181 / 05 / 12

After years of thawing relations and the beginnings of a regular trade for iron, the dwarves of the Magrannor Halls have chosen to end all agreements with the kingdom and any human merchants. They claim this is down to a plot by the kingdom to unleash a deadly plague on the dwarves. The dwarves insist that trade will only resume when samples of the disease are turned over to them, an enchanted shield is returned, and a tangible apology of 1000gp is paid. These demands, and a story about how a group of human murderers ambushed a group of dwarven healers are contained in a letter sent to the King and the major merchant houses. Datin Millerson was kind enough to share the letter with this paper, and the other families have confirmed that they received the same. The King has refused these demands, not least because there is no plan to unleash a plague upon the dwarves.
General Hestin Shieldbreaker has provided an alternative version of events, based on reports from our forces in Shaon.
Scouts reported that there was activity at @Saint's Trial near Shaon . Saint's trial lies within the borders of Caresnas and was once used to help priests of Seyr become used to dealing with diseases, and find new ways to fight disease. It had long been suspected that there may be some dangerous items there, but it was considered safer to leave them there rather than exposing our people to a plague from the past. However, when Baronet Dass, Defender of Shaon, and Captain of the Shaon Sentinels learned that there might be raiders attempting to plunder the site, he set out immediately along with the other members of Frostburn company. Frostburn is an elite team from Explorer Company. At the time it consisted of:

• Baronet Dass Argentiss , formerly of Dragonstrike, who was granted his title for services to the crown.
• Malkash , a being from another plain who uses his unique blend of magic and swordplay to protect Caresnas.
• Virris , a renegade elven wizard who has renounced the ways of the elven kingdoms.
• Orlin of clan Daardenrian , a warrior dedicated to nature.

Arriving at Saint's Trail, Frostburn found a number of warboars outside, confirming the scouts report of raiders. Though the upper floors of the building had long since been destroyed, much of the underground structure was believed to be intact and it appeared that this was were the raiders had gone. A large hole had been dug revealing a ramp and a long buried door. Given how often patrols passed this area the hole had to have been dug quickly. Along with the fact that only this one area had been excavated, it was clear this was no group of bandits. Nonetheless, the 4 members of Frostburn, confident in their prowess in battle, made their way underground.
The lower levels of Saint's Trial were surprisingly well preserved, though the numerous footprints in the dust gave ample evidence of the intruders. Frostburn advanced cautiously and so were not altogether surprised when they encountered some heavily armoured dwarves. Though Dass made every effort to defuse the situation peacefully and explain to the dwarves that they were within Caresnas' borders, they refused to listen and attacked the members of Frostburn. This proved to be a fatal decision on the dwarves part, as the members of Frostburn are amongst the most accomplished and deadly warriors and spell casters in the land.
With the immediate threat eliminated, Frostburn company were free to explore the rest of the complex. Though many of the underground chambers were easy to access there was one area protected by multiple layers of magical defences. These defences had clearly thwarted the dwarves, but the members of Frostburn were able to use a combination of ingenuity and magical prowess to bypass. Such is the skill of this team, they were even able to leave the defences intact to deter any other intruders. Past the defences was a chamber that stored a number of vials and bottles. After determining that all of the containers contained various forms of deadly diseases, Frostburn company did the only decent thing, and incinerated them.