Twisting. Turning. Through The. Laandsraad.

*Excerpt taken from Metallica's "Through The Never" used without permission and Lars can bite my bum.

So this week the companions searched for Fengis, traversed a small part of The Laandsraad, left Snoam-Schlabach to deal with their own war, stole a cart full of stuff and added a couple of unlikely party members.

Quite a week. You managed to remove an entity likely responsible for allowing the community to prosper on any level, took what little goods said entity might have had that could help them (save for some dead weight you couldn't really use) in a cart you also illegally procured and on the way out of town, they thanked you for it!

Recap: The session started out with a return visit to Fengis' warehouse under the pretense of investigation but more likely for the illegal procurement of...stuff. Said stuff included a small iron pot with a handle, a few pounds of tobacco, some Zeifen Pipeweed (a known, mild narcotic grown in Alfheim and Manchrist) a map, some bread and a wheel of cheese. But no sap, much to the chagrin of Patch.

Now all you need is a pipe and some crackers.

A map was also taken from the secret humidor that apparently leads to Tonguescum's camp. He sounds like a nice guy. Cor'Nal wants to visit him. Apparently quite badly. Cooler heads keep Cor'Nal from walking into a three vs. fifty war however and instead of tracking him down to "Inquire about his business relationship with Fengis" the rest of the party suggests that they ask Fengis himself as the odds of surviving such an encounter with him seem exponentially greater. Besides, Piter wants the party to find him and bring him back, alive, at all costs. Reluctantly they agree (they'd much rather bring him back dead) and set off to The Laandsraad.

Almost immediately after setting foot in the barren, desolate wasteland of spires and rocky plateaus the party is ambushed by two rock-throwing hill giants. A very long battle ensues and Cor'Nal turns himself into an eagle flies above them and pretty much wipes 'em out with a pair of Call Lightning spells. It takes a while but the bolts take their toll and the giants fall without a single melee attack damaging them. A couple ranged weapon attacks from Ademar and Patch did land however.

After dispatching the giants the party moves eastward, ignoring the path heading northward into a snow-cave, choosing instead to hurry along following Fengis' trail. They move along in a narrow valley between two imposing slopes of snow that could potentially cause a campaign-ending avalanche if too much noise happens to disturb them. They move along quietly and make it to the other side. Afterward they head due north and find Fengis, alongside the trail in a clearing beside a fire he'd made near his wagon. After a short discussion in which Fengis makes it clear he will not be going back to Snoam-Schlabach he is persuaded by Patch to change his mind as he brains Fengis over the head with the "found" iron pot. (No sap after all!) Fengis is rendered unconscious and cracks his head on his wagon on the way down but is otherwise unhurt.

The party decides to camp there for the night. Cor'Nal needs to rest and pray for spells and Ademar is banged up after eating a few hill giant boulders. While Cor'Nal is meditating (elves don't sleep after all), Patch decides to ransack Fengis trailer while Fengis snores peacefully in the tent they pitched for shelter from the cold. Ademar who is supposed to be on watch, joins in the fun. He begins to search for weapons and in so doing cleans out almost the entire contents of the wagon. He finds quite a few useful things but no weapons (or sap) that he finds interesting enough to, uh, borrow. During the poaching of the wagon he makes enough noise to wake Fengis, who begins to make noise through his gag.

Patch rushes in and begins to interrogate Fengis. Fengis is bound and cannot move and answers Patch's questions. Patch doesn't like the answers and so tells Fengis to go back to sleep and cracks Fengis a second time with his iron pot (nee sap). This time, instead of rendering Fengis unconscious the pot doesn't do enough damage and instead knocks him retarded. His eyes go all wonky and instead of speaking his head lolls back his mouth opens and long, deep moans of "waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" emanate from the mouth of the apparently brain-damaged merchant. Ademar comes in and asks Fengis if he is alright, Fengis replies with "uuuuuuuhhhhhnnnnngggggggg!" This goes on way too long. Eventually Fengis is healed by Cor'Nal and made right.

The next day the group decide to head back to Snoam-Schlabach, the trip takes two days. More than enough time to avoid Piter's war, which was exactly their intentions. Apparently Snoam-Schlabach was the winner although heavy losses were felt on either side. Strangely, there was no sign of Tonguescum's orcs.

Immediately upon return to the town the party visits Piter who is again seriously injured, presumably during the battle with Schudlichton and is bedridden. Ryan is also badly wounded, his arm in a sling. The majority of the MacBrady clan are collecting and organizing the dead for their funeral pyres. At first there is some resistance at letting the party in, however Piter is expecting them and so they are allowed to enter, unescorted. A rare honor that of course goes unnoticed. Piter is found in his bed, his midsection wrapped in cloth bandages. He is pale, infection is almost certain to kill him. After a brief discussion, Fengis is brought before him. He somberly admits selling tainted feed to the citizens of the town but assures Piter that he had no choice as Tonguescum's agents would've killed him had he not. Piter commands the party to leave he and Fengis alone. It is unclear what Piter's intentions are but execution seems very likely.

Cor'Nal stays behind just outside Piter's estate while the rest of the party heads to Frost Bit Inn where they collect the rest of their belongings. It has become clear at this point that they do not intend to ever return to Snoam-Schlabach. Patch has convinced the rest of the party that they should head south to the Olde Snoam Mine and attempt reentry into the MacBrady Tomb, from there, anywhere but here.

While Patch collects the heavy stuff Ademar somehow convinces the long-white-bearded, nightshirt and nightcap-clad Loomis to temporarily leave his affluent innkeeper's existence and drive their extra wagon to Whitehall Camp. Loomis agrees to do it for five gold pieces on the condition that they buy him some pants, as its "cold outside this time of year, HEH!" Ademar agrees.

While outside Piter's estate the wounded Ryan MacBrady approaches Cor'Nal. He tells of his lust for adventure beyond this town he calls home. He believes that he has outgrown the small existence this region provides and wishes to seek glory in faraway lands and meet interesting people he can kill without fear or regret. Cor'nal tells him that as long as he behaves he doesn't see any reason why not, but he'll have to consult his companions first. Ryan sees no problem with this and encourages it. Cor'Nal then convinces Ryan to let him back in to Piter's home under the pretense that Piter needs healing. Cor'Nal really just wants to know if Piter executed Fengis.
He did not, much to Cor'Nal's surprise. When he enters Piter's chamber, Piter asks Ryan to hole Fengis up in the root cellar beneath the estate. After they leave Cor'Nal heals Piter. The party then went around town giving gifts that formerly belonged to Fengis to friends they've made in town. They attempted to head into Magda's "Homebound" tavern but found it to have been converted into a triage for the battle with Schudlichton. They left some iron and copper ore with the blacksmith.

*I know something else happened after this but I don't seem to have any recollection of it. If you remember please post comments or email me so I can finish this recap. Also it seems I might be missing some details during the session that occurred earlier. Its late in the day for me and I didn't sleep well so my mind is foggy. Help!-DM*