Where is the money?

Lamashan 28, 4711

Two days have passed since Fort Inevitable was attacked, and the town has slowly recuperated. The bodies of goblins, frogmen and the undead have been gathered and burned, and work has begun on fixing the collapsed part of the north wall.

The Coopers have been "invited" to the Chancellery by Lady Commander Drovust. Daryle brings small games, while Gerald brings a box of sweet treats. They are led to the Commander's office, where Drovust is waiting for them, many guards well armed and armored lining the walls.

Drovust tells the Coopers that during the assault the Chancellery's vault was broken into, and 431,567 crowns and gems and precious items worth roughly 200,000 crowns were stolen. This fact is not widely known throughout town at this point, but were this knowledge to spread it would cause chaos in the town as the bank could not make its financial obligations. And though she considered charging them with dereliction of duty, she has ultimately decided not to do this.

However, since in a very real way the Coopers have an obligation to the town, she tasks them to head to Mosswater, the ghost town, and recuperate the treasure that is rumored to still remain in the dead down. Each Cooper is provided with a small gem that contains some magical healing, and are then escorted to their residence before being guided to the Mosswater Gate. There they encounter their brother Thorne, returning to Fort Inevitable from a business trip.

Daryle berates Thorne for having skipped the battle, but then tells him he has to come with them to Mosswater. Grudgingly he agrees to follow them. Darelle and Daryle explain the reason for their trip to the ghost town, and Gerald provides background information on the events that took place over one hundred years ago.

On their way to Mosswater they stop by Shadowborn Manor for supplies. The property and the building have not suffered during the most recent green storm. They provision themselves and grab a few weapons and more gear.

Lamashan 29, 4711

The Coopers arrive in Mosswater late in the morning, after an uneven trek on a well-trodden path. The deserted town stretches in front of them. The buildings have been whitewashed by the relentless sun, and thousands of objects glitter in the streets. To the Coopers' dismay, these objects are the bones of the violently deceased about a hundred years ago. They look like they have been lovingly and patiently polished so that they glow under the sun's rays.

The Coopers enter the first large building their come upon. The building is abandoned, and there are bones scattered about. It looks like it has been ransacked several times over. Thorne searches the building but finds nothing of interest. It appears that years have passed since the last time someone was in here. Finding the location fairly decent, the Coopers decide to remove the furniture and bones and pile them in the house next door. Gerald's plan is to fill up empty buildings and burn them as they go along so that they don't search them again. 

Next, the Coopers head to Mosswater's town hall. A three-story fortified structure, the building may have been architecturally interesting in its heyday, but damage done from generations of looters as well as the ravages of time have tarnished the structure. Access to the building is easy and shows that it could not be used as a safe base. The ground floor holds the reception area as well as several offices. The second floor holds more offices and the town archives and library, while the third floor is composed of the mayor's personal quarters.

Searching the building Daryle discovers a large bulky ledger indicating that on the day before the town's death there were roughly 300,000 crowns in the town's coffers. The town generated on average about 10,000 crowns of dye business a month. Gerald discovers that all books dealing with religion are missing from the library, but he also comes across A Very Detailed History of Dyemaking in Mosswater, written by Charles Ludwig.Though it does not contain the specific recipe for creating the famous Mosswater dye, Gerald believes the instructions are precise enough to derive a close process in a short time. He also gets his hands on two more books, A Philosophy of Magic and Orcish Erotica Poetry Part 2. Thorne, meanwhile, discovers the mayor's appointment book in a false bottom. Interestingly, two days before the town's destruction there is a cryptic entry. The name Baron Katkil is written and underlined twice. No other name in the appointment book has a similar treatment.

Gerald recalls reading something about Baron Katkil. He was an infamous pirate a century ago who would ransom towns and villages near rivers throughout the River Kingdoms. Those that did not pay were attacked and some of them were destroyed. The presence of the Baron's name in the appointment book a few days before Mosswater falls indicates a probable cause for its destruction.

Meanwhile, Darelle spots five soldiers and a priest from Razmir. Standing by the cathedral, they appear to be consulting a map. After several minutes, they head out towards the manufacturing district and the Coopers lose sight of them by the lighthouse in the middle of town.

Carefully, the Coopers creep out of the town hall and head towards the cathedral. Dedicated to Abadar, the building's spires stretch to the sky, but, like the town hall, its majesty has been severely diminished due to battle damage and years of weather. Inside, all religious symbols that could be carried have been removed, but those carved in the stone remain, glaring down at the visitors. There are dead bodies everywhere, and clearly many of the town's original inhabitants took refuge in vain here.

Searching the vestry, Thorne comes upon a series of letters exchanged between the head chaplain and the town's mayor regarding the ransom demanded by Baron Katkil. Dated four days before the town's demise, the exchange indicate that the chaplain strongly urged the mayor to resist the pirate and make a stand against corruption in the name of Abadar and the inhabitants of Mosswater.

Noticing that the sun was slowly drifting towards the west, the Coopers decide to head out of town and find refuge for the night. However, they are attracted to a building next to the cathedral which has a restaurant on its ground floor. Called Food to Dye For, it appears well fortified, with an exterior that hasn't been breached. Thorne sucessfully picks the lock, and inside the Coopers find a nicely decorated main area. Furniture and dishes have been pushed to the side and piled against the windows, but otherwise the room looks undisturbed. It is clear, however, that many people have used this place as shelter.

Gerald is attracted to several cookbooks inside the kitchen, but he falls in a trap. Daryle almost become the trap's victim, but Darelle joins her brother down the pit. With Thorne's help Daryle is eventually able to rescue her siblings.

Exploring the rest of the building the Coopers come upon the wine cellar. All bottles but one have been smashed. The surviving bottle, buried under a pile of broken glass, is a fine vintage from Zelnaux Winery in Dimsdale, indicating some trading between the halfling village and Mosswater over one hundred years ago. Behind the walls Thorne discovers a secret passage leading to the real wine cellar. Inside they find a large collection of fine wines, many from Zelnaux, as well as thirty crates of dye and an elevator to another building behind the restaurant. These crates do not sport the town's tax seal, meaning that they are contraband crates. Someone here was involved in smuggling. In total, the cellar's contents are worth an estimated 30,000 crowns.

Given that no one has found this place in the last century, the Coopers feel reasonably safe in spending the night here.

Lamashan 30, 4711

In the morning, having survived the whining and the steps outside throughout the night, the Coopers head back to Fort Inevitable with two jugs of dye and a few wine bottles. Their plan? Returning to Mosswater with a wagon and begin hauling the merchandise out of the cellar.

Assault on Fort Inevitable! - NOT DONE

Lamashan 24, 4711

Following the Coopers' revelations of the previous day, the Hellknights, led by the Lady Commander Drovust, ride out of Fort Inevitable an hour before sunrise. Heavily armed and riding hard, they expect to arrive at the Spire mid-morning. Meanwhile, Roscoe is commanding the remaining garrison. He is not impressed by the quality of the personnel left behind. He immediately makes several decisions.

First, of the remaining 120 soldiers in the Fort, 10 Hellknights are sent to shore up the defenses of Dimsdale, the small halfling village a half day's away and Greenhide's likeliest first target. Roscoe then dispatches 20 more Hellknights to reach the other villagers and bring them in to Fort Inevitable. He assigns 80 soldiers to defend the walls, and 5 to stand by the tunnels. Finally, one Hellknight is stationed by each sewer hole with oil, horn, and straw. Feeling well prepared, Roscoe is sure he has covered every eventuality.

Darelle decides to talk to Dr. Mordrel. He tells he has a feeling that a catastrophe is about to occur, but he can't or won't be more specific. He also tells her to keep an eye on the graveyard. Darelle walks by on her way to the command center, but the graveyard appears undisturbed.

Gerald vows to talk to Abernard to get a few scrolls to protect his house. Daryle, meanwhile, positions herself by the Mosswater Gate to help the defense.

Despite a desperate plea to the inhabitants of Fort Inevitable, no one seems willing to come out and help in the defense of the town. The hatred for the Hellknights runs deep among the populace.

So, the Coopers spend the rest of the day preparing the defenses of Fort Inevitable for a possible assault.


Lamashan 25, 4711

In the middle of the night, the skies darken, and by the dawn it is clear that the day will be stormy. The clouds have a tint of green to them, and the population remains locked inside their dwellings. It's another of the freak storms that periodically afflicts the area. So far the Coopers experienced one of them earlier in the year, but Roscoe had been away from the area during that time. Daryle fills him up on the details of the monsters coming out and the gigantic shepherds that haunt the countryside. The Coopers are now nervous. Most of the Hellknight army is out in this weather!  

Roscoe orders the inhabitants of all surrounding areas to immediately take shelter in Fort Inevitable. Runners are sent out to alert other communities.

Hours go by, and the storm continues unabated. The grounds become saturated with water, and


Darelle leaves with the potion of invisibility

Messengers sent to the Emerald Spire and to the port.

Assault on the town

Lamashan 26, 4711

1

Where did the money go?


Second level of the Eagle? 

Greenhide's secret mine

Lamashan 22, 4711

On a beautiful fall day, Gerald decides to visit Shadowborn Manor and his sister Daryle, whom he has not seen for a while. This will give him the opportunity to take a good look at his sister's new property.

The Cooper twins explore the ruined manor and do some minor work on the kitchen. In the evening, they partake of a quick meal. That's when Daryle notices two goblins lurking at the edge of her property. The twins track them to an old stone well located among the ruins of a farm house about a mile and a half south of the manor. The first goblin climbs the wall around the well and disappears inside. Daryle quickly draws an arrow and slays the second goblin, but unfortunately he drops down into the well as well. Daryle pears down the well, and notices that there are sturdy iron rings leading downwards.

Daryle decides to climb down, and after a long hundred feet she reaches the bottom. She immediately moves over and tells Gerald to come down. The bottom of the well does not have any water and is filled with debris and the dead body of a goblin. Gerald casts light on Daryle's bow, and then lights his own lantern.

The other goblin is nowhere to be seen, but a hole in the well wall indicates that there is a path beyond. This path has been carved by water over eons, and, if the area wasn't in a dry spell there most likely would be water here. The Coopers track the surviving goblin through the natural caves and after a few hundred feet reach a junction between the natural cave and a man-made tunnel. The water that sweats over the walls is orange and bubbly, indicating that the area is rich in iron, and in fact the hallway itself is part of a mine, with timber supports. Daryle examines the wood and notices that it is about 75 to 150 years old. The tunnel plainly followed a vein here, then ended before the miners pierced into the natural cave.

Exploration of the tunnel reveals several glyphs in the timber. Evidently carved by goblins, they seem to provide crude directions. The footprints on the wet grounds indicate that there are at least a dozen goblins regularly threading here.

Gerald almost falls victim to a gelatinous cube, but is saved through quick thinking and a magical ring. They come upon a large cave where eleven goblins are chain-ganged and mine the iron ore while two bugbears oversee the work while cruelly abusing the goblins. The Coopers quickly dispatch the two slave drivers and tell the goblins to keep mining. There are large wagon tracks on the ground leading away from the cave.

The Coopers follow the tracks. They cross several lateral tunnels where other chain gangs are operating, as well as several dead ends. Then they come upon a large room with a set of chains leading a chain of buckets upwards through the ceiling. In the room are several goblins in chains, as well as their two bugbear overseers. But there are also six other goblins wearing weapons and armors. Daryle notices that the chief goblin has two crescent moons carved on his cheeks. A member of the Dark Blood tribe!

The iron ore mined by the goblins is loaded in containers that are linked to a rotating chain. The containers lift up through a hole in the ceiling, while other containers come down from the other side and are then replenished. Daryle and Gerald attack the group, but the battle turns south and first Gerald then Daryle succumb to the assault....

Lamashan 23, 4711

Gerald is the first to wake up, and he finds himself completely hogtied in a dark room with light barely coming in from the crack under the door. Next to him is Daryle, currently unconscious and also completely immobilized. There are two heavily armed bugbears in the room near the door, keeping an eye on the prisoners. When they notice Gerald is awake, one of them knocks on the door. A few moments later, a goblin taller than the others steps in. It's Greenhide!

Greenhide appears pleased to see Gerald. The goblin chief reveals to him that he and his sister will be "guests" for a week, until after the assault on Fort Inevitable he plans to lead in seven days. He further gloats to Gerald that he will first attack all of the villages around the town, then lay the town to waste afterwards. He tells Gerald to enjoy their goblin hospitality, and that he would be freed in seven days. Laughing evilly, Greenhide walks out, leaving the two guards behind.

Daryle wakes up, and after she takes stock of the situation she notices Gerald sweet talking the guards, trying to convince them to rise against the goblins. While he does so, she also spots a loose stone in the wall. Struggling, she manages to shake her ropes off, then she crawls over to the wall and begins removing the stones. Behind them is a small tunnel. She enters the tunnel then relays the stones again, blocking the path.

Meanwhile, Gerald keeps talking to the guard, and eventually they appear to be convinced, and they walk out the door, leaving the sorcerer alone. Gerald notices that he's now by himself, his sister having disappeared.

Daryle comes out on a ledge about twenty feet from the floor of the cave. It is a large space with fourteen wagons fully loaded with iron ore. Greehide comes down a set of stairs, then boards one of the wagons. The convoy, also accompanied by about fifty goblins, heads out. Daryle decides to follow them and comes out of the underground about four miles from her house. Following the trail, she arrives at an intersection. Right will take her to Fort Inevitable. Left, to Shadowborn Manor. And straight leads to the Emerald Spire. She decides to turn right to go warn the Hellknights.

Gerald manages to escape from the prison cell. After dispatching a few goblins, he searches the office for his gear but does not find it. He climbs the stairs down and spots twelve more empty wagons. He entertains the idea of hiding in one of them, but then decides that he is likely to be crushed by the ire as the wagon is loaded. He manages to escape the mine as well.

At the crossroads he takes a right and returns to Shadowborn Manor and raids his sister's supply of healing potions before racing back to Fort Inevitable.

Daryle is the first one to arrive in Fort Inevitable. She is taken immediately to see the Lady Commander and begins telling her her recent tale of woes. Greenhide is preparing an army, she tells the Lady Commander. He will attack the town soon. He's got goblins and bugbears. "I'm not a weak warrior and they took me down," she says, adding "The town needs to be prepared for this, they are coming." When questioned as to how many goblins Greenhide might have, Daryle tells her she saw about 100 or so, as well as ten or twelve wagons, with more that weren't done loading, four left, filled with iron ore to forge weapons.

Gerald is reunited with his sister in the Lady Commander's office, and he fills in some of the holes in the story. He reports that Greenhide is massing a force of goblins and bugbears as well as other monsters, possibly including demons. Greehide told Gerald that he would hit Dimsdale in seven days. "They know the strategic weaknesses of each outlying town, so they plan on hitting there before they come here to settle a score with the Hellknights and the Lady Commander herself," says Gerald. He quickly adds that Greenhide has his familiar at the moment and he planned to eat her for dinner. The sorcerer wants a small contingent of Hellknights as well as Coopers to retrieve the turtle, with the possibility of causing a rebellion and dealing with Greenhide once and for all.

The Lady Commander is not interested in a turtle rescue mission, however. Gerald tries to sweeten the pot by telling her about the secret mining site with dozens of enslaved goblins who could, given the right motivation, rise up and fight on the Coopers' side. She decides to take no action against the mine at this time, but she sends out messengers to all outlying farms and villages, and she immediately dispatches squads to reinforce each village's garrison. The Lady Commander and 900 of her best troops will rush out in the morning to assault the Emerald Spire. She appoints Roscoe local commander to take control of Fort Inevitable when the Hellknight army heads out in the morning.

Shadowborn Manor

Lamashan 13, 4711

After spending a few days recuperating from the events at Dimsdale, Darelle decides to furnish her new house and heads to Goldfoot's Mercantile. Mormuk Goldfoot greets her to his humble establishment, and after much haggling she purchases enough furniture and stores to comfortably set up her new little house. He tells her that her new goods will be delivered to her within the week.

Now that both Gerald and Darelle own their own residence, Daryle decides to do the same. She begins her search for a small farm or other space she can use to open a tannery. Given that there already is a tannery in town, she decides to make a few discreet inquiries around town. Eventually, she discovers that about an hour southwest of town stands an ancient manor now abandoned on the outskirts of town. The owner, Vitar Shadowborn, is a destitute man who lives in a hovel on the outskirts of Fort Inevitable and would probably be willing to part with it for a few coins to alleviate his suffering and buy him a few pints at the Juliver Arms. The Cooper girls decide to go and tour this mysterious property.

They trek out at a leisurely path and reach the manor in about an hour. From a distance the manor looks idyllic. The land is fertile, the buildings appear well maintained, and the seclusion makes it an ideal area to set up a tannery. As they come closer, however, they notice that the building is worn and old, with chipped paint and cracked window panes. On the outside doors is a bronze plaque identifying it as the Shadowborn Manor.

As Daryle touches the door, an apparition emerges from the door. A ghostly elderly yet graceful women appears, and begins to whisper that they must save her, when her face changes and becomes grotesquely deformed, while her eyes glow red. The ghost threatens them with a painful death before vanishing. Daryle and Darelle look at each other, shrug, and enter the house.

The interior of the house is as rundown as the exterior. There is clear evidence that no one has lived here for ages, and the smashed furniture and damage inflicted to walls and floors indicate that a mighty battle took place here. Fortunately, the structural integrity of the building is not in question, as all windows remain and there is no evidence of water damage.

Daryle discovers a few copper coins in a torn couch in what would have surely been the reception room. These coins dates from about 400 years ago and comes from the Duchy of Melcat, which was conquered by Razmir fifty years ago. Once part of the River Kindgoms, the Duchy of Melcat is now the center of the new Razmiran, the land from which the Coopers escaped.

As they continue to explore, Daryle discovers an old crystal bottle still sporting a stopper and containing a mysterious liquid. The bottle itself is a rare antique, so she carefully wraps it and places it in her pack.

The Coopers are eventually attacked by cobweb creatures, and after defeating them they fix a small altar that would have been used in private rituals. The room then begins pouring blood from the walls, and the altar breaks again. The Coopers quickly flee the room, only to enter a glass gallery that borders the inside garden. Many portraits are hung on the wall, and as they begin looking at them the Cooper girls notice a vague resemblance to Roscoe. Could they be related to Lady Eleanore Shadowborn?

This passage leads them to Lady Shadowborn's temple, which, unlike the rest of the house, has suffered neither battle damage nor the ravage of time. There they are instructed by the ghost of the Lady Shadowborn to collect some of the holy water, which Daryle does.

They next visit the manor's library. Unlike most of the other rooms this one appears to have aged well. There are hundreds of books on the shelves about history, politics, geography, religion, and military tactics. On a large table is an opened tome, a crystal bottle and a crystal glass. Darelle looks at the book, but it disintegrates into fine dust, and this dust drifts towards the suits of armor, animating them. Suddenly, the Coopers find themselves faced by six machine soldiers, but quickly manage to dispatch them.

Entering the dining room, the Coopers spot a large oak table set for two with appetizing meats and drinks ready to be partaken. Unfortunately, at the same time they notice there is no smell and they choose to disbelieve, the window shatters, showering the sisters with glass. At the same time, a large ball of lightning enters the room and attacks them. The combat is brutal and punishing, but in the end Daryle and Darelle defeat the electricity elemental.

Exiting the dining room, they visit the kitchen and pantry where they are confronted by yet more horrors, but they emerge victorious. They decide to visit the mausoleum they can barely see in the yard. There they discover another key to defeat the evil being that haunts the manor, the breath of the dead. In the yard they come across the gift of the land, and armed with three out of four elements they light up all of the fireplaces, providing fire and the fourth key.

The confrontation with Ebonbane, the evil intelligent sword which had killed Lady Shadowborn centuries ago is a brutal one, and more than once the Coopers come close to perishing. Fortunately, they manage to defeat and banish Ebonbane's spirit, and at the same time release the holy spirit of Lady Shadowborn.

Returning to town, Daryle contacts Vitar Shadowborn, and after much haggling he sells her the property for 600 crowns. With the taxes it comes to 675. Property taxes yearly are 40 crowns, which Daryle pays immediately. Now all three Coopers own a residence in Fort Inevitable.

What was in that mead the haflings served? - NOT DONE

Lamashan 8, 4711

Alexus Longleaf comes to Fort Inevitable carrying an invitation for the Coopers. The village of Dimsdale wishes to invite them over for their Harvest Festival that takes place two days hence as their honored guests for saving their village of a giant and his giant bees. Daryle and Darelle both readily agree to attend, but Gerald is unable to come over as he is out of town on a secret mission of his own design.


Lamashan 10, 4711

At sunset, Dunleaf Appletop leads the entire village in a toast of the finest mead from last year's vintage to the harvest and to the Coopers for saving Dimsdale from the horrid bees that were afflicted it. He then asks Darelle to lead the village into song, which she does. Daryle watches the food and the drink to avoid a repeat of what happened at the July party, but nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. The party goes on for hours, and all sorts of wondrous foods keep appearing on the table. Finally, the apple tarts are brought out of their ovens, and the haflings cheer.

The Frog King

Rova 5, 4711

Now that Gerald has his own residence, Darelle decides it's time for her to do the same. She makes a sizable deposit with the Hellknights and uses some of the proceeds to purchase a small house worth 800 crowns three doors down from Dr. Mordel. This way she has a place to live within the walls, and can easily assist the good doctor. She still plans to stay often with her aunt, however.

Rova 6, 4711

It's been a while since they have been out hunting goblins, so Darelle and Daryle take their gear and head out of Fort Inevitable. The largest concentration of goblins is northeast of the town, but the pickings have been slim that way. The Coopers instead head out in a southwesterly direction, towards the halfling village of Dimsdale.

The hunting goes well in the morning, but by midday they've only dispatched three goblins. When the skies begin turning black, the sisters look for shelter. Rain starts to fall, and the sky turns a dark shade of green, a strange type of storm the Coopers already lived through. At the time they were near Fort Inevitable, and they had witnessed the Hellknights deploy their entire force on the walls of the town. They had heard strange noises in the woods, and had felt the ground shake on many occasions. Fearing a repeat of this phenomenon, the Coopers spring through the woods, looking for the best shelter they can find.

They quickly discover a small outcrop of large rocks piled upon each other which provide enough protection from the rain. The boulders appear to have been thrown together eons ago, with many large gaps. Darelle follows a path and emerges on the other side of the boulder pile. There she discovers the largest tree she has ever seen, stretching upward so high that the top of the tree disappears in the dark green clouds. A large fir, it is easily a hundred yards in diameters. The tree reigns by itself in a sea of rasberry bushes. It seems to rain less here than it did on the other side, so she returns and gets her sister Daryle.

When she first sees the tree, Daryle is awestruck. It is huge.  But strangely, she feels there should be life around it, such as fey or nymphs. However, nothing can be seen or heard. Maybe it's the storm, or maybe something else is at work here. They carefully make their way around the shrubs, and discover a large hole at the base of the tree. Unfortunately, it will take some serious hacking to make it to the door. That's when Darelle spots a small wooden bowl with a pile of raspberries next to it. She and Daryle quickly figure out that they must make an offering, so they each place a couple of berries in the bowl, and the shrubs magically reveal a path.

At the base of the tree stands a small pool of pure silver liquid, with a trickle coming from high up above. Daryle climbs up about sixty feet and reaches a small hole made by a woodpecker. This is where the silver trickle oozes from. She collects a sample in a small vial and returns down to Darelle. She possesses a similar vial, which she collected in the sewers of Fort Inevitable during their unfortunate encounter with the silver demon.

The Coopers enter the hole in the tree and begin heading downward. The walls glisten with an effervescent green color, giving just enough light to see. Daryle spots some tracks on the ground, and the sisters follow some small humanoid foot prints through a few forks, before reaching a small room in which three small frogmen worship a wooden statue of a king frogman. Poorly dressed, and ever more poorly armed, the three are no match for the deadly sisters. Daryle discovers that the statue rotates, and a mechanism opens a door somewhere in the tree. Retracing their steps, the sisters discover that one of the dead ends has opened up.

Slowly the Coopers ascend the path, leading up inside the tree. They encounter more frogmen, but this time one of the frogmen is bigger and casts a few divine spells before running away. Eventually, the Coopers enter a room filled with raspberry bushes and more frogmen. They meet the King Frog himself, who offers them a deal, money for safety. The Coopers agree and tell the King Frog that they'll let the tribe be for 1,500 crowns. The King offers them four barrels filled with liquid silver, but Daryle tells him that's not enough. Battle ensues, and eventually all of the frogmen, including the King, are slain.

With the pungent smell of broken and bleeding dead frogmen filling the air, Darelle discovers the source of the liquid silver. A silver demon is partially embedded in the tree, and is slowly bleeding out, filling buckets. The Coopers try to kill the silver demon, but it just won't die. Daryle realizes that the tree is keeping the silver demon alive, so she makes a small offering of raspberries to the tree, and suddenly the silver demon is released and drops to the ground. It looks up at the Coopers and begs them to release it from its wretched life, which they quickly do.

When they emerge from the tree the storm has blown over. They trek south to Dimsdale, where they turn in their goblin heads as well as the King Frog's head to the Hellknights for a tidy reward. They are also informed by Dunleaf Appletop, mayor of Dimsdale, that they are invited to attend the harvest festival in a month's time. The Coopers readily accept.

The Festival of Songs

Rova 2, 4711

The arrival of the fall merchants' caravan heralds the start of the Festival of Songs and the beginning of the harvest season. New Hellknights recruits relieve guards from Fort Inevitable, while seasoned soldiers take a few days of rest before heading north to the Mendev crusades.

The Festival of Songs celebrates both the musical talent (good and bad) of the inhabitants of Fort Inevitable and their drunken propensities. This is the one festival where the taps flow freely and public drunkenness is allowed, and it ranks as the most preferred holiday by the residents of the area.

Having spend a few days resting, the Coopers are looking forward to this festival, of which they have heard much praise. Along with the vast numbers of stands serving everything from foods to spices, clothes, weapons, and other exotic services, there are ale stations at just about every street corner, and four main events highlight this day: Hell's Race, which takes place around the training fields and on Juliver Way; the Dueling Song Blades, where opponents fight with musical reed swords and attempt to make the best song while delivering blows on each other; the Drunken Daggers feat, where opponents throw daggers at a target; and the main event, the Songs of Fools, where participants are encouraged to pen and perform an original bawdy song in as bad a manner as possible. The worst performance, as judged by the crowd, wins the grand prize.

The quarterly mustering of the Hellknights takes place in the morning, along with the usual execution of criminals. One of the executed individuals was caught smuggling, and he forfeited both his life and his house, which will be used as tonight's prize for the Songs of Fools.

Darelle decides she will participates in Hell's Race. Starting on the mustering field, participants will first drink a tankard, then run down the road to the corner, where they must clear a ditch. After the ditch they drink a tankard, then head to a wall made up of odd wagons and furniture. They must climb the wall, then drink a tankard before coming down. At the second corner they must spin around six times, before drinking another tankard. A mad dash to the statue in the main square, where participants must jump the ledge, land on the status, kiss it, and then make the other ledge and spring to the third corner, where they drink another tankard. Participants must then walk on a thirty feet beam to the fourth corner, have one more tankard, and make a mad dash to the finish line. The winner of this event receives a golden tankard worth about 150 crowns. The field of participants is large, but Darelle manages to sprint ahead of the crowd. After a few fumbles along the way and much drinking. Thankfully, however, she is not as inebriated as the rest of the field by the end and manages to cross the finish line first.

Later on in the afternoon, both Thorne and Darelle decide to enter the Dueling Song Blades event, taking place on the mustering field. Armed with reed swords shaped like flutes, participants in this event attempt to hit each other by swinging the sword, creating music. The harder the hit, the better the music. Participants play against an opponent, and winners advance to the next round. For every three consecutive misses, a participant must drink a tankard. Thorne wins his first bout but must drink a few tankards. Darelle wins her first bout as well. Eventually both Coopers meet in the final round, and Darelle wins against Thorne. She receives a golden flute about 150 crowns.

Before the evening meal, the crowd gathers back on the field for the Drunken Daggers. In this event, one participant stands in front of a target while another throws daggers at the target. If the target is hit, the thrower moves back, increasing the difficulty. If the person standing in front of the target is hit, the thrower is eliminated. If the target is missed the thrower must drink a tankard. If the person standing in front of the target moves out of the way of the knife, he must also drink a tankard. Daryle decides to enter this event, and though she is hit once she eventually triumphs over a crowded field, and she wins a golden dagger worth about 150 crowns.

 Finally, the main event takes place after a communal meal on the mustering field. Everyone can participate in The Songs of Fools, either individually or as a group. This is the event that is most appreciated by the crowd, and the music and lyrics are so bad but the free ale makes it all better. Gerald decides to participate in this event, and he pens and sings Hooray, it was inevitable! at the Songs of Fools, to much applause. At the end of the night it is deemed the worst performance, and this earns him the top prize, a house formerly owned by a smuggler who was executed in the morning. Gerald can pick up the keys the following day.

It's been so lonesome since my horse died

Hooray, it was inevitable!

The goblins killed my favorite ride

Hooray, it was inevitable!

And I barely got away with my hide

Hooray, it was inevitable!

I almost never got back home today.

Hooray, it was inevitable!

Because my horse being slightly smarter

Hooray, it was inevitable!

Than me in every way.

Hooray, it was inevitable!

For he was the only one who knew the way

Hooray, it was inevitable!

Back home

After the festivities, the Coopers head out to see their new house. On the way there Gerald notices movement in the back of the house. The Coopers capture a teenage girl, who professes to being chased by thugs. A nearby Hellknight patrol is alerted, and the captain announces he will take the girl in custody and question her. At that exact moment, a drunken group of men comes through and assaults the patrol. In the fray the girl manages to escape, but Gerald catches up with her. She tells Gerald that she has a tuning key, and the Black Circle must not get their hands on the key. She entrusts the key to Gerald, and then disappears in the night. Meanwhile, Daryle and Darelle assist the patrol and manage to slay all of the assailants. Darelle uses her healing skills to save the life of the Hellknight captain

The Key of Micharmus is wrapped in a green silk pouch. When revealed, the tuning key appears to have been made of the purest silver, and shines brightly even in darkness. When struck, a single pure C note spreads and can be heard up to a mile away. As the sound fades, a silvery image begins to glow above the key. A set of stairs being to unfurl downwards, leading to a ghostly library. Large wooden bookcases are heavy with books and maps

Gerald wraps the tuning key snuggly into a black pouch, and will go talk to the silversmith to find out how much it would cost to make a tuning key and then place it in the original pouch.

Rova 3, 4711

In the morning, Gerald visits Goldfoot's Mercantile, where he purchases a silver tuning key of roughly the same shape as the Key of Micharmus. He takes the new tuning key to Abernard and asks him about putting some enchantments on the tuning key. Abernard tells him that it will not be a problem, and by the time all is done the fake tuning key looks fairly close to the original.