Did someone order a LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE and EXTRA THICK summary?
This whole thing started out in The Reach. The company was contracted for the removal of Forsworn from a redoubt. Despite a few casualties it was a roaring success. The redoubt is where we picked up Vurwe. The company found some Forsworn cubs at the Redoubt as well. One was a dime-a-dozen back-stabbing scumbag,like mebut we caught them. Decided to send them all to a safer place where they weren't as likely to grow into misanthropic sociopaths.
After the mission at the redoubt was concluded, the company moved to Windhelm. A few members went their own separate ways during a stop at Rorikstead. Once the remaining mercenaries arrived at Windhelm, Ashav set up shop to try to get some fresh faces into the company, and he was fairly successful if I recall correctly. But everything changed when the Kamal attacked.
Laying siege to Windhelm, the Kamal encountered a defense force comprised of battle-ready citizens, city guards, the White River Braves, the Dawnguard vampire hunters, and of course, our company. We held the docks for a short while, but a barrage of giant ice spikes forced everyone to retreat into the city. The kamal continued to blast the walls with missiles for a while, until they got bored of that and started sending corpses over the walls instead.
Amidst the siege, the local Argonian population have decided it would be a good time to freak the fuck out and start a riot.
Right, so, while the more combat-proficient of the company provided the guards with support regarding the rioters, a few others(Sagax, Tsleeixth, and an NPC guard named Frald) went to track down the Argonian Pakseech(local Argonian elder) to try and get him to calm the rioters down. When the aforementioned amigos found him, it was decided that Tsleeixth, being a fellow Argonian, would do all the talking. Through emotional appeal which then lead to the consideration of the logical outcome of trying to leave the city through conventional ways(that being certain death at the hands of the Kamal), the Pakseech relented and agreed with Tsleeixth that the riot would do more harm than good. The elder then gathered the Argonian population in front of Candlehearth Hall and commanded all hostilities cease. The streets of Windhelm grew quiet again.
While all this was going on, Farid and Leif were attempting to cash in on a bounty, but instead of finding someone to put them IN jail, they were trying to break someone OUT. The "bounty" on this man's head was put there by a friend trying to get him out. The escape route that Farid, Leif, and Anders(the wanted man) took was through the sewers. As if simply being down there wasn't bad enough, the trio came across a crazed Argonian snake charmer. The witch got taken down, though Farid got poisoned by the stabby end of the charmer's instrument, though he lived. After getting out, Anders immediately shot for where he thought his friend was. The client that hired Farid was dead, killed by a Kamal missile that was hurled over the walls. In his boot was a key that opened a box. Inside was Farid and Leif's pay(well not really, it was meant for Anders, but ya know, details details), and a bit of paper. The paper documented several plans, including but not limited to, proposal to the high king for banning all intoxicants, the possibility of the construction of a Thu'um academy, and the soul-trapping of undesirables. The Black-Briars had contracted the Thieves Guild, of which Anders was a part of, to steal these documents, but Anders failed and was thrown in prison. Instead of handing it over to the Black-Briars though, Farid and Leif gave the paper to Ashav for review.
Not that any of that would matter though, as the Kamal took no time in finally taking the city. In a strange display of honor, the Kamal commander sent a request for a duel to Windhelm's Jarl, Lodevemar. The Jarl accepted, and was unceremoniously slaughtered by the giant. As fired-up guards and citizens rushed out to avenge Lodevemar, the Kamal seized the opportunity and launched ice spikes straight into the gears of the open gates, jamming them. The Snow Demons charged in and began killing all dissidents. Our company and several others escaped through underground tunnels, leading out into Anga's Mill. The bridge crossing a crevice before the exit fell, though, and many people fell straight to the dooms, one meeting their end by a dagger wielded by a certain someone. It only got worse after emerging at the mill, as the Kamal were already there, patrolling with mounts. The company and other survivors bolted into the woods, towards Dawnstar, and even more people were killed, including Utu-Ja.
After the mission at the redoubt was concluded, the company moved to Windhelm. A few members went their own separate ways during a stop at Rorikstead. Once the remaining mercenaries arrived at Windhelm, Ashav set up shop to try to get some fresh faces into the company, and he was fairly successful if I recall correctly. But everything changed when the Kamal attacked.
Laying siege to Windhelm, the Kamal encountered a defense force comprised of battle-ready citizens, city guards, the White River Braves, the Dawnguard vampire hunters, and of course, our company. We held the docks for a short while, but a barrage of giant ice spikes forced everyone to retreat into the city. The kamal continued to blast the walls with missiles for a while, until they got bored of that and started sending corpses over the walls instead.
Amidst the siege, the local Argonian population have decided it would be a good time to freak the fuck out and start a riot.
Right, so, while the more combat-proficient of the company provided the guards with support regarding the rioters, a few others(Sagax, Tsleeixth, and an NPC guard named Frald) went to track down the Argonian Pakseech(local Argonian elder) to try and get him to calm the rioters down. When the aforementioned amigos found him, it was decided that Tsleeixth, being a fellow Argonian, would do all the talking. Through emotional appeal which then lead to the consideration of the logical outcome of trying to leave the city through conventional ways(that being certain death at the hands of the Kamal), the Pakseech relented and agreed with Tsleeixth that the riot would do more harm than good. The elder then gathered the Argonian population in front of Candlehearth Hall and commanded all hostilities cease. The streets of Windhelm grew quiet again.
While all this was going on, Farid and Leif were attempting to cash in on a bounty, but instead of finding someone to put them IN jail, they were trying to break someone OUT. The "bounty" on this man's head was put there by a friend trying to get him out. The escape route that Farid, Leif, and Anders(the wanted man) took was through the sewers. As if simply being down there wasn't bad enough, the trio came across a crazed Argonian snake charmer. The witch got taken down, though Farid got poisoned by the stabby end of the charmer's instrument, though he lived. After getting out, Anders immediately shot for where he thought his friend was. The client that hired Farid was dead, killed by a Kamal missile that was hurled over the walls. In his boot was a key that opened a box. Inside was Farid and Leif's pay(well not really, it was meant for Anders, but ya know, details details), and a bit of paper. The paper documented several plans, including but not limited to, proposal to the high king for banning all intoxicants, the possibility of the construction of a Thu'um academy, and the soul-trapping of undesirables. The Black-Briars had contracted the Thieves Guild, of which Anders was a part of, to steal these documents, but Anders failed and was thrown in prison. Instead of handing it over to the Black-Briars though, Farid and Leif gave the paper to Ashav for review.
Not that any of that would matter though, as the Kamal took no time in finally taking the city. In a strange display of honor, the Kamal commander sent a request for a duel to Windhelm's Jarl, Lodevemar. The Jarl accepted, and was unceremoniously slaughtered by the giant. As fired-up guards and citizens rushed out to avenge Lodevemar, the Kamal seized the opportunity and launched ice spikes straight into the gears of the open gates, jamming them. The Snow Demons charged in and began killing all dissidents. Our company and several others escaped through underground tunnels, leading out into Anga's Mill. The bridge crossing a crevice before the exit fell, though, and many people fell straight to the dooms, one meeting their end by a dagger wielded by a certain someone. It only got worse after emerging at the mill, as the Kamal were already there, patrolling with mounts. The company and other survivors bolted into the woods, towards Dawnstar, and even more people were killed, including Utu-Ja.
The survivors stopped shortly at Nightgate Inn, and continued on to Dawnstar, where the company spent the night. This is where Ashav met the company's benefactor, a Nord named Gustav. He was the client that hired the company for, and financed the Reach expedition and got the mercenaries a place to stay in Windhelm(it was a bare warehouse, but that's an aside). The Nord was allegedly guided by the words of a prophet who told of a great crisis in the future, and had used the Reach mission as a field-trial. The prophet then relayed that the first conflict would be in Windhelm. What Gustav did not know, however, was that the conflict would be headed by denizens of Akavir. Currently, Gustav is not sure of the next step to take against the invaders. In the meantime, while their benefactor waited for further word from his prophet, our company joined up with local Dawnstar sailors, the East Empire Company, and the Jarl and his men on a rescue operation to Winterhold. Another disaster struck the town, and it was no more, aside from the College, which has been cut off from the mainland due to the bridge collapsing.
The way over was bumpy, but most everyone made it. Now on the 14th of Sun's Height, The Courtesan floats near the College of Winterhold. Those aboard were Dumhuvud, Leif, Sadri, Orakh, Rhasha'Dar, and a few sailors, who were fighting off Ice Wraiths after sailing over to a shoreline when they saw smoke rising into the air, denoting a fire and possibly a survivor. The rest, that being Sevine, Farid, Roze, Do'Karth, Ariane, Keegan, S'Riracha, Tsleeixth, Solveig, Sagax, and seven NPC sailors, went through the Midden after doing a bit of rock climbing to get to the College proper.
After fighting off a bunch of glowing blue pokeballs, the rescue team ascended a ladder up to the College grounds. It was there that Faralda, the "acting captain" as it were of the College, explained the cause of the sudden storms and the destruction of Winterhold. A student had been testing enchanted telescopes, and it was with these that they spied ships of wooden, rectangular make, crewed by mages who would drained energy from odd vessels into the sky and oceans. This brought the landslide that sent the town into the sea.
After a brief check of supplies and the well-being of the College's residents, the rescue team, along with the most injured of the College(roughly person one per team member), descended back down through the Midden and back to The Courtesan.
The rescue team got back to the ship to find they had more guests. After fighting off the Ice Wraiths, those that had remained on the ship discovered the source of the fire: An Azuran priest named Kattun and his Khajiit companion, R'ihanna. They were attempting to travel to the Statue of Azura, but the storm stopped them in their tracks. The Kamals apparently passed by their hidey-hole on their way to Windhelm, as the two were pelted with ice spikes when they went to hail some ships, hoping for a rescue.
So that was that, rescue mission completed. Not.
The storms only picked up as time went on, downright blinding the captains of the ships in the small rescue fleet, nearly smashing into one another several times. Unfortunately, all the maneuvering in the world wouldn't have let them avoid the sudden iceberg that violently pierced the hull. They had to abandon The Courtesan. Some of the mages on board did not wait, oh no, they hopped right into one of the dinghies and cut the rope, sending them down to the waters. This would be their end, as they had no experience with sailing of any kind, and the storm eventually overtook them, flipping their boat and drowning them all. This left only one other dinghy, and it could not fit everyone. After various nominations, the passengers were decided: Sevine, Solveig, Trius, Do'Karth, Rhasha'dar, R'ihanna, and the remaining mage boarded the dinghy and set off towards the nearby coastline. When they landed, they were warmly greeted by incredibly hostile Morrowind Armigers, who wanted to show the party their cool swords. One recognized Trius, and called him a traitor. As it turns out, Trius was once an Armiger himself, who left the organization after succumbing to regret over actions he was once ordered to carry out. Naturally, the Armigers were not too happy to see their old friend, and promptly lashed out with blades drawn.
Fortunately, our shore party were no slouches, and they swiftly brought down most of the Armigers. Then, surprise of all surprises, a strange group of crimson-clad gimps jumped out of literally nowhere and killed their select few. The Dark Brotherhood almost lost their contract to some random band of mercenaries; how embarrassing!
Just as the youngest of the assassins killed his target, The Courtesan beached along the shore. Kattun fell over the railing like an idiot and broke some things, while others intelligently used ropes to shimmy down the hull. Cat-Kicker, being who he is, marched straight up to the assassins and demanded to know why they were there. Well, obviously, they were there to kill the Armigers, though the why of it all was a mystery. That is, until, the Listener uncovered a bundle of paper from one of the dead Armigers. It was written in Dunmeri, signed by the Nerevarine's War Ministry. According to the letter, those Armigers were meant to secure a beachhead and link up with their Akavir allies, aka the Kamals. The Brotherhood was no more friendly towards the Akavir invaders than the company. Strange bedfellows indeed. Before the assassins left, one of them, Rhasha'dar's sister, gave the notes to her brother for possible use later.
After the crimsonheads departed, the company helped themselves to the shelter and supplies secured by the Armigers and got a well earned night's sleep. In the morning, everything was packed up and the company would head back to Dawnstar on foot, as The Courtesan was not seaworthy. The snowstorm only picked up from there, and the need for cover was pressing. Eventually, Do'Karth, who was at the front of the formation helping navigation, picked up the scent of fungus, and deduced a cave was nearby. This shelter, however, was no port in the storm.
The clicking of mandibles and the screams of Falmer rang throughout the cavern; Falmer and their accursed chaurus pets. A couple of people got shot, others were almost Chaurus food, but eventually the company pushed the Falmer back enough for them to set up a temporary camp inside the cave. A few people were put on watch, and everything turned out just fine. Minus a minor poisoning, but you know, that's not important.
When the company got back, they caught their first real break in weeks: A whalers' festival was being held in Dawnstar, a sight in stark contrast to the rubble of Windhelm and the endless tundra they had just crossed. Everyone had a good time and no one died. Not until the next morning, at least. After reading the news about the Ocrish assault on Dragon Gate, Farid flew into a rage and murdered Orakh, whom the leader of the assault attributed his inspiration to. Detained by the leaders of the company, Farid would pay for his transgressions through combat. Ashav's champion: Daixanos. The battle was dirty and bloody, but Dax came out on top, burying his axe deep into Farid's chest. Farid was given a decent burial.
The way over was bumpy, but most everyone made it. Now on the 14th of Sun's Height, The Courtesan floats near the College of Winterhold. Those aboard were Dumhuvud, Leif, Sadri, Orakh, Rhasha'Dar, and a few sailors, who were fighting off Ice Wraiths after sailing over to a shoreline when they saw smoke rising into the air, denoting a fire and possibly a survivor. The rest, that being Sevine, Farid, Roze, Do'Karth, Ariane, Keegan, S'Riracha, Tsleeixth, Solveig, Sagax, and seven NPC sailors, went through the Midden after doing a bit of rock climbing to get to the College proper.
After fighting off a bunch of glowing blue pokeballs, the rescue team ascended a ladder up to the College grounds. It was there that Faralda, the "acting captain" as it were of the College, explained the cause of the sudden storms and the destruction of Winterhold. A student had been testing enchanted telescopes, and it was with these that they spied ships of wooden, rectangular make, crewed by mages who would drained energy from odd vessels into the sky and oceans. This brought the landslide that sent the town into the sea.
After a brief check of supplies and the well-being of the College's residents, the rescue team, along with the most injured of the College(roughly person one per team member), descended back down through the Midden and back to The Courtesan.
The rescue team got back to the ship to find they had more guests. After fighting off the Ice Wraiths, those that had remained on the ship discovered the source of the fire: An Azuran priest named Kattun and his Khajiit companion, R'ihanna. They were attempting to travel to the Statue of Azura, but the storm stopped them in their tracks. The Kamals apparently passed by their hidey-hole on their way to Windhelm, as the two were pelted with ice spikes when they went to hail some ships, hoping for a rescue.
So that was that, rescue mission completed. Not.
The storms only picked up as time went on, downright blinding the captains of the ships in the small rescue fleet, nearly smashing into one another several times. Unfortunately, all the maneuvering in the world wouldn't have let them avoid the sudden iceberg that violently pierced the hull. They had to abandon The Courtesan. Some of the mages on board did not wait, oh no, they hopped right into one of the dinghies and cut the rope, sending them down to the waters. This would be their end, as they had no experience with sailing of any kind, and the storm eventually overtook them, flipping their boat and drowning them all. This left only one other dinghy, and it could not fit everyone. After various nominations, the passengers were decided: Sevine, Solveig, Trius, Do'Karth, Rhasha'dar, R'ihanna, and the remaining mage boarded the dinghy and set off towards the nearby coastline. When they landed, they were warmly greeted by incredibly hostile Morrowind Armigers, who wanted to show the party their cool swords. One recognized Trius, and called him a traitor. As it turns out, Trius was once an Armiger himself, who left the organization after succumbing to regret over actions he was once ordered to carry out. Naturally, the Armigers were not too happy to see their old friend, and promptly lashed out with blades drawn.
Fortunately, our shore party were no slouches, and they swiftly brought down most of the Armigers. Then, surprise of all surprises, a strange group of crimson-clad gimps jumped out of literally nowhere and killed their select few. The Dark Brotherhood almost lost their contract to some random band of mercenaries; how embarrassing!
Just as the youngest of the assassins killed his target, The Courtesan beached along the shore. Kattun fell over the railing like an idiot and broke some things, while others intelligently used ropes to shimmy down the hull. Cat-Kicker, being who he is, marched straight up to the assassins and demanded to know why they were there. Well, obviously, they were there to kill the Armigers, though the why of it all was a mystery. That is, until, the Listener uncovered a bundle of paper from one of the dead Armigers. It was written in Dunmeri, signed by the Nerevarine's War Ministry. According to the letter, those Armigers were meant to secure a beachhead and link up with their Akavir allies, aka the Kamals. The Brotherhood was no more friendly towards the Akavir invaders than the company. Strange bedfellows indeed. Before the assassins left, one of them, Rhasha'dar's sister, gave the notes to her brother for possible use later.
After the crimsonheads departed, the company helped themselves to the shelter and supplies secured by the Armigers and got a well earned night's sleep. In the morning, everything was packed up and the company would head back to Dawnstar on foot, as The Courtesan was not seaworthy. The snowstorm only picked up from there, and the need for cover was pressing. Eventually, Do'Karth, who was at the front of the formation helping navigation, picked up the scent of fungus, and deduced a cave was nearby. This shelter, however, was no port in the storm.
The clicking of mandibles and the screams of Falmer rang throughout the cavern; Falmer and their accursed chaurus pets. A couple of people got shot, others were almost Chaurus food, but eventually the company pushed the Falmer back enough for them to set up a temporary camp inside the cave. A few people were put on watch, and everything turned out just fine. Minus a minor poisoning, but you know, that's not important.
When the company got back, they caught their first real break in weeks: A whalers' festival was being held in Dawnstar, a sight in stark contrast to the rubble of Windhelm and the endless tundra they had just crossed. Everyone had a good time and no one died. Not until the next morning, at least. After reading the news about the Ocrish assault on Dragon Gate, Farid flew into a rage and murdered Orakh, whom the leader of the assault attributed his inspiration to. Detained by the leaders of the company, Farid would pay for his transgressions through combat. Ashav's champion: Daixanos. The battle was dirty and bloody, but Dax came out on top, burying his axe deep into Farid's chest. Farid was given a decent burial.
The company then received word of three things. One: Forest fires had been raging in the Pale. These fires were not of the normal kind, though, as they occur at random, out of season, and they angered the Spriggans. Two: The location of a Dwemer ruin doubling as a sailor's hideout, Bthamz. Rumored to hold an ancient weapon storage facility, likely containing ballistae and crossbows, it was worth a delve. Three: It was deduced that the enemy Armigers originated from Bleakrock Isle, a garrison not used since the last Kamal invasion several eras past. The plan: Occupy Bthamz, acquire the armaments hidden away inside, and sail to Bleakrock to blast the Armigers straight into Oblivion and take the isle for the company.
In the Pale were Rhasha'Dar , Jorwen, Sevine, Daixanos, Mercel, Daelin and Keegan,
while over in Bthamz it was Sadri, Tsleeixth, Roze, Do'Karth, Solveig, Raelyn, Leif, Elmera, Sagax that had been picked to raid the ruin.
The Pale party got fairly romped, but they pulled through and killed all the damn wolves and spriggans that were so rudely trying to get unsolicited blood samples from the group. In Bthamz, things went swimmingly, with only two party members sustaining serious injuries from the assault by Dwarven spheres and spider drones. And then Do'karth tried being nice and attempted to speak like a civil person to the other party wandering about in the ruin. He was nearly neutered for his efforts. Outside of Bthamz, the topside party led by Ashav and the captain bitch lieutenant of the captain of the Kyne's Tear investigated another ship...only to be, you guessed it, attacked.
Back in the Pale, the gang set up camp with a friendly Nord to regroup and heal up. During the quiet camping session, Rothvar, the Nord the group had met, revealed the cause of the fires: a pyromancer. While Rothvar and his previous team were working to stop the spread of the fires, the pyromancer would repeatedly foil their efforts by conjuring more and more flames behind them. The next day it was decided that some would stay behind at the camp, while the others would strike down the rogue mage. Keegan, Sevine, and Rhasha'Dar, still being heavily injured, stayed behind with Rothvar, while Jorwen, Daelin, Mercel, and Daixanos marched to Cindershine Mine, where the mage was reportedly hiding. When they got there, they indeed found the one responsible for the fires, along with some others, including man that had once fought in Ashav's company, Jonimir. Jonimir and the mage quickly came to blows, and our sword-swingin', arrow-shootin' heroes quickly launched into battle themselves. In the end, the mage was defeated, Jonimir got away, and the company learned something dreadful: The Kamal have started enslaving people, sending them to do work the giants could not tend to themselves for whatever reason. Jonimir, along with his mage friend and an Orc woman named Bharzak, all wore collars, signifying their collaboration. Jonimir allowed Bharzak to leave his service and she joined up with Jorwen and the others. All's well that ends well...well, except back at camp.
See, while the cave story was playing out, those back at base camp had their lazy snoozing interrupted by our favorite neighborhood living siege engines, the Kamal. Two of them to be precise, and they were closing in on the campsite. Naturally, everyone panicked...except for Rothvar, clever old man that he was. He got to work digging ditches for everyone to hide from the Kamals in. Everyone's bodies and faces would be covered by a shallow layer of dirt, masking their presence from the uninvited guests romping around. It worked, too, and everyone was able to make their way to Nightgate Inn without(further) serious injury. Oh, then they got attacked by a Kamal-collaborator raiding party. Fun!
The hostiles facing off against our party in Bthamz were quickly and hilariously curbstomped, and their captain was brought to heel...well, for a little bit. The reappearance of Niernen apparently distracted the entire party long enough for the tart in bright orange robes to get away. No harm, no foul though, as the team quickly found him again...with several of his heavily-armed friends: A group of Ashlanders and their leader, Narivar, brother of everyone's favorite nosy journalist, Madura. Can you guess what happened next? If you guessed "A fight broke out after some failed attempts at diplomacy", you get...absolutely nothing! But you guessed right. Oh, did I mention that Dwemer Centurions are not exactly morning people/automata? Because one did not take kindly to the sudden commotion, and got up to give both sides a beating. Once the fighting began, the Centurion began stomping around, taking swings at Ashlanders and mercenaries alike. Eventually, with the help of Niernen, the two forces decided that working together to take down the big metal death machine was in their best interest, and shot it up after it got caught on some pipes. You know the saying: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Well, the Centurion fell hard indeed; it's a wonder it didn't make the whole room collapse in on itself.
Afterwards, the Ashlanders remaining were pacified and the key to the armory was taken from Narivar. Best not to ask how that was done. The Bthamz team got to work getting the ballistae out of the ruins, and met up with the topside team, who had swiftly dealt with their own Ashlander nuisances.
Once the ballistae were loaded up, it was time to set sail and get off that frozen rock. Of course, nothing is ever so simple. Not too long after hitting the sea, the two ships were intercepted by none other than a Kamal frigate, the same slave-ship that had held Niernen and Valen, no less. Seeing no escape from the vessel, the company ships decided to test out their new toys against their foe. The frigate ended up smack-dab in the middle, and got anchored down by ballistae fire, leaving them trapped and open to boarding. Not keen on simply relying on conventional fighting to beat down the Kamal, Ashav sent out agents of suicidal subterfuge to plant bombs in the hold where the metal ship's engine was housed.
Armed and detonated with extreme prejudice, the bombs shredded the frigate and sent it to the briny deep, but not before the mercenaries were able to free the remaining slaves and get them onto the Kyne's Tear. Unfortunately, its sister ship was lost, so the crew of the Tear had to sail home alone.
The raid at Nightgate didn't go well for anyone. For every defender brought down, another Kamal collaborator was killed as well, either by the defenders themselves or by the Kamal's careless aiming of their artillery. Unfortunately, there were more raiders than defenders, and so Nightgate was lost. The remaining survivors retreated to Dawnstar to regroup with the rest of the company. One Jorwen Red-Bear has been reported as Missing In Action, with several White-River Braves reported as Killed In Action.
The Pale crew got back to town late in the afternoon of the 24th of Sun's Height; the Kyne's Tear docked and its crew disembarked early in the afternoon of the 25th of Sun's Height.
Back at Dawnstar, stress was at an all-time high and tempers are flying with infighting abound in Ashav's company. They'd all better get their shit together if they want their next missions to be quiet ones. The Bthamz crew were readying up for the murder investigation of one Vurwe Highorin while the Pale crew prepared to set sail for Bleakrock.
In the Pale were Rhasha'Dar , Jorwen, Sevine, Daixanos, Mercel, Daelin and Keegan,
while over in Bthamz it was Sadri, Tsleeixth, Roze, Do'Karth, Solveig, Raelyn, Leif, Elmera, Sagax that had been picked to raid the ruin.
The Pale party got fairly romped, but they pulled through and killed all the damn wolves and spriggans that were so rudely trying to get unsolicited blood samples from the group. In Bthamz, things went swimmingly, with only two party members sustaining serious injuries from the assault by Dwarven spheres and spider drones. And then Do'karth tried being nice and attempted to speak like a civil person to the other party wandering about in the ruin. He was nearly neutered for his efforts. Outside of Bthamz, the topside party led by Ashav and the captain bitch lieutenant of the captain of the Kyne's Tear investigated another ship...only to be, you guessed it, attacked.
Back in the Pale, the gang set up camp with a friendly Nord to regroup and heal up. During the quiet camping session, Rothvar, the Nord the group had met, revealed the cause of the fires: a pyromancer. While Rothvar and his previous team were working to stop the spread of the fires, the pyromancer would repeatedly foil their efforts by conjuring more and more flames behind them. The next day it was decided that some would stay behind at the camp, while the others would strike down the rogue mage. Keegan, Sevine, and Rhasha'Dar, still being heavily injured, stayed behind with Rothvar, while Jorwen, Daelin, Mercel, and Daixanos marched to Cindershine Mine, where the mage was reportedly hiding. When they got there, they indeed found the one responsible for the fires, along with some others, including man that had once fought in Ashav's company, Jonimir. Jonimir and the mage quickly came to blows, and our sword-swingin', arrow-shootin' heroes quickly launched into battle themselves. In the end, the mage was defeated, Jonimir got away, and the company learned something dreadful: The Kamal have started enslaving people, sending them to do work the giants could not tend to themselves for whatever reason. Jonimir, along with his mage friend and an Orc woman named Bharzak, all wore collars, signifying their collaboration. Jonimir allowed Bharzak to leave his service and she joined up with Jorwen and the others. All's well that ends well...well, except back at camp.
See, while the cave story was playing out, those back at base camp had their lazy snoozing interrupted by our favorite neighborhood living siege engines, the Kamal. Two of them to be precise, and they were closing in on the campsite. Naturally, everyone panicked...except for Rothvar, clever old man that he was. He got to work digging ditches for everyone to hide from the Kamals in. Everyone's bodies and faces would be covered by a shallow layer of dirt, masking their presence from the uninvited guests romping around. It worked, too, and everyone was able to make their way to Nightgate Inn without(further) serious injury. Oh, then they got attacked by a Kamal-collaborator raiding party. Fun!
The hostiles facing off against our party in Bthamz were quickly and hilariously curbstomped, and their captain was brought to heel...well, for a little bit. The reappearance of Niernen apparently distracted the entire party long enough for the tart in bright orange robes to get away. No harm, no foul though, as the team quickly found him again...with several of his heavily-armed friends: A group of Ashlanders and their leader, Narivar, brother of everyone's favorite nosy journalist, Madura. Can you guess what happened next? If you guessed "A fight broke out after some failed attempts at diplomacy", you get...absolutely nothing! But you guessed right. Oh, did I mention that Dwemer Centurions are not exactly morning people/automata? Because one did not take kindly to the sudden commotion, and got up to give both sides a beating. Once the fighting began, the Centurion began stomping around, taking swings at Ashlanders and mercenaries alike. Eventually, with the help of Niernen, the two forces decided that working together to take down the big metal death machine was in their best interest, and shot it up after it got caught on some pipes. You know the saying: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Well, the Centurion fell hard indeed; it's a wonder it didn't make the whole room collapse in on itself.
Afterwards, the Ashlanders remaining were pacified and the key to the armory was taken from Narivar. Best not to ask how that was done. The Bthamz team got to work getting the ballistae out of the ruins, and met up with the topside team, who had swiftly dealt with their own Ashlander nuisances.
Once the ballistae were loaded up, it was time to set sail and get off that frozen rock. Of course, nothing is ever so simple. Not too long after hitting the sea, the two ships were intercepted by none other than a Kamal frigate, the same slave-ship that had held Niernen and Valen, no less. Seeing no escape from the vessel, the company ships decided to test out their new toys against their foe. The frigate ended up smack-dab in the middle, and got anchored down by ballistae fire, leaving them trapped and open to boarding. Not keen on simply relying on conventional fighting to beat down the Kamal, Ashav sent out agents of suicidal subterfuge to plant bombs in the hold where the metal ship's engine was housed.
Armed and detonated with extreme prejudice, the bombs shredded the frigate and sent it to the briny deep, but not before the mercenaries were able to free the remaining slaves and get them onto the Kyne's Tear. Unfortunately, its sister ship was lost, so the crew of the Tear had to sail home alone.
The raid at Nightgate didn't go well for anyone. For every defender brought down, another Kamal collaborator was killed as well, either by the defenders themselves or by the Kamal's careless aiming of their artillery. Unfortunately, there were more raiders than defenders, and so Nightgate was lost. The remaining survivors retreated to Dawnstar to regroup with the rest of the company. One Jorwen Red-Bear has been reported as Missing In Action, with several White-River Braves reported as Killed In Action.
The Pale crew got back to town late in the afternoon of the 24th of Sun's Height; the Kyne's Tear docked and its crew disembarked early in the afternoon of the 25th of Sun's Height.
Back at Dawnstar, stress was at an all-time high and tempers are flying with infighting abound in Ashav's company. They'd all better get their shit together if they want their next missions to be quiet ones. The Bthamz crew were readying up for the murder investigation of one Vurwe Highorin while the Pale crew prepared to set sail for Bleakrock.
Sevine, Roze, Dax, Do’Karth, Elmera, Sadri, Dumhuvud, Ariane, Narzul and Niernen were going to Bleakrock while Solveig, Sagax, Leif, Tsleeixth, Marcel, Raelyn, Khazki, Wylendriel and Rhasha’Dar stayed behind for the investigation. Piper joined them as an independent contracted by the Jarl.
During the briefing, the Bleakrock crew learned of intelligence reports that Dunmer had taken over the isle and were using it as an outpost and forward base for naval strikes, and that perhaps it was from there that the frigate that had attacked them before originated. Their mission was to infiltrate Bleakrock and take the enemies stationed there by stealth and surprise to stop them from expanding further. The Steelhead set sail on the morning of 26th, Sun’s Height.
Landing on the 29th, the mercenaries aboard the Steelhead crept their way onto Bleakrock and began to scout around. For a while, nothing out of the ordinary happened, and all was quiet. Coming upon a bridge, Sadri and Narzul, acting as forward scouts, attempted to cross. Unfortunately, it seemed Sadri had gained some weight nor was Narzul’s armor helping anything, so the rotted wood promptly collapsed under them. Miraculously, the Dunmer survived, but had alerted a party of Armigers in the process. Dumhuvud, the tactical genius that he is, declared that their forces simply “rush them”.
Crazily enough, his plan worked, and the Armigers were sent into a retreat that the Nord ordered be pursued. Unbeknownst to those giving chase, the retreating Mer had been alerting other outposts as they fled, and they were promptly surrounded on all sides. Thankfully their captain, one Orio Dihp, was an honorable fellow who ordered that the mercenaries be dueled instead of slaughtered. Eventually the mercs emerged victorious with a few casualties and the loss of Eirik Eiriksdóttir, a woman too brave for her own good but not quite lucky enough to balance it out.
After some more fighting(dip in crumbs, Captain Orio), the Steelhead intercepted with the Dwarven ballistae from Bthamz and tore several Dunmer ships apart before the mercenaries boarded and sailed away from the isle, leaving behind several burning Armiger tents and the splintered vessels. Before long, Ariane received a message on her dreamsleeve-attuned crystal that she received from Gustav. They were to set sail for Solitude. The Steelhead was not their ship, but she and Dumhuvud were certain they could get the captain to see reason; having a bunch of tired and angry hardened mercenaries on standby would probably come in handy.
The investigation in Dawnstar did not last very long at all. Oh no, events progressed with unfortunate speed. Argonians, Nords, all dead and seemingly at random, and the assassins worked quickly, leaving no witnesses in their wake.However, with their speed they had brought recklessness. Evidence was scarce but telling: a false argonian tale used as a disguise, crafted by a party that knew much of Argonian anatomy and taxidermy; a strange stone that caused hardened ash to spread across surfaces it came into contact with left behind during a massacre in the mines, an indication of Dunmer involvement, and a strange, lonesome tower. Not evidence in of itself, but if any place would be a perfect hideout, that would be it.
Turns out that Marcel and Rhasha’Dar, the two that decided to investigate the tower, were right in trusting their gut instinct. Inside they found fierce resistance, and their nosiness nearly costed them their lives. They escaped, but they could not intercept the assassin, who was well on her way to doing away with Jarl Skald. In the end, the wretched murderer claimed the life of her victim. Of small consolation was that the party that had caught her in the act managed to beat her down and drag her off to Ashav for questioning, not that it did much good. The killer beat Ashav back and killed herself by imbibing a special poison specifically made for such an occasion.
With the death of the Jarl, riots broke out and Dawnstar descended into chaos. On the 27th of Sun’s Height, two hours after the assassin’s death, Ashav gathered those of his company that remained in Dawnstar and set sail for Solitude on the Kyne’s Tear.
During the briefing, the Bleakrock crew learned of intelligence reports that Dunmer had taken over the isle and were using it as an outpost and forward base for naval strikes, and that perhaps it was from there that the frigate that had attacked them before originated. Their mission was to infiltrate Bleakrock and take the enemies stationed there by stealth and surprise to stop them from expanding further. The Steelhead set sail on the morning of 26th, Sun’s Height.
Landing on the 29th, the mercenaries aboard the Steelhead crept their way onto Bleakrock and began to scout around. For a while, nothing out of the ordinary happened, and all was quiet. Coming upon a bridge, Sadri and Narzul, acting as forward scouts, attempted to cross. Unfortunately, it seemed Sadri had gained some weight nor was Narzul’s armor helping anything, so the rotted wood promptly collapsed under them. Miraculously, the Dunmer survived, but had alerted a party of Armigers in the process. Dumhuvud, the tactical genius that he is, declared that their forces simply “rush them”.
Crazily enough, his plan worked, and the Armigers were sent into a retreat that the Nord ordered be pursued. Unbeknownst to those giving chase, the retreating Mer had been alerting other outposts as they fled, and they were promptly surrounded on all sides. Thankfully their captain, one Orio Dihp, was an honorable fellow who ordered that the mercenaries be dueled instead of slaughtered. Eventually the mercs emerged victorious with a few casualties and the loss of Eirik Eiriksdóttir, a woman too brave for her own good but not quite lucky enough to balance it out.
After some more fighting(dip in crumbs, Captain Orio), the Steelhead intercepted with the Dwarven ballistae from Bthamz and tore several Dunmer ships apart before the mercenaries boarded and sailed away from the isle, leaving behind several burning Armiger tents and the splintered vessels. Before long, Ariane received a message on her dreamsleeve-attuned crystal that she received from Gustav. They were to set sail for Solitude. The Steelhead was not their ship, but she and Dumhuvud were certain they could get the captain to see reason; having a bunch of tired and angry hardened mercenaries on standby would probably come in handy.
The investigation in Dawnstar did not last very long at all. Oh no, events progressed with unfortunate speed. Argonians, Nords, all dead and seemingly at random, and the assassins worked quickly, leaving no witnesses in their wake.However, with their speed they had brought recklessness. Evidence was scarce but telling: a false argonian tale used as a disguise, crafted by a party that knew much of Argonian anatomy and taxidermy; a strange stone that caused hardened ash to spread across surfaces it came into contact with left behind during a massacre in the mines, an indication of Dunmer involvement, and a strange, lonesome tower. Not evidence in of itself, but if any place would be a perfect hideout, that would be it.
Turns out that Marcel and Rhasha’Dar, the two that decided to investigate the tower, were right in trusting their gut instinct. Inside they found fierce resistance, and their nosiness nearly costed them their lives. They escaped, but they could not intercept the assassin, who was well on her way to doing away with Jarl Skald. In the end, the wretched murderer claimed the life of her victim. Of small consolation was that the party that had caught her in the act managed to beat her down and drag her off to Ashav for questioning, not that it did much good. The killer beat Ashav back and killed herself by imbibing a special poison specifically made for such an occasion.
With the death of the Jarl, riots broke out and Dawnstar descended into chaos. On the 27th of Sun’s Height, two hours after the assassin’s death, Ashav gathered those of his company that remained in Dawnstar and set sail for Solitude on the Kyne’s Tear.
