6/20 Session Recap

June changed her mind again, and decided to ride ahead of the Duke's entourage as he made his way towards the capitol. The party bade farewell to her, but felt sure that they would see her again.

While in Boskip, Melicertes decided to check his funds. And then he checked again. All but 75 silver and his Ducal writ was missing. Either someone pickpocketed him, or he accidentally left his moneybag beside one of the bushes on the side of the road during the trip.

Spurred by his companion's loss, Roveles did some accounting and put some more money into the Ducal treasury for safekeeping. He also wandered to the local mage's shop with Rosenkrantz to see what he could get. The proprietor told him that it would require about two thousand gold to enchant a bow, and around four thousand to enchant some armor to make it more stealthy. It would only cost around two thousand for boots that were stealthy. Roveles took this in stride, but Rosenkrantz was appalled. He started offering various services to the mage to lower the price, but the mage said that if he was interested in favors, he'd still be adventuring. Roveles asked him if they could perhaps acquire the expensive materials themselves in order to reduce the cost of the enchantment. The mage said that he would compile a list of ingredients within a week.

The party then set out to visit Fallwood, the last place it was rumored the necromancer had gone. After three days of travel, they came to the little town of Two Trees, which had two very large, very old oaks in the center of town. Finding the pub was easy, as the town only boasted about 2 dozen buildings, and the party spoke with the proprietor. It turned out that the pub owner was also the mayor, and he accorded the party with respect for their station as the Duke's men. He offered Melicertes a brandy for free, but made Rosenkrantz pay for his whiskey. This was after Rosenkrantz asked where he could find a girl for the evening, mind you.

They found out that the man had come into town and bought some supplies before heading into the woods about 5 days ago. Cyrus opted to stay in town with the wagon, and the other three headed off to track the guy down. Roveles spent a couple of hours on the outskirts of town looking for signs and tracks, and he finally picked up the trail of a human and a skeletal bear. The party followed this track for several hours into the woods until the light failed, and they were forced to make camp.

Sometime after midnight, during Rosenkrantz' watch, he stoked the campfire, and noticed two figured in the shadows just outside the ring of light. He yelled and drew his greatsword, then charged towards the figures. One was a hooded human, and the other was a skeletal bear. The human said something to the bear, and it charged.

Rosenkrantz, realizing his mistake, called out for him to stop the bear, that he was sorry, he didn't mean to attack. The bear pulled up about 10 feet from Rosie and waited. While his companions woke up and got their wits about them, Rosie said that they were the Duke's men, and that the Duke wanted him. The man said that he would not be taken alive.

Before the necromancer could make a move, Roveles called out that they didn't intend to capture him, but that the Duke wanted to employ him. Melicertes made some mental action, and everyone heard a subtle chime in their minds. The necromancer asked Melicertes if he had his word that he would not be attacked or imprisoned, and Melicertes gave it. After a few more questions, the man agreed to go with the party back to Boskip, although he was traveling at night. He said his name was Nilathak.

The party pulled up camp, and led the way out of the woods towards town. Cyrus was uneasy traveling with an undead creature, but he kept his distance. At noon, the party stopped to sleep, and Cyrus prayed and took the afternoon watch.

During the trip back to Boskip, Roveles made an attempt to find out if the necromancer was responsible for the skeletal cowboys, but he would not speak about it. Rosenkrantz made approached Cyrus about becoming a follower of Phazorra in return for some spells at the beginning of combat to make him stronger. Cyrus said that Phazorra gives strength to all living creatures, and that yes, he would grant Rosie with this strength for 8 gold per bessing.

Finally, after a few more nights of traveling, the party returned to Boskip, and handed Nilathak over to Lucien's hospitality. Lucien thanked the party, and left them to their business.