Everyone is finally in attendance once again: Pawnbroker (Chris), Messerbad (Mike), Yorden (Bob) and Laerynthe (Tim).
Pawnbroker works for Lembey Abbas as a hired blade for a season, at a rate of 5 challock per day, then heads off towards Hegger to rejoin the rest of the characters. He meets up with them in Trail. He manages to save about 3 challock per day, leaving him with 324 challock saved when he leaves. He also gains one point in his Broadsword skill. He gives both the maids 50 challock, and tells them that they can freely work elsewhere and live in the characters' house as long as they keep the place clean.
Pawnbroker arrives in Trail at the end of the High Hot Season, about when the other characters departed. He meets up with them somewhat after they meet with the Taba Hive deyrey.
Yorden uses Hermes potion and the Wallwalker spell to investigate the ruins of the Rose Castle, after concluding that the other two castles of Cheide are in flames. He kills a guard upon the roof of the keep with a crossbow bolt, then makes a somewhat abortive attempt to explore the rest of the place, cut short by a deadfall alarm on the trapdoor into the keep proper. He does search the dead guard, finding a fair amount of Maker equipment and a number of Maker coins. The major souvenir of the trip is a suit of heavy leather armor of Maker manufacture taken from the guard's body (PD 2, DR 2, weighs only 8 kg).
Yorden returns to the group about an hour before dawn. He sleeps while everyone else watches the events transpiring at the Rose Castle. Soon after the sun rises, the Taba Hive deyrey camped near the castle break camp and head to the main gate (or what's left of it). A drone from among the deyrey talks briefly with the human warrior who emerges from the Gatehouse. Soon after, the deyrey enter the castle en masse. Seeing this, the characters conclude that discretion is certainly the better part of valor and elect to continue on towards Three Stones Ford and Hegger.
The group debates the wisdom of the various approaches to Three Stones Ford for some time. They key problem is that though Pawnbroker and Messerbad have been to Hegger before, the only path they know is the relatively well-traveled one passing through Seitha. However, thanks to Vlad's activities this path has become somewhat dangerous. Unfortunately, attempting to break an alternate route runs the risk of unknown dangers. In particular, Messerbad (using his Area Knowledge (Amagao Region) skill) remembers that the Cibo Hive lies somewhere downslope of the path between Cheide and Three Stones Ford.
The final decision is to follow the path, hoping to avoid trouble.
Within a day after departing from the wreckage of Cheide, the characters find themselves pursued by a group of 100 deyrey neuters and four drones. The characters quickly recognize that their pascullo is slowing them, and that they deyrey will overtake them within hours. Because it is the High Hot Season, most of the grasses around are quite dry, and the group takes advantage of this by liberally using Create Fire, torches, and whatnot to create an inferno across the path. They travel upslope, against the wind, for about four hours, setting fires as they go. By the time they finish, they are at least ten kilometers from the main path and have left quite an inferno behind them. They are untroubled by Taba Hive deyrey for the rest of their journey.
Having already verged from the established paths, the characters continue on their way skirting the edge of the foothills before the Wall to the Second Plateau. Some days after the encounter with the deyrey, Yorden and Messerbad find old vor-worm tracks crossing their path. The creature appears to have been heading downslope, probably towards Cheide or Taba Hive.
Within two hours after spotting the worm tracks, the characters are beset by a pack of six wild demeks. The creatures rush them with crude javelins and clubs, but Pawnbroker and Laerynthe are able to slay most of them swiftly. Pawnbroker, Laerynthe and Messerbad are all grievously injured in the encounter, and the group elects to stop and rest for a few hours.
After resting, the characters continue on towards Three Stones Ford in darkness. Pawnbroker (whose wounds cannot be healed by magic due to an unfortunate botch) and Laerynthe (who is just plain resistant) are still injured. Along the way, Pawnbroker notices a series of lights creeping up the Second Plateau Wall. Messerbad is able to remember that the Wall is about 300 meters high in that area.
The most popular theory on what is happening is that the Makers are creating some horrible work along the Wall. The savage demeks lacked the normal equipment issued to warriors, and in fact were dressed in nothing more than uncured animal hides. They could well be workers who escaped from the jobsite. If the Makers are still aiding Vlad, they might have provided him with supplies and weapons from this new incursion.
Quite close to Three Stones Ford, the characters encounter Elfest of Hegger and his caravan. Elfest is clearly a wealthy trader, as he is accompanied by twenty pascullo heavily laden with jaya, many drovers and servants, and a large number of wiry turgosk guards armed with viciously-hooked spears.
The characters speak with Elfest, and urge him not to go on towards Seitha. He is skeptical of their claims, but eventually is convinced enough to turn back the caravan, sending a few turgosk to run ahead both to Cheide and to the place where the characters saw lights upon the Second Plateau Wall. The characters travel to Three Stones Ford with him.
Three Stones Ford is a fairly important city in the Republic of Hegger. It's normal population is around 2000 folks, most of whom don't recall the characters from their last visit. The characters initially spend nine days in the city, at Catornus' Lodging House. Catornus' house is not particularly fancy, but it is reputable. A night there costs two challock, including a bowl of soup or stew. Catornus charges two more challock per night to lodge a pascullo, but only four tebbit if he is not expected to feed the beast. Over the nine days, Pawnbroker and Laerynthe heal while Yorden has his Maker armor (which draws a very disapproving glare from the armorer he deals with) refitted for 40 challock and redecorated (to not look so much like Maker work) in exchange for his old suit of armor.
By the time nine days is up, Elfest has determined that the way to Seitha and Paiden is effectively closed. Worse, his scouts sent up to the Second Plateau Wall have not returned. He must do something to avoid ruin, as he cannot effectively sell his jaya locally in Hegger and make a good profit. He has decided to commission the construction of a large flatboat on Abbatine's Great River and attempt to reach Paiden by another route. To support this effort, he offers the characters the position of trailbreakers, an offer they eventually accept.
Elfest is unable to offer them money, as his finances are all tied up in the construction of his flatboat. However, he does offer them a ton of jaya (literally) and the two pascullo carrying it. In addition, he gives them a half-season's training in Boat and Swimming under the tutelage of Master Gregor, who ran the Three Stones Ford ferry for many years. This training is equivalent to two (free) points, divisible between either Swimming or Boat skill. All the characters accept this training except for Yorden, who locates the magician Oscar of the Four Winds, who teaches him the Levitation spell in exchange for the Truthsayer spell. He also manages to learn a single point of the Swimming skill.
By the time the characters are ready to depart, the High Cold Season has begun. No word has been heard from Paiden, though Vlad is clearly in control of Seitha and three of the Taba Hive Queen's daughters are rumored to be establishing a new hive on the ruins of Cheide.
Abbatine's Great River is a tremendous body of water, easily a kilometer across at its narrowest and upwards of fifteen kilometers across at its widest. The middle can be quite deep, and in fact the characters are warned of the river dragons that can be found there. The river bottom often levels off quite dramatically near the edges, leading to large shallows no more than ten meters deep. Because there are known to be many deyrey hives along Abbatine's Great River, the characters elect to travel primarily in the center (presuming that the deyrey will avoid the river dragons).
Thus far, the journey has not been interrupted too seriously. The group has been on the water for about five days, and have encountered many hives along the banks. Deyrey agriculture and fishery has also been omnipresent. However, in the last day there have been no hives, though the fields are still present. The characters have heard of Mother's Hill, a tremendous deyrey hive somewhere on Abbatine's Great River, but don't know exactly where it is. It seems quite likely that it is very near to them now
Everyone gets three experience points as the group nears Mother's Hill.