Fellowship of the Dice

Dreams moves forward out of the gate ahead of Captain Blacklock. She waits for the Icatian General to make himself known. Dakovya does not march up the gate, but stands well outside of archer range. So you exit the gates together and stride out through the deep snow along the road with some difficulty (for some). You reach the General and Dreams steps forward and speaks.

General Dakovya looks at Blacklock and nods, "Greeting Captain."

The Captain gives a salute, which is returned. "As the ranking officer of Olfden, I formerally surrender the city to you General Dakovya."

"I accept your surrender Captain. Now, let's get out of the snow and figure out the terms of this surrender so all our people can be safe once more." says the general.

Your small party marches into the Icatian camp, and over the course of the next two hours the surrender is formalized. You report all of your activity to the general, papers are signed, Blacklock and Dakovya debate a few minor points but all in all its rather smooth and civil. You get the sense the General is eager to be inside the city before any Calabim reinforcements arrive that the Baron had sent for. By nightfall the troops of Icatia are garrisoning the towers, barbican and the keep. You return to the Dead Well Inn for the night, and are able to speak to the locals and to your friends from Falcon's Hollow explaining all that's happened.

One point of bloody contention after the surrender is the Pact Hall of Agares. There are a few knights and a cleric of Lietbur among the General's forces. They at once lay siege to the Pact Hall, and there is a blood conflict that takes place there. The leader of the hall puts up a fight. You get word later that she was some sort of strange elf, with several imp companions and a few locals serving as acolytes. The Order of Lietbur gives them no mercy, and after slaying all inside they burn the temple to the ground. The fire lasts well into the dawn, the smoldering rubble of the place the one sad reminder of the otherwise mostly bloodless siege (except of course all the guards you killed).

By morning of the day after the Baron's defeat things are better. The Icatian forces have taken control, they have brought with them rations they give out to the citizens to ease their suffering, and the tension of a powder keg in the town has lessened. Most of these people are Icatians anyhow, or were from Braduk, and preventing Calabim from taking over sits well with them. The rebels that aided you are given commendations (if their support is pointed out) and only a few very loyal baron's guards are held prisoner by Dakovya for debriefing.

By noon you have some peace. You have a moment to deal with the next thing. You are sitting in the Dead Well Inn, eating lunch, with the leaders of each sled: Milon & Stormy, Bichaela, and Tessa with Kimi nearby, and Adran. You have learned so far that they have managed to resupply, as best as can be expected at this point, considering the situation. Milon is of the mind to perhaps try to head south for more supplies from the next town, but Stormy is ready to return. The others are of the mind that they could return home now too with what they have, and hope its good enough.

Torias chats with the others, and also tells them: "I think with the war done here, we might try the next town. It has been a long trip, and we should make use of the supplies here in the south now. Who knows when another supply run will be possible?"

Dreams has been silent and brooding until Torias speaks. She gives him an odd look, then says, "We may be able to accompany you south, but we won't be able to accompany you north. Another matter has come up which we must look into--machinations of the Baron's that are still in motion. We will ask General Dakovya to give you an escort in return for the service we did him."

Milon is eating some rather thin stew, and nods to Torias,"My thoughts too, we are already this far south. Let's keep going south. I must admit however, I haven't been further south than Olfden, so I don't know what to expect." The others mumble and grumble they seem happy enough with what they have.

Stormy bites her lower lip, "An Icatian Army escort? That should keep us safe enough, but having them march into Falcon's Hollow might not make Mr. Kreed too happy. No sir, not if they want to march into Falcon's Hollow like they have to Olfden."

"Well, we're not here to make Mr Kreed happy, and the Icatians do owe us a big favor. There will be just the right number of guards to keep you safe from these ferocious wolves and bandits, and not enough to actually pose a problem for a man like Kreed." He smiles. "We will have to look into this Baron Business in the south. I do think you should invest a few days for better provisions in the south." Torias adds.

So you talk about the virtues of seeking provisions to the south, and of a guarded escort from the Icatians. There is some conflicts to consider, will the Icatians even do it, are they willing to go south then north again, or just north? You sit and talk and eat. You send someone to speak to the General about this, and he ends up agreeing to send a few soldiers with your wagons north, or south which ever way they want to go. He also agrees that you are best suited to seeking what ever this new terror is in Chimera Cove for the good of Icatia and all good folk. He offers you enough supplies for you to reach Thornkeep which lies between here and Chimera Cove.

So with most of the matters settled, you spend your last day in Olfden.

Dreams says, "Before we leave, we should speak with Captain Blacklock and see what, if anything, he knows about this. Also ... I've been praying for guidance on this matter of the guards we had to kill. Many of them were probably decent men like Blacklock with thought they were doing their duty. I propose we all donate some money to help support any widows and orphans they have left behind." She looks at the others to see what they think of her idea.