Editing WS:Chapter Two (section)

===Session Eleven===

Sunday, 5th Februay, 10.30<br>
Game date - 26th of April - 12 May<br>
The Irolon Times - a new edition of this monthly newsletter will be coming out.
====Synopsis a la Red====

A final day in the city.  The events of yesterday calmed the mind and body, as the beast we feared might still be walking the streets, slaughtering those it encountered was now dead.  Others knew nothing of our actions, my companions desperate to conceal their heroism.  The city remained locked, guards marching every hour and the day and night, and a miasma of fear filled my nostrils when I passed any group of people.

Morning was quiet, and the blade not ready until afternoon.  The trip to the crater of the egg took me the most of the morning, and much of the afternoon.  There was no change.  I returned, swimming again, somehow very tired, floating upon the gentle waves rather than fighting them.  By the time I had collected the claw-made sword my companions had loaded the ship, and we were ready to go.

For days our travel was uninterrupted and mostly smooth.  After a day of nausea, the smell of salt and the sea became as familiar to me as  that of a terror.

Passing not too far from the piratical isle of Dornica, possible distant relatives of one of my companions, a shipful of buccaneers, tried their luck with our ship.  They were driven off handily, what I assume to have been Alden's magics creating a windstorm upon their decks, while Cadmus peppered their decks and men with arrows and fire blooms.  As they never reached our sides, I did little more than assist Riso a very little.

Days again passed, our idylls interrupted by a storm, a perfect opportunity to ride out on the bowsprit as the ship rolled and plunged across the waves.  Unfortunately, the damage the pirates had caused to our mast was enough to collapse it under the great stresses of the storm.  It barely missed those few of us on the deck.

Nautical expertise saved us, and the captain and crew found ways of accounting for the lost mast, and we were soon limping into harbour.  It seems likely that news of the foul beast far to the north is spreading as every other ship was fleeing the direction opposite to us.

The story continued in town, the docks awash with refugees desperate to escape to anyway, with more, desperate for a little money for their hard-ridden horses, arriving hourly.

The dockmaster, a hideously fat and ugly man came aboard.  In negotiations of which I remained unaware until later, the ship was sold to him, by I think Cadmus and Alden, irrelevant of the fact the captain owned his vessel.

The conspiracy was revealed to me, in part at least, only later.  Accompanying Cadmus, two sailors and the captain to the warehouse district down the docks from the refugees we entered a dark, lightless building.  Dashing the light source to the ground Cadmus quickly and fatally knifed the captain and one of the sailors, injuring the third man.  He died later as I tried to defend him from the bard.  Cadmus' arguments, the necessity of money, of resources... made some sense.  But I fear love of blood blinded him, and perhaps Alden, to other options.

We continued north, the baron raising a small force of children and invalids on the way to... for some reason.  We passed greater numbers fleeing before we finally reached the river across for Elbe-Elster.  Which was now a benighted, fouled and dead land.

====The Bard's Synopsis====
Waiting to depart for Elbe-Elster, Red went wandering around town. Cadmus
retrieved his new sword-a flash Halay steel one-and bought a few other
necessary travel items. The ship then sailed, and we had a few quiet
days of travelling, getting to know the crew, but then, in the distance,
a sail appeared, heading straight for us. Closer and closer they came,
soon obvious to all as pirates. As our captain put on sail to flee, the
party armed and armoured themselves, ready to repel borders with
excessive force.

As they came closer, their ballistae fired over us. Then a second shot
smacked into our mast. Having deciding this was unfair, Cadmus carefully
attached one of the Baron's miraculous firebloom potions to an arrow
and, at a distance of nearly 200m, slammed it into the pirates' deck
with his mighty longbow. All were impressed. Yet the pirates kept
gaining.

At 60m Cadmus smashed another firebloom potion into the pirates'
rigging, boosting our morale. Unfortunately, the pirates began firing
arrows back. An arrow smacked into Cadmus' armour, and in return he sank
a shaft into the chest of his assailant. The fireblooms were dying
out-curse those fireproofing mages!-and the pirates kept gaining!
Suddenly, and miraculously, a whirlwind appeared in the ocean and sped
towards the pirate ship, settling over it and forcing the pirates below.
They fell away, much to Thodric's disappointment-no cleaving today.
Days later, a huge storm swept over the ship, breaking our mast. For a
while we thought we might sink, but the storm abated, and we managed to
limp onwards-everyone unhurt.

Near home, we passed lots of ships fleeing in the other direction,
yelling at us to turn around for war is ahead! We try to look surprised,
and mostly fail. At the docks, we find that most able bodied men are
already further north with the Duke. We decide to follow. First, the
Baron and Cadmus make a deal with the dockmaster and the captain-the
details of which lead to an apparent minor falling out between Red and
Cadmus, leading Cadmus to apologise to Red, a lot-and make some money
for the group. 

Now with some funds, Thodric and Riso begin recruiting whoever is left.
We gain a few young, but eager, lads. We travel north, pausing only to
buy horses cheap from those fleeing south. Soon we recruit a few more
people, bringing our Grand Armee up to: us, 3 guards and 5 lads-one with
his own suit of chain! The others make do with leather armour.

The baron sends a messenger-priest north to the duke with a copy of his
war warrant, commanding the Duke to meet him in Elbe-Elster. We go
straight there, where, much to our horror, we see a melted castle, utter
devastation and what is left of 50,000 troops-a mere 15,000 men. So we
head away a few days to a bridge to cross to join the army. Then, one
night, as we are camped-at least armoured in a war zone, not lounging in
hotel rooms-a man steps out of nowhere and chops a guard in half. Then
another steps out. The fight is on, but this time, we are ready. Will we
repeat last time, or will we take these scum out, loot their bodies and
find their masters? Find out, next time!

====Loki's Book of Revelations====
The [[WS:Secret Diary of Varin#Session_11|Secret Diary of Varin]]