The next morning, the party heads out to intercept the patrol. After a half a days journey, Cian’s hawk spots the patrol ahead. They are moving northwest along the border of the bog lands. The hawk also reports seeing a large number of men in this patrol, some wearing metal armor. Concerned, the party does a bit more recon and discovers they are looking at a 40+ man patrol. Thirty of which appear to be shoddily armed highlanders, the remaining are well armed soldiers clad in scale armor.

Runke immediately appears nervous but the party sets to making plans on how to deal with the larger than expected force. When questioned about his nervousness, Runke says it is a much larger patrol than usual and that he was not expecting it. He also states that he knows Gaelyn was impressed with the party’s ability so he will just let them make the plans and trust they are "professionals".

The planning continues and the group decides to wait until nightfall to strike. Given that they are outnumbered, they decide to make several raids into the camp, slowly whittling away at the force. Their first strike will be after midnight so they stay a healthy distance from the patrol and wait for nightfall. At nightfall, they scout out the perimeter of the camp. The main body of troops rests at the base of a hill. There is signal fire atop that hill and the guards are spread out in groups of three around the north face of the hill at about 50 yard intervals. Each group has a small fire.

The party decides to sneak forward and try to take out one of the groups at the fire as quickly as possible. All goes mostly to plan. As the party strikes, Cian uses a stone to make some noise and draw the first group of guards out from their fire. Things almost fall apart when a guard at another fire comes to investigate the first group’s absence, but Liam buys them time by using Hold Person on him just as he leaves hi sown watchfire and enters the darkness. With fairly decent stealth (excellent stealth on Runke’s part I might add), the group drags off three of the guards.

Runke now seems more nervous and confused and asks "What now?" Cian offers an example and slits one of the sleeping guard’s throats. Runke simply says, "Oh…" The party finishes off the rest of the sleeping guards in like fashion. Dierdre and Liam both however express reservations. They then make for the spot where they left their horses, knowing that it won’t be long before the rest of the camp is alerted. As they leave, they notice Runke is missing. They find a ravine to ditch the bodies and upon reaching their base camp, they discover some of the gold has been stolen off of their horse, unbeknownst to Cinn Oir. They guess it could have been none other than Runke. It is a small amount (not even an even split) and the party has little time to search for him or even ponder why.

They ride all night and in the morning Cian sends his hawk up to scout. The hawk lets him know they are being pursued; someone in the group must have found their tracks. The patrol is close, within five miles, so the adventurers decide to try to lose their pursuers. Cinn Oir casts a Pass Without Trace on the group and they head off to the north east. As they move, they are trying to formulate a plan to deal with the patrol which, by the hawk’s report, is making good time but not closing the distance. As they discuss options something very strange happens. A note seems to materialize in the air in front of them and drops from the sky. Cian retrieves it and, walking a good distance away from the party, examines it.

The note appears to be sealed with Gaelyn’s own mark. Cian cautiously opens it and very hesitantly reads the contents. It directs the group to call off the attack immediately. They are to leave the patrol alone and rendezvous with Gaelyn. A simple map drawn on the note indicates they take up a northwesterly direction and search for a hill with a stone circle atop it. There they will find a stone with a circular hole straight though it. Looking through the hole should reveal the location where they are to meet Gaelyn. Confused, the group discusses their options and decides to follow the map.

After a day long journey (and losing their pursuers) they find the hill which the note spoke of. Being nearly dark, the party decides to wait until morning to determine the final destination. Cinn Oir however feels compelled to tend to the stones and Cian offers to assist. By midnight they have the stones cleared, aligned and in much better shape. As Cinn Oir puts the final touches on the last stone, a strange energy begins to build. It is a greenish yellow light that streams out from each stone meeting in the center. As the streams connect the center light grows in intensity. Soon it bursts out in a bright shockwave of light. The energy courses past Cinn Oir and Cian leaving them with a tingling feeling. Liam and Dierdre are awakened as it washes over the camp at the base of the hill. The energy continues to expand, fading off into the horizon and out of sight.

Liam walks up tot he circle to investigate with Cinn Oir. Cinn Oir is unable to determine much aside from it was constructed by druids and is linked strongly to the earth. Liam notes several ancient symbols and the most prominent of which he recognizes as the symbol of the Dagda. Intrigued, the group discusses the ramifications and hopes they are benign. Cian and Cinn Oir advance the idea that they are possibly activating waypoints among the land though no one is certain. The party settles in after a brief discussion and sleeps the rest of the night.

The next morning, Cinn Oir points out the stone with the proper hole. Looking through it they note that it singles out a copse of trees on the horizon about five miles from their current location. By mid morning they have made it to the copse of trees and discover a small wooden shack hidden within. Cinn Oir approaches first, searching for tracks. She discovers the tracks of three booted individuals all human sized and most likely male. She reports her findings. Dierdre, growing weary of the cloak and dagger routine loudly says "Just knock on the door already!"

Liam agrees and goes forward. He raps on the door with his staff. The door edges open at his light tapping. Pushing it all the way open Liam steps in. All the windows are shuttered and the room is dark. With a word, Liam brings forth a Light on the end of his staff. As the room lights up, he sees a leather clad rogue standing next to him with a shortsword. He is blinking in the sudden change of lighting. A second rogue stands across the room, ready to advance. With a swift action, Liam disarms the rogue next to him and says "We’re here to see Gaelyn."

As the other rogue advances, a voice can be heard from what sounds like under the floorboards of the one room shack. It is Gaelyn’s voice and he is shouting "Its alright, bring them down!" The rogue closest to Liam cautiously picks up his sword and the other one lowers his weapon. "You must be Liam," the rogue says. He then walks over to the center of the room and raises a well hidden trap door. He motions for the party to proceed down a small set of stairs and Liam complies with the rest of the group now joining him at the shack.

At the bottom of the dark stairway is a heavy wooden door. As Liam reaches forward to knock the door swings open and the group is greeted by their "friend" Ainfean. Spiked chain at her side, she snarls and steps aside, letting the group enter. Seated in a chair across from the door is Gaelyn. He greets them saying that he is pleased that he stopped them from completing their mission. The group is very confused at this and Liam immediately asks why.

Gaelyn explains that he wasn’t in Tir Gaelyn the day they met with Ainfean to receive their mission. He and "Ann" (Ainfean scowls at the nickname but says nothing) had in fact been out. The party is immediately confused though Cian recalls a few odd incidents that day. Dierdre asks for a better explanation. Gaelyn says that following the meeting the day prior to them receiving the mission, he and Ann had left Tir Gaelyn to investigate a shipment of arms that was crossing close to the coast from High Clan Erinin to somewhere in High Clan Tairan’s lands.

They intercepted the ship, having every intention of being back with its cargo before morning (and being able to meet with the party to discuss business.) This never happened. He and Ann were waylaid by highly skilled troops. The entire shipment had been a ruse designed to presumably capture or kill him. Gaelyn and Ann managed to escape but were pursued closely and kept at a distance from the city. When they finally lost their pursuers and found themselves in a position to react, two days had passed. Suspecting something was definitely awry, Gaelyn contacted a handful of his most loyal associates in Tir Gaelyn. He was surprised to discover that he and Ann were already there. Further, he was even more surprised that the imposter had sent the party off on a mission to annihilate the latest bandit patrol.

Liam immediately suggests that the adventurers can’t be sure then that they are talking to the real Gaelyn even now. Gaelyn explains that the imposter obviously has it in for him and that the imposter would not have scrubbed the mission that was given. Gaelyn notes that killing off an entire patrol from nearby High Clan Tairan would have devastating consequences for his operation. Had he wanted to "kick a hornet’s nest" he would have done so himself. The only thing the mission would have done is bring High Clan Tairan into the boglands in force seeking revenge. Hardly the kind of thing a "bandit king" so to speak needs. He’s in the business of providing entertainment and a place of relative safety for the various bandit gangs—not in trying to start a war he can’t win. The party agrees to an extent and accepts the idea that this is indeed the real Gaelyn.

Gaelyn then goes on to say that now that he has stopped them from completing a dangerous and very damaging mission that they are free to go on their way. Or, they may accept their first true mission: enter the city and find out who is behind this. When pressed as to why he doesn’t enter himself, Gaelyn explains that if there is indeed an imposter inside, it may be very unproductive for he or Ann to enter and simply cause an uproar. It might also undermine his authority if two of them are seen roaming about.

Cian agrees as does the rest of the party though Dierdre demands more information. She wants details about the shipment they went to investigate and where they heard about it from in the first place. Gaelyn is fairly vague at this point noting that he received the information from "normally reliable" sources. It sounded like a golden opportunity: scores of fresh armor and weapons with little in the way of an escort. In hindsight, Gaelyn admits it was too good to be true. He does note that there is some evidence that the Fist may be involved, but nothing solid.

Dierdre seems less than satisfied by Gaelyn’s response but agrees to go along with the party. Liam then makes an interesting point. They must find some way to be able to tell the imposters from the real Gaelyn and Ainfean. Gaelyn agrees and the group advances a few plans. Cian and Gaelyn hit on a possible suggestion. Gaelyn can use Arcane Mark to place his personal mark on them. It isn’t the most efficient way to determine identity but no other mage should be able to duplicate the sign. A Detect Magic will be necessary as well to make positive idea which isn’t much of a problem since every member has access to it. The group agrees this a pretty safe and clever way to go about it and the lot of them is marked choosing the back of the hand as the location.

Gaelyn promises that he will "keep an eye" on them. He admits he has ways of watching places from a distance though he also admits that he has fortified his own inner base or operations (the area above the Forge in Tir Gaelyn) against such attempts and will not be able to keep tabs on them once they enter it. He also makes one request. He requests that the blacksmith, Aengus, not be harmed. When asked how to tell if he is an imposter or not, Gaelyn says to ask him "How the weather is in Goll". (Cian makes a quick check and recalls that Goll is the capitol of High Clan Steairn.)

Being only midday, the party sets off toward Tir Gaelyn, discussing their plans along the way. Eventually they decide on a rather direct approach: they will walk in, gain audience with the imposter, and then simply tell them that their mission was successful. It is nearly a two day journey to Tir Gaelyn. Along the way, Cinn Oir manages to find another snake to befriend though she still misses "Jake" quite a bit. She vows to look for him when they reach the city. Her new snake she names "Jackie". Aside from that, the trip is uneventful and the normal squishy, damp, occasionally knee deep trek through the bog. (Dierdre appears more and more disgruntled about this everyday…)

They reach Tir Gaelyn and find it much as they left it. It must be another busy day around town. There is a large press of people out front and the gates are closed. A guard out front spots the group and pushes through the crowd toward them. In minutes a small escort has ushered the adventurers into the city, closing the gates behind them. The streets are definitely busy and are packed with all manner of "Freemen".

The guard escorting them tells them that Gaelyn wishes to see them. Liam seems concerned about this, but the guard simply states he is following orders. It seems obvious he knows little about what is happening or what their mission may have been. Cian asks about Runke and the guard just looks blankly at him and says he doesn’t know anyone by that name. Cian then asks what’s new. The guard says that it has been a mad house around town. The patrol are lingering longer than normal and have even pressed into the boglands further than they ever have. People are still waiting out in the city. Good for business the guard admits, but it makes his job a helluva lot tougher.

Without so much as a side trip, the guard takes them straight into the inner compound. They reach the smithy and see Aengus working away at his forge. He doesn’t so much as look up as the party is led up the back stairs to the second floor which they have gotten to know quite well. They are led to the end of the main hallway and through the door into the main meeting hall. There they make themselves comfortable in the chairs which normally adorn the center of the room, directly across from the long table where Gaelyn usually sits.

Several minutes pass and the door along the side wall opens as does the main entrance into the room. A dozen guards file in a take up scattered positions around the room. Two by the main entrance, on by the side entrance and the rest scattered around the table. They are all clad in scale armor wielding short swords save the guard by the side entrance, who is wielding a spear. Moments later, Ainfean (the imposter?) strides into the room and seats herself on the opposite side of the table from the party. She glares at them, throws her feet up on the table with a heavy thud and leans back slightly. She then demands to know what happened.

Dierdre steps forward and begins to give a rousing tale of how they defeated the large patrol with very little in the way of injuries. Her tale is quite good though perhaps embellishes a bit too much (Good Perform, Poor Bluff….) Before her tale is done however, Liam, now unwilling to keep things "low key" begins to cast a spell. He fires off a Hold Person before anyone in the room can react. The spell, however, is unsuccessful and Ainfean leaps from her chair shouting "Kill them!" The room erupts into chaos.

The party manages to get a jump on the entire roomful of guards (perhaps Dierdre’s tale was more entertaining than she thought!) Liam leaps forward and attempts to jump directly on the table that separates him from Ainfean. His Jump is a bit low due to the weight of his armor and he nearly falls. He then proceeds to climb carefully on to the table. (Having blown his standard action, he now climbs more carefully up onto the table with a move equivalent one though he can not attack this round.) Cian wiggles his fingers and two of the guards drop for an unplanned nap (Sleep spell naturally—though this worries Cian a bit as he now knows their level is a bit higher than he first thought). Cinn Oir meanwhile advances on the nearest guard with her staff while Dierdre fires a Magic Missile striking Ainfean and a nearby guard.

Finally the guards get their bearings and respond. Two leather clad guards spring forth from the dark shadows of the poorly lit room. One attacks Cian, striking a glancing blow while the other swings wildly at Dierdre. The remaining scale clad guards move forward. Several surround the table and engage Cian while two turn their attention to Cinn Oir and her Dire Weasel. Two more advance on Cian while another closes in on Dierdre.

A frantic melee ensues. Cinn Oir beats one senseless while her Dire Weasel tears one off Cian (and saves him from being flanked.) Dierdre tumbles effortlessly around the room avoiding several strikes from nearby guards an firing off more Magic Missiles. Liam finds himself surrounded while atop the table. As Ainfean attacks she oddly doesn’t wield he favored spiked chain. If they weren’t sure for some reason, the party now is pretty convinced this is the imposter. She instead makes several attempts to throw him from the table while striking at his groin in the process. Liam continues bashing away at her all the while having blows rained down on him from all directions.

Cian sees the trouble Liam is in and backs off bashing the guard in front of him long enough to cast another Sleep spell. This one drops two more guards near Liam. Liam is still flanked however and takes a horrible wound from one of the leather clad guards whom has given up chasing Dierdre around the room. Liam’s Chain Shirt of Fortification pays off as it turns away a critical strike which would have only aggravated the sneak attack.

Liam’s minor victory is short lived however as finally, the imposter Ainfean grabs hold of Liam’s leg throwing him to the table. She then glances around, nearly half of her guards are down or disabled and she seems less willing to stick it out than the REAL Ainfean. She exits through the side door and the spear wielding guard falls in behind her, setting his spear to dissuade pursuit. Cinn Oir and her Dire Weasel advance toward the table to grab the attention of several guards who are more than willing to try to make Liam a permanent part of the table. The vicious beast and the bloody quarterstaff definitely grab their attention.

Liam leaps off the table and runs headlong after the escaping imposter. In full charge he recklessly Bull Rushes the guard with the set spear and manages to avoid skewering himself while throwing the guard onto his back and out of the doorway. Cian finds himself cornered by a guard and quite battered. Dierdre is also cornered by two guards while Cinn Oir continues to engage one of the few left standing near the table (most are taking pleasant naps amid the chaos…)

Liam continues his pursuit through a secret door, into a lavishly decorated bedchamber and through another door which leads to the main hallway. As he pursues he calls out to the group "She’s in the main hall!!" Cinn Oir immediately rushes out the main entrance and nearly collides headlong with the fleeing imposter. Dierdre takes a deep breath and growls at the guards before her. With a sadistic glint in her eye she raises her smoldering hands and says "Let me pass, or die!" Slightly wide-eyed, the guards step back and she too runs through the front door. Cian is not so lucky. Slowly he edges toward the main entrance while fending off a guard with his quarterstaff. Desperate, he sends his hawk in to attack as well, hoping to further whittle down his adversary.

There is a look of panic in "Ainfean’s" eyes (giving all the more evidence of her as an imposter.) Burned by Magic Missiles, struck with several solid blows from Liam’s staff, the imposter looks desperate. Without a second thought, she bolts for the stairs but not before Cin Oir’s Dire Weasel has taken a good sized chunk from her flesh. Liam growls in exasperation and pauses to cast Expeditious Retreat. Then at a blazing run, Liam heads down the stairs. As he enters the open air smithy on the ground level he sees that a large contingent of guards has begun to respond to the commotion. He also sees that the imposter is still alive and running for the gate of the inner wall shouting "Guards! Guards! Intruders! Kill them!". Liam rushes after her, and manages to catch her in the courtyard. He strikes her hard with his quarterstaff and she staggers.

Meanwhile, Cinn Oir and Dierdre rush down the stairs in pursuit. As Dierdre makes it intot he open she begins shouting "She is an imposter! Don’t listen to her! Its not Ann!" in as authoritative a voice as she can muster. To her surprise several guards slow and listen. Aside from her sounding convincing, they have never seen Ainfean run from a fight. Some of the guards begin to think that Dierdre may be telling the truth after all.

Cian, the mage, now finds himself in the role of "rear guard" as he stands int he main doorway of the entrance room faced with five angry guards. He backs up and using the doorframe as partial cover, casts Mage Armor. The guards press in to engage him with the first making a wildly swing and planting his short sword into the door frame. Cian breathes a sigh of relief as he is unsure hw many more sword wounds he can take. With that he runs for the stairs.

Outside, the imposter backs away from Liam and into a crowd of guards who slowly advance, blocking Liam’s pursuit. Frustrated, Liam casts Obscuring Mist and nearly the entire courtyard is blanketed by dense fog. The already confused guards are now lost in the billowing mist. The mist is just in time to help Cian as well. It extends well into the forge area and as Cian runs down the stairs he disappears into the thick fog. Held back by their own superstitions, the guards pursuing Cian stop and edge back slowly as the heavy mist creeps up the stairs.

Dierdre continues calling for the guards to help capture the imposter while Cinn Oir and Liam pushes forward through the fog. Cinn Oir has less luck and runs smack into a cluster of guards. Still confused, they offer little resistance a she pushes her way past them. Liam manages to wind his way successfully through the dense mist and find the front gate. He takes up position right in the middle of the open gate. Within seconds, the imposter emerges from the fog. Seeing Liam barring her escape she flies into a rage and finally engages him in melee. She attacks solely with her fists, pounding on Liam with ferocious strength. Liam shrugs off the blows and bashes her upside the head. The Ainfean imposter falls to the ground, unconscious and bleeding.

Without warning (and much before Liam anticipated) the Obscuring Mist vanishes and a voice echoes across the inner courtyard, "Hold!" It is Gaelyn and Ainfean standing in the gate beside Liam. The poor confused guards are now completely dumbstruck and comply with the order. Liam immediately drops down to try and stabilize the dying imposter. His conventional attempts are unsuccessful. As he begins to cast a Cure spell he is interrupted. Ainfean is standing over his shoulder swinging her spiked chain menacingly. "Move!" she demands. Liam grimaces and throws himself over the imposter to protect her. Cian rushes forward shouting "We need her for information!" as Ainfean’s spiked chain scrapes Liam’s back. Gaelyn rushes forward and grabs Ainfean’s arm. She scowls and stalks off.

Liam stabilizes the imposter and Cian checks her forearm for a certain tattoo. His suspicious are reinforced as he finds the tattoo of a fist on her inner forearm. The party then escorts the barely conscious imposter back into the building above the forge. The session ends with the imposter thrown into a cell under Ainfen’s watchful eye (who is under Cian’s watchful eye), and Gaelyn offering the party twice the payment that was proposed for their original mission (which amounts to 1000gp each!)