Tarsakh 2, 1375: The students have been deemed ready to take on their first assignment. A local farmer has a complaint about some minor pilfering of his crops; the students will be sent out to investigate. Since the pilfering has happened at night, they go out of the city at night. They speak with the farmer and then stake out his fields. Several kobold zombies arise and head towards the farmer's home. The students engage them, eventually defeating them. Using Chand's familiar, a weasel named Phaele, they are able to track someone from the graves of the kobolds to another farmer's home. The dwarf rashly breaks into the home and terrorizes the residents. They demand they leave, which the students do.
Tarsakh 2-5, 1375: The students have Phaele try further out. As Chand follows the weasel, he discovers more kobold zombies by the barn. There are a total of eight, in addition to an assailant hiding in the barn loft. Weakened from the earlier fight, the battle takes longer this time, aided by what turns out to be an orc cleric of Bane casting spells and using a sling. Once most of the zombies are dispatched, Ignacio rushes in, followed by Harold. The orc kills Ignacio with a inflict moderate wounds spell. The rest of the students, except for the noncombatant Chand, rush in to corner the orc in the loft and kill him. They collect up Ignacio's body, and the orc's, and the orc's horse. Speaking with the farmer whose house they broke into, they learn the farmer thought the orc was an elven traveler. The elf had convinced the farmer that he could help with a dispute with a neighboring farmer. Strife is the portfolio of Bane, after all. The students return to the Academy to report. Ignacio is raised, and now he and Matteo owe the Academy a favor.
Three days later, they are assigned their next task, which is a follow-up to their previous task: A follower of Bane has been cornered in a cave two days north of Neverwinter by a Harper Scout. The student prepare themselves to bring the Baneite back. Upon arrival, they discuss doing some recon but decide to just approach the cave. The entrance is trapped and Ignacio is caught in the slight rockfall. They come upon a makeshift wooden gate behind which is an orc. They kill the orc.
Tarsakh 5, 1375: The students break down the next crude gate and discover a well organized ambush of orcs and orc zombies. The battle takes its toll on the outnumbered students, but they manage to prevail. Most of the potions of cure light wounds are consumed (even Harold is forced to down one, much to the distress of his stomach). The dead orcs rise to battle as zombies. Chand goes to the Harper Scout to see if he can help with their injuries. He offers them the use of a wand of cure light wounds. The students check out all three exits from the ambush room, one having a wide mucky stream and spears hampering passage, another with a smaller stream and spears, and the third containing dead bodies and a tower shield with the symbol of Bane upon it. They take the shield and devise a way to cross the barricade, where they find a den of orcs. The battle is short (they kill the one orc who surrenders... will have to watch for this in future assignments), and the students take no chances, burning the bodies. They find coins and merchant goods, which they take out to the main cavern. The last passage ends, a large glowing symbol of Bane high upon the wall. It fires a single magic missle at anyone in the hall (Chand uses this to recharge), except when Darvin holds the tower shield up.
Tarsakh 5, 1375: The students try different methods to open the secret door, finally stumbling upon speaking "The Lord of Darkness" in orcish (Darvin being the only one to speak the foul language). Beyond is a room of impenetrable darkness; and a fair number of orc zombies. The battle is long and near disasterous for Ignacio. As the students fumble around the darkness, they also find a couple of orcs, but they escape. Much healing is used; it is fortunate the Harper loaned them the wand. They discover a secret door that leads back to the room where all the merchant goods were found. Pressing on, they discover the goods were moved from the room they placed them in. They soon discover those orcs left, including the orcish cleric of Bane, are holed up at the entrance. Another battle begins, but with dire results. Darvin is killed, and in a twisted turn, the cleric raises him to attack his friends. Harold breaths upon the orcs, killing all but the cleric and zombie-Darvin. The cleric puts up a good fight, but in the end the students are able to render him unconscious. In the process they use up the wand of cure light wounds.