A Time of Troubles: War of Kings (4.0)

Heeding the call of King Frederick citizens of Modena have come to the militia houses within each city and town to assist in the efforts against the invading armies of King Alread IV of Rouen. After being singled out from a larger group of citizens because of recognized skills that would be helpful to the cause our party was offered one of three assignments.
1)Escort a shipment of gold from Baumwolle Mine as some shipments have disappeared
2)Patrol the North road to Busan Village and East to Livorna as there are reports of smaller villages being sacked while there have been no reported landings of Rouen forces on the north east coast.
3)Scout out and investigate reports of the construction of siege engines in the south east where the Junt Forest meets Lake Alfred.
The Halfling Sherbert brothers Cranston and Branston of Northshire along with two Dwarves Harbeck and Cattie of Busan, Darien a rakish Human born and raised in Modena the Capital and Borgon a Half-Orc raised in the northern, dwarven built town of Busan along with 19 others including 2 human soldiers Sgt, Liddicot and Corporal O'Grady set out to investigate the rumored siege engines.
Using a river merchant ship, The Osprey, the group of 25 began their 6 day journey to the purported location of the siege engines.
Liddicott explains that if found, the machines are to be destroyed and the tools to craft them captured or destroyed as well. After the first 2 days the merchant vessel Osprey stopped off at Tambow Town to pick up ballista bolts, etc. for the towers down river.
Surprised was our group when they got between a strike force of Rouen troops and Modena’s Southkeep. A dangerous clash ensued with the party claiming victory while losing several of the overall group.
Branston the Warlord Halfling showed his mettle by gleaning information from one of the captured leaders and with Cranston and Darien discovering on the body of the a Rouen Wizard detailed drawings of Southkeep and the location of a secret underground entrance. With this in hand and a knife in the other Branston “convinced” the captured soldier to divulge plans of an attack on Southkeep whereas the defeated strike force was to sneak in and slay the guards while the main force moved on their signal to cross the river and establish a strong force within the Modena Keep.
The Party came up with a clever plan to lure the Rouen force across the river to their ruin but they could not muster a fighting force of sufficient strength that same night to avoid suspicion as the main garrison was at least a day’s ride away.
Branston is revealed to be a very decisive Halfling that deals with situations in a very overt manner whereas his brother, equally decisive has a more cunning approach… these two together are a force to be reckoned with. Both of the Dwarves Harberk and Cattie are strangely subdued for members of their race… while hearty fighters they are very stoic in their approach to the mission at hand but always ready with weapon in hand… perhaps there is a love interest here? Darien is an eager Human, always ready to take action sometimes action beyond his reach and grasp. And finally there is Borgon the Half-Orc who does well to contain his Orcish heritage through the discipline and adherence to the ways of Moradin though he is sorely tested by taunts from his fellow party members such as “Dork” in reference to his Moradin and Dwarf like religious fervor and his Ork heritage Dwarf-Orc=Dork.
After a good night’s rest the party headed down the river to Lake Alfred but not before they were able to speak to Tambow town citizens about local rumors such as ships on the river falling under attack, a creature in the river called “Old Green Tooth” and a fear of the North West frontier where fearful curses and creatures are supposed to roam.
It was an uneventful 4 day trip where some money was won and lost gambling with the crew of The Osprey. Once at Lake Alfred the party disembarked on 5 small skiffs in the dark of night and began to row toward the west shore. It was at this point that the party confirmed the existence of Green Tooth when a huge fish like creature attacked the skiffs killing one of their group and sending Sgt. Liddicot in full armor into the water where reckless Branston dove in after him with Borgon anchoring a roped tied around Branston’s waist… as if trolling for Old Green Tooth.. and successful at baiting the fish they would have been if not for Branston’s quick reflexes and the fact that Darien continued to plink the beast with thrown weapons. Making it to the beach the party was quick to discover a Rouen patrol which they quickly dispatched, capturing one unfortunate soul that was a conscript of the Rouen army and was very forthcoming with information about the siege engines and the force around them.