The party ride alongside a squadron of the bishop’s templars to deliver the assembled tribute money to the dragon. Five hundred crowns- some raised by the party, others by the townsfolk- are heaped in a small sack inside the gold coated elvish cauldron.
The journey is made without incident, save a great deal of resentful grumbling among the templars (most of whom are of local stock) at the dragon’s outrageous demands. The general consensus appears to be that the mayor’s proposal- imposing an emergency tax to pay what remains of the second toll- will impose a great deal of hardship on the town: especially at this stage, nearly a month before the harvest is due. All can see, however, that things would be far worse is not for the adventurers’ efforts- they might not have a town to return to at all. There is some talk of the mayor's plans to hold a ceremony in thanks of the party- awarding them titles of some sort as defenders of the town- but no one particularly knows what’s going on and the topic is soon dropped.
It is a warm day after a hot, dry summer and the group’s horses and clothing is soon caked with dust. You are unable to shake the feeling that little more than a spark would be needed to engulf the entire forest in flame. Emberburn seems to be expecting you, the dragon is perched atop the rock face a before, idly chewing at the body of a plump doe. The dragon makes a few more threats, evidently pleased at the fear it still inspires from the town but soon permits the group to depart, eager to count its reward in solitude.
***
The night after the party returns with the dragon’s tribute Arthur Bridley, a local woodcutter, goes missing while working on the outskirts of the woods. A rescue party is hastily assembled from the town, joined by a number of the adventurers (if you want to say your character was involved then feel free) and much of the following morning is spent scouring the wood for any sign of his presence.
Eventually, after some hours of exhaustive searching, the body is spotted- hidden in a small dell some half-mile into the woods. The body is almost unrecognisable, having been savaged by some unknown woodland creature during the night but the broad rip -running from the corpse’s neck to its navel and the splintered ribcage are unmistakeable. Something has quite literally torn this man’s heart from his body, though the remains appear curiously desiccated and there is little blood.
One of Arthur’s fellows, a fair-haired hunter whose name you don’t quite catch, swears to have seen a pale, green-skinned figure running further into the woods during the morning’s search and this strange revelation excites a great deal of interest among the assembled townsfolk. A few local hotheads appear ready to mount a second search to scour the woods for any sign of the “tree witch” but most have work to return to and, having lost a morning’s labour already, can spare no further time here. Some cast furtive glances in Aliira’s direction- certain that she must somehow have had something to do with the disappearances- and some openly express a willingness to string the druid up “just to be sure”. Calmer counsel prevails, however, and the group heads back to town- corpse in tow- to spread the word and comfort Arthur’s grieving family.
***
One of the Bishop’s acolytes, a ruddy-faced youth in his early twenties, shows Emmerus into Abner’s office. It is not hard to see that the Bishop must have been a great warrior in his youth, he stands tall, broad shouldered and defiant for all the ravages of time, a great many scars and old war wounds displayed proudly on his shrivelled, crinkled face. An old mace and battered shield- which you do not doubt have seen a great deal of use over the years- are displayed above his desk, though the rest of the office is simply furnished, favouring a frugal- almost Spartan- look.
The Bishop listens intently to Emmerus’ account, interrupting occasionally with a shrewd question or to clarify a particular point. When the priest has finished he sighs deeply, reaching for something buried in one of the draws of his desk. “When I first came here…” he begins, his intention absorbed on the rising heap of papers and he unearths the draws contents. “When I first came here the land was not yet fully tamed. Evil spirits- demons who clung to trees and brooks up in the abandoned places, in the darkness of the forest and lonely crags in the surrounding hills and mountains- yet stalked this valley thirsting for the blood of the innocent. With mace and shield and the blessings of Pelor we fought them back, until the land was cleansed in His name It sounds as though your friends,” he frowns, “and I don’t doubt their motives, have reawakened one of these spirits.”
“Elisha… he was Bishop here before me, prepared a batch of amulets back when … I suppose it would be a good sixty years ago now.” He smiles, obviously some distance away. “They offered some measure of protection from the enchantments of the evil creatures of the woods. I have one here for yourself and one for the halfling who accompanied you… I can’t help but feel you’re going to need all the friends you can get.”
[The amulets are fairly simply copper trinkets, each bearing the symbol of Pelor and attached to a slender chain of the same material. Any evil creature attacking a character wearing one will suffer a -1 penalty to their attack rolls and the wearer will gain a +1 bonus to saves made against spells cast by evil creatures. They may or may not have additional powers against woodland spirits.]
***
Anna once again shows you into Abraham’s study. As before, he takes your items, instructing the party to return the following afternoon for collection. The master conjuror is obviously impressed with your devotion to helping the town and there is no mention of payment. (This, of course, assumes that the party is willing to donate the cauldron and at least 300 crowns. Otherwise he’ll charge you as before).
[The longsword counts as a +1 weapon for the purposes of harming supernatural creatures. It gives no attack or damage bonus.]
[The copper medallion grants it wearer a +1 Wisdom bonus.]
[Emmerus’ jade ring, recovered form the first adventure, halves damage taken from poison. If placed within a poisoned drink or portion of food it will grow warm to the touch, offering its wearer some measure of warning. It takes 24 hours to attune to a wearer before its powers will manifest.]
- I know this is quite rushed. With any luck I'll have time to make an edit later today or, failing that, at some point in the next week.
Shadows of the Empire Q&A
Shadows of the Empire
Neva
Anyhow, you've now levelled up and will have a new set of spells and thief points to distribute accordingly. 
