Hark and his war party arrived at noon to the Fire-fens as the sun was at its hightes. They picked a spot on the far end of a hill so they could easily watch the village while not being being spotted by the guards walking the wall. Luckily for them the area they chose for their camp was in the shade of a few skinny swamp trees and surrounded by small shrubbery. While it wouldn’t do much as a barrier if they were attacked it at least gave them slight cover from the eyes of people who were entering the town from the main road. 

“Listen carefully, once the camp is finished I’m going to take Eric, Raz and Stormer into the city to see if our target is still even alive. It’s not likely considering the visible damage of the city but never the less we have to make sure.” Hark said as the men settled in and the horses were tied then he motioned to his second in command, “Ragger will be in command while I’m gone. Remember to be ready for the signal to advance on the city if given.” 

Hark left the men to finish preparing their new home for the next however long and he climbed up the hill and layer down at the crest to observe the town. He could see smoke billows and broken walls and men carrying off the dead to be buried. Only four tower guards were visible from where he was positioned. As he observed the town Ragger came up and crouched next to him, “Well I’ll be damned we could take this town ourselves.” Hark agreed seeing the town in its current state however the mission given to him by Bernard was clear to observe and not mount a frontal assault. 

“I wish we could I’ve been missing the excitement of a real battle.” Hark said as he stood up to make his way down the hill. On the way to the town they had killed a group of merchants that were carrying enough barrels of ale to make a whole city tops. Hark planned to use this as a cover to enter the town and he hoped it wouldn’t arouse too much suspicion. Hark and the three men he chose to enter the town with him traded their current clothes for the clothes of the merchants they killed and put them in the wodden crate on the back of the wagon. Hark and his group exchanged handshakes and words of farewell before climbing onto the wagon and pulling out of the camp onto the main road. 

As they approached the town Hark slowly reached up and let out a sigh and removed his mask breaking the ancient tradition of the Frostbourn. He heard a small gasp escape Stormer before he questions Hark’s motives, “What are you doing? That’s a sacred tradition!” Hark shook his head, “That May be true but this mission is more important. Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock could recognize us if I kept this mask on.” Hark places the mask in his satchel. And stared at the crumbling gates as they aproched. 

“Sir do you really think we could pass off as merchants from a brewery? Even without our armor and weapons we don’t play the part too well.” Hark turned and looked as his troop. Eric was right looking their muscular figures, scars and rough faces merchants wasn’t the first thought that came to mind. “Well Eric you are correct however we’ll just have to hope for the best now I guess. 

The group entered the gates and Hark was shocked at the sight of the battle torn town. The town looked ten times worse on the inside than it did on the outside: the streets were littered with bodies and ran red with blood. The group passed a young half-elf who was asking a beat up guard if she could help and headed deeper in the town where they at last spotted a revern where they could stay while scouting the city for Lady Maren.