Borderlands Session 4

Like I said, I was behind on my session wrap-ups, so that's why these are coming at you fast and furious style.
   By the end of the last Session, the PC's had found a map which supposedly would lead to a treasure hoard found in Quasqueton, and had managed to discover a secret passage between Melissa's and Rohgan's rooms.

                       This session saw the party going through Rohgan's private quaters, only to interrupted by a group of Northmen, who have also been exploring Quasqueton's halls. While they first decided to try diplomacy with the barbarians; suspicion soon turned to open hostility, as Dale the Killing Machine quickly attacked the tattooed warriors.
 A long battle then ensued, as for the first time, the party seemed to face an even match in their foes. After beating back the Northmen, the PC's blockaded a door and took a prisoner. again the questioning seemed to get very little and the frustrated party left the prisoner tied to the bed as they fled the fortress.
 They headed back to the Keep, to regroup and report on what they had found with Balin, the wizard who had hired them.
  Once there they deciphered  Zelligar's coded diary, and the PC's learned of his suspicions of the true instigators of the Northern attacks 20 years ago; a group by the name of the Red Hand. ( An organization composed of wizards, clerics and nobles who have revived the worship of some sort of Elder God which is yet to be revealed to the players).  Balin was concerned about the nature of such a secret society, and asked the PC's to further investigate the halls of Quaqueton for more clues.
 The party though decided to take some down time to enjoy the amenities of the Keep, While MoonBeam and Theodore the cleric took the time to study and pray; Stickles and Dale the Killing Machine had come up with a ploy, where Dale would distract a local patron with small talk, and Stickles would use the moment of distraction to pick their pockets for cash.
        Unfortunately the plan backfired; the first person Stickles attempted to rob caught on to what was happening. He and his friend confronted the duo, only to be attacked by Dale, who nearly killed one of them men with a single blow of his axe.
Shocked by the wanton display of violence, the remaining patrons and the barkeep held Dale until the authorities arrived. Stickles, seeing the sticky situation that was about to occur, slipped out during the commotion, and was able to avoid arrest.
   To make up for their crime Dale (and by default the rest of the party) were charged with the rescue of a local merchant from a group of Bandits which had been attacking lately from the woods.  The characters then readied themselves to face the bandits of the woods, in what they considered their first rescue mission.

Edit notes...Okay so this session had actually happened looong ago, and its hard to remember all the good bad and ugly, but here goes. I seem to remember the challenge in improvising all the events in town; especially the consequences of their robbery attempt. They were really keeping me on my toes. By the way if you didn't know it all ready, Dale is a bit of a sociopath; I tried to play some shock at his resorting to a weapon right away in the bar fight (an axe no less). The Keep as a meant to be a tough but law abiding area, a frontier area filled with puritan ( at least on the exterior) types. I haven't put a great deal of work into the personality of the Keep yet. Its pretty small after all, and I see it more as a focal point for small villages in the area as opposed to a sprawling city which can hide thieve guilds, etc. I don't even think the Keep has a brothel....not that I've put a lot of thought into it, but one character did try to find one....maybe I'll have some sort of traveling "entertainment" group come in or something.

Well I have more to think on about this, plus two more sessions to summarize yeesshh.