The Union of Fenwyck and Waer fantasy role-playing campaign
Adventure synopsis: Act 1. Into the Gap
Over the river and through the woods
Act 1 Scene 1
40 to 44 Winds III 986
(Session 1, 16 November 1996)
The Union Cartographic and Antiquities Office seeks Hardy Souls to accompany Expeditions to the New Territory of our Glorious Union. Rogues, Scoundrels, and Scalawags need not apply.
Sagart Deven, a priest in Rising Sun, is hiring a party to accompany him into the Gap of Dunloe on a cartographic & exploratory mission. On 40 Winds, III 986, he hires Arkin Strongarm, Eofor of Siohmoch, Uíc'Yend of Férféra, and two armsmen, Georg and Willem. Kaliya Morgaine and Watkyn are turned down due to their apparent lack of qualifications. That night, there is a fire in the bakery next door to the inn where most of the PCs are lodging. With the PCs' help, the baker and his family escape unharmed, but the bakery burns down and Georg and Willem perish in the fire. The next day, Deven hires Kaliya and Watkyn as replacements.
The party departs on Sunday, the 42nd of Winds, travelling by foot along the banks of the River Fenwyck, into the foothills of the Anvil Mountains.
Spiders? I hate spiders!
Act 1 Scene 2
44 Winds to 1 Blooming III 986
(Session 2, 23 November 1996)
Four days out of Rising Sun they come upon a Frowen village, Lough Gur, where they are welcomed into the home of Hnæf. They are warned to stay across the river from the Spider Wood. A few nights later, they hear a loud boom and see a shooting star travelling to the East. That same evening, they are attacked by hungry wolves.
On the night from 1 to 2 Blooming, just a few days before reaching the Gap of Dunloe, as the party camped across the River Fenwyck from the Spider Wood, they are attacked by a swarm of Brown Sappers, highly poisonous spiders. Some PCs are severely wounded, but all survive.
So long to the sagart, hello Kighvoron
Act 1 Scene 3
1 to 5 Blooming III 986
(Session 3, 7 December 1996)
Just a few days later, on 4 Blooming, the party is attacked by two Memory Spiders just as they are nearing the entrance to the Gap of Dunloe. Sagart Deven is killed, and Uíc'Yend comes down with a case of amnesia as a result of the attack. As the Memory Spiders are killed, the PCs receive memories stolen from monks sent by the sage of the Himmelturm to find the starstone, which landed somewhere in the Gap of Dunloe. Their bodies lie nearby, along with a bestiary which was to be given to the hermit of the Gap of Dunloe, Derwyth, in exchange for the location of the starstone. The bodies of Deven and the monks are cremated. Among Deven's possessions are a map of the central UFW and a map of the North Branch of the River Fenwyck.
The PCs reach the Dunloe Tower, a white structure standing on the peak of a butte at the entrance to the Gap of Dunloe. The forest covering the butte has recently suffered a fire and has been laid waste, leaving the Tower in plain view. There they encounter the wizard Cadhbhorán & some of his minions - three darkly dressed humanoids, one quite large and wielding a scythe. Cadhbhorán seems not only to have known Sagart Deven, but to have been expecting him and the party. He is elusive in responding to the party's inquiries. Before departing, he orders his large companion to kill or destroy the other two, which he does by cutting them in half with his scythe. Then Cadhbhorán and the large figure disappear in a puff of smoke. The two bodies left behind appear to be Frowen, judging by the facial tatoos, and appear to have already been dead for some time. They are buried by the party.
The entrance to the Tower is guarded by a magical seal, a pentagram embedded in the stone, which has been recently broken. In the basement of the Tower there is a skeleton, and strange magical stones arranged in a circle, which has some unknown effect on spell-casting. There is evidence that Cadhbhorán was doing something down there. One of the upper floors contains a partial mosaic, apparently a map. The words Laochdún Theas, which in Minrosi mean "Southlands from the Warrior's Fort" (lit. "Warrior's Fort South"), appear in the approximate location of the Ligden Hush.
Uíc'Yend's amnesia progresses, and he begins to forget people's names and recent events. During the night, Eofor and Uíc'Yend nearly come to blows over Uíc'Yend's music-making with his tusker pipes. Uíc'Yend sleeps all next day, and that night Kaliya discovers secret writing on one of Sagart Deven's "blank" pieces of parchment. Arkin wakes Uíc'Yend for a meal, but Uíc'Yend seems disturbed and backs away...
I'm Uíc'Yend! Who the hell are you?
Act 1 Scene 4
5 to 8 Blooming III 986
(Session 4, 19 January 1997)
Overnight, Uíc'Yend has lost all memory of the past two weeks. The others bring him up to speed on the events since meeting in Rising Sun.
The PCs travel to the home of Derwyth, hermit of the Gap of Dunloe. They find a peaceful glade, with a mailbox with the name "Filborg Grumbleweather," and a huge round door in the side of a hill. Arkin, Kaliya, and Watkyn break in; Eofor storms off, and Uíc'Yend follows. Inside, they find a comfortable cave with furnishings of enormous proportions. They regroup and follow a trail to the lake, and eventually to the impact site of the fallen star, where they find a group of dwarves and a mine. They implore the PCs to help them dig out their comrades, buried in the cave-in caused by the impact. Their leader, Thwarkin, says his party was sent by their King in Ukharit to search for the lost tablets of the legendary dwarven warrior & poet Gudzun Silverfriend.
The party's assistance consists mainly of Watkyn magically moving stone rubble, Arkin lending him extra strength for his efforts, and Uíc'Yend and Eofor dressing timber supports and hunting. Kaliya spends the time relatively passively, which will later prove advantageous.
The next morning, the giant Filborg Grumbleweather appears at the mine, and kills one dwarf who ran out to meet him. He stalks towards the camp, and proclaims: "Dreamkin! Stand by my side in my time of need!" Thwarkin claims this is the "mad giant" he's told the PCs about.
Ungrateful bastards
Act 1 Scene 5
8 Blooming III 986
(Session 5, 1 February 1997)
Filborg demands the dwarves release his "pet" bear, Díls, and asks the PCs to stand with him. Díls is freed, and Filborg leaves, but warns the dwarves to leave the valley by tomorrow noon. He reveals that he sometimes goes by the name "Derwyth."
That night, the dwarves break through to their comrades, and ambush the PCs as they sleep; they have woefully underestimated the PCs'capabilities, however, in particular Kaliya's arcane powers. Uíc'Yend kills & incapacitates several dwarves himself, and Kaliya takes care of most of the rest with strategic use of the Earth to Mud spell. Eofor, Arkin, and Uíc'Yend are all badly injured. A few dwarves flee down into the mine, which Watkyn seals with earth.
A-delving we will go
Act 1 Scene 6
8 to 9 Blooming III 986
(Session 6, 16 February 1997)
The party finds Harlan Hubbard, a monk from Blue Bells, trapped in the mine. He has been held captive by the dwarves, used for slave labor for the past week. His two companions have apparently perished in the cave-in. The following morning, Filborg returns, and is obviously pleased that the dwarves have been slain & driven off. Díls was held captive by Thwarkin to force Filborg to work for the dwarves. Filborg magically conjures a bonfire to burn the dwarven corpses, as the PCs gather their equipment.
The PCs delve into the mine, tracking the dwarves, and discover long natural passages leading under the mountain. Harlan falls while climbing down a shaft and is seriously injured. Thanks to the timely action & healing powers of Watkyn, Harlan quickly recovers. At one point the PCs enter a large natural chamber, which is very damp. The white stone of the chamber has an almost melted, soft look to it. In the chamber are the stone-encrusted remains of two groups of humanoids, one dwarven, one unidentified. They apparently all fell in combat, one side against the other. Kaliya takes two ruined weapons from the bodies after Watkyn flows the stone away from two corpses.
Pâté du gnome, anyone?
Act 1 Scene 7
9 Blooming III 986
(Session 7, 27 March 1997)
The PCs continue to track Thwarkin and his party. One chamber they come across is filled with a strange fragrance of unknown origin. They are ambushed by Dorbin, Thwarkin's lieutenant, as they are planning to negotiate another chasm. Dorbin flees, with the PCs in hot pursuit.
The trail leads them further & deeper, through a steamy, hot area with thermal springs and more ancient corpses, and onward. The party are ambushed by the dwarves again at a T-junction. Arkin is crushed to death as he tries to stop a boulder rolled down into the party in the first few seconds of the assault. Two of four dwarves are killed, one is taken prisoner, and Thwarkin escapes with the aid of a magically erected stone wall.
Melea, everyone's favorite apprentice
Act 1 Scene 8
9 to 10 Blooming III 986
(Session 8, 29 March 1997)
The prisoner Gramlo is rescued by Thwarkin, as he throws up another stone wall between Gramlo and the PCs. Arkin is buried by Watkyn, after much discussion about funeral rites - burial, cremation, and cannabalism were all suggested, the latter apparently being the custom among tuskers (and most vocally opposed by Eofor).
Melea makes her debut, having tracked the party for the past few days, in search of the starstone. Uíc'Yend spots her shadowing the party near the T-junction ambush area. Eofor nearly has a stroke upon hearing that Melea is associated with Cadhbhorán.
Despite not quite overcoming their strong distrust of Melea, together the PCs track Thwarkin to a chasm, where he is standing over the body of Gramlo. As Watkyn and Kaliya approach him, he seals off the passage in front of the rest of the PCs, and tosses up a wall between himself and Watkyn and Kaliya. The walls are quickly breached by Melea and Watkyn, and they discover Thwarkin is climbing down the chasm. Eofor sends a hail of arrows down into him before he produces a wall of fire on the ledge, then excavates a niche into the chasm wall to stand in. Kaliya and Melea levitate down to him. Kaliya is temporarily blinded by Thwarkin's Sand Jet as she prepares a spell. Melea casts something on him, and Thwarkin is temporarily overcome. He looks down into the chasm, then leaps to his death.
Melea and Kaliya levitate down the narrowing chasm, and find Thwarkin's twisted remains wedged solidly between the chasm walls. They retrieve his backpack and the starstone, a pearly white orb about the size of a large canteloupe. Over the course of the next hour the stone changes shade and grows darker, and becomes the center of a low-mana zone extending about six feet from the stone.
On the way down the chasm they discovered some artificial passages several hundred feet down from the ledge. The party descends, and Uíc'Yend nearly yanks his arm out of its socket in a nasty fall; Melea and Kaliya try in vain to levitate him on his way down. Thanks once again to Watkyn's healing powers, Uíc'Yend will make a speedy recovery. There are two parallel passages, six by six feet square, which are bisected by the chasm. In the passages are hemispherical chambers with pentagrams and magical metallic screens, and a set of stairs going up.
Exit the Gap
Act 1 Scene 9
10 to 15 Blooming III 986
(Session 9, 5 April 1997)
The PCs climb the stairs for a couple of hours, finally emerging a couple thousand feet above the floor of the Gap of Dunloe, in some sort of hall hewn from the stone, where they spend the night. The next day they descend, travel the length of the Gap, and head north to the pass leading to the Himmelturm and the Wær river valley. Along the way Kaliya gathers the group to attempt a spell which will tell her the history of the starstone. She succeeds, but half the party is rendered unconcious, drained of their energy, in the attempt. The starstone is again a pearly white, and is no longer the center of a low mana zone. Kaliya reports a sensation of heat, bright light, a wasteland, and the presence of many beings. Over the next few days on the way to the Himmelturm she tries again with similar results. Along the way Melea and Watkyn heatedly discuss the morality of necromancy and creating zombies - with the implied subtext of Cadhbhorán's abilities and intentions. Eofor takes particular delight on his watch in toppling statues sculpted by Melea from boulders during her spare time in camp.
The party arrives at the Himmelturm on the evening of Dílsday, the 15th of Blooming, 20 days after leaving Rising Sun with Sagart Deven.
Thanks for the starstone. Now get out!
Act 1 Scene 10
15 to 25 Blooming III 986
(Session 10, 2 November 1997)
The party arrives at the Himmelturm in the late afternoon. The fortified compound consists of a central square tower capped by a dome, four round towers adjoining the corners of the central tower, and a twelve foot wall, sitting on a hillside overlooking the town of Blackbird. The party are met by armed guards at the gate, who lead them into a reception hall where they are greeted by Ardwyn, Master of the Tower. He eagerly receives the starstone under the watchful eyes of not only the party, but of the mage Kighvoron as well, who is apparently visiting at the Tower.
The PCs, washed and refreshed, attend dinner in the banquet/reception hall with the Masters: Ardwyn; Anders, Master Alchemist; Gwynyth, Mistress Enchantress; and Eamon, Master Antiquarian. Present also are Kighvoron and his identical twin Girovon, and the Tusker holy man/woman (?) Hridititu. After hearing Watkyn's recounting of the journey into the Gap of Dunloe, Gwyntyth presents the party with enchanted items in gratitude for bringing the starstone.
Much time is spent after dinner and the next morning trying to figure out just what some of the various gifts actually do. Having done this, the gifts are distributed in time for Harlan to leave with a caravan to Tweepijk in the morning, and for Uíc'Yend to leave with Hridititu for Rising Sun that afternoon.
The Masters seem rather busy (except for Eamon), apparently preparing for tests on the starstone. Eofor and Watkyn spend a little time in town (unfortuneately for Eofor, most of the inhabitants are Zooten speakers), Kaliya speaks with Eamon about the tower and makes an appointment to speak with Anders about her dreams. Melea is out of sight all day with Kighvoron and Girovon. That evening, Kighvoron pays a visit to Kaliya, Watkyn, and Eofor in a tavern in town. He asks if they've seen anything suspicious at the Tower, in particular if they've noticed anything odd about Ardwyn, perhaps a somewhat odd request seeing how the PCs only met him yesterday.
The next morning Kaliya sees Anders, who attempts to interpret her dreams. Melea, Kighvoron, Girovon, and Onighvi, the bodyguard (?) with the scythe, prepare to leave for their home, a tower near the village of Gyfren, in the hills a few miles northeast of Rising Sun. Before they depart, Kaliya tells Kighvoron she had seen who she thought was Ardwyn late last night "creeping" around the Tower.
After several days' journey, Watkyn, Eofor, and Kaliya arrive in Rising Sun via Tweepijk, where recently anti-Hobgoblin laws (curfews, groups of Hobs in public require escorts, etc.) have been passed since a fire in town burned many homes and businesses. In Rising Sun itself there are noticibly more guards on the streets than when they left, and a distinct anti-Gnomish sentiment among some of the human populace.
Down time in Rising Sun
Act 1 Scene 11
25 Blooming to 20 Wiram III 986
(Session 10.5, December 1997)
A summary of events in the days and weeks following the characters' return from the Himmelturm.
Racial tensions between Humans and Gnomes are on the rise in Rising Sun. A Gnomish printing press is burned down on the 14th of Wiram, after copies of a handbill are distributed, calling for Gnomes to act against the tyrrany of Humans. The PCs believe it was actually printed elsewhere. Watkyn, Kaliya, and Eofor stay in town during this period, holding down various jobs and learning some new skills. They receive dinner invitations from Kighvoron and Girovon for the 21st of Wiram. Melea spends most of her time under Kighvoron's tutelage at their tower near Gyfren.
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Last significant update: 16 June 2003
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