[Izulde]

While we'd been in Grotenhaven, we saw that there was work there, so we sped forth to take it. One job was already gone, but the town's lockbox with the city taxes had been stolen, and no one had yet recovered it. We were paid 180 crowns in advance, with 300 more upon return. This was getting to be more like it.

We found them in the snowy north, and the terrain was tricky to navigate - so much so that we lost Humbert and Walrum No Nose in that skirmish. It was a devastating disappointment, but we recovered the lockbox and this time remembered to take everything with us. After the battle, someone comes up to offer us 210 crowns for the lockbox - a proposition we're frankly not interested in. Evidently someone higher up had hired the thieves to carry out this crime.

One of the noble houses is hiring when we return to Grotenhaven, but stung by our recent losses, we opt for a simple package delivery instead. We also splash 355 crowns on Karl, a Caravan Hand looking for better pay. Unfortunately, we find out the old man has fragile bones, which the cheat kept from us until the last minute. Still, he replaces Humbert as our pikeman.

And of course, we were attacked en route. A small bandit party, but one that featured experience raiders, rather than the common thugs. Harmut the cultist fell, despite battling bravely. However, defeating veteran warriors yielded a Nasal Helmet and Short Sword, which [b]Kunold the Beast/b] and Hartmut the Butcher respectively immediately claimed.

The town of Goldhoft, where we drop off the package, is ironically named. Not much here, though there is an armory. We're at the point now where we have steady enough income to pay for a higher quality recruit, and so we give 385 crowns to the wonderfully nicknamed Ulfert the Snake. A native of Sannendorf, he was the sixth child of a poor family, and turned to thieving to support himself. That eventually led to his exile. The thief's a craven bastard, but dexterous at least.

Evidently there's money after all, because the council hired us to protect the town.. and they're offering a whopping 670 crowns for what looks to be an easy job. And indeed, it is - just a group of bandit thugs. Hartwig the Bull sustained a cut artery in the last battle, and got a cut wrist in this one, but no harm done, really.

After payment, we hire a farmhand, but he's both dumb and clumsy, so we dismiss him right away. We'd the money by that point to afford such things, and hired Lothar, a nondescript mason, instead. From there, it's on to another mission from the same council - retrieve a stolen lockbox. Pay is much cheaper this time, since they spent so much on the first one. Hartwig managed to add to his growing list of injuries with a fractured elbow, but otherwise we emerged unscathed. Memories of Reinhold for sure.

The Lord of Winterhall requested our presence for a mission. He wanted us to fight a group of greenskins before some jousting tournament. We weren't interested - too many bad memories of the first time, and we were not yet strong enough for such a job, we felt.

Instead, we took a cargo delivery mission, which should have been simple - even attacked by a small band of raiders. But our most costly recruits, Hartwig the Bull and Ulfert the Snake, both died, thanks to lucky blows on the part of our enemy. So upon delivery, we kept spending obscene sums, doling out 450 crowns to Hakon the Woodsman, a surefooted brute of a lumberjack, who'd been punished for poaching. Another request to fight greenskins. We again declined, particularly since it was from a town.

Finally, another bandit mission, back in Grotenhaven. We signed on a historian named Asbjorn, who like many academics, was a hesitant personality. I swore to myself we were done with hiring these high-priced recruits who weren't worth the crowns they took.

Thankfully, Hakon and Asbjorn both showed their mettle in downing an enemy in their first fight. We got a huge haul in terms of crowns and copper ingots as well. Some broken ribs for Karl, but nothing too serious.

We finally accept an offer from a noble - a request to eliminate some goblins to the northwest. The 280 crowns advance and 770 completion payment is what swayed us. Besides, they were sure to be punier and less troublesome than those orcs, we figured. And it reflected our growing reputation, for the Lavender Knights were now considered Competent.

We decided to wait for daybreak, because we had over 1,600 crowns on hand, not counting the copper ingots that would net us another couple hundred. This was going to be a task we would spend lavishly on, because we wanted to make sure everyone came home.