Wheres the Smith?

Well wasn't that fun. Not a significant amount was discovered last night but there were a few things.

Info - Victor received a note in the night and left the town to meet a contact to the south. He left a note with the bartender that he would return in a few days, it isn't anything to worry about just some old business that he needed to deal with.

1) Desmond accepted the offer to join the harpers, he has been granted a symbol to show in the inns of a harp. And been granted the rank of 'Watcher'

2) Phenix, Astrid and Kal went to the smithy to find out how the goods they had ordered were. On some investigation they discovered that the back door had been kicked in and after some tense moments they discovered that the smiths wife was unconscious on the floor. Kal ran to get the sister of Tymora for help, while there he found Desmond and they all ran back to help the smiths wife. After a little healing she is revived and while still in shock she informs the party that her husband has been taken by the redbrands The party leave the smithy with the woman and take her back to their inn (seemingly noticed by the redbrands), They leave the woman in Astrids room while they plan to and try to work out their next move. You decided to investigate the rumours that you heard from children of the town that say Pip Anderleaf found a 'hole' in the forest to the south of the mansion.

3) the party leaves the inn to head towards the Anderleaf farm. Astrid and Kal decided to try to stealth (unsuccessfully) to the farm as they noticed a redcloak when they were moving the smithys wife to the in. once the pair are noticed by a washer woman they decide to re-join Pfenix and Desmond. Azrial awoke (face covered in scrambled egg) as the party left the inn, he followed Pfenix and Desmond as they headed towards the farm.

4) The party was then confronted by three redbrands on the road towards the Anderleaf Farm. Astrid attempted to calm down things and ask what the redbrands wanted. But in the first 'No he didn't' moment of the day, they told the party to get out of town and spat in Astrids face. Violence was incited at this point. :) Astrid started the fray with a well-placed right it of her boot to the groin of the lead redbrand. The party took the hits and the redbrands took some hits but the party was victorious! Hazah!

5) Bloody and brused the party make there way to the Anderleaf Farm and find the household outside enjoying the day, the Father, Bram (i didn't say his name) confronted the party and after some verbal magic from Kal persuaded the farmer to allow the party to talk to his son (If it was me, The party would have tasted the sharp side of my scythe... Damn Bards. ;) Following a discussion with Pip they get a rough location of the hole where he saw some rough looking men that chased him away. Kal had a brief word with the farmer and he said the words, 'Hideout under the mansion'. Bram was too fearful for the wellbeing of his son and his family to give any certisy to the party. The Party moved on to the ruins of an old guard post. They spend an hour resting after the battle against the redbrand.

6) After the rest the party enter the forest. It was a dark and gloomy place, with the cloud cover it made the forest very cold and spooky. The party hears a howling from the east and finds what seems to be a pair of wolves attacking and menacing an Owl. The alpha wolf was a Dire Wolf and much larger than the standard wolf. Astrid attempts to drive the wolves back but it only changes focus for the wolves from the bird to the party. Desmond unleashes an entangling vines spell around the wolves and captures the wolf but the Dire Wolf isn't grasped. After a show of Azrials climbing skills the dire wolf attack Desmond, showing its intelligence and speed. After a few tense moments the party manage to dispatch the wolf (Astrids hail of thorns) and Azrial hits a critical hit on the dire wolf that destroys it almost instantly.

7) There is a short race between Azrial and Pfenix as they run towards the corpse of the dire wolf on who is able to take parts of the remains, to Desmonds disappointment. Pfenix is successful in his contest using his monkish skills, But as he is about to start to recover items from the corpse of the wolf Desmond talks to him and persuades him to stop and treat the corpse with respect. As they are talking however Azrial quickly jumps in and skins the hide from the dire wolf much to outrage of Desmond. Pfenix and Azrial proceed to dismantle the corpse for all its vital items. Kal walks over give a stirring speech that explains that it's all in the circle of life. That seems to silence Desmond for a moment, using his own druidic speech against him...

8) During the fight Astrid gives treatment to the Owl, She discovers that is indeed a young, small bard owl. The panic on the bird is obvious but the bird calms down once the wolves were dispatched. In a seeming act of friendship the owl nuzzles itself into Astrid for a moment before the wildness of the animal prevails, It rakes Astrids hand and escapes to the trees above.

That’s where I ended it.

Everyone gained 50xp and Astrid gained an additional 25xp for the owl.