5 leagues from the borderlands – 03

Last time, the group started to get their bearings in this cold swampy land. They started working for the local baron of Coldham manor, fighting zombies and giant rats, ending up with a suit of gromril armour as their prize. The young hopeful Odo showed promise, and has grown into a budding hero.

Turn 8

With their rising star of fame, the Saints were offered free board and food in Coldham. They did some manual labor to pad their still fairly empty pockets, and tried to find useful herbs, but couldn’t locate any. The next day, they started the long trip to Camp Whitepoint with supplies.
(Local event: offering of food and shelter, which means I don’t pay upkeep. Hard work gave 2 gold, herbs search failed)

While resting around a campfire, a hooded man sat down next to Ulrike.
“Hello ms. Saint, lovely group of misfits you have taken command of.”
“They certainly are ten times more noble than my previous companions!” Ulrike greeted her old friend from Stirland, the rogue Igor Koch. He smiled at the jest, and offered her something to drink and eat in his tent.

After some friendly banter and remenissing about the good old days, he came to the point.
“I got myself a little operation here, importing and exporting some… goods. However, lately there has been an issue getting deliveries through to the coast. The invaders have brought packs of northern wolves and let them loose around the camp. Those bastards have eaten two of my guys. If your “Saints” could take care of this little problem for me, I will be in your debt.”
Ulrike nodded. While Igor surely was a dastardly criminal, he also kept to his word. A favor from him might help them greatly in the future.
“We have a commitment to the baron we need to fulfil first, then we will hunt down the wolves that plague your… business venture.”
(News roll: Friend needs help – created a new contract)

Contract 4: Chase off a group of northern wolves outside Camp Whiteshield by turn 11. Reward: +1 Storypoint

Turn 9

Both the militia captain from Fort Solace and the captain of the baron’s levy wanted to show gratitude to the Saints for the delivery of supplies. They were offered as much (bad) food and (watery) ale as they could consume, and got a large tent to sleep. The very male dominated population of the camp also loved being visited by some women for once, finding stashed bottles of spirit and a boar to roast over the fire. The small visit of the Saints turned into a raucous party, lifting the spirits of all involved. During the party, the Saints were talked into finding the “Marien banner of defiance”, an old, weathered war standard bearing the insignia of Marienburg—the iconic ship sailing through turbulent waters, which had been lost in the last battle against the invaders.
(I had free upkeep from the delivery, but I also rolled “tavern keeper wants to show off” for local events, giving double free upkeep. I chose to spend some time with the locals, and gained +1SP. The area around Whiteshield also yielded two silvertree leafs from a gathering herbs action, turning this into a very profitable visit. I also rolled up another contract from the town council.)

Contract 5: Locate Marien banner of defiance for Camp Whiteshield council. No time limit. Reward: D6 gold.

With pounding heads and red eyes, the Saints travelled out of Camp Whiteshield early next morning. They still had obligations to the baron to fulfill, no matter how much more fun it would be to stay for another night filled with drinks and flirty soldiers. In their hungover state mixed with a foggy day, they wandered off the path, ending up somewhere in the Blackbreeze forest. They feared they would get lost, but Ironshield, more resilient to the after effects of alcohol than the others, managed to lead them back to the trail.
(Travel event: obstacle, deep woods, passed pathwise roll)

Going out on another patrol, a gang of eight brigands lead by a man in heavy armour decided to try their luck.

With the task of pacifying the area, it fit the Saints well to stand back and let the outlaws come to them. The brigands made good use of the wooded terrain, reducing the effectiveness of the Saint’s ranged weapons. They didn’t charge until they were in spitting distance. Three men charged one after another at Ironbeard, who held the frontline. He took several hits, but they bounced off his armor, and in return, his hammer smashed man after man.

The brigands almost had the group outflanked, but Shade weaved her magics and held the enemy leader in place, allowing Kara to take out the leader’s henchman with a well placed arrow.

With their cautious approach and first charge having failed, the brigands threw caution to the wind and charged again. Odo fought one, pushing her back and wounding her. Rosa finished the assailant off with a slung stone. Kara wounded a man charging towards her with an arrow, but he still came at her. Her armour took the brunt of the attack, but she was down with a grunt. He died seconds later with a crossbow bolt sticking out of his neck. Ironbeard finished off another man. Seeing how outmatched they were, the leader and archer retreated back into the woods.

Kara was luckily fine, but her armour was damaged by the brigand’s slash. Checking the dead bodies, they found a warhammer and some tools that could fetch a gold coin. One of the bandits also had a crumbled notice.
“The Saints are causing too much trouble. We offer one gold coin per head, dead or alive. Bring their heads to the Lonely Stream camp, east of the road to Whiteshield”
Someone were after them. This needed to be taken care of soon.
(News roll gave a new enemy threat being in the area, I rolled it to be curse of war faction)