Yalme	Ser Becklin Uth Viharin	Darrett Highwater, Ser Becklin’s Squire	Ridomir “Cudgel” Ironsmile	Mayor Raven Uth Vogler

Reconnaissance Mission

   Coltan and Modri clumsily, but hastily, lay out their trap—if anything, it will likely serve, at best, as a distraction when found, but both of you surmise that if someone gets caught in it, then they must have been supremely unobservant.

   You start back down the mountain—hill, really—remembering well your path and retracing your steps back to Vogler. Especially easy to find are the large “slitherprints”, along with your footprints of a giant constrictor snake that Hunni rode much of the way.

   You’re far enough away that you’re confident you can evade discovery, but close enough to hear a sudden yelp through the trees a few hundred feet in the direction from whence you just came—where you’d laid a trap.

Though Mery ultimately did not put her understanding of Draconic to any use on a reconnaissance mission, she is privy to shouts of “Who the **** set this trap here?!”, “Did one of the village hunters come all the way up here? I thought we’d killed the few that got this far?”, “Idiot! If they got to this point, they’ve seen the camp!”, “Oh . . . wait, should we sound the alarm?”, and “Of course we should sound the alarm! Blow the ****ing horn!”

   Mery, sadly barely has time to open her mouth and warn the rest of the party when everyone suddenly hears a bugle call of toooooot-toooooot-toot, a pause, and another toooooot-toooooot-toot.

   You make haste down the hill and back to Vogler in record time—90 minutes . . . well, this time, you didn’t need to spend an entire 3^rd hour searching for the trail of Gragonis’s benefactors—still, the trip to that location, and then the trip from there to the overlook was two hours in and of itself—and you got back in three-quarters of that time.

   You enter the village and on your way to the Brass Crab, you see several militia men and women frog-marching a band of mercenaries through the pentagonal town square where you would turn towards the tavern. You all receive heartfelt salutes from the militia soldiers before they roughly force their tied captives to continue walking towards the keep.

   When you rush into the Brass Crab, Yalme greets you and says how happy she is that you all made it back safely. She says Mayor Raven is in one of the inn’s rooms-cum-command and control center. Two guards are stationed at the door. They’d be intimidating to the common person trying to snoop or speak to the mayor uninvited, but these remnants of the village’s militia not only have nothing on your hardened and bloodied troupe, but look upon you with awe.

   “Are you . . . are you the heroes of High Hill?” one of them asks. “I was stuck here in Vogler on patrol . . .” he affects an angry, frustrated look, “If . . . If only I could have been there . . . been there to help! Surely I could have saved me buddy, Jefflan!” He slams his fist into the door post. “Now he’s just another body over in the pile, waiting to be buried . . . his wife . . . his kids . . .” The guard slumps, hiding his face in his knees.

   Ser Becklin opens the door and pokes her head out. “What’s going on out he—” then she sees you. “Oh! The mayor is waiting for you! Come in. Cudgel is here as well. Good timing. She was just about to give her report. Then we’ll hear yours.”

Room 101—Command & Control Center

   Mayor Raven is no longer dressed in the casual, festival attire she’d worn yesterday and last night. She now has a much more expensive set of officious-looking garments and accessories that you might guess are indicators of her office of mayor and rank of commander in chief of the Vogler militia. Along with her, Ser Becklin, and Cudgel, there are a few other people. They look similarly officious, old or middle-aged at best, and busy themselves with setting out maps of the area and organizing documents—some sorting through piles of parchment to find some figure or another, and others crossing names off a long list of names—likely who’s in the militia . . . and who’s died.

   Another man stands tall and at ease—Ser Artanis, you recognize the stance as the “at ease” pose Knights are afforded when not standing “at attention”—not some slouching pose. However, he’s dressed in the same clothes of the mercenaries you fought—and the same clothes Cudgel wears—and he’s smoking a pipe.

   “Great! You’re here!” Cudgel says. “Ser Artanis, Mery, Coltan, Merituuli, Modri, and Hunni, I’d like you to meet my second-in-command, Mr. Jeyev Veldrews. Mr. Veldrews, these are the ‘Heroes of High Hill’ I mentioned—that everyone in town keeps crowing about.”

   The man is profession, if a little gruff in his presentation. He holds out a hand and shakes all of your hands. Artanis, if you suspected anything at first, it is all but confirmed when his firm handshake is swift and efficient and exactly in the same manner as you’ve been taught. He then returns to his “at ease” pose. It’s not lost on you that Darrett adopts the same pose next to, if a little behind his liege, Ser Becklin.

   “It’s an honor to meet you all,” he says. “Please call me ‘Jeyev’—you’ve all certainly earned that right.”

Cudgel’s Report

   She believes Jeyev and her remaining troops are loyal to her—they could have easily overpowered her if they weren’t.

   On her return, Cudgel found Jeyev and other loyal mercenaries had heard of the events at High Hill. They had restrained several soldiers loyal to Gragonis but who didn’t have orders to participate in the reenactment.

   During the night, Jeyev’s scouts came across a large military force to the northwest of the village, much too large and organized to be a mere mercenary band. If any of you asks if they saw red tents, they can only say that they saw tents, but in the moonlight, it just appeared as dark grey. However, if you describe the valley, the paths, etc, they’ll confirm that this is the same army the you likely spotted, and Jeyev’s scouts can confirm everything else you saw, such as the mix of humans and lizard-like hooded figures.

   Mayor Raven is shocked by the report about the enemy camp. She wants to know more about the nature and disposition of this force, and she’s aware Vogler can’t defend itself against anything more than a few raiders. She’s eager to hear advice from you all and others about how to address this potential threat.

   At the outset, Raven is inclined to draft a letter to the commander of the camp to declare Vogler’s neutrality in all conflicts, ask the mysterious army’s intentions, and welcome them to meet with the mayor.

   Once back at town, and with reports made, Artanis thanks the Mayor for his honest assessment of the town’s capabilities the night before. “Though costly, it is your militia’s victory that led us to now, denying this army their surprise. I fully understand the town has had its fill of fighting - as it should be. The task now rests with those who have chosen to shield the common folk of the world” He hefts the Greenshield for emphasis, with a slight smile playing on his lips.

   “Hopefully however we will not have to fight them at all for now, though I shall be ready if we do. Tell me Mayor, is Lord Barakis likely to offer shelter to the townsfolk if needed? That would be his duty as a noble. Otherwise we may have to fortify the old garrison. Neither would stand against the whole army, but hopefully their sights are elsewhere”

   “Lord Bakaris is holed up in his palatial villa on the west side of town. He’s got his guards patrolling it in force, but who knows what he might do . . . Either way, you’ve seen his son . . . the baron is only more polite as he stabs you in the gut. His shitstain of a son is still cowardly enough to try to stab you in the back, but acts the drunken imbecile in public. Either way, I thank you for your deeds and your continued support.”