The Fight for the Forgotten Fort (Date 1/6/19)

Winter gave a detailed layout of the interior of the fort, and a two-fold attack strategy was hatched. Marty & Euwyn would distract the leaders at the gate, while Lex led a stealth team in the back to rescue the children. The plan worked up to a point. Marty’s magic was able to hold the leaders at the gate, but the hole in the wall was not unguarded as hoped. Lexington’s attempt at a stealthy assassination failed and an alarm was raised.

Minerva jumped off the wall to engage the prince, while Darwin made for the back with the rest of the bandits. Hedge managed to rescue the children and send them running with Winter before the troops arrived. Darwin quickly proved to be too much for the team, and Lex and Hedge were forced to flee. Using horses and magic cloaks, they beat a hasty retreat toward the remainder of the team with Darwin close behind. Minerva was a tough combatant, but a fog cloud hampered her abilities until the combined efforts of the Prince, Marty and Justice were able to bring her down. At one point a Marty’s magic seemed to fail, and instead of healing energy flowing to his comrades a ghostly apparition touched Euwyn restoring his spent spells. Then, just as the stealth team was arriving a mysterious wind blew aside the fog cloud, revealing Minerva. Justice took full advantage of the sudden, clear shot and brought the woman down. Darwin witnessed this and uttered a cry of anguish and a slew of curses before fleeing to the forest with his few remaining bandits.

Lex was sent back to Malwan to gather troops to guard their new holdings, while Euwyn and team set to work fixing the place up. Marty complained vociferously about boredom and a severe lack of sexual opportunity, sparking a lengthy discussion about the benefits of masturbation. Eventually Marty agreed to stay until the soldiers arrived, but only if they would return to Malwan and stay put for a month. It was… Sort of agreed.

Upon returning to Malwan, Euwyn went to work in the tower, seeking an answer as to why his magics seemed far less impressive to him than they did to the rest of Malwan. He poured over Narlock’s notes hoping to find a secret he might have missed that would make his spells more… certain. One morning, he awoke at the desk in the library from a dream about bees, only to find an odd, distorted light pattern buzzing around him. As he pondered what it might be, and where he had seen the anomaly before, the light and sounds faded into the shadows and corners…

Minerva (Date 1/6/9)

The "village" proved to be more of a collection of huts along a river. Barely a dozen people turned out to greet the party, most of them children. Everyone eyed the Prince and his band with some suspicion. Eventually, Notleigh invited them back to eat with his family. The pickings were slim and the conversation minimal. A conclusion drawn by all that this area would likely resist assimilation into the kingdom, but other than the bandits in the old fort, there was little here to serve as a threat. It was hoped, that once the kingdom's farms started bringing prosperity and bounty to the land, the locals would warm to notion of being part of Malwan again.

Hedge spent time playing with the children. A young boy named Styles, upon hearing the party meant to march on the bandits, asked that they try to rescue his sister, Winter, saying they would know her by her silver hair.

They rode out at dawn. Lex spotted a bird behaving strangely, and pursued using the magic cloak. The hawk retreated, and led him to an approaching band. It was Minerva Colina coming to avenge her beaten beau. The battle was joined, but a mistimed charge left Hedge and Justice exposed. Minerva proved a powerful combatant, and Hedge was forced to retreat while Justice performed a holding action until help arrived. During the fight, Winter was spotted and convinced to switch loyalties, aiding the party in the fight while Minerva was forced to retreat.

Meet the Colinas (Date 1/6/8)

No time to rest on their laurels, the party left town after a brief respite and quested southward in search of more fertile farmland for the kingdom. The recent changes to the council had restored their economic viability, but consumption was still a drag on the resources, and it was hoped that restoring civility to the “lawless lands” might put an end to that.

They rode south and camped outside the Jaldor farmstead without bothering to call upon the man of the house and start up THAT discussion again. Instead they sat around the campfire and listened to Marty and Justice talk over a number of topics. Marty was working hard to bring Mjelde’s gifts into the public light, and to see to his own ascendency to the role of “Father”. His own, actual, lower-case father counselled it would likely take a few months. “Around when the the population hit about 6,000…” They also hotly contested Justice’s recent banishment of Warden Shelby from his heart. Though, Marty argued passionately for dialogue and forgiveness, Justice would not be moved.

The Lawless Lands could very well be called the Deserted Lands. The soil was fertile and many foodstuffs grew wild on the planes, but no organized cultivation appeared evident. Soon, it was discovered why. Bandits! A rawboned villain by the name of Darwin Colina was found terrorizing a local man and a group of children out gathering food. The heroes chased off the villains and escorted the citizens to a loose collection of huts along the Southern Tributary.

Hail the Conquering Heroes (Date 1/6/4)

With the Duergar defeated, all that remained was to gather the spoils and the wounded and head for the surface. A long, slow day of descent had been followed by a few intense minutes of battle and then concluded with an agonizing climb back to the sun. By the time they reached the surface, night had fallen, but even the dim light of the moon was a welcome change from the cavern depths.

While traveling, Justice discovered that Shelby had given orders that the Duergar women and children be targeted by the soldiers, and he hated her for it, even going so far as to make arrangements to have himself removed from her command.

Shelby seemed shaken by her rescue at Marty’s hands and looked upon the young priest with new eyes. After the party returned home, she made a visible appearance at temple.

Despite the influx of ore and gems from the mine, the kingdom was suffering a financial shortfall. An emergency council meeting was held and changes were made. Euwyn was named to the office of Magister and Lexington became the new Marshal. A change cheered on by Relania, who had recently discovered a shared joy in politics with Lexington. In fact, it seemed the two had a lot in common, with the rogue monopolizing much of the lady’s attention for that evening.

With their coffers dwindling and the kingdom’s needs rising, Lexington decided that more farmland was an imperative, and plans were made to expand south into the lawless lands.