I Always Feel Like Somebody's Scryin' Me, and I have no privacy (oh oh oh oh)

After the Carstellan party excitement on the night of Wealsun 6, some members of SWAG enjoyed a restful sleep while others engaged in "nighttime diplomacy." The following day, SWAG met with Lord Bariss Carstellan and the Sumberton city council, who thanked them for their intervention and apologized for Thrann's actions. On SWAG's recommendation, the council agreed to shore up city defenses, muster the city militia, and begin evacuating civilians to the southern towns.

SWAG spent the next day helping refugees flee Dondurran. That night a group of barghests and hobgoblins attacked SWAG, knowing where they were camped at an abandoned farm from a previous scry. The barghests used their dimension door powers to teleport through walls to great effect, but SWAG drove them away in defeat.

SWAG then learned that a group of several hundred enemy troops had broken off from the main horde encampment at Dondurran and was heading toward Kel's Rise. SWAG flew to Kel's Rise to warn the village, which was huddled behind a small castle's walls with 20 village guard and 20 militia defending the town. SWAG contemplated helping the town resist the horde, but instead urged them to evacuate and planned an air raid on the horde approaching the village.

SWAG approached the smaller horde of 300 or so enemy troops and tried to get close enough to launch a fireball. Thirteen flying creatures were guarding the horde from the air, however, preventing SWAG from getting too close. Instead, SWAG dropped aerial bombardments of alchemist's fire and Odette fired her bow at the troops' leader, Wyrmlord Saarvith who had previously fled the battle at Rhest. After Odette hit Saarvith and several horde arrows hit SWAG, Saarvith and a few other flying creatures turned invisible and SWAG retreated.

SWAG then flew back to Sumberton -- now in full war preparation -- to retrieve Petra's newly upgraded heavenly burst greatsword +1, and they learned the location of the Ghostlord's lion-shaped lair. SWAG spent the next 4 days flying around the horde to the Ghostlord's lair in the Thornwaste, arriving on Wealsun 18.

With the Red Hand only 6 days away from its planned attack on Sumberton, SWAG enterred the Ghostlord's massive carved lion lair and battled hobgoblin monks with grappling dragonchains. SWAG defeated the monks and then encountered more monks, Red Hand clerics and the bard Ulwai Stormcaller. SWAG pummelled Ulwai's guards while she used bardic music thunderstrikes to attack Petra. As SWAG closed on Ulwai and landed several hits, she turned invisible and fled.

Miss Manners Wererat Party Tips

Dear Miss Manners:

I am planning on attending a party, but I believe the host is a wererat. I am concerned that he may be secretly allied with an invading goblin army. Time is short as the evil horde advances and refugees flee their homes. I fear that in order to expose him I must break the law, but if the law has been corrputed by evil, isn't it my duty to unmask it?

Dear Troubled in Sumberton:

Eating from the point of a knife was commonplace until it was roundly condemned about 200 years ago, when the fork came into widespread use. And cutting up all the meat before it is eaten is done only for small children not yet trusted to wield knives. That you were not told this before is a shame. But now you know.

Yours, Miss Manners

SWAG enjoyed a relaxing sleep in Sumberton following many days of travel, and had a breakfast meeting with Luminary Champion Armin Harrack the following morning, on Wealsun 6. He said that he had successfully persuaded the soldiers blockading Dondorran that their orders were unlawful, and they let the refugees begin their trek toward Sumberton.

SWAG also met with Naryalla of the Ebon Cabal who provided SWAG with scrolls of reveal lycanthropy to unmask Thrann Carstellan and his guards as lycanthropes. SWAG prepared for the party by procuring silvered weapons and hiding what weapons they could with reduce spells and other tricks.

At the party, Thrann Carstellan made a brief appearance. SWAG swung into action, dispelling magic protecting him and launching their attack. Thrann was revealed as a wererat to an entangled group of party-goers and SWAG fought to stop him. Two disguised warforged ninjas lept to his defense and SWAG fought a spirited battle. While SWAG attempted to hit Thrann and fought his ninjas and other guards, a small kobold cohort climbed under a table and critically hit Thrann with an inflict serious wounds spell. Thrann fell and the battle was won.

SWAG found Thrann's father and brother unconscious in a nearby room along with the halfling leader of the merchant's guild. With the wererat conspiracy unmasked, Armin Harrack promised to heal the Carstellan family and remove their lycanthropy curse. With the city's leaders rescued, an immediate council meeting would be called to begin preparations for a last-ditch defense of the city.

Panic on the streets of Dondurran

After SWAG destroyed the hobgoblin roadblock, they ventured on into the Blackfens swamp. The next day, they were attacked by a greenspawn razorfiend's acid and razor wing attacks. They defeated the creature and befriended the wild elf Tiri Kitor tribe that inhabits these parts.

The Tiri Kitor gave SWAG a safe place to sleep before investigating Red Hand operatives based in the ancient flooded city of Rhest. Joined by Tiri Kitor bard Trellara Nightshadow, who sought to avenge the death of her brother by the razorfiend, SWAG assaulted the Red Hand in Rhest.

In a swift nighttime surprise raid, SWAG swept into Rhest, quickly killing ogre guards. SWAG fought an ettin and Red Hand goblin ranger Wyrmlord Saarvith mounted on a black dragon. After killing the ettin, and bringing it back as an undead minion (shhh, don't tell Petra), Saarvith and the black dragon were badly wounded and fled. SWAG dispatched the remaining lizardmen and hobgoblins with the aid of a summoned squid and shark.

With Saarvith and the black dragon gone, SWAG found the dragon's hoard and its many coins and magic items. SWAG also found a phylactery belonging to a lich named the Ghostlord and a note from Red Hand leader Ulwai telling Saarvith to keep the phylactery secure. SWAG then returned to the Tiri Kitor, securing their alliance in the fight against the Red Hand, the use of several giant owl mounts, and a host of magic items.

SWAG learned that Lukrimar Keep had fallen to the horde, and flew back to Sumberton to meet with Armin Harrack. On the way, SWAG rescued Teyana Suri, allowing her gold caravan to continue on to seek the aid of the Shining Axe Company of dwarven mercenaries in the northern dwarven lands.

Aiding refugees along the way, SWAG made a pit stop in Dondurran to find several thousand refugees trapped in the town by the elite guard of Sumberton's Lord Carstellan. SWAG tried to persaude the guard to let the refugees past, but the guard insisted it must follow its orders. SWAG uncovered a spider-woman spy in town and killed her, and then continued swiftly to Sumberton.

In Sumberton, SWAG met with Armin Harrack, who pledged to break the Carstellan blockade of Dondurran. He also said that he had called a town council meeting but that it had been delayed by the arrest of the halfling leader of the merchant guild. He urged patience until the council meets. Ebon Cabal bard Naryalla also contacted SWAG, prodding them to end their strict adherence to law and order and expose Thrann Carstellan as a lycanthrope agent of the Red Hand.

SWAG investigated the merchant guild, breaking in and finding signs of a struggle but no clue as to the whereabouts of its leader. As the Red Hand Horde moved toward Dondurran in the first week of Wealsun, SWAG pondered its next move.