The party continues to explore the mountain, going through the halls and levels. In the hall where smiths and armorers used to work they find a separate room. The room is pitted and blackened. In a closet they find two books and a handmade box. One of the books is an elaborate work on the making of black powder. It is difficult to read as the writer scattered all the information throughout the book in the form of stories and poems. The other book is a guide in making smoke bombs and grenades. The box contains a smoke bomb. Mitch takes the items with him to study them.

In another part of the hall they find two big stone tables. Carved into the tables are all kinds of different weapon and ammunition forms. In some of them they find small residues of metal. A big oven is built into the wall.

Exploring more they come to a prison. The prison is a strange place. All walls are covered in arcane markings. Voices are dimmed and even a shot of Mitch’s pistol sounds like a little plop. Dagar, Maxwell and Ashera have an uneasy feeling in these rooms, as if their energy is dimmed. In a chamber covered in markings they find a skeleton of a creature bigger than a human with claws and sharp teeth. Mitch takes the skull of the creature with him to show it to the abbot.

Some exploring later the find themselves in the gatehouse and an enormous aviary. The gates to the outside world are closed. In the aviary they find a wooden shrine with three giant bird feathers. The largest one is black and white, one is grey and one red. Ashera decides to take the feathers with her and wear them in her hair. Only Ashera can read the elegant text on the shrine, which is dedicated to the Mistress of the Ride.

Having explored most of the mountain they decide to get back to the tomb when Kat informs Mitch through his communication ring that his dad and uncle have arrived. So instead of going to the tomb they head back to the village. In the cellar Maxwell connects the creature that is painted in the mural with the head of the skeleton they found. This is the head of the feared Dragon spawn.

Kat is staring daggers at Mitch when he emerges from the cellar. His father is not very happy that Mitch is living with a girl under his roof without them being married. He threatens to send Mitch’s mother. Wanting to end the conversation with everybody present Mitch proposes to find his uncle at the inn.

Once outside they see that the whole village is working hard to prepare for Kronor’s Eve. The smell of all kinds of food is heavy on the air. People are busy decorating the village. They see that the gate is unmanned and they find the town militia helping out with decorating instead op guarding. They reprimand him, but once their back is turned one of the elders beckons the guard to come and help.

In the inn Baraskur has set up a lunch and soon the whole village joins in this small feast. Mitch’s father tries to get into a conversation with the Royal Chamberlain, not having much succes. Maxwell’s mother instructs Maxwell to go home and wait for a visitor. Uncle Alan learns all about Mitch’s new weapon. He leaves them, saying he has to go to the privy but instead goes to see Maxwell.

He meets Maxwell at his house and informs him that the general wants a report of what he found out in the last months. Maxwell hands him the names of the conspirators he found, amongst them the Royal Chamberlain. Alan then orders Maxwell to keep an eye on the Chamberlain while he gets back to Siggeldale and report this to the general.

After lunch Mitch and his father have their conversation. Although his father isn’t pleased with Kat being in the house while they are not married, he is proud of Mitch and angry at Peter, Mitch’s brother, for lying about the state of the house and the friends Mitch keeps. While they talk Alan keeps the rest out of the house and has some light conversation with them where Dagar tries to get some snippets of information. Father and Alan leave for Siggeldale.

Standing outside Mitch’s house, Dagar smells smoke and following his nose they come at the gate, that is unmanned, and see that smoke is rising from the mill. At the mill they see the miller trying to douse the fire. Through his coughs the miller tells Dagar that bandits have taken his wife and set fire to the mill. Dagar orders the others to setup a fire line and to saddle horses to chase the bandits. While he runs into the village he sees a big burly man run out of the village. He runs after the man, but isn’t fast enough to keep him from getting on a horse and run off with the rest of the bandits.

Before Dagar can take a good breath Ashera, Mitch and Maxwell are there with a spare horse. The pursuit begins. Mitch doggedly chases the bandits through the forest while Ashera takes the rest to a path through the forest better suited for riding. Two of the bandits try to ambush Mitch while the rest of the bandits ride on. When they crash onto the path, Ashera, Dagar and Maxwell are right on top off them. Mitch gets ambushed but his new armor takes the brunt of the attack. He takes the bandits on in an arrow against bullet fight, leaving them bloodied and dead on the forest ground.

The rest is in hot pursuit of the main group of bandits, who now ride on the road to the mine so they can speed up. They know they have to save Maxwell’s mother before they reach the mine. Dagar takes over the mind of a bandit and commands him to attack his fellow bandits. Ashera starts to shoot arrows in them. Maxwell bides his time when he sees that the big man is his arch enemy, the remaining Wolfslayer.

One by one the bandits drop till only Maxwell’s enemy and the bandit with a big package on his horse are left, driving their horses forward at a gruelling speed. Ashera commands Timor to stop the horse of the Wolfslayer. Timor sprints forward and with a powerful leap and bite guts the animal. It’s rider is hurled hard on the ground but quickly stands up. Dagar and Ashera ride on while Maxwell jumps from his horse.

An epic man to man fight between Maxwell and the Wolfslayer starts, both doing each other severe damage. For a moment it seems that Maxwell is on the losing hand when Mitch suddenly comes thundering by, blasting his pistol. In one hand Maxwell then summons up his remaining strength and strikes his foe with all his might. With his other hand he summons up his mental power and hurls a rock straight into the Wolfslayers face. His enemy staggers a few steps and drops to the ground.

Dagar and Ashera overcome the last bandit who throws his package on the ground. Ashera can’t stop her horse for running over it and she hears a woman shout in pain. The last bandit gets killed and Mitch takes care of the millers wife. The forest is quiet again.

 

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