The onrushing guards encounter a sleep spell followed by a volley of arrow fire. The survivors are bound and offered a choice – death with the old regime or an opportunity to be part of something new, and remain breathing. The sergeant is a wise man and accepts his promotion. He tries to negotiate with the captain and the rest of the guards, but the captain is not as wise as his sergenat and within moments he is no longer among the living.
The party rushes the Duke’s bedroom, surprising his wife – who faints at the sight of a bloody band holding the severed head of the Duke. They bind her and toss the bedroom, then venture downstairs to confront the rest of the guards – Goldpiece (disguised as Miles) holds the duke’s head in one hand and the captain’s head in the other...

Drawing on the information made available to the group by Miles and the gnomes, the group knows that there are people inside Ludensheim that are ready to see the end of the Duke’s reign. They journey through the town and see the sights, few that they are. They make note of the upgraded silk merchant’s guildhall and eventually make contact with both the leader of the civil guard and the head of the wool merchant’s guild. They manage to convince each one of the veracity of the charges laid against the Duke and his legs.
Alas, though the group has a wide range of popular support, they lack a fighting force upon which they can depend. A plan is concocted and a few days of information gathering are undertaken...

The group departs the region and journeys back to Impiltur to settle accounts with the church and dispose of some items collected. Papers and scrolls are read and analyzed, and it becomes clear that the spider silk operation is being used to generate money to fund the infiltration of the region by the forces of the Horned One.

The cleric gets advice from the church: “get back out there and uproot the evil, root and branch”, so the group saddles up and travels back to the region. Along the way they make contact with Miles and his band, as well as the gnomes of the region. Both agree to help the group with securing the pyramid and establishing a base of operations. Eventually the goal is to restore Miles to his rightful position as the ruler of Ludensheim.

The journey is mostly uneventful,...

The priest of Torm assembles a new group, drawing on his contacts in the church and with the assistance of Malchor, they are returned to full strength. The long journey to the Barony of Botkinburg is accomplished with a minimum of fuss, and the group manages to obtain a couple of potions they hope will aid in the defeat of the Witch Queen. Which queen? Witch Queen!

All made invisible by Malchor, they manage to find the secret entrance to the lower levels, after narrowly avoiding an encounter with some robe-clad humans that have some sort of discussion in the courtyard before heading off in the direction of Ludensheim. The entrance is opened and the trap is disarmed.

Once inside they seek out the lower level of the place and (after suitable magical preparations) quickly make their way to ...

The group rallies and enlists one of Miles’ men and retraces their steps to the lair of the ‘witch queen’. They are all invisible thanks to the efforts of The Malformed and manage to navigate the steps to the 5th level of the zighurat. They begin searching for the concealed door that they know is present, but are unable to find it until the changing guard shift alerts them to it by exiting in the midst of the party. This begins a running battle that carries into the zighurat, and attracts the attention of the crowd in the town square. Eventually, the guards are slain, but the alarm has been raised.
The group swiftly returns to the area where the crystal vial of fire claimed the life of Kruss and explores further...