The Protectors of the Pass saved a group of people fleeing a centipede monster. This monster was covered in thick plating and wreathed in flame, and seemed to not be chasing and killing the people for food, but for sport. The Protectors dealt with this fearsome foe, saving the lives of nearly all the fleeing people.
Continuing on their way, the Protectors were snagged by something frozen in the ice - the dead bodies of a courier from Lady Dene, and his two guards. The guards had crossbow bolts sticking out of their backs, and the courier had been hung, their bodies placed into the river and frozen in place to cover the murder. Following tracks, the party came upon a halfling caravan beset by five human soldiers. The soldiers were tossing the caravan, looking for and eventually finding a young woman. The soldiers were clearly intent on killing this woman, so the Protectors jumped in, and Jack magically incapacitated the brutes.
With everyone calmed down, the brutes, halflings, and young woman all explained the situation - some by blade, some by poison, King Steppengard's family had been assassinated. What's more, each of their hearts had been removed, presumable to stop resurrection magic. It was assumed the only reason Steppengard himself survived was because he had stepped out, responding to a noble who was complaining about a Ragesian ambassador. By the time he returned to the banquet hall, he had avoided the poisoning. However, King Steppengard could have been protected by the Book of Eight Lands, a magical tome that recorded the genealogies of the leaders of Dassen's lands and protected them from poisoning.
In the wake, all those fleeing the capital Bresk were considered conspirators with the assassin, and were being rounded up by vengeful soldiers under Steppengard's orders. This young woman was one of those fleeing. The halflings shared that she paid them 100 gold pieces to be smuggled out of the city.
Attempting to alleviate tensions, Bryn cast Zone of Truth on all the gathered people, and the young woman (introducing herself as Hethal Bekoff) admitted that she had nothing to do with the assassination, but that her boyfriend had been arrested under similar suspicions. The soldiers (introducing themselves as "The Talon") also admitted they had killed the courier in an act of vengeance, and intended to do the same to Hethel.
Taking Hethel with them and sending the soldiers on their way, the Protectors of the Pass continued their trek to Bresk. What awaited them was a kingdom holding back the tide of Ragesia, on the verge of civil war.