The Ragtags Saga

Having reached the relative safety of the village of Thistlebough, the Ragtags immediately set about getting to grips with their new surroundings by means of the oldest and noblest method of information-gathering; getting a drink at the local public house. The Rotten Lobster, a nearby taphouse, provisioned them with booze, breakfast, and a breakdown of current events. It was discovered that they had been transported to the northernmost part of Ordayn, to a narrow strip of coastline bordering the foreboding mass of the Godsbarrow Forest. Due to the dangers of the road, the only means of safely travelling south was as a passenger on the twice-monthly trade caravan, owned by Mistress Ekorel. With a price tag per passenger of 20 gold crowns, the crew resolved to find some work while waiting for the caravan's arrival. Following a lead acquired from the owner of the taproom, the dwarf Helgarta, they sought out Yobby Junior, a local crabber who had been looking for additional crew. Making their way down to the waterfront, they located Yobby's shack. The crabber was a welcoming sort, agreeing to take on the Ragtags as crew to assist him with the hunt for an elusive crab known only as the "Red Demon." Over the course of the following day, they continued to familiarise themselves with the locale. They introduced themselves to the village leadership in the form of Alderman Isaak. The Alderman informed them of a number of other tasks they might take it upon themselves to complete; namely, hunting for a mysterious, caterpillar like beast, and capturing or killing the Broken Jaw brothers, a pair of goliath bandits exiled from their herd.   Armed with this information, they brought the day to a close in the Rotten Lobster. Over the course of a night of drinking and roughhousing, the Ragtags very nearly turned the entire village against them, extracting themselves from a dangerous situation through a combination of persuasion and bribery.   After spending a second night at Yobby's, the Ragtags decided to head up to the nearby goliath herd, camped a ways out from the village, to learn more about both the monstrous, seemingly immortal caterpillar, and the Broken Jaw brothers.

After finally wrapping up their business in Thistlebough, resolving outstanding jobs, saving up the required funds and engaging in local politics, the Ragtags, know labelled uniquely as "The Penislayers", bid farewell to the friends they had made and set forth with the caravan. After a stopover at a bustling roadside inn, during which various personal issues were discussed and the group inched towards a sense of greater familiarity, they continued their journey with a sense of renewed purpose, finally arriving at the once great city of Skaldenburg, "Pearl of the North", and capital of Ordayn. It became immediately apparent to the group that the city had suffered much from both Imperial occupation and the tyranny of King Riordan. Nowhere was this decline more prevalent than in Drudger's Corner, a vast borough in the eastern half of the city that had become a warren of crime, neglect and decay; the perfect place for a group of wanderers to set up shop as they charted their next course. However, before they had even had a chance to unpack their things, they found themselves looped into yet another misadventure as it was revealed that Barber Ryan had become the target of a mysterious individual or group, searching for him seemingly before he had even arrived. The Penislayers attempted to steal a march on his pursuers by following up on leads, but were unable to prevent things going bump in the night...

In tow with Grandfather Drudger, the Penislayers delved into the ruins of Castle Goran, former headquarters of the Order of Cyrus, a benevolent order of warrior-monks devoted to Cyrus, God of Mercy in the Northern Pantheon. Through exploration of the castle, Drudger revealed a personal link to the order, which together with his intimate knowledge of the castle's Deep Sanctum, the secret passages running beneath the castle where its warrior-monks were trained, armed and equipped for battle, suggested his prior membership in the order. After leading them to the door into the Deep Sanctum, their guide was suddenly and abruptly whisked away by spectral hands. Forced to continue on alone, their quickly picked up a trail thanks to Kit's application of arcane knowledge and tracking ability, following ghostly tracks through the armoury of the Deep Sanctum. There they found Drudger suffering from the spells of a ghostly figure who, angered by their interruption, animated all the weapons still remaining in the armoury and turning their blades on the group. After battling their way through swords, halberds, skeletal warriors and the most annoying knife in Erru, they managed to recover their new companion and banish the ghostly assailant. With the Deep Sanctum cleansed of this hostile presence, they were able to recover not only the required artefact, but also a number of other useful items which Drudger gifted to the group by way of thanks.

Putting Skaldenburg at their backs, the party made their way into the wild. The first few weeks of travel with relatively uneventful thanks to Pheno’s expert woodscraft and orienteering. They spent the time in idle pursuits; learning a new language, playing with pets, honing their skills. Near the start of the third week of travel, they reached the Jorlund border, following the long stretch of raised road built by the Empire that crossed the otherwise impassable bogs that marked the border.   Here they came across the village of Fort Kraxsis, built around the fort of the same name. Although a small settlement, it was very busy due to the constant stream of travellers using the crossing point.   The group choose to make a stopover for the night, so that Kit could search for a sample of Mydemist, for her herbarium. Considering the depths and danger inherent in the bogs, they elected to find a guide, a rather unusual sort named Cantankerous Pete. The scrawny, odd-talking halfling agreed to guide them to the area where the plant was known to grow.   Although their guide was able to lead them safely through the bog, they arrived at the location to find a throng of bullywugs waiting in ambush. Thanks to Pete’s perceptiveness, they were able to counter the ambush. Handily destroying the swamp-dwelling critters (despite Tok’ra being briefly swallowed) they then found the sought-after pollen in the pockets of the bullywug shaman.   Returning triumphantly after a brief side-journey to behold the terrible majesty of the froghemoth, they set up camp and decided to treat themselves to a meal in the local pub. Despite the crowd, they were able to find a table. While enjoying their evening, they happened upon Irdrael and Graeb, who were on their way to Bjorlstad. The two parties decided to share a camp for the night.   While indulging in some narcotics, provided by Irdrael, a number of revelations were made. Firstly, that Irdrael and Graeb had an ulterior motive for approaching them. It seems they were planning a bank heist in the city of Bjorlstad, and needed the party’s help to pull it off successfully. Promising them both a share of the bounty for the job’s successful completion, as well as any items they happened to find in the vault, the party agreed to help.   The second revelation was more personal in nature. While striking up conversation, Pheno let slip the name he had learned from the faerie dragon back in Skaldenburg that possibly pertained to his maternal family, who as yet were unknown to him; the Theasordels. Graeb revealed that the Theasordels were known to her; the Storm Giants of her homeland, in their dealings, had learned to be weary of the Theasordels, an elusive and near feral tribe of High Elves who inhabited a stretch of territory between the western mountains near the Storm Giant homeland and the more settled lands to the south of the other Elven tribes. The Theasordels, Graeb explained, lived close to nature like others of their kind, but as predators as opposed to conservers. They followed Erecius, a primordial god, whose worship necessitates frequent sacrifice in the form of hunting of sentient beings. They are supposed to be terrifyingly adept hunters, and even the Storm Giants avoid crossing them in their own territory.   Those revelations fresh in mind, the two parties went to sleep. After dealing with Imperials border patrol the following day, they carried on with their journey. Another week passed without incident, but then one night into the second week of their travels, the groups sleep was disturbed…