Session 4 of the Emerald Knights Saga

## Summary

Following their victory against a nighthare in the Mists of Kalkaban, the Emerald Knights Ulric Ironguard, Felgrun Moltenforge, and Jan Wycliffe exited the tunnel leading to Nordopolica shown to them by the forest spirits. After making their way to the port city, in an attempt to make no more delays, the trio headed straight for the city's dock. They arrived only to find the piers full and not a single ship in the harbor. Seeking out the Aurora, the ship commissioned to give the group passage to Etherea, they found it to be entirely empty except for its captain, Judar. He explained to them the city's terrible affliction to the Emerald Knights: beginning a few weeks before, any ship setting sail from Nordopolica would soon find itself destroyed by some unknown force. The trio enquired as to whether or not Judar would be willing to set sail despite the circumstances, but he declined due to an official decree set by Sir Ferdinand of the city's ruling house Galloway barring any vessels from leaving the port until further notice. After some haggling over their options, Judar agreed to take them once more if they received an official exception to the decree. With their plan now clear, the trio left the dock to meet with Sir Ferdinand at his estate.

Arriving at Ferdinand's manor, the Emerald Knights were soon rebuffed in their attempts to meet with the noble by his bitch of a secretary. Unwilling to delay their quest any longer, the trio forced their way into Ferdinand's meeting room, where they discovered him conversing with the head of House Galloway, Sir Claude. The group implored the two nobles to grant them an exception to the decree, citing the incredible importance of their mission to the empire. While Ferdinand cowered in the face of the Emerald Knights' power, Claude stood defiant, and turned their own argument against them, claiming the importance of their mission was exactly why they could not leave under such dangerous circumstances. After being rebuffed yet again, and with Ulric's hatred for Claude beginning to show through, the trio became vaguely threatening, to which Claude responded by forcing them to leave.

Still no closer to Etherea, the Emerald Knights decided to formulate a new plan. Having discovered from Judar earlier that the only known survivor of the mysterious danger was a man named Dante who could be found at a local tavern, Felgrun and Jan decided to go interrogate the sailor. Before departing, Jan and Ulric met secretly to avoid a confrontation with Felgrun due to his inability to lie to others. Ulric came up with the idea to use his forgery skills and knowledge of Althara's nobility to create a fake notice of exception to the decree, signed by "Sir Ferdinand." The trio split up to complete their respective tasks.

Felgrun and Jan arrived at the tavern only to find Dante already five drinks into a drunken stupor. Sitting with the sailor, the two Emerald Knights enquired about his miraculous survival at sea. Dante told them the memory was far to painful for him to recount this sober, so Jan began buying him more drinks in an effort to "encourage" his cooperation. Now on the verge of alcohol poisoning, Dante began to tell his tragic tale. On his last voyage out of Nordopolica, his ship was suddenly covered in a noxious red and white mist. To the horror of the crew, from the mist came crimson spirits and the reanimated skeletons of the dead. The sailors' weapons had no effect on the monsters, and the entire ship was quickly overrun and slaughtered. The only one left alive was Dante, who hid cowardly in a locked cabin. The next morning Dante emerged from the room to find himself the only survivor of the attack. After hearing his tale, Jan and Felgrun left Dante passed out in the tavern and left to meet back with Ulric at the docks.

While the other two Emerald Knights were coercing Dante with liquor, Ulric was back at the docks forging a note in Sir Ferdinand's handwriting that granted the trio amnesty from the decree. Satisfied with the note's authenticity, Ulric gave it to Judar. Convinced by the note, Judar agreed to set sail, but reminded Ulric that with no ships leaving port, the Aurora no longer had a crew. Once Felgrun and Jan returned, Ulric relayed this information to them, and the trio talked Judar into hiring a new crew made of the toughest sailors looking for work around the city.

After a long day of work, the Emerald Knights decided to get some rest before their great journey the next day. Sleeping soundly at a Nordopolican inn, the trio were each awoken by different white-cloaked figures standing above their beds with daggers. Quickly recovering from their ambush, Ulric, Felgrun, and Jan dispatched their various attackers, with Jan fleeing to Felgrun's room and receiving help from his dwarven comrade. Discovering that their white-robed attackers were nothing but animated wooden mannequins, they suddenly heard a knock on the door to Felgrun's room. The two knights readied themselves for further battle, but they were met by the familiar face of Sir Alexander, the Emerald Knight that officiated their trial in the Myrewood months before, accompanied by the silent Lady Ikali.

## NPCs Encountered

* Captain Judar
* Ferdinand's Secretary
* Sir Ferdinand Galloway
* Sir Claude Galloway
* Dante
* Sir Alexander
* Lady Ikali