H is for Hope
On the gathering of 17 Penhayir, 1120 at the Dead Walk Inn and Tavern, Elder Sonya Albright gathered members of the adventuring community to give them information regarding the contents of the scroll case recovered from Celestian's Sanctum. Inside were two scrolls regarding the contraption that controls the Kingdom of Islan Tel'Nava's Ritual Hounds.
As mistwalkers drawn from other lands to aid Knoch'len fought their way through undead to reach the heart of the town at the tavern, Sonya explained that they would need some of the nodes of elemental power of Barran - forty in total - as components for the ritual. To this end, there would now be night missions of brave and willing adventurers to track down and harvest some of the sometimes volatile nodes.
While those were collected, the heroes of Knoch'len had to contend with undead that gathered around the elemental nodes, even before Deadwalk. Some were more powerful than others, but the groups dispatched many and recovered a trove of the elemental nodes through the course of the first night.
The Raven fae have still been up to their strange whims, with portals being sighted in the woods as well as Rook having teleported directly out of the tavern with a group of adventurers!
On the morning of 18 Penhayir, the missing students from Dawnhart Academy last seen at the bulletin board were returned to the town, one in a prison, turned over to the town guards. It seemed as though the necromancy recruitment posters had claimed one young mind. Shortly thereafter, one of the members of the Black Forest adventuring group was seen in possession of one of Legion's bottles of undead, bringing it to secure custody to prevent its abhorrent use.
Later in the afternoon, a merchant caravan rolled into town, with rumors abound that some of the merchants may be spies for the Kingdom. Still, their wares sold relatively well. Weapons, scrolls, potions, and alchemical goods changed hands. Featured also were ritual scrolls which one merchant thought were simply strange unburnable (therefore useless) paper with funny writing.
Diseased rats came into the Dead Walk Inn and to the heart of town, up from the sewers of Centerwatch below once again. Thankfully, they were dispatched and one of the strange Chimeras of multiple sentient races came up from Centerwatch to solicit the help of adventurers to clear them out.
Later, the much aggrieved Dead Walk Inn was beset upon by necromancy-corrupted Dryads. Fortunately for the adventurers who were within, a (somewhat) friendly bugbear wearing a red mantle with bones attached to it entered and helped dispatch the dryads.
In the evening, an advance guard of Kingdom forces bore down on the town of Knoch'len. They were beaten back by adventurers, but a dracolich identifying themself as Legion came to the town during the battle. They left with a rift and returned with a garrison of corrupted Kingdom soldiers, calling them a "gift."
When Legion left after talking to some of the adventurers, a pillar of light and dark energy erupted approximately 3 days hard ride to the West, similar to ones that had happened in the past.
Now, Knoch'len is embroiled in a struggle between the Kingdom of Islan Tel'Nava and Legion, having to hold their ground and fight both while the plant blight in the region rages on. Preparations are being made to finally, once and for all, stop the ritual hounds that stymie the potential power and reach of the adventurers in Knoch'len.