The party awoke to find two of their members had gone on a quest of their own with a “higher calling” and chalked it up to nothing more than a fling between the two and continued with the day’s tasks. Arriving at Dallas’s shop, the party watch as Jaden and Tania prepare the Far Sending Ritual and send their message to the last agents of the Consortium. The message was simple and to the point:

To all available agents, return home. It is no longer safe. Head to HQ and regroup

Once the message was sent, Jaden approached the party and proposed one final task should they accept it. He was very impressed with their work and would like them to join the Consortium as agents, seeing as how their numbers were few. The party discussed it and wondered what the Paladin in their group would have chosen, but in the end Jaden assured them that the missing members would have a choice of their own in the matter. The party accepted and was given all the information they would need as well as the benefits that came with becoming an agent of the Consortium.

Dallas remind the party of the Sessions of Moradin taking place, and that their disguises would no longer work as one surviving Goliath from their battle in the Mud Block has pointed them out to authorities. The city of Fallford has also come under lock-down and no single living creature is allowed to leave or enter the city. The party again decided that participating in the tournament would not be something their paladin would have done, but their time grew short as the guards would eventually begin to get word of the new outsiders and their false Viceroy.

The party registered every member as a participant in the Sessions, and the two missing ones as next of kin should they not survive. Dallas walked the party to Falgar Stadium and wished them luck as the battle was poised to begin.

The party walked into the stadium center and were each greeted differently, but when Leogold held the Last Rite up above his head, the audience grew silent and Mundri Titanus seemed shocked at the weapon and its wielder. Seven Dire wolves and one frightened guard entered the stadium from the opposite side and the battle was underway. The wolves seemed to have an attack plan down as one ran to the right flank and had his attention focused on chains hanging from some dragon head statues. The other Dire Wolves focused on targets by using two-on-one tactics. Caslon engaged one and unleashed a flurry of sword magic, Dara focused on enemies who were being attacked by two comrades, Leogold swung away with Last Rite in hopes of feeding his new weapon, Deathsap moved towards one of four large pillars in the stadium in hopes of climbing it, while Kendy drew some enemies closer towards the center.

The wolf who separated from the pack pulled down one set of chains and opened a cage releasing a Cockatrice into the fray. Caslon recognized this enemy and informed the party what troubles it could bring, Deathsap had troubles with the panicked Dwarf guard attempting to use him for help while two wolves closed in. Kendy expertly wielded her blade and took two wolves on with some caution, but there numbers grew as one more arrived from the back and had her semi-surrounded. Caslon continued to punish his target and positioned himself near Kendy to help. Leogold pushed his way passed one enemy to align himself into a better position on the battlefield, and Dara helped eliminate two Wolves caught in between Kendy and Leogold.

The fight began to take a dark turn as the Dwarf guard ran towards Dara for help, but was cut down by a Dire Wolf biting and mauling his back. The Dire Wolf charged Dara and struck her quickly; Deathsap was wounded by a few bites as he battle a Dire Wolf of his own, and Kendy was knocked unconscious by a tremendous Dire Wolf Bite. Leogold and the Last Rite did not seem to be working well together, until Leogold managed to catch one of the Dire Wolves square in the head causing massive damage and causing the Dire Wolf to fall beneath the Last Rite’s massive power. Caslon finished off his foe with a quick Lightning Blade sword spell and teleported himself to behind the new Cockatrice threat. The wolf who was separated from the pack pulled another chain and released yet another Cockatrice into the battle. Leogold revived Kendy using his Warlord experience and inspiring commands, and Dara maneuvered away just in time to finish the Dire Wolf which pursued her.

Caslon made more swift steps and came to Kendy’s aid, while Leogold dealt with the first Cockatrice. The Dire Wolf who opened the two cages ran across the battle field to where Deathsap had just finished slaying one of the other Dire Wolves and attempted to open a third cage. Dara once again shot carefully passed her friends and killed another Dire Wolf who had been engaged in battle with Kendy and Leogold; Caslon continued dealing out punishment against the new Cockatrice and a Dire Wolf nearby. Deathsap went blow for blow with the Dire Wolf who had been opening cages and eventually killed him with the expert precision, but not without sustaining heavy damage. Dara again shot at the the Dire Wolves and managed to eliminate another, Leogold cut down one Cockatrice with the Last Rite, and Caslon put a finishing blow on the final Dire Wolf. Deathsap, filled with curiosity, attempted to look into the unopened cage and was met with a vicious swipe from a Dire Bear who was waiting in the wings.

The party eliminated their foes and become the first group made of different races to advance passed the first round of the Sessions of Moradin in 100 years.

The party expertly handled the slavers in the first floor of Redmund’s fortress and began to make their way up to the second floor, but a strange Dragonborn woman stomped in through the front door. The woman was called Oberona of the wilds and she stated she had no home amongst the civilized peoples. Oberona pledged her allegiance to the group and vowed to help them kill slavers all in the name of ridding the world of evil creatures who seek to harm nature. With a new ally in their ranks, the party inched their way to the second floor where Redmund seemed to be preparing some kind of ritual with a young woman chained by the neck to four wooden pillars. Heavier armored slavers also were witness to the ritual, and did not notice the party’s presence until Scarlet accidentally shushed Khan for making a noise, causing the slavers and Redmund to notice the party arriving up the stairs.

The battle ensued with Redmund wasting no time in summoning a Dread Demon from the bowls of the abyss. The summoning injured one random party member, Hawke, and drained him of some of his life force. A demon appeared next to Hawke from the shadows and began to attack him, Scarlet and Khan dealt with two Slave Lords who began combat with them, while the remainder of the party handled two more Slave Lords, a Demon, and Redmund himself. Sylwar positioned himself to strike carefully placed arrows as Gronk muscled his way passed the enemy Slave Lords in an attempt to fight Redmund directly, and Hawke assisted by taunting Redmund closer to the fray. Redmund suddenly changed form and took the appearance of a monstrous demon and began to summon two more demons by sapping life from Hawke, and then Scarlet. Oberona used her Druid spells to lay down suppressing fire while Gronk, Hawke, and Sylwar did what they could to fight off the enemies. The battle seemed to be going in the Slavers’ favor.

Sylwar noticed that the first demon emerged when Redmund used a strange glove to grab the chained woman’s head and decided to take action first and ask questions later. With one well placed arrow Sylwar shot the chained woman in the throat and killed her instantly. The three demons vanished from the battlefield, and Redmund furiously focused his firepower at Sylwar. Scarlet maneuvered her way out of combat from the two Slaver Lords and towards Redmund, leaving Khan to fend off against them by himself. Khan mustered all his Warlock skills and dealt powerful blows to his enemies, and eliminated one with no support from his team. Khan took the opportunity to flee from the second Slaver Lord, but was caught on his back with a mace attack nearly taking him down. The party focused their efforts on Redmund with Hawke entering Demon form to battle Redmund, and eventually Oberona took the killing blow by summoning a vine of thorns that sliced Redmund’s neck.

Following the battle, the party searched the premises and found Redmund’s private chambers. His room was filled with treasures, art, and gold all worth 52,000 in value. Sylwar also discovered a private study with a cabinet holding three magical items. Hawke picked up Redmund’s glove and it instantly attached itself to him. The gauntlet which attached itself to Hawke was discovered to be a Relic of Gaia, which are the leftover powers of the Primordeals in physical form. The party went to investigate the room with the magic items and found that they were inaccessible due to some kind of magic trap placed around the case; the case had a field of immense power which would vaporize anything or anyone that touched it. Scarlet attempted to use her lock-picking skills to perhaps carve off a spell rune, but her tools were vaporized. Hawke suddenly realized he could rid himself of the Orb of Bane which had plagued him since is adventure began by placing it against the vaporizing field, but he pushed a tiny bit too hard and lost his right hand as well as the gauntlet in the process.

The party, now down two legendary (cursed) objects, had to come up with what they would tell the monk, Kaji, when he asked for the gauntlet he sent them to retrieve. The night was approaching and their boat still anchored close by with Jerry still watching over it.

Deathsap was now practically nose to nose with an old, pale witch with blood red eyes. The party suddenly noticed two other witches who all positioned themselves on the top of stone bookshelves within the archives. Torches all along the edge of the archives lit up revealing the entire archives and their somewhat preserved state. The witches wasted no time in attacking the party and summoned their familiars to aid them in attempting to slaughter the intruders.

Deathsap and Kendy (who emerged from the satchel cured of her parasites) began to exchange blows with the pale witch and her familiar (an owlbear). The Second Witch’s familiar, a great ape, was summoned and leapt from bookshelf to bookshelf to reach the the two intruders. Dara quickly positioned herself on the nearest bookshelf and began to unleash a volley of arrows at any enemy she could see. Leogold, Caslon, and Syxen kept their battle on the ground and awaited any foes who came down from the bookshelves. Foopooz focused her spells on the main target of the groups’ attacks, the main Witch.

The Owlbear was cut down with expertly placed slices and cuts by Deathsap, and Kendy forced the main witch off the bookshelf with her bardic spells and leapt down to purse her target. Dara knocked another witch off a bookshelf reacted quickly as the ape leapt towards her and engaged in close quarter combat. The third witch began to cast intense ice spells which caused a section of the archives to freeze over and force Caslon and Leogold to focus their efforts on eliminating the ice witch. Syxen was quickly met with the familiar of the third witch, a Bullywug, who seemed to have a poisonous air around him. The third witch also used magic involving psionic abilities to slam Syxen against one of the stone bookshelves. Syxen, visibly angered by the previous attack, called upon Bahamut’s strength to bless his weapon and enhance his own physical strength. Syxen attacked the Bullywug and vaporized the tiny spear-wielding creature with one swing of his sword.

Leogold seized an opportunity when one of the witches had attempted to teleport and close in on Dara; Leogold pushed one of the closest bookshelves and with every once of strength he could pull from within himself he successfully caused it to fall over. The stone bookshelf, now free of its foundation, tipped over and collided with two more bookshelves that were pushed free of their foundations as well. The second set of stone bookshelves fell onto the last witch instantly dealing massive damage and killing her. The party had defeated a small coven of witches.

After the battle, the party spent many hours browsing over the sacred tombs of the archives in order to find the Sending Ritual. The party members each began to research on their own and all gained a little better knowledge on specific subjects because of their time researching. Kendy and Leogold found a shelf of rituals and each took five tomes on rituals; Kendy located the Sending Ritual and the party left the archives.

Once back at Dallas’s shop, the party handed Jaden the ritual and in return he provided them each with the gold promised. The party members all seemed to realize that this potential employer has less members and deeper pockets now, and all seemed to agree that working for them might be beneficial in the long run.

The demon hunters completed clearing the hallway in which they were attacked by the vampire sires. The Druid, Assana, was nowhere to be found and the group assumed she had fled following the battle. The only remaining doors in the hallway were believed to lead to the vampire lord’s chambers. Desmond led the group and open the doors with no caution or cause for stealth.

Enoch Sangrey, the vampire lord, stood before the party in the giant chapel he and his minions had taken over in the manor. Enoch used his dominating gaze to gain control of Desmond for a few seconds in battle and summoned some of his Sires to attack the rest of the party. Roswyn used her keen sense of the battlefield to engage one of the Sires and steak him cleanly and with ease. Desmond, under the control of Enoch, used an attack on Richter that focused heavenly light into his blade causing some damage. Nunna focused his holy powers and caused massive damage to Enoch and the sires, while Richter dealt out some punishment to a Sire nearby.

The tides of battle shifted quickly once Desmond was able to break free of the domination caused by Enoch. Roswyn nimbly leaped into and out of battle and gave two Sires the killing blow. Desmond battled face to face with Enoch and unleashed his Paladin’s Judgement onto him causing massive damage. Enoch attempted to reach a table on the far side of the room, but was met by the party and annihilated within seconds of reaching the table that held four urns. One Sire attempted to flee the chapel and escape from the demon hunters. Desmond attempted to throw a well placed rock at the vampire sire, but did not manage to bring him down. Richter swiftly moved towards Desmond and threw his dagger at the vampire sire striking him directly in the heart. The vampire turned to face his attacker from down the hallway and collapsed into dust. The Vampire threat in the Foulrock had been eliminated.

Due to the actions of these brave and virtuous heroes, the world of Tannin would never see a Vampire Lord arise again. The demon hunters, led by Desmond, would take the Warden of Foulrock’s manor and convert it into their headquarters for the Black Shields. This organization made a vow to the people of Egar and all the lands of Tannin to eliminate demons wherever they may hide. The small holds around Foulrock would become well fortified and see small growth due to protection of their livestock and citizens.

Desmond would become marked in history as the bravest Paladin of Bahamut in the times following the Great Purge. Roswyn would be known as the sea pirate who gained a heart of gold, but was also the deadliest Gnome on Tannin. Richter continued to hunt demons and vampires which he would mark in his journal and rack a tally of 10,000 kills, or so he said. Nunna Rawhide dedicated his life to educating those who wished to learn the intricacies of the clergy and fighting demons all the while remaining with the Black Shields to bolster their numbers by recruiting Dragonborn when possible. Assana, the Druid, was not seen by her former comrades. Numerous rumors have surfaced, but they all have one common point in place; Assana is said to have returned to the jungles of Metis and given information to the Child Emperor regarding the state of the world.

After the garden room and the hallway leading back to the entrance of the manor collapsed, the party made the choice to continue onward. Roswyn, a female Gnome Thief, emerged from the shadows and stated the there are no other entrances in or out of the manor. The Gnome is part of the Demon Hunter party and had been performing a cursory analysis of the manor while the remainder of the party went inside.

The demon hunters found a hallway with two large jail rooms and decided to explore one which held nine corpses dangling from arm restraints on the wall. Once inside, Desmond and Richter began to eliminate the corpses to be sure they did not re-animate. Richter expertly decapitated one of the hanging corpse, but Desmond was less successful and accidentally re-animated one of the corpses causing them all to awaken. The corpses began to screech and snap violently at the demon hunters; a battle ensued and some of the corpses escaped their restraints making their way towards any nearby demon hunter. Blades cut bone, dead flesh was separated, and the demon hunters were surrounded. Nuuna Rawhide unleashed his cleric powers and decimated the corpses in the room causing a relaxing bright light to linger in the room for a few minutes.

The demon hunters entered the second jail room and found to pits with caged tops built into the ground. One of the caged pits held four humans who were calling for help, and the other held a Tiefling with a damaged left eye. The team freed the humans and noticed one of them had been bit multiple times; they then freed the Tiefling who warned them of how dangerous the vampires were. Assana, taking point outside the room, suddenly felt a chill from above and realized three Vampire Sires were about to pounce.

The party battled three Vampire Sires who fell to a few well placed arrows and decapitations. No member of the party was bitten or mortally wounded making their first encounter with Enoch’s subordinates a success. Now with one larger room and the end of the hallway to check, the party feels a dark presence growing near.

The party decided to use every avenue available to them with which they could relay the information to the agents of the Consortium roaming the continent. Leogold used his Viceroy powers once again and uncovered information regarding an old magic school which has been abandoned for decades and now hosts vagrants and thieves. Deathsap used his ability to sneak and investigated a room on the second floor of the entrance chamber; Spiders were spotted and ran into a hole in the room wall which allowed them access to the main entrance chamber. The party began to engage the spiders as well as two Dwarven thieves who emerged from a different room on the second floor. The battle raged on and Foopooz burned one of the two Dwarf thieves alive in his armor, while Dara took aim at the second thief’s calf muscle with her great-bow and disabled him. The spiders were dealt with and expertly dispatched by the remainder of the team.

With one thief alive, the party was able to get information on where the library which held the spell book might be. They moved further into the abandoned magic school and discovered something had happened to the students here which might have caused the school to close. Dara attempted to consult her tome (Verya’s book) but was knocked unconscious and out of her body. While having an out-of-body experience, Dara discovered a large lecture hall with drawings of a large portal and very complicated equations on a chalkboard. Dara found a large pit with a ladder which she presumed would lead the party into the basement where the library is said to be located.Dara suddenly snapped back to her body and informed the party of what she saw; they moved onwards down the large pit and all eventually found themselves in the large, dark, empty library.

Deathsap flew ahead and above of the group with Foopooz taking care of some scouting on the ground. Deathsap reached the top of a bookshelf and took a quick look around the surrounding area, and once he completed his look around he came face to face with an old pale woman with scraggly white hair.

Desmond, a young human Paladin lead his group of stout warriors deep into the heart of the Foulrock. This region was known for its dark, deep, murky swamps and terrible fiends which took refuge in them as well. Richter, an older human fighter, took point at the front of the group with Assana and Nuna in the support roles. Assana, an Elven Druid, used her magics to discover multiple traps in the first main room of their target’s hideout. Nunna, a Dragonborn Cleric, had some knowledge of Vampire lore and added his thoughts to the party’s ideas on where this vampire lord would be taking refuge.

The Vampire Lord they were hunting was called Enoch Sangrey. Enoch fled from his pursuers into an old manor once used by the Warden of Foulrock. This manor has now been secured by multiple vampires and has no visible outside light source. The party had deduced that Enoch would attempt to build his forces up in preparation for their arrival, but they had no idea what awaited them.

Their first encounter had them narrowly dodge an arcane rune trap on the floor which would have alerted someone connected to it about their presence. In the same room as the arcane spell trap, multiple doors with spike traps and no walkways were found and activated causing some damage to the affected party members.

Down one of the hallways leading away from the main entrance chamber, the party found a large kitchen where three two thralls were preparing a meal presumably for the Vampire Lord. Nunna and Richter quickly eliminated these creatures with their skill sets and allowed the party to move on.

The party found evidence in another room of the vampires using disguises to roam freely around the holds at night. They found numerous costumes and musical instruments with which the vampires would traverse into the holds with and snatch up their next meals. The party destroyed this room’s contents and moved on.

The party found a greenhouse which was protected from outside light by a powerful magic spell. The party encountered two large plant-creatures which were made from pieces of kidnapped villagers. Desmond swiftly stole some of the beakers and vials from a work table and lit nearby plants on fire. The party battled the plant-creatures and avoided the raging flames all the while trying to get to the other side of the greenhouse. The party eliminated the plant-creatures and watched the exit back to the main chamber become blocked off by beams of wood and flames collapse in front of the door. The only way left to proceed was deeper into the Vampire Lord’s manor.

The party returned to Dallas’s shop and presented the body of Dent, who died during battle with the Goliaths. Dallas praised the group’s prowess and mentioned he would have to tie up some loose ends with his business partners who survived the battle. Caslon pulled Kendy aside and brought up his current contract situation with the group. Kendy and the party agreed to keep Caslon on as extra muscle and as a meat-shield for the more intense battles.

The party spoke with Jaden, the young man who they saved, and learned that he and Tania were the last leaders of the Consortium. Jaden proposed another mission for the party in which they would need to send some sort of message to the remaining agents the Consortium had on the continent of Egar. He presented them with 300 Gold pieces and suggested multiple avenues to finish this task. Dallas also wanted to take the party to a morning showing of the Sessions of Moradin, and Syxen became the focal point of this topic as he wanted to purchase a special legendary shield which Dallas agreed to give him should another task be done for him.

The next morning had the party and Dallas attend the Sessions of Moradin in Falgar Stadium. It was here that the party also learned of an escaped thug who had his hand chopped off due to him attempting to steal gold from an unaware Syxen. The thug, Leon, was now said to be in hiding with the Ruby Circle whom are considered a very dangerous group of thieves. Dallas presented the group with the task of competing in the Sessions of Moradin in order to gain political favor and help Fallford emerge from its current trade restrictions placed upon itself by Grand Regent Mundri Titanus.

The party had not come to a decision quite yet, and watched as numerous fighters were killed by all manner of beasts, and gladiators alike. Dara noticed one fighter in particular who she saw in a vision, but was shown as a human in her mind’s eye. The man fighting before her was a Tiefling with identical clothing and an eye patch, like the man she saw in her vision. The Tiefling was slain and his body dragged off as the previous competitors.

Once finished watching the spectacle, the party headed for the Rookery where they met a blind old Dwarf man named Douglas. The old man sold Dara and Foopooz each a Snow Owl, and the group decided on which birds they would use for the mission to send out 12 letters to the remaining agents on the continent.

The party returned to the city of Fallford without any trouble at the gates and made their way to the Muck Block. This part of the city is known for its slums, wooden walkways above the heaps of slow moving grime and waste which flows out of the city by use of large drain pipes. Dallas’s "Guests were instructed to meet in a specific section of the Muck Block; the party arrived on schedule but found no guests in sight. The party positioned themselves in the best set-up they could and awaited for the guests. An hour behind schedule, the guests emerged through a large drainage pipe and spotted the party.

Caslon and Kendy informed the guests of their mission to escort them back to Dallas and the guests agreed. Within seconds of the information being exchanged, a large squad of Goliaths appeared from down a street and confronted the party. The Goliaths wanted the guests handed over to them, but the party refused. A battle erupted with Deathsap and Dara battling two Goliaths on a rooftop, Caslon fighting another in the grime and sludge, Syxen and Leogold fending off multiple Goliaths on the wooden walkway acting as the front-line, and Foopooz managing the guests while throwing in some support Acid Orbs where possible.

One of the VIPs, an older human male, leaped forward into the combat without heading Foopooz’s warning and killed a Goliath. Caslon finished with his first target and looked to Leogold for battle tactics only to see his party leader in danger. The other two VIPs attempted to flee from the sludge pools and one was struck by a Goliath attack nearly killing her. This human female ran frantically in an attempt to escape requiring Foopooz to close-line her with her staff in order to stop her. The final VIP, a young human male, shouted for the female VIP to listen to the Drow and follow directions.

Dara and Deathsap were battling fiercely on the roof of a Dwarven building and managed to finish off two Goliaths, one of which was knocked off the roof and fell onto the street below. On the front-line, Syxen used his Paladin abilities to hold one Goliath as his target while Leogold engaged two at once using the power of The Last Right (Axe of Falgar). The old human male VIP joined the battle on the front-line and engaged a Goliath; in the exchange of swords and axes, the old man was impaled by the Goliath’s Longsword. The Goliath lifted his blade and pushed the old man’s body off of his sword with his foot and the old man’s body fell limply into the sludge pools.

The remainder of the battle saw Syxen, Deathsap, Kendy, and Leogold eliminate the remaining Goliaths while Dara and Foopooz kept the remaining two VIPs alive and provided additional support. Once the battle was finished, dozens of Fallford city guards appeared and surrounded the party. The guards had captured the female VIP who had ran off near the end of the skirmish in an attempt to hide. Leogold donned the Viceroy token and spoke with Antonius, a guard who the party had helped acquire tickets for in an earlier quest. The party was free to go and the bodies of the dead Goliaths where examined by the Dwarf guards. Two Goliaths escaped into the night but the city guards were hot on their trail when the party began to leave the scene. Syxen went back into the sludge pools and collected the old man’s body to bring back to Dallas and hopefully give him a proper burial.

The party arrived at the front door of Dallas’s shop, and brought the VIPs inside including the body of the old man. It was revealed that these three individuals were all that remained of the Consortium’s leadership: the young man – Jaden Fullhand, the young woman – Tania Zeal, and the deceased old man – Dent Shamshel.

Kendy and Caslon reach the Malia’s room, and are met with wine and a proposition. Malia informs the two of her lost lover, an adventurer named Samuel, and his death at the hands of bandits to the south of Fallford. Malia wants a small trinket she gave him returned as the bandits have most likely taken it from his corpse. Caslon and Kendy do not agree to the task unless some kind of compensation is put on the table; Malia promises her savings and one night for Caslon to do whatever he wants to her upon the quests completion. The two agree (Deathsap as well while hiding in Kendy’s bag) and begin discussing how they will disguise this quest from the other party members.

Outside, Timothy stood watch with Syxen. The two began to bond slowly over questions and tales of how difficult marriage is. Timothy informed Syxen that he had three wives and all hated three hated him; Syxen asked questions about the current state of the government and discovered that there was unrest between the people and the Coordinators. Foopooz joined the two outside and stood watch as she had become “displeased” with the brothel. Dara joined shortly after as the alcohol did not affect her; the missing members eventually came outside and began to discuss the “quest” they had just taken on.

Leogold, drunkenly, followed Timothy to the edge of the Theater Block with the group close behind. The party entered the Silver Rose and met the owner named Dallas Strongson; the store owner instantly recognized the badge Leogold wore as a Viceroy token, and confronted him about it. Dara swiftly stepped outside to stand guard with Timothy and avoid any dangers. Dallas informed the party that he identified them as “go-getters” and presented a proposition. Dallas made a deal with a group called the Consortium, and promised he would protect three members who were fleeing pursuers. Dallas promised the party an immense reward and a permanent discount on his wares should they succeed.

With new “errands” on the books, the group decided to aid in Malia’s quest. Syxen was still focused on Fallford’s political downfall, but decided to accompany the party on thier new quest as any rumor of bandits should be taken seriously.

Once the party found the area marked on the map by Malia, they saw a long string of wooden posts and discovered these posts held magic runes. Upon further inspection, these runes were discovered to be “anit-fey” runes causing damage to any creature of Fey origin who enters the area. Dara impulsively lit three arrows on fire and took aim at a small cottage inside the anti-fey zone. She unleashed the arrows and instantly set the cabin on fire. A man of incredible physique with grey hair ran out of the cabin and confronted the group; he shouted for them to attack instead of being cowards. The party presented their information and asked for the necklace and the other bandits, but the older man informed them they were fools. The older man was named Samuel and he gave the party his side of the story – Malia was a spring nymph who had fallen in love with Samuel. She had used magic to lure him at first, but fell in love with him after “connecting” with him. The two laid together for days, then weeks, and eventually months; Samuel overcame her spell and realized what Malia had done to him. Samuel fought her off and fled to his family who lived in a hold near Fallford, but Malia used her magics to move through the woods and beat him to the hold. Malia killed Samuel’s family and informed him they could be together now; Samuel was furious and fought Malia. During the battle, he used a ritual he had mastered to trap her essence into a small gem he now wears.

The party decided to let Samuel be and return to Fallford as the sun set over the woods and the “guests” Dallas had mentioned would be arriving soon.