The 300 Year War - Session 1 Part.2

After Durek went back to the battlefield and discovered that no one was left alive he piled the bodies and burned them, sending them all on their way to whatever gods they worshipped. He managed to recover numerous amounts of weapons and armor, though it was only about 1/3 of what I had placed for the PC's to find. Let it be known that all in all Durek spent almost 16 hours there piling bodies and searching for items of importance. Good little Cleric that he is.

These are all of the items that he could have possibly found, however no matter how hard he searched he just couldn't find everything. Much less carry it all out.
10 Long swords
5 Long bows
20 Clubs
10 Small shield
20 Short swords
20 Short bows
25 Daggers
15 Leather armor
10 Chain shirt

Master Work Items
2 Bastard sword
1 Dwarven war axe
1 Short sword

10 MW Long sword
10 MW Small Steel Shield

His search checks, even when taking 20, just weren't high enough to get one of these.
2 Rings of Protection +1 (Search DC 25) – If found they are on the bodies of the dead Lieutenant and Sergeant.

All party members have returned to Tamarack.

An old man approaches you and asks. "Are you all that are left? Has no one else returned alive? My sons, my sons were with you. Larin and Felmar, did you know them? Are they alive?"

Here there was some talking amongst the PC's about what to do. They barely gave me enough time to get the next part of the story going before they ran off to join back up with the army.
Inquiry: The "Inquiry" changed from information from the old man to information from another wounded soilder. He tells you of a rumor that he’s heard.
“After your changed to "our" defeat the army was seen moving west towards “The Dead Lake”. No doubt the arch mage Galime (Gah-leem) seeks reinforcements there. He will need them if he is to come back and continue his advance.” This next part was left out partly because it wasn't the old man speaking anymore and partly because I had thought up a new direction for the campaign. He begins to choke back tears for his fallen sons for a moment then speaks again. “There is an item that may be able to aid you on your quest. It is said that long ago there was a wizard’s tower built on this very spot that my beloved Tamarack now sits. I’m certain there must be something in there to help you.”

You hear a woman scream on the other side of town. The players were again discussing what to do at this point. I actually screamed so hard for this that my throat hurt, the cat jumped, the players had a look of shock and then I laughed.

Investigate: Hobgoblins (9)
Attack: +1 melee, +2 ranged
Damage:1d8 long sword, 1d6 javelin
AC: 15
HP: 5-9
Init: +1
After the battle with the hobgoblins: You are in no condition to run off on any adventure right now. The people of Tamarack have given you a small area behind the inn to call your own for a week as you and your companions heal. The townsfolk are happy to have you, it’s been a long time since they’ve seen real soldiers (yes they mean you, you’ve fought battles, you’re a soldier). While you’re resting you hear word that the war has finally ended. The group that you toiled with met up with a larger force at The Dead Lake. They went head to head with General Stone Beards troops and it turns out the combined forces of the dwarves and humans were more than they could handle. You hear rumors, mummers, of a dwarf that spewed fire from his hands; usually told with laughter.

You are all healed and rested up. The war is over which means that your term of service is now complete. You now have to decide what you want to do. The people of Tamarack could use a few people like you. They, like most other villages, have no protection.

Turns out, they really didn't get hurt at all by the Hobgoblins and therefor were in terrific condition to run off on an adventure, so that's what they did... ran off to The Dead Lake. Where I had them meet up with what was left of their army which was on it's way to Emuwir. The war was, now, over. I took the options away from the PC's here because they just decided to go with the army anyway in hopes of finding someone to send them all back home.
Options:
North – City of StoneFist (4 weeks by foot)
North More – The Mountain of Trials (10 days by foot)
South – The Sulfur Flats (11 days by foot)
East – Caves of Sorrow (2 days by foot)
East More – Emurwir (2 weeks by foot)
West – Dead Lake (4 days by foot)
Stay in Tamarack – There are ample job opportunities right here in Tamarack. Just ask around

Well we all know that this would be really boring if it was that easy. So, of course, the person that brought them here was killed in a battle a few months ago.
They players arrived in Emuwir and found a room at the "Balding Dragon Inn" (I would like to note that I found some decent Celtic Instrumental to play in the background whenever we enter an area that would logically have music). Once here they came up with a game plan and were very good at initiating it.
In less than one full day they learned that Tamarack was one the "City of Tamarack" and that the center of that city was small mages tower. They really want to check that out. They also learned that the man that brought them to this plane to fight in this damned war had a house in Emuwir and that as far as they know it's still here. Again they really want to check this out.
And then found that Alicaryn Harpsor of Blackspawn Raiders is someone of importance, although she doesn't deal in legally obtained goods. She has knowledge that others won't talk about or even admit to knowing. She also has some powerful items that may be helpful in thier search for answers.

I now have 3 very intruiging storylines that I have to prepare within the next 2 weeks because I foresee each of them being explored by the end of our next session.

As in Part 1 of session 1 please leave comments here about what you think, what you want to know and what you'd like to see!