'Neath a Crimson Throne, Session IX

 January 11^th, 2022/Worms 8^th-9^th, 749

Heroes present:

•Beowulf, level 1 fighter, played by J

•Deckard, level 1 specialist, played by M

•Joan, level 2 cleric, played by A

•Pendor, level 1 fighter, played by R

Their entourage:

•One donkey

•Three horses

The adventurers continued north toward County Fen. The first village they came across when entering that territory was Mossbridge, which they found to have already been sacked by marauding orcs. A few orcs were still in the village, and the adventurers defeated them in combat. Once they did, a disheveled man emerged from the ruin of a house. The adventurers questioned him and learned that he was Tedrin the Blacksmith, last surviving Mossbridger.

Pendor hatched a plan. Mossbridge needed to be rebuilt. He would renegotiate their contract with the Count of Fen, and ask to be made Lord of Mossbridge if his party could save the count's castle from the orcs. He would managed the reconstruction of Mossbridge, and make a name for himself in the process.

The party rested at the Mossbridge Inn, one of its last intact buildings. The next morning, they were awoken by a band of shieldmaidens from Castle Fen. Their leader, Hervor, led them along at spearpoint.

The group arrived at a camp on the shore of Lake Fen. The castle itself was on an island in the red-tinted lake, with a narrow bridge connecting it to the shore. The camp was populated by the last survivors of the attack on Castle Fen. Mostly, these were women and children.

Hervor led them to the count's tent. Count Fen turned out to be no more than fourteen years old, and he was accompanied by several elderly men who advised him. His name was Fenheah, and he explained more of the situation:

Two weeks ago, he had accepted an elvish lord named Celendril as a guest in the castle. Elflord Celendril was fleeing a band of orcs led by Warchief Mucous Membrane, who had chased him across the eastern frontier. Most of Castle Fen's fighters had been lost during the disastrous invasion of the north a year prior (but that is another tale). As such, they were unable to defend the castle against the orcs when they came looking for Celendril. The elflord was still somewhere in the castle, most likely a prisoner. As a guest, his safety was Count Fenheah's responsibility. So, in addition to purging the castle of the orcs, he hoped the adventurers could find Celendril.

He also warned them about a hazard of the castle. The lake was home to an old god named Bigmouth. In ancient times, Bigmouth was a menace who kept humans away from his lake. Then, a mighty hero cut out Bigmouth's heart and stored it inside the castle. Since Bigmouth could not risk his own heart being destroyed, he refrained from harming the people who settled by the lake and on the island at its center. The adventurers would need to be careful not to damage Bigmouth's heart during the fighting; if they did, Bigmouth would sense it, and destroy the castle.

Pendor made his offer to Count Fenheah. In exchange for saving the castle and rescuing Celendril, he wanted to be named Lord of Mossbridge. Now Pendor was of peasant stock, and one of Fenheah's advisers took offense to this proposition. He warned the count against accepting the offer. Beowulf backed up Pendor in the ensuing argument, and the adviser became angry with him, and challenged him to a duel.

Count Fenheah, however, accepted the new deal. And, he convinced his adviser to delay his challenge until after the adventurers returned from their mission.