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.
