Exonerated & Two Weeks Pass

Rhaan 22 - Sypheros 7, YK 999

A story was published on Rhaan 21 on the front page of the Korranberg Chronicle with the headline "Assassination Prevented in Trolanport." It detailed the events at the Platinum Theater, most notably that the real Wandering Wolves battled a group of doppelgangers who had attempted to impersonate them, and that Lord Kor himself had issued a pardon for the Wolves for the initial assassination attempt against the King. When asked how this affected the war between the Sigilstar Alliance and Droaam, Lord Kor indicated that they still weren't certain that the hags of Droaam weren't involved, given that one of the assassins at the Platinum Theater was a Briar Hag, but he did indicate that there would be a full investigation.

And so, after close to five months of being hunted as fugitives, The Wandering Wolves returned to Sharn by means of House Orien teleport circle. Though they had been exonerated, Lord Kor asked if they would keep a relatively low profile for a couple of weeks until they could get various things sorted. He also gave each member of the Wolves a letter of credit for transportation with either House Orien or House Lyrandar, allowing a round-trip ticket to anywhere in the Five Nations.

As promised by Lord Kor, the Wolves will be granted an expanse of land in the northern reaches of Breland, and promised help from Brelish industry to build a casino and base of operations named "The Wolves' Reward." He told them that come the next week in Wroat, The Wolves would meet with the King and be given their official pardon and grant of land, but agreed to give each a week of personal time first. Well, except for Pel, but more on that below.

Luggoth:
Luggoth returned to his apartment in Hareth's Folly and found it occupied. The door was unlocked, but there was no sign of vandalism or theft. When he saw who was waiting for him, a grouchy Luggoth muttered "I wish you were thieves instead. At least then I could beat you with a clear conscience."

The paladin Muroni and dragon prophet Maechen, representatives of the silver dragon Vuulaytherus, waited for Luggoth in his apartment. They explained that Vuulaytherus had sent them to Sharn about a month ago to come and find him, and they had been expecting him sometime in the autumn. So they had set up shop in his apartment until he returned.

"War is coming, Luggoth. You and the Wolves are going to play a key part in it, if our master is interpreting the Prophecy correctly. Our master has sent us to Khorvaire to do what we can to prevent it. We'll be looking for clues to the Prophecy throughout the continent, and we'll let you know if we find anything related to you."

With that, they prepared to leave, but Maechen stayed behind to "catch up what was going on with his former comrades-in-arms." After Muroni left, Maechen quietly informed Luggoth of one piece of information that Vuulaytherus hadn't wanted him to share.

"There was a vision that Vuulaytherus shared with us, but told us not to tell you. One of the oracles saw you with your hands around the throat of Jaela Daran, the Keeper of the Flame. He doesn't know when, or even where, or what it means. But if the Silver Flame learns of this, nowhere will be safe for you. Some of the members of The Chamber think you're an unwitting pawn of the Lords of Dust, and that you need to be watched carefully, and eliminated if necessary. I know that despite your anger, you wouldn't hurt that little girl, she's one of the purest forces of good in this world. So I think the vision isn't what it seems. But you have a lot of very nervous, very powerful people watching you."

As he left, he imparted one last warning. "William d'Deneith was a part of the Prophecy when he had his dragonmark. Now he exists outside of it. The Chamber doesn't know what this means, but they don't like it. William's role in The Prophecy has been changed by powerful, ancient magic, and he could easily lead you down the wrong path. Be careful around him."

After that, Luggoth can spend some of his time searching for Savannah and Borgath, or go with Lysander to see if he can find Arenydee and figure out what information she has.

Brand:
After checking in with Markus d'Orien to get himself reinstated in House Orien, Brand and Whitehearth returned to the Eldeen Reaches to see his mother and visit with Rorsa and her pack. His mother told Brand that she had gotten a message for him, passed along by a shifter from elsewhere in the Reaches.

"I know that last time, it turned out to be a trick by our Uncle, so this time I asked for proof. Your father must have expected that, because the shifter told me things that only your father and I knew. I believe this message is from him."

She handed Brand the message, a simple scroll, and added "I didn't read it. I felt it would be a violation of your privacy. But when you see your father... tell him I'd like to see him. Things can't be the same between us, it's been too long and I'm with someone else, but... well, I'd like to see him."

The message read:

"Hello, son. If you're receiving this message, it means you've come to visit your mother, and I'm assuming that means you've cleared your name. If that's not the case, don't follow the rest of these instructions, you'll only bring danger to yourself, your mother and me. One of us being a fugitive is enough trouble.

I've had discussions with some of the people I know and trust at Orien. They've assured me that my crimes, even if they were real, have been forgotten in the ensuing decades, and that if I can bring them something valuable, those crimes will be forgiven. That's enough for me, because once I'm back in at the House, we can work within it to bring down your Uncle.

What I'm asking of you might take a few weeks, but I hope you can spare the time, as I haven't had time to build up the same resources I had in Xen'drik. The shifter who brought this to your mother left some tracks. Most wouldn't be able to find them, but I'm confident that you can. Follow those tracks and you'll find me."

Brand and Whitehearth set off following the tracks, and they found them leading to a very carefully concealed teleport circle. When they stepped through, they found themselves standing in the middle of a swamp.

"There you are! I was starting to think you weren't coming!"

Brand's father, The Native, was concealed in a tree waiting for them.

"Welcome to the Shadow Marches. Ready to go dragonshard hunting?"

"I suppose a new field of dragonshards under House Orien control would be an excellent way to buy credibility for your return to the house," Brand said. "I wonder, will the Native's identity be maintained by your crew while he's out of Xen'drik? A secret identity of sorts? Or is it best to go public and thus avoid potential for blackmail?"

Traega mutters darkly that "it's a little late to worry about Aeromus blackmailing us, unfortunately" but does agree that his past in Xen'drik could be potentially troublesome, if there's any kind of trial related to him returning to the House. However, he also doesn't believe he could keep it a secret, and so his intent is to disclose everything when he returns to the House.

For the time being, the Native is a ghost, with his band of smugglers and information brokers operating as if he's still in charge, but in fact Medrea is now giving orders according to prophecy, with Saia, Yanesh and Tworock acting as the visible face of the operation. They are scaling back operations, and Traega confides that his plan is to bring them to Khorvaire when he is reinstated in the House to serve as his operatives on the continent. He hasn't run this by them yet, and he's not honestly sure if all of them will want to come to Khorvaire, as they all had their reasons for staying in Xen'drik.

Traega also tells you that his contacts in the House inform him that things have changed in the last twenty years, and that the House is much more open to marriage and relationships outside the House, believing that it brings new blood into the operation. "It's too late for me and your mother," he says, "But perhaps you and Saia will have a chance at what we never had."

While hunting for dragonshards, Traega and Brand train and fight together. Brand is sorry to miss the ceremony in Wroat, but he is sure that by the time he rejoins the other Wandering Wolves, he's sure to have new skills at his command and a stronger connection to his dragonmark.

Sheryn Wayfinder, Brand's mother, sends an animal messenger to a druid in Sharn, who passes the message along to the Clifftop Adventurers' Guild, and thus to the Wolves. It reads "Brand unavoidably delayed, wishes you well in Wroat and will rejoin you as soon as possible."

William:
William d'Deneith was met at the teleport circle in Sentinel Tower in Karrlakton, Karrnath by his mother, Sharri d'Deneith, who surprised him by warmly embracing him. She then took him on a walk around the fortress so that the two of them could talk.

Sharri told William that she had never intended to send him away, that she had wanted to keep him from meeting the same fate as her husband and her other son. She understands now that all she did was make him more determined to seek out danger, and that if she had kept him in Karrnath, surrounded by other Blademarks, he might never have suffered the ordeal he did. She offers him heartfelt apologies for what he went through, and expressed regret for the way she behaved toward his friends, The Wandering Wolves, especially in light of what they did to restore him to life.

She also told him that she would do her best to help him get a position within the Blademarks, Protectors Guild or Sentinel Marshals, but that some in the House didn't trust him, since his dragonmark had faded away. She asked if he would consider visiting with a cousin of hers, a man named Doren d'Deneith who is a healer assigned to the Protectors Guild, and someone with an interest in Draconic Prophecy. Doren believed that if he examined William, he might be able to figure out what happened with his dragonmark, and at the very least assuage the worries of some within the House.

Sharri warned William to be careful around the enclave, because there were those who had already decided that he was a danger, and if they had the chance, they might quietly disappear him. For the time being, she asked that he try to always stay within sight of her, Doren or a handful of attendants that she trusts.

William also found out that his Uncle Maresh is working on a job in the Mror Holds, overseeing security for a mining operation. Sharri assures him that while she was angry at Maresh, just as she was at the Wandering Wolves, she has gotten over it, and as soon as his uncle returns from the Mror Holds, he'll be ecstatic to see William again.

William is well pleased by his return to Karrlakton, his mother's reception and his (at least in his eyes) vindication. In response to his mother's apology for what he went through, however, William believes that if there is any blame to be laid for it, it belongs to himself. He fought recklessly and without regard for his father's Blademark legacy -- had he honored his training, he would never have fallen. As for the Claw's retrieval of his body, he and Pel have made peace on that score.

He will accept her apology for her treatment of the Wolves, however, and will bring that apology back to them when he returns.

William is trying to grow up: to take responsibility for his actions, to develop core moral beliefs, and to promote a personal code of honor.

He looks forward to reuniting with Maresh when that is possible. In the meantime, he works hard during his time with the healer Doren. Despite his fear, William descends into the dark and horrible memories trapped in his mind, reliving some of the events that occurred during his undeath. It will be some time before William can come to terms with all he has done (for he firmly believes that his actions can be blamed on no one else). However, perhaps as a result of his slowly returning inner peace, aided by Doren's magic and wisdom, William's Mark of the Sentinel resurfaces -- to his mother's vast relief. Doren trains William in the Eye of Alarm and Magic Circle rituals, and William feels some of his dragonmark's new power.

William returns to his mother and asks a boon: that he might join the Sentinel Marshals. He is driven to serve his House, but he believes he can best do so alongside the Wolves: the pack is always stronger than the individual. William believes that the travel and contacts he will make as a member of the Wolves will prove valuable to the Marshals.

William's visit to Karrlakton lasts for seven days, and the return of his dragonmark eases things considerably, so that by the end of his visit, he is walking the compound freely, meeting other members of the House and learning a little about the politics at the center of House Deneith.

Just before he is due to take the teleport circle back to Sharn, his mother comes to him with disappointing news. Her petition to have him instated as one of the Sentinel Marshals was denied. The acting council that promoted Sentinel Marshals pointed out that all who have become Sentinel Marshals have served for years as Blademarks, Protectors or often both, and have proven themselves valued and trusted assets of the House. William has not, as of yet, distinguished himself yet. Instead, they have made him a member of the Protectors guild, reporting to the Sharn enclave.

However, Sharri d'Deneith does offer two things that she hopes will ease the sting of disappointment. First is that she received a Sivis message from Baron Elvinor of House Phiarlan, who specifically requested that William be assigned to duty with Lysander d'Phiarlan. In effect, he will be getting paid to work with the Wandering Wolves, at least so long as nothing happens to Lysander. Also, she knows Lalia d'Deneith, one of the twins who serves as the leading Sentinel Marshals in Sharn, and she has gotten Lalia to agree to review William's case in six months. If he can prove himself an asset to the House, as well as give them reason to believe that he would excel at tracking down and bringing in fugitivies, in that time, Sharri believes William has an excellent chance of "jumping the line" to become a Sentinel Marshal in months instead of years.

Sharri suggests that William accompany the Wolves on their adventures, keep Lysander safe from harm and keep a journal of his accomplishments. Sharri believes that the Wolves are moving up in the world, and if William can contribute to and share in their reputation and accomplishments, she believes he can earn the promotion he seeks.

William also suspects that part of this is a test by the House leadership to see if he's willing to follow orders, and that the period of "training" may be even shorter than they are letting on.

Lysander:
While for many of the Wolves, the Wolves' Reward is either a theoretical place for the future or not really a concern, for Lysander it has been the focus of his days and nights since returning to Sharn. House Phiarlan was quick to sign on to the idea of a casino which could also host a theater and serve as a convenient place for various clandestine meetings of people from all nations.

Lysander has spent roughly two days in meetings with Baron Elvinor to figure out the role that the Demesne of Shadow can play in this new home, and another two days traveling by lightning rail up to Wroat (a 5 hour journey) to meet with those in the Demesne of Motion, to discuss dance and other physical arts, as well as to confer with agents of the Serpentine Table about their role. He then traveled by Orien teleport circle to Flamekeep in Thrane to meet for a day with the Demesne of Music. Throughout all of this, he has been meeting with Phiarlan architects who have notions for how to design the new theater, in conjunction with House Cannith, who will no doubt be doing much of the actual construction.

In addition, as Lysander always does on these travels, he hears a lot of information that has been making its way through the Phiarlan network. Of particular note are rumors that two of the Wolves' previous foes, the Emerald Claw and the Lord of Blades, have been especially quiet of late, with only a few smaller operations happening close to their homes in Karrnath and the Mournland. He also hears that House Thuranni and House Tarkannan are getting more employment of late, as political assassinations seem to be on the rise, and there are rumors that House Orien's little-known smuggling arm is involved in some shady business in Xen'drik and Droaam. No one knows the name Aeromus d'Orien when Lysander asks.

Lysander does get to spend one day with Arenydee, who stops in to see him during his stay in Flamekeep. She unfortunately does not have any further information about Cavoletta's whereabouts, but she is following up on leads in the Talenta Plains, Darguun and the Lhazaar Principalities in the next few weeks.

Lysander remembers that before the recent troubles and the resulting drain on their bank accounts, the Wolves had a personal banker assigned to them, Rochus d'Kundarak. He speaks with Rochus, who is in fact a security expert for Kundarak, and he gets approval from his House to take the lead on doing security work in establishing the Wolves' Reward, in exchange for considerations for House Kundarak. Details can be worked out later, but for now, the Wolves have a strong ally in Kundarak who expresses interest in helping them build a good, secure base of operations.

Pel:
Pel has seen little of the Wolves in the last week. Immediately upon his return, he was whisked to the crime scene where Viorr had been murdered, the tower garden where he had first met Viorr so long ago. Kalibar Jenks and Lord Kor were there as well, and since Pel is unable to cast rituals, they brought in Kalibar's priest, a halfling worshiper of the Sovereign Host named Delanna Moon, to cast the Speak with Dead ritual.

They learned that Viorr had been murdered by a changeling, who had come to his garden disguised as one of his agents. When the murderer had Viorr in a vulnerable spot, he shifted form into his natural changeling state, told him "Councilor Pel sends you to Dolurrh!" and stabbed him to death with a dagger. Viorr's spirit believes he was murdered because he had his agents, including Kalibar, looking into the "Wolves" assassination and attempting to figure out who was behind it. He explains that whoever was really behind it (and he suspects it was Tyrant One), they did him a favor, because he was dying of a curse inflicted upon him years earlier, and he was already facing a most painful death, which no healer he had found could cure. He asks not to be returned to life, and approves of Lord Kor's plan to have Pel take his place. He tells Pel where to find a key and a safe elsewhere in the city where Viorr kept all of his notes on his operations, and reveals the names of his five agents in Sharn.

With all the circumstantial evidence pointing towards the current Tyrant One as behind the attempted regicide of the King and Lord Kor, not to mention the assassination of Viorr, most likely Councilwoman Sava Kharisa and who knows what else, Lord Kor issues a royal decree on the spot that the Tyrant Council be brought in and interrogated. He also issues a warrant for the arrest of Councilor Pel, declaring in it quite clearly that the councilor is an impostor, a changeling who took the identity of the real Pel, a half-elven member of the Wandering Wolves. He leaves that in Pel's hands and says that he needs to head back to the King's Citadel in Wroat, and asks that Pel and the rest of the Wolves meet him there on Mol (the first day) of the next week to officially receive their pardon and the grant of land that they have asked for as a reward.

Kalibar Jenks remains to fill in Pel on the various duties, responsibilities and powers of his new role. Viorr is a lieutenant in the King's Dark Lanterns, although publicly he is known merely as a retired gardener who used to work in Brelish military intelligence. Kalibar knew him quite well, and will coach Pel on mannerisms and habits that will let him pass with his agents and others who didn't know him quite as well. Kalibar suggests that he play up Viorr's illness now that they know about it, staying secluded and only speaking with operatives.

Viorr is one of five lieutenants in Sharn, and he answers to Captain Vron in Wroat, who is also a changeling. Kalibar suspects that Pel will meet Captain Vron and tell him the truth of the situation next week. Kalibar doesn't know any of Viorr's other operatives were, but he knows that like him, each of them ran other operatives and freelancers who knew nothing of Viorr's involvement. Viorr's responsibilities are mostly making sure that none of the criminal organizations or individual threats in Sharn pose a threat to the crown. He didn't deal as much with sedition from The Swords of Liberty, terrorism by The Emerald Claw or any "cold war" activities by The Royal Eyes of Aundair, but focused most of his efforts on The Tyrants, The Daask and a few monsters in the Cogs. Kalibar was and is his inside man with the Boromar Clan, and he maintains a cover as a Boromar thief, which is the cover he was using when the Wolves first met him aboard the Golden Dragon.

Viorr has an expense account with House Orien and House Vadalis that he can use to provide travel to any city in the Five Nations, whether by lightning rail, horses or caravan. His account with House Orien also allows him to use their teleport circles up to three times per month without charge (and without record), and he has an account with House Lyrandar that lets him charter an airship without charge (and with minimal records) anywhere in Khorvaire. He can call upon the Watch freely by ordering them to provide troops, and if he needs something more elite, he can talk to Lieutenant Meira or Molin Kaine, the two lieutenants of the Redcloak Battalion in Sharn. He does not outrank them, so he must ask for their help rather than command it, but Kalibar suggests that both are loyal servants of the crown. Meira has a distaste for the Thranes and longs to be back in the field, so Kalibar suggests using her when the situation calls for action, while Molin has crossed paths with House Tarkannan and enjoys his posting in Sharn, so he is best used on quieter assignments.

Viorr also has accounts with House Kundarak (money), House Sivis (secure communication), House Deneith (mercenaries and bodyguards), House Jorasco (healing) and House Tharashk (finders). There are limits to what he can ask for, but in general, he can get any of these services free or at a highly discounted rate, and more discreetly than others who hire the Houses.

Kalibar suggests that, to fulfill Kor's orders to round up the council and Councilor Pel, they call in Lieutenant Meira and some House Deneith blademarks and make a plan, using Pel's knowledge of the Tyrants organization and hideouts for planning.

"Well, well, well. This is very interesting." says Pel, stroking his chin.

While speaking with the deceased Viorr, he has a few questions of his own.

1. Which agent was the changeling posing as? He might be compromised.

It was posing as Ghanis Taek, a half-orc in my employ within the Daask. His codename is Scar, and you'll find his dossier with information on when to make information drops and requests for meetings there. Much of it is in code, and we don't have time for me to impart that to you, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure much of it out. I should have been suspicious when Scar dropped in without a prior meeting arranged, but he was acting as if there was important info from the Daask, and given their involvement with Droaam and the war, I just got sloppy.

2. Get as close a description of the assassin as possible - admittedly a difficult task - but pay particular attention to the footwear and weapons used. Even the best spies often neglect to change these details.

Viorr describes the changeling, which is, as you'd guess, not terribly useful. He believes it to have been a male, but that's always fluid, and he had pale lavender eyes, white hair and white skin. The assassin was wearing dark brown leather armor that matched very closely that of Ghanis Taek and wielding a plain, average dagger, a not uncommon weapon for changeling assassins. The weapon was probably dropped in The Hilt and swept out into the Thunder Sea on the night of Viorr's murder.

3. Did Viorr have any personal relationships Pel should be aware of? Friends, family, lovers. These would need to be the most delicately handled, obviously.

Fortunately for Pel, but unfortuantely for Viorr, he didn't really have a lot of close friends. His wife and child died of illness while he was away fighting in The Last War, and he's taken no lovers since her death. In his role as a gardener, he knows a few people who bought flowers and bushes and other such things from him, but none of them know him better than his agents, who are trained to notice mannerisms. With Kalibar instructing him, Pel should be able to mimic Viorr closely enough to fool anyone he's going to meet.

Once the priest leaves, but before the body is removed, Pel takes the dead man's form, with Kalibar there to coach and critique.

He changed into Viorr's clothes and put on some bandages where Viorr was wounded, to help excuse any behavioral missteps and, in case someone's watching, make it look like the murder was indeed attempted but failed.

He'll spend some time in Viorr's abode, getting the feel of the place and the man that lived there.

Pel quickly gets his hands on Viorr's notes and files, and get to reading (and practicing Viorr's handwriting). His code is not unsophisticated, and no one, not even Kalibar or likely any of his other agents, knows what it means. Pel will have to spend some time deciphering them. The names of his agents are: Ghanis Taek, codename Scar (Daask), Kalibar Jenks - codename Wraith - (Boromar), Milos - codename Displacer (Changeling inside the Tyrants), Eranis De, codename Dragon (Half-elf inside House Tarkanan) and Jace Bartholoh, codename Basilisk (Gnome, operates as an independent bard, information broker and fixer in the Cogs). He has three information and equipment drops, one primary, one secondary and one emergency, for each of them.

Highlights, at least those that Pel can work out in only a few days, are that the Daask-Tyrant war appears to have been negotiated to a truce after the shake-up in the Tyrant council, that there's a new Tyrant One and an almost entirely new Tyrant council, a variety of jobs that House Tarkanan has hired for in Sharn and Breland, and a handful of names and places of criminal activity in the Cogs. Information on the Boromars is somewhat sketchy, as Kalibar has been spending most of his time helping the Wolves.

Kalibar gets one of his men in the Boromars to put a tail on "Councilor Pel," but unfortunately, he gets a quick report back that the Councilor had some sort of urgent business and left town two days ago, just after Viorr was murdered. No one has seen him since.

As detailed in the Sharn Inquisitive and by a report from Displacer, "Pel's" political career has been noteworthy in two aspects. One is that he pushed hard for the crackdown on the Daask, consistent with the work of Councilor Kharisa, but oddly enough, after the war with Droaam began, he started cataloging overzealous attacks on the Daask by the Watch, and, along with activists for "monster rights," was successful in revoking the "Kill on sight" order for Daask operatives and in doing some diplomatic outreach to the organization to try and ease some of their activities in his district.

Two is that he was a close ally of "The Boromar Block" of Bestan ir'Tonn (Upper Tavick's Landing), Thurik Davandi (Upper Menthis) and Ilyra Boromar (Lower Dura), which was in direct contradiction to the general voting of Councilor Kharisa. He was also an ally of Kilk (Lower Tavick's Landing), which doesn't surprise Pel at all, given that Kilk is the Tyrants' operative on the council, and is in fact a rotating identity used by various Tyrant members. His enemies on the Council included the plain-spoken Dalaina Ironhand (Middle Tavick's Landing), brothel owner and vocal disparager of the Tyrants and the Boromar Savia Potellas (Lower Menthis).

He was quite successful in his short run with his somewhat limited agenda. It's possible that there were more layers to his plans, but that would require a more detailed and long-term analysis of everything he voted on, argued for and against.

More related to the Tyrants, contact with Displacer indicates that he can get Viorr a time and place where the Tyrant Council is holding a meeting. Ever since the change in the Council, they've been meeting once a month, and the next meeting should be taking place sometime in the next month. Kalibar and Basilisk both suggest that a precision strike by the Watch with Redcloak support could capture the entire Tyrant leadership in one fell swoop, at which point they could interrogate them and hopefully get one of them to flip on Tyrant One for political advantage within the organization.

What's Next:
After a week of time off, with little if any contact between one another, The Wolves met up for lunch at the Drunken Dragon on the afternoon of Sypheros 1. Lysander was first to arrive, early enough to get in a little performance time with Beless, the bard from Elias Volan's adventuring group, which had taken on the name "The Young Wolves" and had a few adventures of their own in the past few months. The Dragon was crowded with well-wishers, all of whom assured Lysander that "they never believed those rumors." He was fairly certain that at least half of them weren't lying.

As Lysander finished a rousing, bawdy duet of "The Lovers from Fairhaven" with Beless that brought the house down, he spotted Luggoth walk in, go straight to the bar and order an ale. Luggoth lifted the glass to Lysander, who gave a bow and then leaped from the stage to go and sit with his friend.

The two of them found a table and sat, nodding and offering polite hellos the welcoming crowd of the Dragon. Mira d'Ghallanda came over, put a plate of cheese, meat and bread on the table along with a pitcher of wine and a pitcher of water, and then headed back to the bar, over which the Silver Holy Symbol of Vulkoor that the Wolves had gifted to her still hung. She also left a note on the table, which read "Brand unavoidably delayed, wishes you well in Wroat and will rejoin you as soon as possible - Sheryn Wayfinder," explaining that a druid had brought it in a couple of days ago, and said that any messages to be conveyed to Brand should be left with Mira to be given to the druid when he checked back in.

William entered a few minutes later, newly adorned with the regalia of his House, with his dragonmark once again shining brightly on his skin. He yelled out, "No! Fuck! Off!" to a scabby half-orc who was begging him for change, then he sat down at the table, grabbing a hunk of bread and a goblet of wine. "I swear that little piece of shit has been following me since I got back into town this morning. I gave him a copper to get rid of him, and now he keeps asking if I can spare a few more! By Kol Korran's belt, he's actually followed me in here?!"

The Wolves turned to see the half-orc beggar sidling into the bar, nervously looking around and then, possibly cowed by William's glare, going to bother another table across the way. William turned back to the table and told the other Wolves what had occurred in Karrnath, and they in turn shared news of their doings in Sharn and elsewhere. After a few minutes, Lysander remarked that it was odd for Pel to be late.

"I'm not late," Pel said, walking out from a nearby crowd as if from out of nowhere and stepping up to the table. "I came in with William. Here's your copper back." As Lysander laughed and applauded Pel's showmanship, William and Luggoth looked a little displeased at Pel's little trick.

"I'm working on slipping in and out of identities," Pel said. "I'll tell you why some other time, but suffice to say, if I could slip one past William, who knows me better than many, that was a good sign."

With that, the Wolves were more or less assembled, and they shared some conversation about the last week, including lots of information from Lysander about the Wolves' Reward, and then headed out to get aboard the private lightning rail coach Lord Kor had booked to bring them to Wroat.

The journey was a quick five hours, passed in luxury and comfort, and without a single delay or disruption, which earned William a bit of coin against Lysander, who had bet on some kind of trouble on the road. "Last time we rode this line, fire elementals and a fiend attacked us."

Upon arrival, The Wolves found themselves greeted by Aanna Ebinor, a beautiful young woman who introduced herself as their personal concierge for the duration of their stay in Wroat. She guided them to a horse-drawn carriage that took them through the beautiful city, over the bridge and into Brokenblade Castle. From there, they were taken to the Great Hall, and found themselves standing before King Boranel, who sat upon the massive stone-and-wood throne of Breland. He was surrounded by his court, which included his two magebred ghost tigers, his brother Lord Kor and his warforged bodyguard Three, who looked very tense, and had his hand on his weapon. There was a great deal of tension in the room, and the assembled court and onlookers seemed to be holding their breath.

It was the aged Lord Boranel himself who broke the tension. "You're not going to try to assassinate me again, are you?" There was a gasp from young Haydith ir'Wynarn, 17-year-old Karrnathi ward of the King, before Boranel's face broke out into a huge grin, and then a laugh. The laugh spread throughout the room, and the King motioned to the Wolves to approach. He handed a scroll of parchment over to an attendant, who walked down and put it into the hands of Lysander.

"Let it be known, by all present, that I, King Boranel ir'Wynarn, do hereby grant a full pardon to the adventuring company known as The Wandering Wolves for the charges called against them previously. These heroes, though slandered by vicious and clever adversaries and indeed hunted by Breland itself due to the cleverness of these lies, did not become bitter towards their land and their king. Instead, they sought to protect Breland's royalty and citizenry, to face dangerous foes and untangle a web of lies, all in service not to their own glory, but to the welfare of Breland and indeed, the rest of the Five Nations. In so doing, they not only foiled a conspiracy against the kingdom, but saved the life of my own brother, Lord Kor ir'Wynarn."

"My thanks for their deeds cannot be measured in mere words or gifts, but as some small token of appreciation, I have granted them a parcel of land in the northern part of Breland. This land belongs to them, and to their heirs. I expect that some of you have read in the Korranberg Chronicle rumors of what they plan to do with it, and if those rumors are true, rest assured, the King and his court will be spending some time at this new establishment, burning through some of the Brelish treasury."

This earns a hearty chuckle from the crowd, although both Pel and Lysander note that Prime Minister Ruken ir'Clarn and several other members of the Brelish Parliament seem less than amused by the notion of gambling with the nation's riches.

"Adventurers have little time for pomp and ceremony, and I confess that I grow weary of it as well, so let me once again express my gratitude for all to hear, and then we can begin the feast in celebration of these heroes!"

With that, a small army of waiters, cooks and attendants, including House Ghallanda spellcasters, produce a series of massive tables laden with foods, wines and decorations, and the Wolves are seated at the King's table, along with Boranel, his sons and daughters, his ward, Lord Kor and a few others. The conversation is lively, talk about what this means for the war with Droaam and anything the Wolves wish to share about the Wolves' Reward or anything else. Shortly after the meal begins, a comely half-elven woman approaches Pel and says "Milord, I would speak with you in the kitchen about a matter of urgency regarding Viorr?"

Pel, recognizing the code phrase, excuses himself and steps into the kitchen with the half-elven maid, who leads him out, around the castle and into the King's Citadel. The half-elven maid doesn't speak, not to Pel or to the various guards that they pass, but they all seem to recognize her, letting her pass without issue. Finally, they reach an office in a higher level of the tower, she motions for Pel to sit, and then her form shifts into that of a male changeling.

"Well, well. You're my new Lieutenant Viorr, hmm? My name is Captain Vron, and I'll be your superior officer in that role, which is of course now the most important role in your life. I thought we should take some time to talk about how you're going to be running your operation in Sharn."

After a long night of celebration, food and, in Pel's case, painstaking discussions about agents, budgets, operations and other intelligence work, the Wolves retire to The Golden Pear, a very expensive inn near the castle where they have been booked into private suites. Throughout the rest of the week, operating from there, the agreements surrounding The Wolves' Reward begin to take shape.

The property agreement is fairly simple, and fairly powerful. The Wolves are granted a parcel of land in the northeastern reaches of Breland, on the shores of the Silver Lake, about 50 miles from Orcbone fortress on the west and 50 miles from the House Vadalis village of Shavalant on the east. They're nearly a hundred miles from the nearest trade road, and over 300 miles from the nearest lightning rail station in Wroat. The grant provides that each of the Wolves (Lysander, William, Brand, Luggoth and Pel) has a 20% ownership in the property, and that they may transfer their share in its entirety (no splitting it up) to a designated heir by blood or legal adoption, or to one of the other Wolves listed in the initial contract, upon their death. If no heir is named, their share reverts back to Breland. The land cannot be sold or given to anyone else, although the contract stipulates that any of the Wolves who wishes to relinquish his stake may sell it back to the Brelish Parliament for a fee of 200 platinum (20,000 gold).

The agreements that take place for The Wolves' Reward are more complex. Over the course of a week, the Wolves receive visitors from many of the dragonmarked Houses. Lady Elaydren and her husband come to visit you, express House Cannith's support for this new venture, and to announce that they are expecting their first child in the early part of the new year. Cannith's Tinker's Guild will help build the casino and various other parts of it, and also enter into a contract to supply the new Gareth's Gear with the finest wholesale merchandise for sale.

Chervina the Architect from House Ghallanda comes and expresses her House's offer to help build the facility and maintain its hospitality aspects at a cut-rate price that shocks the Wolves, and leads Pel and Lysander to suspect some kind of ulterior motive or plan. Chervina also says that she believes she can get House Jorasco to build a healing house on the site.

Rochus d'Kundarak and several others express House Kundarak's financial support of the new venture (with generous loan terms), as well as a presence for the Banking Guild, Warding Guild and the Golden Door and Iron Gate to build a secure facility. He also promises the support of House Sivis, as Kundarak has a hard time operating without them.

Saal d'Orien and Gersi d'Lyrandar (both from Sharn) offer their House's support of the project. In exchange for monetary compensation, they will build and maintain teleportation circles to several cities as well as an airship tower.

Sitting down with Rochus a couple of days later, The Wolves see that the project will be costly but effective, and they could turn a profit on the casino in as early as two years. The money will always have to be split with the 8 Houses involved (Orien, Lyrandar, Kundarak, Sivis, Ghallanda, Jorasco, Cannith and Phiarlan), but in a few years, possibly when the Wolves have slowed down on adventuring, they'll be able to live off the income of the casino alone.

However, they also receive visits from ambassadors from various nations, including familiar faces like Aundarian Ambassador Neya ir'Krell, Karrnathi Ambassador Sedge Avadarrn and Mror Holds Ambassador Moris ir'Mroranon (father of Jalis, who ran Gareth's Gear for you). This seems odd at first, until they are presented with a proposal from King Boranel.

Given that the war with Droaam is going to have to end, and that the way it is ending, not to mention the way it began, is going to cause friction amongst the civilized (and not-so-civilized) nations of Khorvaire, King Boranel would like to ask the Wolves a boon. In exchange for donations from the member nations involved, he would like to build a floating embassy city above the Wolves' Reward, using the same magics that has kept the Aundarian city of Arcanix floating for over a thousand years. This embassy city would be occupied by, at first, an ambassador and staff from Breland, Aundair, Thrane, Karrnath, Zilargo, The Eldeen Reaches and The Mror Holds. Boranel hopes that it will welcome ambassadors from Droaam, to try to smooth out tensions from the war, as well as, eventually, ambassadors from Aerenal, Sarlona and maybe even Argonnessen. His notion, crafted with Brelish Parliament, is to create a place where the sparks that might ignite into a new war can be extinguished rather than fanned.

In practical terms, there are several reasons to do this. The first is the money. In addition to paying for all of the costs of creating this floating city, each nation sending an ambassador would chip in part of the fees to build the Wolves' Reward, which would serve food, entertainment and more casual meeting needs for the ambassadors. Which brings up the second reason, guaranteed clientele. Ambassadors and their staff need to entertain guests, and that means expense accounts flowing right into the Reward's coffers. Then there's the third reason, expressed to Pel through Captain Vron: Information. Ambassador almost always translates to spy, and that would mean a chance for the Reward to become a major hub for information-trading and covert meetings.

Given their neutrality, House Deneith would be asked to assign Blademarks and Protectors as the guards of the city and, if the Wolves wish, the Reward. The contract for these services would be shared by the member nations.

Rochus re-works the money with this new ambassador city overhead and tells the Wolves that if this works, the casino would be profitable in months, not years. In a few years, he suggests, you'd be "airship rich." When asked to explain this term, he says with a grin, "Rich enough to buy and crash airships as frequently as the Wolves would like."

So, the questions:

1) Does Luggoth tell the Wolves what he was told? Does he tell them he was visited by Maechen and/or Muroni?

2) What does Pel tell the Wolves, keeping in mind that Lord Kor specifically ordered him *not* to tell them that he was now Viorr?

3) Does Pel take Kalibar's advice and order the raid on the Tyrant council? If so, will he offer up his own insights into the Tyrants to make it go smoothly, or try to warn the Tyrants that it's coming? And if not, what alternative does he offer?

3) Does William accept his new assignment within the House, and if so, does he tell Lysander that he's now his bodyguard?

4) Anything you want to say or ask of the various ambassadors and House personages you speak to?

5) Perhaps most importantly - Do you accept the King's request for an ambassadorial city above the Wolves' Rest? Metagaming, I will promise you that I will not crash the city down on your heads - if Arcanix has floated for 1,000 years, you can reasonably and safely assume this new city would do the same.

6) Anything else that needs covering before Friday?

A Report to His Masters By An Oni Mage

Great King Skalmad, I write this report in a state of rage, and I promise you it will be swiftly followed by a report on the death of a group of meddling adventurers who know not whose wrath they have invited!

As ordered, I took a contingent of five trolls with me to stop the Mayor of Sylbaran from sending out for help from the Baron in Breland. We had stopped the messenger and my men were busy devouring his horse while I searched him to retrieve the message.

Those idiots who were not fit to serve me didn't even notice a half-dozen adventurers brazenly walking up the path, so intent were they on devouring that mangy horse! They knew I was distracted by the important business that Skalmad had placed me on, and yet they couldn't divorce themselves from their base appetites to keep one of their worthless eyes on the road.

So it was that the adventurers closed in on them and attacked. I don't know if they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or if they are somehow reinforcements that someone had sent the Mayor.

There were five of them. A half-elf, an archer with deadly aim who had no trouble maiming and seriously injuring my men, even though they tried their best to rush to her and beat her before she could finish them off. I heard them calling her Brynn. A goliath, a shaman of some kind with a spirit bear who summoned all manner of spirits to aid his friends and hurt his foes, and I heard him called Lakar. A shifter, whom they named Smoke, who moved freely about the battlefield, slashing at my trolls with his curved blade. A half-orc whose name I didn't catch, as he fell quickly to an onslaught by one of my trolls.

And then... there was the dragonborn. They called him Tengri. He grumbled and yelled throughout the battle, complaining as his comrades forced him to finish my trolls with his acid and fire spells. He unleashed thunder and lightning, and mocked my own lightning magic as weak and unworthy of him. No matter how many times I unleashed lightning and freezing blasts of cold, his bravado never wavered. He was infuriating, and I will see his head at the end of my sword some day.

In the end, the adventurers proved more than a match for my trolls. They punished them with blade, bow, fire, lightning and acid, and in the end, I was forced to flee. When last I saw them, they were headed into the village of Sylbaran. I do not know what this means in regards to Brelish reinforcements, but I do know that these adventurers may be trouble for my great king. And if given the chance again, and more worthy soldiers with which to fight, I will bring their heads to Skalmad.

Especially that damned Tengri.

Deadlands: Coffin Rock Characters

Aloisyus "Cooter" McGee, aka "Muleskinner" McGee, aka "Moonshine" McGee, aka "Kookoo" McGee, aka "Moondog", etc. (Chris Nicholas)

VIGOR D8
SPIRIT D6
AGILITY D6
SMARTS D6
STRENGTH D6

Skills: Driving D6, Fighting D4, Gambling D4, Guts D6, Repair D6, Streetwise D6, Survival D6, Shooting D4, Throwing D6

Major Hindrance: Clueless

Minor Hindrances: Hard of Hearing, Ugly

Edges: Brawny, Knack (Bastard)

Gear: Mule & El Cheapo Wagon, Corncob Pipe, Hammer & Pick, Iron Skillet & Mess Kit, Matches (100), 25' Fuse, Satchel, Bottle of Cheap Whiskey, Double-Barrel Shotgun w/40 Shells, (15) Sticks Dynamite, Canteen

Worst Nightmare: He has a couple recurring nightmares:

in one he's holding a lit stick of dynamite and trying to throw it, but it won't leave his hand, and if he does manage to throw it when he looks down it's back in his hand again, the fuse getting shorter and shorter.

this one mine he worked when he was younger was haunted by...SOMETHING...a few of the miners disappeared. he never saw it, there'd be strange sounds echoing through the shafts, and a presence, down in the darkness...an aura of pure malevolent EEEEEVILLLL. he soon quit that job and took off. heard later that the mine collapsed, trapping and killing dozens. it was deemed an accident, but he's not convinced. in any case, glad he escaped their fate...or did he?

for now, in his sleep, they come to him, those dead miners. he finds he is among them as they shuffle into the black maw of the mine. he cannot turn away or run, carried along by their ranks. his looks to his right. the man there turns a wormy visage to him and says in a sepulchral hiss, "Time to go to woooork." he looks at the man on his left, whose jaw falls away. maggots writhe from the collar of the man before him. his own hands are dessicated flesh and bones. he tries to scream but there is only the sound of the wind, as they move down, ever down, into the dark.

the drinking helps. when he's drinks enough, he does not dream.

Crazy old prospector, given to fits of authentic frontier gibberish and lighting dynamite off his corncob pipe. Special emphasis on mule driving, cart handling. Mules take a more particular set of skills than the average horse. Knows how to live off'n the land. Good at fixin'/jury riggin' stuff, keepin' 'er on the road. Knows his way around an alley. hears a lot of rumors and whatnot since people don't pay him much mind, and run their dang ol' mouths around 'im.

Zhang Guo (Jason Murphy)

VIGOR D6
SPIRIT D6
AGILITY D6
SMARTS D6
STRENGTH D6

Skills: Climbing D6, Fighting D6, Guts D6, Knowledge (English) D4, Knowledge (History) D4, Knowledge (Occult) D6, Notice D6, Riding D4, Stealth D6, Throwing D6

Major Hindrance: Code of Honor

Minor Hindrances: Outsider, Poverty

Edges: Fleet-Footed, Martial Arts

Gear: Nunchuks, Backpack, Bedroll, Canteen, Shovel, El Cheapo Horse with saddle, $13.50

Worst Fear: Zhang fears for his family and his friends being overwhelmed by the monstrosities of the Deadlands, which is why he's given up everything to fight against them.

A fella who was working on a private rail road out in the middle of nowhere and experienced some, as they say in the vernacular, 'horrific shit'. He's the only survivor of the large crew who unleashed said 'horrific shit' after blasting through a mountain to make way for the train. Now he wanders the desert on a spiritual vision quest, trying to define himself as a wandering sage and fighter of evil.

Efraim Hollister (Dave Farabee)

VIGOR D6
SPIRIT D8
AGILITY D6
SMARTS D6
STRENGTH D6

Skills: Faith D8, Fighting D10, Guts D8, Investigation D6, Knowledge (Occult) D6, Persuasion D6, Riding D6, Streetwise D4

Major Hindrance: Overconfident

Minor Hindrances: Poverty, Stubborn

Edges: Veteran o' The Weird West (Beat With An Ugly Stick), Arcane Background (Miracles), Martial Arts

Gear: El Cheapo Horse w/Saddle, Weathered Bible, Backpack, Bedroll, Canteen, Matches (100), Lariat, Bowie Knife, $9.50

Worst Nightmare: Efraim is afraid of going to Hell. He grew up rowdy, mean-spirited, and a drinker. As far as he knows he'll be atoning for that for the rest of his life lest St. Peter turn him away from Paradise. And Hell is by no means an abstract to Efraim. It's a real place, filled with fire and eternal torment at the hands of the vilest of demons. He's seen the terrible things that stalk the plains of the West - how much worse must the beasts of Perdition be?

The youngest of ten children, Efraim grew up unsupervised and headstrong in the town of Granite, Oregon (real place - I looked it up). He tried farming, but didn't have the patience. Tried opening a livery and ran it into the ground. What he was good at was drinking, and he spent most of his 20s as an angry town drunk, picking fights at the drop of a hat.

One of the odd jobs he talked his way into was delivering mail in a sort of poor man's Pony Express. During one of their rides, his group was set upon by a pack of otherworldly beings that looked like dead men stretched on the rack, their arm and leg bones stretching four feet long. They skittered around, spider-like, and made fast work of Efraim's fellow riders. Efraim himself managed to outride them, but in town they took his story to be drunken rambling and half-believed he might've killed the riders himself.

The one man who believed him was the local preacher, a stern, god-fearing man who'd seen such Satanic abominations in his own travels. He took Efraim in, cleaned him up, and set him on the path of Righteousness. He always said Efraim embodied the eternal struggle of Cain and Abel, and just prayed that the good heart of Abel would win out. To that end, he taught him secret, apocryphal Bible verses that would cast out the beasts of the night and, hopefully, cleanse his soul in the process. But Efraim was always a fighter at heart and sometimes words weren't enough. He knew the locals wouldn't stand for him toting a gun at his side, but he furthered his brawling skills by befriending an Irish boxer and even taking a few lessons in Eastern fighting techniques from a converted Chinese immigrant among the preacher's flock.

It's been seven years since tuberculosis claimed the preacher's life and Efraim took up his collar and left Granite to find himself. He's returned to the bottle once or twice, and once awoke from a bender with the word 'Cain' tattooed across one set of knuckles, 'Abel' across the others. His right hand is Abel - the hand you'll shake if he thinks you're a decent fella. The left is Cain, more often seen in the vicinity of a broken nose. And just every once in a while, when someone's really pissed Efraim off...the two brothers put aside their differences.

Antoinette Faustin (Jamie Royer)

VIGOR D6
SPIRIT D8
AGILITY D6
SMARTS D8
STRENGTH D4

Skills: Guts D6, Healing D6, Knowledge (English) D6, Knowledge (Voodoo) D6, Knowledge (Science) D6, Persuasion D6, Repair D6, Shooting D6, Weird Science D8

Edges: Arcane Background (Weird Science), Veteran o' The Weird West (Marked for Death), Charisma

Powers: Puppet, Bolt

Hindrances: Curious, Outsider, Stubborn, Delusion

Gear: Gun Belt & Holster, Colt Peacemaker (.45), (50) .45 bullets, Backpack, 2 lbs. Ghost Rock, Weird Science Voodoo Dolls, $25

Worst Nightmare: Unknown... oooh, spooky!

A Haitian woman who has been wandering the Weird West researching Voodoo and Weird Science for unknown reasons.

Silas Call, Union Deserter (Nate Southard)

VIGOR D6
SPIRIT D6
AGILITY D8
SMARTS D4
STRENGTH D6

Skills: Fighting D8, Gambling D4, Guts D6, Intimidation D6, Notice D4, Riding D6, Shooting D8, Survival D4

Major Hindrance: Grim Servant of Death

Minor Hindrances: Wanted, Stubborn

Edges: Quick Draw, Speed Loading, Knack (Breech Birth)

Gear: Colt Army .44, (50) .44 bullets, Winchester '73 Rifle, (50) 44-40 bullets, Canteen, Matches, Playing Cards, Lariat, Bowie Knife, Flask of Good Whiskey, Horse & Saddle, Gun Belt & Holster, Speed-Load Cylinders (3), $4.25

Worst Nightmare: His brother, stalking him while trying to hold in his guts with one hand.

Sooner or later, the world makes a pall bearer out of every one of us.

I tried. For so damn long, I tried to see some kind of light. I searched high and low for something worth believing in, but all I found were fallen homes and pine boxes. With my father gone, it was just myself and Johnny watching mama, and she stayed sick almost from the day we was born until the day she died some thirteen years later. We tried working the farm after that, determined to make some kind of life, but the earth might as well a’been salted for all we could get to grow. Ain’t much for two 16 year old whelps to do with a dead patch of land but give up on it, so that’s what we did.

So we went looking for purpose and instead found a war. Why Johnny decided to wear gray, I’ll never know. He believed in it, I suppose, the same way a fool believes in anything. All I know is that I found my talent in war, in cutting down the enemy one shot at a time. I could have thrived in that terrible environment, had I not been caught in my bloodlust at Gettysburg and woken to find Johnny on the end of my bayonet.

I fled. What else could I do. I had killed my brother, destroying all of my family but myself. Fleeing a battle is a terrible offense, so I moved West in order to keep myself from a noose. My talent with guns proved valuable to those willing to pay for it, and as long as I don’t wake screaming, I find I don’t get kicked out of rooms much. But I do wake up screaming most nights.

Because Johnny’s coming for me.

And he’s pissed.

Hiram H.E Duster IV (Dave Lamplugh)

VIGOR D6
SPIRIT D6
AGILITY D8
SMARTS D6
STRENGTH D4

Skills: Fighting D6, Guts D6, Intimidation D6, Notice D6, Riding D4, Shooting D6, Survival D6, Stealth D6, Tracking D6

Major Hindrance: Overconfident

Minor Hindrances: Habit (Drinks too much), Loyal

Edges: Scout, Quick

Gear: Colt Army .44, (50) .44 bullets, Winchester '73 Rifle, (50) 44-40 bullets, Canteen, Matches, Bowie Knife, Flask of Good Whiskey, Horse & Saddle, Gun Belt & Holster, $13.75

Worst Nightmare: at the Kansas Great Bloody Stalemate, Hiram spent a full day killing Rebs, the last one of which he actually felt bad about. A young rebel, who couldn't have been older that 13, walked around a bombed out building and right into Hirams crosshairs. Hiram will tell himself, that he didn't have time to notice the puny size of the reb, but he did, and even took time to line up the sight more effectively. By Nightfall the fighting had started to creep into the town itself, in the center of which is the military hospital that Hirams drunk brother Andrew fights for life. Hiram falls asleep in the hospital corridor, only to be awakened by noises out side. Hiram can't believe his eyes, the pint sized reb appears to be alive. Again hiram gets the drop on him, but this time, he feels sure that this won't be the last time he has a visit with the boy.

My name is Hiram H.E Duster IV, and I hale from Charlottesville, Virginia. Every year since Revolution against british tyranny, there has been a Duster in the U.S. Cavalry. The same goes for West Point, with the exception of 1830-1838, when the age-eligible Duster showed an un natural predilection for absinthinia, wastrelry, and as is now whispered, prefered a long line of lavender assignations, to the company of men who would fight and die for the republic. For a long line of the Dusters, this is how it has always been. Especially in terms of the concept of the union. Going back to Frederic Duster's experience in the cold winter of 1777-1778, as a sergeant in the Army of Virginia, you will not find a Duster in favor of the concept of "States Rights". For Frederic would never let the successive Duster's forget: these were the same "States" that couldn't even get it together enough over constant regional bickering, to provide shoes or clothes for the men, many of who died under Frederic's command without firing a shot, froven sold in a wooden dugout. Dusters were successively: Federalists with a capital F, At first fervent supporters of Andrew Jackson, and then (after 1838) Fervant Jackson haters. Early on, Dusters numbered in the ranks of congress, and state legislatures, but as time wore on, their stars grew less bright in the firment.

By the time we get to Hiram (saddled as he was by the tendency to drink to excess, as inherited from his uncle), about the best the Duster's had come to expect was a bottom of the class berth at their beloved West Point. Hiram shared that berth with his brother Andrew, so the berth was indeed uncomfortable, but both brothers considered it a step up...and tried not to talk about uncle Maurice.
When the Rebellion came, they both joined the side of union, and both were drunk anew with the family cause. They even torched the farm of a distantly related Duster, because he was a little to placidly satisfied with his slave holding farm, and none to willing to give up the southern way of life.

All of the non-fighting members of the clan moved north, and all the fighting members went off to what they thought would surely be the shortest war in human history. Six years later, Andrew dies during the last great battle of the civil war, the Kansas Blood Red Stalemate III, outside of Pecker Springs, KS. The cause was most likely an enlarged liver, though Hiram would always say it was from a broken spirit. Both brothers had seen too many futile engagements, endured too many stupid decisions by McClellan, and were stunned to silence by Lee's sensational rally of 1865, and subsequent fusing of Lee and Johnston's Armies.

Wandering Wolves: The Fury's Tinderbox (2)

Barrakas 25 - Rhaan 21, YK 999

Though some of the Wolves, notably William, were skeptical of Kalibar's plan, the Wolves nonetheless boarded the Brelish Stormship Galifar's Pride and took the seven-day journey across the Thunder Sea and into Manta Bay, where a simple rowboat took them to the shore, less than 20 miles from Shaarat Kol, fortress of the kobold lord Kethelrax the Cunning.

The Wolves traveled quietly and carefully along the Graywall Mountains, following a map given to them by Kalibar. During their three-day journey, they saw a flight of gargoyles and harpies, as well as a massed army of kobolds and goblins, but no one saw them. Finally, as the sun began to set on the third day of travel, they spotted what they thought was the cave entrance.

Pel went in first, scouting to see what was inside. He saw a group of 10 gnolls and their hyenas waiting inside, clearly on some kind of guard duty, but there was no sign of Ambassador Nashar the medusa. He went back to the Wolves and they discussed diplomatic options, but quickly and correctly guessed that the gnolls wouldn't greet visitors with any kind of open mind.

Instead, the Wolves moved in to fight in the choke point of the cave, trying to prevent the gnolls from using their mobile pack tactics. William drew in several of the gnolls while Brand and Luggoth closed in to attack two of the claw fighters and Pel moved in stealthily to attack their acolyte. The Wolves quickly learned that the hyenas had acid for blood and saliva.

The battle lasted for over a minute, and the hyenas and gnolls fought effectively, ganging up on William and even bringing him down temporarily, although Pel and Lysander were able to heal him quickly and get him back into the fight. However, it became clear to the gnoll acolyte that the battle was lost, so he and his hyena withdrew to a deeper part of the cave. The Wolves, battered and winded from the fight, took a moment to rest before chasing after them, and although Lysander was able to use his magic to coax the acolyte back in so that Brand, Luggoth and William could finish him off, the Wolves were unable to chase down the hyena, who fled down a side passage.

With no time to rest, the Wolves got into a defensive position, and they heard a loud thudding sound coming from the passageway. A few seconds later, a massive ogre Warhulk emerged, swinging his mace around menacingly. All around him, undead Witherlings hopped and jumped, eager to battle their master's foes, Brand spotted a flickering shadow as the Medusa's Venom-Eye Basilisk darted into the room and seconds later, Nashar the Medusa herself stepped into view, her bow at the ready.

While Pel unleashed a torrent of holy fire on the ogre, William, Brand and Luggoth moved in to destroy the Witherlings before they could use their numbers to overwhelm the adventurers. Luggoth and Lysander moved in to attack Nashar while William and Brand focused on the basilisk and the Ogre. Luggoth fell to Nashar's attacks, calcifying into a stone form, and despite their success at destroying the Witherlings, it became clear to the Wolves that they were on the losing side of this battle.

Lysander, snatching a sort of victory out of certain defeat, used arcane magic to enhance his already formidable diplomatic skills and convinced Nashar that the Wolves were there to protect her from the Shifting Blades. Or at least, he convinced her enough to let them surrender as prisoners, rather than having them killed. She insinuated that she'd take them to Lord Kor as an offering of good faith, and he could decide whether they were telling the truth or not.

Not a minute later, the Oni Mage Crezyan Rrac and his retinue of ogres and trolls entered the cave, meeting their appointed rendezvous with Nashar and helping her to secure her newfound prisoners.

XP Earned: 546

The Wolves were traveling in supply wagons, part of the convoy that the Oni Mage Crezyan Rrac had put together to get Nashar safely to their ship. Crezyan rode in one of the secure armored wagons at the front, as did Nashar and her pet basilisk, and alongside them walked over a dozen Ogres and two Bladerager trolls. Pel and Lysander were in one wagon, William and Brand in another, and Whitehearth and the stone form of Luggoth in the third.

On the night of the second day of travel, the Wolves, tied-up and disarmed but otherwise still packing their usual equipment, heard the ogres inviting the goblin wagon drivers over to the fire to eat. The Wolves were tired, and some of them were dozing, but Brand realized that he hadn't heard any sound for several minutes.

He poked his head out just in time to see Nashar's ogre bodyguard flailing toward them, falling heavily to the ground and crying out "Wolves! Ambush!" before succumbing to his wounds. On the ground amongst the wagons, ten of the ogres and one of the trolls lay dead, as did the basilisk. Nashar, however, was running toward the supply wagons as the trolls and ogres turned to follow her.

Lysander escaped from his restraints and called Nashar over to their wagon as Brand cut himself free with a hidden dagger, which he then handed over so that William could do the same. The troll and ogres began moving toward the supply wagons, and Lysander produced his scimitar from one glove of storing, handing it to Pel, and produced his lute from his other glove, singing a song to deflect attention away from himself and Nashar.

Crezyan took to the air, revealing himself not as a fellow ogre but an Oni Mage for the first time, and fired lightning at the Wolves, as Brand ordered Whitehearth to grab William's sword and bring it to him. Just in time, as William got Terminus in his hand just as he was surrounded by ogres and the troll.

"Nashar" stabbed Lysander with a vicious sneak attack and then continued to attack him as the other Wolves battled the ogres, troll and oni, all the while trying to figure out what was going on. Who was being ambushed? What had happened? Were any of these the Shifting Blades?

Lysander cleverly used his veil spell to make all the Wolves appear as Nashar. This stymied the ogres momentarily, until Crezyan blasted them with his freezing blast and yelled "Attack them all, you fools! I can take Wereath's place if need be!"

Wereath was a name that Pel had heard before, someone who worked for the Tyrants, and he began taunting "Nashar" and trying to argue that his allies had turned on him. "Nashar," now revealed as Wereath, shifted form into that of a hobgoblin to differentiate himself from the Wolves and responded that "that's how it goes in the heat of battle, Pel."

While Pel and Wereath sparred both verbally and literally, William continued to battle the ogres and troll almost single-handedly, and Brand used his dimensional bond to tie himself to the Oni Mage so he couldn't escape. Wereath, badly wounded, attempted to flee, but Lysander bit the head off an arrow and fired the blunt shaft into the back of the doppelganger's head, knocking him out cold.

Crezyan turned invisible and flew toward Nashar's wagon, although Brand was in hot pursuit thanks to his dimensional bond. The two of them battled briefly inside the wagon, standing astride the real Nashar's dead body, until Lysander threw open the door to join the fray, ruining Crezyan's plan to defeat Brand and shapeshift to take his place.

William, with late assistance from Pel, finished off the last of the ogres, and the two bloodied Wolves turned to face the unharmed Troll Bladerager, who grinned widely. However, Crezyan, badly beaten and in danger of losing and being captured, decided to flee, and even Brand's last-ditch teleportation, which sent him forty feet into the air for one last strike at the invisible foe couldn't bring him down.

Disgusted, the Troll yelled out "Crezyan, you coward! I could have murdered them all!" before rushing off into the night himself.

XP Gained: 713

After casting their gentle repose scroll on Nashar and cutting two of the wagons free, the Wolves took Wereath prisoner and began traveling towards their rendezvous point on the shore with the Galifar's Pride. They stopped briefly when Wereath woke up to interrogate him, and learned that "he" was in fact a her.

Their intimidation went fairly easily, as no one corrected Wereath's assumption that William was still a vampire, and Lysander and Pel were able to bluff and get Wereath to agree to tell them what she knew in exchange for being released here in Droaam, instead of taken back to Breland. A "professional courtesy," she told Pel, adding that if he were to become Tyrant One, she would serve him if he wanted.

Wereath revealed everything she knew about the Shifting Blades' plan. Their orders had come from Tyrant One, and he had been operating under orders from some higher power. This same higher power had gotten their hooks into Crezyan Rrac and convinced him to betray his uncle Tzaryan and his ally the Queen of Stone by helping the Wereath replace Nashar. Crezyan and his ogre allies had, under the cover of a silence ritual, attempted to murder Nashar and her bodyguards, with the intent of replacing her with Wereath.

At that point, Wereath would go to the Trolanport rendezvous, make a mark outside the safehouse to let the Shifting Blade ally watching know that the switch had successfully taken place, and then go to the meeting with Lord Kor. This meeting was to take place at the Trolanport Platinum Theatre, where Lord Kor was attending a short-run new play by House Phiarlan, Delkan & Lyrich. With the Shifting Blades in place at the theater in various capacities to act as backup, Nashar would publicly assassinate Lord Kor, further cementing hostilities between Droaam and Breland.

In the event that Nashar didn't make the mark, indicating that the switch had not successfully taken place, the backup plan was for the Shifting Blades to again play the role of the Wolves and to assassinate both Nashar and Lord Kor.

Satisfied that her information was good, Pel released Wereath, over some grumblings from William, and the Wolves began planning for what to do. They developed a plan that involved Pel taking Nashar's place, pretending to have foiled the attack by Wereath and Crezyan so that the Shifting Blades would attack Lord Kor. Using Lysander's Phiarlan contacts, the Wolves would infiltrate the production as well, and defeat the Shifting Blades in full view of a huge crowd, including Lord Kor, thus proving their own innocence. Brand searched Crezyan Rrac's wagon and found that he had the materials to make up new batches of Oil of Flesh Returned, enough to restore Luggoth and give him one extra. It would take some time, so they traveled the rest of the way with Luggoth in stone form in the wagon.

XP Gained: 100

The Wolves made their rendezvous with the Galifar's Pride and sailed back towards Trolanport. However, only a few hours away from the Droaamish shore, they were attacked, as a band of Sahuagin raiders swarmed onto the ship!

The Brelish sailors defended their ship while the Wolves moved to engage the monstrous Sahuagin Baron and his priests. The battle was tough, severely wounding Brand, William and Lysander, but through applications of healing magic and deadly force, the Wolves managed to slay the Baron, causing the remaining Sahuagin survivors to abandon their attack.

XP Gained: 676

The Wolves had learned from Wereath that there were five remaining Shifting Blades. One of them, Bella Gorram, was a Briar Hag, a new addition to the group that Wereath knew little about. The other four, however, were all Changelings. There was Coltak the Beastmaster, Fezyek the Poisoner, Valeris the Arcane and Borath the Blade.

Brand had managed to put together enough Oil of Flesh Returned to restore Luggoth, and so the Wolves were at full strength as they disembarked from the Galifar's Pride and rowed into the port of Trolanport, one night before Lord Kor was to see the curtains rise on Delkan & Lyrich, and possibly set on his life.

They again settled in at The Witchfire House as a base of operations from which to plan and operate. While Lysander went to the Platinum Theater to get them in, William went to the airship tower where he had fallen to his death, nearly a year ago. He was surprised when he got there to see a Deneith sentry guarding something below. Upon closer inspection, it was a plaque of remembrance for him, saying very kind things about his courage and ability, apparently placed there at the request of his mother. Surprised and more than a little pleased at this revelation, he returned to the inn.

Lysander went to the theater and met with Diandra d'Phiarlan, an older elf whose interests in the House lay strictly with performance. She had little interest in the doings of the Serpentine Table, and though she respected Lysander for his performance abilities, she left little doubt that his skill as a spy was a detriment in her eyes.

Still, Lysander was charming enough convince her not to inform Lord Kor's Red Cloak security about the impending attack, and to allow his friends to take places during the show. She insisted, however, that they didn't have room for layabouts, and that if Lysander and the Wolves wanted to be in the show, they would have to really be in the show. She demanded that he bring his friends back to audition the next morning.

Slipping past the Red Cloaks at the door, who viewed them with no small amount of suspicion, the Wolves could see that the Platinum Theater was busy in anticipation of the important performance. Waiters prepared trays for food, illusionists practiced their spells, musicians tuned their instruments, actors practiced their choreography and lines and the animal trainers did their best to keep the horses and wolves calm. The Wolves couldn't help but feel that the sound of actual wolves yipping in the background was a good sign for them. While the rest of the Wolves went to audition, Pel slipped away quietly to investigate the theater.

Unfortunately, the auditions did not go particularly well. Brand attempted to get Whitehearth to do tricks to impress Diandra, but he misunderstood at first. Once he realized what was going on, however, he performed well enough that Diandra let Brand and Whitehearth settle in with the animals and their trainers. Luggoth proved that he could move boxes easily and became a stage hand. William offered to play a role in the staged battles, but when faced with an actor in mock combat, even holding back, he was unable to stop himself from knocking the poor man silly with a wooden sword. Diandra refused to let William into the show, and the Wolves decided instead that he could pose as the anonymous Deneith bodyguard of Nashar. Lysander had no trouble convincing Diandra to let him play his instrument with the rest of the orchestra in the pit.

Pel, meanwhile, moved about the theater gathering information both tangible and less-so. He nabbed production schedules and other notes that led him to believe that the ideal time for the Shifting Blades to strike at Lord Kor would be during the third act, when the cacophony of battle was being simulated during the epic ballad that closed out the show. He also decided that the waiters would have the easiest time moving freely throughout the theater, and that one of the valets or waiters must have been one of the Shifting Blades.

Brand learned that the dire wolf in the production was a recent replacement, which made him suspicious, but he was unable to discern any sinister intent, or to read any relationship with one of the trainers over any of the others.

Pel (disguised as Nashar) and William went to Kalibar's safe house later that afternoon to let him know what was going on. Kalibar was nervous about a plan that involved putting Lord Kor in jeopardy, but acknowledged that he owed the Wolves a huge debt, and decided that risking his own neck by not informing Lord Kor's security would make them even. He learned the basics of the Wolves plan and sent them on their way so that he could have the Jorasco healer at the safe house, who had been blackmailed by Kalibar in his role as a Boromar Clan enforcer, could restore Nashar to life when the time came.

XP Gained: 50

The night of the performance came, and the Wolves were in their places. Luggoth waited on one side of the stage, while Brand watched from the wings of the other, and Lysander played in the orchestra. During the intermission, Lysander used a ritual to give himself a booming voice, a necessity for making sure he could be heard over the din of the crowd when the ambush came.

As the wolves and horses moved onto the stage for the climactic battle of the performance, Pel and William made their way to Lord Kor's private box. One of the two King's Shields guarding the door knocked, and a beautiful young woman who had been sitting with Lord Kor stepped out into the hallway. Seconds later, her form melted into that of the briar hag Bella Gorram, and she launched a barrage of thorny briars that entrapped Lord Kor.

Most of the Red Cloaks throughout the theater, including one of those guarding Kor's box, fell to the ground, succumbing to poison placed in their food by Fezyek. The other Red Cloak at the box, however, revealed himself as Borath the Blade by transforming into Brand. Pel responded by slashing his rapier into Bella's throat, slicing it open and leaving blood trailing down her shirt.

As Fezyek, now disguising himself as Lysander, ran up the stairs to join Borath and Bella, Brand threw a tanglefoot bag from behind the curtain to trap the dire wolf. Coltak, who had been posing as an animal trainer, transformed into Luggoth and attacked Brand behind the curtain backstage, and Valeris revealed herself and blasted Brand with a magic missile before disappearing again behind a spell of invisibility.

The Shifting Blades were posing as the Wolves again, but this time the real Wolves were there to battle them, and the crowd, around its panicked flight for the doors, could see what was going on. Luggoth, Brand, Lysander and Whitehearth battled Coltak and Valeris on the stage as Pel and William fought Fezyek, Bella and Borath up in the box seats. Bella, badly wounded, tried to flee by slashing William in the eyes, but he was still able to battle both of her allies while blinded, and when she tried to run past him, he swung Terminus in a high arc and finished the job Pel had started, severing her head from her neck.

Fezyek managed to stab Lord Kor with a poisoned rapier, felling him temporarily, but Pel gave him a potion of vitality to let him wake up, and then William was able to keep the attention of Borath and Fezyek on him as Lord Kor continued to struggle with Bella's bonds. It was at this point that someone in the crowd yelled out that the theater doors were locked... clearly, the Blades had wanted an audience for their assassination.

Lysander was badly wounded by Coltak and his dire wolf, but Brand teleported into his place to help him, and Brand and Luggoth wore down Coltak together. Valeris gave everyone a scare when she re-appeared and used lightning on Lysander and Lord Kor, once again causing Kor to fall to the ground, but this time Pel used the healing magics of the Traveler to restore him. Before Fezyek could strike again, Lysander used a compelling song to draw the doppelganger to him, and Fezyek leaped to his own death, his neck snapping as he hit the theater floor forty feet below.

Borath, alone and facing an angry William and Pel, rushed away and out into the night, followed closely by the dire wolf. Valeris also fled, using her invisibility and rushing out despite Brand's attempt to follow her with dimensional bond. Coltak's flight attempt was unsuccessful, however. He had taken quite a beating from Brand and Luggoth, and as he tried to rush past the door, Pel lay in wait, stepping out at the last minute to stab him right through the heart. The Beastmaster stared in surprise at his chest, then looked up at Pel before the light went out of his eyes and he collapsed with a heavy thump.

Red Cloak reinforcements rushed into the theater, bows drawn on the Wolves, but a booming voice called out from the balcony "Lay down your arms! These heroes just saved my life!" The Wolves had defeated their enemies and cleared their names.

XP Gained: 2200

The Wolves were invited to stay in the suites reserved for Lord Kor in the Brelish Embassy, so they got to relax and recuperate in style. After they rested, and after he had met briefly with Nashar, Lord Kor came to see them.

He apologized profusely for his role in their frame, which as it turned out was fairly significant. His brother, King Boranel, had not believed the Wolves were responsible, but Kor was so furious that his brother had been attacked that he had no trouble believing that a morally questionable band of adventurers with ties to criminal organizations would work for the Hags. He was the one who sent Lucan Stellos on their trail in Xen'drik, and he was also one of the loudest voices who counseled war with Droaam, believing that if they would dare attempt to kill the king in Sharn, who knew what else they were capable of.

Now he knows that he has been made a fool of, but he can't have King Boranel, or any of the heads of Thrane or Aundair, look foolish. He asked Pel and Lysander to help him come up with a plan to end the war in a way that saved face for everyone, and when Brand suggested that an attempted assassination (or rumors of same) on the Hags might work, he began to consider that.

When prodded by William, Lord Kor offered generous rewards to the Wolves, agreeing to their request for a grant of land and favors in getting their new base of operations built. He also agreed to make certain that Tock was restored to life and Gareth's Gear restored to operation. He then asked to speak with Pel privately.

Lord Kor revealed that Viorr Maelak, the lieutenant in the King's Dark Lanterns that the Wolves had previously worked for, had been murdered recently. Viorr had been the one who put Kalibar to work helping the Wolves, so Kor believes the murder was related to the Shifting Blades' plot. He asked Pel to swear an oath of loyalty to Breland and to become Viorr part-time so that few would know that he was successfully killed. In exchange, Pel would be a lieutenant in the Dark Lanterns, with all the perks and privileges that entailed.

Pel thought for only a few moments before accepting the position. Lord Kor asked that he not tell the rest of the Wolves about this position, and then asked them back in. With more words of thanks and humble requests for forgiveness, Lord Kor told the Wolves that he had arranged for a House Orien teleport circle to get them all back to Sharn.

Delkan & Lyrich: A House Phiarlan Performance

Delkan & Lyrich
A tale of love and loss during The Last War
The new play by Shialis d'Phiarlan
Performing exclusively at The Platinum Theatre in Trolanport
Rhaan 15 - Rhaan 22, YK 999 - Tickets available from House Phiarlan

Featuring:
Meyish Tavick as Delkan
Brianna d'Phiarlan as Lyrich
Grenius d'Phiarlan as Hul'vek
The Minted Coin Gnomish Performing Troupe
Live animal performances courtesy of House Vadalis
The finest display of illusion magics courtesy of House Phiarlan

Ghosts! Goblins! Spine-Tingling Combat! Sweeping Romance! An epic told in song, dance and spell set against the backdrop of The Battle of Marguul Pass! Be the first to see the new performance from noted playwright Shialis d'Phiarlan, playing only in Trolanport for just one week!

Game Schedule October - December

October 2nd - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
October 9th - Eberron: The Fury's Tinderbox Part Four (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
October 16th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
October 23rd - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part One (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
October 30th - Deadlands: Coffin Rock (Randy, Nate, Jason Murphy, Dave Farabee, Chris, Dave Lamplugh, Jamie, Ben)

November 6th- D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
November 13th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Two (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
November 20th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Three (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
November 27th - Thanksgiving - Gaming Off

December 4th- Chew Event at Rogues Gallery - Gaming Off
December 11th - D&D Circle of Love (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
December 18th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Four (Randy, Chris, Jason, Nate, Paul)
December 25th - Christmas - Gaming Off

So, schedule for October through December. I'm almost certain we'll wind up losing some sessions in November or December due to holiday stuff, but we'll see.

In October, Jason, was there a session you needed to miss or be late too?

OK, the November switch has been made official, so this is our schedule through the rest of the year, it looks like. One change is that I'm 90% likely to be unavailable for the December 11th Circle of Love session, since I'll be going up for my sister-in-law's wedding in Dallas on December 12th. I'll make sure and get my character to Dan to play.

Recap: Trouble in Firelight

From The Sharn Inquisitive, by roving reporter Soyora Eyewise

It appears that there's a new vigilante group operating in the shadows of Sharn's Firelight District, one with undefined goals but plenty of power to back them up.

This reporter happened upon the news of this new, unnamed group during a regular stop at the delicious Morlock's Bakery for some of their delicious sweetbreads. While there, I happened to notice new windows being installed, and I asked the owner, a friendly gnome named Morlock Goodheart, what had happened.

"It's no secret that there are plenty of fights down in Firelight," he told me. "It's not unusual for us to be baking late into the night and hear scuffles on the street, and it's not that unusual to have to deal with some broken glass, whether from deliberate vandalism or the side effects of a big gang fight. But what happened a few nights ago? That was unusual."

It seems that Morlock had been up late baking with his warforged assistant, Mixer, when they heard the sound of an altercation out on the street. They went up to the top of the bakery to look out the windows and saw a local gang harassing what looked like adventurers.

"I'd guess there were about a half-dozen in the gang, and they looked like pirates, maybe former Lhazaarians who hadn't been on a ship in quite some time," Mixer told me. "They were battling it out with the strangest mixed crew of adventurers I've seen in quite some time."

I asked Mixer what he meant by strange, and when he told me, I had to agree. Amongst the group he counted a half-elf archer, the only woman in the group, along with one of the Q'barran dragonborn, who wielded storm energies like one born to the House Lyrandar, a goliath and a half-orc both using some kind of primal magic and a shifter. The shifter, I'm pretty sure, is the only one native to Sharn, a known thief and second story man who calls himself Smoke. The others, though? Rarely seen races, for the most part, and none of them local to Sharn.

Mixer said that the group handled the pirates fairly handily. At first, it appeared that their goliath was going to fall to the cutlasses and barbed arrows of the pirate raiders and their archers, who had hidden in the alley. Smoke entered the fight to attack the archers, but the dragonborn and the half-orc seemed to be in some kind of shoving match near a storm drain before rushing up to join the fight. And the half-elf archer? Mixer says she was up to something else before the fight started.

"There's a curio shop across the way from us," Mixer told me, "but the owner's been gone for a while, maybe a couple weeks, and it's been locked up. Then, about halfway through the fight, this half-elf comes out the door with a bow at the ready and starts firing on the pirate captain and her men. It was her that turned the fight around, to my mind. But I have no idea what she was doing in that curio shop."

This reporter did a little snooping around later and discovered that the shop's door lock had been picked, and one of the trinkets inside had been tied up, probably by the archer, to keep it from making noise.

The fight ended soon after that, but not before Mixer and Morlock had a little uninvited excitement of their own.

"We watched as the archer drew back her bow and fired, and the first two shots she fired, it's like she was firing directly at us!" Morlock said. "They crashed through the windows and missed by ears by maybe six inches."

Morlock now believes that the archer just aimed wide, not that she was aiming directly at them. But that night, late and alone in Firelight, they weren't so sure.

"After the fight was over, we heard bellowing outside," said Mixer. "I looked out and realized it was the dragonborn and the half-orc, and they were yelling at us."

What did they want? Fresh-baked bread, according to the bakers. The windows breaking had sent the scent of Morlock's delightful breads out into the street, and the adventurers, their foes now slain or fled, clearly sought to have a bite to eat.

"We let them in," Mixer admitted. "Honestly, we figured if we didn't, they'd probably crash in and kill us too. By our count, they'd killed three or four men and women, and it was only due to the other three or four running that they didn't kill them too. I did my best to put on my intimidating face and let them in for coffee, juice and a variety of our breads."

However, Mixer told this reporter that the adventurers weren't impressed by him. In fact, he said, the half-orc was extremely interested in him, and Smoke claimed that his friends had never even seen a warforged before.

"The half-orc kept poking at me, and I heard them arguing about whether or not I was alive," Mixer said, a bit insulted. "I swear I heard the half-orc talking about trying to buy me, like I was some kind of pet."

All things considered, Mixer and Morlock came out pretty well.

"The girl, I think Smoke called her Brynn, she offered to pay for the window along with the bread and drinks, and even threw in a little extra for the trouble," Morlock said.

What happened after that? Well, dear reader, your intrepid reporter wasn't about to let the story stop there. I did a little investigating, something The Watch doesn't do much of in Firelight, and found that the adventurers had stacked up the bodies of the pirates next to the door of the curio shop, and they'd clearly been in to do a little digging.

After that, I managed to follow their trail down to a storm drain, which Mixer said he'd seen them entering after having bread at their place. Just inside the storm drain I found a couple of dead Shadar-Kai and the remnants of a gelatinous cube, not to mention a dwarf that had to have been about two weeks dead. It's clear there was a fight, but what happened after that, who was involved, and who won?

Well, that's a story for another column. Have a pleasant tomorrow, readers, and remember, when in Sharn, always look up... the many stories hold many stories.

Mini-Review: D&D Miniatures Game

So I picked up the actual D&D Miniatures Starter Set (the latest one, which has 4E-type rules, not the original 3E-based one). Mostly I wanted to get the five exclusive minis in the box, because I'm a mad collector nom nom nom. But it also comes with a d20, four nice maps, a rulebook, and some miscellaneous counters. So I figured, maybe I'll try these rules out.

I was very pleasantly surprised! I played a couple of double-handed games in about 45 minutes. I had imagined that the included creatures would be too basic to make an interesting game. But as it turned out, Wizards did a really good job of balancing the starter kit, and each game I played had a good balance of interesting tactical options and straightforward speed of play. I credit the maps, which are carefully crafted, and the lack of damage rolls. The fluid initiative system (initiative is re-rerolled every round) adds a surprising amount of interest.

I don't know how the game will change by adding in all the booster pack monsters — I imagine it will get a lot more crazy and complex, the way that Magic: the Gathering did. But at least as an inexpensive ($15) evening's distraction, the Starter Set gets an A.

Product link (wizards.com)

Game Schedule September - November

September 11th - Beatles Rock Band at Randy's place (Everybody is invited)
September 18th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
September 25th - Eberron: The Fury's Tinderbox Part Three (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Paul)

October 2nd - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
October 9th - Eberron: The Fury's Tinderbox Part Four (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
October 16th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
October 23rd - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part One (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
October 30th - Deadlands: Coffin Rock (Randy, Nate, Jason Murphy, Dave Farabee, Chris, Dave Lamplugh, Jamie, Ben)

November 6th- Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Two (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
November 13th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
November 20th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Three (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
November 27th - Thanksgiving - Gaming Off

December 4th- Chew Event at Rogues Gallery - Gaming Off
December 11th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
December 18th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Four (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
December 25th - Christmas - Gaming Off

Here's the schedule for the next few months. As always, the current month is pretty firmed up, the others less so. Late October or early November is usually when holiday stuff starts disrupting, so I'm guessing we might have some last minute changes here. Oh, and I put in December since there are a few disruptions I know of already, but don't worry, I realize it's mildly insane to be doing any kind of concrete planning for December when summer's not even technically over.

I'd like to run a Deadlands (horror western) game on October 30th, given the proximity to Halloween. I don't imagine I'll be able to actually finish the game on that night, so maybe we can swap it out again sometime in November or run a Sunday session to finish up if folks like it. Right now I know Nate and Jason Murphy had interest in doing this, although I know that Halloween parties may take precedence over gaming for both, and if so maybe we can slide it a touch to November. But anyway, anyone else who is interested in a one-off horror western game, chime in in the comments.

So everybody let me know what your September - October looks like at the moment, and we'll modify as needed.