Sir Kristoff, along with Othellus the elven ranger and Ellery the half-elven rogue, caught up with Kerwyn, Orekh, Cavillor, Neon, and Bronislaw as they rested in Borja. Sir Kristoff presented orders relieving Cavillor, Neon, and Bronislaw of their charge and calling them to return to the capital city of Specularum. Saying their goodbyes, the three men departed, leaving the others to continue on to Fort Doom.
Shortly after entering the forests that border the Black Eagle Barony, the heroes were attacked by three werewolves. Despite the ambush, the heroes were victorious, but not before Othellus and Kristoff suffered bites. Orekh prayed that Ixion remove the potential taint of lycanthropy, while Kerwyn inspected the werewolf bodies, which had now reverted to human form. The wizard observed that all the men bore the mark of a wolf paw on their right breast.
After another day’s journey, the heroes arrived in the village of Halag, which sits at the foot of Fort Doom. The heroes attempted to ask questions about the werewolves and about life in the Black Eagle Barony more generally, but nobody seemed willing to talk out of fear. Othellus’ elven ears, however, heard a conversation taking place in an upstairs room at the local inn. An old man by the name of Valdir was begging a younger man to allow him to speak to “the strangers.” Othellus made his way upstairs and talked to the old man, who explained that Baron Von Hendricks and his men had been less than attentive about offering protection to the people of the Black Eagle Barony. Valdir claimed to have seen Von Hendrick’s cousin, Lady Secuba, abducting a young woman from the realm, and he was convinced that she was responsible for the creatures that now assailed Halag and the surrounding villages. He hoped to seek an audience with Von Hendricks and try to convince the Baron of his cousin’s treachery, so that he might take action to secure the lands once more. His fellow villagers, however, prevented him from doing this for fear that Von Hendricks would respond negatively.
Moments after Othellus finished his conversation with Vladir, three vampire women attacked the village. The heroes managed to dispatch the creatures, and then bedded down for the night, resolving to speak with Von Hendricks in the morning. They promised to take Valdir with them so that he might plead his case to the Baron. They neglected, however, to reveal that Lady Secuba had been killed a week previous.
Von Hendricks received the heroes the following evening, introducing them to his knights in a banquet setting. Sir Kristoff addressed Von Hendricks, and then proceeded to ask questions about Avernus on behalf of the Archduke. Kerwyn used his spellcraft to read the Baron’s mind. The Baron was deceptive and unpredictable. He denied sending the wizard Amedeus after Avernus (which was a lie), but did admit that the Avernus had passed through the realm. He also revealed that Avernus had stolen an artifact of power from the realm – a gyroscope of sorts, the function of which had yet to be determined. Von Hendricks turned the questioning around, trying to ascertain what the heroes knew of Avernus’ current whereabouts. The conversation then turned towards the state of the land. In response, Von Hendricks seemed to become irritated, and seemed capable of violence. He hailed the combined might of his men, but characterized the people of the realm as ingrates, who needed to be taught to appreciate the protection he provided for them. Sensing that this was dangerous terrain, Kristoff graciously backed down from that line of questioning.
Just as the conversation was drawing to a close, a woman who had been dithering in the background suddenly stepped into the light. “Murderer!,” she shrieked, pointing at Kerwyn. The woman was the spitting image of Lady Secuba. Von Hendricks had the woman escorted away, and then apologized for his cousin’s madness. Lady Prima, he explained, had always been poised and intelligent, but had gone totally mad a week previous. Although disturbed by the whole affair, the heroes and Valdir joined the festivities before retiring to the chambers provided for them in Fort Doom.
At that point, Ellery decided to investigate. She found secret passages connecting all the guest chambers, and set off to explore after Kerwyn cast an invisibility spell on her. While scouting around, she found Von Hendricks and followed him. He led her to the palace tower, and the wizard Bargle. Von Hendricks spoke to Bargle about the heroes, and suggested that they should be magically interrogated to find out what they knew about Avernus and the globe. He also gave vague instructions that any violence that might befall the heroes should look like an accident. Von Hendricks then retired to the wizard’s library, while the wizard continued to work in his lab.
Ellery opted not to actually enter the wizard’s chamber, for fear of being detected, so she continued to explore the rest of the castle. At that point, she saw Lady Prima walking down the hall, flanked by two men-at-arms and carrying a baby in her arms. With a wave of her hand, she seemed to release the guards from some sort of control, and then slipped into a hidden chamber in the moment it took them to regain their wits.
Ellery followed Lady Prima, who was muttering to herself about how Kerwyn “thought he could kill” her. She would show him, however. Soon she would walk around in a body of her own creation, and then she would exact her revenge. As she said this, she unveiled a hideous body that seemed to be constructed out of disparate body parts sewn together. “Lady Prima” then placed the crying baby in a ceremonial basin. Realizing that “Lady Prima” was about to sacrifice the infant, Ellery struck. She stabbed at Prima with a knife, wounding her, but not killing her. Prima screamed with rage and cast an acid arrow that struck Ellery in the chest. She then summoned an infernal hound to attack Ellery, who grabbed the infant and ran. She made it out of the chamber before the hound could stop her, and ran back to her sleeping chamber to warn her companions.
At that point, the heroes fled Fort Doom. Vladir was killed by Von Hendricks' guards, but the heroes fought their way to the courtyard, and managed to make it to the gates. Then the wizard Bargle mounted the palace tower and began striking at them with chain lightning. The attack killed several of their animals, including Kerwyn’s beloved mule, Sampo I. Using his magical boots, Kerwyn teleported behind Bargle and stabbed him in the back with what had been Lady Secuba’s poison dagger. Bargle died, just as Von Hendricks made it to the tower. The two men stared at each other for a moment before Kerwyn teleported to Halag.
The heroes arrived in Halag to learn that the infant they rescued had been cut out of the belly of one of the pregnant villagers. The woman’s husband swore that Kerwyn was responsible, but the heroes managed to convince him that it was Lady Prima disguised with a spell. The man begged them to take his child to safety, and the heroes set off just as Von Hendricks’ men arrived in Halag. Sir Kirstoff cowed them by invoking the Archduke’s name and delivering a powerful soliloquy, and the heroes made it out of the Black Eagle Barony intact.
Weeks later they arrived in Specularum and reported to the Archduke, who thanked them for their service, and promised to deal with any accusations that Von Hendricks might make against them. Ellery adopted the infant, who she named Arien, and the heroes settled in to think about what they had learned from their mission to the Black Eagle Barony.
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