Character Cast

• Fancey Fleetfooted, Wanderer, Anuirean Male lvl 2 (Edmond)
• Ciavey the Peddler, Treasure Hunter, Halfling Male, lvl 2 (Isaac)
• Lucian the Quiet, Scholar, Anuirean Male, lvl 2 (NPC)
• Dragon the Pony
• Death-from-Above, Trained Falcon

SHORT JOURNEY- Moderate Terrain – from Spiritsend Swamp (Duchy of Osoerde) to Fairfield (Barony of Roesone)

• Embarkation roll: 3 (The Keen Eyes of the Enemy)
• Event roll (1): 10 (A Place Touched by the Shadow)
• Event roll (2): 7 (A Hunt)
• Arrival roll: 6 (Grimly Determined)

WEATHER – Cold, Drizzle

Swamp Mummy

Fleeing from the duke’s men into the Spiritsend Swamp, the rebels separated in smaller bands. Ciavey, Fancey and Lucian got together with 3 rebels and slowly navigated the treacherous paths between fetid pools of bubbling water. Night soon fell on them, and with it occured a thinning of the barrier with the Shadow world … An ancient evil manifested itself, skeletons suddenly surged from the dark waters – they seemed everywhere – and a more terrible foe: a swamp mummy! Fancey shot 2 arrows at the mummy but that didn’t seem to wound it very much. They had to get out of there fast! The small band managed to destroy 3 skeletons blocking the way but one rebel (who shall die nameless) got caught by a fearsome blow of the Swamp Mummy and that was the end of him. Another (anonymous) rebel got cut down by another wave of skeletons, with their rusty swords. The survivors managed to get out of the flooded area and finally put some distance between them and the undead.

Another Swamp Thing

Exhausted and wounded, the small band walked another hour before they felt safe enough to take a rest. But as they sat down a strange figure emerged from the ground just a few feet away. Vaguely humanoid, it looked like an upright tangle of roots, moss and decomposing organic matter. And it talked, of course it talked! It presented itself as the Swamp Mage, an ally of the rebels in their fight against the Duke. It told them that it would keep the powers of the Shadow in check, until they could join the rebels’ camp.

Meeting Siele Ghoried

The rebels thought their position in Osoerde too precarious, but they knew they could count on neighboring kingdom of Arenwe to seek refuge from the usurper’s soldiers. Preparations had been made to cross the river, with bargemen from Calrie assisting them. Out of the swamp, the PCs wished good luck to the rebels and parted ways. The next day, in the port city of Calrie, the PCs looked for whatever business opportunities they could find and this soon led them to meet Siele Ghoried the merchant guildmaster. Siele was happy to meet fellow Rosoenian and they had lot to talk together. It thus occured to them that they shared an enemy: Othrien Tane the Merchant/Bandit. They agreed to work together from now on.

To Eclipse the Eclipse Knight

The PCs left Calrie behind aboard one of Siele’s caravan bound west for Roesone. At a crossroad a black & gold armored knight was lying down, maybe sleeping, only getting up when the caravan was almost on him. He then issued his usual challenge, a duel, that nobody was foolish enough to accept.

The Griffon

Almost at the border, with the Black Hills ahead of them, the PCs had to repel a griffon that seemed interested in having a little snack. Fortunately, a well-aimed arrow from Fancey convinced the majestic beast to go look elsewhere for his meat.

The Bandits of Wulfgar the Bloodthirsty

A bit further they were ambushed by Othrien’s men, led by the infamous Wulfgar the Bloodthirsty. The merchants were outnumbered 3 to 7. Or so it seemed… 8 men, selected by Siele Ghoried, revealed themselves from inside the caravan and attacked the bandits. After a fierce but brief struggle Wulfgar, sporting many wounds, chose to surrender. The victorious caravan guards split the spoils and then proceeded to bring the tied-up bandit chief to justice.

Afterward Fancey, Ciavey and Lucian left their new allies and got back home.

DM notes

• The starting action was nice. Just fighting skeletons would have been boring, but fighting skeletons while fleeing from a much too powerful mummy? That’s what I call a good fight!
• The kids really wondered what was up with the Swamp Mage, as I’ve decided that his appearance would be disquieting and all. Not every good person have blonde hair, y’know?
• There’s a lot of politics going on in the background. Of course most of it is lost on the kids, that’s just a thing I do for my own enjoyment but still, it seems obvious now that a birthright campaign is an awkward thing to do with young players… I’ll have to think about that.
• In French we can use the word eclipse as a verb, I don’t think we can in English. I had a silly wordplay in mind: To eclipse the Eclipse Knight, does it make any sense?
• The fight with the bandits was boring. Or I wasn’t motivated maybe. D&D combat can quickly devolve on dice throwing for the sake of throwing dice if the DM is not careful.