Session 8: Grim Justice Report

Party leaves Viktor's palace. They return to the island of Graeven with a new letter in hand and mission held within. A letter from Luther Fergen also arrives, asking for an update. Drayton writes him back without anything barred, eager for potential promotion or reassignment. They rest for a day before heading out of the settlement and leaving it in the hands of Rus Cooper.

The party takes the Graeven, once the Greymare, to the mainland of Nevan. They arrive at Port Cedrin and move to the IMF warehouse in the town. They speak with the guard there, show him the letter, and gather 20 barrels of Silken Rue Rum, a fine vintage. The next part of the plan is moving the cargo to Haedon and deliver it in one piece. The night in town goes by easily, just a trivial journey on the battered roads of Nevan. Word has been spreading that brigands and renegades are in the area, infesting the gorse strewn highways that in better days linked the cities of the mainland together.

The party, being a restless and intrepid band, decided that they'd take it upon themselves to deal with whatever brigands were along the path in order to bring law to the land. This took them through the forest covered hills west of Haedon, where the road gave way to side trails of beaten soil and little else. Traveling down that road for part of a day yielded little result. There was no sign of bandits or anything hostile. That was, in the words of Michael, dreadfully boring. The party set up camp for the night, talking about their mission and how profoundly simple it had been compared to previous adventures. Michael and Kane took first watch, saw nothing, and sent to bed. Drayton and Meriele, on the other hand, heard some noise far off in a valley. It was more than just rumbling rocks and typical fauna, but something more. They woke up the rest of the party and decided to investigate, especially since the noise came from where the party intended to go to hunt bandits. It was worth the investigation.

The party moved down to a river, across from which was a rough natural cave. Nearby was a particularly large rock, which seemed to slightly move on its own, unlike anything around it. Suddenly and unexpectedly, a great beast rose up from a pit beneath the ground, from which it had apparently originated. Party fights the beast in the river and eventually slay it, though it was a hard fight.

The party decided that slaying this beast was enough to persuade them away from the area, but not enough to head home to Graeven. There were still brigands camped in the hills, and so long as such wretched and lawless people ran free, there was still work to be done. The time spent traveling into the hills took the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, until dusk was about to arrive. That was when the next threat appeared, quite unexpectedly, in front of the party. As they walked in a shallow valley in the hills of the Nevanese mainland, two men leapt down from a bridge that connected the hilltops. One was a cloaked figure, clad in leather. He had a long face, not unlike a rat, but was clean shaven and well kept otherwise. The other made it impossible to tell his facial features, for he wore an outdated great helmet that was speckled with rust. His plate armor was of similarly poor quality. It didn't seem fitted for his body, and some plate hung loosely around his shoulders and neck. However, he was still an imposing figure and carried a great sword on his shoulder.

The rat faced man spoke for the pair, telling the party that there was a toll to pass between these hills. The party gave a mix of grumbles and jeers in response, certainly not impressed with the demands or the people making them. A warrior in plate armor was something to fear, but not beyond match. With that in mind, Michael decided to change the game. He challenged the rat faced man to a duel, if he won then the party would pay 12 gold to cross, while if Michael won then they could cross for free. Simple runs, decided in an ancient manner. The rat faced man scoffed and turned to the man in plate, patting him on the shoulder before pointing him toward Michael. He was to be the challenger. If Michael was startled by this, he did not show it, though the rest of the party looked to each other with concern at the prospect. Two skilled fighters in a duel, with almost 50 gold in the balance. It was concerning on about every level. The fight happens, and Michael loses quite badly to the man in plate, who is more skilled than his motley appearance may give away. After two or three exchanges Michael began to bleed.

In a moment of shock and shame, the party came to the realization that they now owed 48 coins to some ruddy bandits aside the road. To his credit, Michael took the honorable course and paid the money he had bargained, as were the terms. The others were not so cooperative, however. As Drayton approached the smug rat faced man and his armored ally, he grabbed the hilt of his sword tight. Then, without a word of warning, he slashed out against the rat faced man with his blade and cleaved a gash into the front of his leather. A fight thus broke out beneath the bridge. The results were predictably violent, with Meriele shooting down no fewer than four reinforcement troops with her blow, Michael and Kane killed the plate man by pummeling him into the rocky ground, and Drayton dueled the rat faced man for the entire duration of the battle. The final episode was where Drayton and Kane went up to the caverns along the bridge to rush out any remaining opponents. With the rat faced man's head in hand, Drayton called on anyone left to surrender before tossing the head into the darkness. A single man emerged, the only survivor, who was then hanged from the bridge as an act of justice.