Raid on Skyscraper Village (Date 1/5/30)

The journey out along the new road was uneventful and rather pleasant. The rough swamp trail had been buttressed and dried, and the army made great time. Euwyn and team choose to ride with the army at it’s head, and – at Shelby’s suggestion – even paused to give a rough speech to the workmen who had toiled for 2 weeks to complete the passage.

Camped in the cave before the stacked-rock wall, Justice and Marty stayed up for awhile talking about Lumi and the prince’s new girl, Relania. Hedge’s pebbles of annoyance failed to coax them to sleep.

In the morning, Marty suggested the Prince address the troops. This was followed with a strong blessing, and the assembled army hopped-to with vigor to clear the rocks blocking the passage.

Deep within the earth, the Duergar were caught off-guard. While Shelby led the bulk of the army against the foot soldiers, Euwyn’s band attacked the leaders. The battle was hard fought. The giant dwarves hit hard and had numbers on their side, and when the Duergar lieutenant joined the fight astride a massive, acid-spewing beetle things looked dicey indeed. But the power of Strom kept the team on their feet and holding their own. Then Marty spotted Shelby across the battlefield struggling to survive in a battle with a Duergar captain. Leaving Justice to guard the team, Marty ran to her aid, arriving in the nick of time to turn the tide and allow Shelby to land the ultimate blow. Together the two hurried back to save the prince as Justice was overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Shelby killed the last of the Duergar, while Marty called the power of Strom to save Justice.

Highspring Festival (Date 1/5/21)

Plans were made to send Shelby Oborne and a large contingent of soldiers back to the mines with the Prince and his party, but first the road would need to be cleared to accommodate an army on the march. Also, the nation’s one-and-only holiday, Highspring, was only days away – held yearly at the end of the third week of May. So while the way was being cleared for the kingdom’s army, the Prince and his companions made ready for a party.

Euwyn was approached by his aunt, the Councilor Illora Pavan, and not-so-subtly urged to get a date for the affair, strongly implying that people were beginning to talk. But Euwyn dragged his feet, and was in short order, presented with a young noble lady by the name of Relania Bell. Euwyn was hesitant and dismissive at first, but once the two were left alone to talk, he found he actually liked the girl, and when he opened up and was honest about his situation and feelings, found her to be understanding. “It’s just a dance. We can go together, and get everyone off your back. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”

At the picnic before the ball, Lex approached Treasurer Viecelli and managed to secure a retainer (bribe) in return for his assistance keeping “things” moving in the right direction. Marty presided over the blessing ceremony but still made time for some frolicking and swimming with Lumi and the other young people of the kingdom. “We should do more of these days!” he exclaimed. Hedge stood silent guard.

At the dance, the prince’s entourage assembled on the periphery, and talk turned to politics once Relania was introduced. She suggested Euwyn and his friends should take over more of the council, moving Euwyn to the role of Magister and naming Lex Marshal, and then eventually pushing Marty to the High Priest’s position. Euwyn found her intellect and affability enchanting, and when he tried to close the night with a quick kiss she corrected him with a longer more practiced one.

Duergar Slavers (Date 1/5/14)

In the end it was decided that they couldn’t, in good conscience, leave the men to suffer a day longer at their toil. With careful quiet, Hedge and Justice cleared just enough space at the top of the pile of rocks for the party to slide through. Then Justice on silent wing glided to the far side of the cavern to guard the exit while the remainder of the party confronted the duergar overseers. They were shocked to find that duergar could grow to a larger size and possessed other magical gifts as well, but in the end, the party triumphed with the strength of Magic and numbers.

The rescued humans (Barret, Hudd, Tomkin, Herveus) were shocked and dismayed to discover how close to the surface they were, having believed that they were lost deep underground never to be found. They swore immediate loyalty to the Prince and begged him to lead them back to the sun but not forget those still trapped below in the duergar city.

The rescued dwarves (Dain and Oton) were a bit more relaxed about their time in service, though their hatred and disgust for the duergar was plainly evident. They offered to help supervise any mining endeavor once they felt the mine was safe from the deep dwarves.

The party decided to take their rescued charges to the city and then return with martial forces.

Busby Mine (Date 1/5/6)

Yuri accompanied the team who made a quick run down the old road to the Busby mine. His presence and his patter annoyed Justice, despite - or perhaps because of - Yuri’s professed plan to win over the young fighter.

At the cave, they encountered a pack of wolves and, after dispatching them, the party removed the boards blocking the entrance and searched inside. The cave smell heavily of canines and was little more than a cul-de-sac due to a cave in, but a brief inspection showed it to actually be a manufactured barrier. Using his Cloak of the Scuttling Rat, Hedge squeezed through the pile of rocks. On the other sides, he found a trio of dwarves standing guard over 6 humans slaves. The slaves were toiling hard at mining. A debate ensued about whether to rescue them now, or send for help.

Theater Revival (Date 1/5/4)

The party returned to find the city in a bit of disarray. With the influx of capital and the growing reach of the kingdom had come a wave of unrest, and even Justice had been pressed into guard duty, overseeing the gate for the ingress of potential troublemakers. But with Euwyn's return, Justice put such concerns behind him, and returned to the prince's side.

Whispered conversations were had in many corners. Justice was not surprised to find out Giada was a spy, but felt short of implementing Hedge's plan of full lockdown. Lex talked to Shena about her involvement in the elves spying. Euwyn was pressured on several fronts to do something about the unrest, and eventually a plan was hatched to head to the old mine.

But first, the party decided to clear out the old theater to give the people a place to spend their extra funds. Checking beneath the stage, they found final resting place of the last diva, complete with the playbill from the space's final show, however attempts to put the grand dame's old bones to rest only roused the spirit's anger.

A plan was hatched! They would put on the show and give the old girl a chance to go out in style. Lex chased down the script. Yuri was brought in to help Mjelde gather an audience. Everyone took a part in the show, except for Justice who could only be persuaded to serve as usher, though his services keeping people in their seats came in handy later. As suspected, once the theater was filled and the play began, the ghost returned and brought with her illusions that cloaked the stage in all its former grandeur. And with the final curtain to thunderous applause (somewhat amplified and coerced) the spirit dissipated and the house was once again clean an open for business.

Euwyn put Yuri in charge.