5 Neth
Warg Territory; G6
South Kamelands
Giles ducked his head (-1bleed) and hopped out of the wagon, escaping the colony of bats that had spontaneously claimed it for themselves. Rather than stumble around blindly in the fog, he moved toward the vague blip of light in the fog until he could see Kyrie's glowing body semi-clearly.

Zeran didn't need any convincing (-1bleed). With the bats swarming around him, he stood, clamping his wrists protectively around his neck. He followed Giles's egress, but he didn't stop there. As soon as his boots touched the snow, he reversed his course and dove under the wagon for protection from the swarm.

Unbeknownst to him, Zeran narrowly escaped a far chillier fate than laying in the snow. Moments after the gunslinger disappeared from Miguel's sight, a final wolf with cunning eyes and a spectral glowing blue mist wafting from its mouth appeared beside him, striking out of the fog without warning. Miguel never had time to dodge. The wolf's jaws clamped around his forearm, but it wasn't the bite that was the most painful (-4dmg Miguel).

A heart-stopping chill numbed Miguel's sword arm and shot up his body into his chest. When the baron bard wrenched his arm from the wolf's maw, the fabric was coated with frost (-14cold Miguel 12/41). The cold forced the breath from his lungs, but he managed to suck in enough air to croak, "Found the shaman!" before picking up teeth-chattering verse to his song before the magic faded (Staggered).

Around him the bat swarm shifted, the ravenous mob engulfing Kyrie, too. Even Kyrie, despite her armour, suffered many tiny bites which she ignored (-1dmg Miguel) (-3dmg Kyrie Bleed). She thrust her hand through the swarm into the wagon and grabbed Miguel's leg (+15hp Miguel 26/41 Bleed End). "You get back."

Kyrie pushed her way around the wagon (-1bleed), but found first the heavily wounded wolf. It hadn't fled yet, so Kyrie assumed it was one of the summons. She couldn't see the shaman yet. No doubt she would have to go through the minion to get to the master. "All right, puppy. Move it."

Miguel obeyed Kyrie and fell back to the far side of the wagon, but not for the same reasons. He closed his eyes and focused his mind. His body was shaking too damn much to move far or fast, but he couldn't simply relax. He knew he was the only one who could disperse the swarm. With Kyrie out of his sight, he had no way of knowing whether she'd made it out of the area or not, but he couldn't afford to wait.

For just a moment, Miguel managed to push the bats, the cold, and his own chattering teeth out of his mind. His voice rang out with magic and he held his hand out, directing the crystalline shards out into the swarm and toward the wolves at the edge of the wagon.

First thing Kyrie saw was a small wave of bat corpses flung toward her, bursting into energy where they struck the snow, propelled by the force of the spell. For half a second before she saw the bats dying, she believed the swarm was coming after her again, so she was completely blindsided by the shards (-6dmg Kyrie) (-9dmg Bat Swarm).

Against all the odds, the badly wounded summoned wolf in front of her managed to duck low enough to evade the spell. There were no eyes on the shaman anymore to confirm whether or not he was caught, too. The bat swarm meanwhile, short at least a couple hundred members, continued to circle around Miguel's head.

Giles 36/42 - -1SS, B(2), Protection, Bleed, 18 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 45/55 - -2LoH, Bleed, Power of Faith (7/10)
Miguel 26/41 - Inspire Courage (7), Staggered, 18 arrows
Zeran 20/42 - -3G, Bleed, Prone, 30 bullets
Mathilda 9/15 - Egads!

Wolf-D: Near Death, Bloodied, Summon? (?/?)''''''
Old Wolf: Unseen again, Fog Bat Swarm: Badly Wounded, Summon (2/?)

Wolf-A: Badly Wounded, Retreat, Unseen
Wolf-B: Dying, Unconscious
Wolf-C: Unconscious
Wolf-E: Desummoned
Howl-of-the-North-Wind: So Dead

(Gotta work, no time for GM side-notes today. Got not much to say tho' besides that was one hell of a concentration check rolled by Miguel just now.)

Spells:
Miguel 2/0
Giles 0/1

5 Neth
Warg Territory; G6
South Kamelands
Giles reversed his steps when he heard Miguel call out (-1bleed). He climbed back into the wagon ahead of where the swarm was attacking and crossed to the other side. There it was—the elderly wolf that had cast the fog, and probably the summons, too.

"Got you." He willed divine judgment through his blade and struck down over the wagon's edge. This was obviously no ordinary wolf—the elderly animal moved like a trained combatant, stepping back as Giles' sword struck a glancing blow, complete with a distinctly woody 'thock' (-15dmg Old Wolf Embattled).

Zeran under the wagon heard action overhead. Before he could be rejoining any fight he figured it'd be better to stop the free flow of blood. Still, no sense in wasting a bullet. He pointed to his right, following Giles' footsteps and the sounds of snarling. He couldn't see worth a damn but if he just got lucky...

He was rewarded with a surprised yelp (-4dmg Old Wolf). Zeran pressed the still hot barrel to as many of his bleeding wounds as he had time for in this cold (End Bleed). Rolling over onto his stomach, the river pirate turned co-baron crawled under the wagon toward the other side.

The grizzled old wolf snapped at his face the moment he came into view, but he flinched back even quicker. "Yikes."

The wolf stepped back. Before Zeran and Giles' eyes, the animal suddenly transformed. Its body became earth, its teeth and claws became stones, and its eyes gleamed like uncut gemstones. The shape of the creature also changed, the soil of its body shifting effortlessly to resemble a small bear-like wolverine.

"I will have my vengeance!" A deep, rumbling voice issued from somewhere deep in the earth creature's throat. "You're not different from that pathetic boy. Children playing at the game of lords and ladies!"

The old man turned elemental creature suddenly dove into the ground, gliding into the mixture of snow, blood, and mud as smoothly as an otter into a pond. Zeran thrust out with his rapier, but couldn't tell if he struck the creature until he realized his tip was stuck into the dirt.

Then the bats came.

Zeran didn't see them coming until he was surrounded by them all over again. Overhead Giles was also being engulfed in the swarm (-4dmg Miguel 22/41) (-5dmg Giles 30/42) (-1dmg Zeran (18/42).

Kyrie heard Giles and Zeran's curses and suspected her target was no longer there, but that was not going to stop her from being sure. "Nice doggie get out of my way doggie."

The wolf suddenly relaxed. Without warning its body simply dissolved like mist before the sunlight. A faint, vaguely wolf-shaped glow lingered and faded where it stood. Kyrie didn't know much about magic, but she guessed this meant that the spell that summoned the wolf spirit had ended (Wolf Desummoned). Either way, she knew it meant there was nothing standing in her way anymore. She stepped through and found she shaman wolf had fled.

A paladin's work is never done, though. Without an obvious target to hit, she reached under the wagon with her healing hands and patted Zeran on the head, keeping her eyes open for the shaman's next strike (+12hp Zeran 30/42).

Still embroiled in the bat swarm on the wagon, Miguel rubbed his face. One more shot would do it. He couldn't do it from in here, though. Not without hitting basically everybody else. He jumped out of the wagon to clear his head, and took a few steps away from the wagon. He couldn't see the bats anymore, but he didn't have to aim very carefully. He pointed himself at the spot where he had just been standing and unleashed another blast of crystalline shards.

He couldn't see the results like the rest of his team, but over the next few seconds the high pitched squeaking and sounds of flapping faded. The others meanwhile saw another tide of bats blown away by Miguel's magic, only to have those few who remained, too few in number to maintain a cohesive swarm, begin winking out of existence one by one (-10dmg Bat Swarm Desummoned)

Giles 35/42 - -1SS, B(2), Destruction, Bleed, 18 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 45/55 - -2LoH, Bleed, Power of Faith (7/10)
Miguel 21/41 - Inspire Courage (7), Staggered, 18 arrows
Zeran 30/42 - -3G, Bleed, Prone, 30 bullets
Mathilda 9/15 - Egads!

Summoned Wolf: Desummoned
Earth Wolverine: Injured, Embattled, Fog Bat Swarm: Desummoned

Wolf-A: Badly Wounded, Retreat, Unseen
Wolf-B: Dying, Unconscious
Wolf-C: Unconscious

(I swear, I never remember twice in a row what my 'bloodied' tag for class-level-having monsters is.)

Spells:
Miguel 3/0
Giles 0/2

5 Neth
Warg Territory; G6
South Kamelands
With the bats gone, Giles took a half-second breather (-1bleed). He shifted the divine energy of judgment to repair his body (+2hp Giles 36/42), then chanted a spell to ignite his sword in flames. Below him Zeran was wriggling his way out from under the wagon. He rolled over onto his back next to the corpse of one of the common wolves.

He set his rapier down next to him and quickly popped another ball in his pistol. "I don't need any of that attitude out of you," he told the (probably) dead wolf next to him. "You started this when you bit my horse."

He grabbed his rapier off the ground just in time to notice that everything was quivering. The earth beneath the party was shifting, but this was no earthquake. Magical ripples shooting through the ground churned the soil into a soft, thick mud.

The shifting ground acted like quicksand. Zeran cursed and rolled free before he sank too deep into the mixture. Next to him, the wagon sank almost to the point where the bottom touched the ground. If he hadn't move out from under it, he'd probably be trapped right now. Kyrie and Miguel weren't as lucky. By the time they could react, their boots were already claimed, and every motion to escape only dragged them deeper until they were buried up to their waists (Stuck).

Giles, safe atop the wagon, watched one of the horses get dragged under and start panicking, while the other struggled not to be pulled down with it. After the first few seconds the shifting stopped, leaving the ground with a stable layer of thick, soft mud, and leaving those who sunk trapped in its sucking embrace.

Kyrie fought to wrest herself free, but her heavy armour had turned against her, ensuring that she sank as deep as possible into the muck (-1bleed). Every which way she turned, it took about as much strength as she had in her body to even shift one foot. Miguel, meanwhile, alone on the other side of the wagon, was making scarcely any better progress. To make matters worse, unless he was imagining it, he could swear he felt something moving through the mud beneath him (-1bleed)

Giles 36/42 - -1SS, B(2), Healing, Flames of the Faithful (1/5), 18 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 44/55 - -2LoH, Bleed, Power of Faith (8/10), Stuck
Miguel 20/41 - Inspire Courage (, Stuck, 18 arrows
Zeran 30/42 - -3G, Prone, 30 bullets
Mathilda 9/15 - Egads!

Earth Wolverine: Injured, Embattled, Fog
Wolf-A: Badly Wounded, Retreat, Unseen
Wolf-B: Dying, Unconscious
Wolf-C: Unconscious
Summoned Wolf: Desummoned
Bat Swarm: Desummoned

Zeran picked himself up out of the mud, groaning. "All right, where'd he get off to now?" he asked aloud. He stuck his rapier back into its sheath.

Giles didn't respond at first, listening carefully for sounds of movement in the fog. "Can't be far if he's still casting spells." His gaze slowly tracked around the tiny radius he could see while he waited for a clue where he should strike.

Miguel's song broke for just a moment. "What is this? Beneath the ground! A strike from below!" he sang. There was a Giles hopped out of the wagon—there was still some snow around the wagon, but the battle had turned most of it to slush that soaked into the mud with the spell. Either way, the effects were the same.

Miguel was still in deep to his knees. He was looking behind him, over his shoulder, so Giles went around him. Sure enough, the druid was there, only this time in a more familiar form. His body was still composed entirely of earth and stone, with rough gems for eyes, but he resembled himself—the old man they had found in the Stag Lord's cellar more than two years ago.

Nugrah the decrepit looked up to Giles, hate in his gemstones—with limitations of his earthy body, he was only 4' tall. The soldier had seen that look a lot, lately, from things he was about to kill. Giles swung his sword at Nugrah's head. The druid shielded himself with his forearm, deflecting the blade from the center of mass.

"Go ahead, then, take my life, if you can. The cycles of nature will turn against you, too, in time; just as you overthrew that foolish bastard of mine, and just as he overthrew me. You will soon see how stupid you were, believing you could deny the brutal simplicity of violence."

Miguel finally wriggled his legs free of the mud (-1bleed) and rounded on the creature that had attacked him from behind. He recognised the druid, too, finally. Nugrah returned his gaze, daring him to strike.

"Kill me now, or I will only find other ways to make you suffer for your weakness."

Miguel sighed. He was actually thinking about using his magic to cure the bleeding wounds left by the bats, but he pushed that aside. The druid's words warranted at least a fragment of his attention. With his next breath, he wove a spell into his song once again, but not to attack.

Nugrah's gem-like eyes only had time to widen in surprise before his body locked down.

"Shut up already," said Miguel.

It was true, they'd probably have to kill him, but the sound his voice was getting tiresome (Nugrah Paralyzed). He turned his back to the vicious little man. "He's yours. That spell won't last long, so finish him or tie him up quickly." he said to Giles. He walked back to the cart. The warg threat was done here.

Back on the far side of the wagon, Kyrie was close to finally freeing herself, which was good, because the surface of the mud felt like it was starting to refreeze in the cold. Certainly she was beginning to feel the chill (-1bleed).

Giles 38/42 - -1SS, Bane [Human] (3), Healing, Flames of the Faithful (2/5), 18 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 43/55 - -2LoH, Bleed, Power of Faith (9/10), Stuck
Miguel 14/41 - Music (, 18 arrows
Zeran 30/42 - -3G, 30 bullets
Mathilda 9/15 - Egads!

Nugrah the Dirtman: Injured, Embattled, Fog, Hold Person Paralyzed (1/5),

Wolf-A: Badly Wounded, Retreat, Unseen
Wolf-B: Dying, Unconscious
Wolf-C: Unconscious

(A lot of nihilistic villains, ain't there? I wonder if it runs in the Stag Lord's family. Giles' attack came so close to hitting despite rolling so low, meanwhile Nugrah's high will save falls just short on against Miguel's spell.)

Spells:
Miguel 3/1
Giles 0/2

5 Neth
Warg Territory; G6
South Kamelands
Zeran's ears perked. The bastard had gone around the other flank. He wished his targets would just sit still for a moment. He climbed over the wagon—going around the bleeding, weary Miguel as he did—and hit the mud a few feet in front of the dirt statue shaman. The shaman twitched just slightly, struggling to fight off the paralysis.

Zeran didn't have time to line up a nice and pretty bullet through the head, so he fired with the best focus he could muster. The bullet wedged deep into the druid's gut (-13dmg Nugrah) with no perceptible reaction. For a moment Zeran wasn't certain if the shot had even done any harm (what vitals were there to damage in a dirt body?).

Without warning the gemstone eyes rolled to the heavens and a moan escaped his mouth (Near Death). Nugrah shook off the spell, but had only the strength to collapse to his knees. "Do it. Kill me."

"We should have killed you when we found you in that cellar." Giles raised his flaming sword.

"Finally." Nugrah closed his eyes, grimacing in expectation of the final blow. Giles did not disappoint. The old druid's death was nigh instantaneous (-18dmg, -6fire Nugrah DEAD). Before Giles finished withdrawing his blade from the body of dirt, it was already shifting and growing back into human flesh.

Kyrie finally pulled herself out of the muck (-1bleed). She glanced around her briefly. Dead wolf on the ground, dead warg in the wagon. With hardly a thought she willed her bleeding bat bites closed with the power of light (+15hp Kyrie FULL) (End Bleed), climbing into the wagon as she did. At this proximity she could see Miguel, preparing his own spell to cure his wounds. She decided to lend a hand, pouring energy and life back into his battered, frozen, and repeatedly bitten body (+12hp Miguel 26/41) (End Bleed).

"Thanks," he said, then finished casting his own spell (+17hp Miguel FULL). He glanced to the right where Zeran and Giles' voices came. It sounded like they were done here. "So... how about we figure out how to get this wagon unstuck?"

Giles 38/42 - -1SS, Bane [Human] (4), Destruction, Flames of the Faithful (3/5), 18 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 - -4LoH, Bleed, Power of Faith (10/10), Stuck
Miguel 41/41 - -8M, 18 arrows
Zeran 30/42 - -4G, 30 bullets
Mathilda 9/15 - Gadzooks!

Nugrah the Dirtman: Oh man he dead,

Fog (Round ? / How Long This Spell Last?)

Wolf-A: Badly Wounded, Retreat, Unseen
Wolf-B: Dying, Unconscious
Wolf-C: Unconscious

(Technically one of the wolves never actually died. Seeing as how it is a common wolf obeying the warg's orders, and how it is probably scarred from this encounter, I expect Kyrie might want to let it have some spare health and be sent off to roam free. Especially once we see that the one that fled has been waiting, watching from a far hill for the last minute.)

(In other news, we still have our trophy--the warg's corpse--already loaded into the wagon for us. If we want we could take the druid's body back with us or just leave him to be eaten by wild animals. Maybe one last meal for the wolves before they gtfo b/c omg humans are scary.)

Spells:
Miguel 3/2
Giles 0/2

5 Neth
Warg Territory; G6
South Kamelands
It was hard, chilly work getting the wagon unstuck from the mud before it hardened over, but at length they managed to wrest it from the cold muck. The persistent fog refused to fade as they worked, but nothing else took advantage of their blindness that day. Once they finally freed the wagon and stepped out of the small cloud, they saw that the light of day was fading quickly, so the Greenbelt Charter party set up camp not far away, quickly getting a fire lit for those who had more than their fair share of the cold and damp.

That night they were unsurprisingly not bothered by the sounds of wolves howling in the night. What remained of the pack—including the wolf that fled, whom they saw upon leaving the fog cloud, watching them from a distance—had gotten the message to try their luck hunting elsewhere.

Finally the next day, they finished off their exploration and mapping of the region, then set the wagon's course for home. In totally it hardly took a week away from town. Winter months were not good for long travels, but they still had plenty of time left in the month to visit and keep a close eye on things. For a change, there were no immediate emergencies going on at home for Frodrick to report when they arrived.

7-23 Neth
Viridian City; G5
Barony of Volga
Despite the coldest, darkest days of the nation's second winter still ahead of them, some were already looking to the following spring. With Tanya's waistline beginning to swell noticeably, Jhod announced the good news to the leadership of Volga; he and Tanya were due to have a child sometime in the spring.

Jhod buzzed about in the course of his duties, chattering excitedly to any body who would listen about how Tanya was being looked after by the best midwife in town—a tall, wise woman whom everybody called Goodie Niska. The middle aged priest looked like a man half his age, and few could remember him happier.

On the wings of this happy addition, Frodrick announced his plans to set out traveling in the spring. He would return, he promised, assuring the others that he knew he would always be welcome in the barony, but he would be away long enough that the others would need to look for a new warden to fill his role, as well as a replacement chief diplomat to take over for Stefan. To that end he prepared a short list of names he would recommend from his subordinates who would be best qualified.

Neth 4701 Kingdom Update (24-30 Neth)

-Stability: Secure -1Unrest
-Consumption: -3BP [24]
-Unrest: 0 - Calm

Improvement
-Claim Hexes: G2, E5 -2BP (+2Size/Cons) [22]
-Cities: No Buildings (Plan House+Gnome Tinker)
-Roads: G2, E5 -5BP (4/4+1/4, 5/8.) +1Econ [16, E=30]
-Farmlands: E5 -4BP (-2 Cons) [13]

Income
-Generate Income: +15 BP [28]

Event
-Troll Sightings (continuous): Nothing going on with them at the moment.
-No Other Events

Kuthona 4701 Kingdom Update (25-31 Kuth)

Upkeep
-Stability: Secure +1BP
-Consumption: -3BP [26]
-Magic Item: Shrine - Potion of Owl's Wisdom
-Unrest: 0 - Calm

Improvement
-Claim Hexes: B4 -1BP (+1Size/Cons) [25]
-Cities: House + Gnomish Tinkerer -13BP +1Econ, +1Stab +minor item [12, E=31, S=27]
-Roads: B4 -1BP (2/4, 6/8.) [11]
-Farmlands: B4 -2BP (-2 Cons) [9]

Income
-Generate Income: +15 BP [24BP]

Event
-Troll Sightings (continuous): Troll rumour mill is still quiet this month. Can only mean no good. Or maybe they're just hibernating. Trolls do that, right? No Effect.
-Public Scandal: Stefan is caught in an embarrassing scandal. He defends himself stating it is all a big misunderstanding, but the damage to public opinion is done... at least until the gossips find new things to talk about. +2 Unrest and -4Loy for next month

In the cold, chilly month of Kuthona, Viridian became a hotbed of political scandal. At the center of the affair was the young diplomat-squire, Stefan, facing down accusations that he had gotten a local maiden pregnant. Cited against him were his youth, his penchant for keeping a variety of female company, and his recently regular daytime visits to the brothel house (though heavens only know how they overlooked Giles' almost nightly trips to the same establishment).

For his defense, Stefan said, "Oh gods, not this again," and protested his innocence, maintaining that the situation was all a big misunderstanding. The squire insisted that he hardly knew the maiden in question, and at any rate, it was impossible that he could be the father.

Regardless whether Stefan was innocent or not, the whole affair had stuck fast with the gossips. Within a week endless variations of the story were flying through the streets, each wielding the tiny kernel of truth to support the wildest plot twists. The damage was done, and public opinion of the quality of leadership took a turn decidedly for the worse. The only thing to be done now was to wait for the gossips to grow tired of the story and people would soon forget all about the scandal.

Abadius 4702 Kingdom Update (25-31 Abad)

Upkeep
-Stability: Secure -1 Unrest
-Consumption: -2BP [22]
-Magic Item: Tinkerer - Ring of Protection +1
-Unrest: (-1RE) 0 - Calm

Improvement
-Claim Hexes: B6 -1BP (+1Size/Cons) [21]
-Cities: House + Herbalist -13BP +1Loy, +1Stab +minor item [8, L=24, S=28]
-Roads: B6 -1BP (3/4, 7/8.) [7]
-Farmlands: B6 -2BP (-2 Cons) [5]

Income
-Generate Income: +17 BP [22BP]

Event
-Troll Sightings (continuous): Trolls in the forest! Trolls are milling about again. +2 Unrest
-No Other Event

After a few months of no reportable activity, forest patrols and hunters returned with sightings of trolls moving beyond the official borders of the barony. While this would be far from the first time the trolls had traveled as far north, the nation's borders crept further south. The proximity to the fearsome giants put more than a few ill at ease.

The leaders of the nation knew they could not ignore the troll menace, though they had no way to combat it effectively. There was too much territory unexplored and unmapped to make any serious effort to track down the trolls' lair--besides which, the task of striking at the lair of an unknown number of fearsome giants was by no means an easy one, even should they locate it.

No sooner had the Greenbelt party resolved to take action toward finding this lair (if only to gather intel and keep better tabs on their movements) and repel the trolls from the border than did Falchos' report come in with some interesting news.

The satyr had been scouting the tracks of two trolls for the past few days. While loathe to engage them himself, he has noted that they have been hunting near the river to the south--not far from where the scythe tree fell last autumn.

Seeing their opportunity to make their first serious contact with the giants, the Greenbelt party geared up at once and set out south.

Traveling H2
1-4 Calistril 4702
The Greenbelt Charter party met up with Falchos toward the end of the second day of Calistril. The satyr guided them south to the area where he had discovered the troll tracks. He told them that it seemed like the pair were staying mainly around the banks of the river—the Murque according to Zeran's map.

The Murque River was well named—the slow moving, cloudy river was surrounded by wide swampy stretches of wetland. Despite the winter cold partially freezing the river, the near bank was covered in the trolls' tracks, marked in snow and shattered ice.

Falchos told the crew that he believed the trolls were hunting along the river in the area. With that last advice, he left them to return to his hibernating lover.

The party followed the tracks downriver, first going north, then curving east. They kept back from the river's edge, not only to avoid getting caught in the uneven ground of the frozen marsh, but also to keep from being spotted by the pair of trolls before they spotted them.

5 Calistril
Hex H2; Former Scythe Tree/Forest Fire Territory
South Narlmarches - Murque River
In the afternoon on the fifth, the party came upon their prey—or at least one half. A single, large green humanoid, topped with hair that resembled a tangle greasy weeds, stood several yards out into the shallow river. Seemingly unfazed by the icy cold water, the troll stooped with its back to the bank, peering into the silty depths, occasionally swiping with one long, clawed arm at something moving below the surface.

The creature did not seem to see the party yet at this distance. There was no sign of his companion, though Giles noted that the tracks seemed to support the probability that the second was probably still in the general area.

Together the party dismounted, and Miguel drew one of the scrolls that Giles had purchased in case diplomatic contact was going to be possible. Together they stepped out onto the edge of the frozen swamp, snow and ice crunching softly under their boots.

The troll raised its head, suddenly. It turned to face the Greenbelt party, having heard their approach even at this distance. From the front they could see is sizeable tusks protruding from its lower jaw, and its inky black eyes.

Miguel called out first, "Hell—"

"HROOOAAAR!"

",oh," Miguel finished.

"This, was a terrible idea," Giles said flatly, drawing his bow. He willed his arrows to be guided with divine judgement as he nocked the first and let it fly.

His shot struck the troll square in the stomach (-11dmg Troll). The giantoid hardly seemed to notice other than to become even angrier—a disturbing trend the party was seeing with their opponents over the last year.

Kyrie instinctively stepped out onto the frozen fen, painting herself with a bright target. Her left arm found its way into the straps of her shield and she presented the spiked face to her enemy. To make her challenge even more apparent, in case the troll missed her intent, the face of the shield suddenly lit up from within.

Behind, Miguel drew his sword. For a fight of this scale, he wanted every hit to count. He placed a hand on Zeran's shoulder and cast a spell to fill the gunslinger with high spirits and great bravery. Not that Baron Stormsinger had any lack of those qualities, the morale boost steadied his aim.

The green giant pushed through the river to the edge, stepping onto the bank. Giles couldn't help but notice that his arrow merely fell out of the troll's body as it moved (+5hp Troll), leaving a much smaller wound than he'd hoped.

Zeran flexed his pistol hand. He was ready for the troll, he just needed it to get closer. He hovered over the still-holstered handle of his father's gun, waiting for the moment to strike.

Giles 42/42 - Justice, 17 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 - Bastion, Divine Shield (1/50)
Miguel 41/41 - 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - Delay, Heroism (--50min), 30 bullets

Troll: Barely Injured

(Our first real fight with a troll! Just think! Last time we saw a troll up close we were hiding. Of course there were four of them at the time,)

(Also first post officially 100% written on the new compy... a much less momentous occasion.)

Spells:
Giles 0/0
Miguel 0/1

5 Calistril
Hex H2; Former Scythe Tree/Forest Fire Territory
South Narlmarches - Murque River
Though the brute must have stood over 12 feet tall, it was hunched over almost to the point of dragging its knuckles along the ground as it lumbered up onto the shore. Giles nocked another arrow in his bow, and planted another shaft in the troll's body, this time square in the shoulder joint (-11dmg Troll). The troll seemed more annoyed by the pain than anything.

Kyrie began glowing with sacred light to go with the glow already coming from her shield. She drew her sickle and braced for impact while Miguel turned to bestow morale on Giles.

Out of the water the troll moved much faster, stomping through the packed snow and ice as its wounds sealed off almost as fast as Giles could place them (+5hp Troll). The brute drew up short less than a dozen paces from Kyrie, drew its head back, and bellowed. The farm girl stood fast in the face of the troll, blessed with the divine courage in the face of cheap intimidation tactics.
Intimidate 10+?=Target Immune
Zeran stepped forward to answer for Kyrie. He drew his pistol in a swift motion and pointed at the centre of mass. "Quit yer barkin'." He shot and the troll's muscle rippled from the impact of the bullet (-14dmg Troll Injured). Despite the injuries accumulating on its body the troll didn't seem to notice it was losing.

Giles 42/42 - Justice, Heroism (--50min), 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 - Bastion, Divine Shield (2/50), Faith (1/10)
Miguel 41/41 - 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - -1G, Heroism (--), 29 bullets

Troll: Injured

(Whee~ oh btw I've decided the frozen snow and packed ground actually makes this specific section of swamp normal terrain. Yay. Enjoy your 5' steps.)

Spells:
Giles 0/0
Miguel 0/2

5 Calistril
Hex H2; Former Scythe Tree/Forest Fire Territory
South Narlmarches - Murque River
Giles strafed around the troll in a wide circle, drawing his sword as Kyrie charged in for a direct assault. He gestured at the troll, forming a blade of force in the air next to the troll with a spell. The sword thrust itself at the troll hardly as soon as it appeared, but the troll stepped back, waving the phantom blade away.

Before the troll knew it, Kyrie pushed right up inside its range. She struck at its thick hide with her sickle. The tip barely nicked the troll's thick hide, but drew up a little blood anyway (-4dmg).

Miguel charged in beside her, relying on her to distract the troll from him. He filled his lungs and set out an old folk song about a halfling giant slayer. Whether or not the troll understood the words, it slammed down on Kyrie. She rolled with the first swipe, blocking with her shield. She anticipated the second arm coming, but instead the troll lunged at her face-first, tusked maw wide. Kyrie fell back a step to avoid the bite, ducking just as the other arm came in, graced by her aura of protection to throw the troll's strike off.

While the two fought, Giles' arrows continued to drop out of the giant's body, and the bleeding slowed (+5hp Troll).

Zeran popped another bullet in his pistol while the others ran in. If the holes keep closing up, you just keep putting more in. Sooner or later the ship will sink. Any river pirate worth his boots knows that simple rule. His next shot blew a small hole in the troll's forearm (-8dmg Troll). Despite the rate at which the holes were closing, they were making clean progress cutting up the body faster than it could heal (Bloodied).

That's when the female returned.

"HRROOOAAAAR."

She seemed not to realize that her partner had already given that particular greeting. Giles saw her only a second before she roared, stepping out of the forest. She was bigger than the male by at least a foot, and her hide was a darker green.

Giles realized immediately that she was going to be on top of him any second if he didn't move right away.

Giles 42/42 - Justice, Heroism (--50min), Spiritual Weapon (1/5), 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 - Bastion, Divine Shield (3/50), Faith (2/10)
Miguel 41/41 - Courage (1/15), 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - -1G, Heroism (--), 29 bullets

TrollM: Injured, Bloodied, Bastion Target
TrollF: Uninjured

(Ah, well there's the other one. I was wondering where she got off to.)

Spells:
Giles 0/1
Miguel 0/2

5 Calistril
Hex H2; Former Scythe Tree/Forest Fire Territory
South Narlmarches - Murque River
Giles' next spell died in his throat. There would always be time to cast that after he was sure he was still going to be alive. He raced over the terrain, running in a wide arc around behind the male. He was originally planning to get behind the brute, but he hadn't expected to be trying to take cover back there. Fortunately, his spiritual weapon spell needed no direction while he fled, harassing the male and cutting into his flesh (-7dmg TrollM).

The female followed relentlessly. She had eyes only for him, barrelling toward the fight on a more direct path. Kyrie saw her coming and shifted to the right, taking her attention off the male for a moment. She hooked her sickle out as the female passed her, slicing into her belly (-8dmg TrollF).

The male grunted, reaching after Kyrie. Miguel took the opening and lunged at the troll. He thrust his sword into the troll's exposed lower ribs, driving the blade as deep as it would go (admittedly not very deep) (-13dmg TrollM Badly Wounded). The troll snarled and swatted back at Miguel vaguely without turning his head.

Despite the increasingly mortal looking array of wounds accumulating across the troll's body, he barely seemed to notice (+5hp TrollM). Almost mindless in his focus, he reached out to Kyrie with open claw, trying to grab hold of her so she would quit moving around so much and be crushed.

Kyrie saw the claw coming at her. As she pulled her sickle from the female's side, she spun and rammed the tip into the troll's palm (-6dmg TrollM). He howled in pain, evidently more infuriated by the inconvenience than by the punctured lung.

The male rose up, followed by the sharp crack of Zeran's pistol. The ball struck the side of the troll's neck at a shallow angle, blowing all the way through. There was to much dense flesh at too glancing of an angle for it to have been considered a vital shot, but the force of impact sent out a spatter of red blood (-12dmg TrollM).

The male snorted, as if disgusted, then lost his footing. He fell to the ground with an expression that more closely resembled disgust mixed with mild surprise than the terror of death (Unconscious).

Giles 42/42 - Justice, Heroism (--50min), Spiritual Weapon (2/5), 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 - Bastion, Divine Shield (4/50), Faith (3/10)
Miguel 41/41 - Courage (2/15), 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - -1G, Heroism (--), 28 bullets

TrollM: Unconscious, Bastion Target
TrollF: Barely Injured

(Obviously, with the benefit of common knowledge plus more specific knowledge, you know better than to assume the male is actually down and out of this fight.)

Spells:
Giles 0/1
Miguel 0/2

5 Calistril
Hex H2; Former Scythe Tree/Forest Fire Territory
South Narlmarches - Murque River
The female, a solid brute well over 9' even hunched forward, was ignoring Kyrie's best efforts no less than the male had ignored anyone but Kyrie. Giles quickly redirected the phantom ink blade to her, trying to buy himself just enough time to cast a spell before she was upon him.

The spiritual weapon blinked over to the female. She snarled at it while Giles focused on his next spell. The blade stabbed but failed to penetrate the leathery troll hide. Meanwhile Giles' physical sword burst into flames, suddenly drawing the female's attention back to him.

"Miguel! Do you still have your flask of fire oil?" Giles called. "I think I'm going to be busy." He stepped toward the female, daring her to try him even as he mentally shielded himself with a divine protection.

The female paused at the sight of the flames flickering on Giles' sword (+5hp TrollF). She knew what the flames would do to her regenerative immortality if she kept on the fight.

It probably said something about troll psychology that this moment of reflection lasted hardly a second. The female threw herself at Giles face-first. He narrowly avoided being gored by those tusks only by warding her off with his burning blade, and even then he was falling back (-10dmg Giles 32/42). Before he had regained his footing, he ducked a right hook aiming to take his head off by a narrow two inches (-7dmg Giles).

Kyrie hooked her sickle into the troll's left arm. "I'm still here, you know." (-7dmg Troll-F) Even though the male was not yet dead, Kyrie added a new target, radiating with protection against evil. Kyrie stepped into the narrow passage between the two walls of green flesh. "Giles, to me!"

Outside of the female's reach (barely), Miguel drew the small flask of liquid fire with his buckler hand. He had already been thinking it when Giles had said it. This particular flask had come a long way, since it was removed from the possession of Happs, the bandit lieutenant, almost two years ago.

Miguel hurled the flask at point blank range. The glass shattered, splattering alchemical oil all over the troll's back, which immediately caught fire on exposure to air (-2fire Troll-M). At this range some backsplash was unavoidable, and Miguel himself took a mild spray of flaming droplets (-1fire Miguel).

Zeran came up beside Miguel, holding his hand axe over his head (speaking of items retrieved from the bandits two years ago,). Even before Miguel he had heard enough stories about the immortality of fallen trolls to rest. He struck like a butcher into the troll's flank—the wound did not immediately behind closing, thanks to the fire consuming the troll's regeneration (-6dmg Troll-M)

Giles 25/42 - Protection, Heroism (--50min), Spiritual Weapon (3/5), Flames of the Faithful (1/5), 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 - Bastionx2, Divine Shield (5/50), Faith (4/10)
Miguel 40/41 - Courage (3/15), 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - -1G, Heroism (--), 28 bullets

Troll-M: Unconscious, On Fire, Bastion Target
Troll-F: Barely Injured, Bastion Target

(We should really stock up with a dozen fire oil flasks for the next time we go out troll hunting. They're cheap and probably our most reliable source of fire damage besides carrying around torches.)

Spells:
Giles 0/2
Miguel 0/2

5 Calistril
Hex H2; Former Scythe Tree/Forest Fire Territory
South Narlmarches - Murque River
The troll female didn't seem like she was about to slow down on mauling Giles. He gladly stepped into range of Kyrie's bastion of good, simultaneously drawing himself right up next to the brute female.

Giles wound up his long sword, silently bestowing his strike with giantsbane. At his side, the ghost sword lunged out and jabbed into the troll's thigh as she shifted her weight, piercing deep into the thick leg muscles (-17 *crit* Troll-F Injured). The female stumbled forward to catch herself—right in time with Giles' slash.

It happened almost by accident, but Giles' flaming blade ended up buried half way into the female's throat. Giles pressed his advantage, scorching flesh with a burst of fire that wreathed the troll's head in flames for a moment (-38dmg, -13fire *crit* Troll-F). When Giles withdrew his sword, a solid foot and a half of blade was soaked from the fountain gushing from her neck, boiling in the heat.

The female collapsed from blood loss and pain on the spot. It was a testament to the durability of all trolls (especially with regards to the thickness of their necks) that she was not dead when she hit the ground (Troll-F Unconscious).

Kyrie aimed to fix that. She stepped in with her sickle and struck down on the thick knot of muscles at the back of the exposed neck (-13dmg *coup de grace*). Against a lesser creature that might have been enough, but the paladin knew instinctively that the female was still not yet dead.

Meanwhile stationed not 10' away around the body of the male, Miguel and Zeran hacked at green flesh, hoping to slay the creature before the burning fire oil covering the brute's back burned away (-26dmg *coup de grace* Troll-M). If Kyrie hadn't been focused on her own problems she might have been able to tell the two that their troll had died from that last strike (Troll-M DEAD).

The saying goes, "there's no kill like overkill" (-22dmg *coup de grace* Troll-M).

Giles 25/42 - Protection, Heroism (--50min), Spiritual Weapon (4/5), Flames of the Faithful (2/5), 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 - Bastionx2, Divine Shield (6/50), Faith (5/10)
Miguel 40/41 - Courage (4/15), 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - -1G, Heroism (--), 28 bullets

Troll-M: DEAD
Troll-F: Unconscious

For good measure, Giles finished what he started with a decisive thrust down through the female's heart (-28dmg, -12fire *coup de grace* Troll-F). Though she was still glowing with divine light, Kyrie felt the change as her most familiar protection ceased functioning for both the trolls.

Giles 25/42 - Protection, Heroism (--50min), Spiritual Weapon (5/5), Flames of the Faithful (3/5), 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 - Bastionx2, Divine Shield (6/50), Faith (5/10)
Miguel 40/41 - Courage (4/15), 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - -1G, Heroism (--), 28 bullets

Troll-M: DEAD
Troll-F: DEAD


(So thanks to a bunch of coup de graces (coups de grace?) and a few lucky rolls, not one of the attacks thrown this round did not crit. I have to admit, I was worried the trolls would have been a bigger threat than they were, given your few options for dealing fire damage. Of course, I also didn't expect one of the trolls to be taken for her entire health bar, so maybe that was a factor.)

(All in all, I think this is a good measure of your increasing ability. It's no shambling mound rematch, but once long ago we would have cowered in fear from just one of these monsters. This is called ‘moving up in the ranks')

Spells:
Giles 0/2
Miguel 0/2

Exploration & Mapping
6-7 Calistril
Hexes: H2 not complete
It was no easy task to gather the wood to create the bonfire over the frozen swamp. The party quickly decided that attempting to move the bodies was not particularly feasible—at least they wouldn't have to worry about a second forest fire in the same area. Given that Kyrie had been able to confirm the trolls were actually dead and not just slowly regenerating, they settled for a large campfire and burning brands to sear the trolls' wounds and scorch their flesh.

Since it was still so early in the month, the Greenbelt Charter party decided to make good on mapping the northern half of the area above the Murque. During the afternoon on the 7th day of Calistril, they came upon a familiar looking scorched clearing, now in the dead of winter. With no foliage, the dense tangle of branches overhead no longer blotted out the sun completely (though an overcast day was doing that well enough for itself).

Laying to one side of the clearing, right where they left it, lightly dusted with snow, was the blackened fallen log of the scythe tree. The last four months after the fire had not been easy on the tree. Few animals had passed this way, with signs of rooting around the base of the trunk. The bones of the tree's long forgotten victims were mostly picked over and half-chewed by winter-hungry predators.

One spot did catch their attention—Giles noticed a spot of loose dirt that looked like it had been dug up. The party realized that had been the spot where the tree was ‘rooted' before it started to flee. Further investigation yielded interesting results. More assorted bones (likely the cause for the extra digging beyond simple rooting) but also three fair sized pieces of polished amber, a small pouch of coin (silver and copper and a few gold totalling 11.92G), a silver ring, and a folded-up bundle of cloth that turned out to be a robe.

With the value of the other items plain to see, Giles gave the unassuming black robe to Miguel to inspect. At once Miguel identified a moderate aura of magic coming off the robe. Though he couldn't discern the exact function of the robe, his knowledge was enough to see the tell-tale signs of necromancy in the robe's aura. What ever it did was probably related in some way to life or death—or, of course, undeath.

Exploration & Mapping
8-13 Calistril
Hexes: H3 +25XP
The party travelled west through the frozen forest toward the shores of the Tuskwater. According to their well-worn map, there was a section of forest between the two rivers, then it opened up into hills just before the northern Skunk river joined with the Tuskwater, while the Murque turned south and drained into the Candlemere.

As was proving to be the case the further south the party travelled, the trees in the region were ever older, larger, and more impressive. On the second day the party spotted a small cave in the side of a small cliff, but hastily retreated when they found it contained a hibernating mother owlbear with two fluffy white cubs.

After studying the magical weave around the simple black robe for a few days, Miguel was able to discern its purpose. He found that the aura of necromancy was, in fact, tied to the creation of undead. When Giles slipped on the garment he saw the previously invisible embroidered patches that represented the types of mindless undead bound to the robe. There were twelve in all.

Deciding he liked the style of the article, Giles elected to keep the Robe of Bones to wear over his armour.

(13 Calistril)
Despite the snow slowing their progress, the exploration through the woods was almost serene. Not a great many animals flitted about between the barren trees, with most gone to warmer climes or waiting out the cold spell.

The party were finishing up their mapping of this edge of the Narlmarches on the last day when they met with a most peculiar individual. He stepped out of the sleeping forest in the middle of the day, strolling alongside the wagon as if he'd always been there.

The stranger's grin was missing a couple teeth, wreathed in a long, tangled grey beard. His hair was a chaotic bird's nest of grey. He wore a roughed-up but sturdy looking leather cuirass, with furs strung around his legs and forearms for warmth. Behind him padded a sizeable cougar, following him silently. Other than the panther, the old man was armed only with a whip, coiled up at his side.

The man came up alongside the wagon to Zeran's left. He turned his head slightly to the Greenbelt party, grinning amiably. After a few strides evidently he decided to speak. "Well hey-howdy there, strangers! What brings you folk to my neck of the woods?"

Though it had been some time since the party had last met with Bokken (Jhod and Tanya's wedding?), they realized this character bore more than a passing resemblance to the loony old hermit who brewed potions in his shack just a few hours outside Olegton. The two could have been brothers, if you shaved off half the beard and tidied up his hair a bit (but not too much).

Giles 42/42 - 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 -
Miguel 41/41 - 18 arrows
Zeran 42/42 - 28 bullets

(I don't hope to surpass Ian's off-the-cuff running of this particular encounter. To attempt to match how iconic that moment has become in my memory would be folly.)

Spells:
Giles 0/0
Miguel 0/0

13 Calistril
Old Hermit; H3
South Narlmarches
"We are the barons of Volga, from north of the Tuskwater," said Giles. "I am Giles, and these are Kyrie, Miguel, and Zeran. We're here on a charter to explore and map this region. If you are familiar with this region as you say, you are more than welcome to accompany us. We could make it worth your time to act as our guide through this area."

"Hrmm..." The man ambling in pace with the wagon scratched his beard. "Well I ain't never heard of no Volgur place... But it has been a long time since we last had visitors, ain't that right, Cat?" The hermit flipped around, now walking backward facing the cougar. "What'dya say, girl? You wanna go for a trip?"

Something about the way he said ‘cat' makes you suspect that this is also the cougar's name. The large tawny cat stalking along silently raised her head and swished her tail noncommittally.

"Well that seals it! Cat ‘n' I are in. We just gotta stop by me house to pick up a few things. It's not too far off."

The old hermit's ‘house' wasn't too far off course from the direction the party were headed in, anyway. From everything they had seen about the old human so far, none of them were particularly surprised to find that he lived in a huge, hollow oak tree, with a large crack in the side, big enough for a man to duck inside, acting as the door.

"Help a feller out, would ya? Just need to collect a few things" the hermit asked Zeran. The pirate shrugged and followed him up to the tree. The shorter man popped into the hollow and puttered around inside for a few moments, muttering about what he might need.

He reappeared a moment later and gave Zeran a large, oblong rock to hold in his hand. "Hold this for me, will ya?"

Then another, larger rock. "And this."

"This, too." Zeran caught the glint of steel only in time to drop his stones. The mad hermit Bokken-lookalike thrust a dusty short sword into his gut. He grinned, gap-toothed, like he had just done something humorous and expected Zeran to chuckle.

Zeran reflexively rolled with the attack, sucking his gut in and stepping back. He felt the hot sting of steel slicing tender flesh, but it was not deep enough to puncture anything terribly vital (-26dmg *sneak* Zeran 20/42). You had to be faster than that to do in Zeran Stormsinger.

The crazy hermit laughed, then kicked Zeran in the shin sharply, withdrawing his blade (Zeran Hampered*). The rest of the party immediately reached for their weapons. Miguel wasn't even watching the panther.

Cat leapt onto Miguel's back. Her teeth closed around the slope between his neck and shoulder. Her claws tore into his back while he tried to shake her off (-5dmg, -7dmg Miguel 29/41 Grappled). The cat clung to Miguel's back, riding him like a horse.

Giles 42/42 - 16 arrows, 20 bolts
Kyrie 55/55 -
Miguel 29/41 - Grappled, 18 arrows
Zeran 16/42 - Hampered, 28 bullets

Hermit: Uninjured
Cat: Uninjured, Grappling

(Is it sad that this crazy old hermit had a much more effective opening round than either of the trolls? Btw, the hampered condition applied by the hermit's debilitating strike lasts 1 round and temporarily cuts Zeran's movement speed by half, as well as negating his ability to make a 5' step.)

(Also btw, Cat is maintaining the grapple passively with her Grab special ability. This means she is not actively grappling him, just holding onto him with her mouth—advantage, she can still fight back, disadvantage, her grip is really weak and easily broken.)

(Edit: I realized I don't think Cat can pull off that particular trick like that--I thought the penalty was to CMD, but it's to maintain I think.)

Spells:
Giles 0/0
Miguel 0/0