Session 4

[OOC: Between Sessions3 and 4, Joseph and Lee had spent several weeks in
Morpeth. Lee had gotten to know the city, while Joseph trained and studied
back in his family home.]

28-8-954

We reached Isolde without event. The place has changed greatly. Evidently
Jack's idea of a pleasant valley in the forest involves removing all the
dark and forboding foliage, clearing an old abandoned road, and removing
the vicious monsters, replacing them with more friendly denizens. I must
admit he's done an excellent job of it - the place looks lived in and almost
prosperous. The older buildings have been repaired, and the tower is in
superb condition.

I'm running ahead of myself a little.

When we arrived, we saw a party in progress. It was of course Jack's
birthday. I'm glad I didn't miss that. It's not something either of us
cares about in particular, but almost missing it reminded me of just how
different things are now.

We were greeted by a man called (if I remember rightly) Brian Crawforth.
He is, it would seem, Jack's retainer, and also an inlaw, being married
to Jack's second cousin Emily. (Well, they're actually Mr Goodfield's
relatives rather than Jack's, I presume.) Apparently they came up from
the south of Echtland, because of some sort of trouble down there.
Might have to look into that. The southern provinces are just as, well,
provincial as the northern ones, and quite uppity of late.

Note to self: At a later time, find out more about all that.

The villagers of Dunloch (I think it's called) had also come along, as they
and some other localities are also under the sway of the new Lord Isolde,
as Jack is called. (Brian calls him 'Jack' though, which is good. Nothing
wrong with proper respect, but I'd have been surprised if Jack had been
too concerned with his title.)

It might not be Morpeth, but it is a nice little place, and we enjoyed
ourselves. As the night wore on, some villagers began to leave, to be
replaced by a pair of unexpected guests. Brian greeted them, and brought
them over.

A very odd pair indeed. One appeared to be Dwarrow, the other a human wearing
the most bizarre clothing. Flowing robes and the like, but not like anything
I've seen before, somehow.

The little Dwarrow is called Caed Hones, and is a historian. Ironhand
Surefoot (!) is a monk. And both of them are odd.

They had some stew (Bloody tasty, by the way, and lots of it. My compliments
to the chef) and told us their story. A certain scroll came into Caed's
possession. He couldn't understand it, as it was enciphered. He found out
about Jack, and decided to come here and ask for his help with cracking
the code. The scroll is a copy, and bloodied.

We slept, and the next morning, Caed and Jack began to work on the scroll.
The characters were Elven. This lasted for five weeks.

2-10-954

Early in the morning, we were awoken by Jack and Caed. We rushed over from
the guesthouse to the tower, to find that they'd cracked the code.

And what a find! According to the scroll, the Elves have dispatched a team
to go to an island in the south-east of the Archipelego, to recover an
ancient item from an old fortress or the like. This artifact will (somehow)
allow them to defeat the Dwarves of the Reach.

That would of course be a disaster. If the Dwarves fall, the Elves will be
able to march on the Free States without a second front to fear. The Army is
in no state to repel such an attack.

There was some debate about what to do. Clearly, we happen to be the right
men for the job. Clearly, something must be done, presuming (as we do) that
the scroll isn't a total fugasi. But - should we tell, say, Duke Guilder?
My family? The king? The Army? We're not sure. Obviously, we don't want
this information lost if (God forbid) we should die, but we also don't
want the Elves becoming aware that we have such info, and the more people
know, the greater the risk.

As we chatted, we heard wolves in the forest. This is very strange - there
aren't any wolves in this area. We decided something's up, and kit up in our
armor. As we returned to the Tower, the cows which Jack's people tend
stampeeded through the courtyard (which is open and unwalled, being simply
the area in the centre of the buildings) and thunded into Devon.

A figure aproached. He had a green-coloured lantern on a pole. He announced
that we were to hand over Caed and Ironhand or die. Now, I don't really
know them very well, but this is Jack's territory, and it's not on to
just walk in and demand something like that.

Before we could really deliberate (not that we would have), a pack of wolves
rushed in and attacked. I made a mistake. Seeing a chance to attack a wolf,
I stepped forward and slashed. No bad thing, normally, except that we really
should have bunched together, as we were outnumbered. Flanked, we were
disadvantaged. I killed a wolf, then another... but the stranger was
attacking me at the same time. Jack looked in a dangerous position, too.

We began to get things under control... and more woves arrived. I was, if I
might flatter myself, a bit unlucky, and for the first time in a long time,
I was seriously injured. I collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

I awoke. Jack had (I think) done his magic (so as to say) and turned it
around. Ironhand had stunned the stranger, and he had surrendered.

This was a good move. Jack and the others now had him captive, but he was at
least alive. We questioned him. He claims to be called 'the Green Hunter',
and is a bounty hunter or assassin, paid 500 gold pieces to kill Caed and
Ironhand, and destroy and scrolls they were carrying.

[OOC: 500 gp is a _lot_. FYI, gold's worth more than in D&D standard rules,
which is good really, because just look at commodity prices sometime!]

He says he was hired in Rothport. We think he was hired at about the time
Caed and Ironhand got the scroll. (Coincidence?) Oh, and he controls
the wolves. And it sure does look that way, actually.

After lengthy discussion, myself and Lee presuaded the others that this 
murderous assassin should be executed, and not given a full public trail
in Baldock, which would endanger the secrecy of our self-appointed mission.
(I commented that I might kill him in the middle of the night, but I didn't
do so.)

The next day, we brought him out into the forest to kill him. (Didn't want
the kids to see him executed...) As we got towards the forest edge, we saw a
wolf holding a frightened child in its mouth. The bastard had gotten himself
a hostage.

I was right behind him, and put my knive to his throat. I suggested we
surround the wolf - it couldn't defned itself while holding the kid, and
I'd kill the Green Hunter if he told the wolf to kill the kid. Jack
and the others decided to play it safe. We backed off, Jack untied the
assassin, and he fled.

Before he went, he'd often called Jack a lightweight. That's not fair, but
I must admit... if I'd made the call, the Green Hunter would be dead.
Maybe the child would be too, maybe, but to be blunt, that's a risk I'm
reluntantly willing to take. The Hunter is a professional murderer, and
letting him go risks the fate of the entire Free States under present
circumstances.

We decided to set off for Baldock, then to Morpeth, and then Rothport, to
charter a ship.