GR 34: Rise of the Winged Swords

Baldron Haywarde and Andreu Jörin awoke to find the city of Doltrek in chaos due to the news that the Witch Evanchoris had swooped in astride her dragon and assassinated the entire royal family, leaving the succession of Doltrek in limbo. They found themselves suddenly part of a contingent of soldiers (mostly Knights of the Winged Sword) led by Ukkassen that was setting off for Onscra to consult the High Keeper and gather the Knights. The pair would soon learn that the true purpose of the flight from Doltrek was to protect Morakar, the infant son of Lord Marshal Reneslar, and the last living heir to the throne of Doltrek. His survival and flight from Doltrek were being kept secret so that the Witch would not find out.

Arriving at the fortified town of Lantin Bridge, they found the gates closed along with the road east to Onscra, citing an outbreak of war in Doltrek that was forcing an exodus eastward. Unable to gain admittance to Lantin Bridge and the road east, and hearing rumors that believers of Ukko were being persecuted in Onscra, the party decided to head through the mountains toward Rodessa, following two Sylvan guides that they met along the way (Tembril and Mireka).
Travelling through the mountains, Ukkassen sent Andreu, Baldron and Aiden off on a mission to retrieve an artifact he needed. After finding and exploring some ancient dwarven-made tunnels with walls made of an ethereal crystalline ore, they obtained the artifact Ukkassen was searching for – a giant crystal golem controlled by a pair of ethereal gauntlets.
The contingent decided to rest and re-provision at the town of Meda’s Mill, one of the first significant settlements east of the mountains along the road. Upon awakening at the inn one morning, they found hoof prints in the hallway and discovered that Morakar and Lady Calien (his caretaker) were missing, and came to conclude that they were abducted by a group of Satyrs. Andreu, Baldron, Tembril and Mireka set off and tracked the Satyrs south to the edge of the Stonewood. Along the way they found an almost-dead Ranger named Picket who had been tracking the Satyrs and was almost killed by them. After healing him with the honey from nearby steeple-bee hives, Picket joined their group.
The party tracked the Satyrs into the Stonewood, to an ancient ruined Fae temple. In the ruins they found Lady Calien lying in an enchanted slumber from which they were unable to awaken her, but no sign of the baby Morakar, who appeared to still be in the clutches of the Satyrs. Taking the sleeping Lady Calien with them, the party happened upon Balco Browntree’s Inn. The Inn seemed to be a place of magic and safety, and the proprietor himself seemed to have an ageless and ethereal sense to him. After speaking with Balco, he gave them information about a sect of Dryads, the “Daughters of the Butterfly” who lived in an area of the Greenwood called Melikki’s Grove, who he thought could rouse Cayleen from her enchanted sleep, in return for the party finding his flying steed Goldenwing who had gone missing.
Meeting up with a returning Brother Aiden, the party travelled to the tower of Al-Miniath and there met the Mistress of the tower, Elicia. The party was relieved to find that Elicia had Morakar in her care, and she explained to the group that she had saved the child from the clutches of the Satyrs at the Fae ruins. Elicia then brought the party to Melikki's Grove, where the Daughters of the Butterfly were able to break the spell that had enchanted Calien, and left Morakar in the care of Hasharra, one of the Daughters.
As the campaign concluded, the company parted ways - Andreu went to study etherea at the tower of Al-Miniath, Picket returned to the Ranger's tower in the northern Greenwood to report back to his master, Lord Marshal Reneslar, and Baldron remained in Melikki's Grove to study under the tutelage of a mysterious healer and mystic named Markesh.
OUTSIDE GAME-TIME: There were many political machinations happening behind the scenes in this game that the characters saw evidence of, even if they did not fully understand all the motives and implications. This campaign filled in some gaps in the SpiritQuest timeline regarding what was happening in the Greenwood while the Questing Party did battle with the Witch (GR 5: Betrayal at Sea)
MEMORABLE MOMENTS: This campaign welcomed Mike Martin (Andreu) to the SpiritQuest world. It was also one of only a handful of campaigns that was actually played through to the ending, even though it left the door open for a subsequent campaign (GR 36: Greenwood Shadow)

CAMPAIGN INFORMATION
Gaming Data:
Dates Played: May 2018 to August 2019
Play Sessions: 12
Session Venue: Steve's House - Oakdale, MN
Rule System: SpiritQuest - 8 (simplified rules)
SpiritQuest Setting:
Era: Age of Exile
Time Frame: 3233 SR
Region: Lansia/Wessa
Origin: Doltrek
Destination: The Greenwood
Player Characters:
Andreu Jörin - Mike Martin
Baldron Haywarde - Jon Raverty

Important Non-Player Characters:
Brother Aiden,
Tembril and Mireka, Sylvan Guides
Morakar, Infant Son of Reneslar
Lady Calien, Nurse of Morakar
Balco Browntree
Hasharra, Daughter of the Butterfly