Jalzad, leader of the Circle of Steel, introduced Chared and Eno to a priest and a knight. He explained that a bandit group has hired the Circle of Steel to reclaim the town from the cactonids, and that this priest and knight would judge if Eno and Chared were worthy of the honor of joining the Circle. Jalzad dismissed them, and they met the bandit messenger, a Sarzak named Obias. Obias clarified that they were not true bandits, but a militia serving Baron Erratum, the rightful ruler of Agarhi. The adventurers split up from Obias, heading to Jurhasna for supplies while the messenger went straight back to camp.
On the way to Jurhasna, the party came across three zombies. Chared roasted all three with his firebreath before they could take a single step. Chared stocked up on oil to supply the militia for the upcoming fight. They headed to the camp, a ruin of a fortress with only the barest renovations done to make a section of it habitable.
The party discussed the situation with Baron Erratum, who told them about his need to not only take back his old barony, but to secure it against the current holder: Baron Iraj. He explained he would need someone to cross the eastern border and come to an arrangement with the Plutiodûn after the battle. The party was open to the idea but made no promises as this was outside of their contracted arrangement through the Circle of Steel, which was merely to defeat the cactonids. Tactics for the upcoming battle were discussed with the leadership of the Baron's army, with the extra oil being meted out to the soldiery.
The next morning the party and the Baron's army arrived at the outskirts of town. Eno's owl familiar Snowy did recon over the village and saw that there were enough monstrous plants in the city that the fight would be almost even odds. It was decided by the Baron that the city would be the field of battle, as he did not want to risk a wildfire in the open plains. Battle was joined, with the adventurers seeking out the leader of the Cactonids in an attempt to bring the fight to a swift conclusion.
Unfortunately, our heroes section of the battle went poorly, with their knight and cleric overseers dying quickly in the opening minute of fighting. The Baron's soldiers came to reinforce them, building a wall of flames with oil thrown by the men and lit by Eno's magic. The Cactonid leader pushed through the militiamen and struck Eno down with a pair of savage blows. Chared dragged his fallen ally off the field of battle to relative safety. Abandoning the local skirmish tactics, Chared took to the skies, taking full advantage of his aerial mobility and breath weapon to turn pivotal points of the battle to the advantage of the Baron's men. Instead of a swift fight it was a brutal slog, with nearly half of the loyalists falling to the Cactonids before regaining control of the city.
Leaving the Baron and his surviving forces to fortify Agarhi against the approaching army led by Baron Iraj, a battered Eno set off with Chared to the foreign Plutiodûn settlement to the East. While traveling, a griffon ambushed Chared in midair. Eno fired several shots into the melee yet missed every time. The flying ball of flesh tumbled through the sky, each aerial combatant struggling for advantage, but ultimately coming to rest on the ground with the griffon triumphant and a gash the length of a man's arm in Chared's side. Eno fled the beast, again missing with a blast of eldritch force. The griffon charged Eno and was about to set upon him. In desperation Eno created an illusory noise, causing the sound of an elder dragon to issue out above the treetops behind the scuffle. The griffon, fooled into thinking Mama Dragon is coming to save young Chared, beats feet. Eno stabilized Chared, and the two together barely managed to stumble into the Plutiodûn village.
The locals met them cordially but initially cared little for who ran Agarhi. Eventually they were convinced that the chance to win trade concessions from the new Baron was worth their support. They gave the adventurers a document for the Baron to sign and promised to send envoys shortly. Eno requested healing for himself and his compatriot, and after receiving it, they headed back to Agarhi.
They arrived just in time to prevent a battle between the two Barons. Faced with the new reality of Erratum's physical control of the town and his Plutiodûn alliance, former Baron Iraj conceded the field and his barony without a fight. The grateful Erratum rewarded the heroes, granting Eno a cloak of elvenkind and gifting Chared the ruined castle which had been the Baron's own base while working to retake the city. Chared and Eno returned to the Circle of Steel with a letter of commendation from the Baron and the effects of their fallen judges, and both were welcomed as full members.
