Breaking of the Siege

In the year 1199 the fledgeling freetown of Carran's Crossing situated upon the River Blueblood amid the Calindran-Paladian borderlands came under siege by a host of monsters, it's trade routes strangled and ties to the greater Heartlands severed by way of a conspiracy headed by it's very founder, Carran of Dorwich. The siege lasted just over six moons beginning with a series of strikes upon passing caravans by roving bands of gnolls, soon it's roads would be raided by orcs and rivers infested by kobolds at the behest of draconic masters. In a dubious triumvirate of conspiracists, Carran and the two dragons Kylndurathanir and Vukathar hatched a scheme to isolate the Crossing and bleed it dry to make easy pickings of it's populace to reach a hidden treasure hoard that lay hidden beneath. However, they would be foiled by the combined resolve and efforts of the town's inhabitants, spearheaded by the adventuring party known as the Swordbreak Company as well as the cracks within their own treacherous alliance. 

Following the breaking of the siege, a consensus was held to remove the mark of it's founder by rechristening the town as Aurum's Crossing in honour of it's new guardian, the golden dragon wyrmling born in the care of the Swordbreak Company after his discovery beneath the town. This would prove to be a great boost to the young dragon's ego but furthermore cement his sense of belonging to the town, choosing to remain and claim his late mother's lair beneath as his own. Aurum would become a guardian, symbol, and occasional authority to the Crossing for years to come, the influence of his foster parents imparting a mischievous side to his otherwise regal kin, dissuading evil-doers and ne'er-do-wells with the knowledge the dragon may be lurking nearby with his treasured ring of invisibility. As far as Aurum was concerned, the borderlands were now his to oversee and the Crossing's people were his charge to protect. That the town would survive and prosper in the face of the greater troubles that would befall the Heartlands in the years after would be undoubtedly attributed to their fortune in having a protector such as him. 

As the roads reopened and the rivers cleared travellers and caravans tentatively began to inject new vitality to the weathered town once again, beginning it's long journey towards the potential of prospering to a true city by it's own right situated as a vital artery of trade through the Heartlands. The masons and carpenters of the Crossing's ambitious bridge were put to work once again in the rebuilding of the ruined town, leveraging their vital contributions to the town to form a guild of their own, transforming the condescendingly named workers' camp so-called 'The Armpit' to a district in it's own right, setting the stage for it's continued expansion. Over the years following as confidence in the safety of the trade routes grew and new investments in the roads bloomed, the Crossing prospered and extended it's reach across the whole of the island as new settlers arrived, all but for a natural park of untouched nature mindfully left preserved at it's heart. With the bridge in order, Midway Harbour merged with the town proper and grew along it's shores so far as to raise complaints a second, even third bridge ought to be in order to meet the demands of it's bustling traffic.

Overseeing this time of prosperity was it's new mayor whom riding off of her recent triumphs in her unlikely path of an adventurer secured a victory with little contest. Although there were grumblings of a budding dynasty in place as her father Aramon would assume the role of master of the merchant's guild, she had earned the trust of the town and while her wife never could escape her past reputation, no one spoke of it where others could hear. Isaree's project of installing a statue of herself and Pip, made of gold nonetheless, would become something of a local scandal years in the making. A furious debate regarding this vanity project negotiating it's size down, from made of gold to bronze, from bronze to gold-plated, with or without Pip, to the consternation of the merchant's guild and the increasing rage of the mason's guild whom smashed asunder many a quarter-finished prototype as the schematics shifted again and again. The ultimate result would be an economically life-sized set of glittering statues overlooking the square from it's refurbished fountain, with a few artistic liberties sufficient to make Pip's likeness distorted enough to be ambigious as to appease the merchant's guild's ire at a former criminal being so honoured. It lingered as a reminder of one thing Carran was right about, the world would never truly accept a sneak thief as a hero. But what he never understood was that Pip had been rewarded with things other than gold and fame at the end of her adventures. 

The fractured Tailton clan would gradually reunite given time but Araphina never fully recovered from her domination under the oblex, the lingering trauma and fractured memory a struggle to her dying day but her resolve would not allow anything short of reclaiming every last bit of herself that she could. Aramon would be with her on every part of that journey, though their marriage were not to be and their lives led different paths, they remained united in their pride of their daughter's accomplishments in spite of occasional doubt in her judgement. 

Given time, Jamison Corbin overcame his trepidations over his new role as captain of the guard and grew into a respected figure within the Crossing in spite of humble beginnings. Lacking the pedigree and education of his predecessor, he nevertheless attained a popularity he never did owing to his more lighthearted manner and common grounds with the locals. Under his command the town guard would rebrand themselves as the Gilded Guard, incorporating a regal flair to their uniforms using the discarded scales of Aurum which pleased both the dragon and the quartermaster as it would inspire the recruits to actually look after their gear they were given. Lea Walton would remain with her contract in the guard, engaging in an on and off again relationship with the captain, uncaring of the rumours it sparked as she appeared to be without ambitions within the town's boundaries. Years later her attention turned towards the distant Wolfpine Castle, hanging up her uniform and sending out a call for adventurers to join her on a delve into the haunted castle to, in her words, "Reclaim an inheritance". 

Halador the Wise (self-appointed title) remained as hedge wizard, never quite well-regarded nor well-liked, but an important fixture of the town and unquestionably talented in his craft regardless. He was pleased to see the Crossing grow into something more worthy of him, taking on apprentices to extend his influence throughout the Crossing in a move that would prove deliciously ironic, as his disgruntled underlings broke off from his overbearing tutelage and instead pioneered the beginnings of a magical academy within the town under their own initiative. In a rare moment of self-reflection, he begrudgingly sanctioned their efforts recognizing himself in their rebellion of their master, but it did not stop him from trying to set up shop of his own. The competition did the quality of the budding academic institutions of the Crossing well, although Halador remained lagging sorely behind much to his annoyance. 

Shortly after the breaking of the siege, Corvo Windglade and his Kingsmen faced a trial for their crimes against the Crossing and the breaking of their vow never to return on pain of death following the Swordbreak Accord. In light of their deeds in defending the Crossing and the vouching of the Swordbreak Company, they were sentenced not to death, but instead to years of service in the Gilded Guard. It was not without a measure of exasperation Corvo found himself going back to doing almost exactly the same thing he did for years, living rough on the edge of the roads and stalking caravans, but this time it was to serve the law not to violate it. Unlike before, however, now he and his men had purpose made equipment, plentiful rations, and a warm hearth to return to between patrols, an arrangement he found good enough for him at the end of the day. 

Craven, offered a second chance at life, chose to do with it what he did most things that were free and within easy reach, that is to say he took it and immediately ran off with it before anyone changed their mind. His journeys would take him back to the Crossing on occasion, always calling it a vacation, although Pip might have easily enough gleaned he treated it as a place to lay low. It was never quite clear whether his insistence to regale Pip with his stories, catch up for some drinks, and generally be seen next to the mayor's wife was because he missed his old partner or he figured it would keep any bounty hunters off of his back. A fair guess would be that it was a bit of both. 

Doroval Springwind spent the next few years as elder of Falconstead, leading the village through it's disputes and occasional squabbles with the elves of Fen'Tural with an air of calm command born from his long years. By the time his twilight years at last reached him, he would settle for a quiet existence on the edge of the wilderness, glad to receive old friends at his cottage but content to remain where he has. It came as a surprise to the villagers of Falconstead when former elder Rollo Torren emerged from the woods, his time spent living among the elves at an end and changed from the experience. His ambitions humbled, he was surprised to find Doroval give his quiet recommendation for him to reassume his past role, and so he did. Whether it was out of new-found respect or a healthy fear of the elves' vengeance, his logging operations took on a far more conservative method in the Landonwood and never strayed too near the Fen. 

Elizabeth of the Ostermarches deeply grieved the loss of her name and the ties to her family if only intangible that had come as a result of her demise and resurrection but she remained buoyed by her faith. Her work done and justice served in the Crossing, she did not linger for long and set off west where she eventually would rendesvouz with her wayward brother. To realize he had partaken in the chaotic, tangled mess of civil war raging in gun powder and eldritch magics that ravaged the Thunder Sea came as no small shock to the cleric. 

Kerec and Harmony lingered in the Crossing for a time before joining forces with Elifaen and Leoran to set off on new adventures of their own that would sometimes cross paths with Elifaen and Leoran in their own wandering, their fill of adventure not yet filled as they sought to make their own way in the world beyond the borderlands.

Elifaen and Leoran's wanderlust proved enduring after the events of the siege, with the longevity of elves and the spark of fey vitality the pair of them were destined to adventure long and far though they would return on occasion to reunite with old friends, inviting the world's dangers to claim them long before old age ever would. Before her departure Elifaen would ask her simple boon of the council, to hold an annual tournament in honour of the breaking of the siege, what she named the Golden Joust where she would at last have her chance to contend as the Revel never permitted her to. Elifaen's little half-brother would grow up with gifts from faraway lands and stories of strange monsters as the pair found the time to visit sleepy Nifeldeen as their adventures permitted, brewing a budding fascination with the world beyond to the concern of his mother. 

Farondal, reincarnated into a new form and freed of both his past vows and past failures, drank deep of the life given to him and set about to cherish it in any way that he could. He and Blinky would return to the Fen'Tural and travel the forest's edge onto adventures of their own, a strange pair as any to have come out of the feytouched woods but their arrival always preceded cheer and good times for those not immediately chased off by their outlandish appearances. A budding romance bloomed there, beginning with the thoughtful gift of a cheese grater. Among the many things he sought to do with this new life, to make up for all the lost time with his estranged daughter remained his utmost desire.

Secure in knowing his friends were safe and their futures seemed bright, the past laid a heavy burden upon Druff still as he returned to the Fen'Tural in search of what he had long since lost. He had grown during his adventures in the borderlands and his honed connection to the land would lead him down a long trail through the forest, beckoned by the old soul of the Fen to a clearing where a small, fragile sapling had taken root. Whispers of lost spirits hung in the air, distant but familiar. With time as the little sapling grew, they became clearer, and those whom had been lost would return to join him in the cycle. 

Snik did what Snik always did. He vanished from the story without anyone really noticing or acknowledging his absence, getting by on sheer unobtrusiveness alone in many more misadventures to come.