Pre Grand Opening Party

The Salty Stick's proprietor, Marik "The Drunk" Fulgrimson opened the doors to the Tavern a day before the official opening ceremony allowing visitors the hospitality of the Salty Stick Complex as they arrived. Those present dubbed the day before the Grand Opening the "Pre Grand Opening Party". The taps ran near dry in the first evening of the festivities forcing the tavern crew to stock back up at the E.B.Co warehouse at the nearby at Zweiwasser's Black Pier. It was late into the early morning when the bar finally closed and the last of its guests retired for some rest before the First Night could begin.

Murder Suicide

Much of the morning and early afternoon was dominated by sparring between guests and East Blackwood people. Around noon, on the day of the First Night, a messenger arrived claiming to be a man named Reed of the E.B.Co. He delivered letters to a few from East Blackwood including Lady Anna-Katharina von Rabenau. After delivering his letters, the messenger spent the next few hours talking with the guests and watching the sparring in the yard.

One of the tavern guests reported to have come across a blood trail while taking a pleasure walk through the nearby woods. The guest, who we will not name for their safety, followed the blood trail and found a fresh corpse at the end of it. The corpse's throat had been slit. The guest would later theorize that the blood trail must have been placed, as no one with a cut throat would have made it as far as it had appeared the corpse had before falling dead. Unfortunately, this theory did not come immediately as the guest returned to the tavern to get help investigating the body. The on-duty Embassy Guard, Dawyn Miller, and the messenger went with the guest to investigate the body.
The guest reported that the messenger killed Dawyn and attempted to kill him as well once they reached the corpse. The guest and the messenger were injured in the ensuing fight. The messenger retreated into the woods after sustaining a wound. The guest rushed back to the tavern to gather a search party. Together with Captain Varn and a mob, they began to search the woods.

Once the mob got close to the messenger, he ran again only this time Sir Raven and the Iron Daggers present ran after him cutting off his retreat and cutting him down in a fight. Captain Varn ordered that the "messenger" not be killed but the messenger did the deed himself by jamming a parrying dagger into his own throat. Squire Logaan of Aven, the Champion of the Embassy Guard, searched the body finding two letters. One a short list of targets and the other a letter that had dried blood on it and had been written in Lady Anna-Katharina von Rabenau's own hand.

Sometime during the escalation of events, Lady Anna retreated South West alone without telling anyone where she had gone. Captain Varn and Commander Anthem ordered evidence be collected while a search party was sent to find and protect Lady Anna. As the evidence was collected, and Lady Anna found and returned to the tavern safely, Commander Anthem and Captain Varn put Squire Logaan and Master Gideon of the East Blackwood Company in charge of the official investigation. Together with the help of Beria de Eline of East Blackwood and Dalag'Nor, Niamh O'Tamhais of the Western Seal, Sinaya Sonnenherz of the Münzquell, Adular of the Waffenmeister and Sir Raven of the Iron Daggers and other guests and East Blackwood people the following was surmised:

• The brother of Lady Anna-Katharina von Rabenau had been murdered as was reported by the Syconian Embassy.

• The real Reed was the tutor of Sir Dagger of Blackwood's ward, Fennix Heighless and was likely killed on the road to usurp his identity.

• Count Gavrill Vorontova of Syconia presented an offer of marriage to Lady Anna-Katharina von Rabenau. Syconia being the homeland of both Lady Anna and Lurius her traveling companion and alchemist of the East Blackwood Company.

• The first corpse found likely belonged to a merchant of some kind which was one of the targets in the letter found on the impersonator of Reed.

• The second corpse, Dawyn Miller, a new soldier of the Embassy Guard at the time of his death may have been the "Rebel" as the Rebel was one of the three targets on the impersonator's letter. Dawyn Miller had been wearing the armband of those who fought in Kahl'hatra and it was reported that many of their number hand joined the Blackhand Rebellion some six months after returning from Kahl'hatra. However, there is no current proof that Dawyn Miller was indeed a rebel aside from the fact that he was killed by the impersonator.

• A picture was found on the body of Dawyn Miller with the seal of the of an organization called the Brotherhood of the Half Moon or Crescent. One of the guests reported that Dawn Miller had been asking after the whereabouts of Lady Anna-Katharina von Rabenau before his death.

• The impersonator was likely a member of an organization called the Brotherhood of the Half Moon or Crescent.

Mythodea / Fall of Ankor Mortis

During the siege much more transpired within and around the war camps of the Great Host. This is article is an account of what happened during the Siege of Ankor Mortis.

Lordas Palatinus promoted to Captain of the Embassy Guard

Lordas Palatinus; former Champion of the Embassy Guard, was promoted to Captain after performing very well when given temporary command of the line during a battle with the Black Ice in front of the walls of Ankor Mortis. After receiving a head wound, Captain Varn delegated control of the line away from himself. Sir Dagger offered Lordas the chance to prove himself and prove himself.

Lordas took command of the line and rallied the battered troops of the Embassy Guard. Lordas stood in front of the unit, provoked, and taunted the enemy to come forward. At first, the Black Ice unit stood their ground while their archers took turns attempting to bring the heavily armored Lordas Palatinus down.

They had failed but it had been a ruse to buy time. Moments later another unit of Black Ice reinforced the first and together, without even saying a word, they charged forward. Lordas gave a handful of hasty commands to the Embassy Guard and promptly led them to victory in a bloody exchange. Following a day of battle with Lordas often coming under temporary command of the line, the Commander of the Embassy Guard, Anthem Devigil, promoted Lordas Palatinus to Captain.

Trade

A Year of Slander

Western Seal vs. The Kettle Family and the Northern Seal

This year has been one full of headaches for East Blackwood and the East Blackwood Company. From the end of last year moving on to the summer of this year, reports of harsh words being spoken of East Blackwood and the Kettle Family by nobles and officials of the Western Seal of Mythodea reached the ears of Sir Dagger of Blackwood, Blackwood's Ambassador to the Lands Far East and the Leader of the East Blackwood Company. These reports came from trusted sources, one of which, a Nova Bretonian and Western citizen, was under investigation for having allegedly made a deal with a reportedly criminal organization on behalf of a Western Fiefdom.

The trade deal in question was for horsemeat made between Nova Bretonia and the Northern Seal Protectorate of Lunorth. The agreement was made through the East Blackwood Company and Kettle Family respectively. The Kettles signed the trade deal on behalf of, and with the permission of, the Lord Protector of Lunorth while the East Blackwood Company signed nothing. They claimed they were only there to help feed those in need in the Western Seal.

When a slanderous story detailing how the Kettles were an unsavory crime family and their products were detestable and not fit for consumption reached the West's primary newspaper, the East Blackwood Embassy and Company stepped in to clear both the name of their Nova Bretonian scribe and that of the Company. As the article had slandered the Kettle Family, and therefore the Lord Protector of Lunorth and, the Archon of the North, the Embassy went to speak to the Northern Seal at their command pavilion during this year's Convent of the Elements. The North decided to deal with the issue directly and attended the Western Seal's next investigation meeting into both Nova Bretonia and the East Blackwood Company Scribe who had written the deal.

With the arrival of the North in the Western camp at the festival, all parties involved discussed the matter. The Western investigators claimed that the problem was with the anonymous writer who gave the article to the newspaper to be begin with and agreed to investigate who wrote the article and to have them apologize for the act of slander. To this date, this has not yet happened.

Blackwood vs. Münzquell

This was not, however, the only slanderous rumor that spread during the Convent of the Elements. Féwaé Méllinar Vitèz of the Münzquell reported that there had been dark rumors making the rounds. The first of the two was that the East Blackwood Company had been trading with the Undead Flesh. This of course was too far from reality to even be considered and the matter was instantly dismissed as nothing but bad rumor. The second rumor, however, was more detailed. The rumor had it that Sir Dagger of Blackwood had been speaking ill of the Münzquell. This of course was also not true according to Sir Dagger but the East Blackwood Company launched an investigation to find the origin of such rumors but to this date, no culprit has been found. At the end of the Convent, Sir Dagger sat down with the Regent of the Münzquell for a couple hours to discuss these rumors and to put them to rest.

The Rodent vs. Blackwood

Convent of the Elements was a stressful time for East Blackwood but all hopes that the stress would stop there ended when the Lunorthian newspaper "The Rodent" published an article, which claimed the man known as The Duke was part of East Blackwood and that he had attempted to play the gangs against one another. As the article has published slander, by Northern Law the slandered has the right to defend themselves. The East Blackwood Company has reported that they will approach this situation by legal means in the near future. As this story develops, we at The Ambassador will keep our readers informed.

The Drei Ponnies Brauhaus has a New Braumeister!

Corporal Bødvar "BeerHunter", proprietor of the Drei Ponnies Brauhaus, granted William Klatch his brewery in Zweiwasser to run in his name. William is now a merchant and tradesman of the East Blackwood Company.

Events

Dragonfly Queen

Tournaments

Logaan, Squire to the Duke of Aven, New Champion of the Embassy Guard

Every year, typically before the start of the Summer Campaign in Mythodea, the East Blackwood and Realms Embassy hosts the Champion of the Embassy Guard Tournament. This year marked the third ever tournament and saw great competition from across all of the participants. The tournament was broken down into three disciplines, Single Handed Weapon, Weapon and Shield and Any Weapon Combination. The top three placing fighters were granted points corresponding to their placement, 5 points for 1st, 3 points for 2nd and, 1 point for 3rd respectively. At the end of the tournament, the four top earning fighters were called to face each other in the longer Any Weapon Combination Semi Finals. The winners of those two fights moved on to the final to face each other for the title and honor of Champion of the Embassy Guard.

In the early going, the prior champion Lordas performed very well as did Westley Black, Captain Varn and Logaan. Later as the tournament moved on, SLIM of CrestGrath made a surprise showing in the Weapon and Shield but was defeated by Lordas toward the end. Finally, the Any Weapon discipline took place, which saw another surprise in Corporal Bodvar BeerHunter who won the Any Weapon using a glaive and throwing knife.

As the points for the Disciplines were tallied, the top four fighters of the day were chosen, Squire Logaan of Aven, Corporal Bodvar BeerHunter, Westley Black and the then Champion, Lordas Palatinus. As had been the case throughout the tournament, names were drawn at random by Gideon Klaud pairing Westley Black against Logaan and Bodvar against Lordas. Logaan and Lordas defeated their respective opponents earning themselves a spot in the final. Lordas fought to a valiant defeat losing to Logaan 5 to 6.

Accusations of Wrong Doing, Western and Northern Seals

During the Convent of the Elements at Bad Holzbrück, the ongoing accusations of wrongdoing against Makø Tok of Nova Bretonia and the East Blackwood Company expanded to involve Sir Dagger of Blackwood and the East Blackwood Company. Makø was accused of treason for having signed a contract between the Kettle Family and Nova Bretonia, a Western Fiefdom in which the Northern Seal Protectorate of Lunorth sold Nova Bretonia horses for slaughter in exchange for a large favor on behalf of Nova Bretonia. It was reported that some western elites believed this was considered a corrupted trade deal and claimed that the Kettles were a crime family.

To make matters worse, an article appeared in the Newspaper claiming that Rii Isenden of Nova Bretonia had entered into a corrupt trade deal with the "infamous and unsavory Kettle Crime syndicate," though no mention was made of the East Blackwood Company who has facilitated the relationship.

Lord Victor T. Kettle, having found himself being slandered, with the blessing of the Archon of the North, who was also an honorary Kettle, decided to be present for the next Western led-Makø-investigation meeting; East Blackwood followed. The North and East Blackwood sat down with the West to address the claims. During the proceeding, the Western investigation focused only on the slanderous newspaper article and neglected to mention anything that was reportedly said within Western Circles themselves. During the proceedings both the East Blackwood Company name, and Makø's name was cleared of any wrong doing; however, Rii Isenden still felt it prudent to punish the East Blackwood Company in some way. His decision was to ban trade with the East Blackwood Company for one year and one day.

After the slander scandal was concluded, a representative of the Land Hanse spoke with the East Blackwood Company concerning the road work between Schönweiler in the Realm of Roses and the Western Seal. During these discussions, the representative of the Land Hanse was made aware of the continuing conflict between the Voice of the West, Sir Dagger of Blackwood and the East Blackwood Company. In order to make dealing between both parties more fluid, the representative of the Western Land Hanse facilitated a meeting between Sir Dagger of Blackwood and Jean-Louis the Voice of the West. Jean-Louis arrived with four soldiers and a lady second. Sir Dagger of Blackwood sat at eye level with Jean-Louis and have first Bødwar Beerhunter and then Djako Kaevh take the high seats in representation of the Kingdom of Blackwood.

During this meeting Jean-Louis offered a gift of wine while the Embassy offered a gift of both The Ambassador Newspaper and of the new Merit Based System. The parties involved agreed to let bygones be bygones. Before the two parties parted, Jean-Louis invited the entire Embassy to attend his wedding while Sir Dagger offered to build Jean-Louis's soon to be sister-in-law a home for wayward animals. Dagger also offered all songs in his personal song book, save for those belonging to East Blackwood, to Jean-Louis's second.

On the second night of the Convent of the Elements, East Blackwood hosted the East Blackwood Gambling and Games event which dominated the Court and East Blackwood camps for the evening. Even the Archon of the South made an appearance at one of the gambling tables learning the Game of Shield, a high stakes dice game created by Grand Inquisitor Eva of Lunorth, the wife of the Lord Protector of Lunorth who was also present.

Also important at the Camp of the Southern Seal were the naming of a new Naches'Re, Alexei and the naming of a new sworn settler of the Southern Seal, Mae. Bellow is Mae's story:

Due to Mae's camp having a close proximity to the Southern Seal, being that it was just behind the East Blackwood Camp, Mae quickly made friends with the squire Heinrich Hellendorn and the archon's personal healer, scribe and confidante, Arya. He asked Arya, when she finds the time, to go to dance class with him. Although she was reluctant as a member of Terra, he managed to soften her up and get her to agree. During the dance exercises on the third day of the convention, Arya and Mae had a lot of fun, so she invited him to the Beltane, a celebration of summer and fertility in the evening. At the Beltane, Arya quickly and firmly asked Mae to jump through the fires with her to receive the blessing. Rumor had it that Earraine, ruler of the Fae of the Summer Court, had her fingers in the pie. The Beltane ended with music and dancing and segued seamlessly into the skalds' evening, where Arya and Mae grew closer.

The following days Mae was quizzed by the Archon of the South and Earraine respectively about his intentions with Arya, and who he is, and what he is up to on Mythodea. At the ball in the evening, Mae also danced Arya again, which astonished many from the South. Otherwise she was never so happy and light on her feet. At the Festival of Lights of the Edalphi, Mae realized that he should do more for Mythodea so that all the beings he laughed and drank with could continue to be happy. The good times always build on long periods of hardship and pain, and he realized that if he wanted to fight for better times, he would have to carry that with him. The last day of the convention was marked for Mae by an examination of Terra by Arya, in which he was able to support her.

They continued to spend the day together and strengthened their relationship in the evening, Mae had another conversation with the Archon and confessed that he would like to stay on the continent to help the beings be happier and to stay with Arya. The Archon and Nyame then called the South to the table for Mae to confirm his intentions in front of witnesses and officially ask to be accepted in the South. The Archon and Nyame gave their blessing, and now all that is missing is the oath on the South's decree, on the last night of the summer campaign.

Fighting alongside Viribus Unitas and the Northern Seal for the Summer Campaign

Sir Dagger of Blackwood spoke with the Archon of the North at a tavern in Bad Holzbrück during the Convent of the Elements to discuss whether or not East Blackwood would be with the North for Conquest or not. The conversation was brief and ended with the affirmaton that East Blackwood would indeed camp with Viribus Unitas during the siege of Ankor Mortis.

Münzquell

During the Convent of the Elements, the Münzquell tavern was the first stop of the East Blackwood Company party. Later during the Convent, however, it came to the attention of East Blackwood that rumors were making their rounds that the East Blackwood Company and or Sir Dagger himself was speaking ill about the Münzquell among other things. The Münzquell spoke to Sir Dagger about this earlier on and Dagger had members of East Blackwood attempt to look intro the Rumors themselves. Alas nothing was found or learned.

Trade News

Mitrasperanische Hanse Reform

Tares O'Grady Windschreiter, the leader of the Mitrasperanische Hanse, has been missing for two years. In that time, Mythodea experienced a cataclysm which caused great damage, harm and loss to the Hanse. The remaining full members of the Mitrasperanische Hanse are currently working to pick up the pieces and put the old organization back together. The leadership of the Hanse moving forward is also currently in question. A decision will reportedly be made in one year's time.

Market Day

In the absence of the Realm of Roses's Master of Coin, Raul, the realm's Market Day was still hosted at the Convent of the Elements in the town square. Merchants from all over Mythodea came to peddle their wares as well as to purchase from other companies and lands. The East Blackwood Company was among those present with a table at the event. They had Blackwood Red and White Oak as well as Kaevh Silver and Iron. Also present at their table was the new Merit Based System.

The Merit Based System is a standardized system of measurement that the E.B.Co expects will take Mythodea by storm. A spokesperson for the Company is quoted to having said, "the Merit Based System will soon be the standard measurements system used in trade throughout Mythodea."

The first two days of the campaign involved both the War with the Forsaken and the Archon Trials for both the Realm of Roses and the South. After the trials were explained by those chosen to be Voices of the Elements, East Blackwood opened "The Salty Stick" mobile tavern. There, before the majority of the East Blackwood had returned to camp, a guest from the Iron Daggers was attacked by what is believed to have been a Royal Hunter of the Undead Flesh. Commander Anthem of the Embassy Guard tightened security as best he could following the incident but something must be left understood, it happened at a tavern in the middle of a war-zone in a war camp of no more than 300 people. How much security could be expected was dependent on the organization of the Realm of Roses and the Blutpakt who made up the majority of those camped there.

The second day picked up both in trial and in battle frequency. Toward the end of the day of fighting the Forsaken, Captain Aiden Bellof the Freischaerler was captured. Sir Dagger attempted to rally what was left of East Blackwood and others around him, including the other Freischaerler, in an attempt to recover the captain but, as later reports would have it, it was too late. News reached the camps later that Captain Aiden Bellof of the Freischaerler had succumbed to his injuries while in captivity.

Cerena, the beloved of Saint Barnabas of the Undead Flesh, was destroyed during a large battle deep in the Hohld but she did not go alone. To destroy Cerena and stop her from hiding Barnabas forever, and thus removing the ability for the armies of the Elements to destroy him, the Razash´Dai had to sacrifice themselves ending the Elemental People of Ignis.

Confirmed Dead:

Robbert "No Hands" - A soldier of the Kingdom of Blackwood who had lost his hands four years prior in a cultural exchange gone wrong. He died while attempting to help out in a routine trade mission when it was reported that the Hanse ship he was on went under.

Fela Astrid Dubois - A member of the Embassy Guard. Fela served with distinction during the War of Moringaard. The Mitrasperanische Hanse ship she was on seen swallowed by the sea by a S.H.G vessel during the Great Calamity while on a routine trade mission to S.H.G. Ports.

Connor Duglas - A member of the Embassy Guard. Succumbed to cold injuries while on mission for Blackwood's allies in the Realm of Roses.

Allar Dobb - Member of the Embassy Guard. The Mitrasperanische Hanse ship he was on seen swallowed by the sea by a S.H.G vessel during the Great Calamity while on a routine trade mission to S.H.G. Ports.

Ed Torngil - Member of the Embassy Guard. The Mitrasperanische Hanse ship he was on seen swallowed by the sea by a S.H.G vessel during the Great Calamity while on a routine trade mission to S.H.G. Ports.

Muk - Laborer of the East Blackwood Company. The Mitrasperanische Hanse ship he was on seen swallowed by the sea by a S.H.G vessel during the Great Calamity while on a routine trade mission to S.H.G. Ports.

Esti "Little Esti" - Member of the Embassy Guard. The Mitrasperanische Hanse ship she was on seen swallowed by the sea by a S.H.G vessel during the Great Calamity while on a routine trade mission to S.H.G. Ports.

Jar'arl Emmetson - Merchant of the East Blackwood Company. The Mitrasperanische Hanse ship he was on seen swallowed by the sea by a S.H.G vessel during the Great Calamity while on a routine trade mission to S.H.G. Ports.

The Expedition to Herzenruh

At the northern Fortress of Düstertrutz, members of the Expedition, most notably Sir Antonius and Captain Oswulf of Waldesleben, met with the garrison to collect information for the journey and mission ahead. After a brief rest, near half of the allied force that had marched from Zackenberg remained within Düstertrutz either to heal from cold-weather injuries or to supplement the defenses until the cause of the destruction of Miro's Manor could be ascertained. Lady Sayeh of Sapphire Isle, Emissary for the Kingdom of Blackwood suggested the use of snowshoes to aid in traveling over the snowdrifts. These came into good use over the next leg of the journey through the forest (name of forest?) which allowed the expedition to conserve energy along the way.

At the Heart Lake, scouting reports suggested the lake would be a dangerous mystery. Sir Dagger of Blackwood urged that the expedition travel a more known path around the lake through the territory of the Narech'Tuloch. Many of the commanders agreed with this plan and thus the expedition avoided the lake and traveled around it. This brought them into direct confrontation with the Narech'Tuloch. After a heated, yet brief cultural exchange, the Narech'Tuloch joined the expedition. Together the children of Terra and the expedition marched to Herzenruh.

Herzenruh was a burnt out ruin yet its second story was still partially intact. The remains of the manor were examined for structural integrity. After, the manor was used as a shelter from a devastating winter storm. At this time, two children from the Circle of Redemption, an outlaw cult hiding within the forests of the North West territory of the Realm of Roses, were uncovered and interrogated. At the same time, an exhausted search for the bodies began. Captain Oswulf checked the bodies against a list of missing staff and personal guard, which had been provided back at Düstertrütz. The bodies were collected and placed in a pile in preparation for a funeral pyre.

Once the work at the manor was completed, Sir Antonious, now in command, ordered a large portion of the expedition to remain behind to defend the bodies and to provide a rear camp for the next leg of the expedition. With that, the allied force set out for the nearest camp of the Circle of Redemption. Upon arriving at the Circle, the expedition established a perimeter while the rest spoke with and or interrogated the members of the Circle living there after returning the children to their mother.

While on patrol, the party of Sir Dagger of Blackwood, Karmal, Phinea of Schönweiler and two Circle members and led by Oswulf of Waldesleben spotted tracks leading away from the camp. Sir Antonious ordered the tracks followed. Together the scouting party followed the tracks deep into the forest and away from the camp of the Circle of Redemption. What they found at the end of the trail was a very large Undead Flesh camp complete with two mages of the Circle of Redemption within.

Battle of Blue Forest

The undead appeared to be preparing to march in the direction of the camp of the Circle of Redemption. Using hand signals, Captain Oswulf ordered that the party run all the way back to camp to warn the expeditionary forces and the Circle of Redemption. The scouting party fled the area but were spotted by undead scouts and followed. Once the scouts reached the outer edges of the Circle camp, they split and sent up signal rockets to both warn the expedition and to confuse the undead. A volley of arrows followed them in sticking many.

The Expedition combined with the Circle of Redemption, who were not traitors, rapidly moved into position to defend the Camp and themselves. Battle erupted all around and the wounded and dying piled up quickly. The undead were more in both number and better armored than the defenders. For the first half of the battle, the Expedition and Circle attempted send out sorties to kill the Equalibri that had been undoing any progress that had been made against the undead. These sorties were more damaging than they were successful meaning it was only a matter of time before the Undead were victorious.

Not far from them Circle of the Redemption camp, a portal opened and from it came reinforcements, mostly mages and scholars, from Shan Meng'Feyn. Immediately, they came to the aid of the Expedition incinerating undead before them. As the reinforcements neared the expedition, the two groups united. Sir Antonious formed a plan to break out of the losing situation. Captain Oswulf took command of the right flank for the main battle line, Sir Dagger of Blackwood took command of the left flank and Sir Antonious with Stordan von Zackenberg took the center while the mages drew on whatever power they could.

The combined forced formed a wedge, with the wounded in the center, and broke through the undead commons they were engaged with and moved quickly toward the position of the remaining two heavily defended Equalibri. The mages unleashed waves of fire and wind at the enemy before them clearing a path and creating chaos at the same time. Sir Antonious ordered the flanks into a cohesive line and together the combined force assaulted the position of the Equalibri. Tacumi'lumas killed one of the Equalibri with an arrow while Davion and Karmal killed the last. The Forsaken broke after the death of their Equalibri seeding the Battle of the Blue Forest to the Realm of Roses and her allies but at the cost of blood and many lives.

While the circumstances of their arrival at the inn were enigmatic, the sudden gathering of people was used to announce important changes in the lives of notables and to discuss the invasion that had been reported in the Mitrasperanische Herold.

Invasion!

Sir Raven of the Iron Daggers presented those gathered with the information he had been, as of that moment, privy to. A large force of unknown origin had arrived by sea and landed on Northern shores. The force was reported to be moving steadily South East toward the Black Ice Territory. It was rumored that the Northern Fiefdoms who's lands the army passed through did not attack it. Instead, they send soldiers to defend cities and key trade ports in case the invading army chose to attack. It was believed that Northern Seal leaders preferred to allow the army to pass into Black Ice lands unhindered.

Master Djako and Bødvar of the Kingdom of Blackwood

Sir Dagger presented Djako Kaevh, Master Merchant of the East Blackwood Company and Corporal Bødvar of the Embassy Guard with their Sworn Citizenship of the Kingdom of Blackwood letters granting them all the rights, freedoms and duties the position and role provides. They are now sworn to the Crown and Lands of the Kingdom of Blackwood.

Cursed House

The "abandoned" Inn was discovered to have been cursed before the traveling people of Lunorth, East Blackwood and, the Iron Daggers stayed there. Nine of the "guests" were marked by the curse later resulting in a ritual to free them from it. This curse came with a price. That price five of the nine cursed declined to pay instead removing the burden from themselves and placing it upon the soul of a young woman who had died there. In the end, Bødvar of the Kingdom of Blackwood led a eulogy for the woman's soul.

An Impromptu Ball and Gambling

With little to do but eat, drink and rest, the "guests" at the inn decided to wait out the weather and enjoy some festivities of their own creation. A ball was hosted allowing those who had brought finery for the now canceled Winter Solstice Festival to enjoy while many of those who decided not to dance instead partook many rounds of Shield among other gambling games. During one heated game of Shield, Diob of the Iron Daggers lost to Sir Dagger of Blackwood a sizable some of coin and jewels.