Our party originates in the town of Loftwick, which we all call home. The various adventurers have gone through various amounts of "public duty", and are due for further duty. We got called in to an office with an official one day, encountering each other. The party consists of:
Agememnon - an imposing guy, cleric of the God of War
Timmy - a young and aspiring wizard
Izzig - a petite self-proclaimed genius
Bryan - an obnoxious cleric of the God of Wine
We overhear a discussion between two folks the next room of the Y.C.S. - one standing up for our merits as a party that can get things done, and the other knocking us for being green and risky. In the end, we are admitted (assuming that the one standing up for us has won the argument), leaving our weapons at the door.
An official there offers us a choice of joining an elite-sounding core of "problem solvers" for the para-military. We mull it over and agree, going as a group. This will give us a decent pay, and take care of our duty to do service in only one year. We are told that we can bring others we feel will help along.
The first "problem" to solve will be in a small town by the mountains, Harla, where the dwarves that live above it in the hills have not been seen for a long time, and merchants trading there have detected a switch in demand from the standard goods to more hard goods. The speculation is that the dwarves are preparing for war. We are to go investigate what is happening, given rights to occupy the watch tower in town, and resolve the problems as best we can. We are briefed on this by our commanding officer, Officer Grinnig, who has ample decoration in his office, lots of charisma (if little comeliness) and a no nonsense attitude. We are told to prepare, that we will be given horses and supplies, and to set off soon. Next morning is chosen, and we depart to "meet" each other at the local tavern.
Izzig and Agamemnon decide to be party poopers, leaving Timmy and Bryan to drink in company. The next morning, the party gathers to find that Izzig was the only one to bring a friend with, Shane - a strong looking chap with black clothes and old armour. Agamemnon decides to test Shane in mock battle, and slightly bests him, finding him fit. With Izzig standing up for him, he's accepted to the party.
We are given horses and provisions by the scared stable boy at the YCS (he's scared as he saw the mock battle), as well as papers stating that we're on official business and that we may occupy the tower at Harla. Despite objections from Bryan, another paper for Shane, who was not covered by them, is forged, and the group sets off riding.
As darkness approaches, a camp is set up on the road. A few merchants, etc. are encountered en route, nothing significant happens in the day. The night passes smoothly other than for a group of riders riding hard towards Harlaw in the middle of it. Early the next day, after setting out on the road, we encounter an inn that could have been the stopping point if we had ridden harder the first day. The group of riders is there - they are a group on patrol for that section of road. We talk to them and to a couple of merchants at the inn while having lunch and waiting for the stable boy to groom our horses. Information about the trade is gained - confirming the change of habits in dwarvish buying patterns.
We set off and travel most of the day, setting up camp before darkness. The night passes uneventfully, and next day we ride into Harlaw. It is festival time, and after looking around town for a bit, we head to the inn where the citizens are congregating for a celebration. Everyone joins in the festivities to some extent. Timmy gets lucky but too drunk to remember it. Shane takes his leave to visit a farmer's daughter. Bryan meets Rufus - a friendly guy who seems to be in charge of the town, and grudgingly befriends a competing cleric. [I'm not sure what Agamemnon and Izzig are up to]
In the morning, the party visits Rufus, who is glad to see us, tells us the dwarves are nearby but have not been seen for a long time, and is worried they are preparing for battle, which would devastate this town. He offers us the keys to the tower, which we occupy in preparation for setting out to meet the dwarves.
END OF SESSION 1