The Premise: Sir Lautrec is tasked by Count Wolfgang to help with the rebuilding of the town militia. To do this they need discount resources for weapons, armor, and other equipment. Wolfgang sends Lautrec to nearby towns, cities, and forts to secure those resources from old friends. Lautrec presents his mission to the party, who agree to help out the town. They decide to head to the closest town, the lumberjack community of Hanlin. Along the way they meet a mysterious master of unarmed martial arts.
Saving Harold: On the road to Hanlin, the party finds a young messenger boy being mauled by a feral grey wolf with blood-red eyes. They kill the beast, and Lautrec offers to make the boy a squire. The young messenger eagerly accepts.
Discovering Hanlin: The party enters Hanlin late in the evening. They learn from the local inn that wild animals with blood-red eyes have been killing lumberjacks. Townsfolk are speculating that it is the work of a nearby community of druids. That night, the party is awakened by the cries of a homeless man being murdered by red-eyed raccoons. The party dispatches the vermin, with only Edmond suffering serious wounds. The next morning they meet Sir Sessuc, owner of the Hanlin Lumber Company. He offers cheep lumber to Tellgart if the party can uncover why the animals are attacking. The party accepts the proposal.
The Druids: While searching in the woods, the party encounters a hairy nude man communing with nature. Calling himself "Wildfoot", he offers to take the group to the druids. The party follows him to a clearing in the woods, where five other druids reside. Among them are a squirrel-obsessed man (Squirrelius), a depressed-looking boy holding a flower, two repulsive women holding turtles, and a muscular man sitting on a rock with a dark wooden sword. The muscular man calls himself Blackbark. Through the magic of a ghost sound spell, Albert tricks the druid into helping the party in their investigation.
Wood Inspection, Day 1: The first day of searching proves fruitless for the party. Blackbark is joined by his burly black bear companion, Minnie. The party spends most of their time following after Blackbark. That night, the druids are threatened by paranoid townsfolk. They are given a deadline of 24 hours to leave the forest, or they will be attacked.
Wood Inspection, Day 2: The second day of searching the party takes matters into their own hands. Clay, Marcus, and Kato the dog find scorch marks, ax cuts, and broken foliage that lead them to a medium-sized pond. In this pond is the corpse of a dead stag, his side gored by something viscous. Marcus detects an evil aura in the waters, and Zaros feels the presence of magic. The party drag out the deer and discuss the possibility of this pond being the source of animal corruption in the forest. While they do this, Minnie leans his head into the pond for a drink. Suspecting what will happen, Marcus leaps onto the bear's back. Sure enough, the bear's eyes turn red and she turns viscous. In the ensuing battle, Marcus distracts the beast while Lautrec and Zaros cut into its flank. Blackbark becomes distraught as his best friend is slain before his eyes. Zaros blesses the pond and lifts the curse.
Success and a Side Quest: The party returns to town and informs Sir Sessuc of the situation. He promises to protect the druids from harm. That night, Zaros is approached by members of the Order of the Reaper, clerics of Sol Mortalus that work to make sure the natural order of life and death is maintained. They send him to investigate an old man that has seen nearly 100 winters. Zaros takes the party on his investigation. They find the man surprisingly healthy, wearing a medallion with the elven symbol for vitality around his neck. The necklace has a faint aura of magic around it. Albert steals the necklace, Zaros knocks the man and a nearby witness unconscious, and they make a break for it. Out of danger, Albert realizes that the necklace is simply a piece of wood with characters magically written on it. That night Zaros learns that the quest was a test: the Reapers knew that the necklace was not magical, and they expected Zaros to learn this without harming or stealing from the old man. They inform him that he will have other chances in the future to prove his worth to the Reapers. Marcus returns the necklace to the old man.
Return to Tellgart: The party journeys back to Tellgart. Marcus receives a letter addressed to paladins that should be in the area investigating his demon report. No one in town has seen these paladins. The session ends with the players heading to Klingsberg.
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