Episode 4 Summary

December 21st
-The council meets in the afternoon and votes to add a law requiring a sound mind and the ability to attend meetings in person or by proxy to the requirements for administrator.
-Meanwhile, at Fort Newton, there are a number of serious supply deficiencies.
-Dutch gets a message that Chris Wall will be in Smacky's all day meeting the locals and asking him to drop by.
-Representatives from the nearby villages of Sublimity (part of Cody) and Cottonwood (part of Greer) arrive asking to speak with the council. They speak first with Dutch, then are brought before the council. They are being heavily raided by bandits and their respective central governments are not responding with enough speed. They want Newton's protection and are prepared to swear fealty to Newton. They also have some of the supplies that Newton needs.
-There is concern on the council about helping them, because it could be seen by Cody or Greer as Newton infringing on their territory. Corwin is particularly cautious, but Anders and Lorraine want to help them.
-In the end, the council votes in favor of helping them.
-Meanwhile, a crowd has gathered outside protesting what they see as the ousting of Jeff Newton from power. Corwin and Lorraine speak to the crowd and manage to placate them for the time being.
-The council refuses the fealty of the two villages, but requires that they provide supplies, pay tribute and give Newton economic privileges.
-Meanwhile at Smacky's, Chris is talking to Ophelia. He wants to form a long-term business relationship with her, and asks her a question he already knows the answer to. She lies, Chris is extremely displeased.
-Dutch meets with Chris, upset that Chris is acting so openly.
-Chris' goons corner Ophelia in the back alley and warn her against telling anyone that Chris is a mobster or that Dutch knows him.
-Ophelia, now under watch by Chris' goons, meets with Dutch; Dutch tells her to send an anonymous tip to Corwin that Chris and his buddies are working for the bandits.
-We jump ahead a few days to:

December 24th
-It's the evening. The snow has started up again.
-Corwin gets the tip, tells Dutch to round them up quietly and interrogate them in the basement of his warehouse.
-Dutch meets with Virgil and hires him to kill and hide the bodies of all the mobsters except Chris, who he'll deal with personally.
-As Dutch is leaving to deal with the mobsters, his wife tells him she's pregnant.
-As the clock ticks to midnight, Virgil's men ambush and kill the mobsters one by one.
-Dutch wakes up Chris and gets him drunk "to celebrate his wife's pregnancy."
-Virgil notices that Dutch and Chris know each other.
-Dutch leads Chris to Corwin's warehouse, locks him up in the basement, and beats him to death.
-Virgil's men bury the mobsters out in the wilderness.

December 25th
-Corwin makes a speech to the townsfolk, speaking of William Newton and how he is missed, and drawing a parallel between the chances at a new life he gave people with those Jesus gave.
-Dutch reports to Corwin that he couldn't get anything they hadn't already heard out of the "bandit spy" and that he died during interrogation.
-Virgil talks to Ophelia about Dutch knowing Chris. Dutch agrees to put in a good word with Corwin about her giving the tip on Ophelia's behalf, and to pay off Virgil for his silence.
-Sublimity, now with a group of Newton militia stationed there, is attacked by bandits.

This session left off on the morning of December 25th. It will pick up again in the afternoon of the 30th.