Liam joins the party at Tir Gaelyn and they head north along the coast to Dun Brees. It is a mostly pleasant voyage with calm weather and smooth seas. By nightfall they have reached the seaside hamlet of Dun Brees. It is a moderate sized town lying at the feet of a large keep. The keep is situated on a hill and is the farthest point in town from the coast. Cian guides the boat into the small dock and the group is greeted by the harbormaster. He approaches, asks the party a few questions and helps them secure the boat. He seems a little nosy but harmless.

Etain mentions that she knows the inkeep of the towns only inn and leads them to it. Being late, the inn is mostly empty and it takes a while for the inkeeper to greet them. He recognizes Etain from her last visit. He offers the party a free stay, as long as Etain will play for his evening crowd in the common room. Etain agrees and soon the party is off the their room for a little rest.

The next morning over breakfast, Etain mentions more details about the rumor she heard last time she was through here. It was a local farmer whom she was speaking to and apparently his friend, a fisherman, had been the one to find the body. Etain says she’ll ask around and see if she can find out where this farmer lives. The rest of the party decides to try their information gathering skills (ok, so they might not work very well untrained) around town.

That afternoon they return to the inn and meet up with Etain. The party has had no success trying to find out information about this rumor. Dierdre and Liam have concocted a story though that they have been using for cover. Essentially, Liam is claiming to be a relative of one of the sailors who was lost. They have come to Dun Brees to try to find him since this was the boat’s original destination. The sad story of a missing relative however seems to do little to get any information from the people. Etain has better luck with her information gathering and she can tell them where the farmer lives. The party sets off for his house immediately while Etain stays at the inn preparing for the evening crowd.

They reach the farmer’s property to find him in the fields tending to his crops. A woman is outside the house doing laundry and she gives them a suspicious look as they approach. Dierdre heads off to speak with the woman while Cian and Liam go to speak with the farmer. Dierdre finds that the woman seems pleasant enough but as soon as she mentions she is looking for a lost sailor the woman clams up and excuses herself, rushing inside. Cian and Liam have little luck as well with the farmer.

The farmer seems equally stubborn until Dierdre approaches and pulls out a shiny gold coin…a giant-sized shiny gold coin. The man’s eyes widen and he looks around. He asks if they ar from the keep and the party tels that they aren’t. He looks nervously around again and tells them to come inside and talk.

Once in the house the party sees the womansitting by a back window half working on the laundry. She looks at the farmer very disapprovingly and begins to to say something but the farmer cuts her off. The farmer offers Dierdre a chair and he sits at the table across from her. Dierdre haggles over the information trying to coax more and more out of the farmer. In the end she pays him two gold (giant-sized coins) and he tells her all he knows. He says that his friend discovered the body and went to tell the magistrate. The magistrate in turn told him not to tell a soul or they would burn his house down. The magistrate and his men then took the body and disposed of it. After a little coaxing he gives directions to his friend’s house. The party thanks him and heads off to meet the fisherman.

The meeting with the fisherman is less fruitful. A lonely, single fisherman, he seems very smitten with Dierdre but refuses to give any information. He denies the rumors and assures Liam his "cousin" will probably be coming home anytime. He says the waters south of here are a little dangerous as there are pirates that roam the water but they normally don’t kill anyone often; just rob them blind. The fisherman suggests that maybe Liam’s cousin’s boat got delayed by these pirates and is headed home without their cargo. Dierdre begins to cry to try to get the man to confess about the body he found. This has little effect save giving the fisherman an opportunity to "comfort" her. Dierdre mentions she’ll be at the inn tonight if he remembers anything. The fisherman seems anxious to see her there later.

With a little more information, the party heads back to the inn. Etain is playing her harp for a captivated crowd and she nods at the party as they enter. They sit close to the hearth where Etain is playing and order dinner. Moments later, the door opens and the room goes silent. Four men step in, two of which are obviously city guards. The third is an armor clad man with a long black mustache. He scans the room careful as he enters. The final man is tall, handsome and lavishly dressed. All are armed. As this group enters, the innkeeper rushes forward and bows hurriedly. The innkeeper exclaims that he is honored to serve him and the party overhears that this is Lord Brees himself.

Lord Brees approaches with the two guards and the other man who can only be the magistrate. He smiles pleasantly and takes a table next to the hearth. Etain turns her attention to him and begins to play. It is a beautiful ballad which she plays with near perfection. When she finishes her song there is a pause and Lord Brees stands and applauds. The crowd at the inn joins in but quickly dies down as Lord Brees begins to speak. He steps forward and asks Etain if she would be interested in playing for him tonight at the keep. He adds that her and her traveling companions are welcome to stay as well. Etain graciously accepts and Lord Brees and his entourage leave.

Later that night the party heads off to the keep. Cinn Oir agrees to stay behind at the boat incase something goes wrong. When they reach they gate of the circular keep, they are waved in by the guards and immediately greeted by a servant who shows them through the courtyard and into the keep itself. The interior of round keep surrounds the courtyard and is actually one and the same with the outer wall. The servant leads the group up a flight of stairs and through a door into a well furnished antechamber. Here he asks them to wait a moment and disappears through another door.

The room is set out with sturdy wood, upholstered furniture with several chairs, a small table and an animal skin rug. On one wall is a large tapestry. Cian takes a close look at it, noting it is a hunting scene; standard fair for tapestries. However, on closer inspection he notes something odd. Several things in the picture make reference to the Fomorian’s and their culture (DM’s Note: Ahh finally a PC with Knowledge: Eyrian Lore!). A barely noticeable white spire in the distance; the hunt is strangely close to the sea and several of the hunters seem to be emerging from it. He calls Etain over who also takes a look. He seems amazed with the tapestry and while she can’t say its origin she appraises it as something which could be priceless to the right collector. To her it is obviously centuries, even millennia old, though the tapestries condition seems to dispute this.

A second servant enters and brings the party a tray of drinks. Everyone but Cian tastes the wine. His suspicions aroused by the odd tapestry perhaps, he takes a glass but never drinks it. Soon after the servant returns and ushers them through a door. They enter a large hall whose center piece is a long oak table. A chandelier hangs in the center of the room and a roaring fire burns in a large fireplace along the wall. Seated at the table are Lord Brees and the Magistrate. Lord Brees stands and cordially welcomes them. Dinner goes by without difficulty. The party engages in a very pleasant conversation with Lord Brees while the magistrate sits quiet and attentive. They find out little information. Lord Brees speaks with Dierdre at length and when she mentions it, dismisses the tale of the washed up body as a mere rumor. Late in the evening, Etain entertains them with a song. The magistrate and the lord retire and a servant shows the party to their room.

The room with the party is shown to seems to be something of a group guest house of sorts. It lies on the first floor and has a door and window open to the courtyard. It is well furnished much like the other rooms in the keep but does seem a bit cramped. Four beds line the side walls; a sort of "guest barracks" as Dierdre puts it. The group has a short discussion in which each of them expresses their suspicions. They decide to set a watch and settle in. Dierdre is on first watch. She sends her familiar out to roam the courtyard. As the night wears on she becomes tired. Slowly, she becomes so tired she can barely keep her eyes open. As she fights the urge to drift off, her body begins to feel numb. She stumbles over to her pack digging for her herbalist kit and passes out just as she reaches it.

Cian is suddenly awakened by the sound of a screeching, hissing cat. Cian sit sup in bed and sees a dark figure in the doorway. On the floor he sees the cat crouched over something. Cian leaps up from bed and bounds across the room, fumbling for his staff.

Liam wakes up at the disturbance as well. He slaps his hand on the wall casting Light and causing one of the stones to glow. The room now lit he can see the entire scene. Dierdre is lying on the floor, her familiar crouched protectively on her body. Cian is blinking in the sudden light and standing toe to toe with what looks to be the very same farmer they met this afternoon! In his hand he has a small knife. The farmer also seems disoriented by the light and he looks around the room in surprise. Cian stands between Dierdre and the farmer.

Liam springs out of bed and rushes over to Dierdre’s side. She is breathing but out cold. Liam concludes she has been drugged. Reaching for his own herbalist kit he does his best to bring her back to consciousness. Within minutes she is awake but still groggy. Liam then goes to check on Etain and finds her in a similar state.

Cian raises his staff and orders him to drop his knife. The farmer takes a final look around and drops his knife. Cian quickly drags him in and closes the door. The farmer then exclaims he is only there to help them. The farmer goes on to explain that Lord Brees and the magistrate are going to kill them. Liam and Cian question him relentlessly. The farmer’s story seems slightly plausible but he is unable to satisfactorily answer quite a few questions. In the end, they decide to let the farmer leave and tell him they don’t need his help.

Liam watches the farmer leave. The farmer tries to blend into the shadows and heads immediately to the front gate which is flanked by two guards on the wall. Instead of trying to exit through the gate the farmer heads right up the stairs behind the closest guard and disappears through a door at the top. The guard doesn’t budge. Liam finds this very strange and he approaches the guard as well. As he reaches the bottom of the stairs the guard turns around and questions Liam. Liam strikes up a conversation with the guard who claims to be oblivious to anything strange. Confused, Liam returns to the guest chambers.

Back in the guest chambers, the party talks the strange events over. Etain is ready to leave. Being drugged and having her life at peril isn’t quite her cup of tea. She admits she is curious about what the heck is going here though. Liam, Cian and Dierdre all decide to stick it out and see if they can get more information. Etain reluctantly agrees and the group tries to rest a bit. No one sleeps and they take the precaution of blocking the window with a mattress (to stop line of sight spells) and barricading the door with a bed.

The night passes uneventfully. The next morning there is a knock on the door. They drag the bed out of the way and Cian answers the door to find a very confused looking servant. The servant glances around the room while inviting the party to breakfast with Lord Brees. The group gears up and follows the servant who takes them back into the great hall. The magistrate and Lord Brees are present. Neither objects to Liam "saying grace" over the food (a Purify Food at that….).

Not long after they have sat down Cian bluntly mentions their intruder last night. Lord Brees seems shocked and orders the magistrate to look into the matter at once. The magistrate stands and with a rigid bow, leaves the room. Lord Brees apologizes and states that he is unsure how anything like this could have happened. Dierdre mentions the farmer implicating the magistrate and Liam further mentions the strange reaction from the guard (or lack of reaction from the guard) when the farmer left. Lord Brees appears genuinely concerned and excuses himself to have a word with the magistrate.

The party is alone in the great hall. They talk a bit about the very strange events. Etain says she knows something is definitely wrong here but she can’t quite put her finger on it. Cian and Liam decide to go find the lord and magistrate and see if they can get in on the conversation. Etain mentions she "has to go to the bathroom" and her and Dierdre set off to explore this floor of the keep.

Etain and Dierdre are the first to run into something interesting. Etain enters another antechamber adjacent the one they waited in on the previous night. There is a guard standing at a door opposite the entrance and a small windowed alcove centered on the wall facing the outside of the keep. Dierdre waits outside the room and lets Etain talk to the guard. Dierdre from the hall hears the guard explaining this is not the bathroom but the lord’s quarters. Not long after she hears Etain strike up a song. Peeking around the corner she sees Etain sitting in the alcove playing her harp for the guard who is standing in front of her (his back to Dierdre), enthralled. Etain nods toward the door on the farside of the antechamber and Dierdre sneaks across the antechamber and slips into the room.

Another well furnished room lies before her. A four-posted bed of hand carved-oak is the centerpiece. At the end of the bed is a large chest. Along the wall nearest the door is a painting and on the farside of the room is an oak wardrobe. Just beside the painting is a lavishly designed mirror or gold and silver. Dierdre does a hasty search of the room. She finds the wardrobe and the chest are locked. She tries quickly to pick one of the locks with no luck. About ready to leave she leans against a post of the bed and takes one last look around. The top of the post wobbles slightly and she takes a closer look. It appears hinged and movable! Flipping the cap of the post she looks to see the painting on the wall sliding to the side revealing a shelf.

Behind the painting she finds several disturbing items: One black onyx statue: very similar to the one’s they sold from their encounter with Bran, several strands of blonde hair, several pieces of hacked up rope, the skin of a small venomous snake. There is also a wax-sealed envelope. Heart racing, she grabs the contents and flips the post back into position, closing the secret panel. She then slips out of the room. She throws a quick glance at Etain as she leaves the antechamber. Etains harp fades away and soon after she joins Dierdre outside the room. Dierdre briefly mentions what she found and says they have to find Liam and Cian and get out of here! Dierdre and Etain reach the courtyard just as Liam and Cian are stepping in through a door on the farside.

Meanwhile, Cian and Liam have been standing outside the door where the magistrate and the lord are having a meeting. The guard outside continues to tell the two that the magistrate and lord cannot be disturbed and they must return later. After several minutes of waiting, a voice from inside instructs the guard to let Cian and Liam in. Cian enters cautiously and tries to nonchalantly place his back to a wall, expecting trouble. Liam strides into the center of the room and essentially demands to know what is going on. Lord Brees is seated at a table directly across from the door while the magistrate is standing by the door itself. Lord Brees smiles and says that there definitely is a problem. In fact, they are the problem.

Lord Brees then leaps up from his seated position and fires a hand crossbow (something the party has never heard of), striking Cian wo suddenly begins to feel his entire body freeze up. The magistrate who was standing by the door (and thus behind Liam) leaps on Liam, tackling him and taking him to the ground. Liam struggles, trying to break his attackers grip but cannot escape. Lord Brees rushes forward with a freshly loaded crossbow bolt and fires into the fray, narrowly missing Liam. Liam, held tightly, manages to call out a Command, telling the magistrate to flee. The magistrate is unwilling to do so.

Outside, Dierdre and Etain hear the scuffle in the room. Dierdre insists that the guard let her pass. The guard glances nervously over his shoulder and repeats that the lord cannot be disturbed. Etain breaks out her harp and begins to play, weaving a Suggestion into the song. Soon she has the guard convinced that there is nothing going on around him of any significance (DM's Note: Ok, maybe a little bit of a broad interpretation of the spell but having this guard standing there oblivious the entire fight was quite hilarious!). Dierdre steps forward and throws open the door. Seeing the struggle, she immediately launches two Magic Missiles into lord Brees who is reloading his crossbow. Lord Brees looks up a fires the next bolt at her, hitting. Dierdre fights off the poison and steps forward to envelope lord Brees in a Burning Hands. Cian, paralyzed, orders his hawk in to try to distract the magistrate who is wrestling with Liam.

(Meanwhile, outside, Etain has begun casting Ghost Sound around the keep’s walls to distract the guards on duty and mask the struggle below.)

Liam continues to wrestle with his assailant who has him hopelessly pinned. The magistrate continues to ignore the clawing hawk and Liam is unable to break free. Liam wriggles a free hand to his holy symbol and casts a second spell. The room is suddenly shrouded in Darkness. Dierdre screams at the struggling Liam in frustration as she no longer has a target for her battery of spells. Liam continues to struggle while the magistrate straddles him and resorts to beating Liam’s head against the hard stone floor. Lord Brees has disappeared in the darkness and apparently doesn’t make a move. Dierdre advances into the Darkness, recasting Burning Hands and keeping a sheet of flame ahead of her in her fury. (Luckily it's dark so Dierdre can't target Liam....)

Suddenly, a cry of alarm is heard from Etain. Dierdre sends her cat outside to investigate. As the cat breaks out of the Darkness into the courtyard, it lets Dierdre know it is confused and scared and is suddenly desperate to know where she is. Dierdre is confused as well, and tries to feel her way to the door to get outside and see what is going on. Liam draws a knife to defend himself against the magistrate’s hail of blows. He manages to deal a few cuts but the magistrate is undeterred and continues pounding his head into the floor. Cian feels mobility returning to his body and immediately rushes forward toward the sounds of combat in the center of the room.

Dierdre breaks through the darkness to see a horrifying sight. Standing over the fallen body of Etain is….herself! Dierdre quickly feels as though she is looking into a flawless mirror. Her familiar, Tabby, stands by, standing cautiously between the twin Dierdres. Dierdre calls for her cat to step back in the darkness, reinforcing this through the empathic link that her and the familiar share. Dierdre then fires off a Burning Hands at her twin figure and steps back into the magical darkness as well.

Cian manages to stumble through the darkness to the wrestling Liam and magistrate. Unsure which is which he makes a grab for the one on top, pulling him back and separating the two combatants. He tries to maintain a grip on the magistrate but loses him in the dark. Liam instantly stands and starts to make his way to the door. Both Cian and Liam manage to find the door and prepare to leave to darkness.

Outside, from cover of the darkness, Dierdre casts Mage Armor. (DM's Note: With this she sports one of the best AC's in the party and this definitely caused more than a few misses from the badguys..) Dierdre draws her sword and steps out of the darkness field, ready to attack. Standing directly before is the false Dierdre. The true Dierdre is narrowly missed while she herself scores a strike. Cian and Liam break the darkness and Liam rushes to Etain’s side. Cian stares in amazement as the two Dierdre’s fight a pitched sword fight. The true Dierdre is hit with a fierce blow that nearly takes her down. Finally, in desperation, she casts a Ray of Frost. Hoping it is a sign that this is the true Dierdre, Cian sets his sights on the other. Cian casts Ghoul Touch and jumps forward. His grab misses and the enemy steps back into the Darkness.

Liam rushes to Dierdre’s side after stabilizing Etain. He casts a Cure Moderate and brings her back up to nearly full hit points. Etain joins them and looking around wildly asks if its time they should flee. Liam shakes his head and takes up a position by the darkness. Cian steps off to the side to flank the Darkness field. Suddenly, Lord Brees and the magistrate emerge from the Darkness. Cian finds himself to toe to toe with Lord Brees and he grabs him solidly by the arm. The Ghoul Touch seems ineffective however as Lord Brees unleashes a devastating blow with his bastard sword. (DM's Note: Cian takes near max damage from this first hit and finds his hit points are halved!) Liam and Dierdre find themselves facing the magistrate who calls out for the guards (the one in the Darkness guarding the door is still convinced that today is normally day with not much to do…..). The magistrate then throws himself at Liam, pounding with powerful fists. Liam and Dierdre both engage him while Etain strikes up a song to inspire the party.

Cian launches yet another spell, this time Ghoul Touch. Unable to dodge the incoming blow however, his spell is ruined as lord Brees bastard sword tears into him. Near death, Cian drops to the ground. Liam scores a hit to bring the magistrate to the ground even as he strikes Liam with a powerful blow. Etain sees the guards rushing into the courtyard and as they get closer, casts her final spell. Wounded and battered, her attempt to Hypnotize them fails miserably. (DM's Note: I normally hate it when NPCs steal the show but the Hypnotize could have completely stopped the guards in their tracks!) Dierdre turns to the guards in a raging fury and calls for them to stop or die! With a phenomenal intimidation roll and a horrible morale check for the approaching wave of guards, they slow their advance. None of them have seen such magic in their lives and none of them are too keen on approaching the blood soaked sorceress with smoking fingertips. Etain returns to her inspiring song of courage. 

Lord Brees advances on Dierdre and Liam. As he approaches, Liam steps up to engage him, pushing the wounded Dierdre behind him. (DM's Note: Now the heroic deeds begin to be dealt out in spades!) Cian, watches as a seemingly hopeless melee ensues. Lord Brees wields his sword with deadly skill and the battered Liam is no match for him. Liam is hit hard by lord Brees and he staggers back as Dierdre fires a Ray of Frost over which comes up empty. Cian crawls forward with every ounce of energy he can muster and make sit five feet to the dying magistrate. Trying to clear his head of the pain he begins to cast Vampiric Touch. The blinding pain is too great and he loses his concentration. (This is where my optional rules for dying kick in. Check them out! Sure, it extends a fight but it allows PCs to do those heroic last breath sort of things, I hated how the "disabled" category was at a flat zero by the real rules....)

Undaunted, the dying Cian grabs a rope from his belt and casts yet another spell. Tossing the rope at Lord Brees feet, Cian manages to complete an Animate Rope spell. As his vision fades, the last thing Cian sees is Lord Brees dancing aside as the rope tries to snake up his legs. Even as Lord Brees sidesteps the rope, he plunges his bastard sword deep into Liam’s side. Liam crumples, mortally wounded, and falls to the ground. With his dying breath, Liam calls forth an Obscuring Mist and yells for Dierdre and Etain to run for their lives.

The session ends with Dierdre and Etain managing to escape the keep through cover of the dense fog and Liam and Cian lying, bleeding in the courtyard….

(Cruel DM’s Note: Liam will actually die first as his wounds were more extensive than Cian’s and as they bleed out one point per round, Liam will most likely be first to go I think. So the poll wasn’t entirely accurate ; ) As DM I hate it when characters die! Cinn Oir was absent that week and I didn’t make too many adjustments to the potential encounter with Lord Brees to reflect that. Had I, the group may have faired much better. Anyway, be on the look out for the next session log. While the PCs have developed several enemies, they also have a few powerful friends as well….)