The night is suddenly quiet, the battle ended. The smell of blood, sweat, and death (not to mention the burning mill) permeates through the air. After a moment catching their breaths, the adventurers begin to move again.

Edryd makes the sign of Anhur and says a brief prayer of thanks under his breath. Then he quickly moves to Storm and Lays Hands on him, hoping to ease his injuries a little. As he does, he smiles and says, "One of these times you ought to try finishing a battle with your skin intact." (2 hp restored to Storm)

Edryd then puts an arm around Guilliam and asks how he's doing. Even though it's out of the ordinary, Edryd petitions Anhur on Guilliam's behalf and in light of his selfless courage in battle, for an additional dispensation of healing for Guilliam. Thankfully, Guilliam does seem to feel a bit better after Edryd's prayer on his behalf. (1 hp restored to Guilliam) Edryd expresses his concern that those who went missing won't be missing for long.

Finally, Edryd speaks to all of them about their situation. "As I see it, weneed to find a mount to transport Mazen's body back to Rinder, for proof of the completion of this mission. We should also attempt to obtain what information we can about Mazen's plans and allies in his efforts while we are here at his haunt. Perhaps Cy can stay with Storm and Guilliam and search for whatever bounty Anhur has provided from our enemies, (especially a mount or pack horse) while Canter and I make a quick run through the house to see what we can locate. Then we've got to get back to Rinder to turn Mazen over for a proper burial. What say the rest of you?"

Crayne looks up from the two men he is currently guarding, "Sounds fine to me Edyrd! What shall I do with these two?"

"Arr, me friend," Storm answers the young mage, "I be lookin' after them for ya. You look in there house, and keep an eye out for some daggers, eh?"

Crayne nods to Storm, patting the dwarf on the shoulder as he makes his way over to the fallen enemy mage. He thumbs through the man's dark, bloodstained robes, but comes up empty. "Maybe it lies in the house," he says quietly to himself. Then, looking up, his eyes fall on Canter. He breaks into a grin, walking over to Canter, and says, "Good to see you alive and well my friend! I hope that they didn't treat you unkindly!"

"They were hardly kind hosts!" Canter replies, trying to add a little humor to the situation.

"Did they interrogate you? Can you identify this man as Mazen?" Cy asks, pointing to Mazen's body.

"Yes, as far as I know, that man is, indeed, Mazen. He did come once to look over me, but left most of the questioning to his lieutenant, the man who got away. They hit me a few times, I can't say it felt good. And they asked me where I was from, and why we were in the woods. I didn't tell them much. I'd not betray my king as easily as that."

"Good man, " Edryd says, "if only we had a horse..."

Then, suddenly, Guilliam jumps to his feet. "Oh, the poor beasts" he exclaims and hobbles towards the mill in an attempt to run. He does his best to look for a safe way into the building, and does manage to find his way inside briefly. But he returns moments later emptyhanded. "There is a hitching post back there, and fresh tracks. But no horses. I think the injured men from the house took them."

Guilliam then questions Edryd over moving Mazen's body. "Do you think thatit is wise to carry the dead, draped, decomposing body of Mazen across his homeland. If anyone sees us, we'll be in for a rough ride. How long does it take for a body to rot anyway? A couple of days under the sun? And now that I think of it, nobody really knew much about Mazen. I don't think that any of the Knights of Rinder could even tell us what he looked like. So his dead body won't be much proof that we killed him. If in fact this really is 'Mazen'" Stopping to scratch his head for a moment, Guilliam continues a little sheepishly "I know I'm just making things more difficult, but we need some greater proof that we killed the "Mazen". I say, let's search through the house. And search his body for a ring of medallian or something that might say with certainty who he is."

"Arh! So your suspicious too!" Crayne nodds and grins to Guilliam and then looks to Canter.

"Perhaps in the house we can find a sack to put the body in. That way it will be less obvious what we're carrying," suggests Canter.

"Yes. Good idea," approves Cy, thinking practically, "we should look into that house. I, for one, am looking for a mercenary's due."

"I'll go too," Crayne chimes in, falling in line behind Cy, Canter, and Guilliam.

As the four men walk toward the front door, Edryd turns to Storm, "I guess that leaves me on prisoner watch with you, friend."

"I seen worse company." Storm says, cracking a toothy smile.

As the men enter the front door of the house, they carefully look around the corners and into the room, expecting to come upon the remaining men. There are bloodstains on the floor, and a bloody handprint on the wall where a man must have leaned for support during the battle. But no men. For a few minutes, Cy, Canter, Guilliam, and Crayne look about the house, securing the building.

What they find is an empty building, mostly gutted out and looted. The lower hall, where they entered, is empty. "Thieves sure cleared the place out," Crayne comments quietly. Cy grunts in agreeance. Upstairs, on the second story, the balcony, too, has been looted, though a medium shield is found leaning against one wall. Into the tower, however, Guilliam's eyes grow wider.

The second story of the tower must have been where the lieutenant and guards slept. Four bedrolls are found on the floor, a light crossbow and a composite short bow on the table. Also on the table is a large map of Rinder, much bigger and more complete than any the group has yet seen. (see attached file: Rinder.jpg)

But the real surprise comes as the group moves to the top level of the tower, where the candle by the window is burning down. This room must have been Mazen's quarters, as the ornate bed (as ornate as it could be after thieves had taken the nice sheets and trappings) is layed out with a bedroll. A small chest under the bed (found by Guilliam) is filled with gold and silver pieces. And another small box, containing six small gems, is also under the bed.

Cy's attention is immediately drawn to a sword laying on the table. It appears to be of particularly solid construction, with a guilded handle. It is well balanced, Cy discerns, thrusting at the air a few times. "That, there, is a fine broad sword, friend," Canter says, smiling to Cy, who can't help but smile a bit, too.

Crayne, however, lets out a cry of joy when he makes his discovery: A tightly wrapped (with string) book and a small vial of liquid, also on the table. He quickly unties the book and begins to the flip through the pages. "What does it say?" Guilliam asks, trying to read the illegible handwriting.

"I'm not sure," Crayne replies. "I'll have to spend some time with it," Crayne responds slowly, distantly, completely caught up in his discovery. "This, this one I know," he says to Guilliam (looking over his shoulder), pointing at a page toward the beginning of the book. "This is that missile spell that I know. But some of these others toward the back of the book, they'll take some time. I'm not sure if I can understand them...yet."

Guilliam then picks up the vial, holding it in front of the candle to get a better look at it's color through the top of the metal tube. "Don't!" Crayne yells. Guilliam jumps back, clinging the vial. "It could be sensitive to heat. We don't know what that is."

"It looks interesting...smells sweet. I wonder what it is." Guilliam says.

"Whatever it is, whatever it does, I suspect it's not your everyday tavern ale." Crayne responds.

"No, probably not," Guilliam says. "We should bring everything together before we decide what to do with it all. Canter?" he asks, seeing the fighter leave the room.

Peeking back up the spiral staircase, Canter smiles. He holds up a large burlap sack. "Body bag!"

"This is no time for jokes!" Cy calls to the other three in a serious tone. They follow his voice back upstairs and crowd around him, sitting on the bed. In his hands, he holds four pieces of paper. Three are sketches of weapons, mostly axes. At the top of those pages, on each, the word "Orcish" is scribbled. "These are interesting, and I'm sure the knights will want to see them, but I have found something far more dangerous." He then pulls out the fourth sheet. It is a letter, with an official-looking seal at the bottom, with the crown of Caerloon imprinted in wax. "It reads," Cy begins, "'To Mazen, from Royal Command. You are to cease raiding operations along the border in one week and begin preparations for the first phase. You are to join the third infantry division at Faren in two weeks, fit for battle. Signed, Commanding Officer, Northern Army of Caerloon.'"

Suddenly an air of silence falls upon the room. "'First Phase,'" Guilliam repeats. "First phase of what?"

"I'm not sure," Cy replies, "but I don't think it spells good news for us or the Knights of Rinder. We must move as soon as possible. I'll save these, we must get back to Rinder at once."

The four from the house return to Storm and Edryd outside. "Arr, no daggers." Storm says.

"Daggers, my friend, will be the least of our troubles soon," Crayne says to the dwarf, turning then to Cy.

"What is it?" Edryd asks the warrior.

Cy then shows Edryd the letter. "Anhur be merciful. Is this what I think it is?"

***WHAT NOW?***

-The Mage's spellbook (Graham, I'll email it's contents separately.)

-The metal vial, presumably some kind of potion.

-The sketches of Orcish Battle Axes and the letter to Mazen.

-The map of the Kingdom of Rinder (attached as Rinder.jpg)

-The chest of coins: 135 gp, 90 sp.

-The small box of six gems.

-The nice broad sword.

-The medium shield, average quality.

-The light crossbow.

-The composite short bow.

HOW WILL YOU DIVIDE THE TREASURE? Keep in mind that Canter has lost all his gear and weapons during his capture.

XP receipts will be along shortly.

HP Status: Canter: 6, Storm: 3, Edryd: 5, Guilliam: 3, Crayne: 4, Cy: 8.

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