Much has happened in the two years since the recovery of the Viridian Sphere (yes, the last time we played this campaign, over two years of game time passed). Wars have started, sieges have ended, revolts initiated, lost artifacts recovered, and a great many companions, both old and new have joined in the cause and many have met with their ends. Now, the Seven Harmonious Masters and companions regroup in Arhus as they have many times before. The warehouse which has become their home has been transformed since Master Dray bought it. It’s been cleaned and outfitted as a home of sorts, the rotted and useless raw materials thrown out and the useful raw materials neatly cataloged, stacked up, and sometimes used or sold to help with the rebuilding of Arhus. It is much quieter without the children, but it would be safe to say that everyone is much happier without them. Since his return from the elven forests in Uchdry, and the return of the last child with the help of his patterns, Dray has avoided talking with anyone and has locked himself in his lab. But no sounds of work emit from it.
Walking through the streets of the city is depressing. Wounded from both fronts line the streets while helpful priests of all faiths, though most notably that of Cecht, tend to them. To help, Ulrich has lent the handkerchief of Cecht to one of the priests. The Coalition forces are advancing into Empire territory while a smaller part of the army hold against Myrddin’s counterstrikes with the help of Sir Wolfram and Hallowed Redeemer. Stormcloak is out most of the day, training his new Order of the Spear, but he occasionally returns to check in with the rest of the group. When most are present, arguments and discussions ensue about what they should do next. When Dray comes out for food, and is asked his opinion, he only snaps, "Whatever. I’ll go along with what you decide. Just let me know when it is time to leave."
With so much having transpired, it is easy to lose track. Especially with so many new additions to the party. Trusting everyone is difficult, but with so many oppressing forces out to stop them, clinging to others for support is a means of survival. So, in the nights that pass, stories are told. Stories of truth, and how the world has been changed by the outside influence of evil gods and greedy emperors with artifacts that should never have fallen into their hands. Early on it is noticed that only six people know about the world as it was before Emperor Felipe acquired the Circlet of Images: Ulrich, Stormcloak, Dray, Aradil, Johann, and Felipe himself. Only three remain with the group. This discovery in part drives the need to pass the story on should these fall. All the others grew up sheltered knowing only what is, not what should be.
Tales
Of the time when Deir es Mal was only a single country in a realm comprised of many.
Of the quest for the Armor and Sword of Nulfid.
Of the Temple of Arawn pilgrimmage.
Of the Labyrinth under the Mountains in Dun.
Of the City of Darkness.
Of the Myrddin invasion and siege of Arhus.
Of the quest for the Viridian Sphere.
Of the time spent on a plane of no magic.
Of the siege of undead at the Temple of Arawn.
Of the rescue of King Trent of Caedir.
Of the first confrontation with (then) King Felipe.
Of the treachery of Aradil.
Of the barbarian lands beyond the Peron Mountains.
Of the death of Nuath at the hands of Gaal and Stormcloak’s Spear.
Of the cities and ruins of ancient Reym.
Of the Silver Bridge.
Of the destruction City of Portals.
Of the jungles of a new continent.
Of the desert and battle with a Dragon god.
In more recent memory (the beginning of the last sessions), with the recovery of the Viridian Sphere from the dragon god Anonkuba, there came the freeing of a new companion from time past: Sir Magnus of the Order of Virtues. The party was saved from a long trip home by the intervention of priests of Epolde and Lugh who transported them back to Arhus. With the invocation of the mysterious Viridian Sphere, for which the High Priest of Hysor gave his life, allies arrived at dawn from all corners of the realm. With the participation of the party, the great Battle of Arhus was fought and at last the forces of Myrddin were driven south away from the city. The leaders of the allied forces and the King of Gwynyth Raius met and signed the Accords of Arhus, forming a Coalition of forces with an immediate goal of driving Myrddin off of the Gwynyth Raiun peninsula to reach the Empire borders. Further ratification once that goal was reached would determine their long term goals.
An old friend, Yaltan Lunchwicz was at the battle and rejoined the party with a few battle companions from times past. He had been instrumental in breaking the siege of the Temple Arawn by an evil god’s forces, and was again participating in the breaking of this siege. Dr. Qume left the party to conduct research on the island of Taius. Shortly after his rejoining, Magnus leaves the company of the party under tense circumstances. A new companion, Cyrus, joins.
Meanwhile, the party decided to help their comrade in arms Dirk StoneAsh of the dwarves, met in the City of Doors, serious off his way on a mission of great importance for his people. Driving into Myrddin to reach the Alsasian Mountains after many false starts, the party discovered agents of an evil god trying to negotiate an alliance with the powers there. Discovered, the party was pursued by an elite group of the Order of the Obsidian Fist. The battle was victorious, but costly as Dirk was slain. With the cause for their quest ended, the party returned to Arhus with magic, meeting a new comrade there, Ivan. Wanting to put down roots somewhere, and suffering from a bad con job, a few in the party jointly buy a house. Shortly after, the party learns that large contracts have been put out on some of their lives. Next, a discovery is made of a warehouse where foul necromancy once took place. The hidden lair of the necromancy Tharin, an old nemesis since defeated, has been discovered. A pentagram turns out to be holding powerful demons which are freed and defeated with the help of the powerful Spiritualist advisor to Colonel Valene, who runs Arhus while the Coalition marches south. A few months later, Dray buys this warehouse because of its well-outfitted alchemy lab.
The party holds a dinner party a week later, and is visited by Sir Bernlad de Hautedesert, an agent of Hysor. They learn of the existence of an ancient sunken tower from notes in Tharin’s lab and from Sir Bernlad that could possibly hold great knowledge and artifacts useful in the party’s quest to set the world right. The party decides to pursue this lead. However, with the contract out on several members lives it was inevitable that greedy assassins would begin appearing. The first attempt, thieves insinuated into the household staff, was thwarted by the ever vigilant party before the poisonings could begin. The second was more successful. Three wizards made their way into the house and wreaked havoc, making good use of a diversionary illusion of a big tough fighter and invisibility. Yaltan and Cyrus were slain, and Jorgie teleported away across the realm against his will. One wizard was slain, the second captured and executed, and the last succeeded in grabbing Yaltan’s axe as proof and escaped. That last wizard is either languishing on a desert island with the profits, or out plotting revenge against the party.
Reassembling the party took some time. Two new companions were met, Shaft and later on, Ailiron. Jorgie returned from the capital city of the Empire (!) a changed man in more ways than one, and was immediately put on the hit list of the priesthood of Arawn. At last on their way, the party chartered a boat for the trip that would lead them to the sunken treasure. The maps and information were not enough to find it, however, but on his last ocean trip years ago (first adventure!) Ulrich remembered seeing lights at the bottom of the ocean which looked like an underwater city. After searching some time, they descended and were welcomed into the city of Caleus, populated by a race or tritons, and have an audience with the king. There, they learn of a nearby evil which fits the description. With some more exploration, the cave is found to the cavern which houses the sunken tower. Defeating a brine dragon, many powerful demon guardians, and ancient remnants and ghosts of the former inhabitants, the party discovers ancient artifacts of good: Brightblade, Fiendbane, Azure Edge, Spitter, Hallowed Redeemer, the Mace of Justinus, and Daelanus’ Fork. As well, four mysterious amulets hung in the vault upon a many-armed statue which the party left behind.
Armed with these weapons, the party regroups in Arhus. Ivan and Shaft both want to achieve mastery with their chosen weapons. Shaft quite fortuitously discovers that the best archers in the world are with the Coalition forces and rides down to train with a general of the Elves, promising to return Spitter to them on his death. Ivan, not so fortunate, learns of the grandmaster Boyd deep in the empire in the province of Croy. The party agrees to accompany him there. Using more guile than before, the party travels for some time in secret and then signs on as guards with an Imperial Caravan that isn’t so loyal to the Empire. They end up travelling through part of Myrddin, and receive a mysterious note from their old companion, Aradil. Unfortunately, he couldn’t be found nor scried upon since he is one of the few protected by Yaltan’s Boon from Nuath. The trip was largely uneventful, relative to what the party is used to experiencing. A few patrol and papers difficulties, one night with undead, etc. Until, that is, they reached deeper into the empire and began seeing Temples of Gaal, the so-called Harvester god.
Propaganda was making its ugly head known in the empire. The truth had been twisted by Felipe and the evil gods he has apparently made pacts with. The people were being fooled into believing that Gaal was a simple god of agriculture who had been transformed into a god of wrath when Nuath killed his son for no reason. Enforced by the use of the Circlet of Images, the people truly believed this version of reality and couldn’t envision it being any other way. Frustrated at this, and emboldened after a successful scouting of the temple, Ailiron tries to throw a monkey wrench into the works of the temple. He is discovered, and the party arrives too late to save him, but succeeds in making a ruins of that particular temple with the help of some summoned undead by Henry. After a quick escape, and a few days of travel, the party met with Sir Wolfram and his three companions (Hunt, Bairghith, and Aluin). He was on an information gathering mission for (then) Prince Regent Jurgen in the empire.
Not long after, the party encountered a near-dead messenger who begs them to take his message to a certain city and tavern. They agreed since it was on their way. Finally, the party reached the city which housed the master swordsman Boyd. Drunken, he still defeated Ivan and agreed to teach him. It turns out that the agent the message was for was in this town, so the party gave the message. He inquired if they were free for a job, and they said they would meet later once all were free. Suffice to say that once Ivan was done training, the party met with Astaulf and learned that rebellion was brewing in Croy. Tactically, this suited the party fine. A rebellion would draw the empire away from Gwynyth Raius and the Coalition, and since the party never liked Croyans, they didn’t mind stirring up trouble. There were five tasks that needed to be done before the rebellion could begin: Suth, a master Spiritualist needed to be enlisted, the Temple of Croy needed to be neutralized, the Wizard School of Alteration needed to be neutralized, the Fortis Core (a powerful merchant organization) needed to be enlisted, and the daughter of the Croyan leader needed to be rescued.
Shortly after taking the job on, the party decided to travel to Speyer to look into the Wizard school. On the way they fought some super experienced brigands who were being helped by a powerful Fire Elementalist. Defeating them, they found the lost crown of the ancient kingdom of Noriea. The elementalist had escaped through his own gate, which was closed by the party later. Reaching Speyer, Dray secreted himself into the school and made contact with rebel elements. After some time, he emerged with new stuff from the school and the news that the rebel agents would act once word came of the rebellion. The first goal was accomplished. The party left the city and headed southwards. Not long after that, they were attacked by priests of the evil gods who recognized Shaft and Sir Wolfram when they were led on a wild goose chase to a nearby city (that so happened to be a city they would revisit later as one of the tasks). The demons were tough, and nearly vanquished the party. During the fighting, Shaft was Imprisoned, and Sir Wolfram discovered that the sword Dray had been carrying was Hallowed Redeemer, the very first Holy Avenger ever forged. The demons were vanquished and much deliberation was done to see about freeing Shaft. Finally, with some petition spells, help was sent in the form of a freshly written, albeit 9 day old (!) scroll of Freedom. This Henry read at some risk, but it was successful and Shaft was freed.
Changing course, the party decided to head to the Grey Desert and find Suth. Traveling through wilder woods was relatively easy, and the party reached the desert in short order. Some very disturbing circumstances and rumors make the party uneasy about crossing the desert, especially when the find evidence of a great huge tentacle easily smacking blue dragons dead. Finally, after carefully traversing the desert with a few close calls, the party reaches Suth’s mansion. It is heavily guarded by spiritual forces and the party has to fight fiercely in. Hunt is slain by Shaft who was possessed by a spirit. Reaching Suth, who was in private consultation with the ancient spirit of an emperor, they have a long conversation with him and convince him to return to his position as advisor. The party leaves the way they came, and upon reaching the woods at the edge of the desert, meet a new companion: Jasper. The party decides to head west to find the Fortis Core.
Reaching Retz a few days later, they try to gain access to one of the Fortis Core strongmen, Horvald the wizard. A few mishaps ensue and the whole city guard is turned on the party and the fighting is fierce. The party has to retreat through a pattern to Arhus, leaving behind Sir Wolfram and his men who have fled the city by foot. Also left behind are Jorgie and his henchman Glenn who ride off to Ap Wys to the school of Abjuration. Once back, Ulrich decided to report to the king. Bringing him up to date, the king wants Sir Wolfram and the holy sword returned immediately, and with the help of a priest of Lugh, he is. Rewarded by a box of gems, Ulrich returns to the house and the party to plan the next attack on Horvald. Sir Wolfram is given a position in the army and retains the sword as it is Hysor’s will according to the king. Once back at the house, the party finds that Kyle (who stayed behind when the party ventured south) has transformed it into a kind of fortress. He has made good use of the piles of loot left behind in the basement to hire guards and make extensive modifications. There had been several more attempts on the lives of the party, despite the fact that they weren’t there, after everyone left. The reward money was just too great to not risk the attempt.
While planning their return south, a first level adventuring party comes to ask Ulrich for advice on their quest (begging for spells too). Like happy parent, Ulrich helps them on their way and checks up on them occasionally with his crystal ball. Unfortunately, disaster lurks around the corner. Five days later, Ulrich runs into a man on the street named Faelus, the fawning servant of an unnamed master. He asks if his master may call to visit later that night. Well, the knock comes at the door, which when opened, revealed Jean-Jacques, their demon adversary of old. The battle is intense, but without Jorgie and without Stormcloak (who was at the Temple of Nuath recuperating from a strange brain disease), the losses are heavy. At first, the party fought valiantly by themselves, but the odds quickly turned against them. Help is sent for and Colonel Valene, Latilla High Priest of Hysor, and several paladins arrive.
Even so, the carnage was terrible and the party was utterly defeated. All were slain except for Dray, Ulrich, and those who weren’t at the fight (obviously). With the horde of demons summoned by Jean-Jacques, the house was razed and all the contents destroyed or taken including several of the ancient weapons: Spitter, Fiendbane, and Brightblade. When Latilla, the High Priest of Hysor, was slain, there was a great disturbance, but the demons carried on into the city and were only driven off when several of the leaders of the Coalition were transported into the city from the front lines. Though they wreaked much havoc in the meantime.
With the destruction of the house, the party moved its center of operations to Dray’s warehouse. The remaining party members kept a much lower profile in order to avoid further assassination attempts. Several weeks later, Jorgie and Glenn return from the empire, and with Dray and Ulrich, hire some help to continue on with the work of the revolt. Sir Osric, denounced son of King Trent of Caedir, is among them, as well as Smythe Bloodstone and Magnus, who has returned to the party after wandering in the Empire for some time. Dray works with some artisans to create some new patterns for the party’s return to Retz to face Horvald again.
When ready, the party transported to the city again. Luck is against them, though. They almost succeeded in capturing Horvald, and even had him tied up for a time, but he managed to escape. Once again the party ended up fleeing through the city, facing the entire city guard in combat. Bloodstone made good use of his stone spells to seal off a tailor’s shop for a time, but it is only a temporary measure. As it turned out, Dray’s pattern spell failed to take them home from this protected abode, and they must do it the hard way. All the way to the gate they ran and fought, but the lines of guards there were tough and thick. Osric and Magnus, the two stalwart fighters, led the way while the wizards did what they could to help. They did reach the gates, but only after both Osric and Magnus were slain. The wizards did manage to clear the guards away at this position, giving them a brief breather to regroup before leaving the city.
Giving up Horvald as a lost cause, the party decided to go after one of the remaining two strongmen of the Fortis Core. On the way, the party picked up a couple of new companions: Norn Drew and Ja’Haran. Travelling to Raab, the party finds a nice wine shop and learn that the city is run by a mysterious Baron. More civilized than his counterpart in Retz, the Baron even invites them to dinner. Under veiled threats and heavily masked questioning, the party learns very little except that he is their opportunity to the Core. The next evening they make their move and with heavy magic sneak into the Baron’s home to do battle. But he is waiting for them, knowing how they work. The battle is tough, but no party members are lost. The Baron eventually capitulates rather than fighting to the death. The party likes the man despite themselves. As their prisoner, the Baron agrees to set up a meeting with the Fortis Core. Honor bound as he is, the party even leaves him to his own recognizance, trusting that once beaten, he won’t betray them. The meeting occurs in one week, during which certain party members train for advancement.
The meeting takes place in the back of the wine shop that the party had been frequenting and whose owner they’ve befriended. It even turns out that the shop-owner is the leader of the Fortis Core. Present at the meeting are 3 members of the core and several others. The Baron is present of course, as is a barely restrained Horvald, and the last of the strongmen that the party never faced, Terrible Trev. The party makes an attempt to taunt Horvald, who almost loses it, but is kept back by the Core. In any event, Horvald remains quite pissed off at the party and is likely to appear at some later time, though he is an ally of a sort now. Also present are two others, masked in shadows. The first is cloaked in the corner and has a closed chest in front of him. He appears ready to snap it open at a moment’s notice; great power of an unknown configuration is detected within it. The last also is cloaked in shadow and remains silent until near the end. He also emanates power that is definitely priestly in nature. At the end of the meeting, he steps forward, and announces himself as Krolin, High Priest of Nuath. His face is heavily burnt and his voice raspy, and he demands to know where the traitor Stormcloak is with "his" spear. However, the objective is achieved and the Fortis Core agrees to support Antonio’s revolt. The party knows quite well that this alliance is shaky indeed.
Once they left Raab, the party moved on to another of the tasks for the revolt. At this point, they were going to Hartberg to neutralize the High Temple of Epolde. This would be a different job than the Wizard School of Alteration. The High Priest is a devoted and loyal subject of the Empire, and the power structure was set up so that no sort of rebellion could hope to succeed while he was in power. The party had little choice but to take him out. On the way to Hartberg, the party traveled through a bit of Wilder Woods. They were attacked by a render, a nasty critter that could have easily taken them out if they weren’t prepared. Further on, a ghost appeared and possessed Henry. Who promptly headed off to finish the task that was left unfinished in the ghost’s prior life. The party had to do some fancy footwork to capture Henry and then to work out how to get his soul back in his body. They almost did the wrong thing and killed him utterly. Fortunately, at the end of the day Henry was whole again.
Once they reached the Temple, they did a bit of careful scouting until they figured out where the High Priest’s office might be. Using extreme care and preparation, they snuck in invisibly and silenced. They reached the office with a few close calls, and once in were able to find the High Priest and a couple of advisors, as well as a bodyguard. They learned that one of the advisors was in disfavor: a good candidate for replacement. Some sixth sense, perhaps an innate time warning of some kind, warned the High Priest, and before he could be heavily wounded by the party as they leapt to the attack, he stopped time.
When it resumed, the odds were quite against the party as they faced six elementals conjured by some magic item (that they found on the desk) and the alarms bellowing. The High Priest was gone, but Lord Brind the bodyguard remained. Needless to say, battle ensued and the party was able to defeat the them and make a tough escape out of the temple, but the mission was a failure. However, a quick recuperation and more intelligence indicated that a festival would be held on the following day. They decided to try and face the High Priest again either before or after the service. Well, it turned out that they made it through the crowd and found a fortuitous moment to sneak into the main temple area where the High Priest and a few others were. Taking position, they attacked again, clearing out the civilians quite easily unharmed. This time, when Kelsay the High Priest invoked a special magic item for help, none other than Emperor Felipe appeared.
Panicked, white-faced with fear, but seeing an opportunity to do away with their foe once and for all, the party decided not to run (though a few made more than a few steps towards the door). Felipe summoned a Gelugon to his service. The party almost fled, but held their morale just barely as it turned out that Norn Drew then got an Astral Wall up that prevented further gating attempts. Many attacks directed at Felipe failed, and then he transformed into a Pit Fiend. At first, the party thought that Felipe had changed shape, but it turned out that Felipe was never there: just a very smart Pit Fiend using fear to his advantage. This time, the party succeeded in taking out Kelsay, and even succeeded in taking out the Pit Fiend and Gelugon (just barely). Unfortunately, Ja’Haran gave his life in the attempt.
Only the last of the tasks remained for the party now. Now they must attempt to follow the directions given to them by Astaulf, agent of Antonio of Croy, to find the Black Forest Imperial Prison and free the children there. Particularly the daughter of Antonio himself. The Black Forest has a reputation of being one of the most dangerous places in the realm, and this turned out to be well-deserved. On the way there, the party ran into a Jester named Zoe who tagged along for a while. That is only a while once the trip led into the Forest. Another attack from a Render, then by spectres, and Zoe bolts. Though he has much difficulty getting away at first, thinking that the party will kill him if he does, he disappears one night (actually, someone did threaten to kill him if he left). The party meets Sim-Cain a mysterious wizard gathering spell components. He did, however, have some knowledge of the forest. Particularly from some companions that he had run into much earlier. That there was a dragon, black unicorns, a beholder, some sort of great power in the center, and lastly Hagga the witch.
The beholder turned out to be very close by, and it surprised the party when it appeared. It’s eyes were powerful, being able to disrupt the magic of the entire party at first. Once scattered, some were able to act, but not before Henry’s companion Glenn is killed by it. The beholder is defeated, however, its ray of fear has hit Smythe and Norn who flee alone in the Black Forest. It nearly kills both of them. Smythe runs afoul of a few black unicorns, while Norn has a very close call with deathwatch beetles. It takes a lot of effort to get everyone together again. After some traveling, the party reaches a great scum-covered lake, emanating great evil. It is the first landmark in their directions to the prison. They traveled along the coast and are quite suddenly attacked by a monstrosity out of the purest nightmare. An undead lake monster of immense power rises up and chomps on the party as if they were fleas on its body. Dray is killed by its bite, and the rest nearly are. They managed to hurt it enough that it slid back into the lake long enough for the party to recover Dray’s body and to back up out of range. They decide to carry on further, but only an hour later the monster rises again to attack. The fight is worse, but again no life is lost. The monster yet survives…Henry makes some attempt to find its lair, but finds the lake completely infested with leeches.
Dray’s will indicates that he wants to be brought back to life. He even mentions the fact that he gave up his boon from Nuath to bring back Ulrich, so Ulrich had to be obligated to do the same. Ulrich manages a trip to the Temple of Arawn the next day and a successful teleport back by the both of them sees them much poorer but together again. The party is surprised a short time later by an attack by a creature that seemed completely immune to magic. In fact, it appeared to thrive on it and feed on it. It must have trailed the party for quite some time considering the amount of wizards (food) present. The party is lucky in that they defeat it without losing anyone. They manage to stay out of range of the monster until they finally pass the lake by. Further into the forest they camp, but that evening are attacked by unseelie faerie. This is almost as close a call as the others since the faerie’s sleep (and other) magic, and the fact that they appeared in great numbers, nearly cost the party everything. At about this time, Henry discovers that the touch of wood causes him great harm. He must travel further on with great care.
The next night, marks are left for Smythe by the black unicorns. Warnings and threats. However, it’s not the unicorns the party faced next, but Hagga the witch. Fortunately, they don’t just blunder into her home unprepared. Carefully entering her camp ready for battle, the party finds that she also is ready for battle in her mushroom ring. They are surprised to find that she has allies, and in fact makes some allies from the party with her charm ability. A few lucky breaks turn the battle in the party’s favor. The witch’s hut turns out to be a trove of useful items, and provides a very good place to recuperate before facing what must lie next: the two headed dragon.
After almost a week, the party travels on and almost falls prey to some killer plants. A couple of days spent under Dray’s massmorph spell, and the party runs into the Dread Linnorm. For once, the battle went very well for the party and the dragon was dispatched. Eagerly, the party went into its lair and were taken unawares by the young dragon. Sim-Cain is slain by its breath. In their weakened state, the fight with the young dragon is tougher than its parent, but the party does succeed. The dragon hoard contains quite a few tasty items, including an oil that gives the user one wish. Henry wins the roll for this one. There is enough cash and gems in the hoard to pay for Sim-Cain’s raising at the Temple of Arawn.
While the party has been working in the Empire, Stormcloak had remained behind in Arhus to work on his Order of the Spear and to make peace overtures to the priesthood of Elysenika. She was quite upset with him for the destruction of the gates in Hieron Campala along the Silver Bridge. Stormcloak, determined with fighting Gaal and uniting the priesthoods in common cause, never lets up. At last, a priest shows up who has been sent by Elysenika: Arlyss and his brother Morril, an exuberant warrior specializing in the maul. With the help from the priesthood of Lugh, the three of them are sent to the dragon hoard cave where the remainder of the party rests.
Ready to go on, the party continues for a couple of days until the Black Unicorn herd attacks. The combined might of the party fends them off. Some time later, the party finally reaches the Imperial Prison. Warning spells ignite, however, and the party has to lay low until the coast is clear. A well-formulated plan is made after some thorough spiritual scouting is conducted by Norn’s agents. A diversion is made by some of the party while the rest go in ethereal with Arlyss’ help to find and rescue the children. It works well for some time until the expert archers and spellcasters in the prison cause more and more trouble. The battle wages in the courtyard of the fortress itself when the prison spellcasters almost turn the tides. One is an abjurer that Ulrich gets lucky against and traps within a wall of force. At the end, it is only the fact that the party has the children in their hands that causes the colonel in charge of the prison to order a cessation of hostilities. The party almost makes it out of there unscathed at that point until Henry decides to go after the elementalist after the cease fire is called. Henry barely made it out of there, but both of the enemy spellcasters survived. The forces of the prison ready pursuit, and the party is forced to flee a certain distance and use a pattern to return to Arhus.
The party spent over a week at Arhus before they felt they are ready to return Antonio’s daughter. They also discussed what to do next, now that they had a warehouse full of 5 children and assorted tutors and nurses. There really is no other decision but to return all the children to the respective leaders of the nations in the area of the province of Croy. This alone may act to help those other provinces revolt as well, causing the Emperor more trouble. Another pattern sent the party to Croy where they meet with King Antonio, Master Suth, and Astaulf. His daughter returned, the reward is handed out. However, the original contract was with quite a different party than the one who finished the job. The king decided to have the deeds and titles for Shaft, Ivan, Sir Wolfram, Hunt, Aluin, Bairghith, and Glenn revert back to the crown unless those party members who had replaced them could offer legally documented proof of inheritance from those characters. The party can’t offer such proof. Angered, Sim-Cain somehow charmed the King with a simple pointing of his finger. As their new best buddy, the king put aside his Croyish greed and just gave them out anyway much to the surprise of Suth and Astaulf. He makes the party swear fealty before excepting the deeds and titles, as a matter of course. Some party members try to squirm around the wording of the vow, but it’s quite clear that the king will attend to the spirit of it, or take back the lands (despite the charm). Taxes, taking care of any residents on the land, and of course the raising of arms in the service of the kingdom come along with the package. Smythe learns also that his particular deed, the only one on green lands, comes along with a wife. The king of course invites his new nobles to a feast the following night.
At the feast, many veiled threats are passed about. The party learns that their lands are all deep in the mountains or in the grey desert; quite useless. Suth has done away with the charm upon the king, who with barely constrained anger, still acts civil and in natural kingly manner, doesn’t retract what he did under the influence of the charm. Or perhaps this is a Croyan trait; they are used to such methods to close a deal. After the feast, later that night, Sim-Cain meets with Suth and attempts to explain what he did. But Suth has none of it and places a geas on Sim-Cain that he leave Croy and never return. Sim-Cain sets off, and Ulrich has to use magic to catch up with him. Sim-Cain and he talk it over some. Sim-Cain thinks about it a while. Then, changes his mind about complying with it. He gives a nasty message to Ulrich to deliver to Suth and Antonio. Bad mistake. Sim-Cain is never seen again.
The party leaves shortly afterward, before Smythe can meet his fiance (though a date is set), for Krewald to return the first of the kids. The trip is uneventful except when they reach Althofen, Krewald. They are recognized, and are met in a main street by a bunch of obvious soldiers, priests, and spellcasters. A battle follows. What really turns the battle against the party is that one of the fellows in the group is actually a demon, who promptly gates in more, who gate in more, and who gate in more. The party is totally taken hard, including some really good archers armed with poison. Arlyss, priest of Elysenika, is slain very early in the fight (but his body disappears a short time later). The party receives some mysterious aid from an unknown agent: spells appear from nowhere in the party’s cause, and an illusory angelic form appears mid-air at one point, distracting the demons long enough for the party to regroup and run away. Meanwhile, the son of the Krewaldian Governor, whom they were returning (a snide young man), ditches the party. The party considers this "returned" and retreats.
They make it back to the docks just far enough ahead of the demon horde for Henry to cast a whirlwind travel spell. They are joined by Koralon and Kimloa, their helpers in the battle. The demons chase them for a while, but the party finally either manages to elude them, or they gave up. Hard to say with demons, except that for sure, they terrorized and tore up much of the city (and the many resident innocents). The next day, the party learns through some divining spells that Arlyss is somehow alive. He is back at the High Temple of Elysenika, and will meet them at a later time. Morril elects to stay with the party. The party meets up with a single soldier named Gunther using a very odd sword-type weapon the next day.
On their way to the next capital, the party encounters a strange cat with antlers. It turns out to be very intelligent and causes havoc by triggering the party’s magical items. In exchange for a few of them, the cat tells them much about the items. The party passes through what was once the capital city of Saarland, once home to the High Temple of Nuath. Nothing but a crater remains. The party spends a couple of days here, allowing Norn to try some spells to talk with dead spirits. More strange things occur on this trip. An invisible colossal giant figure tromping through the forest, and a cloud that passes overhead that completely paralyzes the entire party with complete abject terror and loss.
Stranger things occur when deep in Uchdry, the party finds that cutting through the thick forest gets them nowhere. Unable to turn away from a mystery, the party experimented and found that some magical force would transport them back a hundred yards whenever they reached a certain point. Theorizing that this might be where the elves live, someone brilliantly asks Dray to try and go forward. Already in a kind of daze, Dray does and disappears. They gave him a day, then Ulrich tries an anti-magic shell and successfully enters with Henry and Gunther. A day after they leave, the others decide that they can’t follow and that they should return to Gwynyth Raius. Weeks pass in the real world, but only hours close to a single day pass for Ulrich, Henry and Gunther. They pass by warnings and blockades designed to keep people out. Persistent, Ulrich continues and almost gets killed by obviously very skilled elven archers. They have to give up and return. Outside of the forest again, they learn of the distorted passage of time and hurry back to Arhus to meet the party that has traveled there by foot in the intervening time. Dray still has not returned. Smythe hears from Suth that he missed his wedding date. They reschedule for 5/16/946 (2 months from game start).
Back in Arhus, the party meets with some of the other leaders and gets news on the war. The Coalition forces have successfully marched all the way to Ham, and have recaptured all the lands that were Gwynyth Raius after Myrddin’s split and more. Gwynyth Raius now reaches the border of The Empire of Deir es Mal for the first time in 50 years. Their losses are pretty heavy, but with the new dedication borne of the righteous, they are ready to proceed into the Empire as soon as word comes of the revolt in Croy and the Imperial army moves away to deal with it. The Coalition is making it look like they intend to drive further into Myrddin to throw them off. Dray returns a few days later, sullen, angry, but not talking about what happened, except that he did find elves. He helps with a new pattern set, and when ready, the party makes quick work of quietly returning the other 2 children home. The last is an 18 year old warrior girl who wants to join in with the fight. At first with the party. Later, she decides that’s too much, and will help out in Arhus.
With the return of the last child, and the passage of a month’s preparation since Antonio’s daughter’s return, the word is given that the Revolt has started. Everyone sits back to wait and watch what happens next.
In the present, the party prepares, discusses, shops (make your lists), and waits. A few days pass, and a knock at the door to the warehouse reveals the priest of Cecht to whom Ulrich lent the Handkerchief. He asks for Ulrich, and returns the Handkerchief, "We thank you for this gift, the beneficence of our most compassionate Cecht. But, perhaps our faith is not strong. Perhaps…I do not know. It has not helped any. Has she forsaken us? I asked our superiors. They prayed. They did not know what to do. So, I can only return it to you and pray that perhaps in your hands it will function again with Cecht’s blessings." Ulrich stammers that he doesn’t know how to use it or make it work, well he suspects but doesn’t mention that. The priest lays a reassuring hand on Ulrich’s arm, smiles, and leaves.
A few days after that, word comes that the Imperial army has indeed broken camp and withdrawn. But not quite in the manner expected. One piece did indeed head southeast presumably towards Croy, but another piece head west-southwest, and a third has remained to watch the border. A much more manageable size. The Coalition forces are going to give them plenty of time to get far enough away that it would cost them more to return than to continue to Croy.
More waiting. More shopping. More discussions. More preparation.
<party has opportunity to do some backtracking style of shopping and so on. We’ll take care of that after everyone reads this>
Then, one dusk, at a time when it just so happens that everyone is present in the warehouse, Stormcloak included, something unusual occurs…