Session Summary 5 & 6

Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale (Part 1)

After seeing an ad requesting mercenaries to come help clear the wilds of the Bloodsworn Vale, the adventuring group consisting of Seren, an elf druid, Edward, the Human Ranger, Rebekkah, the Shaonti Barbarian, and Shepherd the human cleric, makes their way towards Fort Thorn.

Upon arrival, the group meets Sir Tolgrith, the likable lord of the fort. He thanks the group for coming and tells them of an ambush that has occured, killing several of his workers. The bodies were found intact, with the exception that they were each missing ears. The group agrees to check it out and see if they can discover the culprits. They make their way to the ambush site and discover tracks that lead them back to a grove of rose bushes, and a stairway leading down under the ground.

In a small underground complex, they find a group of Roseblood Sprites. After dealing with the creatures and clearing the complex, they discover that the sprites were forced to cut their ears off by their king, whose motives are unclear, and they were cutting off the ears of the workers for use in a ritual to regrow their own ears. The group kills the king and returns to the fort to inform Sir Tolgrith.

Tolgrith is pleased that this has been taken care of and tells the group about scouts having seen owlbears nearby. So far, the owlbears have not attacked, but Tolgrith is afraid they will soon. The group decides to attempt to track down these owlbears.

They go out exploring in the wilderness. They find an interesting, though empty, mountain named Pointer's Rock. They then spot a pair of owlbears roaming the woods, and ambush the two creatures. After killing them, they follow the owlbears tracks back to a cave. Inside, they kill two more owlbears, before discovering a nest in the back containing three owlbear cubs.

After a heated conversation about how to handle these cubs, the group decides, somewhat reluctantly, to take them back to the fort and take care of them, until they may release them into the wild again. However, this plan changes, when Rebekkah reveals to Sir Tolgrith that they have brought these owlbears into the camp. Tolgrith orders the group to remove the owlbears from the camp, and the group agrees.

They take the owlbears into the wilderness and search for more owlbear tracks. After following a set of tracks to another cave, the group decides they will leave the cubs for these other owlbears to look after.

Back at Fort Thorn, Sir Tolgrith tells the group about a problem the camp has been having with water pollution. The water that the fort uses comes from the river flowing north from the lake nearby. Once every month, the water becomes polluted for one day. The camp has become used to this, and keeps a stockpile of water to use on this day, but Tolgrith asks the group if they wouldn't mind checking it out for him, as the day this happens will be two days from now. The group agrees and heads towards the Mist Lake.