Session 34 (4,700 xp)

Heroes: Sigurd, Vladimir, Malik

Year 644 MR (1st quarter)

Niobhe decides to travel south to the Anuirean Empire, and help the rebels against the authoritarian regime of the current Emperor. She invests her provinces to her friends, and says her farewells. She promises to return  after having secured her lands in Alamie.

King Sigurd arrives in Jentilak, bringing with him a few troops of scouts. His men report that an army of humanoid monsters is about to invade from the north. The humanoids assault Harjavalta; the Heroes field 400 men against 1,000 orogs and goblinoids, led by a Frost Giant. They manage to kill the giant, but lose the field. The Rjuven armies retreat south to Tir-na-dair, while the orogs pillage Harjavalta.

More Rjuven come from the Giantdowns, and the two armies clash once again in Tir-na-dair; and once again, the Heroes are deafeated, and forced to retreat to Qaresma, where they final achieve victory, and destroy the invading army.

Year 644 MR (2nd quarter)

The Heroes travel to the forests north of Jentilak, to slay the Giant chieftain that sent his armies south. They assault his lair, slaughtering winter wolves and orogs, but are captured by the Frost giant chieftain. They manage to escape their cell, and with a surprise attack they kill the chieftain. They then return home to lick their wounds and rebuild.

On a cold eerie night, Malik awakes in his rooms, only to find two men fighting in the darkness. One of them addresses him in basarji, and Malik helps him fight the third man, an Anuirean. When the Anuirean is defeated and captured, the other man reveals to be Faroud, a member of the White Lotus guild, sent by Malik's mother to watch over him. The anuirean assassin, calling himself Daeric, was sent by his own guild, the Talons, to assassinate Malik, and retrieve the ring, mask, and cloak he used a year back to witness a secret council of the rich and powerful.

Faroud explains that Malik is risking much by participating in the meetings of the Enlightened, since he's not a member of this secret organization. Malik is more interested in discovering who tried to assassinate him, but Daeric only knows what his guildmaster told him, which is not much.

Instead of executing him, Malik offers Daeric a chance to survive, and to join his guild: the pragmatic assassin accepts. Malik gives him his first assignment: to assassinate a jarl from the southern kingdom of Stordvik, and make sure the blame is placed on king Sigurd of the Giantdowns...