Session Four

Kythorn 23rd, The Year of the Crown, 1351 DR

In the early morning hours of the 23rd of Kythorn, the party found themselves buried in the depths of the haunted mansion of the Hawkshills in Arabel. The resident spectre, a beautiful murdered woman known only as the "White Lady", had seized control of the two undead retainers who stood guard over the inner chapel in the catacombs of the house.

A furious battle was joined with the spirit-possessed skeletons, whose resident ghost seemed to give them fell speed and the power to cast limited spells. Eventually, with a display of terrifying elemental fire magic from Ka'mil, the two guardians were vanquished and the spectre, now forced to manifest directly, was driven off. The party was left facing the entrapped nashrou. The party swiftly debated the merits of claiming the sword sealed into the magic circle with the nashrou against the possible costs of liberating the demon, and eventually decided to chance a certain fight with the creature. With the power of Ka'mil's magic still lingering in the chapel, the creature was butchered down in short order and Rohan claimed the strange blade within.

• The following was perceived only by Rohan:

Rohan found himself instantly sequestered in a moment in time as he encountered the "spirit" of the blade, an ancient seeming human mage who identified himself as Azzrik. He claimed to be a tutor to Hawkshills now long gone, one who was sealed away when the family turned away from his instruction, but who was now ready and willing to teach young Rohan how to master the Art that lay dormant in his blood. Rohan agreed to carry Azzrik with him, out of the chapel and back into the world in exchange for this instruction.

Returning to the free flow of time, Rohan carried with him a dire warning from his new guide, that the White Lady was only driven off, not defeated, and that she would be rousing all the spirits of House Hawkshill against the intruders, a warning that proved immediately prophetic. The rage of the ghosts of the mansion was awesome and terrible, shaking the very foundations of the crumbling pile. The party fled from the terror of it, tumbling out into the forlorn yard with a screaming spectre and a host of apparitions at their heels.

A weary party, carrying the concealed treasures they could harvest from the house, made their way back to their suite in the Dancing Dragon to prepare for their noonday conference with Duke Thomdor Obarskyr. Along the way, it became apparent that door warders from the Temple of Sune were searching the streets for a woman distinctly similar to Briar Rose, but they missed her as she passed.

Upon the return to the inn, the party decided to use what hours they had left before their noonday appointment to finish their preparations for the meeting and their departure from Arabel, decided that they would rather not tempt the rash High Lord Imbruin to take action against them for perceived slights.

Rohan, John, and the ranger Mariam set out to use the Hawkshill gold to purchase horses, heading out to the East Fields and the stables of Neril Aundar. There, they managed to get a decent deal on a full complement of fine light battle-trained horses for the party, as well as tack, harnesses, and feed.

Ka'mil ventured to the Falcon's Rest Inn, to meet with Elmdaerle, a widely regarded sage on the flora and fauna of the Forest Kingdom. He discovered that the scales he had acquired to the south were very likely taken from a juvenile or young blue dragon, most likely taken in southern Anauroch. He pleasantly discovered the kindly sage to be a mage in his own right, allowing him to purchase spell components and some herbal poultices against natural poisons and minor diseases.

Elwrynn set out to arrange the sale of the suit of dark plate the party had discovered in Hawkshill House, leaving a message for the party that they should meet him at the appointed time at the Citadel for the Duke's conference.

Finally, with all preparations completed, the party traveled in fine fashion upon their new warhorses to the meeting with the Duke of the Eastern Marches, meeting Elwrynn and the War Wizard Melander in the courtyard of the Citadel. Finally, shortly after noon, the Duke himself arrived at the head of full patrol of medium cavalry, all of whom had apparently seen battle on the road south from Castle Crag. Tossing about imprecations about the High Lord and some group called the "Wicker Men", he stridently led the party to a cavernous study overlooking the Sword River. Within, his herald produced the long awaited Cormyrean Adventuring Charter promised to them by the King several nights past.

Several of the soon-to-be Worthy Blades found themselves discomfited by the pronouncement that they must sign the charter, partially in blood, with their full and complete names, but, with hesitation, they all did so, including the ranger Mariam who Rohan had invited to join the Blades. A hurried consultation among them confirmed her halting welcome into their number, and her signature, Myrmeen Lhal, seemed to surprise the Duke.

The party then, begging the indulgence of the Duke, offered to him the recovered plate mail, both Elwrynn and the Herald identifying it as the armor borne by the "Black Beast of the Wyvernwater", the general of the armies of the Witchlords during a dark period of Cormyrean history. The Duke secured the purchase of the relic for two thousand golden lions and firmly dismissed the newly minted Worthy Blades with cautious good wishes for their upcoming foray into the Haunted Halls of Eveningstar several days journey to the west.

Finally chartered, the Worthy Blades accepted the farewells and warnings of Melander. John broached the idea of seeking the blessings (and perhaps healing wands) of Tymora upon their new endeavor; he and Rohan negotiated successfully with an acolyte of the ostentatious Lady's House temple for the purchase of two newly created wands of cure light wounds.

Shortly after the midday hour, the party, somewhat bedraggled from their long nights and short rests in Arabel, but jubilant with their new charter, finally set out across the Kingsbridge into the borderlands of northern Cormyr, hoping to find fame and fortune in the ominous Haunted Halls of Eveningstar.