Famine

Receiving a gracious invitation from Elector Osmond, head of the Legion of Shamal, the factions headed North to Castle Alanhar. Osmand had founded the Legion himself, and was seeking political support to make it an official Legion in its own right, hoping to win the faction over- one way or another.

Elector Osman greeted the Expeditionary Force and welcomed them to his lands. He introduced them to some of the key members of his Legion, before offering them a tour, and a chance to hunt ‘The Red Nosed Bandits’. The tour was led by Sir Tahir, one of the knights of Shamal, and took the factions to the shrine of Lyre, where they met an estranged lover trying to gain the favour of the deity, as well as the enthusiastic priest of Lyre who tended the shrine. They then travelled to the village of Alanhar. Here, the expeditionary force were asked for any food by the villagers, who explained that their harvest had failed two years in a row, and that only the intervention of the Legion of Shamal had prevented them from starving to death.

After lunch, the tour resumed and the factions headed to the village of Wahash, which supplied farmstock. Here they encountered a bird beastkin, who the villagers claimed was a master artisan. He had come to their aid in the time of famine, and some even believed he was sent from the goddess Fifaldia to save them. As the force started to leave the village, violence broke out, with some villagers accusing others of being mages responsible for the famine. It became apparent that these were new, untrained mages whose powers had resulted from the restorations of higher magics. Thankfully, members of the Expeditionary force were able to calm tempers and take the mages to safety. Meanwhile, others went to examine the fields and found that the wheat was suffering from some kind of unnatural blight, but they could not determine the source. Samples were taken for testing, and Vivian of the Circle later ate one to aid in her research.

   The group moved on to see the ancient Battlefield of Madina, before moving onto the historic town of Madina itself. Madina is also one of the biggest producers of Rotweed in Asaterra, something the Guild members were hoping to capitalise on.

The final activity of the day was a chance for the Expeditionary Force to engage with the Red Nose Bandits. Elector Osman offered them this opportunity to prove their skill and bravery, and to wipe out the ruffians who had been slaughtering and stealing from his people. The force engaged these foul tongued bandits, battling them in their stronghold. Tragically, Inevera Jadir of the Warrior of the Dark Sun lost her life in the fight, leaving her comrades and friends to bear her body back to Alanhar for the night.

The next morning, rain kept the Expeditionary Force in the grounds of Castle Alanhar, where they were visited by various traders, including a seer who read their fortune cards. The Circle were joined by a new member, Dw’ia. Once the weather had cleared, they ventured out once more, encountering famished villagers, desperate for food. Some begged, others attempted to steal; overall, it was clear that Shamal could not last much longer against the growing famine. More examination of the fields added to the belief that something unnatural was causing this blight upon the land.

A familiar face arrived at Castle Alanhar with the group of traders on the second morning. Alva, a young woman from SIlverton arrived with her enraged father, claiming that during his negotiations with the people of Silverton and the Dwarves of Karak Anor, Paladin had fathered a child with Alva. Her rather old fashioned father insisted that Paladin marry Alva and support the child. Needless to say, the entire expeditionary Force found this situation much more humorous than they probably should. Everyone headed to the Shrine of Lyre for the marriage, however before the ceremony could take place, Alva was attacked by assassins. Luckily, swift intervention from the factions ensured both she and the baby were safe, and the attack was believed to be in retribution for Paladin's previous altercations with the Red Dragons. Paladin eventually told Alva he couldn’t marry her because he didn’t love her, but agreed to financially support the child.

As the factions were recovering from Paladin’s failed wedding ceremony, a familiar figure approached them. It was Sir Tahir, covered in blood, and acting strangely. When questioned, he managed to explain that last night, he was invited to a ceremony with Elector Osmond, believing that he was receiving a promotion. Instead, he was transformed into a vampire by Osmond, and shut in his room to adjust to the transformation. Horrified, and realising what Osmond and his lieutenants were, Tahir jumped from his tower window, and managed to flee to the Expeditionary force for help. As he spoke, his will seemed to be failing, and between begging for help, he began to become consumed by a lust for blood. Finally, he succumbed to the will of his new master, who took control of him and forced him to attack the Expeditionary Force.

As he was subdued, Elector Osman appeared with his lieutenants. He apologised to the Expeditionary Force, stating he regretted what was about to happen, and offered them the chance to join him and become a vampire. Facing refusal, Osman unleashed his troops. As the Expeditionary Force cut them down, Osman simply raised the mortal corpses from the dead and animated them with necromantic magic. He also possessed several members of the force, and offered to break the bindings of any vampires in the group. However, finally, Osman was defeated. Asking Lady Death for help ensuring he stayed dead, the expeditionary force discovered some ways to kill more powerful vampires. Beheading and burning Osman, they encased his ashes in blessed silver to ensure he could never rise again.

### **Other Occurrences**

During a ritual performed by Paladin of the Legion, the god Magnus decreed that some mortals had become overly greedy for the favours of the gods, and the gods would now be limiting the number of divine effects and items that mortals could carry. Paladin was given the choice of whether to sacrifice some of his gifts, or whether to become an immortal servant of Magnus. At the end of the second day, Magnus returned, and Paladin chose to stay on the mortal plane and be stripped of some of his gifts.

Jack the Teddy Bear led several members of the force into the dreamscape squad to learn more about his history. He talked about the burdens of their past with each of them.

Encountering the Baron of Medina, the Guild entered into negotiations to secure enough rotweed to create the cure for the Plague sweeping the West. The following morning, Eauxi was able to negotiate a trade deal with the Baron, and it was agreed that the West would send food in exchange for the rotweed needed to make the cures.

Certain members of the Expeditionary Force were visited by the vampire, Lily Dale. She explained that her partner, Trent Silk, had grown increasingly paranoid and obsessed with ‘the Fae’, before vanishing without telling her where he was going. She was also concerned about her own vampiric binding, as she noticed that it wasn’t functioning how it should; she was feeling the need to feed more often than she should, and she was still taking damage like an unbound vampire. She asked for their help to discover what was going on. It was revealed that she and Trent were previously bound to Lyverva before it’s destruction. Larka, Jugo, Bloodfang and Inevra all agreed to help her.

During their time in Shamal, the factions encountered mysterious raiders coming from the direction of the coast. Wearing furs, and speaking limited Ásaterran, these raiders attacked indiscriminately, seeming intent on stealing whatever items the force had on them. Paladin was able to communicate with them, revealing that he originally came from the unknown and unnamed land to the west of Ásaterra, across the witch waters. However, he was unwilling, or unable to reveal much about his childhood in this land, stating only that it was ruled by vicious tribes where only the strongest survived. All the force gleaned from the raiders is that something had scared them, and they were fleeing the ‘darkness’.

## **Outcomes**

Elector Osman was killed, as were several of his lieutenants. However, more of his vampiric forces remain in Shamal. The famine in this area was found to be unnatural in nature, but no one knew what was causing it. The Force met the bird beastkin known as ‘The Master’. The factions encountered the mysterious raiders from across the sea, fleeing the ‘Darkness’. Members of the factions learnt more about Jack the Teddy Bear. Members of the factions agreed to help Lily find out what was wrong with her binding. The Guild secured enough Rotweed to begin curing the Western Plague. Vivian of the Circle became ill after eating the blighted wheat. Inevra of the Dark Sun died in battle, and was laid to rest under a lemon tree by her comrades.