hatred on his face. “Why do I live?”

12 Erastus
Stag Lord's Fort; Hex G5
Tuskwater
Kyrie merely smiled at the old man. “I thought you could use some fresh air.”

The old man said nothing in response. He watched Kyrie like a trapped animal, not certain if his captor was toying with his misery, or simply a madwoman.

They tied him up appropriate to his new form and let him rest and recover from his wounds. It would be a long trip and he would need his strength.

Exploration & Mapping
13-15 Erastus
Hex: F5 +25XP Each
Over the next few days the group led the train of captured bandits from the fort on the north shore of the Tuskwater across the hills to the river ford. There was some trouble getting started, as the old man was in no fit condition to travel at speed with the rest of the group.

It was decided that he would ride in the wagon until he was better rested, but when he realized he was sharing floorspace with the bulky body of the Stag Lord, he started to panic, almost injuring himself. Only after the body was proven dead (accompanied by bitterly spitting on the corpse) did he calm and resume his station.

By the second day of travel Nugrah had healed enough to be able to travel with the rest of the prisoners on foot, tied behind the wagon. On the third morning, however, the camp arose to find his place in the bandit train simply empty. None of the other bandits heard or saw anything (asleep as they were) and no one noticed anything unusual while on guard.

Given that none of the other bandits were freed, and that no one in the party was harmed, there was not much to be done except keep a sharper watch in future nights and not waste time worrying about it.

Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 –
Giles 29/29 – 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 –
Miguel 25/25 – 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 30 bullets, -1Str (-), +2daggers
Stefan 11/11 – 18 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –

15 Erastus
River Fork; Hex F5
Shrike River
The party traveled a couple miles up the Shrike from where it met with the Thorn. After they figured they had gone enough distance, Kyrie and Miguel unloaded the Stag Lord's body from the wagon.

Together they uncovered his head, just in case the undead Nettles wanted to be picky about the details, then carried his body to the river's edge. No sooner had they set the Stag Lord's body down in the shallows than Davik Nettles in the decaying, water-logged flesh erupted from the centre of the river.

He marched across the surface of the water, gaze fixated upon the bundle set down at the river's edge. Kyrie and Miguel backed away from the body as he approached.

“Goooooood,” he said, as he game closer and could see the Stag Lord's face. He held out his hand and a polearm leapt out of the river to meet it. It resembled a spear, but with a pair of reverse-facing hooks justting out from the head—a ranseur.

With a violent thrust, the undead hooked the body by the collarbone, then forcefully wrenched it toward himself, suddenly plunging underwater at the same time and dragging the body down with him.

There was a long moment of nothing going on, until finally motion in the shallows beckoned a closer look. Upon inspection, the ranseur—the undead's only piece of equipment besides his rotted old clothing—had washed up on the river bank.

Travelling F5-B5
16-19 Erastus
The rest of the journey home saw nothing unusual, and no further prisoner escape attempts. Miguel kept up attempting to identify the remaining items each day—including the new, confirmed magical ranseur, which proved to have a minor combat enhancement like most of the weapons.

They arrived back at Oleg's early in the day. Kesten immediately arranged for a traveller to be sent to Restov with the good news—the Stag Lord was defeated. The Greenbelt had been (mostly) conquered, and made safe (generally).

There was much celebration, and much discussion of things to come.

Davik's Revenge – Completed
Wanted: Falgrim Sneeg – Completed, see note below
Wanted: The Stag Lord – Pending agent dispatch
Greenbelt Charter – Completed, Pending

Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 –
Giles 29/29 – 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 –
Miguel 25/25 – 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 30 bullets, +2daggers
Stefan 11/11 – 18 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –

(The reward for bringing in Falgrim Sneeg alive is a reward of four masterwork weapons from Kesten of our choice. I recommend a masterwork shortbow for Stefan. As I understand it, Kyrie could use either a mwk sickle or a shovel, and Frodrick could use a dwarven waraxe. The only other weapon that may be upgraded is Miguel could possibly use a mwk ranged weapon, not that he desperately needs one. Alternatives are open.)

(As for what's going to happen next—it will take about a week for any response from Restov. They will likely dispatch an agent of the swordlords to come inspect the area and confirm that banditry has, indeed, been routed. Following that, the reward (5000G) for the defeat of the Stag Lord and for the completion of the charter will likely be issued, which means it's pretty much Kingdom Building Time. More on that to come, but first, while it would probably be diplomatic to greet the agent when they arrive, there is nothing really keeping the party holed up at Oleg's until the time actually comes to deal with business.)

13-15 Erastus Frodrick watched as the old man showed fear than disgust at the body of the once Stag Lord. He was confused by this treatment. Riding up to the man in the wagon, he started to grymble a bit under his breath as to not stir up any issues with the other prisoners.

“Ye had asked why ye live: and I kept to meself on it until I knew you could possibly talk a bit more. I be hopin' ye be complacent and answer me questions. The first is who was this Stag Lord fell-er? I cannot tell what he done before coming to power, nor why the flip others listen to him: I always found a leader needed to earn respect and his authority by rite of constant vigil and honor to his people. This man seemed just a lazy drunk in a marsh.”

all following questions can be asked separately if “Nugrah” is willing to respond. Otherwise, Frodrick will shoot them off and hope that he will answer at least one of them at some point along their trek.
“Secondly, who in the nine hells gave him that helmet? I am not one for magicks or know much about them, but that thing seemed a might bit powerful. Especially considerin' he was in the middle of the forest with nothin' but empty and full bottles to keep him busy. I be wonderin' if someone gave him that thing or if he just stole it.”

“Thirdly, I be wonderin'... how do you make yourself an animal like ye did before? I ain't not much of a caster or nothin, but damn that trick would be a might bit o' use to an old dwarf like me!”

15 Erastus The morning of the 15th. Seeing the druid gone, Frodrick sighed. He waved his hand as he reported the news to the others.
“I be thinkin there is no point in chasing the man. Would be like trying to chase a trout that escaped your line when its in the water.”

At the river's shore. Frodrick gurhumphed a command to Stefan to grab one arm of the Stag Lord cadaver while he took the other. They would go in on their mounts with weapons ready if anything were to happen. No sooner had the feet of the carcass touched the water then a startling event unfolded with the undead. The Horses whinnied, though Jargon hooves was ready to fight whereas Uriel was legitimately spooked by the undead being.

Getting off Jargon when the water settled, the dwarf saw the glint of steel and the wave of rags. He bundled the rags up in a ball, and tossed the weapon to his new squire. “Give this thing a whirl, see if it works with you from up on Uriel's back or with your feet planted on the ground. If you like it, use it. But if someone else in the party wants it, you bloody well give it to 'em.”

Frodrick left the shores and exhaled and muttered under his breath. “Damn undead things.”

OOC:
So Frodrick would request two of the M.W. Items for himself: a lance and a dwarven axe. If the group wants a M.W. Shortbow (or longbow) Stefan can mule it and use it until someone else deamnds use of it.

If there is any way to get armor for Frodrick, Jargon, Stefan, or Uriel, let me know. Though I won't be demanding anything because Frodrick is humble in his desire for loot: his “code of the dragon” that is an essence of himself - not a code he swore by – demands that he give everything to the group, but will accept gifts if they are given. And Stefan has no damn say in any of this – he is for all intents and purposes a slave for the next year.

13-15 Erastus
Travelling
(Frodrick & Nugrah)
Frodrick rode Jargon up alongside the wagon. He addressed the curmudgeonly captive under his breath.

“Ye had asked why ye live: and I kept to meself on it until I knew you could possibly talk a bit more. I be hopin' ye be complacent and answer me questions. The first is who was this Stag Lord fell-er? I cannot tell what he done before coming to power, nor why the flip others listen to him: I always found a leader needed to earn respect and his authority by rite of constant vigil and honor to his people. This man seemed just a lazy drunk in a marsh.”
The decrepit shaman made a sour face, pointedly scowling at the heavens. Frodrick gave the man space to think, but it became clear the man wasn't interested in being forthcoming. The dwarf shrugged it off.

“Secondly—,”

“Honour?” Nugrah spat the word like foul-tasting fruit. “A whipped dog knows its master just as well as a well-fed one. Cravens and weaklings respect power. The Stag Lord knew this.”

Frodrick chewed that over for a moment. “Secondly, where did he get that helmet? (...) or if he just stole it?”

“You're right.” For a minute it seemed like Nugrah might leave it there, but then he added, “you know nothing about magic. The magic on that helmet is unusual, but not powerful.

“I don't know where that whelp found it, but he didn't have it before we moved into that stronghold. He didn't have these delusions of grandeur before then, either.”

“Thirdly, (...) might be a bit o' use to an old dwarf like me!”

Nugrah looked directly at Frodrick for the first time, staring at him as though the dwarf had grown a third ear.

He turned away again. “Forget it. A soldier like you could never understand the ways of the spirits. You dwarves are too attached to your metal and your armours. Druidry is not a neat trick you can learn in your spare time.”

20 Erastus
Oleg's Trading Post; B5
South Brevic Borderlands
The day after the party's return with the good news, idleness was already beginning to wear on the party. At first they enjoyed the chance to rest, but soon things settled and there was next to nothing to do. Oleg confided that, he didn't know how much of a priority the Swordlords would treat this news, but the it was at least three days to Restov on foot.

The messenger was at most barely halfway, and then it would depend on how long before the Swordlords reacted and then sent an agent out in kind.

With this in mind, the party took out their map of the Greenbelt thus far and looked it over. There were some sections to the south and southwest that could be filled explored, but depending on how fast the agent arrived, it might take too long to travel.

But then in the grasslands to the west there was still that mark that the little grig, Tyg-Titter-Tut had drawn on their map, marking some kind of burried magical treasure. At a loss for anything else interesting to do besides watching the vegetable patch grow, the party geared up and set off the next day.

Travelling B5-B1
21-23 Erastus
At the fart edge of their chartered territory the explorers found the scattered and toppled cairns. This was the same section country, they remembered, that they had come across the will-o-wisp the first time, on a foggy night back in Pharast.

The fairies' instructions were good, for the most part. Eventually they found the patch of blackberries that disguised one of the very few remaining untoppled and unlooted cairns in the region.

After about thirty minutes of work they managed to move the stones and unearth the shallow gravesite. All that remained of the barbarian lord (so-called by the fey) was a skeleton with the side of their skull crushed-in, tattered hide armour, and a rusted to uselessness sword.

The fey said the treasure would be magical, so they overlooked the mundane material possessions of the corpse and used their own spell-finding senses.

A green wooden ring, in comparatively good condition depicting a frog and an eel tangled together, radiated a faint aura of transmutation magic. With a few moments of work, Miguel was soon able to idenfity that the ring had been enchanted to pass on its creator's proficiency in swimming. (+5 competence bonus to Swim checks)

Travelling B1-B5
24-26 Erastus .

26 [Evening]-27 Erastus
Oleg's Trading Post; B5
South Brevic Borderlands
By the time the party returned to the post, a message had arrived the day before, stating that an agent of the Swordlords should be arriving 'soon'.

Luckily in this case, 'soon' meant only a few days after the message had arrived. Around the noon on the 27th of Erastus, a wagon arrived bearing a young dandy with a very obvious Aldori duelling blade dangling from his waist, similar to Miguel's.

The young man seemed to take in the sight of the trading post with some sense of irony or amusement. Svetlana greeted him (Oleg having found an excuse to head out to gather wood) and showed him into the fort.

Quickly the young Swordlord set up shop in the post's main office for greeting important guests. He talked briefly with the party as a whole, making simply inquiries toward the status of the map, hearing their account of the defeat of the Stag Lord.

When he learned that there were reformed bandits among the prisoners he requested to interview several (later he would joke that the party did in fact know that it was traditional to execute bandits, right?). He declined the offer to venture out to see the physical site of the bandit fort himself, but instead took a few moments to question each of the hunters and trappers returning with their catches from the Greenbelt area through Oleg's post.

After a hearty meal cooked up by Svetlana, including some of the salted pork leftover from the Tuskgutter and a generous dip into the fort's wine cellar, the Swordlord announced that he had heard enough to make his report that the issue of banditry had indeed been dealt with in the Greenbelt, between the accounts of locals and the evidence of the Stag Lord's helmet.

If anyone had any opinions about the young noble's methods, they kept it to themselves in his company. He left again the next day, report in hand, much to Oleg's pleasure (28.)

It was another week (3 Arodus-the third month of summer) before another, guarded carriage showed up, bearing a small chest filled with the Stag Lord's bounty and another message indicating that preparations were underway to begin settlement at the party's direction.

With this missive came five new charters, made out to Lord Redbrew, Lord Stormsinger, Lady Ivanova, Lord Alexandria, and Lord Lebeda, directing the Greenbelt Charter party to found a new colony in the newly explored territory and continue exploration further south to cover the entire area designated as the Greenbelt of the Stolen Lands.

Frodrick 34/34 –
Jargon 19/19 –
Giles 29/29 – 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 34/34 –
Miguel 25/25 – 19 arrows
Zeran 27/27 – 30 bullets, +2daggers
Stefan 11/11 – 18 arrows
Uriel 13/13 –

(As of the time of writing this, the 5000G bounty for the Stag Lord has been added, as well as the masterwork weapons (D. Waraxe, Shortbow, Lance, Shovel). This, more than any other moment, is the moment to declare the exact site of the capital of the new up-and-coming kingdom, as well as finalize any other leadership role choices. Also we could use a few names going around for both the capital and the colony as a whole. Aich, Trick-or-Treaters are here.)

3-24 Arodus
Oleg's Trading Post; B5
South Brevic Borderlands

Be it so known that the bearers of this charter, having delivered the northern reaches of the Greenbelt from the scourge of banditry, having provided detailed maps of the lay of the land, and having done no small amount of work in the exploration of said land and the
culling of hostile monsters and indigenous hazards, are hereby granted the right to rule. The nature and laws of rule are theirs to define, and the wellbeing of this new nation is theirs to protect. In accordance for providing a stable nation to the south of central Rostland, let there
be a generous stipend of funds, support, and advice provided to this fledgling nation as a token of Restov and Brevoy's goodwill, such that future relations between kingdoms might be mutually beneficial. So witnessed under the watchful eye of the Lordship of Restov and by the authority granted by Lord Noleski Surtova, current Regent of the Dragonscale Throne.

-Ioseph Sellemius, Lord Mayor of Restov

The next few weeks turned into an alternating fury of new arrivals and waiting for the beaurocratic process to play out. Within the next few days, supplies and tools arrived piled into wagons destined for the future site of the capital city. Despite there not yet even being a city, settlers started to trickle into the area and set up camp around Oleg's fort so that by the middle of the month the tiny border fort resembled a small military encampment surrounded by tents.

A steady stream of messages zipped back and forth from the border fort to Restov, mostly engaged in the mundane but vital minutiae of establishing a new colony. One day a large, heavily guarded carriage arrived bearing the funds that would soon become the fledgling nation's treasury. Oleg, already beginning to fill the role of the nation's treasurer, accepted the carriage into the trading post.

Arodus 4700 Kingdom Update (25-31 Aro)

Improvement Phase
-Leadership: All Roles Filled
-Claim Hexes: Hex G5 -1BP +1Size +250Pop
-Cities: Prepare District -2BP (1 month)
-Roads: G5 +Bridge -2BP (1/4, 1/
-Farmlands: NA
-Edicts: Token Promotion (+1Stab, +1Cons), Normal Taxation (+2Econ, -2Loy), 6 Festivals/Year (+2 Loy, +2Cons)

Income Phase
-Deposits: NA
-Withdrawals: NA
-Sell Items: NA
-Generate Income: Success +6BP

Event Phase
-No Event

Before the intrepid adventurers of the Greenbelt Party knew it, the first month had passed amid laying the groundwork for their capital on the north shore of the Tuskwater. Settlers were quick to move in and begin setting up houses to dot the hilly countryside around the soon-to-be capital.

The founding of the nation didn't look like a particularly momentous occasion from this side of things—rather it looked a lot more like a newborn creature stumbling through its first steps. Still, there was an air of excitement and novelty in the air most days, and more often than not the communal energy bolstered spirits against the possibility of disaster. +600XP each
Rova 4700 Kingdom Update (24-30 Rova)

Upkeep Phase
-Stability: Vulnerable (+2 Unrest)
-Consumption: -4BP
-Magic Item: No Slots
-Unrest: Low (1) -1 Assassin

Improvement
-Leadership: No change
-Claim Hexes: F5 -1BP +1Size/Cons
-Cities: Build House (-3BP -1 Unrest), Build Dump (-4BP, +1Loy, +1Stab), Capital +1All
-Roads: F5 -1 (2/4)(2/
-Farmlands: F5 (-4BP -2Cons)
-Edicts: NA

Income
-Deposits: NA
-Withdrawals: NA
-Sell Items: NA
-Generate Income: +5BP

Event
-The Founding of Tatzlford: Loy and Latricia Rezbin request the support of the rulers of Volga to found a village at the ford of the Skunk river. After some deliberation, the couple was granted the tools and funds they would need to begin laying the groundwork for the settlement. -4BP

The last month of summer saw the rise of Viridian City, the new capital, still only a small village on the north shore of the Tuskwater, comprised of a collection of houses. Meanwhile the countryside expanded northward, taking the nexus of the rivers Thorn and Shrike, and turning the hills to farmlands in the area, as well as building an official bridge across the ford.
+300XP each
While the farmers set about planting the fall grains for next year's growth and settling in the livestock they brought with them, interesting news arrived in the capital in the form of a ruddy, energetic man named Loy Rezbin, and his wife, Latricia. The couple met with the ruling council of Volga and explained their plans for founding a village on the Skunk river. Their request for support was granted and the two left gracious thanks.

The last week of Rova before the autumnal equinox saw steady snowfall and almost immediate subsequent melt. While the weather remained fair, if cool, the warning of the coming of winter was obvious.

Lamashan 4700 Kingdom Update (25-31 Lam)

Upkeep
-Stability: No Change
-Consumption: -4BP
-Magic Item: No Slots
-Unrest: Calm (0)

Improvement
-Leadership: Sootscale Spymaster (+3)
-Claim Hexes: F6 -1BP +1Size/Cons (Resource: Silver Mine Econ+1)
-Cities: No Change
-Roads: F6 +Bridge -2BP (3/4 3/
-Farmlands: F6 (-4BP -2Cons)
-Edicts: NA

Income
-Generate Income: +6BP

Event
-No Event

Autumn came mild, but cool. The Greenbelt Chater party travelled to meet Chief Sootscale early in the month to hold a diplomatic meeting between the leaders of the two peoples.

The tallfolk were welcomed into the caverns warmly, but with a notable hint of caution. While they were still celebrated as the heroes who saved the clan from certain doom at the hands of Tartuk the Usurper, they found the kobolds watching them carefully out of the corner of their eyes.

Sootscale led the heroes on a short tour of the cavern, showing off with an unmistakeable pride how far they had come in rebuilding. In particular Sootscale showed off the hatchery, now filled with just over a dozen speckled kobold eggs, and about half a dozen newborn kobold hatchlings, tended to by a trio of adults.

"Since as long as anyone can remember, even in the days of my predecessor when this was called the Torphrex clan, my people have always strived to maintain peaceful relations with the tallfolk that pass through this region." Sootscale began.

"We have been watching your people flood into the region. We see that, true to your word earlier this year, you have thus far succeeded where others have failed. We understand that the time is quickly coming where we will no longer be alone in this region, and it occurs to us that we would much rather be allies than enemies with your people."

By the end of his speech, the cunning survivalist laid out the kobolds' demands—the right to self-governance in exchange for deference to the tallfolk government, kobold citizenship and fair treatment under the law in exchange for access to silver of the mine, which would be done favouring kobold employment.

After a quick discussion the group found the kobolds' demands to be reasonable and well-considered. However, before the treaty was finalized, Baron Miguel had one article to add—that seeing as how it would be to the benefit of both parties that the two maintain close diplomatic ties, and seeing as how the tallfolk were in need of a competent master of espionage, why not Sootscale, being the leader of the kobolds, also take up an active role in the leadership of the tallfolk.

This suggestion caused much discussion among the kobolds. After several moments' consideration, Sootscale declared his agreement. Following a brief speech by Sootscale, translating the parameters of the agreement to his less-linguistic people, the kobolds' apprehension seemed to vanish among celebration.

(I feel like Frodrick's thing would probably start around the third month leading into the fourth. Regardless when it actually occurs, any effects it might have on his level up still function)

Neth 4700 Kingdom Update (24-30 Neth)

Upkeep
-Stability: No Change
-Consumption: -3BP
-Magic Item: No Slots
-Unrest: 0 - Calm

Improvement
-Leadership: (NA or list new leaders)
-Claim Hexes: E6 -1BP (+1Cons, Lair +1Stab)
-Cities: Smith -6BP (+1Econ, +1Stab)
-Roads: E6 -1BP (4/4=+1Econ, 4/8 )
-Farmlands: E6 -4BP -2Cons
-Edicts: NA

Income
-Generate Income: +5BP

Event
-Monster Attack: A monster, described variously as a crazed old dwarf, a twisted desperate vampire, or a restless spirit covered in chains, is attacking the newly laid farms out by the Old Sycamore (E5). If the monster is not stopped soon, it may shake the people's faith in their leaders. The Greenbelt Party has decided to set out to deal with matters personally.

Over the penultimate month of the year, Neth, snow began to fall in earnest. By the second week, the newfound barony of Volga was buried in a thick blanket. Unsuspecting pigs were fatted for slaughter and farmers busied themselves to ensure they had collected enough firewood to keep a steady supply through the winter.

After four months, the rulers of the land were beginning to fall into a pattern, and it was beginning to seem like fewer things required direct intervention than in the first month. Things were still shaky, but the kingdom was starting to take shape with each new wave of immigrants, coming not only from Brevoy, but also in the form of travellers passing through the newest River Kingdom, who decided to settle down instead.

But as the days grew shorter and the nights longer, strange reports started to come in from the farthest outlying farms. Several pigs found killed. A pair of pregnant ewes slain as their shepherd's back was turned. Then finally reports of deaths. First an old woman, then a boy who had been missing for days, then finally a man returning from a neighbour's.

Rumours spread from the varied eye-witness accounts. Some said they'd seen a crazed old dwarf carrying a bloody hatchet, some beleived it was a twisted, starving vampire desperate for blood, while one farmhand swore he saw the a tormented spectre fleeing over the snow toward the old sycamore, ghostly chains rattling through the night.

Whatever the nature of the attacker, the condition of the victims remained the same. The attacks apparently occured at night, leaving a great bloody mess to stain the snow deep crimson, while the bodies left barely recognisable and some in more than one piece.

Reports indicate fear of the monster spreading rapidly in the area, with false sightings quickly becoming more common than actual attacks.

Determined to see the issue dealt with immediately and without complication, the Greenbelt Charter party took up their weapons and rode out to see to matters personally.

2 Kuthona
Old Sycamore; E6
Rural Volga
The party put on their winter clothes and set out. The roads made travel quick, but they were delayed by a heavy snowfall that turned to a storm over night. Instead they arrived in the region the next morning before noon.

The tremendous sycamore loomed over the horizon as they met with the marshal's agent in the area. She had news to report.

During the previous night's snowstorm a farmer's milk cow and calf had been found outside, slain in the manner as the rest, the door to the barn wide open, despite the farmer swearing he'd checked twice that it was shut the night before, knowing a storm was on the way.

She led them to the farm. True to the grisly descriptions they'd received, the party got to witness the semi-frozen blood staining the fresh snow that partially obscured the bodies. Both animals had their heads removed and were mangled into a bloody, almost pulpy mess.

Frodrick 48/48 -
Jargon 34/34 -
Giles 36/36 - 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 45/45 -
Miguel 33/33 - 19 arrows
Zeran 36/36 - 30 bullets, +2daggers
Stefan 11/11 - 18 arrows
Uriel 13/13 -

(Most of the attacks occur at night, so you have at least that long to investigate before expecting trouble. The attacks do not occur every night, but are spread erratically over the last few weeks. The sheriff you just met can be probed for information, and you may like to speak with the witnesses themselves. Other than for the latest attack, all the witnesses will require a bit of travel time to go from one house to another.)

(In other news, this is actually a fairly good introductory encounter to Book 2. It has several elements that you will see more than once over the book, including enemies that introduce themselves by raiding your towns and villages, creatures that seem to be what they aren't, and things that hopelessly outmatch you in raw power.)

2 Kuthona - Night
Old Sycamore; E6
Rural Volga
Without any serious leads, the party turned indoors, accepting the shelter offered by the owner of the slain cattle. The farmhouse was small, but cozy, and the party had the main room to themselves to camp and plan.

The sheriff told the party all the information she had collected already, and rode out to make it known that any future confirmed sightings or slayings should be reported to the farmstead but in the meantime be careful when travelling alone, and do not go outside after dark unless absolutely necessary. When she returned toward the close the short winter day, she had few new reports.

A dog that had gone missing earlier in the week turned up in last night's blizzard, evidently only too happy to be home given the weather. There were no new sightings since the day before, except Old Woman Josie, who for the third time that week been ambushed by her own shadow, mistaking it for the loose killer.

Night fell soon after. It was calm, cool, and clear skies in contrast with last night's storm. The rulers of Volga occupied themselves variously, between music and entertaining cantrips, feeding the chickens in the henhouse around back, and discussing strategies to locate the attacker's hideout the next day.

It was getting close to time to turn in when the occupants of the farmhouse heard a loud crash from outside, accompanied by a gaggle of alarmed clucking. There was half a second of stunned silence in the house.

"The heck was tha—"

A second crash, this time clearly coming from the henhouse around back, followed by even more enraged chicken noises. Without a word the party picked up their weapons and ran out into the snow. The moon didn't provide much illumination, but Miguel lit himself up with a cantrip on the way out, then threw another into the air above the coop.

The yard behind the farmhouse was scattered with extremely perturbed looking chickens strutting about, throwing suspicious glances at both the newcomers and their quarters. The wooden door of the chicken coop was thoroughly smashed inward, but it was impossible to see much inside aside from splintered pieces of wood.

Frodrick 48/48 -
Jargon 34/34 -
Giles 36/36 - 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 45/45 -
Miguel 33/33 - Light (40min), Dancing Lights (1/10), 19 arrows
Zeran 36/36 - 30 bullets, +2daggers
Stefan 11/11 - Absent IIRC, 18 arrows
Uriel 13/13 - With Stefan

(Combat hasn't started, but we may as well treat it like such since we're here and trying to figure out what's going on. Marching order atm, so initiative to come when a threat actually presents itself.)

2 Kuthona - Night
Old Sycamore; E6
Rural Volga
Kyrie marched straight into the henhouse, stepping over splinters of the wooden door. There wasn't much room inside unless you were a chicken, but she carefully scanned the shadows for movement. It was empty.

"There's nothing here!"

The shed was a distraction. No sooner had the warning shout left Kyrie's lips, the rest of the party became aware of fast footsteps crunching through the snow behind them, away from the house. It was too late.

A small creature resembling a small, gnarled old man charged out of the night, moving much faster than it looked. He carried a long, wicked scythe at least twice as long as he was tall over his head as he closed in on Giles. The marshal of Volga had barely anytime to react before the curmudgeon caugt up to him.

"Hah! I've keel'd ya!" The old man swung the scythe down with speed and strength again belying his crooked, old body.

Giles practically threw himself out of the way of the blow. The point of the scythe buried into the snow and ground rather than into his torso. A sharp pang against his side told him that he hadn't quite been fast enough to escape harm entirely, but that his chainmail had saved him from a more painful wound (-13dmg Giles).

The old man was barely over three foot tall, including his pointed ears and a blood-red shapeless woolen hat. He wore a hateful scowl combined with a sadistic glee, complemented by a large, greasy beard. He was dressed in soiled leather armour and wore unreasonably heavy-looking iron boots complete with spiked toes and soles.

"Redcap!" Miguel shouted. He wracked his brain for any useful stories he knew about them. He knew about how they dyed their hats with the blood of their victims, but he couldn't remember anything specific about their abilities. Most of the stories he knew were filled with grisly descriptions, but were none offered any concrete information.

"It's a fey!" he added.

Frodrick 48/48 -
Jargon 34/34 -
Giles 23/36 - 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 45/45 -
Miguel 33/33 - Light (40 min), Dancing Lights (2/10), 19 arrows
Zeran 36/36 - 30 bullets, +2daggers

Redcap: Pleased to meat you!

The redcap wrenched its scythe out of the ground before the others even had time to react. Giles braced for another strike, but the fey ran past him, cackling gleefully. The little murderer stomped over to Miguel and Zeran, standing just a few feet away. Caught unprepared, neither had any better chance of dodging than Giles did the first time.

The red cap swung its oversized scythe horizontally across both of them at once, almost throwing them to the ground as they struggled to avoid that deadly arc (-22dmg Zeran 13/36) (-21dmg Miguel 12/33). Both men got an overwhelming sense that if they'd been an inch slower or less experienced than they were now, they'd both be dead in the same swing.

Frodrick 48/48 -
Jargon 34/34 -
Giles 23/36 - 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 45/45 -
Miguel 12/33 - Light (40 min), Dancing Lights (2/10), 19 arrows
Zeran 14/36 - 30 bullets, +2daggers

Redcap: I'm practicin' my threshin', Power Attack

(When I work out the map, I'll probably drop you a link to get an idea where/how deep the snow is. You will see that the snow in the yard rises in falls into patches of deep snow here and there which restrict movement, combined with snow/ice too shallow or dispersed to affect movement.)

(Despite everything being covered in snow, we'll treat the latter category as 'no snow', then for the drifts, 'snow' costs 2 squares of movement to enter, and for the larger (between 1-4' deep) drifts 'deep snow' costs 4 squares, so Kyrie and Frodrick should avoid these at all costs. Initiative order is up on Skype, though I think you may have your suspicions who got 'first' already...)

(Oh yeah, and Jargon Hooves is in the farmers' barn, sharing lodgings with the farmer's remaining sheep in the cow's former stall. Since there is no extreme blizzard tonight, the doors are not locked and she can be here within a couple rounds of Frodrick's calling her.)

At the mention of the word "Red cap" ancient tales came to Frodrick's mind. The halflings that neigbored his kin's stronghold had told fearful tales of corupt gnomes that bathed their cloths in the blood of their vicitms. The creatures were called "red caps", "ogre gnomes", and "blood bathers" according to the local bard.

The bard had said many things about these creatures, but Frodrick had paid little to no attention to them: they were tales made to scare children and smaller folk.

But seeing this creature with such a large weapon was rather imposing, and he had given some grevious wounds to his comrade. Well this would end here. Not another drop of allied blood would be spilled tonight.

Giving a high pitched whistled, Frodrick signaled for Jargon Hooves to come, with it as cold as it was he was sure the whistled would carry to her ears in the barn.

The dwarf then refocused on the enemy before him. "Get yer scrawny ass over 'ere so I can shove me boot up it yer ravening loonie! Ye ain't got nothin on me fer a beard or battle prowess and ye aint got nothin' on me with that blade o' yers!"

Call Jargon over
Challenge "Red Cap", Miguel is warded for +1 AC.
Move to be beside Miguel ASAP

2 Kuthona - Night
Old Sycamore; E6
Rural Volga
Kyrie saw the small monster attacking her companions and causing mayhem without her. She fixed the tiny bearded monster in her sights, calling upon the righteous power of protection almost unconsciously as she barreled out of the chicken coop toward the redcap (+5AC Kyrie).

Her power bathed both men in a defensive halo. The monster was small, but obviously dangerous. Kyrie held her own shield up as she tried to draw its attention—she slashed with her sickle to see if she could make it focus on her.

The sickle struck solid, but didn't cut. The slash bounced as if she was fighting a padded wooden dummy rather than a creature of flesh and blood (-1sub Redcap). Except that the redcap recoiled from the force of her blow, Kyrie would have thought she was striking something inanimate.

Frodrick, knowing the value of patience over his 100+ dwarven years, bided his time. He knew Zeran would want some range, and he knew he would have a clear chance to step in behind to lend his shield to Miguel.

On the other side, Giles saw that his bow would be useless in this situation. He slung the weapon looted from the Stag Lord's body over his shoulder and reached for his swords. Instead of grabbing his own sword, he loosed the cold iron sword he had picked up from its sheathe. Cold iron was the bane of fairies and demons—it was time to prove the common knowledge.

Giles waited for the opportune moment before moving in to strike. He summoned up an aura of energy to protect himself from the redcap's blows, watching for how the monster was going to respond to Kyrie's presence.

Miguel knew he would not be fast enough to avoid that scythe a second time, and he was not ashamed to get behind a better warrior. He retreated a step behind Kyrie, shouting a into her ear.

"This next spell is an enchantment—nothing serious, but it will make you feel stronger and more confident. You might not notice the difference, but it will make you fight harder." Miguel was a great believer in not messing with the minds of the people you cared about without their knowledge. This enchantment was harmless, but there were many that were not.

He cast the spell, placing his hand against Kyrie's back to make it take hold on her. Kyrie sucked in a breath involuntarily. Miguel was right in both cases. The spell merely maintained her own confidence in her abilities, but the sudden surge of morale was invigorating. She felt like she could tear up a whole garden of weeds in one go (+2 atk, saves, skills).

Zeran could probably have used something similar. He staggered back, making way for Frodrick as he raised his gun. He fired a clean shot, but Zeran actually saw the bullet bounce off the redcap's tough body and land in the snow at his feet (-1sub Redcap). It seemed hardly any more impressed by it than it had by Kyrie's attack.

Magic wasn't just a skill to the fey, it was in their very essense. It was in every breath and every fibre of their being—even though not all fey could pull of magical tricks, almost all but the weakest were supernaturally tough. While the redcap didn't seem to have any magic trickery, its body was heavily infused with magic, making its wiry, crooked limbs tougher than wood.

Not that Zeran was ready to give up yet. He loaded another ball as quickly as he could. He knew it would be resistant to weapons--but not immune. He would just have to be a better shot.

Frodrick put two fingers to his mouth and blew a sharp whistle. Then he stepped in where Zeran stepped out, trying to divide and draw the monster's attention. "Get yer scrawny ass over 'ere so I can shove me boot up it yer ravening loonie! Ye ain't got nothin on me fer a beard or battle prowess and ye aint got nothin' on me with that blade o' yers!"

Frodrick wanted to leap to Miguel's defence, but he knew he would be safe for now behind Kyrie—here he could wall off the monster's path to either Zeran or Miguel, forcing it to go around if it wanted either of them. "A'right, Kyrie, shields together! Block 'im off!" (+2AC Kyrie, Frodrick).

"Hah! Fat chance, fatso!" The redcap wound up his scythe and slashed across both Frodrick and Kyrie at once. The blade bounced off both their shields with a combined wooden 'thock' and steel 'clang'.

"Eh?" The redcap's face screwed up into a snarl. "H-hey! No fair! That's CHEATING!" He stomped with his heavy iron boots, throwing up chunks of hard-packed snow. He stepped back from the two, retreating so that his back was against a the steep side of a snowdrift almost as deep as he was tall.

Frodrick 48/48 - Bastion, Challenge [Redcap], Tactician - Shield Wall (1/5)
Jargon 34/34 -
Giles 23/36 - Protection Judgement, Challenge 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 45/45 - Bastion of Good, Heroism (1/400), Challenge, Tactician
Miguel 12/33 - Light, Dancing Lights (3/10), Challenge, 19 arrows,
Zeran 14/36 - (loaded) Bastion, Challenge, 29 bullets

Redcap: Uninjured, Power Attack

()

2 Kuthona - Night
Old Sycamore; E6
Rural Volga
Determined to keep the redcap focused on her where it would have to work to do any harm, Kyrie swung her sickle like a cleaver. She struck the fey again, and once again found her blade utterly rebuffed by his supernaturally tough flesh (-0dmg Redcap*).

Giles drew his ring target token and chanted the words to a spell. He didn't know if he would get more than one good shot at the creature so he wanted to make sure it didn't miss. Once the spell took effect and his senses amplified by magical insight, he stepped into the melee beside Kyrie, cutting off some of the midget's manoeuvrability.

At the same time, Miguel's voice began to resonate in the night as he picked up a song, his musician's magic reinforcing his tune as always and fortifying his allies' attacks. Making sure to stay within the range of Kyrie's protection, Miguel moved around to Frodrick's flank (+1AC Miguel), working to get into a good position to surround the redcap.

Not to be left out in pinning the fairy monster's back against the snow bank, Zeran manoeuvred to Frodrick's side and aimed his gun between the wall formed by the two shield bearers. He tightened his focus and aimed for the redcap's scruffy beard.

His aim was good, but as the redcap moved, the ball deflected into the snowbank—he hit, but the fairy's supernaturally tough hide stopped the full force of the attack (-0dmg Redcap). Zeran knew a direct hit would penetrate, if only he could make the shot stick.

Before the redcap could get any ideas about making Zeran pay, Frodrick stepped between the gunner and the fairy, keeping near Kyrie's shield. Instead of trying to strike the redcap, Frodrick put his effort into covering Miguel with his axe (+4AC Miguel).

A shrill equine sound from the east levied the dwarf's spirits. His stocky grey mare came galloping out of the darkness, weaving between the snow drifts in response to his whistle. The redcap was tough, but there were not many things that could stand up to Jargon and him working in concert to protect their crew.

The redcap sneered at Frodrick and the defensive he formed in a line from Kyrie to Miguel. He could see he was being slowly surrounded. Even with nigh-impervious flesh, he knew he didn't want to be trapped.

"Fine!" He made a rude gesture at Frodrick with his free hand. "That's the way you wanna play it—" The redcap spun his scythe around in his hands and turned to Giles.

"No ye don't!" Frodrick swung his axe around to block off Giles and skew the redcap's aim, but the fey's blade was fast as it was wicked. Giles was forced to parry the blow with his own sword (-9dmg Giles 14/36), taxing his energy even depite the buffering effect of Kyrie's power.

The redcap followed through the glance off Giles' sword into Kyrie, but came no closer to penetrating that shield wall than the first time.

He took a step back along the snowbank, moving away from Kyrie and Giles. "Haha, gotta catch me if you can!"

Frodrick 48/48 - B*, Challenge, Ward (Miguel), Tactician - Shield Wall (2/5), IC*
Jargon 34/34 - Ch*, IC*
Giles 14/36 - Protection, Ch*, True Strike (1/2), IC* 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 45/45 - Bastion of Good, Heroism (2/400), Ch*, Tact*, IC*
Miguel 12/33 - Light, Dancing Lights (4/10), Ch*, Inspire Courage, Ward, 19 arrows,
Zeran 14/36 - B*, Ch*, IC*, 28 bullets, -1G

Redcap: Uninjured, Power Cleave

(*That lovely little asterisk is there to confirm that I was misremembering a rule about how a Str penalty to damage would not reduce the damage to 0, but to -1sub, where the reduction from DR can, in fact, negate all damage, if it is insufficient.)

Miguel: 0/1
Giles: 1/0

2 Kuthona - Night
Old Sycamore; E6
Rural Volga
Did he just say 'catch me if you can'? Kyrie let her sickle drop from her hands. It wasn't doing her much good with this particular weed, anyway. Instead she bore down on the redcap with her metal fist, sidestepping a defensive swing from its scythe.

Kyrie wrapped her hand around the fey's boney arm. As expected, the creature was much stronger than he looked. Immediately she almost lost her grip, but she held on through sheer determination (Redcap Grappled), despite much protest from the redcap.

"Ey! Lemme go! I'll keel you!"

Giles climbed into the steep edge of the snow bank. It was only barely 3' deep, but it was more than a little effort to keep his footing and push through. Despite this, he had a sneaking suspicion that the effort was going to be worth it. As he did, he refocused his will to revitalizing his body (+2hp Giles).

When he got the little bugger in his sights again, he struck with unerring precision, slashing at the redcap before he could escape Kyrie's grip. Compared to the others' attacks, the moment his blade touched the creature's flesh there was a terrible hissing noise. It was impossible to tell in the heat of the moment whether it came from the redcap's mouth or his flesh (-12dmg Redcap).

The cold iron blade tore into the redcap, completely ignoring his supernatural durability and slicing through the fey-hide no different than any other hide. The effect on the redcap was no less dramatic. He let up such a terrible, hateful cry that Giles almost would have thought he'd killed him in one blow (Redcap Barely Injured). The ancient-looking spirit of murder screamed such a string of invectives that it was impossible to make out anything he said.

Miguel side-stepped opposite Giles, forcing the redcap to split his attention in two directions at once. While Miguel's sword was made of plain-old steel, when he struck the redcap, he felt the tiniest fraction of his blow cut below the surface (-1dmg Redcap).

Zeran strafed along with Miguel, aiming through the spot the bard had just left. This time he would penetrate. He fired at the redcap. Like with Miguel, the redcap's supernatural hide absorbed the majority of the bullet's momentum, but also as with Miguel, Zeran could tell that he undoubtedly penetrated (-1dmg Redcap).

Frodrick thrust the haft of his axe through his belt loop. He bellowed a command word at Jargon to have her aid and defend Giles while he circled around the redcap for a better position. The dwarf joined the wrestling match that Kyrie was engaging in.

Jargon wrapped around the whole group to get to the other side of the redcap. The fey was now surrounded on almost every side but one. Jargon bit at him and did her level best to keep the redcap from getting any thoughts about Giles, but the redcap hardly even seemed to notice her efforts in the mess (Aid fumble).

The redcap by now had devolved to snorting and snarling his disdain at those around him. He tried to get his scythe around one-handed, but to no use. He tried to wrench himself free from Kyrie and Frodrick's hold, using the handle of his weapon to beat at their armoured arms, but Kyrie was perfectly unwilling to let him go so easily.

As they wrestled, distantly Frodrick noticed that the small bullet wound caused by Zeran had actually vanished—the sooty mark remaining was how he knew it had been there. For that matter, Miguel's blow had also sealed up. He couldn't tell with the larger gash caused by Giles' sword, but he would have sworn it was larger just a minute ago.

The others were beginning to notice it, too—the redcap's wounds were slowly but visibly closing shut (+3hp Redcap).

Frodrick 48/48 - B*, Challenge, Ward (Miguel), Tactician - Shield Wall (3/5), IC*
Jargon 34/34 - Ch*, IC*
Giles 16/36 - Healing, Ch*, True Strike (Discharged), IC* 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 45/45 - Bastion of Good, Heroism, Ch*, Tact*, IC*, Grappling
Miguel 12/33 - Light, Dancing Lights (5/10), Ch*, Courage (2/...), Ward, 19 arrows,
Zeran 14/36 - B*, Ch*, IC*, 27 bullets, -2G

Redcap: Barely Injured, Grappled

(Turns out Giles isn't the only one with 'fast healing' in this particular scenario. You definitely can't let this one get away only to come back 5 minutes later at full health.)

Miguel: 0/1
Giles: 1/0

2 Kuthona - Night
Old Sycamore; E6
Rural Volga
Kyrie shook her shield free of her arm and took hold of the redcap with both hands. Despite the redcap's strength and agility, she managed to get a solid grip on the short fey and lock him an immobilizing hold.

"Leggo you stupid flea-bitten mortals! I'll kill all of you in your sleep, you hear me?"

In response Giles (+2hp) slashed again, eliciting more enraged screams (-12dmg Redcap). Despite the rapidly healing wounds, the touch of the cold iron weapon was beginning to take its toll (Injured). Miguel flanking opposite Giles had less luck, striking ineffectually.

Zeran meanwhile turned his pistol up. Shooting blanks into the sky would be a less expensive hobby for roughly the same effect, he reasoned. He took a speculative glance at the piles of snow laying around. The paperwork and duties of being the royal executioner stacked on top of the growing pains of the fledgling barony had kept him too busy to enjoy the season properly.

"You know," he said over the sounds of struggle and the redcap's hollering, "we're only here because you went and started killing our people." Zeran wondered whether the snow was wet enough to be any good.

"No!" the redcap crowed. He thrashed about in Kyrie's hold, but Frodrick helped her maintain her grip. He stopped suddenly, glaring at Zeran. "No. You—all o' you, every last mis'rable sack of meat—are here for the same reason as all prey... To give the predators something to chase!"

The redcap suddenly twisted free of Kyrie and Frodrick's grip. He hooted his laughter as he leapt straight into the deep snow bank, barely ducking under Giles' sword as he raced passed. Despite being weighed down by its oversized iron boots the redcap ploughed through the snow drift to the other side waving his scythe above his head (+3hp Redcap).

He stopped and turned around a few yards past the snow drift. "Now we're having some fun!"

Frodrick 48/48 - B*, Challenge, Ward (Miguel), Tactician - Shield Wall (4/5), IC*
Jargon 34/34 - Ch*, IC*
Giles 18/36 - Healing, Ch*, IC*, 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 45/45 - Bastion of Good, Heroism, Ch*, Tact*, IC*
Miguel 12/33 - Light, Dancing Lights (6/10), Ch*, Courage (3/...), Ward, 19 arrows,
Zeran 14/36 - B*, Ch*, IC*, 27 bullets, -2G

Redcap: Injured

(No doubt you're wondering just how far the redcap managed to get with his superhuman speed... the answer is actually not that far. Because of the unavoidable snow terrain, he lost like 6 squares of movement, so he's only about 20' away from Jargon and Giles. That said, the movement penalty of the snow drift means Giles would need his max movement speed to catch up, and would need at least 2 rounds to cross the snow drift completely.)

Miguel: 0/1
Giles: 1/0

2 Kuthona - Night
Old Sycamore; E6
Rural Volga
The redcap was taunting her, but Kyrie paid no mind. Against speed like that she had no hope, so instead she drew her shovel and took up a position beside Giles. If he was the only one who could hurt it, it was in her best interest to make sure he didn't get hurt.

Giles sighed and rolled his shoulders (+2hp). "Well, if we're going to stand around admiring the snow for a bit, I'm gonna have a drink." He slipped a vial out of his pocket—a potion. He downed the mouthful of liquid all at once (+6hp Giles 26/36).

Miguel joined them on the other side, keeping himself safe inside Kyrie's protection. He continued to sing as he wove together a quick spell to heal himself (+7hp Miguel 19/33). Meanwhile Zeran was beginning to realize things weren't quite done with so soon. At a loss for what to do, he resorted to his default: Fire. Lots of fire, ideally, but even a little could do if applied the right way.

"I'll be right back, just give me a minute!" He turned and ran back to the farmhouse.

Frodrick saw the redcap's hasty retreat and taunt. "Oh no ye don't," he growled to himself. "C'mere, girl." He took hold of Jargon by the withers with one hand and threw himself over onto her bareback with an expert kick that seemed totally at odds with his stocky dwarven frame.

Without hesitating he spurred Jargon over the snow toward the redcap. He guided her with his knees, drawing 'Ace', his trusty axe. He only needed to get its attention and keep it distracted, so that's what he did. He swung down with his axe, almost leaning over, and struck the redcap as hard as he could.

There was a distinct crunch beneath the blade of his axe as he struck shoulder bone. (-15dmg *crit* Redcap Bloodied) The redcap shrieked in surprise, apparently losing his voice at the same time as he went silent instead of unleashing another string of insults.

The redcap snarled wordlessly (+3hp) and kicked out at Jargon with his heavy spiked boots, but Frodrick fended him off with pointed swings, preventing the fey from getting a solid sweep (+4AC Jargon). Despite the monster's shoulder wound, though, he was blindingly fast with his scythe.

Frodrick shifted to block the blow with his shield but was almost thrown from his horse in the effort. The strike left a thin crack in the wood of his shield and left his shield arm practically numb (-20dmg Frodrick 28/4.

Frodrick 28/48 - Mounted, Challenge, Ward (Miguel), Tactician - Shield Wall (5/5), IC*
Jargon 34/34 - Mount, Bareback, Ch*, IC*
Giles 26/36 - Healing, B*, Ch*, IC*, 19 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 45/45 - Bastion of Good, Heroism, Ch*, Tact*, IC*
Miguel 19/33 - Light, Dancing Lights (7/10), B*, Ch*, Courage (4/...), Ward, 19 arrows,
Zeran 14/36 - Away, 27 bullets, -2G

Redcap: Injured, Bloodied, Power Attack

(Oops, someone remind me that Giles has used one of his two potions now. Also redcap proves that he can still hurt, but Frodrick proves crit happens.)

Miguel: 1/1
Giles: 1/0