Well, the adventurers first met in quite a strange way. Yes, a very strange way indeed. It was the night of Beltine, a great festival celebrated by all the people of Eyru. The festival is overseen by the Eyrian druids who bless the people’s cattle, warding off disease by running them between enormous bonfires and giving the blessing of the earth mother to all who attend. This ensures the people’s prosperity in the face of the coming growing season.

Of all the festivals, the most famous has become the festival held in the city of Lynn. People travel from across the continent to join in the merriment of this three day long festival. The festival begins the day of Beltine with great feasts and entertainment from the scores of wandering bards that travel the country. The day following Beltine, the city opens its gates to the people for trade within its walls. Outside, the festivities also continue with tournaments of skill and copious amounts of cornia, a wheaten honey mead.

Lynn’s festival is also quite unique in that Lynn is the only city to open its gates to between all four High Clans. Situated on the banks of the river Aber, directly on the border of High Clan Tairan and High Clan Steairn, it quickly attracted the attention of the people of High Clan Erinin as an excellent location to ply their wares. Over the years as open hostility has subsided between the High Clans, High Clan Tairan gave in to High Clan Erinin’s repeated requests to open the city to free trade. Tairan, reluctant at first, is enjoying the benefits that this prosperous arrangement brings. They are also enjoying the position of being one of the first clans to step boldly into a new era of open trade which has since eluded this mostly pastoral society.

Cian Mac Oc Midir hails from high clan Erinin. By profession he is a sailor and makes his living ferrying products to and from locations and even piloting his boat for use by the fishermen of the eastern coast. This year, around Beltine, found him in an awkward situation. Not being an outgoing sort, nor having much desire to spend time among the large crowds at the Lynn festival, he found himself in the unwanted position of salesman. He had acquired a cargo of sandals for sale or trade. The shoemaker he had received them from was positive they would all but sell themselves at the Beltine festival in Lynn. Having no other business leads, Cian took the cargo and set sail for Lynn.

Once in Lynn, his aversion to crowds and his decidedly unsalesman-like approach was netting him very little business. Fortunately, an attractive young woman by the name of Dierdre O’Cuinn took note of his plight and offered to help; for a cut of the sales of course. Cian, relieved by the stranger’s offer, gladly accepted. With a little luck, and a lot of…shall we say "appeal", Dierdre was doing a remarkable business. Her sales however, were interrupted as the crowd began to migrate toward a new "attraction". Following her customers, Dierdre worked her way toward the new disturbance.

Pushing her way a bit through the crowd, half-heartedly still hocking her wares, she finally got a glimpse of what the fuss was all about. Being carried like a pig on a spit between two burly highlanders was a young woman. The woman was scuffed and bruised though her face bore a look of agitation instead of pain or even indignation. The two carrying the bound female were surrounded by others tha,t Dierdre noted by their tartans, were all from a sept of Tairan. The procession was led by an imposing looking highlander with a long spear in hand. He was followed by a younger man who gestured impatiently at the crowd for them to clear a path. "Make way for Aralt of clan Moora! Make way! Make way for Aralt who has bravely defeated this witch in battle!"

Dierdre, a sorceress herself immediately identified with the young woman. Having left home not long ago, simply to see the world outside of her small clan, a sept of high clan Erinin, she knew the dangers that waited for a person that had powers such as hers. Superstition and fear of the unknown made every Eyrian she had met suspect of witches and the evils their magic might wrought. She was determined to find out more about this accused "witch".

As the crowd jeered and stared at this captured "witch", others among them were less curious about the claim of witchcraft and more interested in the welfare of the girl. Cinn Oir, a golden haired druid, followed closely on the heels of the highlanders that carried the witch. Pushing her way past them she bent down close to the girl as she walked, trying to determine her condition. The druid Cinn Oir, also took note that the woman was tied to a Rowan branch, a tree which is said to protect from the evil powers of a witch. Standing up and continuing to keep pace with the crowd, Cinn Oir turned to the closest member of clan Moora, badgering him as to the details and reasons for this girls capture and unsuccessfully trying to convince him that she should be set free.

The clansmen of Moora, Aralt in the lead, were rapidly approaching the city gate. Lynn, a city on the border between two High Clans with a violent history, was a heavily fortified town. A moat surrounded the outer wall of the city, with a single stone bridge spanning it. The walls were constructed of piled rough cut stone, rare for most fortifications of the Eyrian people were surrounded by wooden stockades. A solid wooden gate set into the wall shut off entrance into the city. The gate, during the festival, was to remain closed until the day after Beltine, in which it would be opened to allow trade within the city the following two days of the festival.

Confidently, Aralt pushed through the crowd and walked up to the gate giving it three swift kicks to attract the attention of the guards inside. Aralt demanded entrance into the city and to be allowed to burn the witch in the city square. He was shortly denied and told if he wanted to burn a witch, it would be done outside of the city. The guard made it plain that the gate was to remain shut until the next morning.

He was soon interrupted by a voice from the crowd. That of Liam, cleric of the elder god Epona. Much like Cinn Oir, he was unconvinced the girl deserved such a sentence. In a short exchange, the crowd superstition beat back Liam’s call for reason as he argued for the girl’s safety. Aralt, then proclaimed he would burn the witch himself after the Druid’s had performed their rites at midnight. He and his clan marched off to take a position near "Watcher’s Hill" just outside the city wall. The crowd followed and soon Aralt and his clan were telling tale after tale about the witches capture. How they had caught her on the eve of Beltine stealing water from their well and how when they first approached her she had consumed Aralt in fire which burned from her eyes. Aralt would proudly display a a festering burn wound on his forearm at mention of this and then go on to tell how he wrestled the witch to the ground and tied her to the rowan branch to steal her powers.

(Editor's note: In this mess, is the making of our adventuring group. Liam, cleric of Epona; Cinn Oir, druid; Dierdre O’Cuinn, sorceress, and Cian Mac Oc Midir, wizard.)

Dierdre, still selling shoes, moves inconspicuously among the crowd until she reaches the innermost circle where the members of clan Moora sit telling their tale to all who will listen. Cinn Oir stands visibly among them, trying desperately to convince them not to burn the young woman. Eventually she attempts to bluff them into reconsidering the fire for safety reasons and clan Moora erupts into laughter. They are sure she is simply joking now. (given that the culmination of Beltine is the lighting of two massive bonfires….) Liam stands cautiously on the edge of the crowd, watching with mild interest. He believes the girl shouldn’t be burned but its unsure what he can do to stop it having already tried to reason with them. Cian has even moved a little closer to the crowd.

As the evening wears on, the crowd thins, returning to the festival or preparing their cattle for the evenings rituals and Cian edges in closer. Once he is close enough, he takes a look at the burn on Aralt’s arm. Using his spellcraft he notes the pattern of the burn could have been caused by something similar to Burning Hands. Meanwhile, Dierdre, first attempting to sell shoes to the members of clan Moora, has now taken to flirting with them. Trying to gain as much information as possible. She has gained the full attention of four clansmen, one by the name of Conner who had been at Aralt’s side earlier calling for the crowd to move aside. Conner is quite taken with her and suffers a good deal of ribbing from the other clansmen. Soon, Aralt leaves giving Conner and the three others instructions to stay and look after the witch while he attends the rituals.

The area around the witch has cleared of the crowds as the sun sets. Four members of Clan Moora are left. Two of which are quite drunk. Conner is enraptured by Dierdre and the other one left to guard the "witch" is eyeing Cinn Oir who has been having a conversation with the witch. Because Cinn Oir wears the symbols of a druid, he doesn’t openly question her conversation but is suspicious nonetheless. Dierdre, with a passing glance to Cian, sends Conner off to get her some mead so "she can continue her pleasant conversation".

Cian at this point assesses the situation: two drunk guards and one who is distracted by the druid. He throws a Sleep spell into the mix. Centering it to get all the clan Moora guards, he can't avoid but get the entire group. Cinn Oir makes her save while the two drunk clansmen and Dierdre fail theirs. One guard, unfortunately the sober one, remains. It takes him a second to even notice, but he turns at the dull thud behind him as Dierdre and the two drunks hit the ground. Wide eyed he turns back to the "witch" (who also made her save) screaming "You did this! I knew we should have killed you already!" Raising his spear he starts toward the still bound "witch". Cian takes the opportunity to work on his charisma skills and bluffs the guard with incredible success. Running up to the group he hurriedly blurts out, "You cant kill her with that! And the rowan tree didn’t stop her magic! Run and get help before its too late!" The guard pauses and rushes toward the crowd which is gathering in the distance by the ceremonial bonfires.

Liam, still watching from a distance sees the strange commotion and starts toward them. He hears a shout behind him and sees that Conner, returning with drinks, noticed his clansmen hit the ground as well. Liam nonchalantly places his staff in Conner’s path, sending him to the ground. With a feigned look of shock he rushes to help Conner to his feet, apologizing profusely and latching on persistently. Cian kicks Dierdre to wake her and her and Cinn Oir set to untying the hapless "witch". Cian, sees the two drunken clansmen starting to stir. Feeling pushed for time, he finishes them off with his dagger. As he does so, he notices the scuffle between Conner and Liam in the distance. He watches as Conner shakes Liam off angrily and draws his spear, charging toward the group with Liam on his heels.

Pressed for time, Cian drops any pretense of subtlety and blasts the charging clansman with a Ray of Frost, hoping to at least break his morale. Conner continues his charge however and reaches Cian, but his reckless attack misses. Dierdre and Cinn Oir untie the "witch" and start to head for the woods north of town. Just before Cian can answer Conner’s charge, Liam Commands Conner to flee. Conner fails his save and runs off screaming toward the crowd. Each member of the party takes an unsteady look around at each other and breaks into a run. It isn’t long before they see torches lighting behind them and a large contingent of the crowd in pursuit.

They run into woods and break off toward the river. Cian stops to cast Light on a branch and throws it off into the woods, hoping to at least delay their pursuers. As they reach the river’s edge, Cian stops them and tells them that he has a boat in town. He tells the party to hide while he swims downstream into town, hopefully unseen. He leaves and a few minutes later the party hears the howling of hounds which have joined their pursuers. The majority of the party decides to follow Cian downstream. Liam, unable to swim, protests and waits for the boat where Cian had asked them too.

The session ends with Cian nearly to town; Dierdre, Cinn Oir and the "witch" trying to keep a low profile while  floating downstream toward town. Liam is left standing knee deep in the river, waiting. Liam can tell the hounds are getting closer and can see two figures just about to walk up to the river bank just a few yards from where he’s standing……