Session Summarys

Session 1: A Banner Stands Before You
Our fist session went very well. We had three players. Bernard playing Sindor, the estranged merchant. Drew playing Gough, woodsman for hire and lover of animals, and Max playing Thorvar the big blood-thirsty Northman mercenary. The three stole a list of Jobs posted by the newly crowned Johnson Broadbottom of Broadbottom castle. They set out to investigate the lack of taxes coming from North Yander Town, but were impeded by a giant that caused an avalanche along the way, supposedly as a favor to a man named James. When they reached the town the trio aroused a great deal of suspicions from the town which appeared to be doing more well economically than expected. After an investigation, an assassination attempt, and some other shenanigans (involving cloud seed) the players become aware of a coup. Hearing that their employer is not who he seems, the players request a guide to take them to James. The local huntsman Stanley appears; however, on their way through Brickleberry the the players witness castle guards abducting children to be trained as soldiers and intervene, killing the guards, an act of defiance against their employer.

Session 2: The Man Behind the Mischief
After their treason, the Party went on to meet James Kragmire in the fort to the north-east of Brickleberry. There, they learned that the Duke, Johnson Broadbottom, was in fact Johnson Kragmire, brother of James. The two had staged a coup against Bruce Broadbottom, the previous ruler of the fiefdom; however, when Johnson was made Duke, he cast out his brother. James has planned yet another coup, this time against his brother. As it happens, all the recent strife in the area, bandits, giants, wolves, missing merchants, and villages refusing to cooperate, has all been the work of James to weaken his brother's hold on the fief. The players agree to join him, in exchange for coin and a new place serving the castle when the coup is complete. The players spent the rest of the session, planning and executing a plan to ambush a sizable amount of the Ducke’s garrison, who had left the castle seeking retribution for the guards that had previously been killed in Brickleberry. The ambush went well. Bandor, the Duke’s personal champion (a mercenary), was killed in the attack along with 15 other soldiers, roughly half the Duke's garrison.

Session 3: Double-Crossing
With the Duke's castle all but vacant, the only thing left was the siege. The group originally planned to enter the castle under the guise of injured soldiers, but were thwarted by a cautious gatekeeper and forced to retreat. Whilst making preparations for the siege, an arrow dropped from the sky with a note attached to it. The note came from a curious party inquiring as to what Sindor and Company were doing. The sender: Melody Broadbottom, daughter of Bruce Broadbottom and legitimate heir to the fiefdom. The group agreed to meet with Melody before the siege took place as she promised a more handsome reward for their cooperation. After discussing terms, Sindor and Company agreed to help melody. In exchange they were promised ownership of James' fort should they be successful as well as a salary to remain in service to her. In the meantime, the group plays it casual with James to avoid suspicion; however, by the time the siege is about to begin, James suspects Sindor and Company's betrayal. Little did he know the group was one step ahead. They had a plan to inform Melody in the case that James suspected her and had laid an ambush. A white flag meant all-clear, black meant to suspect an ambush. When James called the group out on their betrayal they made it appear as if there was a falling out. Ivan and Thorvar stayed with James while Gough and Sindor returned to Melody. The rouse: they lied about which flag meant which. In the coming day, James' forces would be laid to waste from the inside and without.

Session 4: The Siege on Broadbottom Castle, Part 1
The siege is underway. Gough and Sindor along with Melody's forces (which included a giant named Sahara) waited in ambush for James' forces to make a charge against the castle. Ivan and Thorvar stood ready to turn coat and ravage their defenses from the inside. The charge began, and the forces clashed. In the end, James lost every single one of his men, and only barely escaped Thorvar on horseback. Gough and Ivan lead James' battering ram to the gate and managed to bash it open, but were forced to retreat rather quickly. In the end, James was destroyed, the castle was damaged, and Melody hadn't lost a single man. After driving off James' men, Melody ordered her's to retreat until her knights arrived in a few days. They return to the trading outpost. During the wait, the group organized an impromptu "fight of the century" between Thorvar (the unstoppable force) and Ivan (the immovable object). This was dawn of the impractical, but epic, suplex. The group turned a decent profit as well.

Session 5: The Wolf and the Hare (Interlude)
The following day, Melody's knights arrive along with an extremely peculiar fellow named Count Rodeo. The man seems to believe that the world was destroyed some two-hundred years ago in the "Draco-apocolypse" and that his kingdom was the only one to have survived. He is simply overwhelmed by the sight of people. He takes a liking to Melody, but his advances are met with looks of confusion or overlooked completely. The knights are informed of the situation and the party moves north to Brickle Berry to enlist some help. Melody rallies the town against Johnson and to her cause and hires them on to construct siege equipment (a tower, ballista, and a catapult). Meanwhile, Stanley sees an opportunity to clear the last of James' trouble from the area. In the downtown while the siege is being constructed, he could wipe the bandits hiding in the mountains out (and likely the last wolf as well). Gough and Thorvar offer their support. The 3 set out for the camp with Stanley as the guide. Upon arriving, Gough notices the last wolf slip into the shadows. The group scouts the camp, but finds it to enforced for their liking. Stanley heads back to Brickle Berry and convinces Melody to spare a knight. She agrees, and Ivan comes along as well. The 5 of them then storm the camp. The bandits rain arrows down the hill at the assaulters, but the group sticks to the trees as cover on the way up the slope; but the bandits are the least of their worries. Gough spots the last wolf approaching from their right, heading right for Stanley, but has too little time to call out before the wolf is upon him. For a while, Gough, Ivan, and Stanley struggle against the wolf, while the knight and Thorvar charge the bandits. The knight reaches the top first, but is taken by surprise when the lead bandit, Vans, demonstrates exceptional skill with his throwing axes, and the knight falls much faster than anyone expected...but Thorvar was on his way. Ripping through the crowd, he slays Vans with a mighty blow, then sets upon the remaining bandits who attempt to flee (one even shooting his friend, killing him). The other party is not faring so well however. Stanley is dragged off and Gough wasn't fast enough to slay the beast, only landing non-fatal shots. Stanley's throat is ripped out. The wolf and Gough briefly face off, then Ivan arrives to back Gough up. Together they manage to kill the wolf, but Ivan is wounded in the fight. Thorvar has killed all the bandits. Now, all the tasks on the banner are finally completed, but Stanley and a knight lay dead.

Session 6: The Siege on Broadbottom Castle, Part 2 (The Ballad of Thorvar)
Following the raid on the Vans' camp, Gough, Ivan, and Thorvar return with the corpse of Stanley and the knight to tell Melody of their deaths. Gough and Thorvar offer to go inform Stanley's daughter, Harley, of her father's fate. Upon arrival in Bottom Falls, the two find 12-year-old Harley living alone and learn a little of Stanley's family life. They return her father's bow to her and offer to escort her to Brickle Berry for her father's funeral. Stanley's funeral was small, but the knight's was extravagant. During the festivities, the group offers Harley a place among Sindor and Company as a keeper of the fort and advertising agent. Melody also agrees to pass her father's salary to Harley since she will be part of Sindor and Company. During the prep time, Ivan and Gough hire a number of men from the village to cut a rudimentary path from the main road up to the fort as the first step in the establishment of their mercenary guild.

Soon, it is time for round two. Melody's forces march their completed siege tower, catapult, and ballista down the road to the castle with Sahara's help. Then, chaos. As the siege tower draws closer to the castle, Thorvar lets out roar of frustration and anger at Johnson (who is hiding on the walls) so terrifying, Johnson loses his wit and tries to flee; however, Gough looses several arrows in the confusion, cutting the man's ear off and sending one through his leg, immobilizing him. The siege tower opens on the castle walls and Thorvar jumps out, cleaving 5 men, killing 3 instantly. He does not last long however, as he set upon by a number of soldiers. One of the catapults launches a gas canister into the siege tower, wounding Gough and Thorvar, while the other launches a fire canister, nearly killing Gough. Thorvar, shaken from the gas, is struck down by the captain of Johnson's forces: a blow to the below, a bellow of a fellow, a man who has lost his dick (or so the Ballad of Thorvar goes). It was not looking good for Melody's men as a man near the wounded Johnson readies the coup de grace: a fire pot; but thanks to Brandon's quick shot, the bomb exploded in the man's hands, causing a wave of fire to rush over him and Johnson. After Ivan declared their leader's death, the men surrendered. Thorvar's life was saved, but his pride could not be sewn back together. Gough finished the battle quite wounded, but the siege was very much a success as only the men arming the ballista were killed in the fight. Johnson's men were taken prisoner, and Melody had finally reclaimed her throne.

Following the attack, Thorvar (after some rest), set off the monastery to pray to Richard for sparing his life. Gough and Ivan set out to North Yander Town to meet with Izechial and renegotiate the terms of his tax agreement with the fiefdom. The pass to North Yander Town remained blocked, however, so the group was forced to detour through the pass once again. Upon arrival, the meeting was short and fruitful. The elder agreed to Melody's terms as well as paying the back taxes he owed during James' intervention. As compensation for his cooperation, Gough offered to acquire the help of a giant to clear the ice blocking the road so trade could be restored.

The two then traveled to the trade outpost and enlisted the help of the local bards in communicating with the giants. Ivan had an idea though: to make it an ice-sculpting contest. This was so ridiculous that the bards agreed to help if only for fun. The winner: a sculpture of Thorvar's lost limb titled "Thorvar the Stubby." Speaking of Thorvar, on arrival at the monastery, as is customary, he was challenged to the Challenge of the Chalice. Being Thorvar, he agreed to take this challenge on after a bit more rest.

A few days later, fully rested, Thorvar meets an old rival, Gunnar, who has come to the region to join Sindor and Company, hearing from Harley's advertising, and from their legend, and having heard rumor of the challenge. Together, they are taken to a hidden passageway beneath the monastery where they are stripped and given a club and a quarterstaff. The challenge: cross a lake, climb a pillar, and claim an arrow that a Werewolf is protecting. The group attempts to distract the wolf from one side, then, from the other side, climb up and claim an arrow, then switch roles and repeat; however, when Thorvar makes it to the top, he instead opts to attempt to push the Werewolf into the lake. This does not go well. He is swatted viciously, into the cave wall, and plummets into the lake. Gunnar attempts to drag him back to shore, but it is too late. Thorvar the Bloody has perished...naked, beneath a monastery, fighting a werewolf with club. Hell of a way to go.

Sessions 7, 8, and 9: The Birth of a Guild, and the Long Journey North
* This period of history has been lost to Dragon fire* Summary: the group uses the old fort in the northwest of Broadbottom to start their mercenary guild. They recruit several new members including Ishtar, an Ethyiptan ex-slave, Ulfric, a spear-chucking northman, Harley, Stanley's daughter (she serves as a secretary or sorts), and several others. The new guild accepts their first job escorting a caravan to the north. Along the way the caravan picks up a strange box from a pre-war ruins that the caravan leader refuses to share the contents of. After a battle on the river, the caravan begins the last stretch of their journey.

Session 10: An Unexpected Request
With the help of Nardland, the caravan has safely made it across the river. After spending the night drying in the castle on the river, the group resume their journey north, now accompanied by a few Nardland soldiers. The journey is quiet, but Gough notices some suspicious figures hiding amongst the hills and trees. They do not approach, but Gough decides to take matters in his own hands to ensure nothing else goes awry. After consulting the caravan leader on the matter, he borrows a horse and tracks one of the men a ways into the woods where he finds ~15 men on horseback. Clearly not enough to assault the caravan, but concerning nonetheless. He returns with the news. The caravan continues on. On the road, Sindor and Company meet and recruit 2 new members: Grimgar, a Warbow and dual-axe wielding Nardlander, and Kyma, a traveler from Mt. Hydra. The group reaches their destination without issue.

Upon arriving, the caravan is greeted with a surprising amount of fanfare. Clearly whatever they were carrying is very important to Nardland. Everyone involved is invited to a feast in thanks for their work. At the feast, the players behold the force of nature that is Ragnarok, a fully-plated, war-loving giant (a hero of Nardland), and meet the queen of Nardland, who gives a peculiar speech. She mentions that box the caravan was escorting a weapon, but again neglects to give out details in the matter. She thanks those involved for their service to Nardland at the battle on the river, and bids everyone enjoy the feast. And so they did. There was much to do about ducks, and a pitiful attempt at sparing Ragnarok; however, Ivan, ever cautious, spotted a suspicious individual at the party. Sindor attempted to engage with the individual and he claims to be a hand to the Queen. Ivan and Kyma and leave, concerned about the suspicious individuals spotted on the road and the strange man in the party, and begin patrolling. Later in the party, the suspicious man approaches Sindor and Gough's table and begins inquiring about the caravan and what was in box. Gough, drunk, blabs a little about Ankarsk (the caravan leader) refusing to let that information slip. Gough, getting angry at the queen for not letting them know when they were asking their lives, stumbles over to the queen's table and demands she tell him. He's kicked out of the party. Sindor and the suspicious man's conversation is interrupted by a another man, one who clearly has some power over the first, ordering him to get back to work. He apologizes to Sindor, and offers him some weed, and informs him that the queen wishes to meet with his company in the morning. The party dies out over the night.

Morning comes, and the group is doing surprisingly well. They are escorted to the queen's chamber and the queen bids them to sit. She thanks them for their service at the battle on the river, and informs them that she has received several birds from Broadbottom. It appears things are a more than a bit chaotic. Bard, unsurprisingly, left the guild, the monastery has been attacked by Pyrists, Harley has gone missing, and Sir Rodeo is returning to Mt. Hydra. She also asks for their assistance in several matters including the dragon spotted on their journey (who is asking about a man with a cat), the Necromancer wreaking havoc just to the north, as well as a job that requires more...discretion. Curious, Sindor and Gough speak up and the Queen informs them that she needs all the members of the caravan's inner circle dead to protect knowledge of what was in the box. The group is divided in the matter. Gough and Ivan agree that, no matter the moral issues, denying such a request would only lead to their deaths. Sindor and Kyma believe that they can leverage this information to learn what was in the box by informing Ankarsk of the bounty on his head (also troubled by the prospect of killing a large number of innocent people); however, in either case, at least appearing to accept the request is the only way to accomplish either goal. They meet with the Queen's herbalist and obtain a large quantity of poison, as well as 2 vials of antidote. They set out once again with Ankarsk and the caravan headed back south.

On the road, Gough and Ivan plan how they're going to take down the ~30 people left in the caravan without anyone escaping. Once back across the river, they execute the plan. The poison a pack pony causing the caravan to stop for the day. As camp is being set up, Gough sneaks around and poisons all of the rations. The poisoned pony and rations are then served for dinner. In about 10 minutes, ~15 are already dead and panic spreads among the caravan. Then everyone except Sindor begins attacking with poisoned blades and arrows. Sindor runs over to Ankarsk, and gives him a vial of the antidote. Over the course of the battle, 3 member of the inner circle, including Anarsk, and Sindor manage to escape to the north. Gough gives chase. He catches one of them in the back with an arrow, but loses Ankarsk and one of his knights. After several hours of tracking, Gough finds the injured Ankarsk leaning against a tree. He puts an arrow through his head. Then, backtracking, he follows the knight's tracks to a small town. Meanwhile, the rest of the group begins burying the dead. Sindor flees into the woods.

Session 10.5: We Seek the Holy Grail
* Ulfric's personal session goes here*

Session 11: A Knight to Remember
The session begins with Gough approaching the small town that the Knight lookalike had fled to. He approaches the front gates and is hailed by a guard from a tower. Gough convinces him he was a member of the caravan, had gotten separated during the attack, and was looking for a place to rest. They let him in. After being invited into the guard's home to rest, Gough attempts to coax information about the escaped caravan member out of the guard and his wife. Eventually, the guard leaves to go get the target. Gough hides a dagger in his shoe in the meantime. Knowing he's about to be found out if he comes face-to-face with the escapee, he instead attempts to convince everyone that the escapee was one of the "bandits" who attacked the caravan. It does not go well.

After being tied up in one of the tents, Gough waits for an opportunity to sneak out of his bonds using the knife hidden in his boot. During the night, only 1 guard is posted to watch over him (with the Knight lookalike sleeping in a nearby room). Gough slips the dagger out of his shoe and cuts himself loose. He then bribes the guard with a large share of the gold the Queen had promised them if they were successful, claiming he had it on his person, but had hidden it...well. The guard falls for it, and a quick battle ensues. Gough subdues the guard, but the escapee awakens and walks in as he delivers the finishing blow. Thinking quickly, Gough grabs the guards axe and lunges at the lookalike, planting the axe firmly in his chest, killing him instantly. He then flees into the night on foot. Back at the caravan's grave, Ivan sends Ishtar ahead to Broadbottom to inform Melody of Sindor's betrayal.

Meanwhile, in Broadbottom. Ulfric has returned from his quest in the same manner Ishtar had arrived. Except now he finds the monastery ransacked and a wanted poster for Gough on the front gate. Gunnar, nor the werewolf, is nowhere to be found. Angry and confused as to why someone would do this, he makes his way to Broadbottom castle, only to find that it has undergone a rebranding: Rosethorn Castle. After the marriage, Melody decided to cast off her old name and adopt her parterre's (an unusual act for a Euenist woman, but understandable). She informs Ulfric that the monastery was recently by Pyrists for an unknown reason and that she doesn't know what happened to the survivors. She also offers Ulfric a feast for the completion of his quest. He turns it into a month-long party. During the party, while in Brickleberry, Ulfric meets a young, illiterate, page from Mt. Hydra named *can't remember* who dreams of becoming a knight. Ulfric makes friends with the young man and shares tales of his triumph in the north.

Back in Wessex, Gough has returned to the scene of the crime and grouped back up with the remaining members of Sindor and Company (soon to be renamed). Shortly after a strange man comes out of the woods accompanied by a cat. Ivan immediately recognizes the cat, and strikes up a conversation with him claiming his name is Thanatos. Apparently the cat vouches for the man it is traveling with, and so Ivan trusts him. After some introductions, the man, named *can't remember*, appears to be a worshipper of dragons and is running from his ex, the large fire-breathing beast that was responsible for displacing the Wessex village whom the company met the refugees of during their trip north, as well as killing the young page's party as he fled the mountains. For now the group agree to travel together. Before setting off, the group load some pack ponies down with a load of steel from the caravan, and send Ankarsk's bloody documents back to the Queen with a short note to inform her that the deed is done.

On the road, the small party is stopped by three knights on horseback inquiring as to what the group is doing and demand they see some tariff papers. The party makes some lousy excuses, but the Knight's leave them alone for the time being; however, before long, they return...now 5. A fairly hopeless battle ensues. Attempting to take up a defensive position, Ivan, Kyma, and *cat man's name* form a defensive line with Gough in the back. The knights, however, are clearly superior strategists using lances to stay just out of range and slowly weakening the group. Gough manages to de-horse 3 of the knights, and wound one, but it is not enough. *cat man's name* dies in the battle, Kyma takes a serious blow to the gut (but lives), and Gough's left arm is badly broken. Ivan remains standing however.

For about 5 minutes one of the Knights wails on Ivan to little success, only managing to break his shield. After a while Gough speaks up and mentions that Ivan is a knight. A conversation begins and Ivan manages to convince them to give the group a trial by combat. The knights call over their squires and medics and Kyma is patched up. There is little to do for Gough's arm however. The group is then escorted towards Wessex.

Session 12: All's Well That's in the Well
* You know what I'm too lazy to write this right now. This summary is now being detained*

Session 14?: A Clear mind, A Bumbling Idiot, and a burning village.
"Ivan for the first time is able to think clearly. The group is on the way to kill everyone in a village responsible for the attack on Rosethorn. While scoping the place out Ivan vanishes. Gouth tries impersanating a werewolf to scare the villagers into opening the door. A bumbling idiot walks in on their camp and walks away after he gets bored. He tries to get them to open the gate but to no avail and actually acts in such a way to make them believe hes possesed. On the other side of the village Kyma tries to get them to open the gate as well. Gabriel hears while trying to argue with the guards "Why does your wall open?!" They ask him if he knows Kyma. He responds by describing Kyma exactly then denying that he knows him. (Honestly he forgot) The village guards proceed to shoot at Gabriel as he walks away. The guards down him quite easily as Gabriel was just walking while getting shot.

Meanwhile Gouth and Abu have snuck into the village and have begun to set everything on fire. Kyma is in hiding while the other two are fighting. They manage to get 3/4 of the town on fire. Gabriel manages to get the guards to stop him from dying by giving away information on the others. Hes now in a shed incapacited while the village burns.