Black Eyes

 

The party decided to investigate a lead left to them by Jarl Steinolfsson left them as the group idled waiting for captain Solvadore to hire crew for the Sea Star. Recalling the mention of the fragrance of Hyacinthe a Sweet Alyssum near his place of detention, the party sought direction from Azuzin the alchemist, who referred them to to a market flower-monger, who pointed them towards a warehouse near the norther docks situated beside a well reputed flower merchant. After hatching a plan to check out the warehouse surreptitiously, Tormund barged in and started a brawl which uncovered a White Hand presence in the unmarked edifice. During the fight the party encountered a trio of strange warriors with formidable anti-magic properties. The heroes managed to see them off, but jut barely...

To the Rescue

Stalking between decks of the ship, the party searches for the Jarl while fending off Prewdact's attacks. On the lowest deck, Trestin opens a cabin to reveal the Jarl held captive by a large pack of vampire spawns and Tegorim of Hasbergen, a mercenary abjurer working in the employ of Prewdact. All hell breaks loose aboard the ship and a great melee ensues. A mighty spell of daylight from the druid Sora turns the tide of battle in the hero's favour and eventually, Prewdact is defeated. The party recovers the Jarl and interrogates Teogrim, learning more about Prewdact's association with the white hand, the Ice Queen, and the, Sea Star. In exchange for his cooperation, the party lets Teogrim go on the condition that he never crosses their path again. 

After claiming the ship as their own, some of the party splits up. Half the party returns the Jarl to the safety of Myrr, while the other half makes arrangements with captain Salvadore to captain the Sea Star for the party as part of a burgeoning trade route bringing goods from the coast to Appelane. The party later reunited in Appelane, waiting for the captain to hire enough sailors to lift anchor in a few days.

All Aboard

Once Sora returned from scouting the Sea Star the party drew up plans to board the vessel and rescue the Jarl. In the crowded dockside market the party noticed they had acquired a tail. The party split up to see who the brigands followed. Sora, Galanda, and Marlo ventured to the Scholar's District to seek out goods and supplies for the attack. Upon returning to Tormund and Trestin the others confirmed that the party was being watched. After drawing their attackers out into the back passages of the labyrinthine docks, the party sprung an ambush on their attacker, defeating them deftly. Questioning one of the survivors the party determined that the ship seemed lightly crewed and so the party decided to storm the ship. After fighting their way through the crew, the party discovered their old nemesis Alban Prewdact was laying in wait for them onboard. 

To Hasbergen

Upon discovering that the dead were bandits the party's attitude toward the survivor soured quickly. Sensing the mood the bandit started to please and bargain for his life, telling the party he has some information about Jarl Steinolfsson. After telling the party that he and his boys tried to ambush the White Hand henchmen fleeing with a captive, the bandit Kari Swiftshield led the party to Hasbergen. In the city the heroes leveraged their unsavoury new companion to make contact with some crooked city guards and enquire after the White Hand. Following a near dust-up the party learned that the White Hand had a VIP captive onboard a cargo ship anchored in the harbour. The ship is set to depart soon and is said to be hiring deck hands in three days. That night the party went snooping around the docks and found the white hand's ship. Sora changed forms and snuck aboard to do some recon for an impending rescue. 

Almost to the Top

The morning after the Jarl's kidnapping the party decided that ending the cold was more important than rescuing Steinolfsson and set out up the mountain. After exploring for some time and fighting through the extreme cold the party discovered the passage up to the high places and decided to rest and recover their strength before proceeding. While exploring the area around their encampment they came across an ancient ruin of some unknown arcane purpose. After investigating for some time the heroes discovered a secret door that led to an ancient tomb. In the tomb the party discovered some ancient artifacts and was set upon by some undead dwarves from the long past. Following a decisive victory the party went back to their encampment and rested. The next day the party pressed on up the mountain and encountered some hostile spirits of the mountain guarding the passage to the high places. Before battling the spirits the party learned that the Ice Queen was not in fact up the mountain as they presumed from hearing the previous spirit's message, but rather a mountain to the north of their present location. Faced with the great power of the spirits the party decided to retreat and pursue the Ice Queen.

On the way back down the maintain the party came across the scene of a slaughter in an encampment tucked inside a hidden alcove in the mountain. The heroes managed to revive one of the fallen and investigated the scene, only to learn that the casualties were a group of bandits that was set upon by a mysterious lone warrior. 

The Jarl is Betrayed

As the feast died down some of the party left with Sadine to commune with the spirit of one of the frost giants felled in the battle, hoping to learn about the origin of the attack. Humber and Sora stayed behind at the keep, getting deeper into their cups until the Jarl retired for the night. The party was ambushed by a force led Sigbrand Eilifsson, Herstien's henchman, convinced that the party has unduly influenced the Jarl to bend the knee for some insidious purpose. The party fought off the attackers and then split up, with  half continuing on with Sadine, while the others rushed back to the keep to check on the Jarl. Predictably, the party arrived at the Jarl's chambers to find his room tossed, Dalla near-dead, and a large white hand painted on the wall. After interrogating the captives and following the tracks of the abductors the party determined that the White Hand had carried the Jarl off towards Hasbergen. Meanwhile, the rest of the party gathered around the corpse of a fallen frost giant that they had stashed in a burnt out house the previous day. With dark necromancy Sadine contacted the giant's spirit, who recounted to the party how an entity known as the Ice Queen had put them up to the attack. When pressed about her whereabouts he said only that she can be found where the wind blows coldest. The next morning Sora communed with the spirits of the mountain asking where to find the Ice Queen, which pointed the heroes north. 

The Aftermath

In the aftermath of the battle Jarl Steinolfsson thanks the heroes for saving the town and invites them to stay in the keep and recover. The following night there would be a great feast to celebrate victory and honour the party. In the morning the heroes immediately set to work assisting the townsfolk in rebuilding. Throughout the day the party enquired with different townsfolk about the nature of the attack and the unnatural cold, eventually ended up in the company of Dalla Arndottir, the high priestess of Heironeous at the temple. She receives the party coldly, but helps them learn more about the city, the mountain, the surrounding ruins, and the White Hand. That evening the feast took place with the party as the guests of honour at the Jarl's table. During the dinner the Jarl bends the knee to Humbert Humbert in front of all the great and the good of the town. Some of the Jarl's men are not pleased, and are observed quietly leaving the feast.

The Battle of Myrr (Part 3)

Having installed their archers around the ramp leading to the upper plateau of the city, the party formed a line and engaged the monsters hoping to draw them into their kill zone away from the fray in order to allow the keep's defenders to get a foothold on the wall. At first the heroes took the upper hand, cutting down yeti and winter wolf alike trying to stop the frost giants from battering down the gate to the keep. Then the air elementals started to break off from suppressing the resistance on the walls to join the fray below. At point the party's battle line fell apart and the party's carefully laid plans soon went to hell as the the sheer number and speed of the attackers overwhelmed the heroes.

The party fought on bravely as more of the air elementals joined the fight, and the keeps archers were able to fight off the remaining flyers and take hold of the walls. Unable to withstand the vicious assault of the air elementals, the villagers had to fall back and the party was soon surrounded and nearing exhaustion. Just when it looked like hope was fading, the gates of the keep flung open and a column of mounted northmen rode out under the banner of Jarl Steinolfsson to sweep the remaining enemies from the field.

The Battle of Myrr (Part 2)

Emboldened by their early victories, the party split up with the two mages teleporting to the house at the northern edge of the city to go after the weapons cache while the rest of the party rushed to the town square to rescue the villagers. While searching for the weapons caches the mages were nearly discovered, though they managed to escape with their lives and recover bows and ammunition enough to arm the villagers. Meanwhile the rest of the party gave battle to monsters attacking the town square enabling the villagers to flee and recover some casualties in the process. Once monsters in the square were defeated the party rejoined at the makeshift field hospital to arm and organize the peasants and hatch a plan to relieve the siege on the keep.

The Battle of Myrr (Part 1)

Seeing the village under attack the heroes didn't hesitate a moment and leapt into battle. They quickly discovered the city was under siege by a horde of winter monster setting the town ablaze. With both strength of arm and spell the party slowly began to push back the horde and put out the fires that were quickly consuming the town. After establishing a safe zone on the edge of town the villagers went to work setting up a field hospital in one of the houses while others were gearing up to defend the house from a nearby lookout towner. Dae and Galandan set off by teleport to a house in the northern reaches of town to recover a stash of weapons while the rest of the party took after the sounds of screams coming from the town square.

Emerging from the Depths

The party continued to explore the underground passages, coming upon numerous artifacts pointing at a terrible last stand made here by the dwarves. The heroes also discovered that the elves of the forest and the dwarves of the mountain were allied in a distant past, with the eleven king breaking the alliance to wrest from the dwarves a mysterious grimoire of power. The dwarves sent that tome to a nearby monastery that they were building for their human allies, hoping to hide it there. After a few dangerous encounters the party then came upon the water spirit in the depths of the cave, who urged the party to press on towards the top of the mountain to find the answers they seek.

When the party finally left the cave, they set back east only to discover the city of Myrr burning and under attack as they crested the hill on the road back.

Behind the Waterfall

Before long the battle turned against the malevolent water spirit and it fled behind the waterfall to safety. Not being the kind to leave loose ends, the party followed the spirit beyond the falls and discovered a passage to an ancient dwarven ruin in the side of the mountain.

The party explored the ruin and discovered a shrine with a puzzling mechanism within that seems to guard some sort of treasure. The party spent some time exploring the ruin and surrounding caves, fighting off the spectres of long dead dwarves, and trying to solve the puzzle in the shrine.

Two Giants and a Hermit

In a desperate battle the heroes were able to drive off the frost giants and their pets without loosing any of the young northmen. In gratitude the northmen shared the loot that they stole from the frost giants, and told them of their increasing presence in the mountains and frequency of raids on human settlements.

The party then continued up the mountain, both trekking and flying at times. Not far up the mountain the group met a strange hermit and took rest in his cottage while chatting about the mountain and their mission. After regaining their strength up, the group started up the mountain again and eventually arrived at the city of Myrr where they could once again rest. The next morning the party got up to investigate a nearby waterfall in the mountain that is said to be cursed with strange magic. Upon contact with the water a strange force took over Dae and Oytsaein and a desperate battle ensued. A malevolent water spirit eventually revealed itself to be the agitator and the party fought against it to save their companions.

To Ranga and the Mountain

Now installed in the new capital of Humbertia, the heroes sent a message to the Duke to send settlers to start working the land, extracting resources, and rebuilding the castle. After sending out some agents to purchase supplies from the nearest town, two northmen by the names of Oytsaein and Braesi returned with them to learn more about the new lord of the castle and invite him to meet Jarl Austmathr Berggson in Ranga. The two told stories and exchanged information with the party, drinking late into the night. In the morning the party decided to go to Ranga with them to learn more about the mysterious cold plaguing the reason.

Once arrived in Ranga, the party set to work putting together a gift of summer fruit for Jarl Berggson. With a warm reception, the party dined and drank with the Jarl, telling him of their purpose and asking for help in sussing out the problem. The Jarl called forth one of the village elders who recounts a tale of the spirit of the high mountain cursing the northmen with cold if the spirits are not appeased. Hoping to find out more the party set out towards the village of Myrr and on to the high places atop the great mountain. Not long on the trail, the party came across a group of young northman fighting for their life against a pair of frost giants and their white wolves. Among them was Oytsaein's young cousin, who spurs the party to leap into the fray.

Establishing Humbertia

Things were looking grim for our heroes as they fought hard to push back the ambushers in the woods. Just when it seemed like the tide of battle was turning against them, Dae and Tucan entered the fray, having been following the party for some days trying to catch up with them. With fresh allies the ambushers were soon defeated and questioned. It turned out that the ambushers were from a rebel group called the white hand that are against the Duke's vampire aristocracy.

After evading a force of white hand teams searching for the party, the group made their way on northeast to the ruins of an old castle. There they discovered a small settlement of vagrants and squatters living in the ruins. Humbert and crew wasted no time in subjugating the local riffraff, exploring the castle and laying the foundations of what is to become Humbertia. While exploring the ruins of the ancient castle, the party stumbles across a great vault in one of the lower levels of the castle sealed by mystical forces. 

New Beginnings

After resting and recuperating in Lower Benneth over the winter, the snow slowly started to recede from the land. One night while hanging out with Mayor Kleinfeldt and his hangers-on, a stout young vampire named Aldarus came knocking. After catching up with the party Aldarus invited the heroes back to the Blackrock on behalf of the duke. The party spent the night in their cups and set off the next day with the duke's honour guard. 

Two weeks passed and the party finally arrived at the Blackrock citadel. That night they reunited with the Duke and Isabelle and caught up on the Duke's campaign of expansion. The Duke then gifted the party various magic artifacts from his horde as well as lands and a lordship on Humbert Humbert. After the honours were given, the heroes then celebrated with the Duke until dawn. Before dawn, the Duke sent a young vampire named Sadine with the group to be Humbert's bookkeeper and sherif, while also getting some experience out in the world. 

The party set out on the morrow, riding eastward with a team of engineers, planners, and architects to restore Humbert's castle and develop the local economy. The road east led the party past fork Kick-Ass where the party reunited with crusher for a night. The morning after the party set out eastward again. As the party made their way to the coast, they noticed that it was getting colder and colder, eventually finding that winter was still prevailing in the northeast lands. Several days away form the front, the party is ambushed by a group of brigands, fighting desperately against overwhelming numbers.